The Wrecking Storm by Michael Ward
Book Review
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
Down a Dark River by Karen Odden
Book Review + Blog Tour Giveaway (US Only)
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Series: An Inspector Corravan Mystery #1
Format: Hardcover and ebook, 363 pages
Genre: Historical Mystery
Synopsis
In the vein of C. S. Harris and Anne Perry, Karen Odden’s mystery introduces Inspector Michael Corravan as he investigates a string of vicious murders that has rocked Victorian London’s upper crust.
London, 1878. One April morning, a small boat bearing a young woman’s corpse floats down the murky waters of the Thames. When the victim is identified as Rose Albert, daughter of a prominent judge, the Scotland Yard director gives the case to Michael
The Demon in the House by Angela Thirkell
Book Review
Wild Strawberries by Angela Thirkell
Book Review
Synopsis Pretty, impecunious Mary Preston, newly arrived as a guest of her Aunt Agnes at the magnificent wooded estate of Rushwater, falls head over heels for handsome playboy David Leslie. Meanwhile, Agnes and her mother, the eccentric matriarch Lady Emily, have hopes of a different, more suitable match for Mary. At the lavish Rushwater dance party, her future happiness hangs in the balance... My Thoughts
I think I may be one of the few people that did not fully appreciate the comedy or the romance in this novel. Having enjoyed High Rising, the first book in the series, I looked forward to this one. Although it started promisingly when Lady Emily and her family are introduced through the observations of the local vicar, I didn't take to
November is AusReading Month!
I hope to read and review as many books by Australian authors as I can and perhaps post reviews for books I read earlier this year but didn't review.
A quick sort through my TBR has revealed I have a few books by Australian authors, with a few others ordered from the library that may be available in time. Not sure if I'll be able to read them all, but at
A Letter From Pearl Harbor by Anna Stuart
Book Review
Publisher: Bookouture
Format: ebook, print and audio
Genre: Historical Fiction, World War II Synopsis
Ninety-eight-year-old Ginny McAllister’s last wish is for her granddaughter to complete a treasure hunt containing clues to her past. Clues that reveal her life as one of the first female pilots at Pearl Harbor, and a devastating World War Two secret.
1941, Pearl Harbor: On the morning of December 7th, Ginny is flying her little yellow plane above the sparkling seas when she spots an unknown aircraft closing in on her. She recognises the red symbol of the Japanese fighter planes almost too late. Somehow, she manages to land unscathed but
Six Degrees of Separation: From What Are You Going Through to At Summer's End
This month the starting point is What Are You Going Through by Sigrid Nunez, which centres around a woman dying of cancer. This brought to mind The Winter House by Nicci Gerrard where a group of friends travel to Scotland to be with another friend who is also terminally ill with cancer.
Scotland is the link to my next book, Strings of Murder by Oscar de Muriel, the first in a Victorian mystery series that features a mismatched pair of detectives. McGray believes that the supernatural is behind many of their cases and Frey believes there is a
High Rising by Angela Thirkell
Book Review
Successful lady novelist Laura Morland and her boisterous young son Tony set off to spend Christmas at her country home in the sleepy surrounds of High Rising. But Laura's wealthy friend and neighbour George Knox has taken on a scheming secretary whose designs on marriage to her employer threaten the delicate social fabric of the village. Can clever, practical Laura rescue George from Miss Grey's clutches and, what's more, help his daughter
Every Word Unsaid By Kimberly Duffy
Book Review
Publisher: Bethany House
Format: Trade paperback, eBook, & audiobook
Length: (368) pages
Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery & Suspense, Inspirational Fiction
Synopsis Augusta Travers has spent the last three years avoiding the stifling expectations of New York society and her family's constant disappointment. As the nation's most fearless--and reviled--columnist, Gussie travels the country with her Kodak camera and spins stories for women unable to leave hearth and home. But when her adventurous nature lands her in the middle of a scandal, an opportunity to leave America offers the perfect escape.
Champagne Widows by Rebecca Rosenberg
Book Review + Blog Tour Giveaway (US only)
Publisher: Lion Heart Publishing
Genre: Historical Fiction
Triple-gold-medal-winning author Rebecca Rosenberg serves up a triumphant tale of talent and ambition, love and loss, betrayal and redemption, and accepting yourself and others for who they are.
Synopsis
Champagne, France, 1800
Twenty-year-old Barbe-Nicole has inherited Le Nez (an uncanny sense of smell that makes her picky, persnickety, and particularly perceptive) from her great-grandfather, a renowned champagne maker.
Her parents, however, see Le Nez as a curse
Traitor's Knot by Cryssa Bazos
Read an Excerpt
Publisher: W.M. Jackson Publishing
Page Length: 450 Pages
Series: Quest for Three Kingdoms
Genre: Historical Fiction/ Historical Romance
Synopsis
England 1650: Civil War has given way to an uneasy peace . . .
Royalist officer James Hart refuses to accept the tyranny of the new government after the execution of King Charles I, and to raise funds for the restoration of the king’s son, he takes to the road as a highwayman.
Elizabeth Seton has long been shunned for being a traitor’s daughter. In the midst of the new order, she risks her life by sheltering
Dare the Dark by Bruce Mitchell
Book Review
Sydney, January 1879.
A body with its eye hacked out is found in a suburban street, and a cryptic note promises more. Detectives Kennedy and Walsh scour the city for a crazed killer dubbed ‘Doctor Hacksaw’ by the press.
A female suffrage march turns ugly and Kennedy’s wife Mary defends three accused women in a courtroom drama. Walsh’s partner Victoria Chen has information on a crime boss that could get her killed.
Lives spiral out of control as the body count