A Christmas Promise by Anne Perry (The Christmas Stories: Book Seven)

 

Publication Date: October 13, 2009

Length: 209 pages

It's time for a little Christmas in July! I only have two more Anne Perry Christmas books to read and with her recent passing, that will be all that is left. Normally I read them during the holiday season, but I was able to get this one now and wanted to go ahead with it. 

Having read several books in the Thomas Pitt series, this was an interesting backstory featuring their maid, Gracie Phipps as a young girl of thirteen and seeing her humble beginnings before she joins the Pitt household. Shortly before Christmas, Gracie finds little Minnie Maud Mudway, just eight years old, alone on a snowy street, frantic to find her beloved Charlie, a donkey that serves to pull the cart of her Uncle Alf. Charlie and Alf are missing and Minnie Maud worries something terrible has happened to them. Gracie feels an immediate instinct to help and doesn't want to leave Minnie Maud on her own. 

As the two girls start to do a little digging into what might have happened, they find that Alf didn't take his usual route and aren't sure why. It appears that whatever befell him it was something unplanned and since it is an unfamiliar path, they aren't sure who would recognize him or be able to assist them. They set out to follow the scant clues they have and eventually are given some insight into what Uncle Alf was carrying in his cart and that the mysterious object could be something sinister. It is a golden box, but what is inside is anyone's guess. How is the box related to Alf's disappearance? And how would anyone have known the different route he would take with Charlie?

Like all of Perry's Christmas novels, this one is short and has a fairly simple storyline. It also has a sweetness to it that makes it very endearing. Gracie and Minnie Maud's relationship blossoms as they work to find Alf and Gracie has a protective, mothering way with her even as she becomes exasperated with trying to protect Minnie Maud from her naive, childlike way of being too trusting with venturing out on her own to investigate. We are given insight into the home life of both girls and as always in these Victorian stories, are shown the harshness of life in 1800's London for those less fortunate. Perry has a way of depicting both the desperation of this time and place while demonstrating the resilience and scrappiness of the people. I always find myself simultaneously sad and admiring of the children in her stories. Gracie and Minnie Maud are so young but are expected to take on so much in order to survive. But this was the reality of the times. And very few adults have the time or patience to want to help them. It is made very clear how fast children had to grow up and learn to do for themselves. 

I enjoyed this story very much. The plot wasn't super detailed but there was enough to make it intriguing and mysterious until the end. And the ending is what makes her Christmas stories worth it. They can be dark and gritty but the last page will always put you in the holiday spirit. It was fun to read one in the summer for a change. 

Can't Wait Wednesday: Blood On the Tiber by B.M. Howard (The Gracchus and Vanderville Mysteries Book Two)

 For this week's Can't Wait Wednesday, hosted by Tressa  at Wishful Endings, I'm featuring Blood On the Tiber by B.M. Howard. I really hope I can get an ARC copy of this one! It's a mystery set in the 1700's with an exotic location and taking place during the Napoleonic Wars...everything good about an historical mystery. This looks like one to watch for sure. Hope you have found something you can't wait for this week :) 

August 10, 2023

Historical Mystery/Thriller

Description courtesy of NetGalley

When Rome falls, so too will the world…

Christmas, 1797. Erstwhile magistrate Felix Gracchus wakes in the French embassy beside the Tiber after a serious bout of malaria. Despite his poor health, the intricate puzzle of a local inheritance scandal proves irresistible.

To his delight Lieutenant Vanderville has been assigned to the embassy intelligence section, tasked with pacifying the rabidly pro-revolutionary local patriots who seek to overthrow the state and install a republic in Rome.

But a sudden, terrible development threatens to bring disaster upon the whole embassy. Can the pair resolve it before Napoleon Bonaparte brings the full force of the republic down upon Rome in vengeance? Will Vanderville succeed in persuading the patriots from setting the city aflame? And why, amidst all this chaos, is Gracchus more interested in finding a missing nurse?

An engrossing historical mystery rich in period detail and fascinating characters, perfect for fans of Steven Saylor and C. J. Sansom.

