The Honey and the Sting

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What to expect

Brought to you by Penguin.

Three sisters.
Three secrets.
Three ways to fall . . .

Forcibly seduced by George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham and King's favourite, doctor's daughter Hester was cast aside to raise her illegitimate son, Rafe, alone and in secret. She hopes never to see his father again.

Melis's visions cause disquiet and talk. She sees what others can't - and what has yet to be. She'd be denounced as a witch if Hester wasn't so carefully protective.

Young Hope's beauty marks her out, drawing unwelcome attention to the family. Yet she cannot always resist others' advances. And her sisters cannot always be on their guard.

So when the powerful Duke decides to claim his son against Hester's wishes, the sisters find themselves almost friendless and at his mercy. But are their secrets their undoing or their salvation?

Because in the right hands a secret is the deadliest weapon of all . . .

© E C Fremantle2020 (P) Penguin Audio 2020

Critics Review

  • Fremantle builds the tension with delicious skill in this page-turning thriller. She is excellent on the precariousness of life for history’s powerless women

    Times

  • A powerful reimagining of the most dramatic murder of Stuart England. Wonderfully inventive and darkly satisfying, this story of three sisters resonates with myth

    bestselling author of The Ashes of London

  • A lush, thrilling page-turner humming with its own exquisite dark beauty. I loved it!

    author of The Glass House

  • Gripping and page-turning. Propels a trio of vivid women towards their complex destinies, while making their world as fresh and immediate as our own. Hugely enjoyable

    author of Tell Me How It Ends

  • A pacey plot, tension, and occasional flirts with the supernatural make this historical fiction engaging . . . It leaves you wanting more of Melis, who has eerie and often accurate visions of the future

    Sunday Post

  • We follow three sisters in a maze of twists and turns in 1628 England. Grabs your attention

    i

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