Conspiracy - Giordano Bruno, Bk 5 Author:S. J. Parris December 1585: King Henri III of France is the last of his line. He has appointed a Protestant as his successor, which has caused a three-way war in his country. As a result, the king is in mortal fear of a coup being orchestrated by the ultra-conservative Catholic League. — Radical philosopher, ex-monk and spy Giordano Bruno, forced to return to... more » Paris, is called upon by King Henri to unearth the mystery behind several mysterious but linked deaths. Each victim is connected to a larger plot to manipulate the royal succession; what they knew and who killed them is a mystery to be solved.
Meanwhile, Bruno makes an uneasy alliance with Charles Paget, a key figure in the community of English Catholics who tried to assassinate Queen Elizabeth. When Bruno is implicated in the death of Leonie, a member of the Queen Mother's "Flying Squadron," he is forced to call on Paget and his connections for help -- and finds that it comes with a price, involving an old enemy.« less