Once again, Alison Weir dips her toes into the realm of historical fiction and comes out smelling like a rose. A Tudor rose that is. 
 In this highly readable historical novel, Ms Weir returns to a subject that appears to be near and dear to heart (if her bibliography is anything to judge by), the mystery of "the Princes in the Tower". The young sons of Edward IV were deposed by Richard III, and it is widely assumed that Edward V and his brother Richard, Duke of York were put to death in order to help secure Richard's crown. 
 Lady Katherine Grey, (Lady Jane's younger sister) happens upon a jewel and some papers that seem to have belonged to Kate Plantagenet, bastard daughter and eldest child of Richard III. Lady Katherine becomes intrigued by the mystery that has captured many imaginations through the centuries by reading Kate's notes as she too struggles with the mystery, unbelieving that her father could have committed murder. Weir shuttles us back and forth between the two, drawing some outstanding parallels between the lives of these Ladies, so near the throne, and yet so powerless in their own rights. 
 Weir does not buck the trend in coming to the conclusion that Richard's hands were bloody, and indeed even the common folk of London believed it was so. But she also hammers it home that no proof has ever been found, as their corpses were never located. Several sets of bones have been found over the ensuing centuries, but there has been no conclusive evidence to mark them as the missing Plantagenet Princes*. 
 Overall it's a good read, if a bit confusing, which is in part I think due to the closeness of the names and the large number of parallels Weir draws here. It's heavier than Philippa Gregory's work, but then the subject here isn't as steamy as Henry VIII's court. Overall I think it's a great presentation of the material, and a good choice for anyone with an interest in English history who doesn't care for the drier, more scholarly works. 
 *Queen Elizabeth II has historically been reluctant to disturb the tombs of her predecessors, so modern DNA testing has not been conducted.