An Assassin’s Guide to Love and Treason

After Queen Elizabeth I’s men kill 17-year-old Katherine Arundell’s father, Sir Richard, for practicing Catholicism in Protestant England, Katherine flees Cornwall for London. Aware that Richard was plotting regicide via mail, Katherine finds his coconspirators and joins them. Nineteen-year-old Tobias Ellis, a royal spy who intercepted one of Richard’s letters, is intent on preventing the queen’s assassination. Toby sets a trap, enlisting Shakespeare to write a seditious play, Twelfth Night, to be performed in front of the queen. Katherine takes the bait, posing as a boy, Christopher “Kit” Alban, to secure the part of Viola. Hoping to ferret out any aspiring murderers, Toby assumes the role of Orsino, but then he and “Kit” fall for each other, forcing both to question their convictions. Katherine and Toby’s alternating voices heighten the tension and drama. Although the book’s middle sags in between its harrowing start and nail-biting conclusion, Boecker (The King Slayer) creates complex characters and a rich historical setting in a story that explores religious extremism, self-identity, and the blindness of love. Ages 14–up. [em](Oct.) [/em]