In Uneasy Lies the Crown, the thrilling new mystery in Tasha Alexander’s bestselling series, Lady Emily and her husband Colin must stop a serial killer whose sights may be set on the new king, Edward VII.
On her deathbed, Queen Victoria asks to speak privately with trusted agent of the Crown, Colin Hargreaves, and slips him a letter with one last command: Une sanz pluis. Sapere aude. “One and no … pluis. Sapere aude. “One and no more. Dare to know.”
The year is 1901 and the death of Britain’s longest-reigning monarch has sent the entire British Empire into mourning. But for Lady Emily and her dashing husband, Colin, the grieving is cut short as another death takes center stage. A body has been found in the Tower of London, posed to look like the murdered medieval king Henry VI. When a second dead man turns up in London’s exclusive Berkeley Square, his mutilated remains staged to evoke the violent demise of Edward II, it becomes evident that the mastermind behind the crimes plans to strike again.
The race to find the killer takes Emily deep into the capital’s underbelly, teeming with secret gangs, street children, and sleazy brothels—but the clues aren’t adding up. Even more puzzling are the anonymous letters Colin has been receiving since Victoria’s death, seeming to threaten her successor, Edward VII. With the killer leaving a trail of dead kings in his wake, will Edward be the next victim?
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An elegant puzzle laced with rich historical context. A wonderful installment in Tasha Alexander’s Lady Emily mystery series.
I love all of Tashas books
I really enjoyed this story. Going back and forth between past and present (in the stories timeline) was a great concept and tied things together perfectly!
Plot, great. Characters, great. The only thing that slows me down reading anything by this author is having to reread the amazing prose. Brilliant!
Another remarkable novel by a favorite author of mine! Always a treat!
“One never knows, does one, what shall happen in the end?” (quote from the book)
What a fitting way to end the reign of Queen Victoria and enter into the new Edwardian Era with ‘Bertie’ or should I say King Edward VII. Actually, it was rather diabolical using the victims to portray the deaths of former Kings. The Queen had given Lord Colin Hargreaves an envelope with a message as she lay dying, and finding further envelopes with messages throughout their investigations, only threw more confusion into the hunt for the killer. I had my suspicions but was just a bit off in my conclusions. Nonetheless, I was quite pleased with this murder/mystery.
“…but I have found that if anything is capable of traveling more quickly than a lie, it is bad news. Particularly bad news that contains any hint of gore or violence. Truly, people are a dreadful lot.” (quote from the book)
One of the interesting elements was the second story woven into this one. At first, you wonder how this relates to the overall plot. It is this story that really grabbed and held my attention. I needed to know more and it is not long before you realize it will relate but not exactly how. This for me was cleverly done and I was very impressed.
I had been wondering if I would continue with this series. I was finding Lady Emily was being portrayed with too much of a modern edge to her. In this book, she was less abrasive and pushy but just. However, after this story and the excerpt from book #14, I will definitely be following Lady Emily further into the Edwardian times!
I always enjoy the Lady Emily mysteries. However, this one – to my way of thinking – started off very slow. The second half was more like her other books. I didn’t particularly care for the medieval chapters. I’ll read the next one and the next.
I have read and enjoyed Alexander’s Lady Emily Mystery series since its inception, and I looked forward to reading UNEASY LIES THE CROWN. I must say that it is my least favorite of the series.
Don’t get me wrong, the portion of the book that takes place right after the death of Queen Victoria is up to snuff. Colin must decipher the Queen’s final message to him leading him on a scavenger hunt for answers. At the same time, someone is killing “less than perfect” men and publically posing them as dead kings. Is it a personal vendetta or a warning to the new king? The most recent books in the series have included alternating stories and perspectives, and this secondary plot about Colin’s distant relatives is where the problem lies. These bits are very short, rather boring, and have no correlation to the 1901 main plot until the very end. In my opinion, it is unnecessary filler.
Lady Emily comes across haughty and arrogantly aristocratic within these pages. I prefer the kinder, somewhat gentler Lady Emily of yore. As always, the banter between Colin and Lady Emily is delightful, and their relationship is my favorite part of the book. It is nice to learn a bit more about their children and wonderful to see the return of Lady Emily’s friend Jeremy. On the surface, he is such a rake, but I think he is much deeper than he acts. I cannot help but adore him. Readers are also introduced to a new character, a police officer who I hope we see more of in future installments.
UNEASY LIES THE CROWN is enjoyable despite its flaws, and longtime fans of the series should not hesitate to read it. It is good, just not great.
I received an ARC of this title from NetGalley and voluntarily shared my thoughts here.
This is the first book I have read in the Lady Emily series and I have to say I want to go back and read more. A strong historical mystery that had me totally enthralled with the characters and the investigation. 1901 England and right before the death of Queen Victoria, Colin, Lady Emily’s husband receives a enigmatic message from the Queen. With her son Prince “Bertie” soon to be crowned, a series of murders begin to take place. The victims are dressed up as previous kings and the worry is it is meant for the new King.
The dialogue and the author’s indepth knowledge of this time in history is evident with real characters of the time woven into the suspenseful events. There was a parallel story intertwined with this one concerning Colin’s ancestors which was interesting on it’s own.
As Emily and Colin try to find the killer, they go into the underground of the city and are subjected to a lot of miscreants but cannot get the clues to add up.
There is so much to this story with several twist and turns that will keep you turning the pages to see if they can find the killer and determine what the real meaning of all the deaths could be. An excellent mystery!
I had such fun reading this fast-paced, well-written book! Best of all – you actually get three stories. Now, some folks will find it disconcerting to switch from 1415 in one chapter to 1901 in another chapter. I absolutely understand why the author did the story that way and was good with it, but I can suggest that IF that bothers you, just read all of the 1901 chapters first and then read the 1401, etc. chapters. I must also say that, while I still love Lady Emily, she is seeming more and more arrogant and self-righteous in each new installment.
The chapters in 1901 deal with two mysteries. Are the two related or separate? Well, you’ll just have to read the book to find out. It is the day of Queen Victoria’s funeral and all of England is in mourning. When a body, dressed as an earlier ruler, is found at the Tower of London it raises the alarm of all of those involved in the protection of the new King. Colin Hargreaves and his wife Emily are on the case even though Scotland Yard is doing the investigation. The Scotland Yard inspector definitely doesn’t welcome Lady Emily’s involvement, but she just works around him and finds more clues than he does. Well – frankly, he’s just looking for clues that tie the murder to the new King and his safety and Emily is looking for who committed the murder. The Inspector wants to be in charge of the new King’s security detail. Then, there is a second and third murder both victims dressed to represent the demise of a former ruler. Is the murderer threatening the new King Edward by saying that even kings can be killed? Emily is of two minds – one that it is a threat to the king and another that says it is not related to the king at all. The resolution will keep you guessing right up to the end when it all comes together.
Just before her death Queen Victoria summons Colin to her chamber, hands him an envelope and tells him, “Take this and do as it says.” “All will be clear in time. We need you for this. . . .” She died soon after that encounter and left Colin with what seems to be a scavenger hunt. Do the clues contained in the envelope have a bearing on the murders or are they entirely separate? Why would the Queen leave him such clues?
The chapters from 1415 through 1459 tell the story of one of Colin’s early ancestors and how he served his king. They are very short chapters and the story they tell is a nice one. You definitely don’t want to skip those because they definitely add to the story.
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