Lord Glenelg, a Scottish nobleman who is visiting Lord Madderly's castle for some secret reason he has not revealed, is murdered in the castle library. He is holding Susanna's herbal at the time and falls upon it.

Lady Madderly is also writing an herbal, and Queen Elizabeth commands that Susanna travel to Madderly Castle to assist her in the writing. Catherine accompanies her. When Susanna arrives, she learns about the circumstances of Lord Glenelg's death and suspects that she may have been sent to Madderly Castle for reasons other than to help with the preparation of the herbal. When Susanna discovers that Lady Madderly is making some serious errors in her various descriptions of herbs, she becomes even more suspicious.

Madderly Castle is populated by a variety of mysterious characters who behave in enigmatic and hostile ways towards Susanna and Catherine although Catherine is attracted to Lord Madderly's handsome gentleman usher. Soon another member of the Madderly household is murdered, and even though Lord Madderly is adamant that unrelated strangers must have broken in and committed the two murders, Susanna is convinced the crimes must be connected and embarks upon an investigation.

When Sir Robert arrives from Scotland where he has been engaged on a diplomatic mission for the Queen (and engaged in some pleasurable undertakings for himself), Susanna learns that suspicion of a forgery plot centers around Madderly Castle. Can Susanna sort all the mysterious persons and discover the culprit?

I didn't become very engrossed in the first book in the series, and I had a similar reaction to this second one. I believe the fault lies mainly in the portrayal of the main characters. While Susanna is the kind of heroine I particularly like: intelligent and forceful, I never felt emotionally connected with her. There's a sense of distance in the books between the characters and the reader that prevents a necessary depth of understanding. One reason that mystery series are successful in bringing readers back book after book is that readers become involved with the characters and are interested in their further adventures. This series has so far failed to establish that involvement.

In particular, Sir Robert is an unappealing character. He is obviously unappreciative and undeserving of his accomplished wife, and his dishonorable behavior makes him difficult to like. He is extremely self-centered and both neglects and ignores Susanna. Susanna, on the other hand, must frequently resort to circumventing his directives. That affection between the partners was rarely a reason for marriage in the Elizabethan era doesn't make me any more fond of Robert or his treatment of Susanna. If he had been one of the victims at Madderly Castle, I wouldn't have regretted his passing.

The author is knowledgeable about the events and language of her time period. She frequently uses words that have faded from modern usage, but their meaning is made sufficiently clear that there's no difficulty in understanding the characters' dialogue.

Elizabethan England was a time of active political scheming and great literary accomplishment. A mystery series set in that time has ample resources for potentially interesting plots. An intricate plot and an impression of authentic Elizabethan flavor, however, cannot compensate for a reader's sense of detachment from the major characters. Face Down in the Marrow-Bone Pie failed to make much of a lasting impression on me. I doubt that Face Down Upon an Herbal is going to stay with me any longer.

--Lesley Dunlap