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A Pawn for a Queen: An Ursula Blanchard Mystery at Queen Elizabeth I's
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
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About this ebook
An intricate historical mystery featuring the deadly conflict between Queen Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots—and a heroine who discovers some shocking secrets about her parentage.
A quiet life at Withysham with her young daughter is all that widowed Ursula Blanchard desires. But as the waiting woman and spy for Queen Elizabeth I, she forfeits her needs for the sake of those she is pledged to protect—even at her own peril...
Ursula's relatives enlist her help when her cousin, Edward Faldene, heads to Scotland carrying a dangerous weapon: a secret list of families loyal to Elizabeth's rival, Mary, Queen of Scots. Desperate to stop the treasonous mission, Ursula rides north in haste to intercept her cousin. It is a journey made without royal permission, and one made in vain....
Ursula arrives in Edinburgh too late—and finds herself tracking a killer inside the Scottish queen's court. Whom can she trust? Mary, the enemy, who is in fact kind and charming? Her genial courtiers? The aristocrat who vies for Ursula's heart? Every player falls under suspicion in a sinister game in which, for a queen, everyone is a pawn.
A quiet life at Withysham with her young daughter is all that widowed Ursula Blanchard desires. But as the waiting woman and spy for Queen Elizabeth I, she forfeits her needs for the sake of those she is pledged to protect—even at her own peril...
Ursula's relatives enlist her help when her cousin, Edward Faldene, heads to Scotland carrying a dangerous weapon: a secret list of families loyal to Elizabeth's rival, Mary, Queen of Scots. Desperate to stop the treasonous mission, Ursula rides north in haste to intercept her cousin. It is a journey made without royal permission, and one made in vain....
Ursula arrives in Edinburgh too late—and finds herself tracking a killer inside the Scottish queen's court. Whom can she trust? Mary, the enemy, who is in fact kind and charming? Her genial courtiers? The aristocrat who vies for Ursula's heart? Every player falls under suspicion in a sinister game in which, for a queen, everyone is a pawn.
Author
Fiona Buckley
Fiona Buckley is the author of eight historical mystery novels featuring Ursula Blanchard: To Shield the Queen, The Doublet Affair, Queen's Ransom, To Ruin a Queen, Queen of Ambition, A Pawn for a Queen, The Fugitive Queen, and The Siren Queen. She lives in North Surrey, England.
Read more from Fiona Buckley
To Shield the Queen Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Doublet Affair Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Queen's Ransom: A Mystery at Queen Elizabeth I's Court Featuring Ursula Blanchard Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Queen of Ambition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Fugitive Queen Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5To Ruin A Queen: An Ursula Blanchard Mystery at Queen Elizabeth I's Court Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Siren Queen: An Ursula Blanchard Mystery at Queen Elizabeth I's Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
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Reviews for A Pawn for a Queen
Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
4 ratings3 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This is an interesting premise for a mystery. Historical settings for mysteries are fairly common now but, in most cases, the detective is male. Think Cadfael, think Marcus Didius Falco and numerous others. In this series the detective is Ursula Blanchard, a one-time lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth I. This is the 6th book in the series and Ursula is now a widow from her second husband, Matthew de la Roche. She has been trying to live a quiet life in a former monastery that was given to her by the Queen for services rendered. However, her uncle and aunt want her to intercept her cousin Edward who is on his way to Edinburgh to the court of Mary, Queen of Scots. Her uncle, aunt and cousin are Catholic and supporters of Mary as the true Queen of England and Edward is delivering a list of all supporters in England. His parents have become concerned that he is going to be caught by Queen Elizabeth's men and tried for treason. They believe Ursula, as a family member, may be able to persuade him to return before reaching Scotland. Ursula, although she harbours no love for her aunt and uncle, agrees to go which means riding a horse most of the length of England in January. With her travel her faithful companions, Roger Brockley and Fran Dale, because a young woman certainly cannot travel alone. I got a real sense of the times, how people lived, died (especially died as life in those days was apt to be snuffed out in many different ways), worshipped, and loved. The quote from the New York Times Book Review says the Ursula Blanchard mysteries are "A richly researched historical series" although I don't know if this is true. I'm going to pass this book on to BellBelle who does know a thing or two (or multitudes of things) about the history of this time and see what she thinks. I thought it was interesting enough that I'm going to be looking for more of this series.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ok so I caved, I read another one of these. I know they are fluff, it's a guilty pleasure.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Another easy to read murder mystery in the Ursula Blanchard series. I feel I know the characters really well now and greet them like old friends with each new novel in the series.
Book preview
A Pawn for a Queen - Fiona Buckley
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