From the author of The Ashes of London, comes a new historical mystery set in the last days of WWII

‘Ten out of ten’ The Times

‘A grand piece of work – a triumph and one of Taylor’s best’ MICK HERRON

‘A wonderfully unique novel from the master of historical crime fiction. Beautiful, haunting, and quite brilliant’ LAURA SHEPHERD-ROBINSON

‘As good as I’d expect from a master of the craft’ VAL MCDERMID

‘A wonderful, subtle novel, set in a strange, enclosed world. Beautiful writing and a gloriously satisfying ending’ ANN CLEEVES

__________

England, May 1945

In the last days of World War II, Monkshill Park School for Girls stands far apart from the violence in Europe. Yet a woman has been murdered in its grounds.

Annabel Warnock, a teacher with a secretive past, has disappeared. The teachers and girls whisper that she’s run away, but in fact she has met a violent end.

Replacement tutor and amateur crime writer Alec Shaw arrives to find a school riven with bitter rivalries and dangerous tensions. He begins to suspect there is a real-life mystery waiting to be solved? and these echoing halls hide a killer.

‘A grand piece of work – a triumph and one of Taylor’s best’ MICK HERRON

‘A wonderfully unique novel from the master of historical crime fiction. Beautiful, haunting, and quite brilliant’ LAURA SHEPHERD-ROBINSON

‘As good as I’d expect from a master of the craft’ VAL MCDERMID

‘A wonderful, subtle novel, set in a strange, enclosed world. Beautiful writing and a gloriously satisfying ending’ ANN CLEEVES

———

England, May 1945

Monkshill Park School for Girls seems a world away from the violence that engulfed Europe during World War II. Yet its lonely, decaying grounds have witnessed a murder.

Annabel Warnock, a teacher with a secretive past, left for the holidays and never came back. Both teachers and girls assume she simply walked out, but the truth is quite different. Her body tumbled from the Maiden’s Leap, a viewpoint on the clifftop Gothic Walk, and was washed out to sea.

But Annabel herself is still trapped at Monkshill, unable to move on. As she haunts the grounds and school, she discovers a hidden world – students, staff and servants are riven with deadly rivalries and dangerous tensions.

And one of them is her killer?

A Times Historical Crime Novel of the year

‘An absolute delight in a series that goes from strength to strength’ S. G. McLean, prize-winning author of the Seeker series

?‘This is Taylor at his unassailable best‘ Financial Times

London 1671

The damage caused by the Great Fire still overshadows the capital.

The disfigured body of a man is unearthed in the ruins of the old almshouse, forcing architect Cat Hakesby to stop restoration work. It is clear he has been murdered, and Whitehall secretary James Marwood is ordered to investigate.

When the man’s identity is revealed, it’s clear that there are larger forces at play, and Marwood comes under serious pressure to solve the case. But an old adversary is attempting to stop him.

As Cat and Marwood follow the threads of corruption into the heart of government, the king himself is being distracted from affairs of state. A young, impoverished Frenchwoman has caught his eye – a quiet affair that will have monumental consequences.

Over 1 Million Andrew Taylor Novels Sold!

‘An absolute delight in a series that goes from strength to strength’ S. G. McLean, prize-winning author of the Seeker series

‘This is Taylor at his unassailable best‘ Financial Times

London 1671
The damage caused by the Great Fire still overshadows the capital. When a man’s brutally disfigured body is discovered in the ruins of an ancient almshouse, architect Cat Hakesby is ordered to stop restoration work. It is obvious he has been murdered, and Whitehall secretary James Marwood is ordered to investigate.

It’s possible the victim could be one of two local men who have vanished – the first, a feckless French tutor connected to the almshouse’s owner;
the second, a possibly treacherous employee of the Council of Foreign Plantations.

The pressure on Marwood mounts as Charles II’s most influential courtiers, Lord Arlington and the Duke of Buckingham, show an interest in his activities – and Marwood soon begins to suspect the murder trail may lead right to the heart of government.

Meanwhile, a young, impoverished Frenchwoman has caught the eye of the king, a quiet affair that will have monumental consequences?

Over 1 Million Andrew Taylor Novels Sold!

A Times Best Paperback of 2022

Two young girls plot a murder by witchcraft. Soon afterwards a government clerk dies painfully in mysterious circumstances. His colleague James Marwood is asked to investigate – but the task brings unexpected dangers.

Meanwhile, architect Cat Hakesby is working for a merchant who lives on Slaughter Street, where the air smells of blood and a captive Barbary lion prowls the stables. Then a prestigious new commission arrives. Cat must design a Poultry House for the woman that the King loves most in all the world.

Unbeknownst to all, at the heart of this lies a royal secret so explosive that it could not only rip apart England but change the entire face of Europe?

Over 1 Million Andrew Taylor Novels Sold!

A dangerous secret lies beneath Whitehall Palace?

