The Serpent

In seventeenth century Venice exists a mysterious establishment known only as the Gameshouse. There fortunes are made and fortunes are broken over games of chess, backgammon, and every other game under the sun. But those whom fortune favors may be invited to compete in the higher league—a league where the games played are of politics and empires, of economics and kings. It is a league where Capture the Castle involves real castles, where hide and seek takes place on a scale as big as the British Isles. Not everyone proves worthy of competing in the higher league. But one woman who is about to play may just exceed everyones expectations. Though she must always remember: the higher the stakes, the more deadly the rules. From Claire North comes the first of three novellas set in the ingenious and thrilling world of the Gameshouse.