Book Review: Queen's Ransome

Reviewed By: Carol Schwaderer Dickinson - RAM

Queen's Ransome     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon UK PB Amazon UK HC Amazon UK AUDIO Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Fiona Buckley
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Historical
Series: Ursula Blanchard # 3
2000, 321 pages

In the third Ursula Blanchard adventure, she is longing for a vacation from political intrigue and reconciliation with her estranged second husband, a catholic who has escaped to France. But permission to travel comes with an assignment to recover a buried treasure her first husband had gathered on behalf of the Elizabeth, and as a courier with a secret message to Catharine de Medici.

There is no respite from intrigue as she travels under the protection of her former father-in-law with a mission of his own which could endanger Ursula, her servants and perhaps her estranged husband. As she struggles to make her way across France to Amsterdam to dig up the treasure, members of her party are pursued by assassins, religious unrest erupts into violence around them, her maid is imprisoned by the French Queen, and Ursula no longer knows who among her party and her acquaintances in Amsterdam can be trusted.

The characters are richly painted, and the tension remains high throughout the tale. This series gets better with each offering. HIghly recommended for any who love historicals.

Carol Schwaderer Dickinson - RAM

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Carol Schwaderer Dickinson - RAM