Lady Anne and the Haunted Schoolgirl by Victoria Hamilton and Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes

I've enjoyed the previous books in this series, but something changed in the way Anne and Tony react that bothers me.  I liked the attraction between the two in the earlier books, but the presentation this time felt both blatant (nothing graphic) and unnecessary to the plot.  Too much time on their eagerness to pursue wedded bliss.  Anne didn't really need Tony until the end.

Lady Anne and the Haunted Schoolgirl is the latest in a light entertaining series that always has Anne uncover a "supernatural" mystery.  

Historic mystery.  Print length:  302 pages 

Thanks to NetGalley and Beyond the Word Publ.

From blurb:  A Best Book of 2022 by the New York Public Library • One of the Best SFF Books of 2022 (Gizmodo) • One of the Best SF Mysteries of 2022 (CrimeReads) • A GoodReads Choice Award finalist for Best Science Fiction!

A crew that responds to a distress call finds the spaceliner that disappeared over twenty years ago.  Despite the weirdness of seeing dead people floating around inside, Claire Kovalik and crew decide to claim the ship for salvage, but they have no idea what they're taking on.  

My opinion is drastically different from the blurb above.  I didn't care for the protagonist, her crew didn't move beyond one dimensional, and an interesting premise turned into something less.  There you go, we all have different opinions, and mine may be in the minority.

Science Fiction.  2022.  Print length:  345 pages.

The Gods of Gotham by Lyndsay Faye

The Gods of Gotham (Timothy Wilde #1) by Lyndsay Faye 

From description:  1845. New York City forms its first police force. The great potato famine hits Ireland. These two seemingly disparate events will change New York City. Forever. 

Timothy Wilde, a young bar tender, has saved his money and hopes to eventually be worthy of asking Mercy Underhill to marry him.  A devastating fire burns his dreams to ash.  His money is gone, his imagined future destroyed, his face disfigured.

Now jobless and homeless, his brother Valentine signs him up with the newly created "copper stars," and a reluctant Timothy becomes part of what will become the NYPD.  The idea of a police force is anathema to many and distrusted by more.  

Political corruption is rife, and Timothy's brother is deeply involve in political high jinks; the setting is largely in areas of extreme poverty, crime, and debauchery; religious and racial divides are extreme, bitter, and dangerous; the immigration problem of the time was the influx of the detested Irish.

Chapters are preceded by excerpts from political and religious tracts of the time and letters excoriating Catholics and Irish.  The Gotham that Faye creates is rich in historical (and often extremely unpleasant) details: homeless children, poverty, corruption, drug use, sexual exploitation, and violence.

Plot:  During one of Timothy's rounds a young girl of about ten in a blood covered night gown runs into him.  Bird's presence will change everything for Timothy and leads to an investigation involving murdered children.  As it turns out, Timothy's strength is his persistent compulsion to solve crimes. 

While the mystery plot is interesting and twisty, just as intriguing is the look into the past in which so many of the problems present nearly 175 years ago are still prevalent today.  Faye's language and atmospheric creation of 1845 New York immerses the reader in an environment that feels genuine.  I will be reading more in this series.

Lyndsay Faye's Jane Steele, a fascinating re-imagining of Jane Eyre is also wonderful, evocative, and darkly funny.

And don't miss Faye's The Paragon Hotel, a stand alone that will be published in January.  Reader, I loved it.  

Purchased.

Historical Mystery.  2012.  Print length:  408 pages.

A Rustle of Silk and Death Notes

A Rustle of Silk by Alys Clare introduces a new historic mystery series featuring Gabriel Taverner, whose life as a ship's surgeon is no longer possible after a head injury results in irremediable sea sickness.

He settles in rural Devon near his family and begins life as a country physician.  Asked to accompany the local coroner and give his opinion on a decomposed body, Gabriel discovers a connection that could have a serious impact on the sister he loves.

Overall, a quick read of a new series that may improve as it develops.  I hope to see more weight given to several of the secondary characters in the next one.

I've only read a couple of books by Alys Clare, each one a part of two separate medieval mystery series she writes.  I was glad to be reminded that I'd enjoyed those books.

read 9/8/16; review scheduled for Dec. 16

NetGalley/Severn House 

Historic Mystery.  Jan. 1, 2017.  Print length: 256 pages.

