ISBN 979-8-224-04118-3
$15.99
Face
Down in the Marrow-Bone Pie is the first of ten historical mystery novels
featuring Susanna, Lady Appleton, gentlewoman, herbalist, and sleuth. She's an
expert on poisonous herbs, just what's needed to solve the crime when the
steward on her husband's estate in Lancashire is found face down in a dish of
marrow-bone pie. Lady Appleton is aided in her sleuthing by her faithful
servants, Jennet and Mark, and hampered by the political ambitions of her
duplicitous husband, Sir Robert. The story is set in England at the beginning
of the reign of Elizabeth Tudor. Long out of print in hardcover and mass market
paperback, this trade paperback edition has been newly edited by the author.
The rest of the series will be published at intervals during 2024 and 2025. Each
trade paperback will be priced at $15.99. Since these books are published by
print-on-demand, they are not likely to be on brick-and-mortar bookstore
shelves, but any bookstore or library can order copies and online bookstores such
as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo will list them as soon as they are
available.
All three volumes of collected novels and short
stories
are now available as e-books
from all the usual online stores
Some minor edits have been made and
notes from the author have been added
Volume One: ISBN 979-8-201-17638-9
Volume Two: ISBN 979-8-201-34325-5
Volume Three: ISBN 979-8-201-84683-1
$9.99 each
Titles in Volume One of The Face Down Collection are:
"The Body in the Dovecote"
"Much Ado about Murder"
Face Down in the
Marrow-Bone Pie
"The Rubaiyat of Nicholas Baldwin"
Face Down Upon an
Herbal
"Lady Appleton and the London Man"
Face Down Among the Winchester Geese
"Lady Appleton and the Cautionary Herbal"
Titles in Volume Two of The Face Down Collection are:
Face Down Beneath
the Eleanor Cross
Face Down Under
the Wych Elm
"The Riddle of the Woolsack"
Face Down Before Rebel Hooves
Face Down Across the Western Sea
"The Reiving of Bonville Keep"
"Lady Appleton and the Cripplegate Chrisoms"
Titles in Volume Three of The Face Down Collection are:
"Lady Appleton and the Bristol Crystals:
Face Down Below
the Banqueting House
Face Down Beside
St. Anne's Well
"Encore for a Neck Verse"
"Confusions Most Monstrous"
"Death by Devil's Turnips"
Face Down O'er the
Border
"Any Means Short of Murder"
"A Wondrous Violent Motion"
"Lady Appleton and the Creature of the Night"
"The Curse of the Figure Flinger"
"Lady Appleton and the Yuletide Hogglers"
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Links
to Buy
For Volume One:
For Volume Two:
For Volume Three:
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Here are the individual novels and the collection
of short stories in their original formats
In 1559, Susanna, Lady Appleton,
an expert on poisonous herbs,
suspects murder when the steward of her husband's Lancashire
estate is found face down in his marrow-bone pie.
While Sir Robert Appleton is off in France on a diplomatic mission,
Lady Appleton heads north from Kent with her faithful band of servants to solve
the mystery,
capture a "ghost" and unearth a few secrets Sir Robert would just as
soon have left buried.
"Emerson takes us on a
wonderful jaunt through Elizabethan England." The Purloined Letter
"A nice rural
flavor, complete with authentic rustics, living conditions, and social customs,
blend with family secrets
and a slightly twisted
plot to make this an enticing first historical for all collections." Library Journal
Book Two
When a Scots lord is found dead,
face down upon
a copy of the cautionary herbal Lady Appleton wrote two years earlier,
she feels a personal obligation to solve the crime.
It is 1561. The place is rural Gloucestershire...and there is
a cold-blooded killer loose in the castle.
"Highly recommended for readers who appreciate suspenseful historical
mysteries." Booklist
Book Three
When her husband becomes one of
the suspects in the murder of several Southwark prostitutes
(known as "Winchester Geese"), Lady Appleton vows
to uncover the identity of the real killer in order to prove him innocent.
The year is 1563.
"A solid bet for historical
mystery fans." Publisher's Weekly
Book Four
This time the victim is Sir Robert, and Susanna is the most likely suspect.
After all, she is an expert on
poisonous herbs.
"An intriguing plot and a
strong sense of time and place make this page turner an immensely satisfying
read." I Love a Mystery
"Emerson grows
more confident in each of these stories, enriching them with details of daily
life, the miseries of travel,
the uses of herbs, and the horrors of the
English penal and justice systems as they existed in 1565." Booklist
Book Five
Under the wych elm lies
a man, face down, the victim of witchcraft . . . or is he?
Susanna, Lady Appleton
feels an obligation to help the accused women
even though doing so means she risks being accused of witchcraft herself.
Starred review in Kirkus:
"Exploiting the chaos for its criminal possibilities,
Emerson poses enduringly hard questions about women
and worth in this exemplary historical mystery."
Book Six
When Sir Walter Pendennis asks her help to stop a treasonous uprising,
how can Lady Appleton refuse?
"The most satisfying book in the series." Bangor Daily News
Book Seven
Does England have a claim to the New World?
Queen Elizabeth I thinks so and she's gathered together a group
of scholars to prove it. Drawn into intrigue and danger
through her friendship with Sir Walter Pendennis,
Susanna lends a hand to uncover ancient secrets and solve a murder.
"Original, beguiling, and eminently readable." Kirkus
"Emerson does a crackling
good job." Booklist
Book Eight
Queen Elizabeth is threatening to
pay a visit to Leigh Abbey. Will murder change her mind?
