S. J. Parris

Condemned for his heretical belief that the Earth orbits the sun, scientist and occult researcher Giordano Bruno is unexpectedly recruited by Elizabeth I, who dispatches him to Oxford University to investigate a Catholic plot against the crown.

Heresy

Paris, 1585. Giordano Bruno, heretic, philosopher and spy for Elizabeth's minister Sir Francis Walsingham, has come to Paris, a city on the edge of catastrophe. King Henri III is surrounded by enemies: the Duke of Guise's Catholic League; Henri of Navarre's Protestant army; and from within his own court, where his mother Catherine of Medici wields immense influence. Bruno, alone and near destitute, turns to old friend and zealous preacher, Paul Lefevre. But when the priest is murdered, uttering the single word 'Circe' with his dying breath, Bruno is pulled into a dangerous world.

Conspiracy

Agreeing to help former paramour Sophia Underhill clear her name of a wrongful murder charge, 16th-century radical philosopher and spy Giordano Bruno uncovers secrets with ties to the cult of Thomas Becket and the legend surrounding the disappearance of the saint's body. 35,000 first printing.

Sacrilege

Summer, 1585. As English ships are held captive in Spain, fear mounts of an Invincible Armada, built by King Philip II, and intended to invade English shores. Sir Francis Drake prepares to embark on an expedition by royal commission to cross the Atlantic and seize major Spanish ports, diverting Philip's American treasure supplies to Queen Elizabeth. Giordano Bruno, radical philosopher and spy, accompanies his friend Sir Philip Sidney to Plymouth to oversee Drake's departure. Unbeknownst to Bruno, Sidney intends to join the mission - and he wants Bruno to go too. But when a ship captain is brutally murdered, and Drake's life threatened, it becomes clear that someone plans to destroy the expedition before it begins.

Treachery

S. J. Parris returns with the next Giordano Bruno mystery, set inside Queen Elizabeth's palace and steeped in period atmospherics and the strange workings of the occult. It is the year of the Great Conjunction, when the two most powerful planets, Jupiter and Saturn, align--an astrologi-cal phenomenon that occurs once every thousand years and heralds the death of one age and the dawn of another. The streets of London are abuzz with predictions of horrific events to come, possibly even the death of Queen Elizabeth. When several of the queen's maids of honor are found dead, rumors of black magic abound. Elizabeth calls upon her personal astrologer, John Dee, and Giordano Bruno to solve the crimes. While Dee turns to a mysterious medium claiming knowledge of the murders, Bruno fears that some-thing far more sinister is at work. But even as the climate of fear at the palace intensifies, the queen refuses to believe that the killer could be someone within her own court. Bruno must play a dangerous game: can he allow the plot to progress far enough to give the queen the proof she needs without putting her, England, or his own life in danger? In this utterly gripping and gorgeously written novel, S. J. Parris has proven herself the new master of the historical thriller. "From the Hardcover edition."

An Historical Thriller

Prophecy

The No. 1 Sunday Times bestselling series set at the time of Queen Elizabeth I, perfect for fans of C. J. Sansom and The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel

Execution

The new historical crime thriller in the No.1 Sunday Times bestselling series, perfect for fans of C. J. Sansom and Hilary Mantel

Alchemy (Giordano Bruno, Book 7)

Three exhilarating novellas—The Secret Dead, The Academy of Secrets, and The Dead of Winter—following the early adventures of young priest Giordano Bruno in the dramatic days of sixteenth century Italy. Even the dead have a story to tell . . . Naples, 1566. During a sweltering summer, eighteen-year-old Giordano Bruno takes his final vows at San Domenico Maggiore and is admitted to the Dominican Order—despite doubts over his tendency to ask difficult questions. Assisting in the infirmary, Bruno witnesses an illicit autopsy performed on the body of a young woman. Her corpse reveals a dark secret, and Bruno suspects that hers may not have been an accidental death. His investigation leads him to a powerful figure who wants to keep the truth buried—and Bruno is forced to make a choice between his future in the Order, and justice for an innocent victim and her grieving family . . .

