The Roots of Betrayal

1564: Catholic herald William Harley, Clarenceaux King of Arms, is the custodian of a highly dangerous document. When it is stolen, Clarenceaux immediately suspects a group of Catholic sympathisers, the self-styled Knights of the Round Table.

Francis Walsingham, the ruthless protégé of the queen's Principal Secretary, Sir William Cecil, intercepts a coded message from the Knights to a Countess known to have Catholic leanings. He is convinced that Clarenceaux is trying to use the document to advance the cause of the Catholic Queen.

And soon Clarenceaux enters a nightmare of suspicion, deception and conspiracy. Conflict and fear, compounded by the religious doubts of the time, conceal a persistent mystery. Where has the document gone? Who has it and who really took it? And why? The roots of betrayal are deep and shocking: and Clarenceaux's journey towards the truth entails not just the discovery of clues and signs, but also the discovery of himself.

• Author
• James Forrester

• Format
• hardcover

• Pages
• 404

• Series
• Clarenceux Trilogy

• Publisher
• Headline Review

• Language
• english

• ISBN
• 9780755356041

• Characters
• Francis Walsingham, William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, William Harley, Clarenceaux King of Arms, Lady Percy, Countess of Northumberland, Rebecca Machyn

• Settings
• London, England

• Genres
• mystery, fiction, historical, crime, thriller

• Release date
• 2011