Can't Wait Wednesday: Death By Misadventure: A Lady Emily Mystery (Book 18) by Tasha Alexander

 

For this week's Can't Wait Wednesday, hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings, I'm featuring, Death By Misadventure by Tasha Alexander. I have read the first book in this series and hope to read more. I love the locations she chooses and the covers are gorgeous. Hope you found something you can't wait to read this week!

September 24, 2024

Historical Mysteries

Description courtesy of Amazon

In the winter of 1906, Lady Emily and husband Colin are invited to the opulent home of Baroness Ursula von Duchtel in the Bavarian alps. Outside is a mountainous winter wonderland with a view of Mad King Ludwig’s fairy tale castle. Inside, the villa hosts a magnificent but eclectic art collection—as well as an equally eclectic collection of fellow guests, among them a musician, an art dealer, a coquette from the demi-monde, and Kaspar, the Baroness’ boorish son-in-law, whom, it begins to appear, someone wants dead.

Almost forty years earlier, Niels, a young German lord, sings to himself in the forest surrounding those same alps, capturing the attention of a not-yet-mad King Ludwig. Niels and the king become fast friends, their relationship deepening into something more as their time together stretches on. But while King Ludwig is content to live out a fantasy where their responsibilities don't matter and the outside world doesn't affect them, Niels knows that their bliss cannot last forever...

Decades later, Emily continues to investigate Kaspar's increasingly lethal “mishaps" when tragedy strikes, ensnaring the guests in a web of fear and suspicion. It’s up to Emily to sift through old secrets and motivations, some stretching far into the past, to unmask the killer.

Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Favorite Books From Ten Favorite Book Series

 

This week's Top Ten Tuesday hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl features favorite books from favorite book series. I love, love, love to read series books! I despair that I will never be able to read them all so I try to be picky about which ones I carry on with. But I'm a sucker for them. So this was a fun topic for me this week.  I noted my favorite book of the series in parentheses. I'm short on time (first day of school tomorrow!) so no links but at least I was able to share my list with you! What series books are your favorites?

1. William Monk by Anne Perry (The Face of a Stranger)

2. Charlotte and Thomas Pitt by Anne Perry (Buckingham Palace Gardens)

3. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon (Voyager)

4. The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis (The Voyage of the Dawn Treader)

5. The Kent Family Chronicles by John Jakes (The Rebels)

6. Cadfael Chronicles by Ellis Peters (One Corpse Too Many)

7. Lady Eleanor Swift by Verity Bright (Mystery By the Sea)

8. Plantation Trilogy by Gwen Bristow (Deep Summer)

9. Inspector De Silva Mysteries by Harriet Steel (Trouble in Nuala)

10. The Medieval Saga Series by David Field (The Conscience of a King)

A Royal Pain by Rhys Bowen (A Royal Spyness Mystery: Book Two)

Publication Date:

July 1, 2008

Length:

320 Pages

Summary:

I read the first book in the series awhile ago but for some reason didn't write a review. I decided to start with book two and have requested the latest book from Net Galley to review. While I'd enjoy the whole series I just don't have time to read them all right now but this book gave me some refresher on the main characters in case I get approved to read the new one. 

Lady Georgiana is a hot mess. She is living in sparse conditions in her family's London townhouse with a secret job as a maid of sorts for the aristocracy. While her job is easy and gives her a little money and flexibility it doesn't erase the fact that she is distantly related to royalty and must keep up personal appearances. In her struggles she is aided often by her flighty, independently wealthy friend, Belinda. 

When the queen summons Georgie to help her with her wayward son, David (the current Prince of Wales) and his scandalous interaction with the infamous Wallis Simpson, she can hardly refuse. During the course of the visits to the queen, Georgie is forced to take on Princess Hannelore of Bavaria and her entourage as guests so that the Prince can hopefully be persuaded to fall in love and forget his mistress. 

Princess Hannelore is naive, young, and innocent and although has watched her fair share of American gangster movies (through which she has acquired a way of speaking with inappropriate slang) is not equipped to handle the bustle of London society with ease. She proves to be a difficult charge to keep out of trouble and when two murders occur involving people with ties to political tensions of the day, Georgie must try to keep her wits about her all while protecting the Princess, pleasing the queen, her clients, and convincing her family all is well. This while trying herself to solve the murders along with her love interest, Darcy.

My Thoughts:

I really enjoyed this book. I liked it better than the first one. The characters were more established and interesting and I thought it was hilarious. The first book was too but it just wasn't as exciting and the plot seemed to drag a bit. I felt it was more of an introduction to things. I almost didn't read book two because of that but I'm glad I did and will carry on with the series as I can. I sometimes realize when I'm blogging a review that I tend to read books that aren't new but hopefully someone like me hasn't read these yet and the above information will be helpful!

This mystery was well thought out. It had lots of twists and there were some things I suspected about the murderer that turned out to be true but it didn't spoil the fun of the story. Georgie's mother is a great addition to the cast and is the polar opposite of her more introverted, modest daughter. It reminds me of the dynamic with Hannah Swenson of the Murder She Baked series of Hallmark and her mother. While Georgie is a one man woman and only has eyes for Darcy, her mother is on multiple husbands and looking for another. She means well but is flighty and self indulgent. It makes a good storyline between them.

Princess Hannelore, the queen, and even Mrs. Simpson are all portrayed just as you'd expect and although the Princess is not a real person you feel as though she is with her development throughout the story. She wants to party and be out and about and you feel for Georgie as she is constantly trying to stay one step ahead of her. 

There weren't a lot of cons to this story. Just a funny, cozy mystery with a good plot and murder to solve. I enjoyed it!

Can't Wait Wednesday: The Rose Arbor by Rhys Bowen

 

For this week's Can't Wait Wednesday, hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings, I'm featuring, The Rose Arbor, by Rhys Bowen. I have read books from her Molly Murphy and Royal Spyness series but not a stand alone novel. It looks like this is a mystery with a serious side to it and so it is likely a good read. Hope you found something you can't wait to read this week!

August 6, 2024

Historical Fiction

Description courtesy of Amazon

An investigation into a girl’s disappearance uncovers a mystery dating back to World War II in a haunting novel of suspense by the bestselling author of The Venice Sketchbook and The Paris Assignment.

London: 1968. Liz Houghton is languishing as an obituary writer at a London newspaper when a young girl’s disappearance captivates the city. If Liz can break the story, it’s her way into the newsroom. She already has a scoop: her best friend, Marisa, is a police officer assigned to the case.Liz follows Marisa to Dorset, where they make another disturbing discovery. Over two decades earlier, three girls disappeared while evacuating from London. One was found murdered in the woods near a train line. The other two were never seen again.As Liz digs deeper, she finds herself drawn to the village of Tydeham, which was requisitioned by the military during the war and left in ruins. After all these years, what could possibly link the missing girls to this abandoned village? And why does a place Liz has never seen before seem so strangely familiar?

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