Golden Cargoes

This was the first book I have read in this series and now I have to go back and read them all because I really liked it. Well written with compelling characters and a gripping story full of intrigue, mystery and the royal court. I loved it.

Ursula Stannard , The Queens half sister, is looking forward to a pleasant event , the wedding of her tenant , Joan Mercer's daughter .
But on arriving she finds matters are not as she would expect - the daughter is refusing to marry her groom - why ? what is the problem ? and just where does all the family's wealth come from ?
When a local herbalist and possible witch is found dead Ursula finds she must don the role of secret agent for her sister once more ....... the Queen's ships are being plundered . Is there a connection to the unaccounted for wealth of the Mercers ?
Can Ursula solve the mystery whilst keeping herself safe for there are those that will do anything to keep their secrets - even murder !

This is yet another entertaining murder , mystery set in Tudor times , full of twists and turns aplenty the Author manages to bring the sights , sounds and politics to life , enhancing the reader experience


I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

"Golden Cargoes" is a mystery set in 1589 in England. It's the 21st book in a series. You don't need to read the previous novels to understand this one, and this novel didn't spoil the whodunit of the previous novels. It did spoil some major events from past books, though, so you may wish to read them in order.

Ursula didn't want to get involved with her tenant's troubles, but she noticed or overheard some odd things while visiting them for the daughter's wedding. An old woman accused of witchcraft was murdered, but Ursula left that for the locals to (not really, since no one cared) investigate. But then she's officially asked to go back and look for treasure that certain pirates had stolen as they're suspected of living in the area. Ursula and her servants searched for the treasure and asked questions until someone who knew the answers decided to help them. It's not really a 'guess whodunit' mystery as the reader knows so much more than Ursula. It's more of a mild suspense--will they get caught as they poke around? will they catch the pirates? will Arabella have a happy ending?

The characters were interesting and acted in realistic ways. The historical details were woven into the story and gave it a distinct sense of that time and place. There were only a few uses of bad language. There were a few vaguely-described sex scenes. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable historical mystery.

This is a the latest in Fiona Buckley’s enjoyable historical mystery series starring Queen Elizabeth’s half-sister, secret agent Ursula. In this one, she is investigating stolen pirate plunder. I wouldn’t really call this a “mystery”. It is rich in historical detail and a suspenseful tale that sucked me right in. Recommended!

May 1589. Being the queen's half-sister and occasional secret agent, can take its toll, which is why Ursula Stannard is looking forward to the simple pleasure of attending the wedding of her tenant's daughter. But on arrival, Arabella the bride-to-be is refusing to marry her intended.

Ursula tries to reason with Arabella on behalf of her mother, Joan Mercer, but she senses all is not well with her betrothed, or within the Mercer household. The family have gold and jewels beyond their means, and Ursula suspects they may not have gained such riches legally.

When the strangled corpse of local herbalist and suspected witch is found, and Ursula learns through her connections at Court that English vessels are being plundered by a trio of mysterious ships - she once again takes on the mantle of secret agent.

With someone willing to kill to protect their secrets and a bounty of golden cargo at stake, Ursula is in danger! Can she uncover the culprits, save the reluctant bride, and remain unscathed herself? (Goodreads synopsis)

The most recent Ursula Blanchard novel did not disappoint, what with the mentions of pirates and treasure. However, it is still repetitious in that Ursula finds herself with another star crossed lovers triangle and a murder. There is also the secret spying on behalf of Walsingham, Cecil, Elizabeth, and the Royal Treasury.

I always love reading these novels because Fiona Buckley brings in these names that readers should have learned in history class. Here, the names are more than that. Here, they are living beings who had real concerns and were involved in real crimes.

Again I cannot wait to see what happens to Ursula and the Brockleys next. But I also really hope there are no more star crossed lovers, and I would really like to see Ursula’s son Harry come into his own.

Overall I rate this novel 4 out of 5 stars.

Ursula Blanchard is still at the top of her game…

In the interest of full disclosure, I’ve been a fan of Fiona Buckley’s Ursula Blanchard series for years - and years - and years. And Golden Cargoes exemplifies what I like most about the series: Buckley’s ability to craft an engaging tale in a detailed Elizabethan setting, all without being boring or coming across like a history professor.

As Cargoes opens, Ursula, who is Elizabeth I’s illegitimate half-sister (and sometime spy), is simply attending a wedding at Evergreens, at the invitation of her tenant there, Joan Mercer. But things are rarely simple for Ursula, and when Joan’s daughter, Arabella, refuses to marry the groom her mother has picked out for her, the situation gets messy fast.

First there’s the flash of fear that Ursula fancies she sees on Arabella’s mother’s face when she speaks of Arabella’s intended. And then there’s the old herbalist on the hill, Mother Lee, who makes wonderful headache potions, but is reviled as a witch by the local vicar, and seems richer than she should be. And Arabella’s two sea-captain brothers, who also seem wealthier than they ought to be. Then Mother Lee is strangled, and no one can figure out who did it or why. However the wedding finally does take place, and although it’s unusual for Ursula, whose self-admitted “besetting sin” is curiosity, to walk away from an unsolved murder, she and her party eventually return uneventfully home.

