HER MAJESTY'S FIRST MURDER, by Peg Herring

1/series. The accomplished historical novelist has done it again: young Simon Maldon is a delightful addition to the Elizabethan genre as he aids the princess in ferreting out a murderer. Simon, whose father is a well-known physician (banished from court for telling Henry Eight he must go on a diet), and who takes Simon on house calls. He is called to set a broken leg in the princess's household, and before he leaves Simon is invited to come the next day to converse in Greek with her highness. As the friendship grows between the young people, women are being murdered in London, dressed in nun's garb, then beheaded. Little has been done, as most are prostitutes (some things never change). When it becomes obvious the killer can strike at will, the king orders one of his Welsh Guards, assisted by Simon, to find the madman. This cross between cozy and killer hunt will keep you pinned to your chair. A 4.

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