A Penguin and Mystery Guest Post by DeAnn Smith

Penguins are a standout at Sea World, but I should warn you they are quite stinky. I love the polar bears at the Kansas City Zoo. While the Tower of London zoo had a polar bear, the menagerie never had penguins.

Penguin logos adorned some of my favorite childhood books: Jean Plaidy and Nancy Drew. I scooped up Jean Plaidy historical novels at my hometown library in Arkansas. I carefully saved my monthly allowance to buy Nancy Drew books with the goal to own all 56 hardbacks. I came darn close.

While I adored Nancy Drew, my heart belonged to Trixie Belden. She had more spunk and her beau was a cute redhead. Both girls were detectives who solved fascinating mysteries. Naturally, my childhood ambition was to pursue a career in mystery solving.

While I didn’t become a private detective, I am having great fun tackling a 500-year-old puzzle. Author and friend, Susan Higgenbotham, provided the mystery map (Think Scooby Doo’s Velma and Daphne but with an animated sidekick penguin). The third duke of Norfolk’s eldest daughter died in March 1530, according to a gossipy note from the Spanish ambassador. The duke was so devastated that he left court for four months during an especially volatile time in Henry VIII’s reign. This Katharine Howard has escaped the attention of most historians, including the duke’s only biographer! Who was she? Could she have been a long-forgotten surviving daughter by Anne, the duke’s royal first wife? As they say, stay tuned!