Jane and the Final Mystery by Stephanie Barron Blog Tour - Book Review

Publication Date: October 24, 2023
Publisher: Soho Crime
Series: Being a Jane Austen Mystery (Book 15)
Length: (312) pages
Format: Hardcover, eBook, & audiobook
ISBN: 978-1641295055
Genre: Historical Mystery, Austenesque Fiction

Synopsis

The final volume of the critically acclaimed mystery series featuring Jane Austen as amateur sleuth

March 1817: As winter turns to spring, Jane Austen’s health is in slow decline, and threatens to cease progress on her latest manuscript. But when her nephew Edward

War Sonnets by Susannah Willey Read an Excerpt

Publication Date: 5 July 2023
Publisher: Utter Loonacy Press
Page Length: 364
Genre: Historical Fiction / World War II

Synopsis

1942: In the war-torn jungles of Luzon, two soldiers scout the landscape. Under ordinary circumstances they might be friends, but in the hostile environment of World War II, they are mortal enemies.

Leo Baldwin, a US Army sergeant, writes sonnets. His sights are set on serving his country honorably and returning home in one piece. But the enemy is not always Japanese…Dooley wants Leo’s job, and he’ll do whatever it takes to get it…Leo finds himself fighting for his reputation and freedom.

Lieutenant Tadashi Abukara prefers haiku. He has vowed to serve his emperor honorably, but finds himself fighting a losing battle. Through combat, starvation, and the threat

Guest Post from Natalie Bayley, Author of Bone Rites

I'm pleased to be part of an October blog tour for Bone Rites, Natalie Bayley's historical fiction novel.

My participation is twofold: hosting a guest post today and providing a review closer to publication day.

Bone Rites is described as a dark, literary tale of love, loss and one woman’s obsessive fight for justice and redemption within a ruthless world and will be released on October 31st, 2023.

Natalie has written the following about some of the weird and wonderful facts she has uncovered while researching. Like me, I'm sure you will find it interesting. Thank you, Natalie.

Burning Secret by R J Lloyd Read An Excerpt

Publication Date: 24 May 2022
Publisher: Matador
Page Length: 384
Genre: Historical Fiction


Synopsis

Inspired by actual events, Burning Secret is a dramatic and compelling tale of ambition, lies and betrayal.

Born in the slums of Bristol in 1844, Enoch Price seems destined for a life of poverty and hardship-but he’s determined not to accept his lot.

Enoch becomes a bare-knuckle fighter in London’s criminal underworld. But in a city

Murder by Invitation by Verity Bright Book Review - Blog Tour

Publication Date: 27 September 2023
Publisher: Bookouture
Format: Print, e-book and audio
Series: A Lady Eleanor Swift Mystery #15
Genre: Historical Mystery, Cosy Mystery

Synopsis

Lady Swift has been cordially invited to a huge royal celebration in Little Buckford to toast the King’s birthday… but wait, is that a body in the village hall?

Lady Eleanor Swift and her loyal butler Clifford are busy lending a hand with preparations for the big day. The grand dining room at Henley Hall is overflowing with home-sewn flags, paint and royal rosettes. Even Gladstone the bulldog and his new friend Tomkins the ginger cat are invited!

Harlem After Midnight by Louise Hare Book Review

Publication Date: August 29, 2023
Publisher: Berkley Trade Paperback
Series: The Canary Club Mystery #2
Genre: Historical Mystery

Synopsis

As Mixed-race jazz singer Lena Aldridge arrives in New York she thought she left the seedy underworld of jazz clubs behind in London, but secrets and murder seem to have followed her across the Atlantic. After a chaotic journey at sea aboard the Queen Mary, Lena is happy to be back on dry land and eager to spend some time in the city with Will, her new flame, before returning to London.

But the prospect of love isn’t the only reason Lena decides to stay in New York—revelations from her time aboard the Queen Mary imbue

Buccaneer: The Early Life and Crimes of Philip Rake by Chris Thorndycroft Release Day Spotlight

Publication Date: August 1st, 2023
Publisher: Chris Thorndycroft
Series: The Molucca Star Quartet
Page Length: 232
Genre: Historical action and adventure

Synopsis

Bristol, 1713. When Philip Rake, pickpocket, smuggler and scoundrel is arrested and thrown in jail, he assumes he has a short walk to the gallows. But his father, a wealthy merchant who has remained a figure of mystery throughout his life, throws him a lifeline; become an indentured man on an expedition to the East Indies led by his friend, Woodes Rogers.

Woodes Rogers is looking for Libertatia - the fabled pirate kingdom of the legendary buccaneer Henry Avery - and the hoard of

Six in Six - 2023 Edition

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

Mystery in the Highlands by Lydia Travers Book Review - Blog Tour

Publication Date: July 26, 2023
Publisher: Bookouture
Series: The Scottish Ladies' Detective Agency #3
Format: Paperback, ebook and audio
Genre: Historical Mystery, Cosy

Synopsis

When members of a choir start dropping dead in the Highlands, Maud McIntyre and her lady’s maid Daisy go undercover to discover the inharmonious culprit. But will they uncover the killer before another murder takes place?

