The Wharton Plot by Mariah Fredericks (2023)

 

I was so looking forward to this Mariah Frederick offering as I loved her Jane Prescott series (see Blog entry dated Jan 23, 2021.) However, I was disappointed. I found the text difficult to read, too bogged down with details of things I didn't feel did anything to advance the story . Or maybe it was simply because Edith Wharton was not the most likable character. The story combines two historic facts, the murder of David Graham Phillips and a dinner Edith Wharton attended with Henry James, and two other close friends at the Belmont Hotel. 

When the story opens Edith Wharton is stranded at the Belmont Hotel in New York City with her mentally unstable husband Teddy, laminating the changes in the city and anxious to return to Paris. When meeting with her publisher, Edith is introduced to fellow author David Graham Phillips whom she declares “absolute twaddle”. When Phillips  is murdered the following day, which happens to be Edith’s birthday, she finds herself intrigued and attends his funeral. When the victim’s sister asks Edith to advocate for the publishing of Phillips final manuscript, Edith decides she can uncover the murderer. The police play no role in the novel as Edith does it all on her own.

If you are an avid mystery fan I would not recommend this. Edith Wharton as a detective does not ring true. What the book does well though is depict New York City and the lifestyle of the upper class during the Gilded Age.

3.57 stars on Goodreads, 4.1 on Amazon

The Wings of Poppy Pendleton by Melanie Dobson (2023)

 

In this dual timeline story, a little girl goes missing from Koster Isle in 1907 and in 1992 a journalist teams up with a woman living on the inland to find out what happened to her and save the life of another young girl.

On the eve of her fifth birthday in 1907, Poppy Pendleton is nowhere to be found in her family’s castle on Koster Isle in the St. Lawrence River. The grounds are searched but neither she or her body are ever found. Poppy has simply disappeared without a trace.

Eighty-five years later Chloe Ridell is living on Koster Isle in the shadow of what is left of Pendleton Castle, having inherited the island from her grandparents. She also inherited their candy store across the river in Clayton, New York and it struggling to keep her grandparent’s legacy a float. When returning from work one evening Chloe finds a young girl seeking shelter with her. Emma is full of secrets, as is every character in the book, even Chloe’s grandparents.

At the same time Chloe is searching for Emma’s family, a journalist arrives intent on solving the mystery of Poppy’s disappearance in time for what would be Poppy’s 90^th birthday and needs Chloe’s help.

The chapters of the book move from one character to the other but I never found the story hard to follow. The mystery builds as new characters are added to the story and it is up to the reader to put the pieces together. The book begins a little slowly and it takes a while to get to the actual disappearance but I soon found that I had to have the answers.

Dobson is a Christian writer and it is reflected in her story.

4.3 stars on Goodreads, 4.5 on Amazon

The House in on Fire by Rachel Beanland (2023)

The House in on Fire is the story of the Richmond [Virginia] Theater fire that took place on December 26, 1811. The theater burnt to the ground, the worst disaster in history at the time. The book follows Jack, Sally, Cecily, and Gilbert through the fire and the subsequent three days. Although this is a work of fiction, the fire did actually take place and the story for three of the four characters is historically accurate. Even their names haven’t been changed. (The Author’s Notes at the end of the book are well worth reading.) Fictional characters are added to provide the reader with a better window into Southern society in the early 1800s.

All four characters are forced to make split-second decisions that will affect not only their lives but those of many in their community. The fire begins when a young stagehand, Jack Gibson, raises the stage chandelier to the theater rafters even though the candles remain lit and the backdrops catch file. Mass panic follows as the audience of 600+ attempt to exit before the fire consumes the entire three-story wooden building. Sally is a young widow trapped on the third floor, Cecily is a slave seated in the “colored people’s gallery” on the first floor, and Gilbert, is an enslaved blacksmith who offers assistance to the victims.

The theater company, knowing that actors are not held in the highest regard, blame the blaze on an imaginary slave revolt that many in Richmond are quick to believe and even quicker to action. Jack wants to tell the truth and finds his life threatened as a result.

This book has it all - heroism, bravery, cowardice, villainy, love, sacrifice, and suspense. The characters and the story are so fully developed, I felt like I was watching the events unfold in front of me. The class and gender distinctions and hatred of the time are also well represented. Many similarities to 9/11 can be found.

In the end though, The House in on Fire is the story of honorable people who rise above the tragedy to do what needs to be done.

