Review ~ The Lady of Secrets by Susan Carroll

The Lady of Secrets

by

Susan Carroll

The Lady of Secrets is set during the reign of James I, when England in the 1600s fostered an almost unwarranted belief in witchcraft and the dark arts. Meg Wolfe has the gift of healing but the lasting legacy from her mother, the mad witch Cassandra Claire, makes sure that Meg will always be held accountable for her mother’s notorious reputation. When someone hell bent on revenge enlists Meg’s help, there are choices to be made which will have severe repercussions on the destiny of “The Lady of the Faire Isle”.

I think to appreciate this novel fully it would have been more helpful for me to have read the previous books in TheDark Queen Saga, of which, The Lady of Secrets is book number 6. However, the author does go some way into involving in a new reader with several references to events which have passed in previous stories.

Initially, I was drawn to the book by its cover which I think is very pretty and as the premise of the story evokes a time when superstition and mistrust formed the basis of everyday life, what follows is a part historical, part fantasy balance between good and evil, and right and wrong. If I am honest, the book could have done with a tighter edit, there are some modernisms in the text which would have found no place in Stuart England, however, putting that to one side , I am sure than fans of Susan Carroll will find much to enjoy in this latest offering.

3***


My thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for a review copy of this book