Saints And Sinners (Saints And Sinners Book 1) by John Broughton

Saxon times were not called the Dark Ages for nothing. It was a violent, unrecognizable world of kill or be killed.

In seventh century England, tribes and so-called kings vie for power and blood flows throughout the land. Aethelred - ruler of Mercia - is being pressed from all sides, and his wife Osthryth dies under unknown circumstances. Osthryth's ring falls into the hands of warrior noble Aethelbald, who is accused of her murder and forced to leave Mercia by his conniving cousin Coeolred, who has eyes on the throne. When Aethelred abdicates and the weakling Cenred assumes power, Coelred sees a path to become the king.

With a court rife with would-be successors, can Aethelbald survive and become Bretwaldas - the 'Britain-ruler' - and sweep aside the underkings to unite the land?

Based on true stories, John Broughton's Saints and Sinners shines a light on the murky Dark Ages, and recreates a Britain on the cusp of momentous change.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

John Broughton was born in Cleethorpes Lincolnshire UK in 1948: just one of the post-war baby boom. After attending grammar school and studying to the sound of Bob Dylan, he went to Nottingham University and studied Medieval and Modern History.

He decided to take up writing again late in his career. The fruit of that decision was his first historical novel, Die for a Dove, an archaeological thriller, followed by The Purple Thread and Wyrd of the Wolf. Both are set in his favourite Anglo-Saxon period.