Customer Reviews

Assassin (The Grace Mysteries)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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

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.

Serving as a lady's maid for Queen Elizabeth I, Lady Grace is grudgingly faced with the task of choosing a husband out of three possible candidates selected by the Queen. The seemingly simple task is complicated when one of Grace's suitors is found murdered, another suitor is suspected, and her third suitor begins behaving in ways most strange. With the implicit permission of the Queen, Grace joins forces with a maid and a jester and sets out to solve the mysteries surrounding her suitors.

While this is the first book in a series, the story is complete and can easily be read as a standalone. Told in diary entries, the reader gets to know Grace well. Spunky and clever, Grace is sweet and interesting enough to engage older teens, but her emotional dilemmas will also resonate with younger readers. While everything comes together perhaps a little too neatly in the end, the mystery is sufficiently interesting (if not overly suspenseful) and the characters are engaging enough to overlook the saccharine ending.

A glossary of terms will help younger readers learn about objects, customs, events, and sayings of the time without dragging down the story with distracting historical explanations. While educative in this regard, the behavior of the characters is more modern, making the book less historically accurate, but probably more interesting for modern young readers. This is a good pick for pre-teens, teens, and classroom shelves.

This book is perfect for anyone who loves adventure and mysteries.

A young girl named Lady Grace is serving the queen as her maid-of-honor. But when one of her three suitors is found dead after the ball everyone blames her betrothed! Now it is up to Lady Grace and her two friends, Ellie and Masou, to prove that Lord Robert is innocent and to find the true culprit.

If you love books with adventure, mystery, and excitment, make sure you read this one. It captivates you the whole way through. It was a great book and I hope you love it too.

Do you like murder mysteries? If the answer is yes than this is the book for you. This book starts slow in 1533 with13 year old Grace in her bedroom writing in her journal. On the night of her Valentines Day ball she sees a sight no child should ever see. The next day she is forced to figure out who murdered one of her suitors. I give this book 4 stars because it is exciting and unpredictable.

-Acacia

Lady Grace is a brilliant mystery book and it keeps you on the edge of your chair right the way through. It is a diary and its about a maid of onner and she works for the queen but that is not it.There is a mystery in evry book and lady Grace goes under cover to try and find out who did it. It is set a long time a go and she goes to the extrem. Her friends masu and ellie try and come with her but sometimes they are in trouble.

this is a brilliant book and I advise reading it. i cant wait till the next one comes out as i am a big fan and have read all the books so far.

this book is a fantastic novel that is not to short but not to long if you like mystries and blood shed this is the book for you.

Also the other books in the series are also fantastic and i would reccomend the books to 10 and above as it does have words that are hard to understand as i started to read them when i was 9.

Basicly to cut it all short ABSOLUTLY FANTASTICLY GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This book was captavating! I absolutely could not put it down! The very first sentance swept me away to a place far back in time, where mystery and drama in the World's finest court, the court of Enhgland, unfold. Lady Grace's brave heart must choose between being the ideal "little lady" (that Lady Sarah!) or being herself, helping her friends, and being loyal to the queen. When malicious mischief strikes, disguises unfold, death enters the court. When her engaged fiance is convicted for a murder he did not do, Lady Grace must uncover the truth. Could it all be a scheme to steal the lavish estates of the Cavendish's? This book is one of the best!

I think Assassin is a great book. It's very spine tingling you'll never be able to put this book down! If you lke mysteries then this book is good for you! The author makes the characters come to life. This book is about a girl named grace who is a maid of honor to the queen. Grace must marry 1 out of 3 men and one of them gets killed, if you want to know who the murderer is then read this book. Don't miss the next book Betrayal to find out what happens to Grace next.