A skilled archer is making repeated attempts at Elizabeth I's life during her summer progress through Hampshire. Or is Captain Francis Drake the target? The queen's new friend has been at her side at each attempt. Is Elizabeth's Catholic cousin, the Duke of Norfolk, in league with the Catholic Mary, Queen of Scots, to seize control of the kingdom? Have Spanish spies invaded the heart of England? Or is Francis Drake's cousin, Captain John Hawkins, seeking revenge against him? Sooner or later, the Queen will discover the person or persons behind the arrow attacks with the help of her Privy Plot Council, comprised of her most trusted guards, advisers, and servants.

The author explains in the afterword that each book in this series focuses on a different aspect of Elizabethan life. This book's focus in on sports and games. I enjoyed learning about this aspect of Elizabethan civilization. One of my favorite books in C.J. Sansom's Matthew Shardlake series, Sovereign, uses a progress as the setting for the action, and I found this setting nearly as enjoyable in this book. Like Stephanie Barron does in her Jane Austen mystery series, Harper has woven a mystery plot around historically accurate locations and dates. There really was a summer progress in 1569. This book could be classified as historical espionage/thriller with its royal setting and focus on plots against the throne and international intrigue. ( )

Easy quick read. Would like to read others in series. ( )

Another of Harper's delightful Elizabeth I mysteries, The Hooded Hawke takes place roughly three years after the previous book in the series. The Queen is on progress through southern England when people begin to be killed by mysterious arrows and crossbow bolts. Is the Queen the target or is it her new courtier, Captain Francis Drake?

Full of intrique and insight into Elizabethan culture, this series is great fun. One of the best things about it is the ongoing subplot featuring the Queen's herb mistress, Meg Milligrew, who looks enough like Her Majesty that she is able to stand in for the Queen on those occasions when Elizabeth needs to investigate incognito. ( )