Tag: historical mystery

Book of the Week, cozy crime, historical, mystery

Book of the Week: Deadly Summer Nights

veritywilde

Happy Tuesday everyone and today’s pick is a first in series historical cozy crime that I picked up when I was spending that Waterstones gift card before Christmas.

Our setting for Deadly Summer Nights is a holiday resort in up state New York. It’s 1953 and it’s the second season that Elizabeth has been managing Haggerman’s Catskill’s Resort. Her mother is a former actress and dancer and inherited the resort – and although she’s using her connections to book entertainment acts for the resort, it’s her daughter who is doing all the hard work on the day to day. And because it’s the 1950s and she’s a woman, not everyone is pleased about that – or prepared to listen to her. The last thing they need is a dead body at the resorts, but that’s what they’ve got. And in the dead man’s cabin the chief of police finds a copy of The Communist Manifesto and suddenly everyone is claiming that the resort is a hotbed of communists. But Elizabeth isn’t convinced and sets out to try and figure out what happened herself.

I really, really enjoyed this. The setting is fun and a bit different – even if I was really annoyed on Elizabeth’s behalf at all of these useless men who wanted to dismiss her. I do like a historical murder mystery and I haven’t read a lot that are set in mid-century America outside of a big city like New York. And the resort setting is a lot of fun whether it’s modern or historical- I’ve read Kathi Daley’s series set on a resort and I would happily read more if they appear.

This is also my first Vicki Delaney novel – although I have read one of her books under her Eva Gates pen name. There is only one other book in this series so far – and I will try and get hold of it to see what happens next. This has the start of a promising love triangle going on and I hope there’ll be clues in that about whether there will be more – Delaney seems to have a lot of series going on under her various names and I don’t know enough to know which ones are still active.

My copy came from the lovely cozy crime bookshelf in Waterstones Piccadilly, and I think it’s going to be a special order if you want the paperback version. And it’s also on Kindle and Kobo.

Happy Reading!

Book of the Week

Book of the Week: Death at the Dress Rehearsal

veritywilde

Yes I’m cheating because I finished this on Monday. No I’m not sorry. Not even remotely this time!

It’s 1970 and Edward Lowe and John Le Breton, two aging actors are on location filming a not very good BBC sitcom called Floggit and Leggit . But when Edward stumbles across a body he’s convinced the death is not the accident the local police think it is and even though they’re not really friends to start with (you could say they tolerate each other) he convinces John to help him investigate. Soon they’re crisscrossing the country in their gaps in filming and the body count starts to mount. Can they figure out who is behind the deaths before the killer strikes again?

Now if you’re anything like me, you’re reading that blurb and thinking hang on, that sounds like Arthur Lowe and John Le Mesurier solving crimes around the filming of Dad’s Army. And then about ten seconds later I had a sample in my kindle and about 30 seconds after that I’d read enough to decide to buy it. And that is definitely the vibe. It’s a pretty solidly plotted cozy crime novel with plenty of twists and an interesting and slightly fractious duo of aging actors at the centre of it where the dynamic is definitely a mix of Captain Mainwaring and Sergeant Wilson and the generally accepted personas of the two actors behind them. The sitcom is more Lovejoy meets open all hours or last of the summer wine but there’s actually not as much action from the set as you might expect. I really enjoyed it – and if I hadn’t been trying to finish Astor before I went away for another few days (and if there had been less action in the F1) I would have finished it yesterday. I haven’t read anything else from Stuart Douglas, but I’m already looking forward to the sequel next year.

I bought my copy on Kindle – it was £1.99 when I bought it last week, but it’s up at £5.99 at time of writing. And it’s also in Kobo (for the same price as Kindle) and available in paperback too, although the only one of the central London Waterstones that claims to have it is Piccadilly and the only Foyles is the main one at Charing Cross Road.

Happy Reading!

series

Series Redux: Lady Emily mysteries

veritywilde

The eighteenth in the Lady Emily series came out this week, so it’s an ideal time for me to point you back at my series post about Tasha Alexander’s (very) late Victorian and early Edwardian sleuth and ancient history enthusiast. I’m still a couple of books behind – I’ve actually only read one more than I had back when I wrote that last post, because the later books remain a right pain to try and get hold of and mostly in hardback to boot an you know the state of my to-read pile so you can see my issue. Anyway, book 18 sees Emily and Colin in the Bavarian Alps, staying within sight of Mad King Ludwig’s castle and solving a mystery with its roots in the past.

bingeable series, series

Series Update: New Flavia de Luce

veritywilde

Yes it’s Friday, no this isn’t really a series post. Well it is, sort of. Let me explain. Back in May 2022 I wrote a series post for Alan Bradley’s Flavia de Luce books, and in it I said that as there hadn’t been a new book since 2019, I thought the series might be finished… but no! After a six year wait, we have an eleventh book, and it came out this week.