Brother against brother. Father against son. Friends turned into enemies. No one in England wants a return to the bloody days of the Civil War. But Oliver Cromwell’s son, Richard, has abandoned his exile and slipped back into England. The consequences could be catastrophic.

James Marwood, a traitor’s son turned government agent, is tasked with uncovering Cromwell’s motives. But his assignment is complicated by his friend – the regicide’s daughter, Cat Lovett – who knew the Cromwells as a child, and who now seems to be hiding a secret of her own about the family.

Both Marwood and Cat know they are putting themselves in great danger. And when they find themselves on a top secret mission in the Palace of Whitehall, they realize they are risking their lives?and could even be sent to the block for treason.

Praise for Andrew Taylor

‘One of the best historical crime writers today’ The Times

‘If you like C. J. Sansom, or Hilary Mantel, you’ll love Andrew Taylor’ Peter James

‘Effortlessly authentic?gripping?moving and believable. An excellent work’ C. J. Sansom

‘This is historical crime fiction at its dazzling best’ Guardian

‘One of the best historical novelists around’ Sunday Times

‘A breathtakingly ambitious picture of an era’ Financial Times

‘A masterclass in writing for the genre’ Ann Cleeves

‘Andrew Taylor is one of our finest storytellers’ Antonia Hodgson

‘Vivid and compelling’ Observer

‘A novel filled with intrigue, duplicity, scandal and betrayal, whose author now vies with another master of the genre, C. J. Sansom’ Spectator

‘Taylor brings the 17th century to life so vividly that one can almost smell it’ Guardian

‘A most artful and delightful book, that will both amuse and chill’ Daily Telegraph

From the No.1 bestselling author of The Ashes of London and The Fire Court comes the next book in the phenomenally successful series following James Marwood at the time of King Charles II.

Over 1 Million Andrew Taylor Novels Sold!

A royal scandal?
In the Court of Charles II, it’s a dangerous time to be alive – a wrong move may lead to disgrace, exile or death. The discovery of a body at the home of one of the highest courtiers in the land could therefore have catastrophic consequences.

A shocking murder?
James Marwood, a traitor’s son, is ordered to cover up the killing. But the dead man is known to Marwood – as is the most likely culprit, Cat Lovett.

The stakes have never been higher?
Marwood is sure Cat is innocent so determines to discover the true murderer. But time is running out. If he makes a mistake, it could threaten the King himself?

Praise for Andrew Taylor

‘One of the best historical crime writers today’ The Times

‘If you like C. J. Sansom, or Hilary Mantel, you’ll love Andrew Taylor’ Peter James

‘Effortlessly authentic?gripping?moving and believable. An excellent work’ C. J. Sansom

‘This is historical crime fiction at its dazzling best’ Guardian

‘One of the best historical novelists around’ Sunday Times

‘A breathtakingly ambitious picture of an era’ Financial Times

‘A masterclass in writing for the genre’ Ann Cleeves

‘Andrew Taylor is one of our finest storytellers’ Antonia Hodgson

‘Vivid and compelling’ Observer

‘A novel filled with intrigue, duplicity, scandal and betrayal, whose author now vies with another master of the genre, C. J. Sansom’ Spectator

‘Taylor brings the 17th century to life so vividly that one can almost smell it’ Guardian

‘A most artful and delightful book, that will both amuse and chill’ Daily Telegraph

Over 1 Million Andrew Taylor Novels Sold!

A time of terrible danger?
The Great Fire has ravaged London. Now, guided by the Fire Court, the city is rebuilding, but times are volatile and danger is only ever a heartbeat away.

Two mysterious deaths?
James Marwood, a traitor’s son, is thrust into this treacherous environment when his father discovers a dead woman in the very place where the Fire Court sits. The next day his father is run down. Accident? Or another murder??

A race to stop a murderer?
Determined to uncover the truth, Marwood turns to the one person he can trust – Cat Lovett, the daughter of a despised regicide. Then comes a third death? and Marwood and Cat are forced to confront a vicious killer who threatens the future of the city itself.

‘This is terrific stuff’ Daily Telegraph

‘A breathtakingly ambitious picture of an era’ Financial Times

‘A masterclass in how to weave a well-researched history into a complex plot’ The Times

Over 1 Million Andrew Taylor Novels Sold!

A CITY IN FLAMES
London, 1666. As the Great Fire consumes everything in its path, the body of a man is found in the ruins of St Paul’s Cathedral – stabbed in the neck, thumbs tied behind his back.

A WOMAN ON THE RUN
The son of a traitor, James Marwood is forced to hunt the killer through the city’s devastated streets. There he encounters a determined young woman, who will stop at nothing to secure her freedom.

A KILLER SEEKING REVENGE
When a second murder victim is discovered in the Fleet Ditch, Marwood is drawn into the political and religious intrigue of Westminster – and across the path of a killer with nothing to lose?