"Spirited and studded with wry humor." Kirkus
"Emerson's plot is
deft and complex; she is at the top of her form here
and leaves us with a
breathless ending and lovely possibilities for future installments." Booklist
Face Down Beside St. Anne's Well
Book Nine
This time it's her twelve-year-old
foster daughter, Rosamond, who leads Susanna into danger.
Set in Derbyshire in 1575.
"One of her best." Bangor Daily News
"An enjoyable,
tightly plotted gem of a novel which will keep
the reader guessing
until the very last page." I Love A
Mystery
Face Down O'er
the Border
Book Ten
Set in Scotland in 1577
When Catherine, Lady Glenelg, is accused of murdering her mother-in-law,
Susanna must travel o'er the border to discover who really committed the crime.
"This latest in a
consistently rewarding series has the usual strengths in pace, plot, prose, and
background detail."
Jon Breen in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine
"An engaging read with
well-loved characters you'll enjoy meeting again." Mystery Scene
"Historical mystery fans
should find this a pleasurable read." Historical
Novels Review
The
Chronicles of Susanna, Lady Appleton
16th Century Gentlewoman, Herbalist, and Sleuth
11 short stories featuring Lady
Appleton and her friends
"A fascinating
mixture of fictional and historical characters . . . there
are twists, flashes of revelations, and
some great titles. It's a fun, easy read."
Historical Novels Review
additional short stories set in
the Face Down world, published elsewhere,
are included in Volumes One-Three
of The Face Down Collection
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THE MISTRESS JAFFREY MYSTERIES
set in England in the 1580s
a spin-off from the Face Down Mysteries
For the
real story behind the fictional one in Murder
in the Queen's Wardrobe, click here
For a
bibliography of sources used in writing all the books in the series, click here
Here's what the reviewers
have to say about Murder in the Queen's
Wardrobe:
Kirkus
Reviews calls this "a diverting series . . . with lots of
twists and turns and Tudor tidbits."
Publisher's
Weekly describes Rosamond as "high-spirited, educated, and
independent" and praises the way I draw on my "solid knowledge of the
period to evoke vividly daily life in late 16th-century
England."
Booklist praises
"first-rate storytelling, eye-opening details of the politics and customs
of the time, a taut and riveting plot, unexpected humor, and a charming and
admirable heroine."
Library Journal calls Rosamond "a
feisty, fiercely independent, and very likeable protagonist."
Historical
Novels Review says Rosamond is "brave yet vulnerable" and
"portrayed as a genuine woman of the era."
About Murder in the Merchant's Hall:
Booklist says
"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."
Publisher's
Weekly says "evocative period detail and the warmth of
Rosamond's byplay with Rob make for a satisfying read."
Historical
Novels Review says "The mystery surrounding Hugo's death is
intricate, well-plotted, and full of twists."
About Murder in a Cornish Alehouse:
Booklist says
"This meticulously researched, cleverly plotted story has plenty of twists
and wonderfully colorful characters and will appeal to all historical-mystery
fans."
Publisher's
Weekly says readers will find "a lot to like."
Kirkus says
Rosamond "has an almighty difficult puzzle to untangle" and also
finds the novel "enjoyable for its historical insights and detailed
descriptions of everyday life in Tudor England."
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All these books were first
published in print format and are also available as e-books.
The covers shown are of the first
editions of each.
If you are having trouble finding
print copies, some are still available from the author.
All email should be sent to KathyLynnEmerson@roadrunner.com
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A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR ABOUT WHAT
HAPPENED "AFTER"
I can remember quite clearly my reaction to
learning that St. Martin's Press had decided, after seven books, not to
continue publishing my Face Down series featuring Susanna, Lady Appleton,
sixteenth-century gentlewoman, expert on poisonous herbs, and amateur sleuth. I
had a lot more I wanted to do with that character and was determined not to
abandon her. I ended up writing three more Face Down novels and numerous short
stories featuring Susanna and her friends and she also appears in the second
book of my spin-off Mistress Jaffrey Mysteries. What happened to her after1586
("Lady Appleton and the Yuletide Hogglers," included in Volume Three
of The Face Down Collection). As I imagine it, she's living comfortably
at Leigh Abbey, her home in Kent, devoting herself to local concerns and taking
care of her long-time companion, Jennet, who has a dicey heart. She's been
reconciled with her adopted daughter, Rosamond, and there's a prospect of
grandchildren in her future by way of Rosamond and her no-longer-estranged
husband, Rob, Jennet's son.
Will I ever write more Lady Appleton stories?
Probably not. I've already done prequels (included in Volume One of The Face
Down Collection), and frankly, by sixteenth-century standards, now in her
mid-fifties, she's getting a little long in the tooth to gad about solving
crimes. Mid-fifties in those days would be equivalent to mid-eighties today. As
for Rosamond and Rob, the third of their adventures (Murder in a Cornish
Alehouse) left them happily returning home to London and responsible for
Rosamond's young half brother's well-being. I didn't actually say so, but in my
mind, Rosamond was already pregnant. Raising a family should keep her too busy
to meddle in more murders.
How do I know Rosamond had children? Because my
other historical mystery series, the Diana Spaulding 1888 Quartet, mentions
that she's descended from a famous sixteenth-century herbalist. Given the
passage of several centuries, her knowledge of her own ancestry isn't precisely
accurate. Since Susanna had no children of her own, it's her adopted daughter,
Rosamond, from whom Diana is descended. Rosamond and Rob's first child, Andrew,
is Diana's ancestor.