A title in the Gracchus & Vanderville Mysteries series

Evil Under the Sun by Agatha Christie: A Hercule Poirot Mystery, Book Twenty-Three (Read Christie 2023 July)

 

Publication Date: June 1941

Length: 256 pages

I had heard of this book before and one friend said it was her favorite Christie book. So I was excited to finally read it. I liked the title too, as you don't normally think of "evil" in broad daylight. 

Arlena Marshall is the kind of woman other women don't like. She is beautiful and flirtatious, always the center of attention in any room she walks into and generally vapid of real substance. When Hercule Poirot travels to Devon on holiday he encounters her along with several other vacationers at the seaside hotel they are staying in. When Arlena is later found strangled on a secluded beach, Poirot suspects jealousy as the motive. He begins investigating her suspicious death, along with the local inspector. There are many suspects to choose from.

Staying at the hotel and interacting with Arlena are her husband Kenneth and her step-daughter Linda, Rosamund Darnley, who used to have a relationship with Kenneth, Patrick Redfern and his wife Christine, Odell and Carrie Gardner, the Reverend Stephen Lane, Horace Blatt, Major Barry, and Emily Brewster. There are triangles to be explored: Linda loathes her step-mother , Rosamund has a past with Kenneth, and the others all have their opinions of Arlena which are anything but flattering. Her death, while shocking in its brutality, is not surprising to any of the guests gathered there.  

As Hercule interviews them all and zeros in on his theory of the likely culprit, he finds everyone had a seemingly plausible alibi. From typing letters to recreational activities, all those present seem to have been unable to have followed Arlena and killed her. Patrick Redfern and Emily Brewster were the two who found her body and therefore the most likely to have been involved, although at the outset it doesn't appear they are guilty of anything other than trying to help. Strange happenings also bother Poirot, such as a bottle being thrown out of a window, narrowly missing Brewster, and the sound of someone running a bath around noon, an odd time to be sure. As he continues his investigation, Poirot realizes the little details are all linked and add up to a clever plan that is difficult to prove. 

This book was fun to read. I enjoyed the mystery and the ending is really ingenious. I would never have figured it out. There are so many little red herrings along the way that I predicted the ending two or there times and was wrong on all of them. The guests' discussions about Arlena Marshall and her "type" of woman were something you'd still hear today in a circle of gossip, and the relationship of the Gardners was comical. Mrs. Gardner talks incessantly and when she asks her husband anything his reply is always, "Yes, dear." It becomes cute and endearing throughout the book. Poirot was great as usual and he really is my favorite out of all the detectives Christie created.

This was a great summer read for the Read Christie challenge. Looking forward to the next one!

 

Stacking the Shelves #9

 

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Reading Reality. It's a place to showcase any books I have purchased, borrowed, or been lucky enough to have been given an advance copy of. Hope you find something that looks interesting to you or that jogs your memory of something you want to read. Enjoy your reading this week :)

I have become very interested in the lives of the rich and famous during the Gilded Age. The Vanderbilts, the Astors...they are just fascinating families. This story chronicles the rise and fall of a family trying to marry their daughters into the upper crust of New York society circa 1870's and how they find out things aren't always as golden as they seem. 

This is the Amazon Prime Historical Fiction free read choice for July. It is about a woman escaping the Irish famine of the 1840's, a subject that always interests me. She goes to America and has to make hard choices to survive. Yes, it's been done many times, but I thought it looked worth giving a try. Just skimming through it so far it may be a little dark and gritty for me though.

This is one of my favorite cozy mystery series. I am a sucker for the colorful covers and the cute characters. The mysteries are always great fun to solve too. This is book 13 and I am only on book 7 so it will be awhile before I read this one. I can't help it...I'm going in order because they do build on one another with Ellie's love life especially. But this one was absolutely free this week! So of course I had to buy it. 

