Can't Wait Wednesday: To Kill a King by David Field (Book Five: The Bailiff Mountsorrel Tudor Mysteries)

 

For this week's Can't Wait Wednesday, hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings, I'm  featuring, To Kill a King by David Field. I have read many of his historical fiction books about the period from 1066 to the reign of King John. They are wonderfully researched and simple to understand if you don't have all the background knowledge of English history. These books are part of his fictional historical mysteries. I am slowly collecting them and want to read them in order. This is his latest one in the series debuting this Friday.  Hope you've found something you can't wait for this week. Happy Reading ya'll!

October 18, 2024

Historical Mysteries

Description courtesy of Amazon

Not everyone is ready to welcome the new king of England…

Nottingham, England, 1603

Queen Elizabeth’s long reign has finally come to an end and the Tudor era is over. Scottish King James has been handed the crown of England, but not everyone is happy about that, and there are several plots being hatched to replace him with an alternative.

Bailiff Edward Mountsorrel already has his hands full with an increase in destitute vagrants flooding the county, who seem to be victims of a human trafficker. But before he can find the man responsible, he is tasked by an official with royal authority to infiltrate a local group, who it is rumoured are plotting to assassinate the new king.

Edward enlists the help of fellow bailiff, Francis Barton to find the group, who are hiding out in Sherwood Forest.

But the only way to discover the plot is to place themselves right in the heart of the danger. And there’s a good chance they will be killed before they can save the king…

Who is leading the band of rebels? Can he be stopped?

And is there a connection between the treasonous plot and the desperate vagrants Edward is trying to assist…?

To Kill A King is the fifth historical thriller in the Bailiff Mountsorrel Tudor Mystery Series – private investigation crime novels set during the reign of Elizabeth I and beyond.

Stacking the Shelves #39

 

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!

On sale this week for Kindle: $1.99 

Vail has written numerous historical fiction books, especially mysteries and a few epic novels too. I had never heard of him. This book came across as a suggestion on my Kindle store and was on sale for $1.99. Fantastic Fiction's website listed his works and they take place mostly during the 1100's and 1200's with historical and fictional characters thrown together. The reigns of Henry II and Henry III as well as some of Edward I are part of the backdrop. This book has sixteen sequel mysteries. It is part of the Stephen Attebrook Mysteries. I am thrilled to have discovered these as I love mysteries set during this time period. 

Sample: Trying it out first to see if I want to buy it:  Free Sample

This book was another suggested one for me on Amazon and it takes place in Bombay, India beginning on New Year's Eve 1949. It features a fictional female police inspector who has to solve the murder of an English diplomat with little to no support from her male dominated department. She teams up with a Scotland Yard detective which should make it even more interesting. I am hoping it will have some good history and suspense along with a unique setting and time period. It has won or been listed for more than one book award and is part of the Malabar House mystery series with a new book coming out in November. I just downloaded the sample first to check it out.

On sale for Kindle: $1.99

I have been slowly collecting Chadwick's books as they go on sale. They are expensive even on Kindle and sometimes hard to get in the states. This is book two of her first series, The Wild Hunt, and although it might not be the first one I'd read, I know how much her books are valued and so when I see them on sale I buy them! This book takes place during the reign of Henry I and features the daughter of a Welsh marcher baron. I love books featuring Welsh characters so it looks interesting. I have book three and just need the first one to complete my collection. 

Betrayal at Ravenswick by Kelly Oliver (Fiona Figg Mystery Book One)

Publication Date:

March 10, 2020

Length:

 208 pages

Summary:

I jumped into this series out of order because I wanted to read the one set in Cairo. It was book three so when I finished it, I wanted to go back to see how the original plot and character development unfolded. This book one is part of a series with just the main character, Fiona Figg and later she is joined in the second series by her sidekick, Kitty. Covert in Cairo was the one I read as part of series two. 

Fiona Figg's cheating husband has forced her to strike out on her own. Set during World War I, she and her spouse have been apart and when she realizes he has taken up with another woman she decides to throw herself into the war effort as a spy for British Intelligence. She is asked to go undercover, posing as a male doctor, to Ravenswick Abbey estate, with the hopes of exposing a suspected traitor, one Fredrick Fredricks. When she finally meets the notorious South African hunter, she is not impressed and thinks he is full of himself and a first rate snob. Not sure whether he is an actual traitor on the side of the Germans though, she treads lightly, trying to keep up her disguise while befriending one of the ladies there, Mary, who takes a bit too much interest in Fiona, thinking of course, she is a man.

Can't Wait Wednesday: Last Dance in Salzburg by Vivian Conroy (Miss Ashford Investigates Book Four)

For this week's Can't Wait Wednesday, hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings, I'm  featuring, Last Dance in Salzburg, by Vivian Conroy. I am reading book one of this series right now and loving it. This is her new one coming out in November. So far it is a series I am interested in continuing with so I'm sure this one will be good too. Hope you've found something you can't wait for this week. Happy Reading ya'll!

November 8, 2024

Cozy Mysteries/Historical Mysteries

Description courtesy of Amazon

November 1930.

After accepting an invitation to attend the ballet in snowy Salzburg, Miss Atalanta Ashford is shocked when a convicted jewel thief is found dead in the concert hall where the theft occurred a decade ago.

Did he return to the scene of the crime because he wanted to prove his innocence? Is the real culprit among the high-society guests? In her quest for the truth, Atalanta uncovers dangerous secrets about the European elite that put her own life in mortal danger…

The smell of Glühwein and spiced Lebkuchen from the Austrian winter markets fill the air, but for Atalanta there’s an intriguing puzzle to be solved in this cosy historical mystery for 2024.

Valley of the Kings: A Novel of Tutankhamun by Cecelia Holland

 

Publication Date:

January 1, 1978

Length:

231 pages

Summary:

I have heard about Holland's books for years and finally have read one. I love all things Egypt, pyramids, etc. so this was the place to start. Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon's unearthing of King Tut's tomb in 1922 is a fascinating story and I have read Holland stays true to history when writing her historical fiction. That is a must for me as I read these kinds of novels.

I know there are already many reviews for this book over the years. It is interesting that you don't know going in the book is divided into two parts: Howard Carter's story and King Tut's time period story. The first half details Carter's search for the tomb. Carter is an experienced archaeologist drawn to Egypt and its history and the search for the elusive tomb of King Tut. His frustration with the Egyptian government's slow pace and bureaucracy in allowing for the digs he wishes to conduct, not to mention the lack of funding leads to constant frustration. He teams up with a British aristocrat, Lord Carnarvon who shares an interest, although he is not obsessed to the degree Carter is. But willing to finance Carter's dream and work alongside him is enough to make the reality come true. Carter accepts the assistance and dodging local government regulations and resistance he doggedly pursues the tomb.