"Peter Tonkin delivers again. The personalities and plots of the Elizabethan age sparkle in this fast-paced thriller." Steven Veerapen, author of The Abbey Close Saturday, 13 January 1599. Poet and politician Edmund Spenser is found dead in his lodgings on King Street, London. Summoned to the corpse's bedside, Tom Musgrave – Spenser’s friend and fencing tutor - suspects murder. Musgrave begins an investigation, only to find himself fighting to untangle a web of political backstabbing, black magic, poisoning and treason. There are initially more questions than answers, but the trail leads Musgrave to study the poet's early work, including the notorious satire Mother Hubberd's Tale - which even now threatens to destroy some of the most powerful men in England. As the Earl of Essex arranges the most famously extravagant funeral of the age, only three days after the poet's death, Musgrave races to unmask the man who has been so outraged by Spenser's verse that he has had the poet murdered. And he must do so, before his own name is added to the death list. Recommended for fans of Rory Clements, CJ Samson and SJ Parris. Praise for Peter Tonkin: “The Ides is a testosterone-fuelled battle roar in a world of double-dealing and betrayal, where wits must be sharp and recovery time between violent encounters is brief. Peter Tonkin has infused a familiar narrative with excitement, energy and a delicious twist right at the very end.” — Mystery People ”Riveting tale full of fast action” – Publishers Weekly ”Edge-of-the-seat terror” – Daily Post ”Good technical detail, plus an exciting climax, makes this entertaining reading” – Publishing News “A welcome aura of old-fashioned expertise” - Publishers Weekly “A good thriller, recommended” - Library Journal “Tonkin is a superb storyteller who creates big, brash, swashbuckling adventures with taut suspense, fast-paced action and tough, resourceful characters.” -Booklist ”Equals the best of James Clavell” – Daily Telegraph “A master of sea-going adventure. Enough taut suspense to satisfy any reader” - Clive Cussler ”Good technical detail, plus an exciting climax, makes this entertaining reading” - Publishing News ”Edge-of-the-seat terror on the high seas” - Daily Post Peter Tonkin was born in 1950 in Ulster, Northern Ireland and was raised in the UK, Holland, Germany, and the Persian Gulf. The son of an RAF officer, Tonkin spent much of his youth travelling the world from one posting to another.