"The Siren Queen" by Fiona Buckley

My introduction to Fiona Buckley’s Ursula Blanchard historical mystery series, THE FUGIVITE QUEEN, delivered a basic story one could deduce from the title.  Mary, Queen of Scots, perennial enemy to Elizabeth I, attempts to escape from her captivity and fly to Catholic France where she enjoys support.  Here, within THE SIREN QUEEN, this same theme is expounded – and with more gravitas than might initially be anticipated.

The story begins easily enough.  The year is 1569.  Ursula, her third husband, Hugh, and their retinue make a visit to Howard House, the home of the Duke of Norfolk.  One of the duke’s secretaries, Edmund Dean, has been mentioned as a potential suitor for her daughter Meg.

Ursula, though, is unimpressed.  Being the adept judge of character she has become through her stealth work of spying for the English Crown, she views the man as a fraud.  He does and says all the right things, while what hides behind his eyes is deceit and deception.

Sadly, Meg is hopelessly infatuated with the man.

Yet, however urgent the future betrothal of her daughter may be, it takes second place to the immediacy of the events at Howard House.

Two men are murdered during their stay: one, a courier, by the name of Julius Gale, employed by Roberto Ridolfi, was waylaid on route; and Walt, a houseboy to the Duke, is hung upon a meat hook. 

While the murders are left to the jurisdiction of the local constables, Ursula feels it of prime importance to inform William Cecil, Elizabeth’s Secretary of State, Gale was carrying one letter in a ciphered code and another from the Duke to Mary Stuart.  From her talks with the duke, she learned the man was enamored by the woman – a woman he had yet to even meet – and held hopes to marry her if Elizabeth would permit it.

Mary was indeed the siren queen who carried all the necessary wiles to charm and allure men into her bidding. 

One of these men was Ridolfi, whom Ursula meets on the pretense of meeting Edmund Dean’s parents (Dean remained persistent in his intent to woo Meg) and within whose house Cecil places her as one of his spies.

There is a grander story going on here than the infatuations of the Duke of Norfolk and Edmund Dean.  There is a stealth plot, politically and religiously, geared to threaten England and Elizabeth’s throne.  It is something Ursula stumbles upon quite by the hand of providence, placing her back into service to Cecil and her half-sister the queen.

In my past readings, I cannot say I have encountered any tale that has so well illustrated the divisions between Protestants and Catholics during that era.  The strife between these two sides of the Christian faith, not having experienced it myself here in 21^st century America, was a fact I always simply took for granted.  Here, what Buckley manages, is a picture of that animosity, suffusing the tension of those days into her story.  It is subtle, yet integral, to the execution of the plot.

I also found myself quite impressed with the dimensionality of Ursula Blanchard.  This was a woman whose multiple roles play significant parts.  She is more than a citizen in service to her country and her queen.  Ursula is a mother helping her daughter find a suitable beau.  She is a wife comfortable in her life with her more tranquil third husband, while quietly reminiscing over the strengths and weaknesses of her previous two.  She is an employer to her servants the Brockleys, not seeking to cause any division in their relationship because of a supposed one-time attraction between her and Roger.  She is a protector of Gladys Morgan, the old woman everyone mistakes for a witch because of her haggled appearance and propensity to curse any who cross her moods.

Two-thirds of the way through the story, where Ursula is gathering information that unravels what plot Ridolfi, the Duke of Norfolk, the Earl of Leicester, and others are involved in, revelations of her personal life unexpectedly intrude, causing an upheaval in her relationship with Cecil and Elizabeth, while Edmund Dean remains a thorn in her side, pursuing her daughter, who has become infatuated with his ‘style-over-substance’ approach.

There are a handful of pages within the unraveling of all this action where a reader cannot help but feel for the trauma she suffers.  Buckley handles this with a deft hand that refuses to cater to the over-sensationalizing commonplace in lesser stories.  The circumstances speak for themselves, and Ursula’s emotions are given voice.  A marvelous bit of writing.

