Rating: 
Summary: Another terrific entry in this Elizabethan mystery series
Review: If you're a British History buff, this series set in the court of Queen Elizabeth I is a must read. The plots are based on actual facts and every book in the series richly researched.
Rating:
Summary: Another terrific entry in this Elizabethan mystery series
Review: If you're a British History buff, this series set in the court of Queen Elizabeth I is a must read. The plots are based on actual facts and every book in the series richly researched.
Rating:
Summary: A VERY pleasant surprise!!
Review: Knowing nothing about this series, I picked up this book while trapped in an airport, and got an early Christmas present! I've now finished all four books and I can say that this is a tremendously entertaining series. You can learn the plot of this one from another reviewer, so I'll praise the quality of the writing, the wonderful sense of time and place, and above all, the outstanding storytelling. The characters are real and fascinating, and you like them easily and quickly. This isn't in the masterpiece category of a Jamie Harrison, Robert Crais, or James Lee Burke, but it's excellent, pleasant entertainment, professionally done with good plots and mysteries worth solving. As an added tidbit, the history is scholarly, well-handled, and deftly used. A very enjoyable book and a series that's well worth trying.
Rating:
Summary: A VERY pleasant surprise!!
Review: Knowing nothing about this series, I picked up this book while trapped in an airport, and got an early Christmas present! I've now finished all four books and I can say that this is a tremendously entertaining series. You can learn the plot of this one from another reviewer, so I'll praise the quality of the writing, the wonderful sense of time and place, and above all, the outstanding storytelling. The characters are real and fascinating, and you like them easily and quickly. This isn't in the masterpiece category of a Jamie Harrison, Robert Crais, or James Lee Burke, but it's excellent, pleasant entertainment, professionally done with good plots and mysteries worth solving. As an added tidbit, the history is scholarly, well-handled, and deftly used. A very enjoyable book and a series that's well worth trying.
Rating: 
Summary: Yay for strong women
Review: So far, I think this may the best book of this series that I've read. I find that Buckley's depiction of Elizabethan England highly compelling and non-obtrusive. This particular novel in the series indulges in far more personal emotion on the part of the heroine which makes it better than the other novel's of her's that I've read.I think this is a fabulous book for anyone who wants to read about a strong heroine who manages to maintain her femininity The construction of the mystery was excellent and provided enough clues for the reader to be able to solve the mystery even if it was still guilty of not providing the reader the same clues as the heroine. Still, I enjoyed it and recommend it as a light read.
Rating:
Summary: Yay for strong women
Review: So far, I think this may the best book of this series that I've read. I find that Buckley's depiction of Elizabethan England highly compelling and non-obtrusive. This particular novel in the series indulges in far more personal emotion on the part of the heroine which makes it better than the other novel's of her's that I've read. I think this is a fabulous book for anyone who wants to read about a strong heroine who manages to maintain her femininity The construction of the mystery was excellent and provided enough clues for the reader to be able to solve the mystery even if it was still guilty of not providing the reader the same clues as the heroine. Still, I enjoyed it and recommend it as a light read.
Rating:
Summary: An Engaging Elizabethan Mystery
Review: The first in a series of mysteries by British author Fiona Buckley, set in the time of Queen Elizabeth I. If you loved the movie ELIZABETH, you'll love this series. Ursula Blanchard, a recently widowed woman, must leave her young daughter in the care of a servant and make her own way in the world as a lady in waiting to young Queen Elizabeth I. At court she finds herself encountering intrigue at every turn and is soon offered an opportunity to serve the Queen and earn some extra funds which she can use to support her young daughter. Rumors abound that nobleman Robin Dudley is having an affair with the Queen, and that he is poisoning his wife to free him from his marriage. Ursula must go to his home to protect Dudley's name, and through him the Queen's. But once Ursula arrives, she begins to have doubts, especially after the warnings she receives. Is there something to the rumors? And if so, is Dudley the one behind them, or is there something even more dangerous and sinister afoot? If you know your Tudor history, you're going to love this series. It's full of people, places and customs of the period, very well researched. Even the central mystery of the plot is based on fact, like all of Fiona Buckley's books. There's a subtlety to the plot, and a great deal of political and religious intrigue mixed in. It's quite rich and pleasantly complex. What I most enjoyed was the detailed account of the daily life of a gentlewoman. There seem to be a lot of books about daily life of the working class and peasants, many more on the life of the nobles. What you don't often see are the middle class, which is what makes Ursula Blanchard such an interesting heroine. She is caught between the two classes, at the mercy of the nobles and trapped in their plots and games, yet high enough that she can be a player (or pawn) in those same games. This is a great start to a very intriguing series.
