The Queen's Gamble
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4.6 • 5 Ratings
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- $2.99
Publisher Description
Young Queen Elizabeth I's path to the throne has been a perilous one, and already she faces a dangerous crisis. French troops have landed in Scotland to quell a rebel Protestant army, and Elizabeth fears once they are entrenched on the border, they will invade England.
Isabel Thornleigh has returned to London from the New World with her Spanish husband, Carlos Valverde, and their young son. Ever the queen's loyal servant, Isabel is recruited to smuggle money to the Scottish rebels. Yet Elizabeth's trust only goes so far--Isabel's son will be the queen's hostage until she completes her mission. Matters grow worse when Isabel's husband is engaged as military advisor to the French, putting the couple on opposite sides in a deadly cold war. . .
"Starts strong and doesn't let up. . .Kyle's latest is extremely accessible for readers unfamiliar with the series." --Publishers Weekly
"Memorable characters, lush historical details, fascinating intrigues, and court drama. History and romance merge, loyalty and passions run high and readers are riveted to the pages." --RT Book Reviews, 4 Stars
"Riveting, adventurous. . .superb!" --Historical Novel Society
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The fourth in Kyle's Thornleigh series (after The Queen's Captive) starts strong and doesn't let up. Isabel, daughter of the Thornleighs, has been living happily with husband Carlos and their son in Peru for five years, but returns to England when she hears that her mother has been charged with murder. Once home, her Catholicism distances her from her family. But her heart is English, and in a fit of patriotism, Isabel offers to deliver gold from Elizabeth I to Protestant Scottish rebels hoping to cast off their French Catholic overlords. Unfortunately, Carlos has been dispatched to aid the French, and this conflict nearly destroys their marriage. In Scotland, Isabel's eyes are opened to the Scots' plight and, wanting to offer more than money, she joins a plot against Elizabeth's life in the hopes of discovering traitors. But when she returns to court, she's taken as a traitor herself. Locked away with knowledge that could save Elizabeth and a date with the gallows drawing near, Isabel must fight not only for her life but also for her queen's. Kyle's latest is extremely accessible for readers unfamiliar with the series, and the Scottish uprising, a little explored piece of Tudor history, enlivens a well-worn genre.
