The Thorne Maze [NOOK Book]

( 5 )
NOOK Book (eBook - First Edition)
$6.99
BN.com price

Available on NOOK devices and apps

  • Nook Devices
  • NOOK
  • NOOK Color
  • NOOK Tablet
  • Tablet/Phone
  • NOOK for iPad
  • NOOK for iPhone
  • NOOK for Android
  • NOOK for Android (Tablet)
  • NOOK Kids for iPad
  • PC/Mac
  • NOOK Study
  • NOOK for PC
  • NOOK for Mac

Want a NOOK? Explore Now

Overview


The vibrant pageant of Elizabethan England comes to life in Karen Harper's fifth novel in her acclaimed Elizabeth I Mystery Series. Hailed as "extraordinary" by The Los Angeles Times, these historical mysteries beautifully blend fact and fiction as the young Queen Elizabeth Tudor becomes an amateur sleuth to save her court, crown, and kingdom.

Though summering in the lush countryside to escape the plague rampaging through London, the queen and her court cannot escape the reach of a multiple murderer who seems to disappear at will. In the gardens of Hampton Court, Elizabeth proudly shows a famed visiting lawyer her ...
See more details below

More About This Book

Overview


The vibrant pageant of Elizabethan England comes to life in Karen Harper's fifth novel in her acclaimed Elizabeth I Mystery Series. Hailed as "extraordinary" by The Los Angeles Times, these historical mysteries beautifully blend fact and fiction as the young Queen Elizabeth Tudor becomes an amateur sleuth to save her court, crown, and kingdom.

Though summering in the lush countryside to escape the plague rampaging through London, the queen and her court cannot escape the reach of a multiple murderer who seems to disappear at will. In the gardens of Hampton Court, Elizabeth proudly shows a famed visiting lawyer her huge hornbeam maze. But the intricate labyrinth soon becomes a scene of horror as Elizabeth herself is attacked and the lawyer is murdered within its leafy dead ends.

The queen calls upon her small, select band of advisors to help her
ferret out the identity of the maze murderer. When the court must flee the encroaching Black Death, even the royal haven of Hatfield House with its charming knot garden holds terror.

Undaunted, the queen and her chief advisor, William Cecil, set a trap in the flooded thorn maze at Cecil's nearby estate. But even if they snare the ghostly murderer before he or she strikes again, will they unmask not only the villain but the person they love best in all the realm?

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly
Tudor England's answer to V. I. Warshawski, Elizabeth I, must as usual take on a murder case or two in Harper's fifth well-researched, intrigue-filled historical (after 2002's The Queene's Cure). The royal sleuth is surprised by a deadly assault in the Hampton Court maze one night after making an appointment to meet old flame Robin Dudley. Did the attacker mean to kill her, or was she mistaken for someone else? Disturbing clues suggest that someone near to the queen wants her dead. A confrontation in a highly unusual maze makes for a thrilling conclusion. Harper's portrait of the Virgin Queen as sleuth is illuminating, but readers familiar with Elizabethan history will spot the villain much too soon. (Feb. 28) Copyright 2003 Cahners Business Information.
Library Journal
Queen Elizabeth also gets involved in maze murders (see C.L. Grace's A Maze of Murders and Catherine Aird's Amendment of Life, reviewed above) when several occur in her favorite gardens. Her usual band of helpers-from herbalist to principal adviser-look for the serial murderer. Another fine historical.
More Reviews (1) Fewer Reviews
Kirkus Reviews
Two killers imperil the royal court in Harper's fifth Queen Elizabeth I mystery (The Queen's Cure, p. 144, etc.). The historical one is the Black Plague, cutting a swath through London, threatening the palace, and lending verisimilitude and tension to the tale of the human killer, also historically based. After a masque in which Elizabeth takes part, she arranges a late-night tryst with her beloved Robin Dudley, recently returned to court after a long absence. As she waits in the eponymous maze in her costume for the masque, an unknown figure attempts to strangle her with a pair of the special stockings used by the masquers. When the would-be murderer abruptly stops the assault and flees, speculation rises that Elizabeth was mistaken for the true target. The use of the stockings narrows the field of likely suspects (and upcoming victims) to the other nine young members of the court who participated in the masque. Suspicion falls most heavily on Lady Bettina, a newish member of the court, because she's been acting secretive-and because she's the one who found the prone queen. For her part, Elizabeth hopes the guilty party is foppish Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley, who, readers may remember, will go on to marry Elizabeth's rival, Mary of Scotland. Both the plague and the maze claim more victims before Elizabeth lays a successful trap for the killer. The fitting finale shows the Queen matching both wits and stamina with her nemesis. The conventional whodunit would have benefited from sharper characters, but Harper as usual supplies brisk, energetic writing and terrific historical color.

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9781429905206
  • Publisher: St. Martin's Press
  • Publication date: 4/1/2011
  • Sold by: ST MARTINS / MPS
  • Format: eBook
  • Edition description: First Edition
  • Edition number: 1
  • Pages: 288
  • Sales rank: 100,919
  • Series: Elizabeth I Mysteries Series
  • File size: 415 KB

Meet the Author

Karen Harper
Karen Harper

Karen Harper is the author of four previous Elizabeth I mysteries: The Poyson Garden, The Tidal Poole, The Twylight Tower, and The Queene's Cure, as well as contemporary suspense novels. She lives in Columbus, Ohio, and Naples, Florida, and is currently writing the sixth book in the Elizabeth series, The Queene's Christmas.

