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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 INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

INTRODUCING AN INCREDIBLE NEW SERIES FROM THE NO.1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING MASTER OF HISTORICAL CRIME, S. J. PARRIS

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'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

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

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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.

Traitor's Legacy was a Sunday Times bestseller w/c 12-05-2025

READERS LOVE TRAITOR’S LEGACY…

‘Top class historical crime’ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

‘Another fantastic historical thriller from master of the Elizabethan mystery’ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

‘A straight 5* for me! A very compelling novel I highly recommend’ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

‘I loved the characters. The only bad thing I have to say about this book is that it kept me reading way past midnight’ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

‘Sophia De Wolfe is a truly epic character’ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

‘I had very high expectations for this novel. It is excellent. And the even better news it is that this is the first of a new series’ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

‘The richly detailed Elizabethan setting and clever twists kept me hooked from start to finish’ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

‘The murder mystery is layered with political intrigue, keeping you second-guessing every revelation’ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

‘Excellently researched, great plot, beautiful execution. I love the combination of historical menace and a thriller’ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

‘SJ Parris does it again’ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

‘I didn't know who to trust or who to believe the whole way along’ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

‘Another glorious dive into the murky world of Elizabethan spies and lies’ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

‘Loved every minute of this book. More

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

Critic reviews

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

'SJ Parris begins what promises to be an equally entertaining new series with this novel set in late Elizabethan England' The Times

‘Sophia is a splendid creation, brave, entrancing, warm and disdainful of convention. Parris writes as vividly about her characters and their feelings as she does about landscape and action. She uses enough modern words and phrases to break down barriers between readers and the 1590s, and her research is impressive’ Literary Review

‘SJ Parris is a writer who repeatedly proves that she is one of the most stylish of historical crime practitioners. Traitor’s Legacy finds England in 1598 awaiting the successor to Elizabeth, and the Queen’s spymaster Robert Cecil asks former agent Sophia de Wolfe to investigate the murder of an heiress. It’s commanding fare’ Financial Times

‘Elizabethan London comes alive in the hands of S. J. Parris […] Traitor’s Legacy, with its many twists and turns, offers an absorbing read. Highly recommended' Historical Novel Society

'S. J. Parris has long been one of my favourite authors of historical crime thrillers, and this new series is every bit as compelling as her wonderful Bruno books. Sophia is a dazzling heroine, and the world of late Elizabethan England, brimful of plot and conspiracy, is vividly and thrillingly brought to life. I loved everything about it' Laura Shepherd-Robinson

'A stone-cold triumph … I hope this will be the first in a long series' S.G. MacLean

‘A new historical crime novel from S.J. Parris is always cause for celebration but she really has excelled herself with Traitor’s Legacy' Andrew Taylor

'Thrilling, taut and utterly involving … a heart-stopping mystery. S.J. Parris brings time, place and protagonist, the deliciously brilliant Sophia de Wolfe, to dark and glorious life' Helen Castor

All stars
Most relevant
I enjoyed this book as much as others by S J Parris. Her books are always a good story and this is no exception. It has plenty of action and changes of direction but isn't too complex to follow.
Kudos to Kristin Atherton, her narration is very good and her characterisation is excellent. There wasn't one single voice that missed the mark.
I found just one small thing a problem. When a character whispers please don't drop the narration to a whisper. It may work if the listener has headphones but otherwise those lines of speach are inaudible and lost.

Great story, well read

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Well written. This is my first read of this author. Just my own taste but I did not take to the narrator. I would have preferred a male voice.

pace and intrigue

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Likes:
Story line; main characters’ introduction and development. The reader’s voice took a little getting used to, given the preponderance of male characters in the story line.

Good introduction to a new series

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I have enjoyed listening to a female viewpoint, prevailing against the restraints of the day.
The action stayed in the believable side of credible, showing her superior mental skills, but acknowledging that even with her strong physical skills, she was very much living in a world of male dominance and in need of protection and allies.
The author has come up with a winning formula. I have listened to her previous series, but find this even more enjoyable.
I hope this is the first of a series.

A strong female leading character

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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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