Murder in the Queen’s Garden
Murder in the Queen’s Garden is the third book in the Elizabethan Mystery Series by Amanda Carmack. It is 1559, and Elizabeth has been on the throne for six months, enjoying summer parties at Nonsuch Palace, where in 1541 famed astrologer to King Henry, Dr. Timothy Macey, had disappeared. Astrology and horoscopes are as much the rage as masquerades, pageants, banquets, hunts, and games. When the body of Dr. Macey is discovered and then that of another astrologer, the queen calls on her personal lute player, Kate Haywood, the heroine and sleuth of the series, to “unofficially” investigate. Kate starts to make inquiries only to discover that astrology and horoscopes are lethal and at the root of ambitions, betrayals, and the murders.
Murder in the Queen’s Garden is a cozy Elizabethan mystery. Amanda Carmack paints a very vivid and impressive picture of the time, the places, the people and the conditions. No detail goes unnoticed, which brings the period to colourful life. Kate is a spunky and headstrong heroine who goes where ladies of the time aren’t supposed to go or see or do. She even has two unofficial suitors, who are trying to become worthy of her, and sometimes take on the role of her bodyguard.
Murder in the Queen’s Garden is a fun read with a solid mystery and a determined and likeable heroine.
