You can't live in the past. But it can still kill you.

Kate Mayfield is regretting giving up her noble career of pickpocket, lock-breaker, and thief. As a dismal summer turns into a tempestuous autumn, she's on the run from the law with her uncle, Simon Mayfield, astrologer, physician, and self-appointed wise man. He claims he can see the future. It's not his fault that the details only become clear in retrospect.

Caught in a violent storm, they seek refuge at Dartwater Hall, a decaying manor house set in bleak Devonshire moorlands.

Their troubles, however, are far from over. When the master of the house dies in gruesome circumstances, they realise that a murderer is hiding in the shadows.

Trapped and hunted, the two fugitives must solve a crime with its roots in England's bloody past . . . or they're history.

The first novel in a distinctive and page-turning new Elizabethan mystery series, The Book of Martyrs combines a delightfully intricate plot with a cast of vivid characters and atmospheric historical detail.