The Laurentine Spy

Book excerpt: In a rigidly hierarchical Elizabethan world where magic has been ruthlessly stamped out, a spy treads a dangerous path. The Corhonase citadel is a place of virtue and debauchery-and deadly secrets. For the Laurentine spies embedded there, every day brings danger. Nothing is as it seems, whether in the salons of the nobles' court or the catacombs beneath the citadel. Saliel has many secrets. Her spying is one, her past as a pickpocket in Laurent's slums is another, but her most deeply guarded secret is the magic she possesses. She walks a narrow path between discovery as a spy and being burned as a witch. With a sadistic spycatcher closing in, Saliel and her fellow spies are tested to the limits of their endurance. In the fight to stay alive, the magic that would send Saliel to the bonfire may be their only hope of survival. A lush and richly atmospheric fantasy novel, intricately plotted and suspenseful, and above all, romantic.