Face Down Below the Banqueting House: A Lady Appleton Mystery    by Kathy Lynn Emerson Order:  USA  Can Perseverance Press, 2005 (2005) Paperback     Reviewed by Mary Ann Smyth The only thing better than a good mystery is a good historical mystery. Face Down Below the Banqueting House is just that. A good historical mystery. It's the sixteenth century and Susanna, Lady Appleton - gentlewoman, herbalist, and sometime sleuth - is expecting a visit from Queen Elizabeth I at her home, Leigh Abbey. A man dies in a fall from a tree that had been turned into a banqueting house (these were normally built under a tree or in the tree itself, giving a touch of whimsy - the man who fell surely didn't appreciate said whimsy). Village scandal is revealed and speculated upon. Is this an accident or murder? If murder, is it the work of a local? Or a plot against the Queen? When another man dies in an ice well, accusations reverberate around the village, where almost everyone has a secret or two. The plot is well devised and action moves the story along at a good clip. The background of the life of the times is fascinating and must have been a joy to research. I especially enjoyed the descriptions of women's clothing and how it was worn. Life had to have been hard in those days, but when isn't it? I did find it difficult at times to keep all the characters straight in my mind. Who was related to whom. Who worked for whom. Who was sleeping with whom. Nevertheless, I found Face Down Below the Banqueting House a delightful and suspenseful book, complete with the necessary bad guy to dislike. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Mystery books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews