Sacrilege

The No. 1 Sunday Times bestselling series The third book in S. J. Parris’s bestselling, critically acclaimed series following Giordano Bruno, set at the time of Queen Elizabeth I London, 1584. Giordano Bruno travels to Canterbury for love. But finds only murder … Giordano Bruno is being followed by the woman he once loved – Sophia Underhill, accused of murder and on the run. With the leave of the Queen’s spymaster, he sets out to clear Sophia’s name. But when more brutal killings occur a far deadlier plot emerges. A city rife with treachery. A relic steeped in blood. His hunt for the real killer leads to the shadows of the Cathedral – England’s holiest shrine – and the heart of a sinister and powerful conspiracy … Heretic, maverick, charmer: Giordano Bruno is always on his guard. Never more so than when working for Queen Elizabeth and her spymaster – for this man of letters is now an agent of intrigue and danger … Perfect for fans of C. J. Sansom and Hilary Mantel Praise for S. J. Parris ‘A delicious blend of history and thriller’ The Times ‘An omnipresent sense of danger’ Daily Mail ‘Colourful characters, fast-moving plots and a world where one false step in religion or politics can mean a grisly death’ Sunday Times ‘Pacy, intricate, and thrilling’ Observer ‘Vivid, sprawling … Well-crafted, exuberant’ Financial Times ‘Impossible to resist’ Daily Telegraph ‘Twists and turns like a corkscrew of venomous snakes’ Stuart MacBride ‘It has everything – intrigue, mystery and excellent history’ Kate Mosse ‘The period is incredibly vivid and the story utterly gripping’ Conn Iggulden ‘A brilliantly unusual glimpse at the intrigues surrounding Queen Elizabeth I’ Andrew Taylor

Praise for S. J. Parris: ‘Impossible to resist … Parris creates a convincing sense of the past, woven with so much intrigue that the head fairly spins’ Daily Telegraph‘It has everything – intrigue, mystery and excellent history’ Kate Mosse‘Parris writes with confident ease of Tudor London … The dialogue balances nicely on a tightrope of period phrases and cut-to-the-chase colloquialisms. More, please’ The Times‘Full of surprises … an imaginatively satisfying addition to the many real intrigues surrounding the imprisoned Mary Stuart and the threats to Elizabeth’s security’ TLS‘Fascinating … The period is incredibly vivid and the story utterly gripping’ Conn Iggulden‘A brilliantly unusual glimpse at the intrigues surrounding Queen Elizabth I’ Andrew Taylor, bestselling author of The American Boy

No. 1 Sunday Times bestseller S. J. Parris is the pseudonym of the author and journalist Stephanie Merritt. It was as a student at Cambridge researching a paper on the period that Stephanie first became fascinated by the rich history of Tudor England and Renaissance Europe. Since then, her interest has grown and led her to create this series of historical thrillers featuring Giordano Bruno. Stephanie has worked as a critic and feature writer for a variety of newspapers and magazines, as well as radio and television. She has also written the contemporary psychological thriller While You Sleep under her own name. She currently writes for the Observer and the Guardian, and lives in Surrey with her son.