A Corpse in Cipher: A Tudor Murder Mystery

by Lizzy Drake

The year is 1513 and Elspet Stafford is a young woman with a promising future. She is engaged to a knight, she has the lineage of a royal family and can't wait to start her new life. She's never met her betrothed, but he sends her regular letters; ciphers and puzzles for her to decode to keep her distracted from her mother's overbearing nature. When news of his death reaches her, she finds it hard to believe, especially as the messenger also brings a letter from the fallen man himself for her to decode.

She takes the letter with her when her mother sends her to a relation's manor where she is to be trained for court. Before she can decode her letter, she stumbles across the body of a murdered man in the manor's courtyard; a murder which the Lord of Ufford Manor is determined to cover up.

Striking an unlikely alliance with the Lord's mother, Dowager Duchess Lettice, Elspet must decode the letter and discover what truly happened to the unfortunate man. But some mysteries are safer left alone and soon both women find themselves deep in intrigue, plots and of course, murder.

Genres: Tudor Period, Mystery

278 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 16, 2015

Reviews

[Paula R C R. C. Readman · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's a lot I like about this book hence the three stars. The author has done her research, which shows throughout her story. I knew when and where the story was placed. The plot is great and her characters are well-drawn, especially the Dowager and Elspet.

Here's where the 'but' comes in. Though I've given this a three star, I would have liked to give it a two and half really. Why? This book is a WIP. I felt I was reading a first draft of what could be the first book in a brilliant series. The writing didn’t flow across the pages which slowed down the pace of the story, which wasn’t helped by the fact it was told mainly through telling the reader what was happening rather than showing.

I felt I was being taken on a history lesson rather than a journey of discovery as the story unfolded. There wasn't enough build up of tension when something was about to happen. The clues were in your face rather than scatter about for the reader to slowly piece the mystery together. In some places there was long scenes where the author could made good use of unfolding the plot by have the characters talking, or thinking to themselves, about the problems they were trying to solve by drip feeding in information, but instead the author chose to tell the reader about the countryside, or at meal times scene about the food i.e. a history lesson in Tudor times.


I do hope the author take her time to sort out these issues and works hard on getting the next book right before allowing it to be published, otherwise her readers will feel cheated into buying an unfinished book and won’t take the risk in buying the next in the series. This will be a shame as I'm sure Elspet Stafford will grow into being a very interesting character indeed.

[Janet Wertman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun read! The story kept me turning the pages, the historical details kept me smiling, and the occasional great lines were the icing on the cake. I look forward to the next installment in the series.

[Jacqui Reiter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first in a new series of Tudor murder mysteries -- not something I generally go for (neither the Tudor nor the mystery part), but I nevertheless very much enjoyed this tale, which I read in one sitting. Enough red herrings were thrown in to keep me guessing, and the characters are realistically drawn. I thought Elspet, the main character, grew into her role as the book advanced, and the author did very well in presenting a credible 16th-century female protagonist.

Setting nearly the whole story in one house does give the book a slightly claustrophobic feel, and although current political happenings are referenced and bear on the plot, all that seems to happen at one remove. Future books in the series, however, seem likely to address this, and I for one am looking forward to seeing what Elspet Stafford does next.

[J.S. Hawley · Rating 2 out of 5]

loathe cliffhangers

If there is more to the story I don’t wish to know. I loathe cliffhangers when a story could have a satisfying end. I much prefer to make my own choices. The initial novel had a story full of excitement, intrigue and is exceptionally written. It should suitably end with the IDEA the reader is eager to learn more. Goodbye Elspet. Im at the end of my journey with you.