Ebook287 pages8 hours
Forest of Secrets
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
()
About this ebook
Ursula travels deep into the New Forest to investigate rumours of a plot to overthrow Queen Elizabeth in this gripping Tudor mystery.
May, 1586. Ursula and her retinue return home from a lengthy trip to discover she has an unexpected visitor. Etheldreda Hope is a simple countrywoman who has come to Ursula with disturbing tales of strange goings-on in her rural village. Fearing that Etheldreda's reports of mysterious forest rites indicate a possible conspiracy to overthrow Queen Elizabeth in favour of her cousin, Mary Stuart, the queen's spymaster, Sir Francis Walsingham, orders Ursula to travel to Etheldreda's home to find out what's really going on.
On reaching Chenston village, deep in the New Forest, Ursula discovers an isolated, suspicious community; the locals deeply in thrall to the old pagan traditions and beliefs. But are these ancient customs harmless - or are they part of a genuine conspiracy against the queen? And, if so, who is behind it?
It's not until the night of Halloween that Ursula will discover the shocking truth.
May, 1586. Ursula and her retinue return home from a lengthy trip to discover she has an unexpected visitor. Etheldreda Hope is a simple countrywoman who has come to Ursula with disturbing tales of strange goings-on in her rural village. Fearing that Etheldreda's reports of mysterious forest rites indicate a possible conspiracy to overthrow Queen Elizabeth in favour of her cousin, Mary Stuart, the queen's spymaster, Sir Francis Walsingham, orders Ursula to travel to Etheldreda's home to find out what's really going on.
On reaching Chenston village, deep in the New Forest, Ursula discovers an isolated, suspicious community; the locals deeply in thrall to the old pagan traditions and beliefs. But are these ancient customs harmless - or are they part of a genuine conspiracy against the queen? And, if so, who is behind it?
It's not until the night of Halloween that Ursula will discover the shocking truth.
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 Siren Queen: An Ursula Blanchard Mystery at Queen Elizabeth I's 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 stars4/5A Pawn for a Queen: An Ursula Blanchard Mystery at Queen Elizabeth I's Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related to Forest of Secrets
Titles in the series (10)
Rescue For A Queen, A Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Deadly Betrothal, A Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Web of Silk, A Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Perilous Alliance, A Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Scent of Danger Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Reluctant Assassin, The Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Forest of Secrets Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Shadow of Spain Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Golden Cargoes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Net of Steel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related ebooks
Shadow of Spain Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Scent of Danger Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Deadly Betrothal, A Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Traitor's Tears, A Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Queen's Bounty Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rescue For A Queen, A Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Web of Silk, A Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Jewels Beyond Price Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHeirs and Assigns Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Reluctant Assassin, The Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Perilous Alliance, A Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Golden Cargoes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTo Ruin A Queen: An Ursula Blanchard Mystery at Queen Elizabeth I's Court Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Fugitive Queen Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Queen Without a Crown Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Pawn for a Queen: An Ursula Blanchard Mystery at Queen Elizabeth I's Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/513 Miller's Court: A Novel of Mary Jane Kelly and the Deptford Assassin Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRufus Spy, The Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Elegy to Murder: Medieval Mystery Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Knox's Wife Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Day of the Serpent, The Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Murder of Edward VI Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsVIII Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Murder in a Cornish Alehouse Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Sumerton Women Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5We Speak No Treason Flowering: Book 1 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lammas Wild, The Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Deadliest Sin Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Historical Mystery For You
