Save the date, on the 15 December, 2015
from 6pm-8pm UK time (10am-noon West Coast US time) is set to be the
first online book release for A Corpse in Cipher, by Elizabeth Drake.
This is the first novel in a new series of Tudor murder mysteries set
in Henry VIII's early reign. It features Elspet Stafford, a young
woman of marriageable age whose mind is every bit as sharp as her
elderly friend and accomplice in detection, the Dowager Duchess
Lettice. The only problem, aside from the odd random corpse showing
up on their doorstep, is that everyone keeps trying to marry off
Elspet.
Here is the back cover blurb for book
one to whet the appetite:
The year is 1513 and Elspet Stafford is
a young woman with a promising future. She is engaged to a knight,
she has the lineage of a royal family and can't wait to start her new
life. She's never met her betrothed, but he sends her regular
letters; ciphers and puzzles for her to decode to keep her distracted
from her mother's overbearing nature. When news of his death reaches
her, she finds it hard to believe, especially as the messenger
also brings a letter from the fallen man himself for her to decode.
She takes the letter
with her when her mother sends her to a relation's manor where she is
to be trained for court. Before she can decode her letter, she
stumbles across the body of a murdered man in the manor's courtyard;
a murder which the Lord of Ufford Manor is determined to cover up.
Striking an unlikely
alliance with the Lord's mother, Dowager Duchess Lettice, Elspet must
decode the letter and discover what truly happened to the unfortunate
man. But some mysteries are safer left alone and soon both women find
themselves deep in intrigue, plots and of course, murder.
About the author:
Elizabeth Drake has
been studying Medieval and Tudor England for over 15 years and has an
MA in Medieval Archaeology from the University of York, England. She
has been writing for much longer but the Elspet Stafford Mysteries
began her writing career in the genre.
When not writing or
researching, Elizabeth can be found reading or gardening. She
balances time between her two homes in Essex, UK and California.
