Devil’s Charge

As England’s civil war deepens, Captain Innocent Stryker remains loyal to his small company and to Lisette Gaillard, an intelligence agent serving Queen Henrietta Maria. Prince Rupert sends him to discover what has happened to Lisette and the man she was protecting, whose knowledge may give the king’s armies a decisive advantage. The assignment takes Stryker away from the security of the main Royalist force and into country controlled by uncertain allies and enemies.

A false accusation of murder, imprisonment, ambush and a failing siege obstruct the search, while a violent religious fanatic turns military rivalry into personal persecution. Stryker must judge which witnesses are frightened, bought or deliberately misleading him before Lisette’s secret is lost. The investigation unfolds amid the campaigns of 1643, where tactical success cannot prevent suspicion and sectarian hatred from weakening the Royalist cause from within.