Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: The Twilight Queen by Jeri Westerson

Jeri Westerson wrote fifteen mysteries about Crispin Guest, the social pariah and former English knight who in 1383 strikes out on a new career as a private investigator. Now she has given her attention to the court of Henry VIII, which one might think has been thoroughly explored. However, Westerson has turned the slight historical references to Will Somers, the court jester, into a real person and the center of a new mystery series.

In the second book The Twilight Queen, to be released in January by Severn House, some time has lapsed since Will’s debut. The court is in a quiet uproar, as Henry is losing interest in Anne Boleyn, the woman he defied the Catholic Church to marry. Anne has failed to produce a son, and Henry is starting to look around the court for her replacement, a scant three years after their marriage. Some are pleased, as Anne made enemies on her way up and they are eager to engineer her downfall. Others, like Will Somers, are appalled at Henry’s treatment of his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, and now fear a similar fate, or worse, is waiting for Anne.

Within this hot bed of political treachery, Anne issues an urgent summons to Will. He finds her in her chambers, where she shows him a dead man near her bed. She doesn’t know him and believes the body has been placed in her room to discredit her with the king. She begs Will to take him away and find out who is trying to damage her reputation. Thus Will embarks on his second investigation.

Will is a fascinating character with an innate sense of fairness and decency. He tries to persuade Henry not to abandon Anne so readily, drawing the wrath of some of Anne’s enemies who are working to remove her. Westerson has drawn a vivid and frightening portrait of a court ruled by an unstable egomaniac, where anyone within the king’s sphere could be knighted or beheaded with equal ease and with as little cause.

Will has a far more adventurous love life than a respectably married man should have. The book is as much about his romances as it is about his budding career as a detective. His long-suffering wife holds her own in their marriage, as well as any woman could at that time. How their relationship evolves will be interesting to watch as the series unfolds.

For fans of well-written and well-researched historical mysteries. Recommended.

·         Publisher: ‎Severn House; Main edition (January 2, 2024)

·         Language: ‎English

·         Hardcover: ‎224 pages

·         ISBN-10: ‎1448310903

·         ISBN-13: ‎978-1448310906

 

Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2023

Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.