Set in 1592, a waterman finds the body of a young girl floating in the River Thames and takes it to Dr. Simon Forman, medical practitioner, caster of horoscopes and solver of mysteries. Aided by his trusty manservant he investigates, only to find his own life in danger. From the author of THE SLICING EDGE OF DEATH.

When, in September 1591, Dr Simon Foreman and his servants, John and Anna Bradedge, attend an afternoon performance at London's Rose Theatre, they are keen to see a brilliant new device - the stage trap door. What they don't expect to see is one of the players falling to his death.

This historical thriller, whose protagonist is inspired by a real 16th-century doctor named Simon Furman, is full of period detail that is reflective of the political intrigues of the times. On May Day 1592, after a night of revelry and a day tending the sick, Forman falls into bed utterly exhausted. Soon afterward, he is woken by a man on his doorstep who is dying from a sword thrust, and the next morning Forman is summoned to Whitehall, accused of harboring enemies of the state. To prove his innocence, he agrees to journey to Edinburgh on a secret spying mission. But once he enters the borders between Scotland and England—where the bloodthirsty Reivers vow a life for a life—he realizes that death is stalking him. As one gruesome murder closely follows another, Dr. Forman must act quickly to identify a ruthless killer before his own life is put in jeopardy.

In 1592, a group of morris dancers in the woodland of Pinner is intent on torturing Old Mother Saxton for witchcraft. Meanwhile, a newly-wed is murdered locally. As more evil deeds follow, the townsfolk believe they are under a witch's curse. Only Simon Forman can reveal the truth.

First edition. A near fine copy in a near fine dust jacket. Dust soiling to the book's upper page block. The dust jacket has a mild bump at the head of its spine.