The Secrets of Ashmore Castle by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles (Book One of the Ashmore Castle Series)

 

Publication Date: August 30, 2022

Length: 526 pages

Cynthia Harrod-Eagles has an extensive collection of works and seems to be historically accurate so I wanted to give this series a try. Also, it is set during a time and place that I love with a Downton Abbey feel. I am definitely a fan of series books, so knowing if I liked it there would be more was a plus.

In the year 1901, Giles Stainton is happily living his life in Egypt, working among the archaeological ruins and far away from the family drama back in England. The son of an Earl, Giles has no wish to return anytime soon but when his father is unexpectedly killed in a hunting accident, he knows he must return to the family estate to take up the running of it and all the drama that goes with it. Upon his arrival he soon becomes aware that his father has not managed the money well and the home and its surroundings are in danger of being lost. Giles tries to find a way to salvage things but eventually comes to the conclusion that the only way forward is to find an heiress to marry who also possesses a large enough income to save the Stainton heritage. 

Meanwhile, the servants below stairs are dealing with their own issues. Newly arrived sewing maid Dory is tormented by the arrogant, ambitious footman, James, who fancies himself for grander things. She must work to fit in with all the many personalities she encounters and to not lose hope that she will be able to find her place in the intimidating world of serving a prominent family in style.

In addition to the family home, Giles has two sisters to look after and a wayward brother, Richard who returns to stay and help him run things. His newly widowed mother expects him to be practical and marry for the good of the family and his prospects seem to be many as the new "coming out" season is approaching with several promising debutantes. As Giles meets the young ladies he is introduced to two in particular, Kitty and Nina, who catch his attention. Nina he finds especially interesting but learns early on that she is not in fact an heiress with money but a companion of Kitty's, the one with the real income. Giles must decide if he can put aside his apathy for marrying anyone to fulfill his duties. 

The storyline in this book is minimal and from what I gathered it was really to set up the main characters and their roles in order to continue with the coming books. I felt like there was definite substance there though because you really got some insight into the thoughts and motivations behind the characters and their actions. As an example, there is a moment beautifully described in which Giles's sister Alice spends time with an unlikely love interest and the slow unfolding of their budding feelings is told in great detail. I came away from that chapter really feeling and seeing their surroundings in the countryside and the differences in their class as a barrier between them. So even though there wasn't a lot of action per see it was a deeper meaning that came through.

If you are looking for a book that wraps things up neatly in the end and then continues on with the next, new phase this probably isn't the book for that. But if you enjoy beginning the first of a series in which you become invested in the people and want to know what becomes of them you will enjoy reading this as a starting point and continuing with the following two books. Book three is out in August and I featured it on this week's Can't Wait Wednesday. 

Can't Wait Wednesday: The Mistress of Ashmore Castle by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles (Book Three of the Ashmore Castle Series)

For this week's Can't Wait Wednesday, hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings, I'm featuring The Mistress of Ashmore Castle, by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles. My current read this week is Book One of the Ashmore Castle series and I am really enjoying it. I was glad to learn there are two more after this one. I think Harrod-Eagles does a great job combining history with fiction and this series has a definite Downton Abbey feel to it. Happy Reading this week!

August 3, 2023

Historical Fiction/Romance

Description courtesy of Amazon

England, 1903.

Giles, the Earl of Stainton, has fled from his stifling duties to resume his research in Egypt, leaving behind his wife Kitty, and his infant son. Kitty, still reeling from Giles' sudden departure, struggles to keep spirits high in the castle and establish herself as the true mistress of the house, an impossible task given how many secrets the inhabitants are hiding from her...

The Earl's younger sisters, Rachel and Alice, are both pursuing forbidden romances, and his brother Richard begins a new business venture, spurred on by his clandestine lover. And below stairs, a shocking crime sends distrust rippling through the staff, more so when one of their own is accused.

Kitty must draw on her strength to keep the castle from crumbling around her, but with her marriage to Giles left uncertain, and a surprise of her own to conceal, can she ever take her rightful place as true head of her household?