I have no hesitation recommending Fiona Buckley’s THE SIREN QUEEN to any reader seeking out a quality story.  It tells more than just the Ridolfi plot – an actual historical event – but likewise develops a strong cast of characters who become soundly infused into the England of those days.  Can this tale be topped?  I will be eager to see what may be next.

"To Shield The Queen" by Fiona Buckley

My third book read in Fiona Buckley’s Ursula Blanchard series, TO SHIELD THE QUEEN, is actually the first in the eight-book series.  It takes the reader back to the origins of how Ursula not only became a Lady of Queen Elizabeth’s court, but also how she came to marry Gerald Blanchard, followed by Matthew de la Roche (one for romance; the other for passion), as well as what great mystery of Elizabeth’s early reign drove her into life as the queen’s spy.

This mystery is the bold move Fiona Buckley takes in creating her plot around the relationship purported to have existed been Queen Elizabeth I and her Master of Horse, Robin Dudley - with the mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of Dudley's wife, Amy Robsart - and gives this historical event to Ursula’s already overfilled hands.

The woman is still in mourning for her beloved husband Gerald, who delivered her from the oppressive situation of life in the household of her uncle and aunt.  As a Lady of the Queen’s Court now, she must leave her young daughter Meg in the care of her nurse, while she tries to manage her small amount of finances into paying for various extravagances – like the maid she is told she will need for appearances-sake as one of the queen’s ladies.

And then, there’s Matthew de la Roche, the gallant young man from France who becomes enamored with Ursula – and she, quietly to herself, with him. 

So what is a widowed young mother of Elizabethan England to do when asked by the queen, and by Dudley, to tend to the ill Amy and calm the woman’s frantic fears that Dudley was plotting her death? The cessation of these rumors is vitally important to not only them, but also to England itself – as Ursula gradually begins to comprehend.  Catholic elements hostile to Elizabeth’s Protestant reign are looking for any reason to destroy her place on England’s throne.  A marriage to Dudley, especially under suspicious circumstances like these, would provide them with ample ammunition to deliver Mary Stuart, the Catholic queen of Scotland, into her stead.

Therefore Ursula is dispatched on this mission, receiving from Dudley compensation that solves her financial woes.  What she discovers when reaching Amy’s household, however, leaves her to wonder if there just might be something more to this whole situation than merely a timid wife in a panic her husband is no longer faithful.

Whatever one believes in regards to the fate of Amy Robsart, it is undeniable that to utilize the unsolvable mystery of her demise as the main plot for a new character’s series is to invite either grand success or horrid ruin.  Is Buckley trying to solve this mystery of whether Dudley’s wife was murdered to free him for marriage to Elizabeth?  I think not.  In my opinion, she is simply proposing a feasible solution that works well into the plot she has crafted here; and as there have been books two through eight in the continuing series, it is clearly a solution that has established an audience for Ursula Blanchard – now Stannard – who is clearly a woman outside of her own time.

Such is one more facet of this story that thrilled me: in stepping back in time, I also stepped back to witness a younger Ursula.

The first book I read of these eight was THE FUGITIVE QUEEN.  In that tale, I saw Ursula as a woman, a mother, approaching middle age though not yet there, holding a degree of respect and authority superceded only by the queen.  Here with TO SHIELD A QUEEN, Ursula could be any young woman, of any era, seeking the means to support her child, while quietly longing for the man she loved.  She is a heroine in both the simplicity of her personal affairs, as well as in the complexity of her public life.  Triumphantly, she moves with the lithe grace of a true lady through the realities of 16^th century English history.

"Badger's Moon" by Peter Tremayne

BADGER’S MOON from Peter Tremayne, one of the fifteen mysteries of Sister Fidelma of Cashel, a series set in the ancient land of 7th century Ireland, tells the story of what happened one October during the course of the full moon, the BADGER’S MOON - so named for the ancient Irish belief badgers would dry grass to build nests underneath its light.

