Introducing Will Somers, the king's jester but nobody's fool in this exuberant, intriguing, and thoroughly entertaining mystery set in Tudor England—the first in a new series from the author of the critically acclaimed Crispin Guest Medieval Noir series.
1529, London. Jester Will Somers enjoys an enviable position at the court of Henry VIII. As the king's entertainer, chief gossip-monger, spy, and loyal adviser, he knows all of the king's secrets—and almost everyone else's within the walls of Greenwich Palace. When Will discovers the body of Spanish Count Don Gonzalo while walking his trusted sidekick Nosewise in the courtyard gardens, and a blackmail note arrives soon after demanding information about the king, is one of his own closely guarded secrets about to be exposed? Trouble is afoot at the palace. Are the king's enemies plotting a move against him? Will must draw on all his wit and ingenuity to get to the bottom of the treacherous and deadly goings-on at the court before further tragedy strikes...