Stacking the Shelves #21

 

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 :)

**BTW: Kindle Unlimited is offering three months for just $.99. That's a steal! I will probably cancel when the offer is up in February and it's super easy to do so if you don't want to continue to pay the monthly fee. 

It's finally December and I'm feeling very festive right now! This came free with my Kindle Unlimited subscription and although it's Book 4 of the series I might start here because it's the Christmas season. I'm always looking for good new cozy mysteries to read in between more challenging books. The series is called Lord Edgington Investigates. There are so many cozy mysteries with female leads so I like to find and promote those with a male investigator when I can. If you've read any of these let me know what you think!

This is another book I got from my Kindle Unlimited membership. It is part of a series of 10 books called John Wingate Historical Thrillers. This book was first published in 1983 and has been reissued with a more modern cover. The reviews say it is a good, solid, well researched book and I am kind of obsessed with the early Norman period right now. This is one I'm definitely putting on my TBR list. Unfortunately, if I love it I'm out of luck for more as the other books in the series are Cold War era maritime thrillers; not a subject I'm very interested in. I'm very curious as to what made this author choose to stray from his standard formula to write this one book from this period. 

I have seen this book around for a bit and it is on sale for $1.99 on Amazon Kindle this week. I've said before I'm a sucker for beautiful covers and this one is very pretty. I hadn't realized it was by a crime detective author who wrote in the early 20th Century and thought it was a new book for awhile. It was republished in 2021 for the first time in 95 years. It says it was the "mystery even Agatha Christie couldn't solve!"

This is a murder mystery set in the "dead of winter in a secluded country manor." Perfect for a January read. If you've read some of Anthony Berkeley's books leave me a comment and let me know if you like him.

Endless Night by Agatha Christie (Read Christie 2023 November Selection)

 

Publication Date: October 30, 1967

Length: 224 pages

Since Agatha Christie said this was one of her favorites I was anxious to read it and see why. It is unique, without Poirot or Marple or any stand out detective at all. And I consider this one to be more psychological than some of her others since finishing and reflecting on it. The 1960's seem to have been a time when the field of psychology and the "why" behind murder was a big interest and I can recall movies and books I've seen or read during this era really tackling the topic from a mental perspective. So this book, with its focus, being published in that time period makes sense.

Michael Rogers seems to be an idealistic twenty-two year old who wants to have the perfect life. He would like to live in a charming house, with a beautiful wife, and lots of disposable income. He hasn't made much of himself up to this point, wandering aimlessly though life, doing odd jobs, and meeting interesting people. He clearly wants the "easy" way out when it comes to providing for himself. When he stumbles upon a property called Gipsy's Acre, he thinks he has found the home of his dreams. The girl he meets there, Ellie Guteman, seems to be the girl of his dreams as well. She is an American born heiress, with plenty of money to spare, so much that Michael will not need to work if married to her. He can also have his architect friend, Rudolf Santonix, create the perfect house for them on the property. There is only one problem: Gipsy's Acre is said to be cursed, and it doesn't help that the old gipsy lady living nearby, Mrs. Lee, creepily suggests they leave and never return lest something horrible befall them.

Michael and Ellie refuse to listen to her advice, and after a whirlwind courtship and wedding, build their dream house and try to settle in. Almost immediately strange things occur. A rock is thrown threw a window with a sinister note, Ellie is injured and has to have a former helpmate, Greta come and stay with them. There is a general feeling of uneasiness both in the house and on the property and Mrs. Lee is still menacing them with what will happen if they don't leave. 

Local villagers, Major Phillpot and Claudia Hardcastle are bright spots in their days and befriend the couple, Michael and Ellie having strained relationships with their families and no one else to spend time with. It seems most of the other people in their lives are either out for a piece of Ellie's money or in Michael's case with his mother, are disapproving of their life choices. Just when it feels like things are looking up for them a bit, tragedy strikes and all the dark, ominous warnings appear to be coming true. Michael must decide if he is able to continue with the life he has chosen or cut his losses and leave Gipsy's Acre for good.

This story was slow to get started but when it did it was really intriguing. I did start to figure out who the villain was as things progressed only because this time I really tried hard to think outside the box. As I'm reading more of Christie I try to see if I can put things together in the most unexpected way and this book was a lot of fun in that regard. I wasn't totally correct about everything but wasn't completely taken off guard when the ending was revealed. Without giving away any spoilers, about halfway through it reminded me of an old movie from the 1940's I've watched many times that had the same vibe and turns out I was on the right path there!

The dark atmosphere created at the beginning was done well and I started off wanting to know more about the curse and Mrs. Lee, why she was so insistent that Michael and Ellie leave and not return. The secondary characters of Greta, Major Phillpot, and Claudia Hardcastle were great additions to the story as well.

I felt like this was one of her better stories and it was a nice addition to the collection that doesn't feature Poirot and Marple. Sometimes those haven't been my favorites but it worked well with this one. 

Can't Wait Wednesday: The Castle Abductions by David Field (The Bailiff Mountsorrel Tudor Mysteries Book One)

For this week's Can't Wait Wednesday, hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings, I'm featuring The Castle Abductions by David Field. I have really enjoyed what I've seen and read by this author. He is a retired lawyer who began writing years ago but didn't publish anything until after his career when he was older. I really admire that and he has written some great books about the early Norman period and the Tudor period as well as maritime books set in the 1500's. Now he is debuting a series of historical mysteries set in Elizabethan England and beyond. I am excited to promote the first book in the series which is out this Friday. Looking forward to seeing his spin on history and mysteries!

December 1, 2023

Historical Mysteries 

Historical Thrillers

Nottinghamshire’s bailiffs are on the trail of a sinister kidnapper…

Nottingham, England, 1590

County Bailiff Edward Mountsorrel and Town Bailiff Francis Barton have vowed to root out the criminals of Nottinghamshire and bring them to justice.

But after acting on information from a questionable source, Edward is tricked into allowing several deer to be stolen from a local estate. Furious, he sets about tracking them down.

Meanwhile, Francis is asked to investigate the disappearance of Nell, a young woman who was last seen at a local alehouse with a wealthy stranger.

When the bailiffs’ shared house is burned down and their servant is found stabbed to death, Edward and Francis begin to suspect that their cases are linked.

And when more young women go missing, the two bailiffs worry they are running out of time to retrieve them from danger…

Who wishes to silence to Edward and Francis? What happened to the missing women?

And can the two bailiffs find them before it’s too late…?

The Castle Abductions is the first historical thriller in the Bailiff Mountsorrel Tudor Mystery Series – private investigation crime novels set during the reign of Elizabeth I and beyond.