Queen's Spy

In 1584, Elizabeth I holds the English throne, yet intrigue is spreading through her court. Mary, Queen of Scots, is determined to seize her cousin's crown, and one man stands in her path: Tom, the queen's apothecary, whom she depends on and who works in secret as an informer. In 2021, Mathilde has spent her life drifting from place to place, living out of a campervan as she travels the world. When she learns she has inherited property, she discovers that she has family in England she has never known. The inheritance is a medieval hall with a past of its own, and Mathilde soon comes across something that unsettles her, prompting her to ask what happened there years ago.

The novel moves between these two periods, following Tom in the Tudor court and Mathilde in the present day as each uncovers the truth behind a web of loyalty, courage and deception. Mathilde must also decide whether she can build a life somewhere she truly belongs.

Readers who enjoy the work of Lucinda Riley or Kathryn Hughes may find this story of past and present appealing.