Rating: 
Summary: I was disappointed with this book.
Review: I am an avid fan of SKP's. I have read each of her previous novels many times and loved her strong female characters. I was excited to learn that she planned to write a book about Eleanor of Acquitaine and hoped that her characterization of Eleanor would be as entertaining as the characterization of Maude in "While Christ and his Saints Slept." It was not. Her other books brought the history alive for me. I had grown used to her skillful intertwining of history and fiction. I enjoyed the time it took to read the book and the way in which the stories unfolded. This book moved too fast, I was finished with it in less than two days. There were also too many fictional characters and not enough historical ones. Basically, this book is just a pale shadow of her other works.
Rating: 
Summary: Bewitching but too many loose ends
Review: I must confess I was rather unable to put this book down. However, I must admit I love the Middle Ages and Penman made me feel like if I was there, living with the characters.I very much enjoyed the characterisation of Eleanor and her courtiers, not to mention DeQuincy and the Under-Sheriff, however, I was left gasping for more in terms of the final fate of Richard the Lionheart, John, not to mention the French Queen's maid and Nell (of course as far as their relationship with Justin was concerned). As an amateour writer myself I have actually utilised the idea of "murder by mistake" (unfortunately, so have some terrorist organisations in XX century real life). However, on this occasion I was "hoping" for a more political motive. I must confess that his family never stroke to me as "real suspects" for the very same reason. On a different note, I must express my admiration for the way in which Penman have researched something as normally overlooked as the origin of names and the use of the same in different historical periods. Rather impressive. Overall, I can wait to read her next novel!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent--as expected!
Review: As a huge fan of Sharon Kay Penman's EXCELLENT writing, I couldn't wait to read this book. It is very good, but not quite the same caliber as her other works, possibly because the focus on this book is the mystery instead of the telling of an historical event, so the incredible detail that usually makes her books so unique had to be left out. Still, I can't criticize much, since I could not do any better! Keep up the good work, Sharon!
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing, as was her last short book.
Review: I am an unabashed Sharon Kay Penman fan. Having found my first SKP novel some years ago, I devoured the others as they became available and anxiously awaited each new book; I've now read them all, some more than once. I remain enthralled by the author's special gift of telling a full-length story without losing the reader's attention and still attending to accurate historical detail. However, her recent attempt to weave another short tale of mystery has once again fallen far short of her previous success with the longer novels. I implore the author to return to her gift: historical stories with a sound factual basis. These two mysteries (Cruel as The Grave and The Queen's Man), similar to the Ellis Peters genre, are clearly mediocre in comparison to "When Christ and His Saints Slept", etc. I feel as if I have listened to someone with the voice, reputation and character of Winston Churchill try and read Ann Landers' column over the radio; no matter how one hears it, it's just all wrong.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining mystery
Review: This is a very entertaining mystery, with a real good ending. I also like her characterization of John as a complex individual. The only problem is I wish she would go back and write her historical epics again. There are so many good stories in medieval England (William the Conqueror, Edward II) that have yet to be written. Please Ms. Penman--go back to what you are the undisputed master of.
Rating:
Summary: A dissapointment
Review: Compared to the excellent "Wars of the Roses" series, which I devoured avidly, this book pales. An overblown and unconvincing setting doesn't compensate for a lack of surprises and superficial plotting and characters, and a medieval setting that rings false. It's a boring mystery and an amateurish novel; most dissapointing from a usually wonderful writer and exhaustive researcher.
Rating:
Summary: Plot moves along nicely and is rich in detail.
Review: I am most impressed with Ms. Penman as an author. She has a unique way of capturing the essence of the times which she writes about. The verbage is believable and the details of the way the characters lived makes everything so beliveable. I strongly recommend The Queens Man for fans of English History and/or mysteries.
Rating:
Summary: A super medieval mystery
Review: Having enjoyed the Ellis Peter's Brother Cadfile mysteries, I was hopeful about " The Queen's Man'. I thought it slow to start and the characters hard to know until about a third of the way through. I started it on a camping trip and had to stay up past midnight to finish as the story took so many twists. I found myself comparing this to comtempory novels where no one trusts anyone else, friends and lovers are spied upon, betrayed and life is very cheap. I enjoyed the setting but felt that I had an advantage from seeing medieval life depicted on Mystery.
Rating: 
Summary: Penman's next
Review: I've heard that Penman has written a sequel to the Queen's Man called Cruel As The Grave. I'm sure it'll be good but I wish she'd go back to writing the historical epics that she's so good at.
Rating:
Summary: Good book
Review: This was a well crafted historical mystery but I could not get involved with the characters like I could in Penman's other books. Does anyone have any idea when her next book is being published?
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