The Black Friar

*** This eBook edition contains an exclusive preview of Shona MacLean's new novel The Cromarty Library Circle, out in February 2026! Pre-order now! ***

London, 1655. A perfectly preserved body in the robes of a Dominican friar has been found bricked up in the City of London's crumbling Blackfriars monastery.

Captain Damian Seeker of Oliver Cromwell's guard recognises the dead man. Why did he meet such a hideous end, and what is his connection to the children who have started disappearing from around the city?

To uncover the truth behind the Black Friar's death, Seeker must navigate the shifting factions surrounding Cromwell, while quelling religious fanatics, dissenters and Royalist plotters in the seething city beyond Whitehall.

'Excellent . . . brings a fresh perspective and gold-plated research to [the] period' Daily Mail

'A gripping tale of crime and sedition in an unsettled city' Sunday Times