A quick recap for those who haven’t read any Flavia (or in fact my previous post about her). She’s still not quite in her teens yet and a prodigy when it comes to sciences, but in most other areas very much as mature as you would expect for her age, especially when it comes to interpersonal relationships. In this latest instalment, Flavia is still saddled with her even younger cousin Undine, who is desperate to be part of all of Flavia’s activities no matter how hard Flavia tries to stop her or put her off. When a village resident is found dead after eating poisoned mushrooms and Flavia’s own housekeeper is the prime suspect, it is only natural that Flavia starts to investigate herself, which leads her into areas that she could never have suspected.

The next thing to say is that you should not read this as your first book in the series. Alan Bradley writes lovely prose, and his descriptions are amazing, but this has got a lot of threads to it that call back to previous books in the series but also goes in a slightly different direction to the usual historical mystery vein of the series. I enjoyed reading it – it was great to be back in Flavia’s world – although I had to do a quick refresh of where we’d left her as it had been so long. And I would say as well that this doesn’t feel like it’s a final hurrah either. I mean it could be, but there are definitely options.

You can buy What Time the Sexton’s Spade Doth Rust on Kindle, Kobo and it should be in the shops too – but as I said, if you haven’t read any of the series before, don’t start here. The others are usually fairly easy to get hold of in bookstores, although they’re now on their third cover style (at least) with this new one so don’t expect to be able to get a matching set…

Have a great weekend everyone!

bingeable series, books, detective

Bingeable Series: Reverend Shaw mysteries

veritywilde

Happy Friday everyone, I’m back with another series post and this is one that may not be a surprise if you’ve been paying attention to the lists the last few weeks.

These are a series of six books set in the 1930s following a clergyman who, in book one, is on a train where someone is murdered and finds himself drawn into the investigation. And then across the course of the next few books he finds himself again drawn into mysteries and murders of various kinds.

I read the first one of these a few years back and in my BotW review I said that it was really trying to make you think it was a British Library Crime Classic. They’ve updated the cover style since then although when you get A Third Class Murder it still has the original one – as you can see from the photo. It was a standalone title at the point that I read it and there are now another five – some of which are more towards the thriller, some are more straight up murder mysteries. If you have read a lot of Golden Age crime you can spot where some of the inspiration is coming from, but they’re basically very easy to read, enjoyable 1930s set mysteries that are perhaps a little derivative but that are also missing some of the problematic attitudes and language you find in the genuine article.

All six are in Kindle Unlimited at the moment and I suspect a seventh will appear at some point – there is certainly the set up for it at the end of book six.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Series I love

Series I Love: Crown Colony

veritywilde

The eighth book in the Crown Colony series came out this week, so it’s the perfect time to talk about Ovidia Yu’s historical mystery series set in Singapore.

Our heroine is Su Lin, who in the first book steps in as governess for the acting Governor of Singapore. Su Lin’s family life is complicated – both of her parents are dead and she lives with her grandmother, but because she had polio as a child she’s seen as unlucky. She’s been educated at the mission school and her family are influential in the Chinese community so she has an outsider type perspective on almost everyone in someway but also understands a lot too.

I’ve read six of the eight – and that’s taken me through from the 1930s until the end of World War 2. There are a lot of mystery series set in the 1930s, and a few of them have tackled the war period – but I can’t think of another one that’s set out side of Europe. I loved the Singaporean setting of Ovidia Yu’s Aunty Lee series, and it’s even more fascinating in the past. I’m a history graduate but most of the bits that I’ve really studied have been British or French history – so it’s always really interesting to learn something new as well has having a good mystery.

The six Su Lin Mysteries that I have read have all been in Kindle Unlimited at some point – and I’m hoping that the arrival of number eight means that number seven with become a KU title soon, and as soon as it does, I’ll be all over it.

Have a great weekend everyone.

bingeable series

Series Update: Lady Hardcastle

veritywilde

Good news for fans of T E Kinsey’s Lady Hardcastle series – the eleventh book came out this week. I’ve written about the series before, so do feel free to go back and read those posts, but in the latest book we’ve reached 1912 and a murder in Bristol sees our intrepid duo head to London. I’ve already finished it – and it’s pretty good and I also appreciated all the historical notes at the end, which cleared up something I had been puzzled by. Oh and the ladies’ London residence is just off Fitzroy Square, which as you know I walk through on the way too and from work every day and in another book series is where Maisie Dobbs has her office. These are on Kindle Unlimited, including the latest one.

A fox in Fitzroy square in April
Book of the Week, books

Book of the Week: The Darkest Sin

veritywilde

I said yesterday I didn’t know what I was going to write about today, but it all became clear to me while I was trying to get to sleep last night, even if this is slightly rule breaking.

It’s rule breaking because The Darkest Sin is not the first book in the series – but I didn’t realise that when I bought it and I haven’t read the first in the series. I picked this off the shelf to take on holiday because it is set in Florence and we were going to Tuscany so it seemed fitting – and it was really good.