Death Notes by Sarah Rayne is another debut series.  

From Severn House:  Introducing professional researcher Phineas Fox in the first of a brand-new series of chilling mysteries.
Phineas Fox has mixed feelings when he’s asked to research the infamous 19th-century violinist Roman Volf for a TV documentary. Hanged for his part in the assassination of Tsar Alexander II in 1881, Volf was a notorious criminal and womaniser, whose glittering talent was undermined by his scandalous private life. However, on uncovering evidence which suggests that Volf could not have been involved in the Tsar’s murder, Phin’s investigations lead him to the west coast of Ireland – and a series of intriguing, interlocking mysteries reaching from 1881 to the present day. 

A number of twists in this one, and as many involve the present day as the past.  

read 9/7/16; review scheduled for Dec. 16 

NetGalley/Severn House

Mystery.  Jan. 1, 2017.  Print length:  256 pages.  (yep, I checked--both books are 256 pages)

The Shattered Tree and The Twilight Wife

The Shattered Tree by Charles Todd is the 8th book in the Bess Crawford series by the mother and son team who write as Charles Todd.

Set in 1918 in the last throes of WWI, Bess Crawford, a nursing sister, overhears a wounded French soldier make an outburst in perfect German.  When Bess questions this, it is suggested that the soldier may have been raised in Alsace Lorraine, annexed by the Germans in 1870, which would mean that speaking German would have become a necessity.  

When Bess is injured by a sniper, she is sent to Paris to convalesce and coincidentally catches a glimpse of the soldier dressed in an American uniform.  Her curiosity is again aroused, and she decides to investigate.  What is the man's story?  Is he a German spy--the one all of Paris has been searching for?  

Hampered by her injury and a lack of her usual resources, Bess nevertheless proceeds in her own investigation (with quite a few subplots).   Sort of hampered.  Bess sure gets around after being shot, treated, then operated on for an infection caused by a portion of a button that was not removed during the first treatment.  Tougher than many of the injured soldiers, our Bess.

The Todds write two series that have their beginnings in WWI, the original series features Inspector Ian Rutledge; later they added the Bess Crawford series.  

The content and style of the two series differ, and I've always preferred the original series, which is darker and more psychological.  DI Ian Rutledge is a victim of shell-shock and must struggle with his hallucinations of Hamish, who functions as a kind of Greek chorus.  The earlier novels in the series deal with some of the most detrimental effects of WWI on both soldiers and society at large.  The Inspector Rutledge novels are complex and intricately plotted--well-rounded characters and atmospheric settings.

The Bess Crawford series is more mystery and less psychological with more complicated, but less complex plots.  They come across as intense cozy mysteries--still dealing with the casualties of war, but as sidelines to the mystery plots.

Library copy.

Historic Mystery.  2016.  304 pages.


The Twilight Wife by A.J. Banner is yet another woman with amnesia story, but a rather predictable one that doesn't feel realistic.  While it does begin with interest, the middle and the conclusion lose the sense of genuine suspense.  Wrapped up nicely and tied with a bow.

The premise is interesting, if difficult to believe, but the characters had no real depth.

The novel was readable, but the comparison to Sharon Bolton is far-fetched.  This is just my personal view of the book.  There are many positive reviews.

NetGalley/Touchstone

Mystery.  Dec. 27, 2016.  Print length:  304 pages.

The Chronicles of Christoval Alvarez by Ann Swinfen

There are seven books so far in this historical series that takes place in Elizabethan England.   

The Secret World of Christoval Alvarez, the first book in the series, deals with Christoval's inadvertent involvement in the Babington Plot.  

Brief description:  It is the year 1586. England is awash with traitors, plotting to assassinate the Queen and bring about a foreign invasion. The young physician Christoval Alvarez, a refugee from the horrors of the Portuguese Inquisition, is coerced into becoming a code-breaker and spy in Sir Francis Walsingham’s espionage service. In the race to thwart the plot, who will triumph – the ruthless conspirators or the equally ruthless State?