Of course, there wouldn’t be much of a story if everything ended at this point. But when Ursula goes to court a few months later, to attend Elizabeth as a Lady of the Bedchamber, matters take an unexpected turn. She learns that a trio of pirate ships, apparently captained by Englishmen, have been attacking and looting Elizabeth’s own vessels. This is treason, and it appears that the Mercer family may be involved. So Ursula volunteers to investigate, and together with her long-time servants/companions, Brockley and Dale, she finds out what is going on with the piracy, and who killed Mother Lee as well.

Golden Cargoes is a little unusual for this series in that the setup – in this case, the wedding at Evergreens – takes up almost half the book. And although I very much enjoyed the descriptions of life at the manor, and in the nearby village, and the wedding preparations, and the tension between the vicar and the herbalist, I did wonder a bit about whether there would also eventually be a more traditional Ursula adventure. So I was quite happy when that rolled around in the second half of the book.

All-in-all, it’s fair to note that, as with the previous book in the series, Shadow of Spain, Golden Cargoes is less of a traditional murder mystery, and more of an adventure with a good dose of political and diplomatic intrigue. So although Mother Lee’s murder does get solved, it gets solved almost by accident, as a by-product of the larger piracy investigation. None of which, in my opinion, makes Golden Cargoes any less enjoyable.

As for a ranking, if I could have given this 4 ½ stars, I probably would have, since I do feel that the wedding/setup was just a little too long. But since I can’t give half-stars, after some debate, I went with 5-stars, since in the end, I enjoyed even the intro. And finally, my thanks to the publishers, Severn House, and to NetGalley for my advance review copy, and my apologies to them both for the slightly late review – although things are now okay, Covid-19 decided to intervene in my life quite a bit over the last few weeks…

It's 1589 and Mistress Stannard is back with a big domestic headache

One year after helping her half-sister the Queen to thwart the much feared Spanish invasion, Ursula gets embroiled in a local spiderweb of murderous shenanigans, greed, fear, corruption, violence against women, religious hysteria, witchcraft and forced nuptials just a few miles from her castle...

An adrenaline-fueled ride into late Tudor England, blessed with a terrific cast of exquisitely drawn characters and delicious historical details, a fictional treat that deserves to be enjoyed without any moderation whatsoever and a magnificent new addition to a much loved series.

Many thanks to Severn House and Netgalley for this terrific ARC

Golden Cargoes, the latest of Fiona Buckley’s historical series set in 16th England is a nice addition to the stories of Ursula Stannard. This time the circumstances and mysteries are of a more domestic nature than in the last book which featured fears of the Spanish Armada. And all of the action begins with a fairly benign invitation to the wedding of her tenant’s daughter. Of course a wedding at that time could mean a weeks to months long visit and who knows what might happen during all of that time.

Suffice it to say that Ursula and her stalwart aide Roger Brockley, as well as his wife Dale, come upon enough to engage their well known skills at searching out more. The first indication that this will not be a relaxing time is found on arrival when they encounter the soon to be bride arguing with her mother. She doesn’t want to marry the nearby landowner she doesn’t even know. And then there are the glimpses of rich ornaments and jewels that seem beyond the means of the Mercers, the tenant family whose sons earn their living sailing to and from the colonies in the new world delivering supplies on both ends. Questions arise that Ursula has difficulty answering without resorting to her specialty skills of detection and the answers lead her beyond the small village to national issues.

This is recommended for those who enjoy historical fiction and mysteries.

A copy of this book was provided by Severn House through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Ursula Blanchard, bastard half sister to Queen Elizabeth I, has acted as an enquiry agent and spy f or her sister in the past. In Golden Cargoes she was invited to the wedding of a very reluctant young woman and discovers suspicious activities in the village. A wise woman is murdered and the new husband has dubious connections. When Ursula attends her sister's court there is dark of English pirates robbing English privateers. Is there a connection? Thrilling adventure full of nasty characters.

This book is gripping, intriguing, full of twists and turns, suspenseful, and so much more! Whenever I picked up “Golden Cargoes” I was whisked back in time, and went on such an emotional journey with this story.

Fiona Buckley is such an amazing author! Her attention to historical detail is astounding, and the way she intricately weaves various seemingly non-connected plots into one big puzzle is SO GOOD! I, as the reader, was hooked from the very first page, and had such a difficult time putting this book down.

In this book, Ursula Blanchard, half-sister to Queen Elizabeth I, is invited to the wedding of one of her tenants. Almost as quickly as she arrives, Ursula notices awful things, and soon, is pulled into everything.
A young woman is forced against her will to marry an absolutely horrific man, and the man she does love would do anything to help her. Dishonesty, lies, piracy, spying, murder (s), secrets, heartbreak, and so much more are present. How does everything connect? You will just have to read to find out.

(Possible Spoilers!):
While I do understand why the author chose to end the book the way she did, I do wish it had ended differently. I’m not sure if Arabella’s story will continue in the next book or not (I hope it does), but, I was so hoping for her to find peace and happiness, and I’m not sure the ending she is given in this novel brings her that.

If you enjoy historical mysteries, I highly recommend this book. It kept me turning the pages to see what was going to happen next, and I look forward to reading what Ms. Buckley writes next.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Severn House for the ARC of this book. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Please Note: This book deals with some extremely heavy topics.