- Hardcover: 288 pages
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0743202643
- ISBN-13: 978-0743202640
- Product Dimensions: 22.3 x 14.7 x 2.5 cm
- Shipping Weight: 454 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #2,368,975 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
He looked so young. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt
He looked so young. Read the first page
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Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good...but not her best,
By A Customer
This review is from: Queen of Ambition (Mass Market Paperback)
The plot on this one is just a bit stretched for credibility...is Fiona Buckley running out of materia?
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another winner,
By Jill Shure "[...]" (Carlsbad, CA United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Queen of Ambition (Hardcover)
Once again, Fiona Buckley delivers a page turner. This, along with her other Elizabethan mysteries, is a rare treat, filled with historical details that seduce the reader into exciting hours of good reading.
4.0 out of 5 stars
well worth reading in spite of flaws...,
By tregatt (Portland, Oregon) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Queen of Ambition (Hardcover)
There are quite a few strikes against "The Queen of Ambition" -- a tenuous intrigue plot (part of the problem here is that Buckley portrays the villains in an almost comic fashion, that it is difficult indeed to take them seriously, or the threat that they pose to the Queen); a far fetched solution to the plot (a more cumbersome cipher I have yet to come across, also there was a flaw in the whole cipher subplot, but if I pointed it out in my review, that would be giving away things); Ursula's guilt over almost having slept with her manservant Brockley (the third time she's goes into the 'thank-goodness-we-didn't-give-in' routine, and I was rooting for Fran to leave this sorry pair and find new and better employment!)... Add to this the fact that I'm not a fan of the Tudors, and found Buckley's/Ursula's whitewashing of Elizabeth quite nauseating, and you'd be right to ask why I would recommend this mystery novel as a good read? Make no mistake about it however, "The Queen of Ambition" is a good read. As reviewer Charles Falk so accurately noted, Fiona Buckley does a wonderful job of interweaving the political and religious problems that Elizabeth I and her ministers faced, with the plot of this mystery novel. But what I also liked was the manner in which Buckley realistically interweaved the kind of life a servant at an Elizabethan pie-shop would lead -- the hard and relentless work, how much a servant's life was bound to the whims and caprices of the master, and the precious few hours off, with Ursula's covert search for proof of wrong-doing. Far too often, mystery writers never go into how an agent's cover can get in the way of his/her undercover work. This was, I thought, a splendid touch. I also liked the manner in which Ursula's confidence in her abilities as a secret agent are developing. Ursula Blanchard is not an easy female protagonist to like completely, but it is easy to respect her abilities and her competence. And I think that Buckley is beginning to make Ursula question many of her past assumptions about her past relationships (with her first husband, and her aunt in particular). More introspection would definitely add more 'spice' to the mix. The novel unfolds interestingly enough. Buckley is very good at adding little bits of information and plot developments that adds to the tension level of this intrigue novel -- in spite of the ongoing critiquing that was going on in my mind, I was glued to the pages until I finished the novel! So all in all, I'd say that this is a book that is worth reading.
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