Many famous characters make an appearance:  Sir Francis Walsingham, the Queen's Spymaster;  Anthony Babington, known for the plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth and put the Scottish Queen Mary on the throne of England; Thomas Phelippes, cryptographer and intelligencer for Walsingham; and Arthur Gregory, who created and repaired seals for intercepted letters.  Lesser know names are those of Robert Poley, John Ballard, and Chidiock Tichborne.

(Chidiock Tichborne, one of the conspirators, is only alluded to in the novel.  The reason I'm mentioning him is because of his elegy which I read many years ago and which represents a sad comment on political gambits in the 16th c.  He was only twenty-three at the time he wrote that sad little poem and was shortly thereafter executed.)

I sped through this series in late August, reading one right after the other, and becoming more intrigued with each one.  Christoval, more often known as Kit, has a wide variety of friends, both high and low.   The historical events and characters are well-researched, and both the historical and fictional characters have richness and depth.

Although I enjoyed the first book, it is not the best in the series--each book gained in verisimilitude making me feel I was a part of Kit's world.

The reviews below are brief and deal only with the historical events that our character lives through and the Elizabethan world to which she belongs--because in addition to being Portugese and Jewish, Kit is a girl disguised as a boy.  In the first book, she is only 16, but Kit grows up during the last of Elizabeth's reign.  The historical events are compelling, but even more fascinating are Kit's personal friends and adventures.  

Book 2 
 The Enterprise of England  finds Kit, still guarding her secret, on a mission to the Netherlands.  The novel also covers the Spanish Armada and the attempted invasion of England.  Sir Francis Drake does not come off well, which is historically accurate, but often forgotten.

Book 3 
The Portugese Affair is a sad and tawdry account of the English Expedition, an attempt to drive the Spanish out of Portugal and place Dom Antonio of Aviz on the throne.  Sir Francis Drake once again proves that his own arrogance and greed are paramount.

Book 4
Bartholomew Fair covers the event in 1589 when the soldiers from the English Expedition, who were dismissed without pay, attempt to get recompense, but there is also a more secretive plot in play.

Book 5
In Suffer the Little Children, the author makes clear the fate of street children and orphans in 16th c. London.    Sir Francis Walsingham is dying, and there is another plot against Queen Elizabeth.

Book 6
Voyage to Muscovy has Kit on a secret mission to Russia in an effort to find a missing agent.  The historical details of Russia at this time and of actual historical characters are fascinating.

Book 7
The Play's the Thing deals with Kit's return from Muscovy and her post at St. Thomas' Hospital has been given to another.  Kit takes work as a copyist with Jame Burbage's company, but plays of both Will Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe go missing.

Such brief descriptions of such engrossing novels!  If you enjoy historical fiction and characters that grow and transform throughout a series, you might want to give The Chronicles of Christoval Alvarez a try.

 

Regicide by David Boyle

Regicide by David Boyle has two unusual protagonists:  Hilary the Englishman and Peter Abelard.  Hilary is a clerk in Holy Orders, but not a priest (an ambivalent situation, neither fish nor fowl); he makes his living as a wandering scholar--feeling guilty about his tendencies toward lust, drink, and gambling.  Peter Abelard, of course, is the brilliant philosopher, scholar, theologian, and logician of the middle ages.   Although both men really existed and the story has a lot of historical references, the plot has to do with the suspicious death of William Rufus, third son of William the Conqueror.  

Hilary has been dismissed from his pleasant situation as tutor after the death of his student Alys.  Full of self-pity and short of money, he meets a stranger and--after having had too much to drink and losing a bet--agrees to carry certain documents to Count Fulk in Anjou. On awakening the next morning, he finds he has not only the documents but a pouch of coins to finance his journey.  

He also discovers that his new friend has been gruesomely murdered.  Afraid that 1) he will be accused and hanged, and 2) that the murderer will come for him, Hilary departs in a panic with the intention of seeking help from his old tutor Peter Abelard.  

The journey moves throughout France, to Jerusalem, and to England as the two attempt to solve the mystery.   When I was in elementary school, I loved the story of Abelard and Heloise, but as an adult, I had to face that story wasn't quite as romantic as it can sound if reduced to a few sentences. The author manages to reveal Abelard's flaws as well as his strengths.  

