The Elizabethan era is one of the most intriguing and fascinating times of England’s colorful history. This may be the reason why so many authors, such as Fiona Buckley, Karen Harper, Edward Marston and Kathy Lynn Emerson, choose that time period as the backdrop for their mysteries. The glamour of court life, wars against Spain and France, and the strife at home give the authors plenty of events as a basis of their stories.
Emerson’s first mystery with Lady Susanna Appleton is set in the first year of Elizabeth’s reign. The Lady’s husband Sir Robert is sent to France by good Queen Bess on a reconnaissance mission loosely disguised as a gift giving gesture to the new French king.
During his absence, Susanna travels to her husband’s ancestral home Appleton Manor where the steward died under circumstances she finds odd. Although she and her retinue arrive several weeks after the death and there is no evidence that the man’s passing was anything other than natural, Susanna continues to probe, snoop and ask questions surrounding the deaths of the steward and her father-in-law’s two years prior.
Her investigation is thwarted by the local villagers’ mistrust of the newcomers to the manor, the strange family of the neighboring manor and the general opinion that Sir Robert’s boyhood home is haunted by a vengeful ghost.
Slowly but persevering, Lady Appleton finds out more about her husband’s family and their history than he ever told her.
Emerson’s Susanna is a very strong-will and stubborn woman who doesn’t exactly bully her husband but forces her wishes and does what she wants. Sir Robert appears almost cuckolded. His trip to France in intermingled in the novel but adds nothing to the mystery and becomes more a distraction rather than a sub-plot. It was as if Emerson only used it to show her knowledge of the French monarchy during Elizabeth’s early reign and get Sir Robert out of the way to allow Susanna her freedom to investigate the steward’s death without interruption. The only cross-connect between the two stories is a brief but very important event at the climax of the mystery.
It seems that Susanna is based loosely on Queen Elizabeth I, whose intelligence, wit and eccentricities are portrayed accurately although the monarch makes a very brief appearance. But Lady Appleton becomes almost too over-bearing for the reader because she is always right with few flaws.
Even with all that, Face Down in the Marrow-Bone Pie is a fun read and does whet the readers’ appetite for more. I definitely plan to continue reading Emerson’s Face Down series.
Emerson’s first mystery with Lady Susanna Appleton is set in the first year of Elizabeth’s reign. The Lady’s husband Sir Robert is sent to France by good Queen Bess on a reconnaissance mission loosely disguised as a gift giving gesture to the new French king.
During his absence, Susanna travels to her husband’s ancestral home Appleton Manor where the steward died under circumstances she finds odd. Although she and her retinue arrive several weeks after the death and there is no evidence that the man’s passing was anything other than natural, Susanna continues to probe, snoop and ask questions surrounding the deaths of the steward and her father-in-law’s two years prior.
Her investigation is thwarted by the local villagers’ mistrust of the newcomers to the manor, the strange family of the neighboring manor and the general opinion that Sir Robert’s boyhood home is haunted by a vengeful ghost.
Slowly but persevering, Lady Appleton finds out more about her husband’s family and their history than he ever told her.
Emerson’s Susanna is a very strong-will and stubborn woman who doesn’t exactly bully her husband but forces her wishes and does what she wants. Sir Robert appears almost cuckolded. His trip to France in intermingled in the novel but adds nothing to the mystery and becomes more a distraction rather than a sub-plot. It was as if Emerson only used it to show her knowledge of the French monarchy during Elizabeth’s early reign and get Sir Robert out of the way to allow Susanna her freedom to investigate the steward’s death without interruption. The only cross-connect between the two stories is a brief but very important event at the climax of the mystery.
It seems that Susanna is based loosely on Queen Elizabeth I, whose intelligence, wit and eccentricities are portrayed accurately although the monarch makes a very brief appearance. But Lady Appleton becomes almost too over-bearing for the reader because she is always right with few flaws.
Even with all that, Face Down in the Marrow-Bone Pie is a fun read and does whet the readers’ appetite for more. I definitely plan to continue reading Emerson’s Face Down series.
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