The Queen's Gamble [Paperback]

Barbara Kyle (Author)

Book Description

Release date: August 30, 2011

Young Queen Elizabeth I's path to the throne has been a perilous one, and already she faces a dangerous crisis. French troops have landed in Scotland to quell a rebel Protestant army, and Elizabeth fears once they are entrenched on the border, they will invade England.

Isabel Thornleigh has returned to London from the New World with her Spanish husband, Carlos Valverde, and their young son. Ever the queen's loyal servant, Isabel is recruited to smuggle money to the Scottish rebels. Yet Elizabeth's trust only goes so far—Isabel's son will be the queen's pampered hostage until she completes her mission. Matters grow worse when Isabel's husband is engaged as military advisor to the French, putting the couple on opposite sides in a deadly cold war.

Set against a lush, vibrant backdrop peopled with unforgettable characters and historical figures, The Queen's Gamble is a story of courage, greed, passion, and the high price of loyalty. . .

"Kyle is adept at layering her tale with colorful descriptions, accurate details and exciting twists within a fast-paced plot designed to keep readers' attention." --Romantic Times on The Queen's Captive

"Unfurls a complex and fast-paced plot, mixing history with vibrant characters." --Publishers Weekly on The King's Daughter

"Riveting, heady, glorious, inspired." --Susan Wiggs on The Queen's Lady

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Kensington; Original edition (August 30, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9780758238566
• ISBN-13: 978-0758238566
• ASIN: 0758238568
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #768,128 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

How do you make God laugh? Make a plan. I studied acting in the classical theatre program (Shakespeare, Shaw, Moliere, etc.) at the National Theatre School of Canada in Montreal, planning a "distinguished stage career" - then spent the next twenty years acting mostly on television in made-for-TV movies, sit-coms, and soap opera. I thoroughly enjoyed all that TV work, though, and I did use my stage training too, performing in dozens of plays across Canada and in the US. I loved being an actor.

It felt like a natural extension of my acting to create characters for fiction, and in 2008 Kensington Books published my first historical novel, "The Queen's Lady". Set in the court of Henry VIII, "The Queen's Lady" features Honor Larke, a (fictional) ward of (the real) Sir Thomas More. More was a brilliant scholar and a loving father, but as chancellor of England he banned books and burned men. My story turns on Honor's passionate conflict with her once-beloved guardian as she tries to save More's victims, enlisting rogue ship-captain Richard Thornleigh in her missions.

Readers found these characters so engaging, I wrote a sequel, "The King's Daughter," (2009) featuring Honor and Richard's daughter, Isabel. When Henry VIII's bitter daughter, Queen Mary, launches her reign with a vow to annihilate heretics, Isabel Thornleigh must act quickly to save her family. Determined to rescue her father from prison, she entrusts her mission, and herself, to a ruthless soldier of fortune, Carlos Valverde.

The third book in this "Thornleigh" series is "The Queen's Captive" (2010). When Queen Mary releases her 20-year-old sister Princess Elizabeth from the Tower, hoping she'll make a false move and condemn herself, Honor Thornleigh returns from exile with Richard and their seafaring son, Adam, to help Elizabeth in the fight of her life. Playing a dangerous game as a double agent, aware that a false move of her own will expose her past as a condemned heretic, Honor finds her task made harder when Adam and Elizabeth fall in love. To save her family and Elizabeth, and herself, Honor must turn a headstrong princess into a queen before "Bloody Mary" destroys them all.

Fourth in the "Thornleigh Saga" is book 4: "The Queen's Gamble" (2011). Isabel, the Thornleighs' daughter, returns to London from the New World with her Spanish husband Carlos Valverde and their young son, and is swept up in the first international crisis of the young Queen's Elizabeth reign: the French, who control Scotland, have landed troops along England's border, threatening an invasion. The Queen recruits Isabel to take money secretly to aid the Scottish rebel faction trying to drive out the French. But when Carlos is sent to Scotland as a Spanish military advisor to the French troops, he and Isabel find they are on opposite sides in this deadly war - and the Queen has made their little boy her hostage.

I love writing about the Tudor period, whose "on the make" characters and life-and-death intrigues - to say nothing of the era's religious paranoia - speak deeply to our own time. I hope you'll agree, and will enjoy being caught up in the passions and setbacks, adventures and strivings of the Thornleigh family - Honor, Richard, Isabel, and Adam - as they befriend, and sometimes betray, their willful kings and queens.

My newest novel is "Blood Between Queens" (May 2013), which introduces a new Thornleigh family member, Justine, who gets caught up in the deadly rivalry between the cousin-queens Elizabeth 1 and Mary, Queen of Scots.

