- Hardcover: 288 pages
- Publisher: St. Martin's Minotaur (15 Feb 2005)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0312326920
- ISBN-13: 978-0312326920
- Product Dimensions: 21.3 x 14.2 x 2.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,684,460 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Mass Market Paperback
KAREN HARPER'S 7TH BOOK IN HER ELIZABETH 1 SERIES IS A VIBRANT AND COLOURFUL FICTIONAL ACCOUNT OF LIFE AT THE TUDOR COURT FOLLOWING FOUR MONTHS LATER FROM The Queene's Christmas: An Elizabeth I Mystery (Elizabeth I Mysteries).
GIL SHARP THE FORMER MUTE THIEF HAS RETURNED FROM ITALY WHERE THE QUEEN SENT HIM TO PERFECT THE ART OF PAINTING AND ALONG WITH A SECRET HE DISCOVERED SOMEONE IS OUT TO SILENCE HIM. THE QUEEN HAS COMMISSIONED TO HAVE HER PORTRAIT PAINTED AND ALONG WITH THE PRIVY PLOT COUNCIL SETS OUT TO NONSUCH PALACE TO SIT FOR HER POTRAIT ALONG WITH THREE OTHER CHOSEN ARTISTS. IT IS WHEN SHE ARRIVES THAT THE BURNING OF HER HALF FINISHED PORTRAITS BEGIN AND THE KILLINGS START.
ALTHOUGH THERE ARE QUITE A FEW SUSPECTS. I GUESSED VERY EARLY WHO THE KILLER WAS, BUT THAT ASIDE IT IS STILL A VERY GOOD READ. PERSONALLY I FEEL THIS IS HARPER'S WEAKEST BOOK IN THE SERIES. AS ALWAYS THE RESEARCH INTO NONSUCH PALACE AND ITS ENVIRONS IS TOP NOTCH. KAREN HARPER ALWAYS CONJURES UP A REALISTIC PORTRAYAL OF TUDOR LIFE BOTH AT COURT AND BEYOND.
THERE IS A DEATH OF ONE OF HARPER'S REGULAR CHARACTERS AND WITH THIS IT WILL BE INTERESTING TO SEE HOW THE DYNAMICS CHANGE FOR HER NEXT BOOK The Fatal Fashione (Elizabeth I Mysteries).
GIL SHARP THE FORMER MUTE THIEF HAS RETURNED FROM ITALY WHERE THE QUEEN SENT HIM TO PERFECT THE ART OF PAINTING AND ALONG WITH A SECRET HE DISCOVERED SOMEONE IS OUT TO SILENCE HIM. THE QUEEN HAS COMMISSIONED TO HAVE HER PORTRAIT PAINTED AND ALONG WITH THE PRIVY PLOT COUNCIL SETS OUT TO NONSUCH PALACE TO SIT FOR HER POTRAIT ALONG WITH THREE OTHER CHOSEN ARTISTS. IT IS WHEN SHE ARRIVES THAT THE BURNING OF HER HALF FINISHED PORTRAITS BEGIN AND THE KILLINGS START.
ALTHOUGH THERE ARE QUITE A FEW SUSPECTS. I GUESSED VERY EARLY WHO THE KILLER WAS, BUT THAT ASIDE IT IS STILL A VERY GOOD READ. PERSONALLY I FEEL THIS IS HARPER'S WEAKEST BOOK IN THE SERIES. AS ALWAYS THE RESEARCH INTO NONSUCH PALACE AND ITS ENVIRONS IS TOP NOTCH. KAREN HARPER ALWAYS CONJURES UP A REALISTIC PORTRAYAL OF TUDOR LIFE BOTH AT COURT AND BEYOND.
THERE IS A DEATH OF ONE OF HARPER'S REGULAR CHARACTERS AND WITH THIS IT WILL BE INTERESTING TO SEE HOW THE DYNAMICS CHANGE FOR HER NEXT BOOK The Fatal Fashione (Elizabeth I Mysteries).
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3 reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
A different side of Elizabeth I
2 Nov 2007
Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Karen Harper's Queen Elizabeth series are a rich feast for the senses. Harper has an excellent grasp of the times and her writing is rich in period detail--everything from Elizabethean fashion to the cuisine of the day comes alive under the influence of her pen. Historical fiction doesn't get much more pleasurable than this.
The seventh book in the series finds Elizabeth attempting to hunt down a murdered whose weapon of choice is the mirror. It's an intriguing and innovative premise but that is characteristic of this series. Harper deftly weaves together history and fiction to create an antagonist who has a very interesting motive for murder. The twists and turns that the queen must take to finally determine the identity of the murderer are interesting and the final confrontation is spectacular. The very imagery of it leaps off the page.
