Avid Series Reader's Reviews > Face Down Among the Winchester Geese

Face Down Among the Winchester Geese by Kathy Lynn Emerson is the third book of the Face Down mystery series set in 1563 England. Lady Susanna Appleton and her maidservant and companion Jennet have relocated to a house on Catte Street in London at Sir Robert's request. Unbeknownst to them, he has a complex plot underway, which requires their residence in London.

Typically, he is not at home when a beautiful woman arrives at Catte Street to see him. Susanna immediately assumes Diane is one of Robert's mistresses. When the woman is found murdered, Susanna wonders if Robert could be a killer, and decides she must solve the case to find out. She soon learns there is an annual murder on St. Mark's Day, each time a small, dark-haired beauty.

The first murder took place after a night of drunken revelry by Robert and his fellow noblemen. Susanna assumes all the murders are done by one killer, so she traces the movements of each man for each year, to try and rule out suspects. She interviews each man, and occasionally family or neighbors, to learn their characters.

Robert is alarmed by Susanna's questions, so he persuades one of the noblemen, Diego Cordoba, to flee England so he can be blamed for the murders. The advantage of that scheme would be to quiet all questions or surveillance, so Robert and Diego can proceed with their covert plot.

Susanna is not fooled by Robert's scam; she keeps investigating. Suspense builds to a cross-country chase to rescue a kidnapped royal. Not all questions are resolved; sure to appear later in the series.