What I liked:  all the historical aspects.  I knew nothing about William Rufus, other than that his daughter Matilda succeeded him.  There is an interesting tidbit about the Bayeux Tapestry that I had not heard before; the beauty of the Alfred Jewel and a different version of its purpose adds interest; and I had never heard that William IX, Duke of Aquitaine was the first troubadour.   All of the history is woven smoothly into the plot, and I've always been interested in this period, so I enjoyed it.  I was quite busy researching what was accurate and what was plot device.

On the downside: The book felt a little too long and the pacing was uneven. Two or three places were confusing. The chapter headings would name a place and a time, then there were a few paragraphs relating to that place and time, then with no transition or warning there were paragraphs that were about an earlier part of the trip.  I'd be reading along, then suddenly feel boggled--had I missed something?  No, an unannounced time switch.  Further editing of content is needed to take care of this problem by either putting things in chronological order or by letting you know that a flashback is coming.

NetGalley/Endeavor Press

Historic Mystery.  July 22, 2016.  Print length:  356 pages.

I Will Never Catch Up with Reviews...

The Homeplace by Kevin Wolf.  

Description:  Chase Ford was the first of four generations of Ford men to leave Comanche County, Colorado. For Chase, leaving saved the best and hid the worst. But now, he has come home. His friends are right there waiting for him. And so are his enemies.

Then the murder of a boy, a high school basketball star just like Chase, rocks the small town. When another death is discovered— one that also shares unsettling connections to him—law enforcement’s attention turns towards Chase, causing him to wonder just what he came home to.

A suspenseful, dramatic crime novel, The Homeplace captures the stark beauty of life on the Colorado plains.

 A couple of the minor characters and the setting were more interesting than either the main character or the plot.  

NetGalley/St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books

Mystery.  Sept. 6, 2016.  Print length:  272 pages.


The King's Traitor by Jeff Wheeler is the final entry in the Kingfountain trilogy.

Owen Kisskadon finally decides that perhaps his oath to King Severn Argentine must be reconsidered.  His new mission to incite war in another province proves the final blow, and Owen looks into his already disturbed conscience.

I've enjoyed this trilogy with its alternate English history and mythology, but this final one seems a bit too conveniently rushed.  This is a series to read in order, but I liked the first two books better than this final installment. 

NetGalley/47 North

Fantasy.  Sept. 6, 2016.  Print length:  386 pages.



The Cross-legged Knight by Candace Robb in the 8th in the Owen Archer series.  This is one of my favorite medieval mystery series because Candace Robb not only evokes the 14th c city of York in such detail, but has managed to create such interesting characters (both fictional and historic) who develop from one book to another. 

The title comes from the legend that knights who have been on a Crusade were often depicted with crossed legs.  As in her previous books, Robb manages to introduce history without being pedantic, as well as plot an intriguing mystery.

I've reviewed several of Robb's novels, and even if this is not my favorite, I continue to love this series. 

Purchased.

Historic Mystery.  Print length:  316 pages.


The Guilt of Innocents, book 9 in the Owen Archer series. Well, sometimes I can't resist "just one more" book in a series.   This fictional mystery was inspired by a real incident, and Robb's imagination involves Owen Archer.

The characters continue to be enriched, especially Alisoun and Jasper, whose roles have enlarged.  Magda could anchor a series on her own.

Robb's ability to draw the reader into the lives of her characters, those who are real and those who are fictional, but who have enough emotional depth to seem real, is one of the strengths of this series.

Because the characters and the events in their lives are so important, it is best to begin this series at the beginning--even if each one can serve as a stand-alone.  

I have only two more books Owen Archer books left to read, so I'm going to resist reading another right now.  I don't want the series to end and want to savor it for longer.

Purchased.

Historic Mystery.  2015.  Print length:  304 pages.

What Happened to the Week?

We left Tuesday for a quick trip to Houston and got back yesterday.  The combination of all the yardwork from the weekend and the five hour drive there and back has left me so stiff!  I look at the garden and see what needs to be done...and groan.  

On the positive side, the cuttings I've been taking from rosemary, coleus, and sweet potato vine have all rooted.  I especially love the chocolate drop coleus:  it is happy in sun or shade, has a trailing habit, beautiful foliage, and is easy to propagate.  Today, I will take some more cuttings, do a little clean-up of shrubs, and note some chores that I can accomplish later.  I have dug up the monkey grass about half-way around one bed, but that is too strenuous for today.  I simply don't have the energy to tackle that today.