Ballgel, a girl of seventeen is killed. An attendant to the cook for chieftain of the Cinél na Áeda, Becc, she is found dead in the woods near Rath Raithlen. Her body horrifically mutilated in the same manner as the girls to precede her, hers is the third death to occur since the arrival of the three strangers housed in the abbey of the Blessed Finnbarr.

The villagers, in fear of what they do not understand, believe the three tall, dark-skinned, white-robed strangers are responsible for the girls’ deaths. Thus they lead a revolt upon the abbey, intent on breaking Abbot Brógan’s hospitality and rendering justice upon those they believe murdered their children. Chieftain Becc barely manages to quell their rage, knowing his authority alone will not maintain order. He must petition the king for a Brehon, a judge, who can uncover the truth.

At King Colgú’s court at Cashel is Sister Fidelma, the king’s sister, a religieuse; and although she is not a Brehon, she is a dálaigh (an advocate of the law courts) who has engendered a reputation of tremendous respect and honor for her prior exploits in uncovering truth. People are acquainted with her name wherever she travels.

Fidelma is also a new mother to Alchú, whom Eadulf, her companion and father of the child, would prefer to see her remain at Cashel in that role. Fidelma, though, a woman who thrives on the challenge, is confident their nursemaid Sárait can tend to the needs of Alchú for the few days they will be gone, while she and Eadulf return with Becc to uncover what evil has invaded the tranquility of the Cinél na Áeda.

BADGER’S MOON is not only a mystery of brutal killings having taken place with the rise of the full moon. If that is all Peter Tremayne had infused into his story, there would be little else for me to tell. It would be a good mystery, and such would be the end of it. BADGER’S MOON is a history lesson of 7th century Ireland, its people and their laws, a rich heritage of stories springing from the formerly pagan beliefs, supplanted by the New Faith of Christianity recently embraced.

Tremayne, an authority upon that period of time in Europe, utilizes this prominent knowledge of his in establishing a setting the reader can believe. Despite the unfamiliarity of the ancient Irish words and names he employs to create the atmosphere inherent within the setting, he does so through characters who spring to life with their own identities and explains much through the ignorance of Eadulf, a Saxon who is learning the Irish ways himself. It provides the 21st century reader with a conduit through whom 7th century Ireland can be grasped.

One aspect of this environment is New Faith and the old pagan beliefs. While the New Faith was obviously embraced as the new beliefs, the old ways were still lingering, difficult to abandon entirely due to the rich heritage they carried. It is an aspect to the Irish landscape which does play a part in this mystery.

Fidelma serves as mediator between the two: ostensibly, the law of man and the law of God. She is well acquainted with the old pagan stories, and she knows the Scriptures of the New Faith. Both serve her well in the investigation she undertakes immediately upon arriving at Rath Raithlen, as does her thorough knowledge of Irish law in helping her prosecute the crimes.
Her knowledge is vast; her wit is sharp; her manner is bold. Some might label her impetuous, charging forward with an almost reckless abandon to do whatever is necessary for the truth to become known; but in reality, such a trait is what all great characters of literature’s history manifest. It is also what makes her introspection on her relationship with her one-month-old child an intriguing bit of dramatic pause. All grand characters of literature’s tales have a weakness that keeps them mortal. Her child happens to be hers. Is she a bad mother because her thoughts are occupied with the thrill of the chase, rather than the solemnity of tending to her child? That unknown she ponders, keeps her human.

Though not a “sleuth” per se (‘dálaigh’ is appropriate), membership amidst the association of literature’s elite problem solvers (the ‘detectives’ of books known for their innate ability to deduce the truth evil seeks to keep hidden) is definitely a place where she belongs. The woman boldly confronted the challenge of this evil, tracked down all bits of knowledge revolving around the slaughter of the three girls, and uncovered more truth than anyone ever expected. While the final summation lacked punch, the process of arriving there with Fidelma was worth the ride.

