Dark Queen Waiting (A Margaret Beaufort Tudor Mystery Book 2)

This takes place during the last of the Plantagenets to the first of the Tudors, and is tied together by Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII, and her ending one dynesty and beginning of another. Very clever woman who lived a long time and her two real loyal companions. Most of the characters are real. The author's research is excellent. Parts are very violent and descriptive, so I tried to skip over them. This is the same author of the Domesday series, the Theater series in the mid-1400's, and others of historical mysteries. I love Paul Doherty's books and highly recommend him to all lovers of historical mysteries.

Doherty's Dark Queen series lives up to his reputation of delivering a good story based on English history. I'm looking forward to the next installment!

Doherty continues his brilliant fictional treatise centered around Margaret of Beaufort, Henry Tudor's mother, and her deceptively focused fight to keep her son safe and bring him to the English throne. Standing with her are her redoubtable and loyal clerks Christopher Urswicke and Reginald BrayThe House of York is divided against itself, Edward is king. His Recorder, Sir Thomas Urswicke, Christopher's father, is cunning and vicious in his plans to bring Margaret and the Tudors to heel. Needless to say father and son are estranged, although it appears Thomas still hopes for Christopher's loyalty.Trusted welshmen, part of the Red Dragon Battle Group are being hounded to death. Even claiming the church's sanctuary sees them mysteriously slain.Margaret and her loyal supporters must come up with a plan to thwart the Recorder's intentions. And as plans take root, they come to an inescapable truth. There is a traitor working in their midst. The Recorder intends the sanctuary men to be escorted to the coast and exiled. Of course, much can happen on that long march. Margaret elects to accompany them.Truly some of the descriptions Doherty gives of the conditions on the streets, of the merry making on the occasion of a public hanging, of conditions in jails, and in the dank alleyways are akin to descending into Dante's Inferno at the very worst and a Bruegel painting at the very best. These illuminating word pictures are not far from that!Doherty's research is as always superb, his writing flawlessly incorporating facts into the narrative. I was taken by his comments about this period in his Author's Note."I have always believed that during the period 1471 to 1485 some dark nemesis stalked the House of York. I suspect this nemesis was the innocent-looking yet very shrewd Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond. Margaret was a truly brilliant strategist and a ‘master of politic’: a woman assisted by her two clerks, Reginald Bray and Christopher Urswicke, who themselves matched their mistress’s talents." I must say I found the accompanying reflection about Christopher Urswicke telling.Master storyteller Doherty does indeed pen a fabulously twisty historical novel.A Severn House ARC via NetGalley(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)

Thanks to netgalley and Severn House for this ARC.This is a bloody, exciting, and ruthless maze of loyalties, betrayal, and history. Its not easy to keep all the different factions up the in air. It takes a talented author to write about this time period.

Good period read, glad that I read it but some of the slower parts, although necessary were a challenge for 6.

I thought this was the 2nd book in a series I was reading. It was not! I found this tedious!

Another series from Paul Doherty I like this one. It may end soon though 4 books to date

This second book in the author's Margaret Beaufort Tudor mysteries deals with our hero Christopher Urswicke having to find out which of the Countess's loyal followers is a traitor.For the umpteenth time in a Paul Doherty book mystery surrounds the way in which 2 characters are murdered in locked rooms with no sign of entry or exit.Despite this the book is an enjoyable read and comes to a very satisfactory conclusion.