The Black Friar

The Seeker 2

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The Black Friar

By: S.G. MacLean

Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble

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£5.99/mo after 3 months. Offer ends on 5 July 2026 at 11:59 BST. Cancel monthly.

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Rebellion in the city, and a Royalist spy in his own ranks - Damian Seeker, Captain of Oliver Cromwell's guard, must eradicate both in this action-packed historical thriller for fans of CJ Sansom, Rory Clements and The Three Musketeers.

'MacLean skilfully weaves together the disparate threads of her plot to create a gripping tale of crime and sedition in an unsettled city' Sunday Times

London, 1655, and Cromwell's regime is under threat from all sides. Damian Seeker, Captain of Cromwell's Guard, is all too aware of the danger facing Cromwell. Parliament resents his control of the Army while the Army resents his absolute power.

In the east end of London, a group of religious fanatics plots rebellion. In the midst of all this, a stonemason uncovers a perfectly preserved body dressed in the robes of a Dominican friar, bricked up in a wall in the crumbling Black Friars.

Ill-informed rumours and speculation abound, but Seeker instantly recognises the dead man. What he must discover is why he met such a hideous end, and what his connection was to the children who have started to disappear from around the city. Unravelling these mysteries is challenging enough, and made still harder by the activities of dissenters at home, Royalist plotters abroad and individuals who are not what they seem...

(P)2017 WF Howes Ltd©2016 Shona MacLean

S.G. MacLeanJonathan KeebleQuercusDamian Seeker

17th Century

Historical

Modern

Mystery

Thriller & Suspense

Fiction

England

Exciting

17th Century Historical Modern Mystery Thriller & Suspense Fiction England Exciting

Continue the series

Destroying Angel

By: S.G. MacLean

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By: S.G. MacLean

The House of Lamentations

By: S.G. MacLean

The Winter List

By: S.G. MacLean

Critic reviews

Excellent at conveying the insecurities and unsettling memories that bedevil Cromwell's dying Protectorate, the author brings a fresh perspective and gold-plated research to a period which has been unfairly eclipsed by the popularity of the Tudors

Most relevant

As some may know, the first volume of SG MacLean's new series was poorly read and for myself I returned the audio and read the print book. However, with a change to the excellent Jonathan Keeble we have a real treat. All MacLean's books are fascinating. She focuses very cleverly on the religious and moral dilemmas of the 17th century and this book is particularly interesting on the role of the 5th Monarchists during Cromwell's Protectorship and the problems that Cromwell faced controlling the country in the mid 1650s. My only criticism is that however hard she tries to make the Royalists seem like the bad guys, we know they end up the winners and so the author faces a conundrum - how to make the (finally) good guys look bad. Wisely most of our attention if focused on the truly bad! Her description of the attempts by Cromwell's government to control the media and information are interesting particularly in the context of modern attempts to control both of these slippery aspects of our own everyday lives.