Murder in the Merchant’s Hall: A Mistress Jaffrey Mystery

In Emerson’s able second Mistress Jaffrey mystery set in Tudor England (after 2014’s Murder in the Queen’s Wardrobe), Godlina Walkenden quarrels violently with her brother-in-law, London mercer Hugo Hackett, over his plans to marry her to Allesandro Portinari, an Italian silk merchant she suspects of having syphilis. When Hackett’s wife discovers Lina holding a knife over his bloody corpse, Lina flees the city and seeks help from Lady Susanna Appleton (the protagonist of Emerson’s Face Down series) and Rosamund Jaffrey, an unconventional gentlewoman with experience in intelligence gathering. Rosamund, aided by her husband, Rob, and Lady Susanna, exploits her skills in languages and disguise to investigate suspects, including Allesandro and Hackett’s vindictive widow. The stakes rise when the extensive secret inquiries of the Elizabeth I’s spymaster, Sir Francis Walsingham, overlap with their own. Complex family backstory slows the opening, but evocative period detail and the warmth of Rosamund’s byplay with Rob make for a satisfying read. [em]Agent: Christina Hogrebe, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (Dec.) [/em]