The King-in-Waiting

Name: The King-in-Waiting
Rating: 2.5 (5 reviews)

by John Pilkington Book 2 in the Marbeck Mysteries series.

First published 2013

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2.5(5)

Spring 1603. Elizabeth I is dying without having publicly named an heir, and England prepares for the expected succession of James VI of Scotland. Robert Cecil fears that the transition may invite rebellion, religious unrest or foreign interference, but his experienced agent Martin Marbeck is himself under suspicion because of alleged dealings with Spain.

Marbeck leaves London to help a friend whose son has joined an extreme Puritan group, only to find that the private search is connected with rival political schemes surrounding the succession. As the old reign ends, loyalties that were stable under Elizabeth become uncertain and men who expect advantage from the new king begin manoeuvring before he reaches London. Marbeck must determine which conspiracies are real, which are manufactured and whether the intelligence service he serves still trusts him enough to act on what he discovers.