Eunan Maguire was never meant to live.
Despised by his parents, taken hostage to secure his father’s loyalty, and raised among mercenary killers, he survives by enduring what should have destroyed him.
When English soldiers raze his village and leave his family dead, Eunan escapes. But guilt follows him. So does the past.
He is taken in by Seamus MacSheehy, a hardened Galloglass captain who offers him more than protection. He offers him a future. A claim to his father’s title. A path into the violent struggle tearing the Maguire clan apart.
But power in Fermanagh is not taken. It is granted, shaped, and controlled.
As Eunan is drawn deeper into clan politics, shifting alliances, and quiet betrayals, he begins to realise that every step forward has already been set in motion. Seamus is not simply guiding him, he is positioning him.
And the truth behind Eunan’s birth, his family, and his survival is far more dangerous than any English army.
By the time Eunan understands what he is becoming, it may already be too late to choose otherwise.
Because in a land ruled by blood, the past does not stay buried. It decides who lives, who rules… and who is sacrificed next.
Bad Blood is the first book in the Exiles series—a brutal and character-driven work of Irish historical fiction set during the Elizabethan wars, where loyalty is fragile, power is inherited through violence, and every victory carries a cost that has yet to be paid.
C R Dempsey is the author of ‘Bad Blood’, ‘Uprising’, Traitor Maguire’, and ‘Breach of the peace’, four historical fiction books set in Elizabethan Ireland. He has plans for many more, and he needs to find the time to write them. History has always been his fascination, and historical fiction was an obvious outlet for his accumulated knowledge. C R spends lots of time working on his books, mainly in the twilight hours of the morning. C R wishes he spent more time writing and less time jumping down the rabbit hole of excessive research.
C R Dempsey lives in London with his wife and cat. He was born in Dublin but has lived most of his adult life in London.
C R can be found at:
https://www.crdempseybooks.
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