Most of my day will be writing letters, reading, and writing a couple of reviews.  :)

Dear Amy by Helen Callagan.  

Margot Lewis teaches at a private school; she is also an "agony aunt," an advice columnist for a local paper.  Not all of the letters she receives are genuine, and usually Margot spots them quickly, but when she receives a letter from a girl who says she has been kidnapped and is begging for help, Margot isn't sure whether or not the letter is a hoax. 

The police dismiss the letter; Bethan Avery, the girl who purportedly wrote the letter, has been missing for years and long presumed dead.  But more letters arrive, and a cold-case criminologist becomes interested because the letters have details that were never released.

A suspenseful psychological thriller, Dear Amy has plenty of twists!

NetGalley/Penguin UK

Psychological/Mystery/Suspense.  June 16, 2016.  Print length:  352 pages.

The Traitor's Story by Kevin Wignall.  

Finn Harrington is a historian (rumored to be a former spy).  Returning home after a research trip, he learns that his girlfriend has left him.  He hasn't had a chance to really consider why she left and whether or not her absence is permanent, when a neighbor appears at his door asking for his help--her fifteen-year-old daughter is missing.  

Finn initially brushes her off.  A reticent and withdrawn man,  he has his own circumstances to consider.  After some thought, however, he agrees to look into the situation.  Finn's search for the missing girl intrigues him and somehow initiates Finn's reinvolvement with himself and others.  

The story moves from present to past, allowing the reader to become privy to the events in Finn's past that have led to his disengagement with others and his almost total withdrawal into his writing.  Gradually, Finn becomes more approachable, more engaged with the world and those who inhabit it.

Some of the detail in the sections about the past could have been abbreviated.  While past circumstances are crucial to the plot in the present, this portion sometimes interrupted the pace.

Nevertheless, The Traitor's Story was a compelling read about a complex individual who must come to terms with his past and his present, and I really enjoyed it. 

NetGalley/Thomas & Mercer

Mystery/Suspense.  June 21, 2016.  Print length:  384 pages.

The Wages of Desire:  An Inspector Lamb Novel by Stephen Kelly is set in a small English village during the early years of the war.

Although this might fall into the cozy category, it is a much more complex version.  The characters have depth and individuality, and the plot is a knotty tangle of threads that reach back into the past.

 Secrets abound in the bucolic English countryside; the title is significant in more than one way.

I haven't read the first in this series, but I liked Inspector Lamb and the way Kelly managed to pull everything together.

Reviews on Goodreads run the gamut, but I found all the twisting threads fascinating and would eagerly read more of Inspector Lamb.

NetGalley/Pegasus Books

Mystery.  July 4, 2016.  Print length:  352 pages.

As usual, NetGalley is hit or miss, and I have had quite a few misses lately, but the above three novels kept me engaged and are worth all of the NetGalley e-books that hit the metaphoric DNF pile.

Two Mysteries and a Coming of Age Story

The Strings of Murder by Oscar de Muriel is a locked room mystery that will have you thinking of Poe and the Rue Morgue investigation.  

Inspector Ian Frey has problems.  A shake up at Scotland Yard has his position in jeopardy, his father is a bully, his older brother is sly and devious, and his fiancee has just ended their engagement. What else could go wrong?

Why, he could be sent to Scotland, the land of the primitive and uncouth Scots.  For Frey, an arrogant snob, this is tantamount to perdition.  To make matters worse, his partner is "Nine Nails" McGray, who heads the unusual department for investigating the supernatural.

The two mismatched protagonists allow the author to make fun of both characters and of some of the cultural views of the Victorian period.  A touch overdone, perhaps, but as this is the first in a new series, hopefully the author will make adjustments that tone the exaggerations down a bit.  It has potential.  :)

NetGalley/Pegasus Books

Historic Mystery.  May 2, 2016.  Print length:  412 pages.



Miller's Valley by Anna Quindlen is a novel about families and communities, a beautifully written coming-of-age story.  Pulling you in slowly, Quindlen concentrates on the small world that Mary Margaret (Mimi) Miller inhabits--her family, friends, and her initially limited understanding of the threat of imminent domain.

