First in the Series:

Prologue is the beheading of Queen Jane Grey, which is a clue as to what is going on.

As Queen Mary is dying, one of her Examiners, Lord Braceton, has come to Hatfield House in the late of night seeking proof of heresy & treason by Princess Elizabeth. While approaching Hatfield in the nearby woods, Braceton's servant, Wat, has been fatally shot w/ an arrow.

Elizabeth assigns her Lute player, Kate to investigate the murder and intent of Braceton, who comes across the body of the young mute that lived at Hatfield with his throat slashed on the altar steps of the local church.

Braceton, an angry spiteful man, who hates Elizabeth, upends the hose, but is unable to find any signs of treason.

Braceton had also been to two other houses seeking the same; for whatever evidence might have been found would have turned over ownership of those estates to Braceton rather than Queen Mary.

When Kate takes an arrow to her shoulder while wearing Elizabeth's red cloak & Braceton is also found dead of an arrow things look quite out of control, until Kate puts all the pieces of the puzzle together pointing to someone within Elizabeth's household.

I liked the characters & the story, it held my interest and was a fast read. ( )

Set during the time Bloody Mary ruled, this novel depicts Kate Haywood who works with Princess Elizabeth at Hatfield House where the tyrannical queen has placed her. Lord Braceton, in the Queen's service, comes to visit, and one of the men accompanying him is murdered. He arrives at the house accusing members of the household of the murder. More deaths occur. Kate's father, a musician, is arrested. Kate is one of the few members of the household Elizabeth trusts. She sets out to investigate. The novel is a blend of fictitious and historical characters. While it is enjoyable, too much of the action stretches the imagination. C. J. Sansom creates a more successful mystery set in this time period. ( )

I'd already read the third book in this series, so some suspects were not on my list. Elizabeth is not yet the queen. That's her older half-sister, Queen Mary. The princess is stuck at Hatfield House, one of the properties left to her by their father, Henry VIII.

The peace the princess and her household have been enjoying is interrupted by the vile Lord Braceton, one of Queen Mary's men, who is subjecting them to yet another search for evidence of heresy or treason. The more we learn about him, the more the apology the author gives the late queen for creating him is deserved.

Someone has murdered one of Lord Braceton's men. He's certain it's someone at Hatfield. Our heroine, young Kate Haywood, talented daughter of Elizabeth's musician and composer, Matthew, doesn't believe that.

Who is the killer? Could it be Vicar Payne, who has gone mad since he was removed from his position at the local church after Queen Mary made the Catholicism the official religion again? Is it one of the traveling players that stop at Hatfield House to present an unfamiliar play -- especially the handsome Rob Cartman, nephew of the players' leader? What about that veiled woman who mysteriously appears and disappears? That servant is not going to be the only murder victim.

Kate can't understand why her friend, handsome apprentice lawyer Anthony Elias, and Rob Cartman dislike each other from the start. We readers know.

The mixture of fictional and historical persons is a good one. There's suspense even though we know that Elizabeth will become queen. The author's notes are interesting. I've already got book two on hold at my library.

Notes:

See chapter four for a list of some of the reading material that was dangerous to own during the reign of Queen Mary.

Village shop owner Master Smythson is described as an aging widower in chapter chapter, but has a wife in chapter ten.

See the Author's Note for the real life inspiration for Kate Haywood. ( )

I'm not what anyone would call a "fan" of historical, or period, novels, but I've recently become quite hooked on several "cozy historicals", written by Rhys Bowen, Carol K. Carr, Carola Dunn, etc. I doubt they are what any historian would call accurate, but they are wonderful reading and are accurate enough to give the reader a feel for another time.

When I saw an announcement for the upcoming publication of Murder at Hatfield House, I put it on the "to-buy" list thinking it would be similar to the works I've read so far. Nope, I was wrong. This is what I'd call a true Historical Mystery and I'd be hesitant to lump it in with cozies at all.

That's not at all a criticism. I like to expand my reading horizons and I don't due it nearly often enough. I mention it only because I started reading this book thinking "cozy" and it took more than a few chapters to adjust my thinking more towards "historical". I don't know if that's the reason I'm having such a hard time reviewing it or not, but I am finding it difficult to put a coherent review together, so apologies in advance for the clunkiness.

The book was historically accurate enough, however, that I had a hard time really caring, or becoming invested in, most of the characters, because they showed very little life, or spark. The timing for the book is in the months preceding Elizabeth's rise to the throne. It's very much a Catholic vs. Protestant time and there are many mentions of the burnings. Everyone lives in fear that "heretical" texts or evidence of heresy will be found in their homes and they'll be sentenced to death.

The story centres on Kate, a court musician confined with Princess Elizabeth at Hatfield House during Elizabeth's house arrest by the order of Queen Mary. Kate is demure, a little bit naive, but not in any way stupid. She's likeable enough. Because she's merely a servant, it's easy for her to go around unnoticed, so she is tasked with solving the murders, or at least gathering enough information for Princess Elizabeth to solve them.

The murder plot was well enough done, although I guessed the murderer pretty early on. If an author goes to the trouble of setting a character's personality for the reader, then any changes to that personality potentially stick out like a red flag. I can't imagine it's an easy thing for authors to do, and I do think a lot of people might not necessarily pick up on what I did.

Overall, it was a worthy read. There was enough historical information included to get me interested in looking up the British monarchy on google. I'll keep an eye out for the second one, but I'm not sure if I'll rush out to buy it or not. ( )

Kate Haywood is a musician in the household of the Princess Elizabeth, who is currently confined at Hatfield House by the order of her sister, Queen Mary. The entire household comes under close scrutiny when a companion to Mary's envoy is killed by an arrow as they approach Hatfield House. The restrictions tighten after more deaths. Kate is one of the few people whom Elizabeth trusts. Since Elizabeth is so closely guarded, she asks Kate to be her eyes and ears to uncover the killer in their midst.

While the author isn't as successful as C. J. Sansom at creating the historical setting, this is still a very promising start for a historical mystery series. The author takes good advantage of the politics of the time to cast suspicion on a number of characters. Kate is a likeable heroine, although a couple of times she comes dangerously close to becoming one of those “Too Stupid to Live” characters in too many cozies. Kate mixes with historical figures, but since she is a fictional character, the author isn't constrained by having to work around known facts about her life. I'll look forward to reading more about Kate's adventures in Queen Elizabeth's court. ( )