The Murder Game by Tom Hindle Book Review

Synopsis

One house. Nine guests. Endless motives for murder...

In the seaside town of Hamlet Wick, nine guests assemble for a New Year's Eve party to remember.

The owner of Hamlet Hall has organised a murder mystery evening with a 1920s twist, and everyone has their own part to play.

But the game has barely begun when one guest is found dead - killed by a fatal injury to the head.

With no phone signal and no way out of the house, the others are trapped with a killer in

The Case of the Disappearing Beaune: A Sherlock Holmes Christmas Mystery by J. Lawrence Matthews A Short Book Review

It's Christmas morning, 1902, and Dr Watson calls on Sherlock Holmes to invite him and his brother, Mycroft, for Christmas dinner. Holmes refuses the invitation, as Watson new he would and remains steadfast despite Watson's cajoling.

When sand is found substituted for the wine in a bottle of Beaune, a Christmas gift from Holmes to Watson, Holmes fears that the new king's (Edward VII) life is in danger. What follows is a madcap dash around London, with Holmes and Watson one step behind those they are pursuing, ending with a delightful twist, making this a very heartwarming novella.

While not the mystery I anticipated, it was very entertaining and shows that the great detective could be outwitted. A great Christmas read!

Thanks to Ellen Whitfield of Books Forward for a review copy.

Murder After Christmas by Rupert Latimer Book Review

Synopsis

Good old Uncle Willie - rich, truculent and seemingly propped up by his fierce willpower alone - has come to stay with the Redpaths for the holidays. It is just their luck for him to be found dead the morning after Christmas day, dressed in his Santa Claus costume, seemingly poisoned by his favourite chocolates. Or was there something sinister in the mince pies? If so, was it the ones stashed in his room or those sent to him mysteriously by post? More importantly, since his will was recently redrafted, who stands to gain by this unseasonable crime?

First published in 1944, Murder After Christmas is a lively riot of murder, mince pies and misdirection, cleverly playing with beloved murder mystery tropes to create

Under a Veiled Moon by Karen Odden Book Review - Blog Tour

Publication Date: October 11, 2022
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books>br> Series: An Inspector Corravan Mystery (Book 2)
Length: (336) pages
Format: Hardcover, eBook, & audiobook
Genre: Historical Mystery, Detective Mystery, Victorian Mystery

Synopsis

September 1878. One night, as the pleasure boat the Princess Alice makes her daily trip up the Thames, she collides with the Bywell Castle, a huge iron-hulled collier. The Princess Alice shears apart, throwing all 600 passengers into the river; only 130 survive. It is the worst maritime disaster London has ever seen, and early clues point to sabotage by the Irish Republican Brotherhood, who

The Red Horse by James R. Benn

Synopsis

Just days after the Liberation of Paris, US Army Detective Billy Boyle and Lieutenant Kazimierz are brought to Saint Albans Convalescent Hospital in the English countryside. Kaz has been diagnosed with a heart condition, and Billy is dealing with emotional exhaustion and his recent methamphetamine abuse. Meanwhile, Billy’s love, Diana Seaton, has been taken to Ravensbrück, the Nazi concentration camp for women, and Kaz’s sister, Angelika, who he recently learned was alive and working with the Polish Underground, has also been captured and transported to the same camp.

This news is brought by British Major Cosgrove, who asks Billy for help, unofficially, in solving what he thinks was the murder of a

Some Rise By Sin by Siôn Scott-Wilson Book Review

Synopsis

1829 is a tough year to be a body snatcher. Burke and Hare have just been convicted of killing people to sell their bodies, to widespread outrage—but despite the bad press, doctors still need fresh corpses for medical research.

Sammy and Facey are a couple of so-called ‘resurrection men’, making a living among society's fringe-dwellers by hoisting the newly departed from the churchyards of London whilst masquerading as late-night bakers. Operating on tip-offs and rumours in the capital’s drinking dens and fighting pits, the pair find themselves in receipt of some valuable intelligence: an unusual cadaver has popped up on the market, that of a hermaphrodite.

