Face Down O'Er the Border

Whenever a modern day, too depressing mystery gets me down, I reach for a "Face Down" book. I can't think of a nicer way to spend an afternoon than escaping into Lady Appleton's world. It is just a shame that I never find these in the local bookstore, but have to wait for their delivery. The plot details are covered already in the synopsis, so I won't repeat. This was not my absolute favorite of the series, but was well worth reading. Not great literature, but who wants to spend their days with Proust when one can enjoy an historical mystery with a familiar character?

The continuing saga of these characters during the Elizabethan Age moves to Scotland in the year 1577, the year Mary, the Scottish abdicated Queen, is held prisoner in England. Her 11-year-old son James is heir to the throne and rule is in the hands of a series of regents who keep dying. Amid this political unrest, Catherine Glenelg is found unconscious down a flight of stairs and her mother-in-law dead on top of her, presumably murdered. Catherine has no memory of the event and is accused of the murder. She disappears with the help of her friend, the mysterious Annabel. Her friend Susanna Appleton travels from Kent to try to rescue her and learn who the real murderer is. Even if Catherine is found, she won't cross the border without her daughter and son, who is assigned to wait on the boy-king in Sterling Castle. Thus the stage is set for the unraveling of the mystery of the mother-in-law's death and the rescue of Catherine's eight-year-old son from the castle. Portrayals of the period are undoubtedly genuine, and the language real for the time and place. Descriptions of the political conspiracies are intriguing, as is information on the vagaries of Scottish law (for instance, charges against a murderer could be either criminal or civil, and if compensation is paid to the survivor there are no criminal charges brought).