The Queen's Gamble

The fourth in Kyle's Thornleigh series (after The Queen's Captive) starts strong and doesn't let up. Isabel, daughter of the Thornleighs, has been living happily with husband Carlos and their son in Peru for five years, but returns to England when she hears that her mother has been charged with murder. Once home, her Catholicism distances her from her family. But her heart is English, and in a fit of patriotism, Isabel offers to deliver gold from Elizabeth I to Protestant Scottish rebels hoping to cast off their French Catholic overlords. Unfortunately, Carlos has been dispatched to aid the French, and this conflict nearly destroys their marriage. In Scotland, Isabel's eyes are opened to the Scots' plight and, wanting to offer more than money, she joins a plot against Elizabeth's life in the hopes of discovering traitors. But when she returns to court, she's taken as a traitor herself. Locked away with knowledge that could save Elizabeth and a date with the gallows drawing near, Isabel must fight not only for her life but also for her queen's. Kyle's latest is extremely accessible for readers unfamiliar with the series, and the Scottish uprising, a little explored piece of Tudor history, enlivens a well-worn genre. (Sept.)