Starring Thomas Treviot, each novel in this thrilling new series of historical mysteries is based on a real unsolved Tudor crime.
1536. In the corrupt heart of Tudor London a killer waits in the shadows…
The Real Crime
Before dawn on a misty November morning in 1536, prominent mercer Robert Packington was gunned down as he crossed Cheapside on his way to early morning mass. It was the first assassination by handgun in the history of the capital and subsequently shook the city to its core.
The identity of his assassin has remained a mystery.
Our Story
Thomas Treviot is a young London goldsmith and a close family friend of Robert Packington. Through his own upstanding social connections – and some less upstanding acquaintances he has made along the way – Thomas launches a dramatic investigation into Packington’s death.
As Thomas searches for revenge, he must travel from the golden heart of merchant London, to the straw-covered backstreets of London’s poorest districts before reaching the country’s seat of power: the court of King Henry VIII. Before long he is drawn into a dark conspiracy beyond his wildest imaginings and claiming justice for his friend starts to look impossible. Especially when Thomas realises that Robert wasn’t the man he thought he knew…
In the first of a new series investigating real unsolved Tudor crimes, D.K. Wilson brings the streets of Tudor London to spectacular life as Thomas Treviot faces a fight to bring the truth to light in the corrupt world of Anne Boleyn, Thomas Cromwell and Henry VIII.
1536. In the corrupt heart of Tudor London a killer waits in the shadows…
The Real Crime
Before dawn on a misty November morning in 1536, prominent mercer Robert Packington was gunned down as he crossed Cheapside on his way to early morning mass. It was the first assassination by handgun in the history of the capital and subsequently shook the city to its core.
The identity of his assassin has remained a mystery.
Our Story
Thomas Treviot is a young London goldsmith and a close family friend of Robert Packington. Through his own upstanding social connections – and some less upstanding acquaintances he has made along the way – Thomas launches a dramatic investigation into Packington’s death.
As Thomas searches for revenge, he must travel from the golden heart of merchant London, to the straw-covered backstreets of London’s poorest districts before reaching the country’s seat of power: the court of King Henry VIII. Before long he is drawn into a dark conspiracy beyond his wildest imaginings and claiming justice for his friend starts to look impossible. Especially when Thomas realises that Robert wasn’t the man he thought he knew…
In the first of a new series investigating real unsolved Tudor crimes, D.K. Wilson brings the streets of Tudor London to spectacular life as Thomas Treviot faces a fight to bring the truth to light in the corrupt world of Anne Boleyn, Thomas Cromwell and Henry VIII.
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Reviews
If you liked Shardlake, you will love this exciting new series of novels set in the turbulent age of Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn and Thomas Cromwell, and effortlessly underpinned by the brilliant scholarship for which Derek Wilson is renowned. We feel we are really there, in an authentically evoked Tudor London, hot on the trail of a real-life murder mystery. Highly recommended!
The sense of period is impeccable, and the reader really gets a sense of how shocking this murder must have been... The story has more twists than a dancing serpent and the pace is relentless, yet it is the characterisation and the little details that make it such a good read.
The First Horseman is a resounding success that blends fact and fiction to create a gripping, fast moving Tudor crime story that educates as well as fascinates...Wilson has created a compelling character, and the fact that this series will continue to revolve around real life Tudor mysteries is fantastic...unputdownable would be an understatement.
