Bad Blood

By C. R. Dempsey

Deal Ends: Sun 22nd March

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ "Bad Blood is a fantastic historical fiction novel that does not shy away from the dark complications of the world," - Reedsy DiscoveryIreland, 1590s. Loyalty is bought with blood—and betrayal is a family tradition.Eunan Maguire was never meant to survive. Hated by his own parents, taken hostage to secure his father’s allegiance, and trained to kill as a galloglass warrior, his life has been shaped by cruelty and violence. When English soldiers burn his village to the ground and his parents are murdered, Eunan escapes with his life—and a crushing guilt he cannot outrun.Alone and hunted, he is taken in by Seamus MacSheehy, the formidable leader of a roaming band of warriors. Seamus pushes Eunan toward a dangerous claim: his dead father’s title and a place in the brutal power struggle tearing the Maguire clan apart. Drawn into a world of clan elections, secret deals, and simmering rebellion, Eunan must learn fast who to trust—and who is using him.As faction fighting explodes across Fermanagh and the English advance with ruthless force, Eunan is pulled into a war that will decide the fate of his people. But the greatest threat may lie closer than he thinks. His parents’ hatred hides a deadly secret. Seamus MacSheehy is not the man he pretends to be. And the truth could destroy Eunan—or make him the most dangerous man in Ireland.Bad Blood is the first book in the Exiles series, a gripping work of Irish historical fiction packed with action, intrigue, and rebellion. Set during the Elizabethan wars, it brings to life a savage world of warring clans, shifting loyalties, and a young warrior forced to choose between his past and his destiny.