Murder in the Merchant's Hall

Murder in the Merchant's Hall is the second in the three-book Mistress Jaffrey Mystery Series set in England in the early 1580s. Rosamond, the estranged foster daughter of Susanna, Lady Appleton (the sleuth in Kathy Lynn Emerson's Face Down Mystery series) is grown up and married to Rob Jaffrey, the son of Lady Appleton's steward and housekeeper.

While Rob finishes his studies at Cambridge, Rosamond resides in the London suburb of Bermondsey. Long estranged from the rest of her family, she is reconciled with Lady Appleton when one of her childhood friends, Godlina Walkenden, is accused of murdering her merchant brother-in-law and asks for their help to find the real killer. Once again, Sir Francis Walsingham, Queen Elizabeth's principal secretary and spy master, complicates Rosamond's life, as does player and intelligence gatherer Henry Leveson.

"This fine new addition to Emerson's popular historical series offers a genuinely gripping mystery, an appealing protagonist, and an eye-opening look at London life during the Renaissance." Booklist