Roots of Betrayal
This second novel about Elizabethan royal herald William Harley follows hot on the heels of his first adventure, Sacred Treason (2012). It’s 1564, and Harley—known by his heraldic name, Clarenceux—has been entrusted to keep hidden a document that could spell the end of Queen Elizabeth’s reign and put Mary, Queen of Scots, on the throne (not to mention putting an end to the English Reformation and restoring Catholicism as the nation’s official religion). As readers might expect, the document is stolen, and Clarenceux desperately tries to reclaim it before the entire country is reduced to shambles. This is a richly detailed and well-told tale, made even more interesting by its protagonist’s own conflict: he is in the employ of the queen and will risk his life to get the document back, but he is also a devout Catholic. If the book’s billing as being the second in a trilogy holds true, there will only be one more book about this fascinating character and the tumultuous era in which he lived. Enjoy the series while there’s still time. --David Pitt--This text refers to an alternatePaperbackedition.