Reluctant Assassin, The: An Elizabethan mystery

By Fiona Buckley

When Ursula’s young son is kidnapped, she is lured into an impossible dilemma.

March, 1581. Queen Elizabeth is once again being urged to consider marriage to the Duke of Alençon, a French Catholic twenty years her junior. The prospect of the match is causing unrest throughout the kingdom.

Ursula Blanchard however has more immediate matters to worry about when her 9-year-old son is snatched away while out riding. If she is ever to see him again, Ursula must undertake an impossibly difficult and dangerous mission – and commit an act of high treason. Can she rely on her half-sister, Queen Elizabeth, for help?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Severn House Publishers
• Release date: Jun 1, 2018
• ISBN: 9781780109534

Fiona Buckley

Fiona Buckley is the author of eighteen previous Ursula Blanchard mysteries, and a historical saga, Late Harvest. Under her real name, Valerie Anand, she is the author of numerous historical novels, including the much-loved Bridges Over Time series. Brought up in London, she now lives in Surrey.

Reviews for Reluctant Assassin, The

[eyes92c · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Ursula is called on to dig deep!Ursula Blanchard's young son is kidnapped. The ransom is not money something more deadly. An act of regicide. A problem that only her half-sister, Queen Elizabeth, can help her with. It's 1581 and some in the kingdom are affronted by the possibility of Elizabeth marrying the Duke of Alençon, a French Catholic. The return of the harsh days of Queen Mary are still remembered.Ursula finds herself in an impossible and ever increasing dangerous situation. How to save her son, whilst balancing calling off the search for him without arousing general suspicion. How to do the kidnapper's bidding as the Queen herself leans towards the kidnappers demands, solving other political problems?The faithful members of her household once again rally around, with the additional support of a surprising new member.The hints of Elizabeth torn between wanting love and rule is beautifully understated.Once again, a well written Ursula Blanchard mystery, with the turmoil embedded adding just the right amount of tension to make for a compelling read.A NetGalley ARC

[auntie0nanuuq · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Queen Elizabeth is still entertaining a marriage to Francis d'Anjou Duke Alencon and once again calls her 1/2 sister Ursula Stannard to court.Since the death of Ursula's husband, leaving her a wealthy woman, there are no end of suitors attempting to win her hand in marriage (as well as her property). When the book opens, Ursula is being accosted by Master Woodley, proclaiming his undying love & proposing for a 2nd time... when Ursula's manservant, Brockley intervenes.Returning to her home Hawksmoore, Ursula begins the process of hiring new grooms for her Stud farm & a tutor for her son, Harry. The tutor she hires, ends up being Brockley's son from his first marriage.When Harry is kidnapped, the family sets out to find him, but Ursula herself is set upon & Kidnapped as well...Somewhere in between all of this, Ursula is asked by Elizabeth to poison Mary Stuart, which Ursula is unable to do (hence the title)...The book was predictable and it was obvious who the kidnappers were... I did not like the ending at all, for there was no justice for one of the kidnappers.... Ursula just let him go, which made me take off stars!

[thequietreader · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Widowed Mistress Ursula Stannard, a half-sister to the queen, is content to run her estates and raise her son. However, when young Henry goes missing, she learns the price to get him back may be more than she could pay: murdering Mary, Queen of Scots.When I first picked this up, I didn't realize it was the newest addition to a long series. The narrative is told in such a way that a newcomer (like me) is not left out of the loop, with references to past cases but not too much to spoil the stories if I am inclined to pick them up. Ursula is a refreshing character. She is not a young, independent woman, eager for adventure. She is middle-aged, has had her fill of intrigue and romance, but does not shy away when trouble comes her way. Surrounded by supportive and loyal servants/friends, she truly shines as a heroine.History is woven through the fiction, just enough to give any reader a solid understanding of the time. Although I deduced one of the “villains” of the story, I enjoyed the journey from start to finish. A couple times, Ursula’s narrative is shifted to one of two other characters and was a bit jarring to me.I would definitely recommend this to readers looking for intrigue in Queen Elizabeth the First’s reign.

[vesper1931 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

1581 has arrived and Ursula Blanchard is on a mission. To save her son she must kill Mary, Queen of Scots who is held at Sheffield Castle.
Not really much of a mystery, and the story just didn't catch my imagination. A pity as I like reading historical mysteries set in this time period.
A NetGalley Book

[john257hopper · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is the sixteenth book in the Ursula Stannard series of Elizabethan mysteries. I continue to love the continuing characters who have felt like family members as I have followed their lives over the last 14 years of reading. However, I found the plot of this one too hard to swallow, the central kidnap plot failing to convince me and striking me as too implausible in practice for this rather absurd bunch of conspirators aiming at a private endeavour to assassinate Mary of Scots. I do wonder if the series is coming to a natural end, though I assume the author intends to continue another few years to cover the final fall of Mary of Scots and perhaps the Spanish Armada.