Rating: 
Summary: URSULA IS A WONDERFUL SLEUTH
Review: This is the first novel by Ms. Buckley that I have tried and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Ursula Blanchard is a wonderful heroine as well as investigator. Queen Elizabeth is in need of an undercover sleuth to find out what Philip Motimer is hiding at vetch castle. Mortimer has been heard to say that he will be given back all the family estate that was taken away. Elizabeth needs to know if Mortimer has anything on her to force her to return the estate. She calls on her trusted friend Ursula Blanchard to be her spy. Elizabeth has Ursula's daughter Meg transported to Vetch Castle, which in turn brings Ursula to England from France where she has been staying with her husband Matthew de la Roche, to find her child. Ursula, along with her servants, goes to Vetch castle and discovers treachery, greed, murder and ghosts. Ursula also discovers things about herself that she didn't previously realize, and by her actions I don't believe she is as enamored with her husband as she would have us believe. This was an enjoyable historical mystery that I am sure you will like.
Rating:
Summary: URSULA IS A WONDERFUL SLEUTH
Review: This is the first novel by Ms. Buckley that I have tried and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Ursula Blanchard is a wonderful heroine as well as investigator. Queen Elizabeth is in need of an undercover sleuth to find out what Philip Motimer is hiding at vetch castle. Mortimer has been heard to say that he will be given back all the family estate that was taken away. Elizabeth needs to know if Mortimer has anything on her to force her to return the estate. She calls on her trusted friend Ursula Blanchard to be her spy. Elizabeth has Ursula's daughter Meg transported to Vetch Castle, which in turn brings Ursula to England from France where she has been staying with her husband Matthew de la Roche, to find her child. Ursula, along with her servants, goes to Vetch castle and discovers treachery, greed, murder and ghosts. Ursula also discovers things about herself that she didn't previously realize, and by her actions I don't believe she is as enamored with her husband as she would have us believe. This was an enjoyable historical mystery that I am sure you will like.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent series-fantastic mystery
Review: Ursula Blanchard is living at the Chateau Blanchpierre in France with her husband Matthew de la Roche. She loves her spouse, but misses England. Because he supports Mary of Scotland, Matthew cannot enter England for fear of hanging. After a miscarriage, Ursula becomes melancholy. She sends her two servants home to England to retrieve her daughter Meg. They return to inform their mistress that Meg vanished just when they were ready to depart for the continent. A concerned Ursula travels to England seeking Meg. At her daughter's residence, Queen Elizabeth and Sir Cecil meet her. They demand she go to Vetch Castle near the Welsh border to learn what Sir Phillip Mortimer is planning since he apparently has something on Her Highness. When someone murders Phillip's ward, everyone blames Ursula. Barely escaping the castle, Ursula seeks the evidence that will stop Mortimer from blackmailing the Queen. Ursula wants nothing more than to return to France with Meg. First however, she has to make sure England's queen is safe and the throne secure. Fiona Buckley has written a colorful Elizabethan mystery that describes the culture, beliefs, and practices of the sixteenth century English nobility. TO RUIN A QUEEN is an excellent historical tale that contains a strong plot and powerful characters 5that keep the story line moving at a rapid pace. This novel is so complex and deep, that fans of a complex puzzle will appreciate it. Harriet Klausner
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