Marbeck and the Double-Dealer

Book excerpt: An Elizabethan spy chases a double agent across Europe in this historical mystery series debut—“Think James Bond for the 17th-century crowd” (Library Journal). At the dawn of the seventeenth century, England continues to be entangled in wars with Spain and Ireland for many years. The country crackles with unease in the waning years of Queen Elizabeth’s reign, and intelligencer Martin Marbeck has just received a vital message from his spymaster, Sir Robert Cecil: the existence of a spy has been discovered, a double agent code named Morera. A master of disguise and fluent in the argot of secrets and lies, Marbeck must uncover the true identity of this traitor quickly, while evading dangerous Spanish spies, before rumors of the young King Philip III forming a new Armada prove themselves to be true. “A gripping, entertaining page-turner.” —Booklist, starred review “[Pilkington’s] Tudor-era spy novel oozes intrigue and dramatically captures the unsettled mood of the times.” —Library Journal “Pilkington introduces an intriguing new hero in the dashing Marbeck in an eventful tale packed with the usual Elizabethan minutiae.” —Kirkus Reviews