Assassin (The Grace Mysteries) [Library Binding]

Lady Grace Cavendish (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up | Series: The Grace Mysteries

WHEN MARGARET CAVENDISH, one of Elizabeth I’s Gentlewomen of the Bedchamber, lost her life in a bungled attempt to kill the Queen, her daughter, Lady Grace, became a protégée to the monarch, who takes Grace under her wing. Now Grace, a spunky girl who romps through the gardens with the laundry maids and court tumblers and rolls her eyes at her fellow
ladies, chronicles the court intrigues that swirl around her. . . .

It’s the spring of 1569 and 13-year-old Lady Grace, the youngest lady-in-waiting to the Queen, finds herself at a glittering ball choosing amongst three suitors. But the Queen’s generosity turns deadly as threats, dark secrets, and even murder descend on the Tudor court. And it is up to Grace to use her intelligence, stealth, and curious nature to solve the mystery that threatens the very lifeblood of England.


From the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Reviewed with Grace Cavendish's Betrayal.

Gr. 4-7. This new series, ostensibly the diaries (or daybooks) of Lady Grace Cavendish (the real author is British writer Patricia Finney), takes place in the court of Queen Elizabeth I, where Grace serves as a lady-in-waiting. With plenty of twenty-first-century spunk, she solves mysteries that are turning the court upside down. In Assassin, one of Grace's suitors is murdered, and the 13-year-old's cool-headed calculations prove that the lord to whom she has given her hand is not the killer as everyone supposes. He is also not the man Grace believes him to be, so she gives him the boot. In betrayal, another young lady-in-waiting seems to have eloped with Sir Francis Drake, but Grace uses her prognosticating skill and masquerades as a boy to prove otherwise. The books, which occasionally use Old English words (there's a glossary) and handwritten notes, are filled with details of Elizabethan life. An author's note distinguishes fact from fiction. The stories move swiftly, and the mix of history and mystery will keep kids interested. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

From the Inside Flap

WHEN MARGARET CAVENDISH, one of Elizabeth I's Gentlewomen of the Bedchamber, lost her life in a bungled attempt to kill the Queen, her daughter, Lady Grace, became a protégée to the monarch, who takes Grace under her wing. Now Grace, a spunky girl who romps through the gardens with the laundry maids and court tumblers and rolls her eyes at her fellow
ladies, chronicles the court intrigues that swirl around her. . . .

It's the spring of 1569 and 13-year-old Lady Grace, the youngest lady-in-waiting to the Queen, finds herself at a glittering ball choosing amongst three suitors. But the Queen's generosity turns deadly as threats, dark secrets, and even murder descend on the Tudor court. And it is up to Grace to use her intelligence, stealth, and curious nature to solve the mystery that threatens the very lifeblood of England.


From the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Library Binding: 208 pages
• Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers (September 28, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385901895
• ISBN-13: 978-0385901895
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 5.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,146,116 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #92 in Books > Children's Books > Literature & Fiction > Historical Fiction > Renaissance

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exciting start to a new historical mystery series., September 16, 2004

By 

Rebecca Herman (USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Assassin (The Grace Mysteries) (Hardcover)

This is the first book in the Lady Grace Mysteries series, about Lady Grace Cavendish, a thirteen-year-old Maid of Honour at the court of Queen Elizabeth I.

Lady Grace Cavendish grew up at the court of Queen Elizabeth I. When her mother died after accidentally drinking poison meant for the queen, Elizabeth took the responsibility of securing Grace's future upon herself. Now thirteen years old in the spring of 1569, Grace is a Maid of Honor to the queen, and the time has come for her betrothal. Even though she will not have to marry for three more years, Grace still dreads being betrothed. Elizabeth plans a lavish ball where Grace may choose her future husband from among three suitors. Everything goes as planned, until the day after the ball -- when one of Grace's rejected suitors is found dead, and the man she has chosen for her betrothed is the prime suspect! Now Grace must get to the bottom of the mystery and find the real killer so that she may clear the name of her future husband.

I highly recommend this series to readers who love a combination of historical fiction and mystery. Because it is written as Grace's diary, it also has a lot of appeal to fans of Dear America, The Royal Diaries, and other diary-format historical fiction. I can't wait to read more of Grace's adventures. I really enjoyed the historical setting and the diary format, and Grace is a very likable character.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous New Historical Mystery Series for All Ages, December 28, 2004

By 

Erika Sorocco (Southern California, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Assassin (The Grace Mysteries) (Hardcover)

The year is 1569, and thirteen-year-old Lady Grace Cavendish, Maid of Honor to Queen Elizabeth I, is the Queen's absolute favorite person in the court, seeing as how Lady Grace's Mother saved the Queen from drinking poison, while at the same time drinking it herself and meeting an untimely death. Now it is time for Lady Grace to choose a suitor for herself, whom she will marry when she turns sixteen. The Queen has chosen three suitable bachelors for Lady Grace, but she seems to have a problem with all of them - seeing as how they are much too old for her - but she does make a final decision. Then tragedy strikes. One of the suitors who Lady Grace rejected has turned up dead, and her husband-to-be is blamed for the murder. Lady Grace knows that she must solve the mystery before her fiance is sentenced to death, and she knows that her very close friends - Ellie, a washing girl, and Masou, a tumbler - will be there to help her in every way they can.

I have always been a fan of historical fiction related to royalty, and I'm an avid mystery reader, so THE LADY GRACE MYSTERIES easily satisfied all of my needs. I was happy to find that the character of Lady Grace was somewhat tom-boyish - as opposed to being prissy like many other Maid of Honors in the past - with a wonderful personality and curiosity that could easily please anyone. Fans of the historical fiction novels by Carolyn Meyer, and the Royal Diaries series will be overjoyed to find this new historical fiction series. A must read!

Erika Sorocco
Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Get In To Reading with this Great Book, May 4, 2006

By 

The Park School (Baltimore) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Assassin (The Grace Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Get in to Reading with this Great Book

By: Patricia Finney writing as Grace Cavendish

Review by: Sarah L.

Title: The Lady Grace Mysteries Assassin (book one)

There is a murder at the court of Queen Elizabeth the first (the queen of England)! The Lady Grace, the queen's favorite Maid of Honor, has to choose one out of three suitors to marry. One was bossy and rude, one was old and fat but charming, and the other was tongue-tied. Later one suitor was found dead on his bed with a dagger in his back and a wine cup in his hand. Another suitor was accused of the murder and one goes missing. Can you take the suspense?
This book is about how Lady Grace tries to figure out what has happened to two of the suitors while trying to clear the other's name.
I recommend this book for ages nine and up. It is a well-written story. Assassin has all the things a well-written book needs, it has suspense and mystery, and this author knows how to keep you reading the book! This book also has a good story to tell, not one of those stories where the pretty and happy elf goes on a picnic and eats the food and lives happily ever after. Anyone who reads it DO NOT MAKE ACCUSIONS AGAINST ANYBODY OR ANYTHING! I would rate this five out of five stars. It is really good. This book is fiction or a story.
Ms.Finney tells you about words she uses in Assassin. She put a glossary as well as research facts all found at the back of the book which I find very useful at times. The research facts that about Queen Elizabeth the 1st father Henry the 8th and all his different wives and how he was desperate for a male heir.