C. W. Gortner

Summer, 1553: A time of intrigue, deceit, and betrayal. Brendan Prescott, a foundling raised in the Dudley household, is summoned to the court of Edward VI as a squire for arrogant Lord Robert. Eager to prove his worth, Brendan hopes to gain advancement in his new post. But when Lord Robert sends him on an illicit mission to the King's younger sister, Princess Elizabeth, Brendan soon discovers that nothing in his world is as it appears. A vengeful opponent stalks the Princess, intent on her destruction. Lured into her service as a spy, Brendan races against time to unravel a treasonous web of terrifying dimensions, one that could conceal the secret of his own mysterious birth. Meticulously researched, filled with the pageantry and perils of Tudor England, The Secret Lion begins the story of a man's rise to power in the Elizabethan secret service, the first book in The Spymaster Chronicles.