Edinburgh, 1911: When Maud and Daisy receive a letter from Daisy’s cousin, Clara, sharing her fears that two sudden deaths in her local choir weren’t accidental, at first Daisy thinks her cousin is overreacting. But Maud’s

Murder in Manhattan by Verity Bright Book Review - Blog Tour

Publication Date: 29 June 2023
Publisher: Bookouture
Format: Print, e-book and audio
Series: A Lady Eleanor Swift Mystery #14
Genre: Historical Mystery, Cosy Mystery

Synopsis

Glitzy parties, sightseeing at the Statue of Liberty and strolls through Central Park with Gladstone the bulldog… Lady Eleanor Swift is loving her first trip to the city that never sleeps, until she witnesses a murder!

After crossing from England on the SS Celestiana, Lady Eleanor Swift sets up her home-away-from-home in a lavish apartment in New York City. She is soon the toast of the town, with no high-class soirée complete without her presence. Of course, she drags

Murder on Oak Street by I. M. Foster Book Review - Blog Tour

Publication Date: November 4, 2022
Publisher: independent
Page Length: 503
Series: A South Shore Mystery
Genre: Historical Mystery

Synopsis

New York, 1904. After two years as a coroner’s physician for the city of New York, Daniel O'Halleran is more frustrated than ever. What’s the point when the authorities consistently brush aside his findings for the sake of expediency? So when his fiancée leaves him standing at the altar on their wedding day, he takes it as a sign that it's time to move on and eagerly accepts an offer

The Douglas Bastard by J R Tomlin Read an Excerpt - Blog Tour

Publication Date: April 26, 2022
Series: Archibald the Grim Series
Page Length: 185
Genre: Historical Fiction, Scottish Historical Fiction

Synopsis

Young Archibald, the Black Douglas's bastard son, returns from exile to a Scotland ravaged by war.

The war-hardened Knight of Liddesdale will teach him what he must learn. And with danger on every side, he must learn to sleep with one eye open and a claymore in his hand because even their closest ally may betray them...

The Roads of War by John Cameron Book Review

Synopsis

During the Civil War, Lewis McCormack has to return to his regiment’s training camp, leaving his wife Eliza to tend to their homestead. Rearing children, surviving a declining economy, and paying the family debts leads to intolerable hurdles and even more difficult decisions. Amid the chaos of war, Lewis just wants to stay alive—to make it back to his family.

Meanwhile, Private Davey Morris is detailed as courier and travels through war-torn Pennsylvania to complete his mission, while Private Tandy Strider uses his thirty-day wounded furlough to search for the young prostitute that he has deemed his soulmate.

As the war progresses, Lewis realizes that his

Cold Blows the Wind by Catherine Meyrick Read an Excerpt - Blog Tour

Publication Date: 28 April 2022
Publisher: Courante Publishing
Page Length: 425
Genre: Historical Fiction, Biographical Fiction, Women’s Fiction, Australian Fiction

Synopsis

Hobart Town 1878 – a vibrant town drawing people from every corner of the earth where, with confidence and a flair for storytelling, a person can be whoever he or she wants. Almost.

Ellen Thompson is young, vivacious and unmarried, with a six-month-old baby. Despite her fierce attachment to her family, boisterous and unashamed of their convict origins, Ellen dreams of marriage and disappearing into the ranks of the respectable. Then she meets

Murder in the Scottish Hills by Lydia Travers Book Review - Blog Tour

Publication Date: May 25,2023
Publisher: Bookouture
Series: The Scottish Ladies' Detective Agency #2
Format: Paperback, ebook and audio
Genre: Historical Mystery, Cosy

Synopsis

When Maud McIntyre and her lady’s maid Daisy travel into the Scottish Highlands, the last thing they expect to find is a body on the train… Will these keen amateur sleuths stop a murderer in his tracks?

Edinburgh, 1911: When Maud McIntyre receives a letter from a maid called Rose, sharing her suspicions that something strange is happening in the house where she works, she and her assistant Daisy immediately travel

Muskets and Masquerades by Lindsey S. Fera Read an Excerpt

Publication Date: 18th April 2023
Publisher: Pompkin Press
Series: Muskets Trilogy
Page Length: 500
Genre: Historical Fiction / Historical Romance

Synopsis

Jack and Annalisa are married only five months when, enroute to France, a shipwreck separates them. On different shores, each believes the other dead. But when Annalisa learns Jack is alive, she returns to America and discovers much has changed. After a betrayal, she flees town as her alter ego, Benjamin Cavendish, and joins the Continental Army. Unbeknownst to Annalisa, Jack has also joined the Continentals, harboring shameful secrets from his days in mourning. Against the backdrop of war with Britain, façades mount

The Scottish Ladies' Detective Agency by Lydia Travers Book Review - Blog Tour

Publication Date: April 27,2023
Publisher: Bookouture
Series: The Scottish Ladies' Detective Agency #1
Format: Paperback, ebook and audio
Genre: Historical Mystery, Cosy

Synopsis

When Maud McIntyre sets up her own private detective agency, she never imagines her first case will involve murder… A mystery in the Highlands? The Scottish Ladies’ Detective Agency is on the case!

Edinburgh, 1911: When Maud McIntyre and her lady’s maid, Daisy, form a detective agency, they never dream their first case will take place at a glamorous house in the Scottish Highlands. But when the Duchess of