The Heretics (John Shakespeare [Publication Order] #5) by Rory Clements

England may have survived the Armada threat of 1588, but when Spanish galleys land troops in Cornwall on a lightning raid seven years later, is it a dry run for a new invasion?
Or is there, perhaps, a more sinister motive?

The Queen is speechless with rage at Spain's temerity. Sir Robert Cecil demands answers. But as John Shakespeare tries to get a grip on events, England's secret defences begin to unravel. One by one, his network of spies is horribly murdered. What, though has all this to do with Thomayn Jade, a girl driven to the edge of madness by the foul rituals of exorcism? Could it all be linked to a group of priests held prisoner in the bleak confines of Wisbech Castle?

From the pain-wracked torture rooms of the Inquisition of Seville to the marshy wastes of fenland, from the wild coasts of Cornwall to the sweat and sawdust of the Elizabethan playhouses, and from the condemned cell at Newgate to the stench of brimstone as demons are driven out by unspeakable, The Heretics builds to a terrifying climax that will threaten the life of the Queen herself.

Genres: Historical Fiction - Mystery - Historical Mystery - Thriller - Crime - Tudor Period - Historical Thriller - Detective - British Author