For any medic worth his salt it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—a medical curiosity and

The Infernal Riddle of Thomas Peach by Jas Treadwell - Book Review

Synopsis

Who is Thomas Peach?

Ah, reader! - if you would have us answer THAT question - What mysteries you shall compel us to expose!

It is the year 1785, and a gentleman of modest means has left London for the countryside, to look after his ailing wife.

Among his neighbours, tongues being to wag. Why does he keep a locked chest under the stairs? Is it really full of forbidden books? And what is exactly the matter with his wife?

For the most part, though, the couple live in peace -- until a letter arrives, threatening to cut off their livelihood and expel them from

The London House by Katherine Reay Book Review

Publication Date: November 2, 2021
Publisher: Harper Muse
Length: (368) pages
Format: Trade paperback, eBook, & audiobook 
Genre: Historical Fiction, Women’s Fiction

Synopsis

Uncovering a dark family secret sends one woman through the history of Britain’s World War II spy network and glamorous 1930s Paris to save her family’s reputation.

Caroline Payne thinks it’s just another day of work until she receives a call from Mat Hammond, an old college friend and historian. But pleasantries are cut short. Mat has uncovered a scandalous secret kept buried

The Wrecking Storm by Michael Ward Book Review

Synopsis

1641.

London.

The poisonous dispute pushing King Charles and Parliament towards Civil War is reaching the point of no return.

Law and order in the city are collapsing as Puritan radicals demand more concessions from the King. Bishops and lords are attacked in the streets as the Apprentice Boys run amok. Criminal gangs use the disorder to mask their activities while the people of London lock their doors and pray for deliverance.

No one is immune from the contagion. Two Jesuit priests are discovered in hiding and

The Shadows of Versailles by Cathie Dunn Book Review

Publication Date: November 20th, 2020
Publisher: Ocelot Press
Series: An Affair of the Poisons, Book One
Page Length: 251 (ebook) / 277 (pb)
Genre: historical fiction / mystery

Synopsis

Dazzled by Versailles. Broken by tragedy. Consumed by revenge.

When Fleur de La Fontaine attends the court of King Louis XIV for the first time, she is soon besotted with handsome courtier, Philippe de Mortain. She dreams of married life away from her uncaring mother, but Philippe keeps a secret from her.

The Custard Corpses by M J Porter Read An Excerpt

Publication Date: March 25th 2021
Publisher: M J Publishing
Page Length: TBC
Genre: Historical Mystery

Synopsis

A delicious 1940s mystery.

Birmingham, England, 1943.

While the whine of the air raid sirens might no longer be rousing him from bed every night, a two-decade-old unsolved murder case will ensure that Chief Inspector Mason of Erdington Police Station is about to suffer more sleepless nights.

Rags of Time by Michael Ward Book Review

Synopsis

London.

1639.

Thomas Tallant, a young and ambitious Spice Merchant, returns from India to find his city in turmoil.

A bitter struggle is brewing between King Charles I and Parliament, as England slides into civil war. The capital is simmering with dissent. The conflict is ready to boil over.

But Thomas soon has other troubles to contend with. A wealthy merchant, Sir Joseph Venell, is savagely killed; then his partner Sir

Night Train to Paris by Fliss Chester Book Review - Blog Tour

Publication date: November 26th, 2020
Publisher: Bookouture
Format: ebook
Series: Fen Churche Mysteries, Book 2
Genre: Historical Fiction, Cozy Mystery

Synopsis

Meet Fen Churche, as she steps off the night train with the sun rising over Paris. Cat whisperer, crossword puzzler... accidental detective?

Autumn, 1945. Fen cannot wait to see her beloved godmother Rose, who has invited Fen to stay with her in the city of lights. As she arrives, Fen is dreaming of strolls by the Seine, taking tea at the Eiffel Tower and

From A Paris Balcony by Ella Carey Book Review - Blog Tour

Publication date: 11th November 2020
Publisher: Bookouture
Genre: Historical Fiction

Synopsis

The small green chest was concealed at the back of her father’s wardrobe. Its hinges were made of brass that must once have shone, but now the surface was roughened and dull. As she opened the lock, there was only one thing inside: a letter, postmarked 1895, Paris.