The government wants to flood the valley, but they are not in a great hurry.  Some folks don't believe it will ever happen, but as the years go by, and the valley experiences serious flooding, more and more families agree to sell.

It is a slow book, a quiet book, and there is not a great deal of action.  Quindlen develops the characters and the daily routines and personalities of those who live in the small community of Miller's Valley.  

The story is told from Mimi's point of view as she looks back on her childhood in the '60's, through high school and college.  In the present, she reviews the history of her family and of the slow acceptance that their town will become one of "drowned towns."   

NetGalley/Random House

Literary Fiction.  April 5, 2016.  Print length:  273 pages.  


The Anatomist's Wife by Anna Lee Huber is set in Scotland in the 1830's and features Lady Kiera Darby, an artist who was forced by her husband to attend dissections and make drawings.  After her husband's death, people discover that Kiera is the artist behind the drawings and call her unnatural.  Offered sanctuary by her sister and her husband, Kiera attempts to stay out of the public eye, but a murder causes more accusations against her.  

If you like Deanna Raybourn's Lady Julia Grey series, you might enjoy this book which offers a mystery and a little romance.  It is the first in the Lady Darby series, and I will read another to see if there is more depth in the next installment.  I had some problems with several things that did not seem appropriate for the 1830 time period.  Sometimes, though, an author has to get her feet a little wet before characters and settings begin to gel, so I'll check with the library for Mortal Arts which sounds interesting.

It was entertaining, but I like Imogen Robertson's series with Harriet Westerman and the reclusive anatomist Gabriel Crowther better.

Library book.

Historic Mystery.  2012.  369 pages.

Historical Mystery and Fantasy and Some Ponderings

For Dead Men Only has a great cover.    

Alexandra Gladstone is a Victorian doctor who solves murders with the help of her maid and her friend Lord Dunsford.  In this novel, Freemasons are being murdered and the body count continues to increase.  

It is a light historical mystery series and most reviews are quite positive, but I had trouble believing in the characters.

NetGalley/Random House/Alibi

Historical Mystery.  April 12, 2016.   

An immigrant story full of martial arts, mythical Chinese creatures, evil spirits, and magic--The Girl with Ghost Eyes is set in San Francisco's Chinatown at the turn of the 19th century.  It is a unique fantasy, specifically Chinese/American.  Chinese immigrants faced with the conflicts that arise between tradition and progress  must carve out new lives for themselves amidst prejudice and cultural differences in a new country, and (since China is a huge country with many languages and dialects, ethnic groups, traditions, and beliefs) Chinatown itself is another kind of melting pot.  ( China has 297 living languages according to Ethnologue.^[5))

Li-lin is a young widow and the daughter of one of Chinatown's most respected exorcists in the Maoshan tradition of Daoism.  She, herself, is in training, but at only a second ordination, her skills are limited.  When persuaded to take a dangerous journey to the afterlife to help a ghost, she is betrayed and an evil plot is initiated.

"Maoshan isn't like other traditions. We are ghost hunters, spirit mediums, and exorcists. When creatures out of nightmare trouble Chinatown, people come to the Maoshan for protection. With paper talismans we drive away the spirits, with magic gourds we imprison them, with peachwood swords we destroy them. People fear those who live at the border of the spirit world. They say a haunt of death taints us. They might be right."

Li-lin fights valiantly to do what is right and, forced into a new more active situation, her character grows from the always obedient and traditional daughter.  As she questions situations and dictums she previously took for granted, Li-lin eventually realizes that what she has been told is a curse and shameful...might actually be necessary to combat the evil that threatens Chinatown.

Li-lin is a wonderful protagonist, and I hope for more from Mr. Boroson.  

The information about the author and how he came to write this story is definitely worth the time to read it.

Purchased ebook.

Fantasy/Historical Fiction/YA.  2015.  Print length:  288 pages.



Jackaby by William Ritter is the first in a series featuring an eccentric paranormal investigator and a young woman recently arrived from England to keep from confronting her parents about a foolish adventure.

Abigail Rook is an intelligent young woman with sharp observational skills;  R.F. Jackaby is an oddball detective with the ability to perceive the supernatural.  They make an effective team with Abigail realizing the importance of ordinary details, while Jackaby recognizes what goes beyond the ordinary.