"The Abbot's Gibbet" by Michael Jecks

THE ABBOT’S GIBBET by Michael Jecks, of the Knights Templar series, finds a setting in the year 1319.  This is where Jecks’ enduring characters Sir Baldwin Furnshill, a former member of the Knights Templar, and Simon Puttock, bailiff of Lydford are traveling to the annual Tavistock fair.  Simon’s wife Margaret is looking to buy cloth, while Simon is hoping to add to the collection of plates he will need to entertain guests at Lydford.  Baldwin is merely along for the ride to Tavistock, the fair that draws merchants from all over England, filling the stalls to sell their goods.

One such merchant is Arthur Pope.  He has rented a house for his wife Marion and his daughter Avice to reside with him in for the duration of s business.  He fails to anticipate the two Venetians they meet along the road, Antonio and Pietro Cammino, a father and son who are heading in the same direction, yet with very different business interests. The two are looking to meet with Abbot Robert Champeaux, who has brought prosperity to the abbey in Tavistock through his own business dealings. 

In Tavistock, all parties on their way to the fair will encounter the port-reeve David Holcroft, the man in charge of law and order during the fair.  He is eager for his tenure as port-reeve to expire so as to return to the private life of the average citizen.  He pines away for Lizzie, the prostitute who favors men like Roger Torre, while seemingly disfavoring him.  He finds her in the company of the cook Elias, whom he warns with fines if the trash heap outside his residence is not removed in time for the opening day of the fair.

Elias makes the attempt to get rid of the trash, as he knows the fines are a cost he cannot afford, but he runs out of strength, as well as time, and the next day a dead body, absent its head, is found poorly buried underneath what remained of Elias’ refuse.

With the reputation Baldwin has gained for his investigative skills, Abbot Champeaux (as best as I can surmise, a governor of sorts) knows not what else to do but ask the man to investigate this sad turn of events.  The fair cannot be ruined by a murderer threatening peoples’ safety.  Baldwin leaps at the challenge (shopping at the fair was not an appealing prospect) and though he has met a widow, Jeanne, to whom he has taken a fancy, his efforts are expended on the investigation: why was this man killed; how was it done; who was the culprit, and who precisely was the victim?

Was it the stranger seen talking with Elias in the tavern the night before?  The clothes found upon the body are the same witnessed upon the man.  If so, where was Elias?  How was he to account for his actions?  What of the Venetians who traipsed into town?  Were they all they appeared to be?  Pietro was taken with Avice Pole since the moment he and his father came upon the Poles along the road.  Was that a good thing?  What of the young monk Peter?  What of the friar Hugo?  He preaches against the avarice inspired by such acquisition of profit the fair inspires.  Does anyone listen?

Mystery lovers who are unfamiliar with Michael Jecks will become fans after reading THE ABBOT’S GIBBET.  He sets up that particular element of the book very well, bringing into the setting of the Tavistock Fair a multitude of characters with a myriad of possibilities as to the nature of this grizzly crime.  The mystery aspect is superb.  It will not leave any reader unfulfilled.

Unfortunately, I did experience dismay in two other areas crucial to a complete book-reading experience: the characterizations were merely satisfactory, while the setting was completely anomalous.

I never managed a picture of these characters.  The setting never materialized for me.  I could never see the England of 1319 in which these characters lived.  The smells, the sounds, the very character of the roads, the abbey, the fair – all of it required, for me, and imagination that had very little knowledge from which to draw.   THE ABBOT’S GIBBET was a great story, told with old paint, by average actors.  I enjoyed the read, but I wanted to experience, as well, the environment.

"The Devil of Nanking" by Mo Hayder

If one views evil as something purely within the mythological and religious realms, and if the only depiction of the ‘devil’ comes from horror films that draw demons as physically grotesque aberrations of the angelic or human presence, Mo Hayder’s THE DEVIL OF NANKING will radically alter all such preconceptions with a picture of evil so abhorrent, so vile, so genuine you will know you have come as close to touching it as you will ever want – if you ever manage to make your way to the book’s end at all.

