Dark Queen Wary

February 1, 2023
A dark, grisly tale of love, hate, treason, and trickery. The year 1472 finds Yorkist Edward IV in power after destroying the Lancastrian army at the battle of Barnet, where the Earl of Warwick was killed, leaving Henry Tudor, a possible heir to the throne, and his mother, Margaret Beaufort, in a precarious position, subject to death at any moment. While her son is safe in France, Margaret is in London with her loyal personal clerk, Christopher Urswicke, and her steward, Reginald Bray, trying to avoid the machinations of the king's followers, including Christopher's father, Sir Thomas Urswicke, Recorder of London and chief schemer in all efforts to keep Edward IV in power. No one may ever know what happened at Barnet, where it seems the Earl of Warwick's personal bodyguards, the Five Wounds, may have betrayed him. Achitophel, a professional Judas, works both sides of many conflicts, taking on only the jobs he wants and successfully concealing his true identity. When the members of the Five Wounds start to die in brutal ways, Christopher's father orders him to find the killer, who may be the mysterious Achitophel. Margaret is forced to house a young imposter the king insists is her son, who she suspects will be used in a plot to ruin her. All are ordered to remove to The Moor, the magnificent estate where the Five Wounds are already semiprisoners and the first murder has already taken place. Christopher must be even more clever than his hated father if he is to solve a series of murders and protect Margaret from a cascade of plots. A very good mystery cleverly entwined with brutally realistic historic detail.

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January 30, 2023
Set in 1472, Doherty’s strong fourth Margaret Beaufort mystery (after 2021’s Dark Queen Watching) finds Margaret at the Moor, a beautiful palace with an eerie maze and a sinister history, where people associated with the victorious Yorkist side are starting to get murdered. With the Lancaster faction crushed at the recent Battle of Barnet, Margaret, the mother of the last Lancaster heir, Henry Tudor, is in a vulnerable position, made even worse when an imposter shows up, claiming to be her son returned from exile, and the king, Edward IV, insists that she house him. Beaufort’s trusted clerk, Christopher Urswicke, counsels her on how to avoid incurring the king’s wrath while investigating the murders at the Moor, which began with a Yorkist mercenary and are now moving on to the members of the personal guard of Richard Neville, who switched from York to Lancaster and died at the Battle of Barnet because his guards failed to protect him. Doherty does a fine job evoking the brutal atmosphere of the era, in both rich palaces and crime-infested London streets. Those familiar with the players in the Wars of the Roses and all the dynastic plotting will best appreciate this one.