Face Down Before Rebel Hooves [Hardcover]

Kathy Lynn Emerson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 23, 2001

Susanna, Lady Appleton, is passing time with her new love, Nick Baldwin, in Hamburg when she is approached by her old friend Walter. Distraught over the discovery that his late wife, Eleanor, was conspiring in a plot to overthrow Queen Elizabeth and replace her with Mary, Queen of Scots, Walter beseeches Susanna to help him foil the plot. Since Eleanor's death is still a well-kept secret, Walter wants Susanna to take his wife's place among the traitors.

Overcoming her misgivings, Susanna soon finds herself impersonating Eleanor so that she can join the ring of conspirators. Attempting to deliver a vital letter to the earl of Northumberland, a key player in the drama about to unfold, Susanna wonders how long she can conceal her true identity. Will the plot against the Queen proceed unchecked, or will it be thwarted by Susanna's sleuthing?

In the sixth installment of this "sparkling series" (Publishers Weekly), Emerson seamlessly combines politics, history and suspense as she follows Susanna, Lady Appleton, on her latest adventure.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In her latest mystery featuring Susanna, Lady Appleton, Emerson offers an intriguing look at one of the many attempts to replace Protestant Queen Elizabeth I with the Roman Catholic Mary, Queen of Scots. Sad to say, the plot gets thoroughly muddled and falls on its face. The beginning is straightforward enough it is 1569, and Susanna is visiting Hamburg with her lover when an old friend asks her to impersonate his wife and infiltrate a plot to overthrow Elizabeth. Reluctantly, Susanna agrees. Her arrival in England bearing a packet of coded letters sets off a series of events that leaves the reader bewildered. What starts as clever plot-counterplot and an unmasking of conspirators ends up in such confusion that one doubts whether the author herself can unravel the tangled web of deceit. The little period details are sometimes successful (the frustration of having to get the "points" on the clothing tied when Susanna is hurrying to dress), sometimes less so ("Dragon water!" as an expletive just sounds silly). Unfortunately, certain big period details are missing: Emerson fails to evoke either Susanna's devotion to Elizabeth or the religious fervor that fires the conspirators. The characters move woodenly against a stage set, lacking both motivation and credibility. Instead of wondering who has masterminded the plot and how it can be foiled, readers are left wondering, "Who cares?" (Aug.)Forecast: The thinness of the last two or three books of what started as a solid historical series suggests the author has lost interest and is just churning them out; readers will continue to lose interest as well.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Susanna, Lady Appleton, is plunged into Elizabethan intrigue in a tale that relies less on the herbal lore for which Emerson is known and more on a wretchedly complicated historical morass of plots against Elizabeth I. Emerson kindly lays out both the fictional and historical members of her cast and provides a note to Tudor plotting and paranoia. In between, Susanna takes on the guise of Eleanor, Lady Pendennis, at the behest of Sir Walter, Eleanor's husband and Susanna's old friend. Eleanor has died, Walter reports, crushed under a runaway horse in an incident that may not have been an accident. Walter wishes to quash the rebellion he suspects against the queen and needs Susanna's presence as Eleanor to defuse the plot. Susanna's beloved Nick Baldwin, the merchant, and her ward Rosamund, bastard child of her own late husband and Eleanor, are mostly offstage while thick plots by two countesses and the horrors of travel in Elizabethan England take center stage. Rather slower and more expository than usual for this series, it still entices. GraceAnne DeCandido
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 261 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; 1st edition (August 23, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031228036X
• ISBN-13: 978-0312280369
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.7 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,840,785 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars enthralling read, August 2, 2001

By 

tregatt (Portland, Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Face Down Before Rebel Hooves (Hardcover)

It's been a year since Mary, Queen of Scots, fled Scotland and pled for asylum in England. And although she is now a prisoner, dependent on Elizabeth I's charity and mercy, Mary and her allies still plot to make her Queen of England.

Sir Walter Pendennis is in Augsburg, negotiating for a secret loan on Elizabeth I's behalf, and he is looking forward to returning to England, and to settling down in his country manor with his wife, putting his days as a diplomat behind him, when tragedy strikes. Eleanor, Sir Walter's wife is run over by a farm wagon, and is seriously injured. Believing herself to be at death's door, she confesses to her husband that she has been conspiring with the Earls of Northumberland and Westmorland for quite a while now to overthrow the Queen and to place Mary on the English throne. Sir Walter is both angered and appalled at the news. His only thought now is to somehow thwart the conspirators, and to minimize his errant wife's role in the conspiracy. Discovering that his old friend, Lady Susanna Appleton is in Hamburg, Sir Walter goes to her for help. His plan is for Susanna to impersonate Eleanor and to somehow insinuate herself into the conspirators' circle. Sir Walter assures Susanna that practically no one will discover the impersonation as Eleanor has more or less had little contact with any of the conspirator's (save through letters). Eager to prevent any kind of uprising, Susanna agrees to help Sir Walter, eventhough she senses that there is something that Sir Walter is holding back.

Susanna's lover, Nick Baldwin, however is not so sanguine. Distrustful of Sir Walter and his motives for involving Susanna in this dangerous enterprise, Nick does some digging of his own, and discovers that Eleanor had actually been murdered, and that the order to murder her had come from someone close to Northumberland. Obviously the conspirators did not trust Eleanor at all. Fearful of Susanna's safety, Nick quickly makes for England. Will Nick arrive in time to warn Susanna of the danger she is facing? Will Susanna mange to ingratiate herself with the conspirators? What exactly is Sir Walter hiding, and exactly what kind of deep game is he playing? And will the conspirators pull off their coup?

These are the threads that bind this very suspenseful mystery novel together. With "Face Down Before Rebel Hooves," Kathy Lynn Emerson does an excellent job of maintaining that taut suspenseful air, where you wonder if Susanna will finally be unmasked; and if the killer, who believes that (s)he has failed in his/her attempt to murder Eleanor, will strike again. Since this mystery novel is based on historical fact, we all know how the coup panned out, however, I thought that the authour did a truly wonderful job of bringing this entire conspiracy to life. Susanna Appleton remains as wonderful, and as strong and as resilient as ever. And it makes for wonderful reading to see Susanna and Jennet, her clever and resourceful ally, grapple with the mystery at hand and solve it. This novel is quite a fun read, and is, in my opinion, part of a series that is one of the better mystery series dealing with Elizabethan England.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great book, January 13, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Face Down Before Rebel Hooves (Paperback)

I'm not going to go on about what happens in this novel, since you only have to refer to the great reviews given by those in 2001. I will say that these Lady Appleton books are fasinating and well worth your time.

Emerson does a wonderful job in creating well rounded characters in a realistic setting which is true to European history. The characters and their personality change accoring to the ups and downs in their lives, yet still stay true to their individual personality. I can't say enough about the wondersul writing ability of Emerson. Well down!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great read, January 13, 2004

By 

Neker (Duson, Louisiana United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Face Down Before Rebel Hooves (Paperback)

I love reading how Lady Appleton's life has change and developed over the years, while she become independantly successful and even more interesting. This will not be a disappointing read.