Top Ten Tuesday: Debut Novels I Enjoyed

 

This was a fun topic for Top Ten Tuesday! It was honestly hard to choose and some of these I had forgotten about as I thought through which ones to pick. Some are classics, others current series, and some are Christian authors I read years ago as a teen. I think writing is brave and ambitious and something I don't know if I'd have the patience for. So hats off to these authors for taking a leap of faith and putting out a first book. 

1. The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Kay Penman

2. Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

3. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

4. Love Comes Softly by Janette Oke

5. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

6. The Cater Street Hangman by Anne Perry

7. Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls

8. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

9. A Very English Murder by Verity Bright

10. The Heather Hills of Stonewycke by Michael Phillips and Judith Pella

Stacking the Shelves #32

 

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 makes you remember a favorite book you need to finish. Enjoy your reading this week!

This book is part of a series called Mamur Zapt Mysteries. I plan to read book one soon but this one was on sale this week. The author, Michael Pearce was born in Egypt in 1933 and he uses Cairo as the setting for this series. I found the premise so interesting when I researched it. The Mamur Zapt was the name for the special investigator of the British government in pre-World War Egypt. The protagonist of the novels is a Welshman who investigates the political more than the procedural and so the books focus on both aspects. This series looks very original and I hope to learn a lot too reading some of these mysteries! Not sure if they qualify as cozy though. 

Can't Wait Wednesday: The Gathering Storm by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles (Book 36 of the Morland Dynasty)

For this week's Can't Wait Wednesday, hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings, I'm featuring, The Gathering Storm by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles. This is the 36th book in the popular Morland Dynasty series started by Eagles in 1980. She said she wanted to teach others about the history of England in an interesting way with a family saga. I have read one of these books and would love to read them all. I was surprised to see it as there has been an 11 year gap in them. The last one she penned, The Phoenix, came out in 2013. This book continues with the life of Edward VIII and the fictional character of Polly Morland. I know those who have read and followed this series will be excited to see it continuing. Harrod-Eagles has written 100 books, including many historical, romance books. 

I hope you've found something you can't wait to read this week!

August 22, 2024

Historical Fiction

Description courtesy of Amazon

The eagerly-awaited return to the acclaimed Morland Dynasty series, and the 100th novel by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles

England, 1936

The reign of Edward VIII has begun, but danger for the monarchy already looms on the horizon. At home in Morland Place, Polly Morland feels alone and abandoned, with her brother summoned to France by his old employer. James soon finds himself travelling to Russia, whereas Polly will voyage on the Queen Mary with New York - and a long-lost love - her destination. Soon the family are scattered to the four winds, from Hollywood to war-torn Spain.

Working for the Air Ministry on new fighter planes, Jack fears that his children are not taking the increasingly tense situation in Europe seriously enough. The nation is divided over which is the greater thread: Communist Russia, or Fascist Germany. As the storms of war gather, they will threaten to overwhelm the Morlands and destroy all that they have worked for...

Covert in Cairo by Kelly Oliver: A Fiona Figg and Kitty Lane Mystery Book Two

 

Publication Date:

April 25, 2023

Length:

290 Pages

Summary:

This was on my Summer 2024 list because its setting is Egypt. I love the cover too. This has just been a cozy mystery year for me. Due to some personal stress this last year these keep me lighthearted and are welcome at the end of a long, trying day. I especially enjoyed the setting of the pyramids, tombs, and Egyptian feel. So even though I hadn't read any other books in the series I started with this one for those reasons. 

Former nurse Fiona Figg and her young friend Kitty Lane are working undercover for the British Intelligence Office. Escorted by their companion, Captain Clifford Douglas, they travel to Egypt working from a tip left by the elusive spy Fredrick Fredricks (ridiculous name I know, but stick with me!). Soaking in the tourist vibe the girls and Clifford get to know some locals, and investigate a supposed plot to blow up the Suez Canal, although Fiona is unsure if this is a red herring planted by Fredricks to disguise an ulterior motive and keep her distracted. Fredricks seems to pop up everywhere unexpectedly and both Fiona and Kitty do not trust him. He seems to be working as both a German spy and possibly British Intelligence but who knows?

Death in a Scottish Castle by Lydia Travers: The Scottish Ladies' Detective Agency Book 4

Publication Date:

July 11, 2024

Length:

313 Pages

Summary:

I read book one of this series and since I got this advance copy I decided to go ahead and skip to book four. It was easy to pick up the storyline and these books can be read as standalone. I don't like to do that with a series but it worked out here okay.

