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Traitor’s Legacy

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Traitor’s Legacy

By: S. J. Parris
Narrated by: Kristin Atherton
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About this listen

THE START OF AN INCREDIBLE NEW SERIES FROM NO.1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING S. J. PARRIS –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

'Sophia is a dazzling heroine, and the world of late Elizabethan England brimful of plot and conspiracy, is vividly and thrillingly brought to life' LAURA SHEPHERD-ROBINSON

'Right from the intriguing opening pages everything Parris layers into this Elizabethan crime drama screams bestselling series' OBSERVER

'A new historical crime from S. J. Parris is always cause for celebration but she really has excelled herself with Traitor's Legacy' ANDREW TAYLOR

'S. J. Parris begins what promises to be an equally entertaining new series with this novel set in late Elizabethan England' THE TIMES

'A writer who repeatedly proves that she is one of the most stylish of historical crime practitioners' FINANCIAL TIMES

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

England, 1598. Queen Elizabeth’s successor remains unnamed. The country teeters on a knife edge.

When a young heiress is found murdered at the theatre, the Queen’s spymaster Robert Cecil calls upon former agent Sophia de Wolfe to investigate.

A cryptic note found on the dead girl’s body connects to Sophia’s previous life as a spy, and her quest soon takes her into dangerous waters. Powerful enemies emerge, among them the Earl of Essex: the Queen’s favourite courtier and a man of ruthless ambition.

This is a murder that reaches directly into the heart of the court. And Sophia is concealing a deep-buried secret of her own. She must uncover the truth before her past threatens to destroy her.

S. J. Parris's book Alchemy was a Sunday Times bestseller w/c 2023-07-24.

©2025 Stephanie Merritt (P)2025 HarperCollins Publishers
Historical Historical Fiction Horror Mystery Renaissance Romantic Suspense Suspense Thriller & Suspense England Crime Espionage Royalty

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All stars
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The author has excelled herself in this wonderfully exciting adventure set in a historical context. She knows how to engage the reader's curiosity and imagination for a truly entertaining Audible listen which is well delivered by the narrator. I found it so absorbing and hard to set aside that I binged my way through it over a short period of days. Absolutely recommended.

Another winner from Stephanie Merritt aka S.J Parris.

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A totally enjoyable book with excellent narration by Kristin Atherton. It kept me engaged and looking forward to each time I listened to it. Well worth both my time and the purchase price.

A well paced novel that kept my interest.

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Good continuation for anyone who read the Bruno stories. Nice to see a female lead in this type of story too! Hope they’ll be more.

Great story

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Loved everything about this book. Historical but not too in depth, Characters are believable and interesting. Would recommend. Looking forward to the next one!

Just loved it!

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Lots of similarities with Ann Swinfen’s Christoval Alvarez series. Great for those who are lamenting the last two books which were never recorded as Audio books.

I hope this is the start of a long series based in a really interesting part of history

If you enjoyed Ann Swinfen’s books you will enjoy this

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Enjoyable book, with excellent narration. A complex story well written. Like to hear more from this author.

Excellent narration

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Loved the story but had to listen at x0.85 speed as narrator reading too fast for me!

Engaging story

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Really enjoyed this adventure, the characters are solid and the narration was fab.

I hope there is a sequel with the main character and her inner circle

Brilliant Characters, story and narration

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The reader did an excellent job of differentiating between the characters, and the story proceeds quickly with twists and turns that are unexpected but don’t feel contrived. I’ve enjoyed all the Giordano Bruno books and I’m looking forward to reading more stories set squarely in this fascinating period.

A gripping listen

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No spoilers here. I came to this novel after listening and reading Paris' truly excellent series featuring Giordano Bruno with its equally excellent audiobook performer. This new novel did not disappoint and provided a link back to those Bruno novels that I was so, so slow to realise. The focus of this novel is the wonderfully drawn and complex character of Sophia de Wolfe. What Paris artfully does in this novel is to provide substantial and many foundations and characters for novels that hopefully will follow. I do not think that I have encountered a novel so well provided for in this respect. The plot of this novel is satisfying and the incidental inclusions of known people from history is expertly done; the use of humour where appropriate is a real bonus. Listeners or readers will find themselves entirely on-side with Sophia, and quickly asking that question that most good books prompt, as to what the next novel will be like. I would judge that this novel shows increasing strength in S J Paris' imagination, plotting and writing craft. As to the performance, it is serviceable. The performer was clearly better at female character voicing. Overall her interpretation tended to make Sophia vulnerable seeming. There was some variation in the voice production, perhaps more noticeable to me as I was using earphones, I noticed a few mis-reads that were missed in production. Sophia might do better.

A Strong Beginning to a New Series

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