The Tapestry

March 1, 2015

In this third series installment (The Crown; The Chalice), former Dominican novice Joanna Stafford is called to King Henry VIII's court owing to her tapestry-weaving skills. When she arrives at court, however, Joanna discovers that her weaving does not seem to be foremost on everyone's mind: seemingly everywhere she turns, someone is trying to kill her. Not even those sworn to protect her know whether it's the king who is after her blood. VERDICT The problem with this historical is that there's just too much: too much travel, too much description, too many people willing to talk to someone who is, in fact, a nobody in a 16th-century royal court. That doesn't make it less entertaining, just a bit of a quagmire to muddle through, and a novel that also leaves the reader thinking: "Why is everyone willing to talk to this person?" Still, fans of this period of English history and readers who enjoyed the first two books might consider this title.--Audrey Jones, Washington, DC

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