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4
( 5 )

Rating Distribution

5 Star

(1)

4 Star

(3)

3 Star

(1)

2 Star

(0)

1 Star

(0)

Your Rating:

Review Guidelines
Add Recommendations
Your Name: Create a Pen Name or Leave Anonymously

Barnes & Noble.com Review Rules

Our reader reviews allow you to share your comments on titles you liked, or didn't, with others. By submitting an online review, you are representing to Barnes & Noble.com that all information contained in your review is original and accurate in all respects, and that the submission of such content by you and the posting of such content by Barnes & Noble.com does not and will not violate the rights of any third party. Please follow the rules below to help ensure that your review can be posted.

Reviews by Our Customers Under the Age of 13

We highly value and respect everyone's opinion concerning the titles we offer. However, we cannot allow persons under the age of 13 to have accounts at BN.com or to post customer reviews. Please see our Terms of Use for more details.

What to exclude from your review:

Please do not write about reviews, commentary, or information posted on the product page. If you see any errors in the information on the product page, please send us an email.

Reviews should not contain any of the following:

  • - HTML tags, profanity, obscenities, vulgarities, or comments that defame anyone
  • - Time-sensitive information such as tour dates, signings, lectures, etc.
  • - Single-word reviews. Other people will read your review to discover why you liked or didn't like the title. Be descriptive.
  • - Comments focusing on the author or that may ruin the ending for others
  • - Phone numbers, addresses, URLs
  • - Pricing and availability information or alternative ordering information
  • - Advertisements or commercial solicitation

Reminder:

  • - By submitting a review, you grant to Barnes & Noble.com and its sublicensees the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use the review in accordance with the Barnes & Noble.com Terms of Use.
  • - Barnes & Noble.com reserves the right not to post any review -- particularly those that do not follow the terms and conditions of these Rules. Barnes & Noble.com also reserves the right to remove any review at any time without notice.
  • - See Terms of Use for other conditions and disclaimers.
Search for Products You'd Like to Recommend

Recommend other products that relate to your review. Just search for them below and share!

Create a Pen Name

Your Pen Name is your unique identiy on BN.com. It will appear on the reviews you write and other website activities. Your Pen Name cannot be edited, changed or deleted once submitted.

Your Pen Name can be any combination of alphanumeric characters (plus - and _), and must be at least two characters long.

Continue Anonymously

We're sorry, but penname is already taken.

Please select one of the following:
Your Pen Name can be any combination of alphanumeric characters (plus - and _), and must be at least two characters long.

Continue Anonymously

penname is available!

By visiting the BN.com website or marking a purchase on BN.com, a User is deemed to have accepted the Terms of Use.

Continue Anonymously

Welcome, penname

You have successfully created your Pen Name. Start enjoying the benefits of the BN.com Community today.

Sort by: Showing all of 5 Customer Reviews

  • Anonymous

    Posted September 15, 2006

    Getting better and better

    Another great mystery by Karen Harper. I love reading these books, and can't wait to start her new one, the Queen's Christmas! Well done!!

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted January 9, 2012

    Believable characters, fun read

    A good historical mystery. My experience with historical mysteries is that they're very dry. This was a fun read.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted May 30, 2007

    Excellent!

    The characters and setting make the novel remarkable. Memorable characters come to life, dynamic and very believable.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted December 10, 2002

    exciting Elizabethan mystery

    With plague in London, Queen Elizabeth I and her retinue move to Hampton Court one of her favorite residences. There is a maze on the property that everyone admires especially Sir William Cecil¿s mentor Templar Sutton. One night after a play is performed; the queen sneaks away to the opening of the maze where she has arranged to meet her admirer Robert Dudley. Before that rendezvous can take place, someone lays hands on the queen, a treasonous offense touching the monarch, but worse still tries to strangle her highness before escaping into the maze. When the maze is searched, nobody is there and Robert tells her he received a note stating she changed their meeting place to the stables. Determined to get to the bottom of this she reconvenes the Privy Plot Council consisting of trusted servants and Sir Cecil. When Templar Sutton is found in the maze, the obvious victim of a murderer, Elizabeth is determined to find the killer. When the plague moves towards Hampton Court, the queen and her court retires to Hatfield Manor where she intends to bait a killer with a trap he can¿t resist. THE THORNE MAZE gives an insightful look into the mindset of Queen Elizabeth I during the sixth year during of her reign. History comes alive in this book as historical personages act true to character in their relationship to their queen. The mystery is interestingly plotted with so many suspects that readers will have a jolly good time trying to figure out the identity of the villain. Karen Harper is the grandmistress of the Elizabethan mystery. Harriet Klausner

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted December 9, 2010

    No text was provided for this review.

Sort by: Showing all of 5 Customer Reviews
If you find inappropriate content, please report it to Barnes & Noble
Why is this product inappropriate?
Comments (optional)
500 character limit