Betrayal

October 1, 2004
Gr 7 Up -Pre-sented in the form of "daybookes" written by Lady Grace Cavendish, and "discovered" by Patricia Finney, this mystery series engages readers from the beginning. Lady Grace, a favorite Maid of Honour to Queen Elizabeth I, is intelligent, observant, and quick thinking. At the Valentine's ball, she must choose her fianc from among three suitors. Later that evening, one of the rejected men is found with a knife in his back, and the chosen suitor is charged with murder. Something seems amiss to the protagonist, and when she shares her concerns, Queen Elizabeth allows her to investigate the situation secretly. When Lady Grace and her friends complete the daring rescue of the third suitor, who has been kidnapped, all of the answers fall into place. Action makes the story a page-turner, but Lady Grace's wit and personality are what readers will really enjoy. In Betrayal, captains Francis Drake and Hugh Derby are quite taken with another Maid of Honor and vie for her affections. Several days later, a letter arrives saying that Lady Sarah and Capt. Drake have eloped. Lady Grace is suspicious, and she and a friend go to Drake's ship to investigate. They are inadvertently locked aboard, and when the ship puts out to sea, they are discovered and pretend to be stowaways. Undercover as a boy, Lady Grace learns to use the "jakes" (outside toilets), climbs the yards and ropes, and uses her archery skills to send flaming arrows over to a pirate ship. Both stories are great fun, and Finney does a magnificent job of weaving in details of life in Elizabethan England.-Cheri Dobbs, Detroit Country Day Middle School, Beverly Hills, MI

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