Find You First: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lady of Ashes Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Untitled Books Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Sentence Is Death: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Watchmaker's Daughter Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories: A Miss Marple Collection Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Eight Perfect Murders: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Stranger in the Lifeboat Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5We Have Always Lived in the Castle Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Spider's Web Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Sidney Chambers and The Shadow of Death: Grantchester Mysteries 1 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Line to Kill: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Universal Harvester: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Word Is Murder: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The ABC Murders: A Hercule Poirot Mystery: The Official Authorized Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Librarian of Crooked Lane Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Marple: Twelve New Mysteries Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Pale Blue Eye: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Apothecary's Poison Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Last Jew in Prague Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Murder Under a Red Moon: A 1920s Bangalore Mystery Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Supreme Justice: A Novel of Suspense Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Anatomy of a Murder Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Things in Jars: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Speaks the Nightbird Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Woman on Fire: A Mystery Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Herb of Death: A Miss Marple Story Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries Volume One: Whose Body?, Clouds of Witness, and Unnatural Death Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related categories
Reviews for Forest of Secrets
Rating: 4.071428571428571 out of 5 stars
4/5
7 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This is the nineteenth book in the Ursula Stannard series of Elizabethan mysteries. Much of this centred around revived pagan rituals in the New Forest, and whether they might be connected - rather implausibly - to plots to free the imprisoned Mary Queen of Scots. This is at the time of the notorious Babington plot in 1586, the exposure of which caused Mary's final downfall and led to her execution. Ursula and her friends expose the New Forest goings on - which I found it hard to take seriously as an actual plot and, indeed, while sinister and nasty in import, they had no connection to national events. Ursula has to attend the execution of Mary to report back to Elizabeth on how her royal cousin meets her end. As ever I like the recurring characters very much and that keeps me reading, however implausible the plots sometimes are.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Queen’s own investigator!1586, Ursula Stannard (Blanchard) once again does Sir Francis Walsingham’s bidding—and by extension her half sister’s, Elizabeth Tudor. This time she’s investigating rumours of pagan rites in a forest (brought to Ursula’s attention by a dame from the remote village of Chenston), and how that might or might not relate to Walsingham’s enquiries and lures around rumours of a plot being hatched by Mary Stuart against her cousin Elizabeth. Ursula is pointed straight towards Mary, albeit via a devious path.Of course she’s also once more overseeing the education of her newest companion, a young gentlewoman of a Puritan background whom we met in the last story. I find I don’t really trust this particular young woman, Mildred Gresham. She is too eager to walk her own path, often unwisely.Like the last adventure, we end up deep in the forests of England, in an out of the way village, where intermarriage is maybe to close, and where Christianity is surrounded by age old rituals, where danger and superstitions walk hand in hand, and can be easily manipulated.I’ve enjoyed following Ursula’s life, the various paths she’s trodden, her quick execution of plans as danger looms. I’m exhausted and she probably is too. We can see her manservant and friend Roger Brockley is ageing, as is Dale, Brockley’s wife and Ursula’s maid. Ursula’s service for the Queen in this story is one that she will take no joy in. Though maybe one could say, who else can Elizabeth trust?Where Ursula will go from here I don’t know. She serves at the Queen’s pleasure. Maybe it’s time for her own pleasure, time for less dangerous meanderings—raising horses, keeping an eye on her business fronts, and caring for her children and extended family group. That is, if the Queen and Walsingham will let her. But I suspect that won’t be, as is raised, if anything happened to Mary Stuart, Philip of Spain would be infuriated. The future beckons.A Severn House ARC via NetGalley
Book preview
Forest of Secrets - Fiona Buckley
L*3b book_preview_excerpt.html }|ۮFo ݘ>mؐڞ@,2IRSü|XYkEd3@%UqY2~OW?UZq8U~7å0.՟WO?p-TۡUhOp{>PG|pj|Kcu)uS9c_q].?V_9ުGM>86*iۥ|zi;Z.6ej)XOZ6j9ׅ?cg|}8K.t,㧚/Cs_yx;T6U0^FI#mlIKbkHsאL_R=VkcIÞ1.^GL~
CѾm4t v~V?Uhv39jz?w%F6طt K{|\HjS!MtX8~cI2I=u"/IZusNLj1.UHil5@+m 3
ȤL:TMlYɓm&_'K#>o9KH`XX
j
|AJDAϟeJ6V;ks_pRuXpA۰pt:
ĜOc]Xd@[PaAq$_8>@*8ɿdlZJכcoM; ӷ]K+TiE=E(#46Ɍ]$ ʛa11)-[vJERB5̃$~_#T[1u0h.BwX'#9=];:XpyRꞢ+*i:%)es}h(n4د}!''"dᱷik5-lgfם>vcsiP\X-ԶtK4L'߿yc"G8lȠ]<-
=Tp^L8c7L)vLMhe&;fԫy q\+e\EtD}~OP#_ׄ9'N0LW͍wUĝQC1s,bDF*-eK㒝CP*7JzDb7"HfӼf a5[kr-z^%!}m.?尗i l <ws
SZl0ʅa1 ?7ɷ /tFC0`wp-JL7]0 >>X"+.0KE8jNDBL
xM_n~~E&lb\niEӢƃyYh=@W 8k;8Na]pI^R6jp.\HFSonff=
@ЕVD\ш4k'|wKJ:lMM
,auf8t7 8sWԴ(|u+Q6\I.%WB Y0d47Iy2."l+
hAr
;'e\|gӺ1BR0$h=]CS`M4 G6WӶw&dcJ2H&
4;ö27 ok)uR =dzǘ`pE\=C~x OH?.P:bR|iG^w'ܑZp@
˘RQC!喥%6ة"S1BG3Z(Glk1Qb/a)z?CC!&籭mT=NMᔸۉq=A8YG$r0+%֗Ζr?8mJJ*|Cf.䘾^V
8P0t$SA;t@Z#jQtA~p_3Z,l?7>t)2(ۑAE
b4Y4و9`4/sȔ{9$S}VX>
K
Z)uVRDSn}qxd$*&3
X⢙3őr~lxHHW
Wpī>me6.ZLLh ^e
Y`od}2!L:yFdf
S`^Mt
_I^1j&$@R8Ȳ$}EpZ<%2ARx,dv__G%E>
_Gi/uCNSicK.4poGe2ȈvPe2U|8w۔clxS[&篥Fg5Ui0yEbB(ɩO^sU}g Rk49aDX!
WskN-}iL10jas"
s,>ByS;o4˧+w*Q^Y!
EM! Nk8\T>T#~fb}c^z1_lH2Î&'hX3b0Qr%ziZ᥉HqnGRWvݤ ݹ@@LP9шVgI`\$AկIǑy`RUY9@qjc!m%KTP
q51/vxӠ7_CO4RxjWΝv eJ3Rň{9!˝ݼ7JŁo9';6mi`uSWؾ"*>Tݛ'|ϔINT$D숰?>0Vx^=ߥQy
>Jڰf+'hiy5>2Gc@ J
[苳K%;`es3#KK쿋|q1R\K$?$t{]l+D=cb^shW0