Ursula Blanchard: To Shield the Queen

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Set against the glamour and intrigue of Queen Elizabeth I's court, this captivating historical mystery introduces widow Ursula Blanchard, who uncovers clandestine conspiracies. In 1560, Ursula arrives at court, tasked with safeguarding the queen's reputation by looking after Amy Robsart, the wife of Sir Robert Dudley, a man at the center of scandalous rumors. When Amy is discovered dead at the bottom of her staircase, suspicions of foul play arise. The queen, infatuated with Dudley, has a motive, while Dudley himself, eager to marry Elizabeth, could benefit from his wife's demise. In the months leading up to her death, Amy feared she was being poisoned. The tragedy of Amy's violent end and Ursula's inability to prevent it, compounded by the brutal murder of someone close to her, thrusts Ursula into a dangerous quest that becomes personal when her own daughter is threatened. By the story's conclusion, the queen's spymaster recruits Ursula as one of his agents, paving the way for her future adventures as a resourceful and compelling heroine in historical mystery fiction.