The queen's lies

Clements's fast-paced if haphazard fourth adventure for alchemist and mathematician John Dee, adviser to Queen Elizabeth I (after All the Queen's Spies), centers on a series of plots that could reshape the Tudor Dynasty. Dee has promised the queen that he will provide cannons for the Royal Navy, but when his down payment is stolen and the munitions expert he's tapped for the job is murdered, he scrambles to track down the necessary equipment himself--until his son is kidnapped by his old nemesis, Frenchwoman Mlle. Báthory, who's seeking revenge for Dee's role in blocking her attempted coup against Elizabeth. Meanwhile, another of the queen's advisers seeks to frame Mary, Queen of Scots, for treason against the British throne, a move Elizabeth strains to stop, fearing it would undermine the British public's belief in divine rule. Little do either of the monarchs know, there's a band of conspirators scheming to assassinate Elizabeth and put Mary on the throne. Dee and his wife catch wind of this plot and work to save both Elizabeth and Mary from execution, all while trying to rescue their son from the vicious Báthory. Though the premise generates suspense, Clements struggles to tie his many subplots together, and he skimps on character development. This is hardly the author's best. (Aug.)