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Review: The Laws of Murder (Charles Lenox #8) by Charles Finch
Charles Lenox has just given up his Parliament seat to pursue his dream….running his own full time detective agency. He has high hopes for this new agency. It’s essentially the first of its kind and with all the assistance he has provided to Scotland Yard over the years, surely the referrals will come. Lenox and his colleagues have let a building and are currently taking new clients, things are looking promising. But while the others are bringing in steady business….Lenox is not. What happened to all the potential referrals from the Yard and his friends within the agency? Well, it appears someone is trying to sabotage Lenox’s new agency. One day…
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Review: Bellman and Black: A Ghost Story by Diane Setterfield
As a child, William Bellman makes one tragic mistake that will haunt him all his life. Though it doesn’t seem like a big deal, William soon finds out what a big deal it was. William is showing off for a few of his friends. He has perfected his slingshot and to impress his friends he claims he can hit a rook (of the raven family) with absolute precision. When he kills the bird with that fateful shot, he has no idea it will be the mistake that alters his life and the lives of those present that day forever and those that William cares for most. The Bellman family has…
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Review: Mrs Poe by Lynn Cullen
The greatest love affairs are between two souls that speak to each other in a language that no one else but them can understand. On a fateful night in 1845, Frances Osgood meets the most famous writer in all of New York society, the dark and mysterious Edgar Poe. From the moment they are introduced, Frances can’t help but feel a strange and unexplainable connection to Poe. A writer herself, they run in the same circles of New York society. At the time, Frances’s philandering husband has taken up with a rich divorcee and basically abandoned Frances and their children. Frances and the girls are staying at the home of…
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Review: Marking Time (The Immortal Descendants #1) by April White
Seventeen year old Saira Elian’s life is a lonely one. Her mom tends to disappear randomly for weeks at a time and when she returns they often pack up and move to a new location. She hasn’t met her father nor does she really know anything about him and she basically has never known anyone she could call a friend. Saira spends her free time tagging the underground around Venice Beach until one night she over hears a conversation she shouldn’t. The next thing she knows she is being chased by a group of men when the police pick her up and arrest her. With her mother gone again she…
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Review: Murder as a Fine Art by David Morrell
Terror has gripped the foggy streets of London in 1854. A family of five has been found brutally murdered–beaten to death with their throats slit–the youngest victim was an infant. Since nothing was taken and the crime scene neatly staged, it can only be considered a crime of the deranged. Constable Becker was first on the scene, only missing the murderer by a matter of minutes. After raising the alarm, Detective Inspector Sean Ryan arrives and he immediately sees potential in Becker as an assistant. They gather what few clues were left at the crime scene and realize they aren’t dealing with a mad man, but rather an educated man…
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Review: Cashelmara by Susan Howatch
In the wild, untamed Irish wilderness lies a stark and cold Georgian era estate known as Cashelmara. Lord Edward de Salis is the master of Cashelmara, but as an Englishman he resides primarily in London but deep down he always considers Cashelmara home. When his wife dies, Lord de Salis travels to America hoping to ease his grief. What he doesn’t expect to find is love. Marguerite is young enough to be Edward’s daughter but there is something about her that makes Edward feel at ease and happy once again. After they marry he takes Marguerite back to Ireland and Cashelmara where tragic events begin unfolding. Cashelmara chronicles three generations of…
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Review: A Monstrous Regiment of Women (Mary Russell #2) by Laurie R. King
A game’s a foot and Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes are on the case! In Sussex, Mary Russell is about to turn 21 and come into her sizable inheritance. On a whim one night, Mary sneaks away to London in search of her long time friend and mentor, Sherlock Holmes. When she meets up with Holmes on that dark London night, she nearly puts her foot in her mouth, but before she can cause herself too much embarrassment, Holmes cuts her off. But in doing so, he mistakenly insults her and she storms off into the night, anxious to be out of an uncomfortable situation. Come morning, Mary finds her way…
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Review: Maisie Dobbs (Maisie Dobbs #1) by Jacqueline Winspear
War changes everything. In 1910, the world is a different place. England is still at peace, the aristocracy rules Britain’s social scene, and the life of Maisie Dobbs changes forever. At thirteen, young Maisie goes to work as a maid in the London household of Lady Rowan Compton, a wealthy suffragette and philanthropist. Though she is poor, Maisie is rich in intelligence. One night, Lady Rowan finds Maisie reading in her library and not just reading but teaching herself Latin and philosophy. Recognizing that Maisie has an aptitude to do something useful with her life, Lady Rowan begins sponsoring private tutoring under her friend Dr. Maurice Blanche. Before she knows it, Maisie is…
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Review: A Stranger in Mayfair (Charles Lenox Mysteries #4) by Charles Finch
Charles Lenox’s is the quintessential armchair detective. Being a highborn well funded gentleman has it’s perks and one of them is being allowed eccentricities. For Lenox, his ‘eccentricity’ is….wait for it….a J-O-B! Being a detective is something most of Lenox’s friends frown upon, he frequently finds himself on the source of a good many jokes and though he is well liked, his profession isn’t deemed proper by his social circle. This fact is beginning to wear on Lenox though, after all he is an Oxford chappie and well liked in London society and with his older brother holding a seat in Parliament….Lenox longs to be truly respected. In the last…
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Review: Timeless (Parasol Protectorate #5) by Gail Carriger
Agent Blue Bonnet here with a transmittal from the Parasol Protectorate secret society: Timeless by Gail Carriger is finally out! I discovered this series last year while I was participating in the Steampunk Reading Challenge over at Bookish Ardour. I absolutely loved Soulless (Book #1) and it has been an interesting series to watch evolve overall. Timeless is Book #5 in the series–which seems to be the last installment I am sad to say. The first four books take place in rapid secession but this book is set two years after Book #4. Alexia Tarabotti AKA Lady Maccon, is settling into her new life–as best she can considering she is married…