The third novel in the Ashmore Castle historical family drama series, filled with heartbreak, romance and intriguing secrets waiting to be uncovered. The perfect read for fans of Downton Abbey, Bridgerton and rich period dramas.

Stacking the Shelves #8

 

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Reading Reality. It's a place to showcase any books I have purchased, borrowed, or been lucky enough to have been given an advance copy of. Hope you find something that looks interesting to you or that jogs your memory of something you want to read. Enjoy your reading this week :)

I love watching this series on Ovation but didn't realize until recently it was first a series of books. This one is on sale for 99 cents through Amazon Kindle this week and even though I don't really like starting series books out of order, I went ahead and got this one, figuring I know the characters enough to read book three first. Hoping it is as enjoyable as the T.V. show.

I have read and reviewed one book by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles, The Chevalier, that was more history based but this one looks intriguing. I started it yesterday and am loving it so far. It is like reading the story of Downton Abbey. So many interesting characters so far and I think it's a series I'm really going to like.

This is book one of the Scott-De Quincy mystery series. I loved the cover, it's so beautiful and mysterious looking. The author is entirely new to me and the premise of the story looks original. I'm thinking maybe a cross between an Anne Perry/Victorian vibe but with a main character of the nobility rather than the lower classes. Either way it is a historical mystery....my favorite kind of book!

I hope you have found some new books to treasure this week!

Murder in Venice by Martha Bond (A Lottie Sprigg Cozy Mystery) Book One

Publication Date: February 16, 2023

Length: 202 pages

Cozy mysteries have become my go to when the news gets to be too much. There are so many series to choose from now and tons set in the 1920's. The covers are always bright and colorful and just draw me in. You can't be in a bad mood when reading one....they are just fun! They can often be read in a day or two and don't require a ton of concentration which is a good thing when I am super busy. This latest series by Martha Bond has our heroine Lottie Sprigg hopping from one beautiful city to another and she always manages to find another murder to solve. 

In Book One Lottie moves from maid to companion for the wealthy, world traveling Mrs. Moore, who is following a very eligible bachelor, Prince Manfred of Bavaria, throughout Europe, hoping to snag him and his money for herself. They are staying in Venice and Lottie is in awe of her luck....exploring the beautiful city and gaining the attention of the bellboy, Stefano. When Lottie and Mrs. Moore are invited to the opera by famous singer, Amedo Moretti, they accept, hoping to run into the Prince. After the opera they dine with Moretti and have a lovely time. 

Unfortunately, later that evening Moretti is murdered and found floating in the Grand Canal outside the hotel where both Lottie and Moretti are staying. Everyone is baffled, including the local inspector, as Moretti didn't seem to have many immediate enemies. Lottie becomes attached to Moretti's little dog, Rosetta, and feels she owes it to her to find her owner's killer. With the help of Stefano, they begin to work together with the scant clues they have.

As Lottie watches and explores the city around her and talks to those staying in the hotel she begins to see Moretti might not have been the person she originally thought. He has some personal history which might explain his demise. When another man, Colonel Pickering, who was seen meeting with Moretti just hours before his murder is also killed, Lottie just knows the deaths are related. 

More determined than ever to solve the two mysteries, she must be careful not to be targeted herself and also must deal with the wrath of the Inspector who doesn't want her interfering. Add to that a separate case of an apparent dog snatcher on the loose and a frightening, masked shadowy figure prowling the streets of Venice, dubbed the Plague Doctor, Lottie is now taking real risks. Can she find the culprit before either she, Stefano, or Rosie are one of the next victims?

This was an enjoyable read and I really liked Lottie's character. She is smart and kind without being too naive. She is deferential to her employer but realistic enough to know when to stick up for herself. Her interaction with Stefano is cute and they have a nice budding romance going. Her talks with and about Rosie the dog are a nice touch and the descriptions of Venice make you feel like you are there on the river with them. 

It is stretching things a bit to call this book "historical" as it honestly could have been set in modern times. There were very few details that made if feel like the 1920's but that didn't take away from the story. The mystery was good, though not especially intricate, although the villain was kept decently hidden until the end. If you read it for pure fun, you won't be disappointed. I will continue with the next book and love how we get to visit a new, exotic city with Lottie  each time.

