Title:

Queen Without a Crown

Author:

Fiona Buckley

Category:

Mystery / Thriller

Rating:

Date Reviewed:

January 4, 2024

was browsing the New in Paperback shelf at our library when I came upon a book called The Golden Cargoes. It was part of the Ursula Blanchard Elizabethean mystery series, in fact, it was the twenty-first book in the series. Twenty-one books already, in a medieval mystery series that I had never even knew existed! I checked the stacks to see if our library branch had any of the earlier books in the series, and I found Queen Without a Crown along with several later books. Queen Without a Crown is the ninth book starring Ursula Blanchard. Although I had not ready any of the previous works, I picked up this story without any confusion; it works fine as a stand alone novel. It is a fast read at 230 pages in hardback edition.

The queen without a crown that is referenced in the title is Mary, who, despite being called Queen of Scots, has no throne or crown of her own (she was forced to abdicate the Scottish throne in 1567, the novel takes place in 1569, at which time Mary is held prisoner in a castle on English soil, far from the Scottish border). Mary still aspires to rule, either from the Scottish throne or English throne, which makes her a threat to Queen Elizabeth. (For the longest time, I thought Bloody Queen Mary and Mary Queen of Scots were the same person, but they are not - though both were Catholics who sought to revert Protestant England back to Catholicism ).

Ursula Blanchard is the half sister of Queen Elizabeth, both were sired by King Henry VIII, though Ursula is an illegitimate offspring. Elizabeth apparently trusts her half sister, because she has previously sent Ursula on perilous missions as a "secret agent". Ursula is loyal to Elizabeth, but she would much rather stay home with her third husband, Hugh.

Ursula's career as a "secret agent" is a poorly kept secret; everyone at the court knows at least something of her previous exploits (which are doubtlessly describe in the preceding eight novels in this series). And so a young courtier named Mark Easton comes to Ursula with an offer - his father, Gervase Easton, was accused of murder-by-poison twenty years ago, and took his own life before he could be tried and hanged. But Mark has a letter written by his father before he killed himself, and the in the letter Gervase strongly states that he is innocent and that his son Mark (who just 3 when Gervase died) should always believe this to be true.

However, although Mark does believe in his father's innocence, no one else does. The parents of beautiful, spirited Jane, whom Mark wishes to marry, have decreed that their daughter shall not marry a man whose father was a murderer. The stain upon the Easton name is too great. Knowing of Ursula ability to solve problems, Mark comes to Ursula and begs her to prove that his father was indeed innocent. It seems an impossible task - the murder occurred twenty years prior. How can Ursula possibly interview witnesses or track down suspects?

Unfortunately, Ursula's husband, Hugh, invested heavily in a risky but potentially lucrative scheme - which has gone awry when the trading ships failed to return safely. Now Hugh must make good on his debts, which means he must sell his beloved Hawkswood estate. However, Mark Easton is so eager for proof of his father's innocence that he offers a hefty sum if Ursula can prove who poisoned Master Hoxton. And so Ursula finds herself on the case.

To complicate things, two powerful earls in England's north have declared loyalty for Mary, Queen of Scots, and armies are on the march. No one should leave Windsor, though Queen Elizabeth dearly would like someone to investigate the rumors of treasonous spies roaming through the countryside. Where will Queen Elizabeth turn to find someone to uncover the truth regarding this rumors? Your guess is as good as mine...