Face Down Before Rebel Hooves

I'm not going to go on about what happens in this novel, since you only have to refer to the great reviews given by those in 2001. I will say that these Lady Appleton books are fasinating and well worth your time.Emerson does a wonderful job in creating well rounded characters in a realistic setting which is true to European history. The characters and their personality change accoring to the ups and downs in their lives, yet still stay true to their individual personality. I can't say enough about the wondersul writing ability of Emerson. Well down!

I love reading how Lady Appleton's life has change and developed over the years, while she become independantly successful and even more interesting. This will not be a disappointing read.

It's been a year since Mary, Queen of Scots, fled Scotland and pled for asylum in England. And although she is now a prisoner, dependent on Elizabeth I's charity and mercy, Mary and her allies still plot to make her Queen of England. Sir Walter Pendennis is in Augsburg, negotiating for a secret loan on Elizabeth I's behalf, and he is looking forward to returning to England, and to settling down in his country manor with his wife, putting his days as a diplomat behind him, when tragedy strikes. Eleanor, Sir Walter's wife is run over by a farm wagon, and is seriously injured. Believing herself to be at death's door, she confesses to her husband that she has been conspiring with the Earls of Northumberland and Westmorland for quite a while now to overthrow the Queen and to place Mary on the English throne. Sir Walter is both angered and appalled at the news. His only thought now is to somehow thwart the conspirators, and to minimize his errant wife's role in the conspiracy. Discovering that his old friend, Lady Susanna Appleton is in Hamburg, Sir Walter goes to her for help. His plan is for Susanna to impersonate Eleanor and to somehow insinuate herself into the conspirators' circle. Sir Walter assures Susanna that practically no one will discover the impersonation as Eleanor has more or less had little contact with any of the conspirator's (save through letters). Eager to prevent any kind of uprising, Susanna agrees to help Sir Walter, eventhough she senses that there is something that Sir Walter is holding back.Susanna's lover, Nick Baldwin, however is not so sanguine. Distrustful of Sir Walter and his motives for involving Susanna in this dangerous enterprise, Nick does some digging of his own, and discovers that Eleanor had actually been murdered, and that the order to murder her had come from someone close to Northumberland. Obviously the conspirators did not trust Eleanor at all. Fearful of Susanna's safety, Nick quickly makes for England. Will Nick arrive in time to warn Susanna of the danger she is facing? Will Susanna mange to ingratiate herself with the conspirators? What exactly is Sir Walter hiding, and exactly what kind of deep game is he playing? And will the conspirators pull off their coup?These are the threads that bind this very suspenseful mystery novel together. With "Face Down Before Rebel Hooves," Kathy Lynn Emerson does an excellent job of maintaining that taut suspenseful air, where you wonder if Susanna will finally be unmasked; and if the killer, who believes that (s)he has failed in his/her attempt to murder Eleanor, will strike again. Since this mystery novel is based on historical fact, we all know how the coup panned out, however, I thought that the authour did a truly wonderful job of bringing this entire conspiracy to life. Susanna Appleton remains as wonderful, and as strong and as resilient as ever. And it makes for wonderful reading to see Susanna and Jennet, her clever and resourceful ally, grapple with the myster

In the first few years of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, there were numerous plots and counter-plots to try to put Mary, Queen of the Scots, on the throne. Many powerful nobles, especially in the north, had strong Papist sympathies and ultimately many rebelled. Elizabeth's spymaster Sir Walter Pendennis is aghast to learn his wife is in league with the rebels. Sir Walter travels to Hamburg to ask his good friend Susanna, Lady Appleton, to help him infiltrate the rebel leaders so that he can prevent a civil war. Susanna, loyal to Her Majesty and relishing a good adventure, agrees to help. She goes to the estate of the Earl of Northumberland with false messages and soon joins the Countess' entourage. She gathers evidence on rebel activity even as someone wants her dead. Kathy Lynn Emerson brings vivid color to a tumultuous time during the early stages of the Elizabethan era. Readers learn that the intermingling of religious conflict with politics leads to thoughts of rebellion. The heroine is independent and morally righteous, but tempered with a pragmatic streak. FACE DOWN BEFORE THE REBEL HOOVES is an exciting historical mystery. Harriet Klausner