Assassin (Lady Grace Mysteries)

Rating:
Summary: Exciting start to a new historical mystery series.
Review: Lady Grace Cavendish grew up at the court of Queen Elizabeth I. When her mother died after accidentally drinking poison meant for the queen, Elizabeth took the responsibility of securing Grace's future upon herself. Now thirteen years old in the spring of 1569, Grace is a Maid of Honor to the queen, and the time has come for her betrothal. Even though she will not have to marry for three more years, Grace still dreads being betrothed. Elizabeth plans a lavish ball where Grace may choose her future husband from among three suitors. Everything goes as planned, until the day after the ball -- when one of Grace's rejected suitors is found dead, and the man she has chosen for her betrothed is the prime suspect! Now Grace must get to the bottom of the mystery and find the real killer so that she may clear the name of her future husband.

I highly recommend this series to readers who love a combination of historical fiction and mystery. Because it is written as Grace's diary, it also has a lot of appeal to fans of Dear America, The Royal Diaries, and other diary-format historical fiction. I can't wait to read more of Grace's adventures. I really enjoyed the historical setting and the diary format, and Grace is a very likable character.

Rating:
Summary: Fabulous New Historical Mystery Series for All Ages
Review: The year is 1569, and thirteen-year-old Lady Grace Cavendish, Maid of Honor to Queen Elizabeth I, is the Queen's absolute favorite person in the court, seeing as how Lady Grace's Mother saved the Queen from drinking poison, while at the same time drinking it herself and meeting an untimely death. Now it is time for Lady Grace to choose a suitor for herself, whom she will marry when she turns sixteen. The Queen has chosen three suitable bachelors for Lady Grace, but she seems to have a problem with all of them - seeing as how they are much too old for her - but she does make a final decision. Then tragedy strikes. One of the suitors who Lady Grace rejected has turned up dead, and her husband-to-be is blamed for the murder. Lady Grace knows that she must solve the mystery before her fiance is sentenced to death, and she knows that her very close friends - Ellie, a washing girl, and Masou, a tumbler - will be there to help her in every way they can.

I have always been a fan of historical fiction related to royalty, and I'm an avid mystery reader, so THE LADY GRACE MYSTERIES easily satisfied all of my needs. I was happy to find that the character of Lady Grace was somewhat tom-boyish - as opposed to being prissy like many other Maid of Honors in the past - with a wonderful personality and curiosity that could easily please anyone. Fans of the historical fiction novels by Carolyn Meyer, and the Royal Diaries series will be overjoyed to find this new historical fiction series. A must read!

Erika Sorocco
Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper