Book Review - Assassin

Title: Assassin
Author: Grace Cavendish
Series: The Lady Grace Mysteries (book 1)
Publisher: Red Fox
Release Date: 2 Aug 2007
ISBN-13: 978-1862303768

Synopsis
Since the death of her beloved mother, Lady Grace has become the Queen's favourite Maid of Honour. But even favourites have to obey the Queen's wishes - and the Queen wants Grace to be married. Choosing between her suitors – kindly old Sir Charles, flashy Sir Gerald and sweet, anxious Lord Robert – is easy for Grace: she doesn't want to marry any of them! When Gerald is found dead after the ball at which Grace should have picked her favourite suitor, suspicion falls on Lord Robert. But Grace has noticed that Sir Charles has been acting strangely – and that there is something odd about the body. With her friends Ellie the maid and Masou the acrobat, Lady Grace sets out to discover what really went on that night.

My Review
I like a good mystery and children's books seem to have some of the best mysteries. I've had this one in my locker at work for ages but kept forgetting about it. I needed a book I could read quickly today so I pulled it out. It literally took me about an hour to read.
Grace is the chief maid for the Queen. She lives a life of luxury and although she is grateful for her position in life, she also wants a bit of fun and excitement. She has two friends Ellie and Masou - lower class workers but great fun who she sneaks off to see. 
After a Valentine's ball, Grace is supposed to choose a suitor to marry, but that night one of them is found dead and one of the others looks to be guilty. Grace must solve the mystery before an innocent man is hanged for the crime.
I'd say this was aimed at 8-9 year olds, the font is quite big and well spaced and the storyline is fairly simple. It is set in 1569 and really gives you a feel of being in that time and age. Grace is a great character, feisty, lively and a bit of a handful. She gets excited and you can feel her enthusiasm burst off the page. The Queen was great and made me laugh in a few places, and the mystery kept me hooked, I certainly didn't expect the twist towards the end.
I really enjoyed reading it and would definitely read more in the series. It goes alphabetically through the series by Title.

My Rating
I would give this book 8/10, imaginative, fun and gripping, a nice easy read for a lazy day that children and adults will love.