Susanna, Lady Appleton Books In Order

Publication Order of Susanna, Lady Appleton Books

The Susanna, Lady Appleton is a mysterious series. It has also been named the Face down’ series with every title in this book having this title. The series features a historical set up and is set in the 16th century. The author Kathy Emerson, chooses Elizabeth, England as a good historical place to set up the series.

About the character

Susanna, Lady Appleton, the main character in the series is a delightful, smart and highly educated for her historical time. She is the most developed character in the series and there are other personalities and characters that come and go as well. Lady Appleton, the protagonist is educated by her father. She later gets married but has intermittent conflicts with her conventional husband. The way the heroine and other characters are developed is very interesting. It brings in a better read than most historical mysteries.

Face Down in the Marrow-Bone Pie

Face Dow in the Marrow-Bone is the first novel in the series. Kathy Lynn Emerson, transports her readers to Elizabeth in England, here she introduces a wonderful and willful heroine that is highly educated and is centuries ahead of her time.

The major part of the plot begins when the body of Sir Robert, Appleton’s steward is discovered in the tasteful splendor of Appleton’s dining room. This throws the whole household in an intense upheaval. Susanna is left alone to sweep the ancestral estate since her husband embarks on a different mission. Susanna, Lady Appleton takes it on herself to investigate this cold-blooded murder. As an expert herbalist, she has better chances of finding the deadly potion that killed the man and also unmask the killer to prevent another strike.

During her investigations Lady Susanna Appleton has to travel widely, she goes to Lancashire to investigate the death. Though she believes the sudden death of the crusty old man was poison, she must unearth several skeletons in the Appleton family before being absolutely sure about this motive. With extreme care and verve, Susanna is able to use her herbal knowledge in toxins and plans to solve the case.

The setting of this first book is in the 16th century. It is centered on the lives and the servants of the first Queen Elizabeth. If you enjoy history, you can be sure you would enjoy reading on the conspiracy of the courtiers and will also be deeply interested by vivid descriptions of the time period. The book has a first-rate storytelling, creative details of customs and politics at the early centuries and an unexpected heroine.

Face Down up on an Herbal

After making a huge success with the first novel, Kathy Lynn Emerson released a sequential novel a year after. The first book was released in 1997 whereas the second was in 1998 and had the title Face down up on an Herbalist. This novel featured a second adventure for Susanna Appleton, wife to Sir Robert Appleton. Susanna is invited to Lady Madderly’s castle. A few days later, a guest in this castle is murdered. However, no one seems to be quite upset about this loss. Susanna, Lady Appleton enters with her half-sister-in-law to try to solve this puzzle. She wants to solve this murder and prevent subsequent murders. Before long two more killings are experienced and now there is increased mayhem. What is the driving force behind all these killings and mayhem? Lady Appleton sets out to find this.

The second book of the series is an immensely enjoyable and readable book. Though it has tons of characters, they are great and they keep the story very interesting. The historical background adds more interest since it is accurate and makes the story engaging in certain ways. The novel is also centered around herbs, Kathy Lynn Emerson knows how to write about herbs well and informs naturally of the things will please its readers.

Face Down Besides the St. Anne’s Well

After releasing 9 mystery series on the Face Down mystery series, Kathy the author makes a great finish with this last novel Susanna, Lady Appleton returns with a whole new Mystery fraught and her sixteenth century intrigue.

Susanna Appleton goes through different challenges including treason and murder, it is unfortunately only her that can solve the nasty crimes and mysterious killings that took place back in 1575. Rosamund, Susanna’s twelve-year-old foster daughter comes to her frightened. She is tells her that her French tutor has gone missing and is sure that he has been murdered. Rosamund is quite a modern character, she and her friends choose to rebel against school authority by periodically refusing school. However, can such teenage naughtiness the reason of the killing? She has to unravel this murder charges and other significant matters such as wrong religion, wrong friends and may be a wrong marriage.

The final book of the series makes a huge statement. It offers a light read, a good historic detail and an interesting story. However, if you are not a history mystery series this final book may not really interest you. Despite this, the final series is worth trying to read. The heroine and the characters here are unbelievable, the three-dimensional description and the murder solutions are incredibly well done. This novel is better than most historical mysteries.

About the author

Kathy Emerson is an American writer of mystery historical novels and also non-fiction. She frequently uses the pseudonym Kate Lynn Emerson and Dunnett Kaitlyn in most of her books. She prolifically writes about historical fiction set in royal courts. Her book titled ‘How to Writer Historical Mysteries’ was nominated for two industry awards and also won 2008’s Agatha award for the Best non-fiction. You can therefore expect an interesting read with this Susanna, Lady Appleton series.

The Susanna Appleton is a diverting series with lots of twists and turns and full of several mysteries. Susanna, Lady Appleton, our heroine is fortunately intelligent enough. The plot never hurries much but has a way to eagerly lead to an anticipated end. The secondary characters are also well-drawn and very engaging. The juxtaposition of educated Lady Appleton in this vivid historical setting offers a very entertaining read. This is an immensely enjoyable and readable book that can be recommended to anyone that has always loved historical mystery series.