The Queene's Cure (Elizabeth I Mysteries, Book 4) [Mass Market Paperback]

Karen Harper (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 4, 2003

In late summer of 1562, with handsome Lord Robert Dudley by her side, Elizabeth Tudor leads her retinue to London s Royal College of Physicians -- to demand its help in the raging battle against disease and pestilence. But the stalwart queen is shaken when a frighteningly lifelike effigy of herself ravaged by pox turns up in her royal coach.

Elizabeth s fear that the counterfeit corpse is a harbinger of tragedy comes to fruition when ever more terrifying transgressions penetrate the very heart of her royal precincts. With the help of her Privy Plot Council , Elizabeth resolves to unmask a murderer who wears a false face and is beset by the vilest humours of the soul. But when she herself falls ill, an entire realm is caught in the grip of a treasonous conspiracy...as the indomitable young monarch fights for her life, her realm, and her rightful crown.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The early years of Elizabeth I's reign were a bloody, tumultuous time in British history, but Harper's fourth mystery to feature the virgin queen as sleuth (after 2001's The Twylight Tower) is, by comparison, rather anemic, being set in the world of 16th-century medicine. Two physicians and an untried monarch quarreling over the best way to treat disease is not the stuff of compelling conflict. A more serious danger to the young queen eventually surfaces, rooted in the endless squabbles over the right to the crown. Unfortunately, the author loads up the story with so many characters (25 in the first chapter alone) that the palace intrigue is more irritating than intriguing. The queen herself, as Harper presents her, is not a particularly sympathetic character. If this is a true portrait, mayhap she came by it naturally: her father was, after all, Henry VIII, and her mother the ill-fated Anne Boleyn. As the danger increases, Elizabeth calls together a motley crew of trusted advisers, a group she has dubbed the Privy Plot Council, and leads them in a spirited investigation of the threat to her life. Strip away the historical name dropping, the unrequited loves and the royal histrionics, and you'll find a neatly plotted mystery, with genuinely terrifying scenes at the climax. Alas, the novel sinks under the weight of all those personages and the burden of keeping them straight. The murky view of Hampton Court above a tomb effigy on the jacket nicely conveys the book's atmosphere.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Harper's fascinating series (The Twylight Tower) continues as Elizabeth's Privy Plot Council does its best to deter a treacherous conspiracy against the queen. A horrible prank has made the queen fearful of disease, and when she does become ill, the conspiracy grows. Fine work for all collections.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 366 pages
• Publisher: Dell (February 4, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440235952
• ISBN-13: 978-0440235958
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 0.7 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #449,954 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

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating reading, August 20, 2002

By 

Sharon Galligar Chance (Wichita Falls, Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Queene's Cure (Elizabeth I Mysteries, Book 4) (Hardcover)

This is the fourth book written by Karen Harper that features Queen Elizabeth the First as the main character. So it is a little far-fetched to think that Queen Bess might be a crime-solving sleuth, but who is to say she wasn't? She was a brilliant ruler, with many interests, so it isn't so far-out that she would want to help solve perplexing mysteries of her day,especially when the mystery involves herself or one of her close subjects.
I find these novels fascinating. They are well-researched,and presented in a lively, intriguing manner.
I look foward to the next installment of this series.

Sharon Galligar Chance, TIMES RECORD NEWS

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars superb Elizabethan mystery, April 3, 2002

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Queene's Cure (Elizabeth I Mysteries, Book 4) (Hardcover)

Elizabeth had a long hard road to travel before she ascended the throne as England's Queen. As a child growing up, she knew any day could be her last and when she was imprisoned in the tower, she thought she would never get out. Though she has full control of the government, she remains alert that her enemies both Catholic and Protestant are waiting for the chance to topple her from the throne.

Following a visit to the Royal College of Physicians Elizabeth finds an eerie looking pockmarked effigy of herself in the waiting coach. Although she tries to pass it off as a prank, Elizabeth knows that this could be the opening gambit in a plot to assassinate her. When she discovers the leech laden body of a naked woman on her private grounds, she is sure of it. She and her Privy Plot council investigate her closest enemies but it's only when she recovers from a case of the pox do the people loyal to Elizabeth knows in what direction does her enemy lie.

This is the fourth installment in this historical mystery series and THE QUEEN'S CURE is as superb as the first three. The role of doctors and medicine in Elizabethan society plays an important part in the solving of this intricately woven mystery. However, it is the characters, especially the vulnerable Queen and her loyal followers who make this historical novel a winner.

Harriet Klausner

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Terrible, February 6, 2004

By 

S. E. Kennedy "ocinnedeagh" (Minnesota, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Queene's Cure (Elizabeth I Mysteries, Book 4) (Mass Market Paperback)

I really tried. The premise interested me - Queen Elizabeth's court - someone terrorizing the queen - the appearance of dead a dead body in her private garden -a mystery waiting to be solved.
At page 164 I gave up and this one is in the donation box.
The story involved a load of uninteresting characters - most especially Meg or Sarah or whatever each character wanted to call her. I new the answer to the mystery after the introduction of characters in the first few pages. Why it took the author 350 pages to tell this tale is simple...poor writing.
She tried to string you along with a variety of likely criminals, but the story was just too obvious - and all that happened subsequently was just too boring and/or totally unbelievable. If you want a good mystery - this is not it.
If you want a good historical fiction - this is not it. I would suggest something by Sharan Kay Penman or Rosalyn Miles if you want this era.