Steven Veerapen

The Cradle Queen Steven Veerapen

Linlithgow Palace, 1543.

As Henry VIII turns greedy eyes northwards towards the baby Queen of Scots, the ghosts of Scotland's bloody past rise from the grave. With the queen a child, her mother a captive, and the governor a puppet, the future of the realm hangs in the balance.

Commanded by their master, Simon Danforth and his friend, Arnaud Martin, join the household of Queen Marie of Guise. But the glories of royal service are quickly tarnished for the loyal Danforth and lovelorn Martin.

Marie's glittering household hides a deadly secret. When a series of murders takes place, recreating grisly deaths caused by Scotland's kings, Danforth is compelled to take to the political stage. What he finds makes it clear that the crown itself is under threat.

Faced with a seemingly invisible murderer and drawn to a strange young woman, Danforth must decide where his own future lies: in loyal service or in marriage - duty or love.

Caught in a web of deception, Danforth must unmask the assassin before the crown is stolen - or will chasing ghosts lead him to the grave?

Political intrigue is intertwined with a sinister murder mystery in the third book of the Simon Danforth series.

Recommended for fans of CJ Sansom, SJ Parris and Michael Jecks.

"A superb, page-turning debut. The author balances gimlet-eyed research with narrative drive and clever reveals... Danforth is a strong yet torn central character... I look forward to reading the second book in the series." Richard Foreman.

Steven Veerapen was born in Glasgow and raised in Paisley. Pursuing an interest in the sixteenth century, he was awarded a first-class Honours degree in English, focussing his dissertation on representations of Henry VIII's six wives. He then received a Masters in Renaissance studies, and a Ph. D. investigating Elizabethan slander. Steven is fascinated by the glamour and ghastliness of life in the 1500s, and has a penchant for myths, mysteries and murders in an age in which the law was as slippery as those who defied it.