The beginning of the story takes one to China in late December of 1937.  One man is vigorously pursing another through the snow.  The second man is carrying a film camera the first man wants.  What is on the film, or who the two men are, is unknown.

Fast forward in time a generation plus.  The year is 1990. The setting is Japan.  A young Englishwoman named Grey is seeking out a renowned professor, Shi Chongming.  She believes he is the owner of a film purported to hold evidence of a massacre that happened when the Japanese invaded Nanking China prior to the start of World War II.

Grey learned of this from an orange book that disappeared; and now everyone thinks she’s crazy – especially after the incident with the five boys in the back of the van.

Therefore to prove to herself she was not crazy, she sells all she has to travel to Japan and find Chongming.  He receives her warmly; but when she mentions the film, he angrily rebukes the notion and throws her out.

So what does a young woman do, alone on the streets of a foreign country, little money to her pocket and no place to rest her head?

She meets a handsome young American, fascinated with how “weird” she is.  She moves into a mammoth-sized old house, rooms-a-plenty and condition rundown.  She takes a job as a hostess, alongside her two Russian housemates, at a popular Japanese nightclub.  She encounters the underbelly of Japan’s mafia through the patronage of Junzo Fuyuki, one of Japan’s most notorious gangsters.  She even begins working for Shi Chongming, helping him in his quest to discover the nature of the mysterious elixir Fuyuki consumes to ensure long life.

None of which makes any sense to Grey – least of all culling secrets out of a gangster; but as she makes herself available, and she sees Fuyuki’s home, the deadly road to evil lures her onward.  It is never a road from which one can depart to retreat into any direction from whence one came.  It is impossible to do anything else but tread its harrowing path to the end.

Such is, perhaps, one of the most admirable qualities to THE DEVIL OF NANKING.  Though Grey is horribly unqualified for this work Chongming has put to her (she stands on the brink of losing her own self), the woman pursues such a treacherous route with diligence, not allowing the fear that would consume anyone else in her same position, to overwhelm.

This is a flawed woman, and because of those sins she readily ponders, anyone can relate to her struggle.  The difference between Grey and other characters is she never applauds those things she succumbs to, the things that have wrecked her life up to that point.  She ponders them, and she grows from them, and she overcomes them to stand on surer footing in the end.

It is her story, and it is also Shi Chongming’s story, the two being told parallel to one another until both meet at the book’s end.  I was able to figure out some of what the mystery was, how the two stories connected, but I was in no ways prepared for the actual ending that put a sum on the entire experience of these two people.

Was this the full extent of German atrocities being visited upon the Jews?  Was it Joseph Stalin’s horrid treatment of his own Russian people?  Such is too unfathomable to accept as anything beyond the embellishments of a writer’s Hollywood imagination cheaply attempting to titillate.  What Hayder details as happening to the Chinese people at the hand of the Japanese army left me dumbstruck – absent any words to speak.

I assumed what I was reading was a product of Hayder’s imagination.  Then I learned it was true.  What happened at Nanking in 1937 actually occurred.  THE DEVIL OF NANKING is a factual event told through fictional lives.  It is a marvelous teaching of history, and it is a fully-charged thriller, dramatically telling the story of one woman seeking the sanity her life has denied her, through one of the most insane examples of man’s inhumanity to man, and encountering one of the most ideally-frightening villains ever. 

Fuyuki’s nurse is a monster of one’s nightmares.  She is a freak-of-nature.  No one knows whether she’s a woman, or a man, a little bit of both, or something altogether unheard of.  But as Shi Chongming tells Grey, she is a killer with medical knowledge necessary to inflict as much abhorrent pain upon a human body before death comes to offer relief. 

Pick up a copy of THE DEVIL OF NANKING and be glad you don’t live in a time when one people did to another people whatever they wanted – simply because they could.