Cesare Aldo is an investigator at one of the criminal courts in Florence, a city full of factions, alliances and secrets. When he is sent to a convent to investigate reports of night-time intruders, he finds rivalries and secrets – and that’s even before the body of a naked man is found inside the convent. Alongside this, a constable of the same court finds the body of a missing colleague, that was pulled from the river near his childhood home. who would have dared kill a court officers – and if Carlo Strocchi can find out, it could secure him the promotion he yearns for. But Florence is dangerous and treacherous and the answers could prove a bigger problem than the mysteries.

Having not read the prior book in the series, I don’t know how much of the backstory in this had already been revealed in that – and what would have been a twist to a reader already familiar with Aldo. But going in blind, this was a twisty and page turning thriller with clever, well-drawn characters – not just in the main characters but in the supporting roles too. Sixteenth Century Florence is also a character in this – you can hear it and smell it and sense the danger lurking all around.

As I said yesterday, it was a doing and seeing sort of holiday not a lazing around one – so I was still finishing this on the plane home, and I was actually annoyed when the plane landed sooner than I expected and I had to leave it unfinished for a few hours while we made our way home. I’ll definitely be looking for more of these – I want to find out what the first book told you and see what happens next!

You can get The Darkest Sin on Kindle and Kobo and in paperback. There are three books in the series available now – with a fourth coming in the autumn.

Happy Reading!

books, Recommendsday

Recommendsday: February Quick Reviews

veritywilde

We’re into March so here we are with another set of reviews of a couple of books that I read last month that I haven’t already talked about. And I’ve already talked about a lot of books, so points to me for finding three more to talk about!

A Murder Inside by Frances Brody

This is the first in a new series from the author of the Kate Shackleton series. This though is set in the 1960s and our lead character is the newly appointed governor of a women’s open prison which is taking over the premises of a former borstal. And of course there’s a suspicious death – and the newly arrived residents come under suspicion. I really enjoyed this – I ended up staying up way too late on a work night trying to get to the end, before I eventually gave up and I’m looking forward to a sequel, although I hope it doesn’t mean no more Kate Shackleton books.

Grumpy Fake Boyfriend by Jackie Lau

This is the first book of Lau’s pair of books about the Kwan sisters. The sister in this is Naomi who needs a fake boyfriend to take for a long weekend at a Lake House with her friends – and her ex-boyfriend and his new girlfriend. The fake boyfriend in question is Will, a massive introvert and science fiction author who happens to be friends with Naomi’s brother. Will is only doing this because he doesn’t have many friends and doesn’t want to risk losing one of the ones he has, but despite the fact that the two of them are chalk and cheese, there’s clearly some sort of spark between them. I liked the split narrative in this one – and watching the two of them figure out how to navigate a relationship – fake or otherwise – all while under the full glare of Naomi’s friends. It’s not the longest novel but it’s great fun and it zips by. I read it in a day and went straight on to the second book!

Lady Thief of Belgravia by Alison Gray*

This features a thief and an aristocrat teaming up in 1870s London to try and steal back some important documents. And firstly, let me just say that the cover is beautiful. But beyond that this is a bit of a weird one for me because I just couldn’t figure out what it was trying to be – and that’s why my plot summary is so short! The pacing was wrong for it to be a romance, and equally the espionage plot was too thin for it to be a mystery. And because of the fact it hadn’t decided what it wanted to be, both sides fell flat for me. There’s not enough characterisation and character development in either of the leads – you don’t really ever know why Della and Cole are into each other or what they like about each other. The turning Della into a lady lessons are a nice device but she seems able to grasp a ridiculously large amount of knowledge in not a lot of time and the combination of all that just made it all just a stretch too far for me. Never mind.

And that’s your lot – the BotW were The Belting Inheritance, Knife Skills for Beginners, The Love Wager and At First Spite. And the other recommendsday posts were about mid-twentieth century careers books and xxxx.

books, new releases, reviews

Bonus review: A Death in Diamonds

veritywilde

Instead of a series post this week – and because it came out yesterday and I read it the other week, today I’m doing a quick review of the new Her Majesty The Queen Investigates mystery – because even though it’s the fourth in the series it can absolutely be read standalone. And that’s because this time it’s entirely set in the past. It’s 1957 and the Queen is still adjusting to being in charge, and Britain is still adapting to the post war, post colonial world. Then two bodies turn up on Chelsea and there’s a connection to the household. So of course she takes an interest and tries to find out what happened. This time she’s helped by a young secretary, working at the palace after an interesting war and busy trying to deal with the ‘men in moustaches’.

I said in one of my earlier posts about this series that I wondered how this series would carry on – and maybe this is the answer – going back and doing more historical-set mysteries. Because this was pretty good. There is plenty of palace manoeuvring along side the mystery and it keeps you reading to find out what happens there as well as who did the crime. Fingers crossed there’s more where this came from.

Have a great weekend everyone.