title: Death at Buckingham Palace: Her Majesty Investigates
author:  C.C. Benison 
description: When Jane Bee ends up at her aunt's in London, having exhausted her money while traveling through Europe, she's not sure what she'll do next. She hadn't thought it would be as housemaid in the Royal Palace. Polishing the china and sweeping the floors-however royal-isn't much fun, but Jane likes the people and even talks to the Queen, who enlists her help when a footman apparently commits suicide in the Royal Apartments. Of course, it's not quite so simple. Devoted fans of Buckingham Palace may find this amusing, but as a mystery, it's a disappointment. Jane is a rather obvious sleuth, and the Royal revelations she uncovers aren't as scandalous as the real thing. And Jane, as the first-person narrator, becomes annoying, with cutesy comments like "Mother, of course, that is to say, the Queen, is still doing the queen thing: signing legislation, opening Parliament, entertaining Heads of State." <BR>Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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  # THE KING'S DECEPTION
  
  
  
  
  
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  ## STEVE BERRY
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
    
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
    
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
    
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
    
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
    
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
    
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
    
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
    
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
    
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ![ballantinebooks 50PERCENT](../Images/ballantinebooks%2050PERCENT.jpg)  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  BALLENTINE BOOKS - NEW YORK  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ![](../Images/00004.jpeg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  #
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  _I tell you my seat hath been the seat of kings_.
  
  
  
  
  
  _I will have no rascal to succeed me, and_
  
  
  
  
  
  _who should succeed me but a king_.
  
  
  
  
  
  —ELIZABETH I
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  _For Jessica Johns and Esther Garver_
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Prologue
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  WHITEHALL PALACE
  
  
  
  
  
  JANUARY 28, 1547
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  _K ATHERINE PARR SAW THAT THE END WAS APPROACHING. ONLY a few more days
  remained, maybe a mere few hours. She’d stood silent for the past half hour
  and watched, as the physicians completed their examinations. The time had now
  come for them to deliver their verdict_.
  
  
  
  
  
  _“Sire,” one of the