“Miss Rook, I am not an occultist,” Jackaby said. “I have a gift that allows me to see truth where others see the illusion--and there are many illusions. All the world’s a stage, as they say, and I seem to have the only seat in the house with a view behind the curtain.”


I found the novel entertaining, mostly because it offers the promise of more and better. Jackaby is full of suspense and offbeat humor, but I would have liked more character development and backstory.  I suspect that as the author develops the characters, the series could be one that improves with each addition.  I need to try the second in the series, Beastly Bones.  

Middle School/YA/Mystery/Paranormal.  2014.  Print length:  321 pages.
------------

So many more book reviews to catch up on, but I'm headed back upstairs to tackle a re-organization of my studio.  Tomorrow, I'll be searching for items I've re-organized.  

The final day in the Month of Letters challenge is tomorrow--Monday, Feb. 29!  I have something ready to go out in tomorrow's mail, and with this last letter, I will have met the challenge!  I'm pretty proud of myself for following through.

Of course, it won't be the end of writing letters.  Making the envelopes and postcards has been too much fun and will continue, but instead of worrying about putting at least one thing in the mail each day, I'll post several things at a time--maybe once or twice a week.  A more comfortable fit.

On Tuesday, I'll share some of the incoming and outgoing mail from this past week, but today I'm going to share the  invitation to Jack & Ginger's annual Critter Dinner that arrived in Saturday's mail.  Jack is an artist and designs the invitations each year.  

 Love that list of last year's dishes is included!

He even had a stamp made from his drawing at stamps.com!

3 Mysteries

Close Your Eyes by Michael Robotham.  I really like this series featuring Joe O'Loughlin, a clinical psychologist with Parkinson's, and I have followed the series for quite a while--as much for the characters as for the compelling crimes Joe finds himself involved in.  

Joe is still in love with his wife Julianne, but because of mistakes he made, they have been separated for six years.  When Julianne asks Joe to spend the summer with her and his daughters, Joe is eager to do so, even if he tries not to hope for too much.

At the same time, he is asked to help with the murder of a mother and daughter.  At first he refuses, but a former student has used Joe's name, then betrayed the trust of the police and leaked information about the crime.  

Plenty of suspects and some red herrings, but Joe finally makes the right connections.  You need not have read the previous entries in this series to appreciate Robotham's latest, but if you have, the twist at the end may surprise you!  Nuf said.

What next, Mr. Robotham?

NetGalley/Mulholland Books

Crime/Psychological Suspense.  2015/ April 12, 2016.  Print length:  392 pages.

When Falcons Fall by C.S. Harris is another series I've followed for several years, although I haven't read every book that features Sebastien St. Cyr.  I need to make a trip to the library to catch up on some that I've missed.

Brief description:  "Ayleswick-on-Teme, 1813. Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, has come to this seemingly peaceful Shropshire village to honor a slain friend and on a quest to learn more about his own ancestry. But when the body of a lovely widow is found on the banks of the River Teme, a bottle of laudanum at her side, the village's inexperienced new magistrate turns to St. Cyr for help."

C.S. Harris continues to keep my interest in this series; in fact, I think she gets better.  Again, you don't have to have read the previous books to enjoy this one.  There is an overarching storyline that develops a little with each entry, but the main plot of each one is complete.  

I like the cover, but it don't be misled into thinking this is a romance.  Harris plots intricate and atmospheric historical mysteries, and this one is excellent.

NetGalley/Berkley Publishing/NAL

Historic Mystery.  March 1, 2016.  Print length:  370 pages.

A Lady in the Smoke is a debut novel by Karen Odden.  

brief description: "Following a humiliating fourth Season in London, Lady Elizabeth Fraser is on her way back to her ancestral country estate when her train careens off the rails and bursts into flames. Though she is injured, she manages to drag herself and her unconscious mother out of the wreckage, and amid the chaos that ensues, a brilliant young railway surgeon saves her mother's life. Elizabeth feels an immediate connection with Paul Wilcox—though society would never deem a medical man eligible for the daughter of an earl."

