Yet in May of that year, amongst the quiet and dreaming spires of Oxford University, a public debate took place that was nothing short of revolutionary. Her spymaster Francis Walsingham had his own army of informers searching for conspiracies against the English crown. Queen Elizabeth, excommunicated by the Pope for her refusal to return the Church of England to Rome, was under threat from all the Catholic powers. In 1583, England was approaching one of the greatest crises in its history. Parris has constructed a splendid, unputdownable whodunnit. Read Rutherfurd's guest review of Heresy: His most recent novel, New York, was published in 2009.

He is the bestselling author of Sarum, Russka, London, The Forest, and the companion novels, The Princes of Ireland and The Rebels of Ireland. But is Bruno being aided or misled - or is he himself the next target? Stalking a cunning and determined killer through the shaĮdward Rutherfurd was born in Salisbury, England, and educated at Cambridge University and Stanford University in California. The letters suggest that each victim was guilty of heresy. Before long, he is investigating a hideous series of murders, each linked by a letter offering clues.

Bruno quickly finds himself drawn into college intrigues, and distracted by a beautiful young woman. Bruno is sent undercover to Oxford, where the university is believed to be a hotbed of French dissent.

Here, he attracts the attention of Francis Walsingham, chief spymaster and sworn enemy of Catholic plotters. Giordano Bruno, with his theories of astronomy and extraterrestrial life, has fled the Inquisition for the court of Elizabeth I. Introducing the monk Giodarno Bruno, magician, scientist, and heretic in a new series of historical thrillers for fans of C.J.Sansom and 'The Name of the Rose' England, 1583 A country awash with paranoia and conspiracy - but a safe haven for a radical monk on the run.

Heresy parris