They Do It With Mirrors by Agatha Christie: A Miss Marple Mystery, Book Six (Read Christie 2023 June)

 

Publication Date: 1952

Length: 187 pages

I really wanted to finish this book to find out why the title was They Do It With Mirrors. When I learned the reason behind it I thought, "oh why didn't I think of that before!" It seems so obvious now. But that is why Agatha Christie is so popular...she always keeps you guessing and wondering right until the end. 

Jane Marple is visiting with her childhood American friend, Ruth Van Rydock, who lives in London. Ruth is very concerned about her sister Carrie Louise, who lives at Stonygates, a Victorian mansion which also serves as a home for wayward juveniles whom Carrie Louise's husband, Lewis, feels can be rehabilitated with enough care and guidance. 

Carrie's health has been failing lately and Ruth is concerned that she is in danger from someone on the premises although she can't exactly pinpoint how or why. Living there with Carrie is her granddaughter, Gina and her husband Wally, Carrie's daughter Mildred (not Gina's mother though), her two stepsons Alex and Stephen who often visit her, and a rather strange young man named Edgar Lawson. Edgar is an employee of Carrie's husband Lewis Serrocold but is troubled with delusions of being the son of a famous man, often changing who that man is daily. Most of the family and staff are not concerned and consider him harmless. Also present is Carrie's long time assistant and nurse, Miss Bellever. She is devoted to Carrie and suspicious of anyone interfering with her daily routine to care for her. 

As Miss Marple observes the people and surroundings, an unexpected visitor arrives. Carrie's stepson from a previous marriage, Christian Gilbrandsen, who is the trustee of the money his father accumulated. Christian is adoring of Carrie and very protective of her. That evening after dinner, Lewis and Edgar go into Lewis's office and an argument breaks out between them. The guests of the house are able to hear what is going on behind the locked door and when a gun is fired, think the worst, assuming Edgar has finally snapped and shot Lewis. Lewis emerges unharmed but not long after it is discovered that Christian has been shot and killed in another room while in the middle of typing something at his desk. Coincidence? Miss Marple thinks not and she realizes that Ruth has been on to something in her worry over dangerous happenings in the mansion. She begins to suspect Carrie's health problems and the murder are related and has to use her sleuthing skills to find out what is going on before anyone else is harmed.

I enjoyed the psychological mystery in this story. Edgar's delusions, Gina's strange relationship with her two stepbrothers, and the way Carrie Louise seemed to always have a naive, childlike view of everyone in spite of the threatening circumstances. I was completely wrong as to who the murderer was and the why behind it. I guessed at some events correctly though with regards to who might be related to another in a different way than originally presented. 

It was also interesting to see how the handling of the juvenile deliquency community was viewed a hundred years ago. Stonygates is a place where Lewis and the doctors there are toying with the idea of reform, something new in that time period. This was a radical departure from the typical feeling of the time that criminals needed punishment, not understanding, and the novel shows the clash of opinions on this subject.  I felt it was very modern of Christie to weave it into the narrative. 

While I did enjoy this book, I am finding the Miss Marple mysteries to be a bit bland compared to Poirot. He is just a more engaging character for me so I'm looking forward to next month's Read Christie book, Evil Under the Sun.

A Place Called Freedom by Ken Follett

 

 

Publication Date: August 28, 1995

Length: 407 pages

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐☆☆

I have only read two of Follett's books, Fall of Giants and The Pillars of the Earth. I enjoyed both although the former more so. This book is a stand alone novel and not part of a series like he is known for so I thought it would be a good departure from his other works. Plus, it was written before the others and I was curious to see what his earlier work was like. 

