The King'S Spy Av Andrew Swanston

<p><b>Summer, 1643<br></b><br>England is at war with itself. <b>King Charles I </b>has fled London, his negotiations with Parliament in tatters. The country is consumed by bloodshed. <br><br>For <b>Thomas Hill</b>, a man of letters quietly running a bookshop in the rural town of Romsey, knowledge of the <b>war</b> is limited to the rumours that reach the local inn.<br><br>When a stranger knocks on his door one night and informs him that the king''s cryptographer has <b>died</b>, everything changes. Aware of Thomas''s background as a mathematician and his expertise in <b>codes</b> and <b>ciphers</b>, the king has summoned him to his court in <b>Oxford</b>.<br><br>On arrival, Thomas soon discovers that nothing at court is straightforward. There is evidence of a <b>traitor</b> in their midst. Brutal <b>murder</b> follows brutal murder. And when a vital message encrypted with a notoriously unbreakable code is intercepted, he must decipher it to reveal the king''s <b>betrayer</b> and prevent the violent death that failure will surely bring.</p>