The Seeker

WINNER OF THE 2015 CWA ENDEAVOUR HISTORICAL DAGGER.

London, 1654. Oliver Cromwell is at the height of his power and has declared himself Lord Protector. Yet he has many enemies, at home and abroad.

London is a complex web of spies and merchants, priests and soldiers, exiles and assassins. One of the web's most fearsome spiders is Damian Seeker, agent of the Lord Protector. No one knows where Seeker comes from, who his family is, or even his real name. All that is known of him for certain is that he is utterly loyal to Cromwell, and that nothing can be long hidden from him.

In the city, coffee houses are springing up, fashionable places where men may meet to plot and gossip. Suddenly they are ringing with news of a murder. John Winter, hero of Cromwell's all-powerful army, is dead, and the lawyer, Elias Ellingworth, found standing over the bleeding body, clutching a knife.

Yet despite the damning evidence, Seeker is not convinced of Ellingworth's guilt. He will stop at nothing to bring the killer to justice: and Seeker knows better than any man where to search.

Winner of CWA Endeavour Historical Dagger 2015

“The contradictions and compromises of Cromwell's Proctectorate are rather brilliantly woven into the thrilling plot . . . If her next outing is as riveting as this one, she could challenge CJ Sansoms' Shardlake for dominion of the crowded historical crime niche.-- The Times”

MacLean has the first-rate historical novelist's gift for making bygone political and religious squabbles seem rivetingly relevant, and communicates her passion for the period without downplaying its brutishness - Daily Telegraph (on A Game of Sorrows)

MacLean is a terrific storyteller - Big Issue

Combines the ironclad plotting of Sansom with the artful recreation of Mantel - Independent (on A Game of Sorrows)

The contradictions and compromises of Cromwell's Proctectorate are rather brilliantly woven into the thrilling plot . . . If her next outing is as riveting as this one, she could challenge CJ Sansoms' Shardlake for dominion of the crowded historical crime niche. - The Times

S.G. MacLean has a PhD in history from Aberdeen University, specializing in sixteenth and seventeenth century Scottish history. She lives in Conon Bridge, Scotland with her husband and four children. She has written four highly acclaimed historical thrillers set in Scotland, The Redemption of Alexander Seaton, A Game of Sorrows, Crucible and The Devil's Recruit. The Seeker is the start of a new series set in Oliver Cromwell's London.

WINNER OF THE 2015 CWA ENDEAVOUR HISTORICAL DAGGER. London, 1654. Oliver Cromwell is at the height of his power and has declared himself Lord Protector. Yet he has many enemies, at home and abroad. London is a complex web of spies and merchants, priests and soldiers, exiles and assassins. One of the web's most fearsome spiders is Damian Seeker, agent of the Lord Protector. No one knows where Seeker comes from, who his family is, or even his real name. All that is known of him for certain is that he is utterly loyal to Cromwell, and that nothing can be long hidden from him. In the city, coffee houses are springing up, fashionable places where men may meet to plot and gossip. Suddenly they are ringing with news of a murder. John Winter, hero of Cromwell's all-powerful army, is dead, and the lawyer, Elias Ellingworth, found standing over the bleeding body, clutching a knife. Yet despite the damning evidence, Seeker is not convinced of Ellingworth's guilt. He will stop at nothing to bring the killer to justice: and Seeker knows better than any man where to search.

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