It's 1912 in Scotland and Lady Detective Maude McIntyre and her former maid Daisy are thriving with their business, chasing down criminals and solving mysteries. When they are asked to investigate a missing statuette in a remote Highland castle they jump at the chance to travel. Clachan Castle on the Island of Mull is as far as they can imagine and when they arrive they expect only to find a theft to solve. Little do they know they will become embroiled in not one, but two murders and a locked room mystery. 

Stacking the Shelves #31

 

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 makes you remember a favorite book you need to finish. Enjoy your reading this week!

Another Golden Age of Detective Fiction book from the British Library Crime Classics.....this book features a set of short stories from G.K. Chesterton, Arthur Conan Doyle, and others. I thought it would be great for quick reads when I'm short on time. You can't go wrong with the authors in this book.

The Santa Klaus Murder by Mavis Doriel Hay

 

Publication Date:

1936

Length:

253 pages

Summary:

Hay only published three novels and all were detective mysteries written in the 1930's. I had not heard of her before reading this one. I thought the cover was adorable and the perfect read for the hot June weather. So I am calling this review a "Christmas in June" book review. This is part of the revived collection of British Library Crime Classics and so it falls into the category of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. I am glad these books are being republished and with such vibrant, beautiful covers. The story is told in a series of chapters written from the perspective of each character, with the main detective having most of the story from his thoughts on the case. It is unique, giving insight into how each person is thinking.

The Melbury family is gathering for their annual Christmas. Sir Osmond, patriarch of the clan is domineering and particular in how he likes things done. His five children: George, Hilda, Edith, Eleanor, and Jennifer are all very different personalities, including how they feel about and handle their father. There is also the money and inheritance to consider as each vie for what is in theirs and their children's best interest. Although they don't always see eye to eye, they gather together and try to get through another trying holiday reunion.

Stacking the Shelves #30

 

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 makes you remember a favorite book you need to finish. Enjoy your reading this week :) 

This looked like an interesting mystery series. Set in WW II in Sydney, Australia with an intriguing main character, I was drawn to the cover, the synopsis, and the setting. I bought book one on sale for Kindle and hope to start it this year. There are ten books in the series so of course I had to pick another set of books I can't possibly read at once! But I'll start here and see if it's good enough to continue with more. The author has won an impressive array of awards for this series as well as previous ones.

Traitor's Arrow by David Field (The Medieval Saga Series Book Two)

 

Publication Date: 

April 25, 2022

Length:

222 pages

Summary:

I have always been interested in what really happened in the forest all those years ago when King William Rufus mysteriously died from an arrow wound. His brother Henry racing to Westminster to seize the royal treasury seemed like a cold hearted act to me. Field portrays this from a new perspective using some real historical people and facts and some fictional ones as well. While no one can ever be sure what really happened, Traitor's Arrow manages to give an entertaining story of the rise of Henry I due to the demise of his wicked brother, while also portraying him as a sympathetic character, only doing what he needed to save England and usher in a new era of stability.

Will Riveracre, or as he is now known in Book Two, Sir Wilfrid de Walsingham, having been knighted and land bestowed to him, is content to live out his days with his family. The current King William Rufus has other plans for him and needs constant support to field off his enemies in foreign and domestic entanglements. Wilfrid is unable to have a moments peace when William is king and longs for the day he can finally be left alone in his advancing years. Trying his best to walk a line between his family and his loyalty to the King, he eventually finds himself a prisoner for two years, scared and alone and far from home. When William Rufus meets his demise in the forest with the mysterious arrow and Wilfrid is brought before the new King Henry, he is amazed to discover he has been tasked with Henry's request of finding out what happened and clearing Henry of any wrong doing in the death of his brother.

Mystery of the Blue Train by Agatha Christie (A Hercule Poirot Mystery): Read Christie 2024 March Selection

 

Publication Date: 

March 29, 1928

Length:

296 pages

Summary:

This was the Read Christie 2024 selection for March but I didn't quite get to it in time to review that month. Better late than never though, right? 

The story begins with a prologue that seems to purposefully confuse the reader. Shady characters seem to be discussing jewels and the reader can't quite grasp if these are victims or villains. When Book One begins, Poirot boards Le Train Bleu, the Blue Train, traveling to the French Riviera. So does heiress Katherine Grey and Ruth Kettering, an American who is also wealthy but leaving her husband due to the problems in their marriage. She is also in love with another man and wants to meet up with him. When Ruth is found strangled to death suspicion is immediate due to the priceless jewels she was carrying. Her father, Rufus Van Aldin, had given her an incredibly expensive ruby dubbed "Heart of Fire" and it is found to be missing. He hadn't wanted her to take the jewel with her and is heartbroken that it may have been the cause of her death.