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The Poyson Garden

by Karen Haper

Reviewed by Coral


Exiled from court by her sister, Queen Mary, Princess Elizabeth leads a secluded life surrounded by spies report her every action to her sister.

But when Elizabeth receives a secret letter from an aunt long assumed to be dead she finds herself in the middle of a poisoner’s plot to assassinate everyone still loyal to the Boleyn family. Elizabeth will have to find a way to evade the spies to save herself and the lives of her cousins if she is to find the person who harbours such hatred to her family. As the plot unravels, Elizabeth fears it will lead to the last person she wants it to: her sister.

I don’t think there was any way to figure out who was behind the plot. I am not just saying that as someone who is really bad at figuring mysteries out, I think a lot of the information needed to solve the case is never revealed to us. We learn it as Elizabeth does, which I enjoyed. Because of the set up, I didn’t really feel like I had missed any obvious clues, which I also enjoyed.

I think it does require some suspension of disbelief, that Elizabeth can so easily get away from the people watching her as many times as she does (and some for extended periods of time).

There was a scene between one of the secondary characters loyal to Elizabeth, Ned Topside, that I didn’t think served much of a purpose. The scene made me dislike Ned, which I don’t think the author intended.

Overall, there were some weaker points, but I am interested to see how the series continues.

Grade: B