Book Critic, Book Review, Books, Literary Criticism, Reading

Review: The Gilded Shroud (A Lady Fan Mystery #1) by Elizabeth Bailey

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: The Gilded Shroud (A Lady Fan Mystery #1) by Elizabeth Bailey

I fell in love with the cover of this new mystery series. I love the stunning house and the richness of the scene. Without so much as a backward glance I eagerly agreed to review it.

Plus it is the first in a new series and I love getting in on the ground levels when it comes to new detective series.

1789, London

When Emily Fanshawe, Marchioness of Polbrook, is found strangled in her bedchamber, suspicion immediately falls on those residing in the grand house in Hanover Square.

Emily’s husband – Randal Fanshawe, Lord Polbrook – fled in the night and is chief suspect – much to the dismay of his family.

Ottilia Draycott is brought in as the new lady’s companion to Sybilla, Dowager Marchioness and soon finds herself assisting younger son, Lord Francis Fanshawe in his investigations.

Can Ottilia help clear the family name? Does the killer still reside in the house? Continue reading “Review: The Gilded Shroud (A Lady Fan Mystery #1) by Elizabeth Bailey” →

Books, Reading

Special Feature: Conan Doyle for the Defense: The True Story of a Sensational British Murder, a Quest for Justice, and the World’s Most Famous Detective Writer by Margalit Fox

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Special Feature: Conan Doyle for the Defense: The True Story of a Sensational British Murder, a Quest for Justice, and the World’s Most Famous Detective Writer by Margalit Fox

I think it’s safe to say that most of us have heard of Sherlock Holmes and his famous creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

So what do we know about Conan Doyle beyond his famous detective? For me—nothing. Conan Doyle was clearly a crime buff and had a unique mind for solving mysteries but I didn’t know that he actually helped solve a real life murder!

When this book came up for review, I was so bummed that I couldn’t fit it into my summer reading—fortunately I am going to review it in October for my mystery month so be watching for that. I couldn’t let the summer go by and not give my readers a little preview for what sounds like an outstanding piece of non-fiction! It’s on sale NOW so be sure to pick up a copy for yourself!

In this thrilling true-crime procedural, the creator of Sherlock Holmes uses his unparalleled detective skills to exonerate a German Jew wrongly convicted of murder. Continue reading “Special Feature: Conan Doyle for the Defense: The True Story of a Sensational British Murder, a Quest for Justice, and the World’s Most Famous Detective Writer by Margalit Fox” →

Books, Reading

Special Feature: The King’s Justice by E.M Powell

by The Lit Bitch1 Comment on Special Feature: The King’s Justice by E.M Powell

The King’s Justice
by E.M Powell

Publication Date: June 1, 2018
Thomas & Mercer
Paperback & eBook; 288 Pages
ISBN-978-1542046015

Series: Stanton and Barling #1

Genre: Historical Mystery

 

 

A murder that defies logic—and a killer on the loose.

England, 1176. Aelred Barling, esteemed clerk to the justices of King Henry II, is dispatched from the royal court with his young assistant, Hugo Stanton, to investigate a brutal murder in a village outside York.

The case appears straightforward. A suspect is under lock and key in the local prison, and the angry villagers are demanding swift justice. But when more bodies are discovered, certainty turns to doubt—and amid the chaos it becomes clear that nobody is above suspicion.

Facing growing unrest in the village and the fury of the lord of the manor, Stanton and Barling find themselves drawn into a mystery that defies logic, pursuing a killer who evades capture at every turn.

Can they solve the riddle of who is preying upon the villagers? And can they do it without becoming prey themselves?

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | IndieBound

Continue reading “Special Feature: The King’s Justice by E.M Powell” →

Book Critic, Book Review, Books, Literary Criticism, Reading

Review: Chasing the Wind by C.C. Humphreys

by The Lit Bitch1 Comment on Review: Chasing the Wind by C.C. Humphreys

This book is recommended to fans of Kate Morton and Jacqueline Whinspear and has been highly praised by on of my favorite authors, Diana Gabaldon. I could gush over Diana Gabaldon for days so seeing her endorsement of this book was all that I needed to agree to review it!

Not to mention, the heroine sounded pretty bad ass and different so I was in, end of story!

Smuggler. Smoker. Aviatrix. Thief. The dynamic Roxy Loewen is all these things and more, in this riveting and gorgeous historical fiction novel for readers of Paula McLain, Roberta Rich, Kate Morton and Jacqueline Winspear.

You should never fall in love with a flyer. You should only fall in love with flight.

That’s what Roxy Loewen always thought, until she falls for fellow pilot Jocco Zomack as they run guns into Ethiopia. Jocco may be a godless commie, but his father is a leading art dealer and he’s found the original of Bruegel’s famous painting, theFall of Icarus. The trouble is, it’s in Spain, a country slipping fast into civil war. The money’s better than good–if Roxy can just get the painting to Berlin and back out again before Reichsmarshall Hermann Goring and his Nazi pals get their hands on it . . . Continue reading “Review: Chasing the Wind by C.C. Humphreys” →

Book Critic, Book Review, Books, Literary Criticism, Reading

Review: The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan

by The Lit Bitch1 Comment on Review: The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan

Like millions of people, I got royal wedding fever so bad about 3 days before Prince Harry and Megan Markel wed. Not personally I prefer Kate Middleton over Megan but who doesn’t love a royal wedding?!

The glitz and glamour and all the pomp is just too much for me to resist. After the wedding was over I was desperate for something to read that would be similar to the real life fairy tale. I wasn’t entirely sure that I wanted to read a biography on Megan or Kate or Diana or the royal family, but I was sure that I wanted to read something in that vein.

That’s when I found The Royal We. It sounded like the book I had been looking for…..fiction but yet enough reality to satisfy my royal wedding fever not to mention romance. I rushed to my library to pick up a copy and immediately busted into it when I got home.

American Rebecca Porter was never one for fairy tales. Her twin sister, Lacey, has always been the romantic who fantasized about glamour and royalty, fame and fortune. Yet it’s Bex who seeks adventure at Oxford and finds herself living down the hall from Prince Nicholas, Great Britain’s future king. And when Bex can’t resist falling for Nick, the person behind the prince, it propels her into a world she did not expect to inhabit, under a spotlight she is not prepared to face. Continue reading “Review: The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan” →