The Fyre Mirror

Elizabeth I #7

by Karen Harper

Elizabethan England comes alive as its young queen struggles to stop a serial killer who uses fire as a weapon. From commoner to courtier, from the delights of rural England to the streets of teeming London, the queen and her coterie turn detectors in Karen Harper's acclaimed mystery series.

Smitten with spring fever, Elizabeth Tudor escapes London for fantastical Nonsuch Palace in the sweet Surrey countryside. There she hopes to relax and pose for the official royal portrait for which she is holding a competition. Elizabeth is both delighted and dismayed when her young court artist, Gil Sharpe, returns early from schooling in Italy, where he has also been spying for the crown.

But one of her artists is burned to death, and portraits of the queen are going up in flames. When she hears that her rival, the dangerous Mary, Queen of Scots, has been peering in mirrors and announcing, "I see the next queen of England!" Elizabeth summons her Privy Plot Council.

Has the arsonist been sent by foreign foes or is it someone in her own court? Or is the "running boy" apparition really a ghost out to avenge a terrible past tragedy caused by the Tudors?

Time is running out, because the enemy who stalks the queen means to destroy not only her portraits and artists, but her very life.

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical Mystery, Historical, Tudor Period, Mystery Thriller

288 pages, Hardcover

First published February 7, 2005

About the author

A New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Karen Harper is a former college English instructor (The Ohio State University) and high school literature and writing teacher. A lifelong Ohioan, Karen and her husband Don divide their time between the midwest and the southeast, both locations she has used in her books. Besides her American settings, Karen loves the British Isles, where her Scottish and English roots run deep, and where she has set many of her historical Tudor-era mysteries and her historical novels about real and dynamic British women. Karen's books have been published in many foreign languages and she won the Mary Higgins Clark Award for 2005. Karen has given numerous talks to readers and writers across the county. Her most recent books include THE SOUTH SHORES TRILOGY (CHASING SHADOWS, DROWNING TIDES and FALLING DARKNESS.) Her latest historical is THE ROYAL NANNY. Please visit her website at www.KarenHarperAuthor and her fb page at www.facebook.com/KarenHarperAuthor

Reviews

[Moonmomie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm biased because I adore this particular genre and time period, and I thoroughly enjoyed this entire series of books by Karen Harper. They are written very similarly to Fiona Buckley's Ursla Blanchard Mysteries.... almost confusingly so. This series focuses on Queen Elizabeth I, herself, solving the murders of her subjects. Absolutely fictitious activities frequent the books (Elizabeth leaving the castle in disguise to chase down clues and criminals). But, this is why it is Historical "Fiction". Although not historically accurate, they did hold my interest with their depth of character, plot, and historical abundance.

[Charlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really love this mystery series. Lots of intrigue, danger, and fun with Queen Elizabeth I and her most trusted servants and courtiers use good ole detective work to solve mysteries within her Court. If you like this period of history, you'll have fun with these books.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This mystery takes place during the Elizabethan period and tells the tale of a series of fires seemingly aimed at members of the entourage of Queen Elizabeth I. Is the instigator Elizabeth's cousin, Mary Queen of Scots who covets Elizabeth's title of Queen of England, is it someone seeking revenge for the wrongs wrought by Elizabeth's father Henry the VIII, or could it possibly one be of the artists competing for the privilege of painting a portrait of Elizabeth that will be copied and distributed throughout her realm? Elizabeth pursues the answer to these questrions and more with the help of her Privy Plot Council and the outcome is quite unexpected.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

#7 in Karen Harper's Elizabeth I Mysteries Series. Springtime has come to Elizabethan England and the Queen has gone to Nonsuch Palace in the Surrey countryside. Her father, King Henry VIII, had it built using the finest craftsmen of his time. Now his daughter revels in the perfect weather and fine accommodations...until a deadly fire burns alive two of her subjects. She calls together her "Privy Plot Council" and these amateur detectives are hot on the trail of a murdering arsonist!

NOTE: The series is MUCH better if you start with book #1 and read them in order! Doing so helps "flesh out" the individual characters and create an ongoing story line.

[Jennie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I find it difficult to believe that any review would claim the dialog in this book is "authentic." I consistently felt my suspension of disbelief un-suspending itself as I read. The villain seemed fairly clear to me from about a quarter of the way through -- and I generally try to avoid guessing.

Alas. I had such high hopes, too. I'll probably read another book in the series to see if this one was perhaps just a fluke.

[Katherine Blocksdorf · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I thought the writing was good, the premise was ridiculous. Elizabeth I chasing after mysterious arsonists and taking them on single-handedly? Obviously, lots of folks are entertained by these types of stories, but for me, she led an interesting enough life without making up silly mysteries.

[Lady · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed the story, but having Queen Elizabeth as a detective...well, it just stretches my ability to imagine just a leetle too far. Would have worked if the person solving the mystery was perhaps a character close to the queen instead.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good. This was the second book by this author that I have read, and I have enjoyed them thoroughly. I plan on reading the entire Elizabeth I series. Just when you think you know whodunnit, Ms. Harper gives you a new suspect to consider.

[Carmen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Queen Elizabeth decides to have her portrait painted, so she sets up a competition to discover a winning artist. But everything goes wrong. Fires start everywhere, destroying lives and things. Who is responsible? She sets out to discover who and learns more than she bargained for.

[Anna · Rating 1 out of 5]

I just could not get into this story. I realize this is fiction, but Elizabeth I as a sleuth solving a murder mystery? Just didn't work for me.

[Briansmom · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fascinating and intriguing story! I love the idea of Q.E.I as a sleuth! Kind of an Elizabethan Sherlock Holmes. A fun read.

[Charlie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The situation with the artists' competition and the science of using mirrors to start fires were interesting, but the characters were wooden. The history was better than the plot.

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick read. Good mystery. Enjoyed the focus of Elizabeth the 1st