They stopped Walsingham and Paulo, my Italian, whom they seemed resolved to rob [… and] another Englishman in his company, called Skeggs, as I remember.
On the twelfth of November 1581 Elizabeth’s Ambassador in Paris, Sir Henry Cobham, wrote to the all-powerful Secretary of State – and spymaster – Sir Francis Walsingham . It was almost in passing that the ambassador slipped in this bit of information about the misadventure of Sir Francis’s much younger cousin, nineteen-year-old Thomas, riding as a diplomatic courier between London and Paris.
Sometimes it is the small things.
Almost a throw-away, still these lines sketch a vivid vignette: young Thomas, Paulo the Italian, and the man whose name might be Skeggs, held up along the road in Picardy…
And from Sir Henry Cobham’s half afterthought (clearly he didn’t expect Mr. Secretary to be unduly upset by the news), was born The Road to Murder, the first book in the Tom Walsingham Murder Mysteries, published by Sapere Books.
The series follows Tom as he finds his way, becoming an unofficial sleuth for his great cousin, unraveling gruesome riddles in the opaque world of Elizabethan espionage.
So far in the series…
Book 5: A Snare of Deceit
Plots and counterplots, lies, treason, and swordplay…
London, 1587/88
A new year is being celebrated at Greenwich Palace, but not everyone is in the mood for rejoicing.
Mary Stuart, the imprisoned Queen of Scots has been officially declared a traitor. But Queen Elizabeth is reluctant to sign the death warrant and her mood has been downcast, even in the middle of the festivities.
And the day is soured further when one of the performers is found dead in the tiltyard.
The show must go on, but Tom Walsingham, spying for his cousin Sir Francis, stays behind to investigate. The dead man, Jack Perkin, was no ordinary player: he was meant to be passing information to the queen’s confidants about a plot against her life.
With the player’s death unlikely to be an accident, Tom feels the danger escalating out of control. But that would place the murderer at court. And dangerously close to the queen…
Can Tom find the killer? Will he uncover the deadly plot?
Or will the web of deceit close in on him…?
Book 4: A Deadly Complot
The shadow of treachery hangs over the realm…
London, 1586
In the sweltering days of full summer, 
Tom impatiently sits in Sir Francis’s house in Seething Lane, overseeing the nerve-wracking work of keeping tabs on Anthony Babington’s bunch of well-born plotters. They mean to murder Queen Elizabeth, and put the captive Mary Stuart on the throne… And they are all under careful surveillance, each word they speak reported to Seething Lane. It should be simple, really – just a matter of waiting for the good moment to have them all seized and thrown in the Tower…
But nothing is ever easy in Tom’s world: the plot can’t be stopped until Sir Francis has conclusive proof that Mary Stuart is involved – and the Scots Queen, always one to run headlong into ruinous actions, is being cautious for once! As the days pass, and tempers fray, what if Babington should decide to act without Mary’s explicit blessing?
But then one of Tom’s couriers goes missing, and the waiting game is disrupted: have the plotters captured Isaac Finch? Do they know they are under surveillance? Are they putting their plan in execution no matter what…?
Then again, as soon as Tom begins to investigate, it becomes clear that plenty of people had reason to wish harm to the unpleasant Finch – including some of his colleague. Perhaps the man’s disappearance has nothing to do with Babington; perhaps it’s all the difference between peace and disaster…
Can Tom unravel the mystery before it’s too late – for them all, for Queen Elizabeth, for England? Follow him as he strives to undo… A Deadly Complot! It’s available for preorder on Amazon.
Book 3: Death in Rheims
When anyone could be a spy, who can you trust…?
France, 1585
It was never supposed to be the easiest of missions – but once Tom arrives in Rheims, deep into restless France, he finds that things are very different from what he and his powerful cousin, Sir Francis, had anticipated…
An informer died recently, a supposedly long-dead agent turned up again – and up to no good, a man of the captive Queen of Scots is around, asking far too many questions, and something deadly is going on among the Catholic exiles at the Collège Anglais. This time, – to find out just what threats are being prepared for Queen Elizabeth, Tom will have to risk everything!
Oh, in theory he has plenty of support – but… is there anyone he can really trust? And can he uncover what is afoot quick enough to make it out of France before religious violence explodes yet again?
To find out, read Death in Rheims – available on Amazon
Book 1: The Road to Murder
Will Tom Walsingham’s first mission be his last…?
England, 1581
Nineteen-year-old Thomas Walsingham is thrilled to be working as a confidential courier, carrying messages between London and Paris for his illustrious cousin, Queen Elizabeth’s spymaster, Sir Francis Walsingham … until everything goes wrong.
Tasked with escorting an English glove-maker to the French Court, Tom is also playing messenger for the Duke of Anjou, Queen Elizabeth’s French suitor, as well as carrying confidential instructions to the English Ambassador in Paris.
When French soldiers assault his convoy en route, Tom loses a letter he had sewn into his clothes. And the next morning, the glove-maker is found stabbed to death…
Can Tom redeem himself after this disaster, uncover what he suspects is a conspiracy against the Queen, and prevent other deaths – without becoming the next in the murderers’ list?
To find out, you must follow… The Road to Murder! Available on Amazon.
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Book Two: A Treasonous Path
When one deadly plot is foiled, another begins…
England, 1583
Tom Walsingham is back in London, being groomed for intelligence work by his spymaster cousin, Sir Francis.
An anonymous informer has started sending letters from the French ambassador’s residence, claiming to have bribed the man’s secretary to pass on information.
The informer has discovered messages between the French and Mary, Queen of Scots, which could harm the English Queen Elizabeth.
When someone who works for the French Ambassador is killed in suspicious circumstances, Sir Francis sends Tom to investigate the matter – and to uncover the identity of the informer.
Tom must find a way into the French Ambassador’s good graces and make friends within his retinue without giving himself away.
And as the news from Scotland grow more and more alarming, it becomes imperative that Tom unveils the identity of the secret informer and exposes the intrigues at play.
Can Tom unravel the mystery and protect the Queen? Will he unmask the killer?
Or could he find himself the target of a deadly plot…?
A Treasonous Path is available on Amazon.
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