THE KING'S DAUGHTER
Kensington Books, New York

Publication date: February, 2009


When Henry VIII’s bitter daughter, Queen Mary, launches her reign with a vow to annihilate heretics, young Isabel Thornleigh must act quickly to save her family. Determined to rescue her father from prison, she entrusts her mission, and herself, to a ruthless mercenary. But Isabel is also pledged to spy for the rebel leader whose men are bent on overthrowing the Queen. Caught up in a dangerous maelstrom of intrigue and shifting loyalties, unsure of who is friend and who is foe, Isabel knows only that she must unmask the mysterious traitor bent on destroying her family.

Publishers Weekly review:

"In her follow-up to The Queen's Lady, Canadian actress-novelist Kyle brings a theatrical flair to the 16th-century story of Isabel Thornleigh, a young English bride-to-be who gets caught up in Catholic Queen Mary's war against English heretics. When her father, merchant and courtier Richard Thornleigh, is identified as a Protestant heretic, he pleads with  Isabel to flee with her mother to Antwerp. Instead, Isabel abandons her plans for marriage and stays behind in England to save her father and country. As she spies for the forces plotting to overthrow the queen -- including her husband-to-be, Martin St. Leger -- Isabel also collaborates with a savage mercenary to free her father from jail. Isabel's quest culminates in the Wyatt rebellion of 1554, the rebel leader's unsucccessful attempt to overthrow Queen Mary and prevent her marriage to King Philip of Spain. Kyle ably unfurls a complex and fast-paced plot, mixing history with vibrant characters for a brisk, entertaining read."