DARK QUEEN WATCHING

Margaret Beaufort’s third adventure features a locked-room murder and a plethora of evil machinations.

Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond, and her son in exile, Henry Tudor, are the last remnants of a historic family. The death of her husband leaves Margaret even more exposed to the Yorkist powers that want her dead. She relies on the only two people she can trust: Master Reginald Bray and especially Christopher Urswicke, whose cleverness has helped keep her alive and plotting. A battle invisible to most is raging between the Garduna, a secret organization of killers who work for whomever will pay them, and the Luciferi, who act for the French Crown. Someone has paid the Garduna to harass Margaret, and her London house becomes a dangerous place as vicious broadsheets accuse her of unspeakable deeds. Having secretly sent for her son to come to England in disguise, she plans to seek sanctuary at her country estate and nearby Chertsey Abbey. Before she can leave London, though, a Frenchman is poisoned in a locked room of her house, and Christopher adds solving the murder to the list of things he must do to protect Margaret. He’s well aware of the fact that the attacks on Margaret are almost certainly planned by his own father, whom he must outsmart if the House of Lancaster is to survive.

A deep dive into an exciting historical period replete with action-filled sequences and nefarious plots.