'A welcome aura of old-fashioned expertise.' Publishers Weekly London, 1594. The opening night of ‘Romeo and Juliet’. But it is not just the young lovers in the play who are star-crossed. Mercutio is found murdered in the middle of the play - but it is real, not stage, blood that flows from his body. Tom Musgrove, is hired by the theatre owners to solve the murder case as quickly and quietly as possible. The theatre has only just reopened after two years of plagues, and they can’t afford a scandal on their doorstep. As Tom plunges into the mean streets of Elizabethan London he soon realises he has jumped blindly into a web of murderous intrigue, which has already claimed the lives of Kit Marlowe and Francis Walsingham. As the shattered remnants of England’s first Secret Service split into two lethally opposed camps, the blood begins to flow from the stinking sewers of Southwark to the gilded halls of Westminster. Can Musgrove track down the murderer and solve the mystery? Or will he end up being the one hunted to The Point of Death? ‘The Point of Death’ is a thrilling Elizabethan murder mystery, full of intrigue and suspense. Praise for Peter '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 Peter Tonkin was born in Northern Ireland, and was raised in the UK, Holland, Germany, and the Persian Gulf. He has written thirty novels including ‘The Coffin Ship’.

'A welcome aura of old-fashioned expertise.' Publishers Weekly London 1594. Tom Musgrave rescues a beautiful girl from under the feet of a mob playing football on London Bridge. But her breathless thanks are drowned by horrified screams. The football has vanished. In its place, a severed head is rolling down into Southwark, into the jurisdiction of Tom's old friend, the Bishop's Bailiff Talbot Law. And Talbot must now investigate the crime. The skull has fallen from the Great Stone Gateway, where the heads of recently executed traitors are displayed. But the decapitated victim was no traitor and her head, like her sex, is markedly different from the others up there. Tom and Talbot begin their investigation with a search down-river. All too swiftly they discover a woman's headless body....But this body does not match the head. A killer is at work. And no one knows where they will strike next. ‘A Head for Murder’ is a thrilling Elizabethan murder mystery, full of intrigue and suspense. Praise for Peter '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 Peter Tonkin was born in Northern Ireland, and was raised in the UK, Holland, Germany, and the Persian Gulf. He has written thirty novels including ‘The Point of Death’ and ‘The Coffin Ship’.

Christmas 1594. Tom is called away from the dress rehearsal of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' to receive terrible news: his brother John has been found dead, frozen with terror in the branches of a tree. Rumour has it that the Barguest, a mythical monstrous hound, is loose on the Scottish Borders . . . Tom rides north to investigate – only to find himself embroiled in a dark, deadly political conspiracy, where even his swordsmanship and logic may not help him… Can Tom solve the mystery of his brother’s death? Or is there more than meets the eye to this Midwinter Murder? ‘A Midwinter Murder’ is the thrilling third instalment of Peter Tonkin’s ‘Master of Defence’ series, featuring Elizabethan sleuth and sword-master Tom Musgrave. "The grimmer aspects of Elizabethan London come alive in Peter Tonkin's . . . Master of Defence series" Publishers Weekly "Riveting tale full of fast action" Publishers Weekly on 'The Point of Death'. Peter Tonkin was born in Northern Ireland, and was raised in the UK, Holland, Germany, and the Persian Gulf. He has written thirty novels including ‘The Point of Death’ and ‘The Coffin Ship’. Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent publisher of digital books.

London, 1595. The Master of Defence Tom Musgrave rushes to the aid of a young messenger, the victim of a sudden, apparently unprovoked attack in the street outside his house. In the dead boy’s possession Tom finds a bloodied letter intended for his eyes only. And he manages to piece together a worrying message. The missive contains a desperate cry for help from the beautiful Countess Cotehel, who is mute as a result of a terrible trauma. Then a second body is found – belonging to another of the Countess’s servants. When a horribly mutilated portrait of the Countess also turns up, Tom realises that she is in grave danger. Tom and his apprentice rush to her aid, following her to the gloomy Castle of Cotehel in Cornwall, only to find that discovering who is threatening her, and why, is far more difficult than they’d supposed… ‘The Silent Murder’ is the thrilling fourth instalment of Peter Tonkin’s ‘Master of Defence’ series, featuring the Elizabethan sleuth and sword-master Tom Musgrave.

"Expertly crafted. A must read for fans of Shakespeare and the period." Richard Foreman. Christmas 1598. Will Shakespeare and the Chamberlain’s Men are desperate. Locked in a legal dispute with Giles Allen their landlord, they have been homeless for more than a year. Forbidden to use The Theatre and forced to share stages with their rivals, they are going bankrupt in spite of their popularity at court. As the New Year and yet another cripplingly expensive court appearance looms, they secretly dismantle their playhouse - and plan to transport it to the South Bank. But as the stage comes down, disaster strikes – there is a body beneath it. A frozen corpse with a look of utter horror on its face. They summon Tom Musgrave, Master of Logic, hoping that he will be able to solve the mysterious death. But even as Tom goes to work, their attempt to cart the dismantled theatre across the frozen Thames almost costs Shakespeare his life – and reveals yet another corpse. Both carry coded messages which refer to an ancient, rarely-performed old play called Hamlet. Set against a meticulously researched background, Tonkin’s fifth Musgrave murder mystery explores the fatal outcomes of the political tangles of the time, reaching from war-torn Ireland, secretive estates in the English midlands and the great University spy-factories of Oxford and Cambridge to the deadly snake-pit which is Elizabeth’s court in London at the dawn of 1599. Praise for Peter Tonkin ‘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>/b> Peter Tonkin was born in Northern Ireland, and was raised in the UK, Holland, Germany, and the Persian Gulf. He has written forty novels including the Richard Mariner Series.

"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.