Meg Wolfe only rarely leaves Faire Isle. It is her refuge as she seeks to escape the memories of her past. Meg is called from the island to cure a young woman supposedly possessed by a witch. The village is out to kill the old woman accused of witchcraft. Meg is accompanied by her friend,Seraphine Beaufoy, la Comtesse de Castlenau. Seraphine is Meg's protector.
Meg convinces the young woman to tell the truth of her supposed curse and save the life of the old woman. She meets two men, Sir Patrick Stewart and Dr. Gil Blackwood at the tavern. The two men were coming to seek the Lady of Faire Isle.
Sir Patrick seeks Meg to ask her to travel to London as King James believes he was cursed. The King wants the curse removed. Even though Sir Patrick is polished and urbane, Meg is drawn to Dr. Blackwood. Gil drinks too much in an attempt to forget the pains of the past. His feelings for Meg are complicated by his past and the guilt that haunts him.
Megs time in London will expose her to two young women who are trying to brink back the Order of the Silver Rose. Even though she doesn't know how to lift a curse, she convinces the King that only he can resolve it.
When Gil is poisoned by touching a silver rose, Meg will work hard to save his life and expose some horrific political machinations which could shake the foundations of London.
It's been three and a half years since Ms. Carroll's last book and THE LADY OF SECRETS was worth the wait. Her original Dark Queen series was slated to be a trilogy. This is now the fifth book. What I loved most about this was that even though there are occasional mentions of characters from the previous books, they are brief. THE LADY OF SECRETS revolves around Meg as an adult and her struggle to distance herself from her past.
Ms. Carroll has an ability to bring historical fact into her books which educate readers without being boring. Her stories are strongly constructed with memorable characters. Her readers will be delighted with Ms. Carroll's return.
Queen Catherine de Medici is dead, and for Meg Wolfeβ
successor in a line of legendary healers and mystics known
as βdaughters of the earthββit is a time of new beginnings.
She strives to be ordinary, invisible in the mists of Faire
Isle, and is determined to put the terrifying days of a
wicked mother and turbulent childhood behind her. But soon
a summons from King James will rekindle a menacing power
from the past, bringing haunting visions of a nightmare
already unfoldingβand a shattering mystery steeped in magic
that will determine a destiny from which she cannot hide.
Megβs task: Save the king from the most insidious form of
treachery, invisible to those who do not possess Megβs
extraordinary gifts. But as Meg discovers, there are more
sinister motivations at play in the kingβs world. Torn
between two very different men whose motives and secrets
are tied inexorably to her own fate, Meg learns that she
can no longer trust anyone or anythingβnot even her own
heart.
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