Dark Queen Watching
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
The arrival of a band of Spanish mercenaries brings new danger for Margaret Beaufort and the House of Lancaster in this richly-imagined medieval mystery.
November, 1471. With Edward of York on the English throne and her son, Henry Tudor, in exile in Brittany, the newly-widowed Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond, is alone, without protectors. All she can do is wait and watch, planning for a time when she’s in a position to make her move.
But new dangers are emerging. En route to England is a band of Spanish mercenaries known as the Garduna. With no allegiance to prince, prelate or people, they are a lethal fighting force, utterly ruthless and implacable killers. But who has hired them . . . and why?
The discovery of the body of an unexpected visitor, found murdered in a locked room in her London townhouse, heralds the start of a series of increasingly menacing incidents which threaten Margaret and her household. Is there an enemy within? It’s up to Margaret’s wily clerk Christopher Urswicke to uncover the truth and ensure Margaret survives to fulfil her destiny.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In 1471, the House of York is ascendant, and Margaret Beaufort, countess of Richmond and a leading Lancastrian, is not only out of power but in serious danger, in Doherty's outstanding third Margaret Beaufort mystery (after 2020's The Stone of Destiny). The bloodshed begins with the murder in a tavern of a French royal clerk, who was trying to chase down an ominous rumor. Other homicides follow, as well as a massacre in an English forest. It becomes clear that there's a political point to the trail of death. Why is someone trying to drive the countess out of England? Who would benefit? Meanwhile, Beaufort's trusted henchman, Christopher Urswicke, who's fighting various family demons, investigates the murders and mischief surrounding Beaufort. What makes this stand out from other mysteries set during the Wars of the Roses is how it draws in formidable players from outside England. Particularly frightening is a highly trained group of assassins from Spain, based on historical fact. This entry's devious and deadly plots and conspiracies make Game of Thrones look like a game of patty-cake.