Mack McAsh is a poor, downtrodden Scottish coal miner living on the hope that one day he can be free to live his own life away from the hardships of his small Scottish village. Unfortunately, it seems the law in Scotland in the year 1767 states that once a child begins working in the mines they are property of the owner of the mines for life. When Mack finds out the law has changed he presents his side in church to the powers that be and the townspeople and so begins his struggles with the wealthy mine owners, the unscrupulous Jamisson family.  Frustrated and sure he must get away or die in this miserable situation, Mack decides to leave his village and his twin sister and strike out on his own, promising Esther he will return for her. Having lost their parents years ago, Mack is all she has but she agrees to wait for word from him and continue in the mines alone. 

Mack escapes and travels to London, hoping to earn enough money to send for his sister. He quickly finds that life is not any easier in a large city where he is supposedly "free" to make his own decisions. Taking odd jobs and staying with new friends proves to be challenging and disheartening and soon Mack finds himself engaging in anything that will keep him afloat. Prize fighting, clearing coal from ships...nothing is off limits to survive and through his determination and burgeoning leadership qualities he finds himself becoming someone the poor workers around him look up to. When he realizes they are being conned out of most of their earned wages by degenerate mob bosses, Mack decides to form his own group of workers who just want to be paid what they are worth. This proves his undoing when it angers those who have run the docks for years their way and do not take kindly to the upstart stranger. 

During this time we are introduced to new characters in the form of Cora, a pickpocket who preys on wealthy, unsuspecting gentlemen and her sidekick, Peg, a young girl of thirteen who is living on the streets and working alongside Cora. As Mack becomes fond of both, he finds them becoming a family of sorts and feeling responsible for them. Through many twists of fate, Mack is targeted by the former mine owners, the Jamissons, who do business in London and have realized they can make his life miserable. Sentenced on a trumped up charge to deportation to the American colonies, Mack finds himself, Cora and Peg on a ship, chained like cattle and bound for Virginia to work on the recently acquired Jamisson tobacco plantation. Although not much more than a slave and  unsure of the future, Mack is nevertheless hopeful that he will be able to eventually begin a new life in America. 

Upon arriving in the colonies, Mack, Cora and Peg find themselves in constant survival mode and doubt they can break away from their miserable lives. Things are at least as bad, if not worse than they were working in the coal mines of Scotland.  The beautiful Lizzie Hallim, a childhood friend is the mistress of the plantation, making Mack both elated and frustrated because his feelings for her run beyond that of the propriety expected of them. Lizzie, newly married to the youngest Jamisson, is hopeful that her marriage and life in the colonies will prove to be more fulfilling than the one she left behind in Scotland. Both Mack and Lizzie find themselves growing closer as disillusion and hardships grow, and they eventually will have to make choices that put them both in danger and possibly, in love.

This book has such a great premise, written in three parts, moving from Scotland to London and ending up in Virginia. The characters get to experience life just prior to the American Revolution and have adventures that take them into the western frontier. Reading the synopsis it sounds like such a great, absorbing story and it is in a lot of ways. Follett is known for sticking to historical facts and I appreciate that as one of my biggest peeves in modern novels is the way a perfectly good history story is ruined with inaccuracies which people come to believe as facts. I learned things about Scottish coal mining, London street life, and the running of a tobacco plantation as well as how it must have felt to have traveled beyond civilization at that time in America. So in that respect, it was a solid read.

The reason I am only able to give it three stars is that the character development, dialogue, and personal romantic storyline is sorely lacking. This is clearly an early attempt by Follett and nothing close to his later work. It almost reads like a YA novel but with the occasional foul language (which I don't care for in any book) and semi-graphic sexual scenes it can't be listed as that either. I found myself getting really absorbed in the history and action only to be yanked back into silly conversations between the characters and choppy, awkward prose that felt like a teenager was writing it. When an author is trying something new I'm sure there is a learning curve and clearly this is true here because it is nothing like his later books. It doesn't put me off reading the rest of the Century trilogy or trying his other stuff but be warned if you are expecting the depth of his more recent books you might be surprised and give up on this one. 

I am not sorry I read it though because it really was informative and interesting as far as the time period goes. To me, reading new parts of history and learning are never a waste of time so it was one I decided to keep going with and finish.