London, Winter 1670.
Holcroft Blood has entered the employ of the Duke of Buckingham, one of the most powerful men in the kingdom after the King. It is here that his education really begins. With a gift for numbers and decoding ciphers, Holcroft soon proves invaluable to the Duke, but when he’s pushed into a betrayal he risks everything for revenge.
His father, Colonel Thomas Blood, has fallen on hard times. A man hardened by battle, he now lives by his wits and survives by whatever means necessary. When he’s asked to commit treason by stealing the Crown Jewels, he puts himself and his family in a dangerous situation – one that may well end on the gallows.
As powerful men scheme for wealth and influence, both father and son must learn what it is to survive in the most dangerous battlefield of them all – the court of Charles II.
Blood’s Game by Angus Donald is one of six books shortlisted for the 2018 HWA Sharpe Books Gold Crown award for Best Historical Novel.