I like the time period, and the information about the early railroads in England is interesting.  The characters are likable, but there is a little too much emphasis on an insta-love romance for me.   The mystery itself is solid, but I would have like it much better without the insta-love.

NetGalley/Random House/Alibi

Historic Mystery.  March 29, 2016.  Print length:  411 pages.  

Physical ARCs

The Hidden Man by Robin Blake is an historical mystery that arrived in the mail.  I read it sometime before Christmas.  

I like mysteries set in different time periods, often as much for the historical details as for plot or characters.   The Hidden Man is the third in a series featuring Coroner Titus Cragg and Doctor Luke Fidelis in the mid 1700's and does give a unique perspective of life in the Georgian period.

Historically, the novel contains a number of fascinating topics, including the beginnings of investment banking (which, in this case, go sadly awry), the circumscribed lives of women, medical practices that sometimes both doctor and patient are reluctant to change, the evolving judicial system of the 1740's, issues with the slave trade, and more.  

I was a bit put off by the slow beginning.  This may have been partly because I had not read the two earlier novels, but it took the lack of anything else to read at the time to keep me reading.  Eventually, I became quite involved with the characters and plot.

The circumstances surrounding the death of pawnbroker Philip Pimbo in a locked room situation are mysterious, but the mayor is less concerned about Pimbo's death than he is about the money that the Preston Guild invested with him.  Coroner Cragg and Dr. Fidelis each play a role in solving Pimbo's murder and a subsequent related murder.

I ended up enjoying the book, but unless another free copy arrives in the mail, I probably won't pursue the series.

From Minotaur Books

Historical Mystery.  2015.  353 pages.


Harbour Street by Ann Cleeves is also one from November or December that I had not reviewed.  I read one of the books in the Vera Stanhope series before I started blogging, and I've read two books in her Shetland Island series, but haven't kept up with this author like I should.  It's a shame because Cleeves creates fascinating characters and atmospheric settings with great twisty plots.  A trip to the library is in order so I can catch up with both Vera Stanhope and Inspector Jimmy Perez.

Cleeves excels at character building and the characters she creates are atypical in the police procedural/crime genre.  Vera Stanhope is older, overweight, unattractive, brusque, and intuitive.  She's lonely and drinks too much, but her instincts and determination make her exceptional at her job. I haven't watched the BBC television series, and probably won't because I don't want anything messing with my own version of Vera.

Briefly:  When all but one of the passengers on a train have disembarked, an elegant, elderly woman remains.  At some point during the journey, she has been murdered; but why would anyone kill Margaret Krukowski?  A quiet, caring woman, Margaret doesn't seem likely to have been targeted for death, and the motive for her murder remains elusive.

Vera Stanhope ends up staying at the bed and breakfast on Harbour Street where Margaret lived and worked.  Peeling back the layers, Vera and Detective Joe Ashworth delve into the lives of various people in the small community, puzzling through possibilities, discovering some surprising events from the past.

This is a skillfully plotted and character rich novel!  Recommended.

From Minotaur Books

Police Procedural.  2015.  400 pages.

A Bed of Scorpions by Judith Flanders.  I loved A Murder of Magpies by Flanders and was excited when this arrived in the mail.  Another beautiful cover.

Flanders again fills the reader in about many of the problems and conflicts involved in publishing.  While people who love to read enjoy learning a bit about how books reach the public, Flanders may have spent a little too much time on the details at the beginning of the book.  

However, when Samantha Clair leaves her office to have lunch with old friend Aidan Merriam, an art dealer, she is shocked to learn that his partner has committed suicide.
To add to her dismay, the investigation is being led by her boyfriend, Inspector Jake Field.  Suicide or murder?

Sam finds herself in the uneasy situation of divided loyalties.  Even as she tries to distance herself from the investigation, she keeps finding herself dragged in.  

I did like it, but not as much as I loved the first book.   Does Sam seem a little more befuddled than in A Murder of Magpies?  She is not the most socially adept person, but she is smart and witty, and I don't think it showed as much in this book.  There are some great secondary characters that reappear, and it is nice when characters that you liked in the first book continue to contribute.

Although this one is a hardback from the publisher that arrived in the mail, the ebook is being offered on Netgalley.

From Minotaur Books

Mystery.  2015.  392 pages.