Thorne Maze (Elizabeth I Mystery Series) »

Karen Harper is a New York Times- and USA Today- bestselling author whose novels, both historical and contemporary, have been published worldwide. A former college and high school English instructor, Harper frequently travels to promote her books and speak about writing.

The vibrant pageant of Elizabethan England comes vividly alive in Karen Harper's fifth novel in her acclaimed Elizabeth I mystery series. In the gardens of Hampton Court, Elizabeth proudly shows a famed visitor her huge maze. But the intricate labyrinth soon becomes a scene of horror as Elizabeth herself is attacked and the visitor is murdered within its leafy dead ends. Undaunted, the queen sets a trap to snare a ghostly murderer before he or she strikes again...

Publishers Weekly

Tudor England's answer to V. I. Warshawski, Elizabeth I, must as usual take on a murder case or two in Harper's fifth well-researched, intrigue-filled historical (after 2002's The Queene's Cure). The royal sleuth is surprised by a deadly assault in the Hampton Court maze one night after making an appointment to meet old flame Robin Dudley. Did the attacker mean to kill her, or was she mistaken for someone else? Disturbing clues suggest that someone near to the queen wants her dead. A confrontation in a highly unusual maze makes for a thrilling conclusion. Harper's portrait of the Virgin Queen as sleuth is illuminating, but readers familiar with Elizabethan history will spot the villain much too soon. (Feb. 28) Copyright 2003 Cahners Business Information.