A CURSE ON THE KING

Healer seeks own past while helping king

By Andi Russell

The Free Lance-Star

IT’S 1591 in Edinburgh, Scotland, and a burning is about to take place. A 15-year-old girl and an old woman, both accused of practicing evil spirits against King James Stewart, are condemned. As flames begin to engulf their bodies, the old woman curses the king, and the girl’s brother vows vengeance.

So begins Susan Carroll’s “The Lady of Secrets,” the sixth book in the author’s historical-fiction Dark Queen Saga.

The heroine of “The Lady of Faire Isle,” Meg Wolfe, has no knowledge of the burning that took place some 14 years before. But the gifted healer is about to become embroiled in the repercussions of the incident as she embarks on a journey to London to rid King James of a witch’s curse and to get answers to questions about her past.

Meg’s friend Seraphine and two male strangers are her traveling companions. All four characters are haunted, in some aspect, by their pasts.

As Meg tries to unravel the mysteries of the king’s curse and how it connects to her own past, the dangers of her situation become increasingly clear.

The author drops tiny hints toward historical truths but spins her own fictional version of the events leading up to a very famous day in London’s history.

Historical-fiction fans may notice a few read-it-before situations, but readers who enjoy this genre are sure to relish all the drama, witchcraft, romance and twists and turns in Carroll’s tale.

Andi Russell is a designer with The Free Lance–Star.

THE LADY OF SECRETS

By Susan Carroll

(Ballantine Books, $15, 448 pp)

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