Chaos - Andrew Swanston

February 1574. Winter holds London in its icy grasp, but the city is also caught in a fervour of paranoia, superstition and rumour. Mob violence is commonplace. A whispered word is all it takes to condemn a woman to burn as a witch.

Following his success in foiling the 'Incendium' plot against the queen, Dr Christopher Radcliff's standing within court is high. However, he has no time to reap any rewards. Counterfeit coins are circulating on London's streets, bearing the likeness of his master, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. This in itself is a treasonous offence, but slogans have also begun to appear. Daubed on walls and doorways, they suggest that someone close to the queen harbours treacherous intent - none other than Leicester himself . . .

So Radcliff and his team of informants and amateur spies are sent out into the city's markets, drinking dens and brothels to track down who might be behind such outrageous and subversive acts. The investigation will lead them down a murderous path to face an elusive foe with an extraordinary agenda. And time is running out: for when rumour and fear catch fire, then surely violent insurrection and bloody chaos will follow.

Andrew Swanston read law at Cambridge, but was inspired to write by his lifelong interest in early modern history. His Thomas Hill novels - The King's Spy, The King's Exile and The King's Return - are set against the backdrops of the English Civil War, Cromwell's Commonwealth and the early Restoration respectively. He is also the author of Waterloo: The Bravest Man and Beautiful Star and Other Stories. His first historical thriller set during the reign of Elizabeth I - Incendium (published in paperback as The Incendium Plot) - introduced readers to the academic, lawyer and intelligencer Dr Christopher Radcliff, whose adventures continue in Chaos. Andrew Swanston lives in Surrey.