Though Elizabeth I is a spectacular and fascinating subject in her own right, in Harper's hands she truly comes alive. Harper's queen is passionate and mercurial but also mindful of those who serve her well. It is this characterization of one of the most dynamic figures in history that is the real strength of Harper's writing. My only complaint about this book--and the only thing that kept me from giving it five stars--is that Elizabeth is a bit too prone to portentious speeches, which must end every chapter or chapter segment. This rang too falsely at times for me and took me out of the story a bit.
Along with the main mystery is an engrossing subplot about Gil Sharpe, a recurring character in the novels. His travels in Italy and his discoveries of Italian painting techniques make for a fascinating read. He is also a wonderful character, displaying yet again the aptitude that Harper has for creating believeable and interesting characters. Harper could probably get by solely by focusing on Elizabeth but she does her readers a great service by surrounding the queen with a cast of vibrant characters.
The seventh book in the series finds Elizabeth attempting to hunt down a murdered whose weapon of choice is the mirror. It's an intriguing and innovative premise but that is characteristic of this series. Harper deftly weaves together history and fiction to create an antagonist who has a very interesting motive for murder. The twists and turns that the queen must take to finally determine the identity of the murderer are interesting and the final confrontation is spectacular. The very imagery of it leaps off the page.
Though Elizabeth I is a spectacular and fascinating subject in her own right, in Harper's hands she truly comes alive. Harper's queen is passionate and mercurial but also mindful of those who serve her well. It is this characterization of one of the most dynamic figures in history that is the real strength of Harper's writing. My only complaint about this book--and the only thing that kept me from giving it five stars--is that Elizabeth is a bit too prone to portentious speeches, which must end every chapter or chapter segment. This rang too falsely at times for me and took me out of the story a bit.
Along with the main mystery is an engrossing subplot about Gil Sharpe, a recurring character in the novels. His travels in Italy and his discoveries of Italian painting techniques make for a fascinating read. He is also a wonderful character, displaying yet again the aptitude that Harper has for creating believeable and interesting characters. Harper could probably get by solely by focusing on Elizabeth but she does her readers a great service by surrounding the queen with a cast of vibrant characters.
5 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Fabulous historical mystery
3 Dec 2004
Format:Hardcover
On a whim, Queen Elizabeth I decides to leave her London residence and stay at Nonsuch Palace for a while. Beside the courtiers and the rest of the retinue who make up Elizabeth's inner circle, she takes along artists, who are painting a state picture of her and she will pick the one that is the best and send it all over Europe. Gil Sharpe, who was sent to Italy to learn with the masters goes to Nonsuch and decides to enter the competition to paint his Queen's portrait.
Since Nonsuch is small, many of the people who traveled with Elizabeth are staying in the courtyard in tents. One of the artist's tents catches fire, killing him and his assistant. It is determined that the fire was deliberately set using a mirror and the sun to start the flames. A second artist's tent is also burned in the same manner. Elizabeth convinces her Privy Plot council to help her smoke out the killer but the perpetrator is very cunning. Elizabeth finds her own life is put in danger by a person without mercy.
This is the seventh Elizabeth I mystery by fabulous historical mystery writer Karen Harper and it is a thrilling reading experience because there are so many suspects with too few motives. Readers see the intelligence of the queen as she maneuvers Mary, Queen of Scots into a marriage of her choosing and plans to use her as a public relations tool to prove she is a queen in total command of the kingdom she rules. Fans of the Ursula Blanches series by Fiona Buckley will definitely love this glimpse into a bygone era.
Harriet Klausner
Since Nonsuch is small, many of the people who traveled with Elizabeth are staying in the courtyard in tents. One of the artist's tents catches fire, killing him and his assistant. It is determined that the fire was deliberately set using a mirror and the sun to start the flames. A second artist's tent is also burned in the same manner. Elizabeth convinces her Privy Plot council to help her smoke out the killer but the perpetrator is very cunning. Elizabeth finds her own life is put in danger by a person without mercy.
This is the seventh Elizabeth I mystery by fabulous historical mystery writer Karen Harper and it is a thrilling reading experience because there are so many suspects with too few motives. Readers see the intelligence of the queen as she maneuvers Mary, Queen of Scots into a marriage of her choosing and plans to use her as a public relations tool to prove she is a queen in total command of the kingdom she rules. Fans of the Ursula Blanches series by Fiona Buckley will definitely love this glimpse into a bygone era.
Harriet Klausner
3 of 5 people found the following review helpful
The Fyre Mirror
3 Jan 2007
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
As usual, the book was superb. When I read one of the mysteries, I cannot put the book down until its finished. I always look forward to the next one
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