Book 1 in The Chosen Man Trilogy by award-winning historical crime writer J.G. Harlond
A secret commission, an untrustworthy secret agent.
He can create havoc, and profit by it – but can he escape the consequences?

'an exciting tale of romance, intrigue, tragedy and murder' Readers' Favorite 5*
Rome 1635. As Flanders braces for another long year of war, a Spanish count presents the Vatican with a means of disrupting the Dutch rebels' booming economy. His plan is brilliant. They just need the right man to implement it. Enter Ludovico da Portovenere, charismatic spice and silk merchant. Intrigued by the commission —and hungry for profit—Ludo sails for Amsterdam.
His voyage is interrupted by a storm that brings him a quick-witted young admirer to use as a spy. Then a pirate raid that brings him a girl, Alina, who won't go home.
Set in a world of international politics and domestic intrigue, The Chosen Man spins an engrossing tale about the Dutch financial scandal known as tulip mania—and how decisions made in high places can have terrible repercussions on innocent lives.