England, 1895. Louisa West, a young beauty from Boston, looks like she has it all: a handsome husband, she is lady of Ashworth Manor and one day she’ll be a duchess. But in truth, her life is falling apart. Louisa’s

The House by the Lake by Ella Carey Book Review - Blog Tour

Publication Date: 20th October, 2020
Publisher: Bookouture
Format: ebook
Page Length:296 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction, WWII

Synopsis

The cobbled streets were dark as Isabelle hurried through the shadows, dodging in and out of doorways, constantly looking back. She worried the sound of her loudly thumping heart would give her away, as she peered around a corner. Suddenly, Isabelle was surrounded by Nazi soldiers, their black boots pounding on the pavement, barring her way… 

Paris Time Capsule by Ella Carey Book Review - Blog Tour

Publication Date: 6th October, 2020
Bookouture
Ebook

Synopsis

The parcel arrived on an ordinary morning in the mailbox of her New York apartment, postmarked Paris. It was wrapped in brown paper and tied with a silk ribbon. Little did she know that the old brass key and letter it contained were about to turn her life upside down…

1940, Paris. Life is getting desperate for young Isabelle de Florian. Alone with her best friend in her Paris apartment, Isabelle knows that they must seek safety or die. For months

The Hanged Man by Andrée Rushton Book Review

Synopsis

Castignac, a beautiful farmhouse in the South-West of France, is a shared holiday home for a group of Brits. The shocking death of Ian, one of the group’s members, taints the happy memories of the house and the group decides to try and sell it on. However, another member, Tessa, senses secrets and endeavors to find out more…

The present-day story is interwoven with chapters about the past, and the life story of the Castignac farmer is revealed through flashbacks to the First World War. The hidden history of this farmhouse is brought further into question when Tessa unveils a drawing of a

The Quality of Mercy by Malia Zaidi Book Blast - Blog Tour - Giveaway (US Only)

Publication Date: August 25, 2020
Book Baby
Paperback & eBook; 416 pages
Series: The Lady Evelyn Mysteries, Book 5
Genre: Historical Mystery

Synopsis

After years spent away, Lady Evelyn is at long last back in her home city of London and she has returned with a rather controversial plan. The Carlisle Detective Agency is born, and it does not take long for the bodies… ahem, cases, to start piling up. With her friend and assistant Hugh, Evelyn embarks on the quest to solve the crimes. Yet the London she encounters is not the London of her coddled youth, and she is forced to learn that there is

The Memory House: A Love Story in Two Acts by Jenetta James Book Review - Blog Tour - Giveaway (US only)

Publication Date: August 10, 2020
Quills and Quartos Publishing
Paperback & eBook; 276 pages
Genre: Historical Romance

Synopsis

A house in one of London’s most exclusive neighbourhoods is home to secrets, mysteries, and two love stories spanning two centuries.

In 1859, independent-minded Kitty Cathcart dreams of escaping Veronica Gardens but her father’s determination to marry her off to a rich man of his choosing forces her to seek happiness and find her own voice by other means. And then the handsome but poor Alex Faraday walks through the front doors.

The Woman in the Green Dress by Tea CooperBook Review - Blog Tour - Giveaway (US Only)

Publication Date: June 16, 2020
Thomas Nelson
Paperback, eBook, & AudioBook
Genre: Historical Fiction/Mystery

Synopsis

A cursed opal, a gnarled family tree, and a sinister woman in a green dress emerge in the aftermath of World War I.

After a whirlwind romance, London teashop waitress Fleur Richards can’t wait for her new husband, Hugh, to return from the Great War. But when word of his death arrives on Armistice Day, Fleur learns he has left her a sizable family fortune. Refusing to accept the inheritance, she heads to his beloved home