The English Agent

Kit Marlowe has been taken by Dr. Lopez to London to meet with Walshingham's agent Beak.  Marlowe is surprised when the agent turns out to be Lenora Beak.  He was not expecting a woman agent.  Walshingham's orders are that Marlowe and Lenora are to travel to Delft and prevent the assassination of William the Silent.  Even before they can start out, tragedy strikes.

Setting off for the coast in pursuit of killers, Marlowe and Lenora are attacked and Marlowe is shot.  Fortunately Lenora has medical skills, and the following day the pursuit continues, albeit at a slower pace.  When they finally get to the coast, they find that the man they are chasing has fled aboard a ship.  Alternative plans are necessary.  Those plans fail as William the Silent is killed shortly after they arrive in Delft.

Fortunately the assassin is captured.  But, will Marlowe be allowed to question him before the man is tortured and then quartered?  At the last minute he is given the opportunity to ask his questions.  He learns that a plot is afoot to kill Queen Elizabeth and put her cousin Queen Mary of Scotland on the English throne.  He and Lenora have been duped!  They must get back to England immediately.

When Marlowe meets with Walshingham, he is given the task of finding as much evidence as possible against Mary.  Walshingham also informs him that Lenora has been murdered.  He only gives Marlowe three days to find the culprit before going on to his task about Mary.

At Chartley, Marlowe discovers that Anthony Babington was the one passing messages to Mary in a secret compartment in ale casks delivered to her.  The messages hint at an invasion of England using The Netherlands as a jumping off point.

Will Marlowe's return to The Netherlands help to find the mastermind behind the assassination attempt on the queen?  Or will it lead to more death and the killing of the queen?

Author Phillip DePoy's thriller is fast paced and full of action.  A very good read, and hard to put down.