Two Murders Reaped — Cynthia Sally Haggard

TWO MURDERS REAPED is the fourth volume in a series of four books about Cecylee Neville (1415-1495), mother of Richard III and Edward IV, Queen by Right and Abbess. To those of you who enjoyed Anne Easter Smith's historical novel about Cecily, TWO MURDERS REAPED uncovers the last thirty-five years of Cecylee's life. It is in October, 1459. Cecylee is forty-four years old and has been abandoned at Ludlow Castle by her husband, Richard Duke of York, who has fled to elude capture. Yet Cecylee calmly walks down to the marketplace in Rouen, and waits for the Lancastrian army. What happens next is something that Cecylee could not have imagined in her worst nightmare. After the murder of her husband, the House of York regroups under her bastard son Edward, who wins two decisive battles, and becomes King Edward IV. Cecylee is in her element. As the young king's mother, her views and opinions carry weight. But Cecylee's contentment does not last long. Edward makes a disastrous marriage to Élisabeth Woodville, the poor widow of a Lancastrian knight, thus displacing Cecylee. Titling herself Queen by Right, she refuses to move out of the Queen's apartments. Worse follows. Cecylee loathes her coldly beautiful daughter-in-law, and nicknames her The Serpent. One day, she spills a secret that should have remained locked in her heart, and the whole world turns against her.