A Vintage Reads Review: Conspiracy

Conspiracy (Lady Grace Mysteries, 3) by Grace Cavendish, February 8, 2005. 208 pages. Published by Delacorte Books for Young Readers. Source: Library.

The Royal Court is on its summer travels and Lady Grace is sure something strange is going on. As Queen Elizabeth narrowly escapes a series of mysterious accidents, Grace must investigate just who might be behind the conspiracy. Could it really be one of the Queen’s faithful friends—or even her latest suitor?

Delve into the daybooke of Lady Grace, Queen Elizabeth’s favorite Maid of Honor, to discover a deadly dangerous plot.

First Sentence:

We are just making ready to leave Oxey Hall.

Since I had finished Betrayal so early in the night, I decided I might as well read Conspiracy, the third book in the Lady Grace Mysteries, while I was at it. What really made this one stand out from the previous two would have to be that Queen Elizabeth I plays a bigger role in it. Oh gosh, the author's depiction of the Queen is just brilliant in this series; made all the more obvious in this book.

While I still enjoyed reading about Lady Grace and her best friends, Ellie and Masou, Queen Elizabeth definitely stole the show in Conspiracy with her crazy flirting and teasing of her suitors. Who knew that someone could make her seem both frightful and humorous in one book. Not me for sure.
     So, even though the Queen stole quite a bit of the show with her trickery, I enjoyed the latest Lady Grace Mysteries because it was interesting to see who was trying to make one of the Queen's oldest friends look bad. Also, because I couldn't help but laugh over Grace's denying that she was interested in a certain gentleman (I'm not telling y'all how it panned out).
   Conspiracy, while funny and thrilling at times, managed to make my heart hurt because poor Grace was out of her element when it came to unbeknownst feelings and the product of said feelings, especially at the end. I know, I being quite cryptic, but, I don;t want to spoil it for y'all.

Alright, what really made this an enjoyable read would have to be reading about the interactions between the characters. I loved the drama of the court and the playfulness of the Queen when it came to the courting bits. The author did such a great job with her, and I really enjoyed reading about it from Grace's point of view because it made it all the funnier, as well, as more heartfelt when you take into consideration that she was denied what her heart wants due to something from the past.

Again, the only downfall to this book is the mystery aspect. While I have enjoyed the writing and characters, the mystery is just too simple for me and thus cake to figure out. Even though the big mystery was not all that hard to crack, there are really to many good things about the series as a whole for me to be too angry.

Final Verdict: Conspiracy- Delightfully funny!

Conspiracy earns 4 out of 5 griffins