cover image The Traitor’s Mark

The Traitor’s Mark

D.K. Wilson. Pegasus Crime (Norton, dist.), $25.95 (480p) ISBN 978-1-60598-925-9

The unsolved disappearance of royal painter Hans Holbein in 1543 drives British author Wilson’s gripping Tudor historical, his first novel to be published in the U.S. When goldsmith Thomas Treviot, who’s awaiting some tableware designs from Holbein, sends a servant, Bart Miller, to look for the German artist at his London residence, Bart gets into a brawl and ends up accused of the murder of Holbein’s apprentice. Convinced that remaining in custody is tantamount to a death sentence, Bart flees captivity. Meanwhile, Thomas Cranmer, the Archbishop of Canterbury, is under attack from rivals who seek to supplant his influence with Henry VIII. The archbishop reveals to Treviot that Holbein was working covertly for himself and Thomas Cromwell, the king’s trusted adviser, to identify the conspirators. This perilous assignment could be related to the artist’s vanishing. Wilson (Charlemagne) keeps the twists coming as he brings the past to vivid life. Fans of C.J. Sansom and Rory Clements will be pleased. (Dec.)