A Rescue for a Queen is a story that just goes on and on and then just stops. It is advertised as a thriller, but many of the situations that Ursula found herself in and rescues just seemed unbelievable. Consequently the book receives a good solid three stars for being a good story but not one that would be recommended. ( )

From the inside flap: "February 1571. When Ursula's foster daughter Margaret receives a proposal of marriage from a Dutchman she barely knows, her estranged parents ask Ursula to escort her to the Netherlands to meet her suitor. But Ursula's journey has a deeper purpose. When the Queen's spy-master Sir William Cecil (Lord Burghley) learns that banker Roberto Ridolfi will be honoring the wedding celebrations, he asks Ursula to find out what he's (Ridolfi) up to. For Cecil fears that Ridolfi may be plotting to put Mary Queen of Scots on the English Throne.

And, so, once again, Ursula finds herself reluctantly engaged in affairs of the state. her reluctance is well-founded; for in the Netherlands she will come face to face with her greatest enemy - and the exiled Countess of Northumberland is not the only figure from Ursula's past to put in a surprising appearance."

There was a glaring error of blatant stupidity on Ursula's part which led her into the trap set by Anne Percy.. as well as the deliberate betrayal of Ursula's jealous retainer Fran Brockley. That knocked off one star!

The twist was a reintroduction of Ursula's past, which was well written. ( )

The eleventh novel in the Ursula Blanchard series of Elizabethan mysteries. This is Ridolfi/Duke of Norfolk plot part 2. There is a very palpable sense of fear and oppression during the sequences set in Inquisition-ruled Madrid, the contrast between that and the physical beauty of the city being well drawn. During these scenes Brockley and, in particular, Dale are less sympathetic than usual, being pulled to the extremes of their character in a way that was a little shocking. I enjoyed the story as usual, though the pattern of Ursula saying she definitely wants to go on no further missions, but being talked/cajoled into doing so by Cecil, wears thin. There is at least one more novel in the series, and I hope it may be a little more varied. ( )

The book would be better (and only half as long) if the author gave up going over and over and over and over the things that happened in the past. ( )