A Famine of Horses

Wonderfully adventurous historical mystery, set among the Border Reivers in the reign of Elizabeth I. Sir Robert Carey, a courtier of the Virgin Queen returns to the Scots borderlands where he was raised to take a position as a Deputy Warden for his not terribly bright but terribly well connected brother in law. A terrific collection of characters help or hinder Sir Robert in trying to discover why Jock of the Peartree and his men are stealing, buying, borrowing all the horses in the north and why Jock's son Sweetmilk has been found dead in a copse.

This was such fun! I just so enjoy books where the history is accurate and interesting but the story doesn't bog down in it. I will be looking out for the rest of this series with anticipation. ( )

Excellent start to a potentially good series. Interesting characters, authentic atmosphere and enough medieval vocabulary to keep the learning curve moving upwards. ( )

This is a great book. It really gives a feeling of being there in the later part of the 16th century. The characters are interesting and it is fun that the author uses a person that was there in those times and was actually a Deputy Warden. The author did a great job resurching for this book and it ties together very nicely. Besides the mystery part of it, it is a great read to anyone who is interested in English history during the time of Elizabeth I. It is a very exciting book from beginning to end! ( )

This is fictional mystery novel about a real historical person. Sir Robert Carey was a courtier at the court of Queen Elizabeth. His grandmother was Mary Boleyn, so his father, Lord Hunsdon, was a cousin, or possibly a half-brother to Elizabeth. Carey is sent to Carlyle near the Scottish Border to serve as deputy warden of the West March. This is a lawless area with nearly constant raids between the different Scottish families. Several wonderful characters emerge: Carey's sister Philadelphia, his love interest Lady Widdrington, his crusty second in command Sgt. Henry Dodd. I also loved the colorful name the author invents for the Scottish ruffians: Sweetmilk, Jock of the Peartree, etc. A sprinkling of Scottish dialect is delightful : "ye dinna ken" = you don't/didn't know. Fun!!! ( )