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Naming the Dead
'A well-researched, well-formed mystery. Recommended for fans of C.J. Samson and S.J. Parris.' Thomas Waugh
Amsterdam 1608.
The physician Alexander Baxby arrives in Amsterdam eager to start his life anew, beyond the reach of his former spy-master Geoffrey and Archbishop Bancroft's control. His confidence is shaken when the body of a young Englishman is found beneath the Blue Bridge linking the city to the islands where immigrants live.
Patients and friends assume the death was an accident. Canal pavements are notoriously dangerous when wet. Baxby suspects Bancroft's spy network has spread across the Narrow Sea to target exiles in the Dutch Republic.
But how did the murderer kill his victim? And why choose this particular Englishman? A second body is found in similar circumstances. Who will be next?
Amsterdam is awash with rumours about a possible Truce with Spain. Confusingly, the names of both victims appear on pamphlets, posthumously accrediting them with Spanish sympathies.
Although Baxby's dreams of marrying and owning a canal house prove harder than expected, immigrants being restricted to poorly paid work, he refuses to give up or forget those who died. Only when his own life is threatened, does the physician begin to uncover lies, misinformation and malevolence on a scale he never imagined.
Baxby's own life hangs by a thread, but the truth must be told.
Karen Haden was born and raised in Portsmouth, UK. Her first Alexander Baxby mystery Paying in Blood was published by Sharpe Books in March 2024.
Praise for Paying in Blood:
'An exciting, powerfully-written narrative with strong blend of action and intriguing mystery, well-grounded in its historical period.' John Pilkington, author of A Reluctant Assassin
Amsterdam 1608.
The physician Alexander Baxby arrives in Amsterdam eager to start his life anew, beyond the reach of his former spy-master Geoffrey and Archbishop Bancroft's control. His confidence is shaken when the body of a young Englishman is found beneath the Blue Bridge linking the city to the islands where immigrants live.
Patients and friends assume the death was an accident. Canal pavements are notoriously dangerous when wet. Baxby suspects Bancroft's spy network has spread across the Narrow Sea to target exiles in the Dutch Republic.
But how did the murderer kill his victim? And why choose this particular Englishman? A second body is found in similar circumstances. Who will be next?
Amsterdam is awash with rumours about a possible Truce with Spain. Confusingly, the names of both victims appear on pamphlets, posthumously accrediting them with Spanish sympathies.
Although Baxby's dreams of marrying and owning a canal house prove harder than expected, immigrants being restricted to poorly paid work, he refuses to give up or forget those who died. Only when his own life is threatened, does the physician begin to uncover lies, misinformation and malevolence on a scale he never imagined.
Baxby's own life hangs by a thread, but the truth must be told.
Karen Haden was born and raised in Portsmouth, UK. Her first Alexander Baxby mystery Paying in Blood was published by Sharpe Books in March 2024.
Praise for Paying in Blood:
'An exciting, powerfully-written narrative with strong blend of action and intriguing mystery, well-grounded in its historical period.' John Pilkington, author of A Reluctant Assassin
289 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 11, 2025
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