Features Friday is Back. We’re just in time for you to add some new-to-you-authors and books to your TBR pile and since it’s summer time, that’s TO BEACH READ…. LOL

Jeannette de Beauvoir

is visiting the Tracee Types Blog to discuss her latest latest release, Lethal Alliances.

Set during the reign of King Philippe le Bel, this panoramic novel shares the passions and politics of medieval France in a tale rich with adventure, turmoil, and heartbreak. When three girls betrothed to Philippe’s sons arrive at the French court, they are soon swept up by palace intrigue and deadly betrayals. In the short period from 1301 to 1315, Phillipe will orchestrate the murder of a pope, drive the Jews from France, ensure the destruction of the Knights Templar, and thwart the love affair of his daughter, Isabelle—who, as queen of England, helps trigger the Hundred Years’ War. A master of suspense, de Beauvoir is renowned for creating authentic, compelling characters. Her nuanced, knowledgeable, and passionate portrayal of real-life individuals not only brings their stories to life but also reveals the machinations of a troubled time all too reminiscent of our own.

Here’s an excerpt from Lethal Alliances and read more about Jeannette, below.

Pierre Flotte was the first to arrive.

He was perspiring. It was high summer, and the city was hot. At times like this he missed his home in the Auvergne, the peaceful meadows and fields, the cooling gurgling sounds of the river, the noises of a country evening, sheep bleating and crickets chirping in the twilight.

Paris was filled with its own noises, wagons and carriages clattering over the cobblestones, people shouting to their neighbors, the church bells vying with each other for predominance.

And those noises, he thought, only added to the heat.

Paris was his home now. A home from which he departed, time and time again, on the diplomatic missions the king assigned him, the long and arduous travels required by his position; but it was a home to which he always returned. Catherine liked Paris, too, which helped; he’d heard of too many men whose wives hated the city, and who made their lives miserable. But Catherine was happy among the cobblestones and the noise and the people, and Pierre was grateful.

He was glad enough now to sit and wait for the meeting in the comparative coolness of the Louvre chamber. The walls were thick and the windows narrow, keeping the heat at bay; and if it was a little dark inside, it was a small price to pay for the relief.

Already the oil-lamps stood ready on the table, and the wall-torches were filled with rushes; Pierre grimaced. That was a bad sign, a sign that this meeting—like so many of the royal meetings—would last well into the night. There was no mistaking the fact that those who did work for Philippe earned their living by working very hard and very long hours. If they worked hard, the king worked harder, which could be taken as an inspiration—or a requirement.

Pierre sat down and took off his hat. He’d exchanged the usual velvet chapeau for something lighter made of cotton for the hot weather; but he was still perspiring beneath it.

He didn’t need to think about the agenda for the meeting ahead; it was the same agenda that had held for so many meetings, for so many months, both here in the king’s Council and over at the Parliament.

Flanders.

Always Flanders. Would there ever be a time when that damned lowland wasn’t on his mind, in his dreams, haunting his every thought? Flanders, with its rebellious vassal, its angry count, its people who could never quite conform to the wishes of the French king. Pierre sighed. They never would, either, but the king didn’t want to hear that. Pierre knew what was going on; it was he who, all these months and years, had been in charge of diplomatic meetings with Flanders; it was he who, more than any of the people in Paris, understood the Flemish disposition. And they weren’t likely to swear obedience to Philippe, not now, not ever.

About Jeannette…

Jeannette de Beauvoir is a bestselling & award-winning author of both historical and mystery fiction whose work has been translated into 12 languages. A Booksense Book-of-the-Year finalist, she’s a member of the Authors Guild, the Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and the National Writers Union. All her novels are firmly rooted in a sense of place, whether it’s a mystery series set in Montréal or on Cape Cod, or historical fiction set in World War II or in medieval France. Upcoming books for 2019 include Lethal Alliances, A Killer Carnival, and The Christmas Corpses, all from Homeport Press. More at her website, or on Goodreads and Amazon