Allen & Unwin, 2006

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Helie is a former inquisitor’s spy. Now he’s living under an alias, trying to forget his past. But a chance meeting brings him once more to the notice of the medieval Inquisition; he has to infiltrate a new heretical group, and find out what happened to the last spy sent to do so. Was he murdered or did he flee?

This title is now available in Spain (Roca Editorial) and Portugal (Bertrand Editoria Ltd). It will be published in Germany (Rowohlt) in 2008 and will soon be published in Brazil by Editora DCL.

‘This is a gripping psychological study of how fear, deceit and paranoia trigger a psychic maelstrom.’
The Sun-Herald

‘It’s a delicious set-up, involving blackmail and intrigue, corruption and moral ambiguity, not to mention rotting corpses, retching and a range of human depravity.’
The Australian

‘Catherine Jinks has constructed a vivid and darkly intriguing account . . . although I would not normally pick up this sort of book, I very much enjoyed the history lesson throughout the well-constructed plot.’
The Courier-Mail

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‘The Secret Familiar continues Catherine Jinks’ thrilling exploration of the European inquisition. The particular strength of The Secret Familiar is its complicated hero, Helie Seguier . . . Jinks’ mastery of her research is more than evident as she describes the harrowing world of the Beguins who defied the church, believing it had eschewed Christ’s tenets of poverty and become a more carnal and less spiritual insitution. Also evident is Jinks’ mastery of characterisation . . . ‘
The Age

‘The story is well told and readers will thrill to the suspense of the hunt for the quarry . . . It is a gripping tale.’
Highlife Magazine

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