A Glittering Peril

Angela Ranson
Works of: Fiction
Publisher(s): Sapere Books

1561

Every summer, Queen Elizabeth takes a journey around her kingdom. It is a time of revels and celebration, full of pleasure and extravagance. But in July 1561, the trip begins badly when the corpse of an unknown man is left in her path.

The nervous queen asks Catrin Surovell, her trusted favourite lady-in-waiting, to find out who is trying to sabotage her journey, and Catrin soon discovers that the queen’s nervousness stems from something greater than the mysterious death. Someone has been leaving reminders of the queen’s mother, Anne Boleyn, in strange places. A woman appears in the distance who looks like her; the scent of Anne’s perfume is left in the queen’s chamber, and Anne’s favourite French ballads are sung by a disembodied voice as the queen is travelling. Worst of all, Anne Boleyn’s famous gold necklace with teardrop pearls hanging from a letter ‘B’ is taken from the queen’s bedchamber. The queen is devastated by the loss, for the necklace was one of very few mementos she had of her mother.

The queen begins to suspect one of her courtiers, so Catrin visits his home to conduct a secret investigation into his actions. And that’s when she discovers this is the most difficult mystery she has ever had to solve.