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Review: Arrowood by Mick Finlay
I absolutely love the tagline of this book: London Society takes their problems to Sherlock Holmes. Everyone else goes to Arrowood. That totally caught my eye when I was scanning Netgalley in search of new books to read this summer. An anti-Sherlock Holmes sounded refreshing and new. I have been watching the TV show Sherlock (which if you haven’t watched it, go right now to Netflix and start!) and I love the modern take on it, so I thought that something like an anti-Sherlock read would be complimentary. The Afghan War is over and a deal with the Irish appears to have brought an end to sectarian violence, but Britain’s position in the…
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Review: Angels and Demons (Robert Langdon #1) by Dan Brown
Is Dan Brown’s writing terrible? Yes. Are his stories far fetched and unbelievable? Yes. Are the books poorly researched? Yes. Did that stop me from reading this book in a frenzy? Absolutely not! I will fully admit, I loved The Da Vinci Code. I didn’t care how unbelievable or bad the writing, the story itself was so good that I was reading well into the night, every night. I simply had to know what happened next. That was at least 10 years ago that I read that book, so I felt like I was long overdue for a Robert Langdon mystery. For some reason, the mood just struck me and…
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Book Blast: The Service of the Dead by Candace Robb
Please join author Candace Robb as her Kate Clifford Mystery Series is featured around the blogosphere, from May 9-24. The Service of the Dead by Candace Robb Paperback Publication Date: May 9, 2017 Pegasus Books Paperback; 256 Pages Series: Kate Clifford Mysteries, Book One Genre: Historical/Mystery/Thriller Expertly recreating the social and political upheavals of late medieval Europe, Candace Robb introduces a new series starring Kate Clifford, a woman forged on the warring northern marches of fourteenth century England. Political unrest permeates York at the cusp of the fifteenth century, as warring factions take sides on who should be the rightful king–Richard II or his estranged, powerful cousin in exile, Henry…
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Review: Where the Dead Lie (Sebastian St. Cyr #12) by C.S. Harris
When this one came up for review, I agreed because it sounded like a bit of a gritty Victorian/Regency mystery and I was ready for a bit of a new mystery series. However, I was hesitant because this book was number 12 in the series. Lately I’ve been jumping into a couple of new series a little late in the game and I felt like at the very least, I should read the first book in this new series so I could get an idea of where things were at, at least with the main character, Lord Devlin. London, 1813. Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, is no stranger to the…
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Review: The Lost Book of the Grail by Charlie Lovett
I’ve been a fan of grail lore since I watched Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade when I was 8 years old. I’ve seen it at least a hundred times I feel like, so needless to say, I am a huge fan of anything related to the Holy Grail and I LOVE cathedrals. I am also a fan of Charlie Lovett’s novels, and this latest book combined both grail lore, cathedrals, and Lovett’s charming prose. This book appealed to my love of English mythology and King Arthur, so I couldn’t pass it up for review when I saw it. Arthur Prescott is happiest when surrounded by the ancient books and manuscripts of…
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Review: What Angels Fear (Sebastian St. Cyr #1) by C.S. Harris
Later this week I have another book in this series up for review. Having not read this series before, I felt like it might be a good thing to start with the first book to at least get my barrings. The book I am reviewing is the 12th book, so obviously there is a lot I will have missed, but I wanted to at least get to know the back story of the protagonist, Lord Devlin. It’s 1811, and the threat of revolution haunts the upper classes of King George III’s England. Then a beautiful young woman is found raped and savagely murdered on the altar steps of an ancient…
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Review: Gone Without A Trace by Mary Torjussen
When I read mysteries, I typically read historical mysteries but from time to time, a modern psychological thriller captures my eye and I pick it up but I kind of have to be in the mood. Well the mood struck me when Gone Without A Trace came up for review. So what caught my eye about this one? Well I liked the tag line ‘no one disappears completely’. One of my favorite shows on ID TV is Disappeared, so books that deal with disappearances intrigue me because that tag line is so true and the not knowing drives the interest for me. Gone Without a Trace is a compulsive thriller about a…
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Special Feature: HIMSELF by Jess Kidd
Released in the UK to glowing praise—“a rollicking tale of a hero’s return… breaking down the barriers between mystery story and comedy of manners, mixing magical realism and crime fiction” (Guardian); a “brilliantly bold debut… Utterly unputdownable” (Sunday Express Magazine)— HIMSELF is the spellbinding tale of a young man who returns to the provincial Irish village where he was born in search of the truth about his long-lost mother. When Mahony returns to Mulderrig, a speck of a place on Ireland’s west coast, he brings only a photograph of his long-lost mother and a determination to do battle with the village’s lies. His arrival causes cheeks to flush and arms…
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Book Blast: The Semper Sonnet by Seth Margolis
The Semper Sonnet by Seth Margolis Publication Date: April 19, 2016 Diverson Publishing eBook & Paperback; 374 Pages Genre: Historical Fiction/Mystery/Thriller READ AN EXCERPT. In this stunning thrill ride, perfect for fans of Dan Brown and Steve Berry, a long-lost manuscript, written for Elizabeth I, holds the key to unlocking the past—and to eliminating the future. Lee Nicholson is ready to take the academic world by storm, having discovered a sonnet she believes was written by William Shakespeare. When she reads the poem on the air, the words put her life in peril and trigger a violent chase, with stakes that reach far beyond the cloistered walls of…
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Review: Love You Dead (Roy Grace #12) by Peter James
This is the fall of more modern thrillers for me, particularly ones set in England. I love love love British thrillers and when I heard this one was set in Brighton, I was all over it! I haven’t read anything by Peter James or heard anything about him, so this was a completely new author for me. Jodie Bentley had two dreams in life – to be beautiful and rich. She’s achieved the first, with a little help from a plastic surgeon, and now she’s working hard on the second. Her philosophy on money is simple: you can either earn it or marry it. Marrying is easy, it’s getting rid…