Six in Six - 2024 Edition

Another July has come around which means it's time for this fun meme hosted by Jo @ The Book Jotter, now in its twelfth year.

The aim of Six in Six is to share what we've read in the first six months of the year by choosing six of the categories given and listing six books under each category. More information and the list of categories can be found here.

This meme is a great way to look back on what you've read so far in the year and to see any emerging trends. Looking at what I've read over the past six months,

Under a Cloud by Luv Lubker Read an Excerpt

Publication Date: April 30th, 2024
Publisher: Historium Press
Series: The Rival Courts
Pages: 318
Genre: Historical Fiction
Audiobook: Will be narrated by Ella McNish, Jamie Collette and a full cast.

Book Description

Vicky's father, Albert, the Prince Consort, has just died, leaving her and her family under a heavy cloud of grief, without their dearest friend and advisor, at a most critical time: The political horizon grows dark with storm clouds at the entry of Bismarck to Germany's political stage in 1862.

Will Fritz's courage stand the test as he confronts the spider in its web? Is Prussia

Death in a Scottish Castle by Lydia Travers Book Review

Publication Date: July 11, 2024
Publisher: Bookouture
Series: The Scottish Ladies' Detective Agency #4
Format: Paperback, ebook and audio
Genre: Historical Mystery, Cosy

Book Description

When Maud McIntyre and her assistant Daisy travel to a remote Scottish castle, the last thing they expect to find is a locked room murder mystery. Can they prise open this case and catch a killer?

Scotland, 1912: When Maud and Daisy travel to Clachan Castle on the Isle of Mull to investigate the theft of a valuable statuette, at first the case seems straightforward. But when their prime suspect, bad-tempered fellow

The Sea Witch Voyages by Helen Hollick Spotlight

Publisher: Penmore Press & Taw River Press
Series: 6 in the series & 1 prequel novella
Genre: Nautical Adventure with a touch of Supernatural Fantasy
Note: Contains adult language and behaviour.

Book Description

Trouble follows Captain Jesamiah Acorne like a ship’s wake...

The early 1700s: from the sun of the Caribbean to the eerie mists of 

The Virgins of Venice by Gina Buonaguro Spotlight

Today, the spotlight shines on Gina Buonaguro's novel set in sixteenth-century Venice, where one young noblewoman dares to resist the choices made for her.

Publication Date: December 13, 2022
Publisher: HarperAvenue
Pages: 432
Genre: Historical Fiction
Audiobook narrator: Carlotta Brentan

Book Description

Venice in 1509 is on the brink of war. The displeasure of Pope Julius II is a continuing threat to the republic, as is the barely contained fighting in the countryside. Amid this turmoil, noblewoman Justina Soranzo, just sixteen, hopes to make a rare love marriage with her sweetheart, Luca Cicogna.

The Sweet Blue Distance by Sara DonatiBook Review

I've been meaning to read Sara Donati's Wilderness series for ages, but when confronted by those six, large books on the library shelf, I always moved on; one day, I'll tackle them. I had more success with Donati's two book series (soon to be three) known as the Waverly Place novels, The Gilded Hour and Where the Light Enters. These, I enjoyed immensely and immediately became a Sara Donati fan, which was why I jumped at the chance to read her latest release.

The Sweet Blue Distance follows midwife, Elizabeth Caroline (Carrie) Ballentyne, who in 1857, accompanied by her brother, Nathan, journeys west from New York to Santa Fe, New Mexico, to work with Doctor Samuel Markham.

She leaves her close knit family behind to escape events of her past. These are hinted at but not fully revealed until much later when

Zig Zag Woman by Roberta Tracy Read an Excerpt

Publication Date: April 16, 2024
Publisher: Historium Press
Pages: 248 pp.
Genre: Historical Mystery

Book Description

The last thing LAPD Detectives McManus and Tyson expect to find behind Pantages Theatre is a body rolled up in a blanket. The last thing Margaret Morehouse, one of the city's first policewoman with arrest powers, expects to do is join the investigation. When a deadly explosion at the L. A. Times derails their efforts, Margaret finds herself at a crossroads and strikes out on her own, a path leading to delusion and self-discovery on a vaudeville stage. Her husband's nephew Leland further complicates the situation by sharing a ransom note and confiding his

The Dream Collector: Sabrine & Vincent van Gogh by R.w. Meek Read an Excerpt

Publication Date: April 30th, 2024
Publisher: Historium Press
Series: Book II
Pages: 651
Genre: Historical Fiction

Book Description

Sabrine, hospitalized for five years at the infamous Salpêtrière Asylum for Women, gains her release due to intervention of her sister Julie Forette and a young Sigmund Freud. The reunited sisters are introduced to the dazzling art milieu of 1886 Paris, and soon become close friends to the leading Impressionists. Sabrine attracts a cult following as a poetess, the enigmatic "Haiku Princess." Seemingly cured by Freud of her Grand Hysteria, Sabrine soon enters into a tumultuous relationship with Vincent van

The Curse of Maiden Scars by Nicolette Croft Read an Excerpt

Publication Date: June 4, 2024
Publisher: Historium Press
Series: Maiden, Mother, Crone
Pages: 286
Coming in August 2024: Audiobook narrated by Liz May Brice
Genre: Historical Fiction / Women’s Fiction

Book Description

Sixteen-year-old Renna Covert toils away in the shadows of a Yorkshire workhouse, her days filled with the mundane task of shelling cotton and the dangerous duty of scouting for punters. One fateful night, she crosses paths with two sailors and finds herself thrust into the heart of a chilling encounter at the local asylum.

These harrowing experiences catalyze Renna’s journey, promising newfound

Murder in Mayfair by Verity Bright Book Review

Publication Date: 27 June 2024
Publisher: Bookouture
Format: Print, e-book and audio
Series: A Lady Eleanor Swift Mystery #18
Genre: Historical Mystery, Cosy Mystery

Book Description

Tea and cake at The Ritz, a stolen pearl necklace and a missing dead body… Lady Swift is back on the case!

Lady Eleanor Swift has been eagerly awaiting her trip in a hot air balloon to take in London’s amazing sights. But what she witnesses instead is a murder! From way up high she sees a man in a dark coat shoot another man dead, but by the time she arrives back on the ground, Eleanor can find no trace of the body. Just the broken piece of a pearl necklace

Trouble in Assisi by Heidi Eljarbo Spotlight

Today, the spotlight is shining on another winning combination of history, mystery and art: the second book in Heidi Eljarbo's Fabiola Bennett mysteries.

Publication Date: 28th May 2024
Publisher: Independently published
Series: A Fabiola Bennett Mystery
Pages: ~ 225 pages
Genre: Historical Mystery / Dual Timeline Mystery

Blurb

Assisi, 1973.

On art historian Fabiola Bennett’s first day in Assisi, a local gentleman takes her aside to ask for advice about a painting that has wondrously appeared in the basilica’s bell tower. So much for enjoying relaxing days filled

Murder on West Main by I. M. Foster A Snippet Tour

A knot tightened in his stomach, for it wasn't like her to seek him out in this manner.

Publication Date: December 20th, 2023
Series: A South Shore Mystery
Pages: 368

Blurb

When Colin Brissedon arrives at work one summer morning to find his new boss murdered, all eyes turn to him. After all, the man had threatened to fire him just a few days before, and his colleagues are more than happy to tell the tale. Kathleen admits her brother is no angel, but she can’t believe he would sink this low. Fortunately for them, neither does Daniel O’Halleran, the village’s new coroner’s assistant. Of course, he needs more than his gut feeling to prove it.

But that’s not going to be an easy task, considering the victim does not appear to