Uneasy Lies the Crown by Tasha Alexander

Uneasy Lies the Crown by Tasha Alexander ISBN-13: 9781250164704 Hardcover: 304 pages Publisher: Minotaur Books Released: Oct. 30, 2018

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
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 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?


My Review:
Uneasy Lies the Crown is a historical mystery set in England. There were two story lines, one set in 1415 (and some years after that) and the main mystery set in 1901, right after Queen Victoria's death. This is the 13th book in a series, but you don't need to read the previous books to understand this one. This book did not spoil any previous mysteries in the series.

Lady Emily's husband is busy ensuring the safety of the new King after a murdered man is found dressed up like a past, murdered king. She's not so sure that the threat is against the new king despite the "murdered king" theme, so she asked people questions to find the link between the murder victims. She tried to prevent any future murders even though the victims weren't nice men. At the end, she jumped to some conclusions with little proof because she trusts her intuition. (Granted, I suspected these people, too, but I prefer firm proof before a character starts making accusations like they're a fact.)

There were no graphic sex scenes. There were a couple uses of bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this interesting and enjoyable mystery.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.