KEEPER OF THE KING'S SECRETS - Michelle Diener
Henry VIII's Court, Book 2
Gallery Books (Trade Paperback)
ISBN: 978-1-4391-9709-7
April 2012
Historical Fiction

London, 1525

Susanna Horenbout's father sent her to England from her home in Ghent to be painter to King Henry VIII. She met and became betrothed to the courtier John Parker, Keeper of the Palace of Westminster and the King's Yeoman of the Crossbows. One day while shopping on Upper Thames Street , Susanna thinks she sees a friend of her father's, Master Jens from Antwerp , and shouts to him as she follows him. When he turns into an alley, Susanna is surprised. He uses his jeweler's chisel to try to kill her. She uses the knife Parker insisted she carry to save herself, and the wounded Jens flees.

Parker rose from an ignoble beginning. As a child he lived on the streets. His service to King Henry led to his present position. King Henry values Parker for his honesty and loyalty. Together Susanna and Parker have set up house on Crooked Lane , even though Susanna has sent no notice of her changed conditions to her parents. Parker knows he can protect her from the dissolute and dangerous personages in Henry's court better under his own roof. It is still a difficult job. Too many men lust after his beautiful Susanna, and they have power and cunning.

When he learns of the attack on his beloved, Parker begins to uncover what has happened. Soon he is on the hunt for an assassin who tried to kill Susanna, and who succeeded in killing Jens before Parker could discover why he turned on Susanna. Eventually, Parker learns the Mirror of Naples, a huge diamond given to King Henry by his sister Mary, former French queen, is now missing. Mary had taken the diamond from the French Crown Jewels when she left France . The French want it back, and a subversive war for power between Cardinal Wolsey and the Duke of Norfolk leads both Parker and Susanna on a convoluted journey to find the Mirror of Naples before Henry declares war on France .

The characters in this book are wonderful and believable. Susanna, a talented artist, finds her own identity under Parker's protection, and it is very clear he loves her as much as she loves him. The mystery and suspense behind the missing diamond lead to many unusual adventures and a different look at the Tudor world. Every faction has its spies and secrets. This makes KEEPER OF THE KING'S SECRETS an interesting, emotional, and dramatic story.

Although there are references to IN A TREACHEROUS COURT, the first story in this series, it need not be read before the KEEPER OF THE KING'S SECRETS.

Robin Lee