Three Giordano Bruno Novellas

The Dead of Winter

The new historical thriller featuring Giordano Bruno—heretic, philosopher, and spy— which finds Bruno going undercover to prevent an assassination plot on Queen Elizabeth. England, 1586. A treasonous conspiracy . . . Giordano Bruno, a heretic turned spy, arrives in England with shocking information for spymaster Sir Francis Walsingham. A band of Catholic Englishmen are plotting to kill Queen Elizabeth and spring Mary Queen of Scots from prison to take the English throne in her place. A deadly trap . . . Bruno is surprised to find that Walsingham is aware of the plot—led by the young, wealthy noble Anthony Babington—and is allowing it to progress. He hopes that Mary will put her support in writing—and condemn herself to a traitor’s death. A queen in mortal danger . . . Bruno is tasked with going undercover to join the conspirators. Can he stop them before he is exposed? Either way a queen will die; Bruno must make sure it is the right one.

A Giordano Bruno Thriller

Like "The Dante Club," this clever, sophisticated, exceptionally enjoyable thriller is written with unstoppable narrative propulsion and stylistic flair. Follow the monk, poet, and scientist Giordano Bruno on his quest to uncover a plot to kill Queen Elizabeth I.

A Thriller

A short story featuring Giordano Bruno: heretic, philosopher and spy. Perfect for fans of C.J. Sansom.

The Secret Dead: A Novella

Giordano Bruno Novella

The perfect historical crime novella to curl up with this Christmas! From a No. 1 Sunday Times bestselling author.

Autumn, 1583. It's the year of the Great Conjunction: an astrological phenomenon believed to herald the death of one age and the dawn of another. England's tentative peace is under threat and prophecies foretell the death of Queen Elizabeth and, with her, the end of the Protestant religion. When one of the queen's young maids of honour is found murdered inside the palace walls - astrological symbols carved into her flesh and clutching a sinister witch's doll - Elizabeth refuses to believe the killer could be someone within her own court. In the meantime, Giordano Bruno, now secretly working for Elizabeth's spymaster Francis Walsingham at the French Embassy, is closely monitoring a Catholic conspiracy funded by King Philip of Spain and a cousin of Mary Stuart. But his position is growing increasingly tenuous; though the ambassador trusts him, his presence has been noted by Lord Henry Howard, a devout Catholic who publicly opposes anyone associated with magic or esoteric knowledge. Bruno has cause to believe there's a connection between the murdered girl and the conspirators at the embassy. But when a second maid of honour is killed in the same way, he realizes that the killer may be watching him too. Determined to prove his worth to Elizabeth, Bruno must play a dangerous game: can he allow the plot to progress far enough to hand the queen the proof of conspiracy she needs, without putting her, England or his own life in danger?

A gripping murder mystery set in 16th-century France, as Giordano Bruno fights against multiple factions manipulating the succession of King Henri III. December 1585: King Henri III of France is the last of his line. He has appointed a Protestant as his successor, which has caused a three-way war in his country. As a result, the king is in mortal fear of a coup being orchestrated by the ultra-conservative Catholic League. Radical philosopher, ex-monk and spy Giordano Bruno, forced to return to Paris, is called upon by King Henri to unearth the mystery behind several mysterious but linked deaths. Each victim is connected to a larger plot to manipulate the royal succession; what they knew and who killed them is a mystery to be solved. Meanwhile, Bruno makes an uneasy alliance with Charles Paget, a key figure in the community of English Catholics who tried to assassinate Queen Elizabeth. When Bruno is implicated in the death of Leonie, a member of the Queen Mother's "Flying Squadron," he is forced to call on Paget and his connections for help--and finds that it comes with a price, involving an old enemy.

Perfect for fans of C.J. Sansom and The Name of the Rose, this sequel to Sacrilege features Giordano Bruno, heretic, philosopher and spy. Summer, 1585: As English ships are held captive in Spain, fear mounts of an Invincible Armada, built by King Philip II, and intended to invade English shores. Sir Francis Drake prepares to embark on an expedition by royal commission to cross the Atlantic and seize major Spanish ports, diverting Philip's American treasure supplies to Queen Elizabeth. Giordano Bruno, radical philosopher and spy, accompanies his friend Sir Philip Sidney to Plymouth to oversee Drake's departure. Unbeknownst to Bruno, Sidney intends to join the mission--and he wants Bruno to go too. But when a ship's captain is brutally murdered, and Drake's life threatened, it becomes clear that someone plans to destroy the expedition before it begins. Bruno and Sidney hunt for the killer, but are they being lured into a trap? And when Drake's young wife and her cousin arrive, Bruno and Sidney find themselves thrown into an unexpected rivalry.

S. J. Parris

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