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MARCH 1681
Oxford is hosting the English Parliament under the 'merry monarch', King Charles II. As politicians and their hangers-on converge on the divided city, an MP is found murdered, triggering tensions that threaten mayhem on the streets.
Luke Sandys, Chief Officer of the Oxford Bailiffs, must solve the crime and thwart the plot. On his side is the respect for evidence and logic he absorbed in his student days as a follower of the new science. On the other, a group of political conspirators are stirring up sectarian hatreds in their scheme to overthrow the Crown.
Struggling to protect all he holds dear, Luke leans heavily on his cavalry officer brother, his friends, and his faithful deputy, Robshaw. But he has a secret, which may be clouding his judgement. At the moment of truth, will he choose love or duty?
About the author
Jake Lynch is an Associate Professor in the University of Sydney Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, where he teaches into the Masters of Social Justice.His poetry has appeared in Trad and Now, New Bush Telegraph and West England Bylines.Jake's debut novel, Blood on the Stone, an historical mystery thriller set in Oxford of the 17th Century, was originally published in e-book and paperback by Unbound Books. His own recording of the audio book was published in 2023. The Oxford Mail called it: "An absorbing and ultimately compelling read ... a gripping narrative, based on well-rounded characters, in a convincingly recreated milieu of time and place."In scholarly work, Jake is the most published and most cited author on Peace Journalism, with six books and over sixty articles and book chapters to his credit. For his contributions to both theory and practice, he was awarded the 2017 Luxembourg Peace Prize, by the Schengen Peace Foundation.Before taking up an academic post, in 2007, Jake enjoyed a near-20-year career in journalism, with spells as a Political Correspondent for Sky News and Australia Correspondent for The Independent, culminating in a role as on-air presenter at BBC World TV News, where he presented over a thousand live half- hour news programmes. He won five international awards for his documentary film, Soldiers of Peace, narrated by Michael Douglas.
