April Taylor's Tudor Enigma series

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Taste of Treason (The Tudor Enigma #2) by April Taylor

 Sunderers, strife and division. The Intrigue continues!

Having just finished #1 Court of Conspiracy in the Tudor Enigma series I  just had to purchase this second alternate Tudor period mystery where religion and magic intertwine. The cleverly developed plot uses the religious upheavals of the time to deepen the mystery and intrigue, whilst injecting the very real superstitions and fears then present with magic, constructing a new reality.
The attack upon the English throne by the Sunderers continues. Luke Ballard is now a Dominus.  He has moved beyond the journeyman stage of his calling as an elemancer to that of an Elemagus. Luke is in danger on more than one front, as are Bertila and her father. The local priest Gerard Frayner, a convert from Catholicism is determined to have Luke and Bertila denounced as a sorcerer and a witch. The sunderers continue their deep and darstardly game with the future of England at stake. Henry IX is now married to Queen Madeleine of Scotland. Madeleine and the heir she carries are under threat. Henry is furious. When we last saw Luke, Henry had also appointed him Privy Inquirer into Divers Mischiefs and Grievances. Henry demands that Luke find the culprits. The situation is complex. A strange symbol of a many legged spider like creature has appeared. The Queen Mother, Anne Boleyn, informs Luke that this is the mark of an inner circle of the malus nocte sunderers, the Custodes Tenebris.  Luke discovers they are led by someone called Asmodeus.  Luke's investigations are harried. He no sooner grasps one corner of the web the Custodes Tenebris have constructed in this deep game when another comes into play. His energies are being divided. Henry is like a raging lion in his fury and fear for his pregnant wife and future heir.
Luke has to fight on several fronts and keep Henry satisfied. Are the French, the Spanish, maybe even the Sots involved? He calls on others to help, including the captain of Henry's guard, Byram Cresswell.
The plot is twisted, multilayered and engrossing.
An excellent read!

 Court of Conspiracy review

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