The Lady Grace Mysteries: Betrayal
by Patricia Finney
Delacorte Press, 2004, 186 pp., $6.95
ISBN 0-385-73152-3
In the book Lady Grace Mysteries: Betrayal, we hear about the life of a Maid of Honor who lives with Queen Elizabeth I. Lady Grace, whose mother and father died saving the Queen, is one of the Queen’s servants. The book Betrayal is a fun, exciting book with a few mysteries within the main mystery. It all takes place in May, 1569. It shows how a Maid of Honor can do things that peasants can do too. The story is very satisfying.
In the book, Lady Grace finds out that her roommate, Lady Sarah, has been kidnapped by sailors. Lady Grace and her tumbling friend Masou get a letter for the Queen, from a pageboy who said the letter was from Lady Sarah. Masou and Lady Grace go to Captain Drake’s Ship to get Lady Sarah back before the Queen finds out. Soon they find themselves going off to sea with the crew and locked in a room with a mama cat and her kittens. They were able to sleep with the mama cats for a night, but the problem was that Masou is allergic to cats.
The main character in this book is Lady Grace who is one brave girl. Then there is Masou, who is a tumbler for the Queen. Ellie is the laundry helper, but when Mrs. Fadget makes her work too much she gets sick. Mrs. Fadget is the head laundry woman, and Lady Sarah is another Maid of Honor. Last there is Queen Elizabeth I, who is the Queen of England who loves to do lots of things. Patricia Finney does a really good job writing as Grace in the book. Finney makes it sound like she was really the Maid of Honor for the Queen and she actually was Lady Grace.
Bravery is the main theme in the book. At first Lady Sarah is brave when she gets kidnapped, then Lady Grace is very brave when she gets stuck on the boat as a boy. Lady Grace has to climb at least two stories high on the boat after Masou to untie a knot. The crew said that if they fall they die.
I really recommend this book to those who like reading about the 1500’s and about Queen Elizabeth I. Every part of the book was very interesting. I just loved this book. If you like this book you will like the others in the series, like Assassin and Conspiracy.
~ reviewed by Caroline A.