And, there's also my contemporary novel of romantic suspense, "Entrapped." Set in Alberta, it's the story of Liv Gardner, an ambitious young oil executive intent on stopping farmer Tom Wainwright who is sabotaging her rigs after a spill of lethal "sour" gas poisoned his wife. Desperate to save the company she built, Liv plants evidence to frame Tom. But when the evidence is used to indict him for a murder he didn't commit, Liv alone can save him.

Thanks for taking the time to find out about my books. I do hope you'll enjoy reading them!

Follow me on Twitter @BKyleAuthor.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Will England's War Rend A Marriage? September 9, 2011

By P. Woodland

Format:Paperback

This is the fourth book in Ms. Kyle's Thornleigh series and after reading it I so want to read the first three. Not because I felt like I missed anything - The Queen's Gamble can stand alone perfectly well - but because it was such an enjoyable book. While this book takes place during the reign of Queen Elizabeth the focus is more on the fictional family, the Thornleighs.

Isabel Thornleigh is coming home to England with her husband Carlos. They live in the "New World," in Peru where Carlos is making a name for himself as a planter, a soldier and as the owner of a silver mine. He is a citizen of Spain and loyal to the King. Isabel is a child of England and upon her return gets caught up in the religious turmoil going on as young Queen Elizabeth tries to keep her kingdom together. Isabel is nominally a Catholic since she lives in a Spanish country but she does not feel any strong feelings towards one religion or the other. She feels people should just be able to worship in peace.

Isabel becomes embroiled in Queen Elizabeth's dealings with the Scots through her husband. He is sent as an Spanish envoy to the French who are aiding Scotland. Will this tear their marriage apart?

Ms. Kyle has created a wonderful series of characters to live in the dangerous times of Queen Elizabeth's early years on the throne. I was swept up in the lives of Isabel, her husband and her family as they worked to keep the Queen informed. There are many twists and turns and Elizabeth's mercurial temper is quite in play.

The book was a page turner that I had a hard time putting down. It was historical fiction and mystery/thriller all tied up into one fascinating package. I do hope I find time somewhere in my reading life to enjoy the other books in the series.

4.0 out of 5 stars All-action historical drama March 30, 2013

By T. Vicary

Format:Kindle Edition

This is an all-action historical thriller. It is set in the first years of the reign of the young Queen Elizabeth, when she was only 26 years old, threatened by a French invasion from Scotland, and far from certain to survive. Returning to England from Peru, Isabel Valverde and her Spanish husband Carlos are plunged into a maelstrom of intrigue, spying, murder and revenge, in which few characters are what they seem at first and many change over the course of time. The author knows her history well and uses her research accurately but lightly - one of the pleasures of the book is to find out more about the actual events and dangers of the time. She has woven a kaleidoscopic plot with a bewildering succession of twists and turns, and once the story gets going there is breathless, dramatic action in almost every chapter of the book. This is both a strength and a weakness; at times I found my credulity stretched to breaking point, and longed for a little more subtlety, humor, and a slowing of the pace. But if you like all-action drama, this is the book for you.

5.0 out of 5 stars Elizabeth I, war with France and Spain over Scotland, and a love story--recommended to read January 31, 2013

By Marie A. Parsons

Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

The saga of the fictional Thornleigh family in Tudor times continues in this novel. One need not read the previous books, but one may wish to, in order to enjoy the well-crafted, tightly woven story of an English family's service to England and Queen Elizabeth I.

Isabel Thornleigh's parents serve Elizabeth, in her first year as Queen. Isabel is married to Carlos Valverde, a former Spanish mercenary turned Peruvian grandee. He wants nothing more than to have a position confirmed in Peru, so that he, Isabel, and their young son can live a good life in the New World. They have travelled back to England after years to see Isabel's parents. Once there, Isabel and Carlos learn of the problems with rebellion in northern England (as Mary de Guise, Queen Regent in Scotland and mother of Mary who will be Queen of Scots, seeks to overthrow the Protestant Elizabeth). Carlos is ordered to travel to Scotland to serve de Guise and her allied forces. Isabel meanwhile must undertake a mission for Elizabeth. The conflicts, personal and political, get upped and upped, and even the heroes find themselves forced to commit to things and to do things that are less than admirable.

The characters are well written, the political, religious, and personal conflicts weave in and out of the story, with empathetic understanding given to all sides. One can cheer equally for Elizabeth and the Protestants, as well as for the Catholics who struggle to hold on to their fervent devotion.

This is possible because the story centers on Isabel and Carlos, and their own struggles to make the best political and personal choices.

Read this and then wait for the next one. While waiting, read the earlier books and see the story from the beginning.