Face Down Beside St. Anne's Well

Susanna, Lady Appleton #9

by Kathy Lynn Emerson

Are the nude spies lolling in the ancient Roman communal baths of Elizabethan England plotting the return of Mary Queen of Scots? Once again Susanna, Lady Appleton, encounters murder and treason, and only she can unravel the crimes in the intriguing year of 1575.

Genres: Mystery, Historical Mystery, Historical Fiction, British Literature

232 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2006

About the author

aka Kaitlyn Dunnett, Kate Emerson, Kaitlyn Gorton

Kathy Lynn Emerson began writing as a child: a newspaper for her dolls and then a rambling adventure series featuring characters from all her favorite television shows. In addition to contemporary, historical and time-travel romance (some written under the pen-name of Kaitlyn Gorton) and historical novels written as Kate Emerson, Kathy has written children's books, non-fiction, short stories, and historical mysteries. She won the Agatha award for mystery nonfiction for How to Write Killer Historical Mysteries. She also writes as Kaitlyn Dunnett.

Reviews

[Avid Series Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Face Down Beside St. Anne's Well by Kathy Lynn Emerson is the 9th book of the Susanna, Lady Appleton mystery series set in 1575 England. Lady Susanna Appleton's beloved foster daughter Rosamund has been placed by her natural mother, Lady Eleanor Pendennis, at Bawkenstanes Manor, with Lord and Lady Hawley [Eleanor mistakenly assumes the Hawley's son would be an excellent match for Rosamund]. Spirited Rosamund quickly befriends fellow young girls Dionys and Lina, and leads them into mischief.

When a dead body is found nearby, Rosamund believes it was no accident. Fearing (rightfully) for Rosamund's safety, Susanna rushes to be with her. Eleanor arrives as well. They carefully question everyone, spotting a known former spy immediately. Susanna fears there may be a new plot to put Mary on the throne. But she must flush out the murderer before Rosamund becomes a victim.

While solving the (murder/political) mysteries, Susanna and Rosamund also extricate a young woman from a forced, unwelcome wedding.

A quick, enjoyable read, aided by a Cast of Characters plus a Glossary.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice gentle mystery which passed the time with pleasure. Interesting female characters. Intrigue. As always, I enjoy the historical details.

[Cat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three and a half stars really, but I did enjoy it so I bumped it up. Quite a fun little Elizabethan-era mystery. I did enjoy the characters - particularly Rosamund, just for how much trouble she gets herself into and how wrong she gets things. I haven't read any of the previous ones but I think I'll have to go back and read them now!

[Tab · Rating 4 out of 5]

First foray into the Lady Appleton series. Enjoyed the characters. However, there are a lot of characters (I now see that this is the 9th book in the series, which probably explains the huge cast). Fortunately, there is a "Cast of Characters" guide in the front of the book.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book very much. It kept me guessing until the end. I was sure someone else was the killer until it was revealed.

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love these characters.

[Maren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent mystery, and the setting was lovely. Not enough character development from the last book, but still a fun read.

[Charlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice to see women take front and center--even young brats.

[Beka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another interesting story, though it had more of Rosamond and Eleanor than I'd like.