The Last Heir to Blackwood Library by Hester Fox (2023)

 

Ivy Radcliffe is a young woman living hand to mouth in post Would War I London when she is summoned to Yorkshire where she learns she is the new Lady Hayworth, the last living heir to the Blackwood Library and a large estate, which began life as an abbey. Ivy knows nothing about this line of Radcliffe’s or the house. At Blackwood Abbey, Ivy is met by an uninviting staff who obviously know something they are not sharing, but is determined to make the best of things in her new home.

A book lover at heart, Ivy is delighted to find the house contains a library that has been neglected for years.  She sets out to catalog the vast library’s collection but the more times Ivy spends in the room, the worse her headaches become and she fears she is losing her memory when staff members tell her she is asking the same questions over and over.

In the local village, Ivy meets Sir Arthur Mabry, to whom Ivy is immediately drawn to Arthur because of his interest in books and the library. She learns he is the member of a mysterious club whose members are very interested in restoring the library to its former glory and opening it up to the public. Misunderstanding Arthur’s meaning and his true intentions, Ivy begins lending some of the library’s books to the local villagers, only to learn that the title of the books lent out seem to be a prophesy of events to follow.

What is the relationship of the library to the nun mentioned in the first chapter who was walled up inside the abbey centuries ago?  Why is the chauffer continuously begging Ivy to leave the estate?  Why is Arthur so interested in the library? You’ll have to read The Last Heir to Blackwood Library to learn the answers. This book hits all the elements of the gothic novel.

This is only Hester Fox Book owned by Eastpointe.  If you are interesting in reading other titles by her, a reference librarian can get them for you from an area library.

3.45 stars on Goodreads, 3.9 on Amazon

Wyoming Wild (Savage Wells #3) by Sarah M. Eden (2023)

 

When reading Wyoming Wild, I experienced the same warm feelings I did when watching TV westerns back in the day.  Good triumphing over evil; the white hat always wins. In Wyoming Wild, the U.S. Marshall is a young John Hawkings (“Hawk”) but I pictured him as James Arness appeared in Gunsmoke.

When Marshall Hawkings receives an anonymous telegraph warning him of a plot against his life, he immediately begins to investigate. After Hawk traces the telegraph to Sand Creek, Wyoming he and female deputy Paisley take up residence on an area farm posing as brother (John) and sister (Mary). It isn’t long before the two meet the sheriff’s daughter, Liesl Hodges, who they discover is doing everything she can to protect the townspeople from its violent and corrupt sheriff. Everyone in the town is afraid of Sheriff Hodges and his cronies. But when Liesl discovers John is completely unfazed by the sheriff’s attempts at intimidation, she thinks she finally has found an ally in her struggle.

All is good until Liesl learns that John has been lying to her about who he is; another in a long list of men who have betrayed her. Although Liesl continues to distrust Hawk, she goes along with his plan to end the sheriff’s reign of terror. Of course, planning is one thing and execution is something else entirely.

There are other mysteries along the way; identifying the person stealing land deeds from under the town’s landowners who must now pay an exorbitant tax for the right to stay on their own land and a corrupt deputy on Hawk’s payroll. Wyoming Wild reads like the westerns of yore; is well written, wholesome, and a quick read. I enjoyed every minute of the adventure.

4.17 stars on Goodreads, 4.6 on Amazon

Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese (2022)

Hester will be of particular interest to fans of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter as it is the author’s imagining of the woman who inspired the main character, Hester Prynne. For those forced to read The Scarlet Letter and hated the novel, Hester will have you reconsidering your opinion.

The heroine, Isobel Gamble is a gifted needleworker, with a very special talent she keeps hidden from the world. She and her husband Edward, an apothecary with a fondness for opium, leave Scotland for Salem, Massachusetts in the early 1800s to escape Edward’s growing debts. But only days after their arrival, Isobel learns Edward has signed up to be a medic on a departing trade ship. Isobel finds herself penniless and alone in a strange country where she must rely on her needle and her inner strength to make a life for herself.

When Isobel meets a young Nathaniel Hathorne, the two are instantly drawn to one other. They have much in common, Hathorne is haunted by his ancestor’s role in the city’s witch trials and Isobel is troubled by her own special talents. Nathaniel and Isobel grow closer and closer as it becomes doubtful that Edward will ever return from the sea. Like Hester Prynne, Isobel finds Hathorne will not stand by her when she needs him the most.

Lico Albanese’s Hester includes vivid descriptions of the Salem witch trails in the late 1600s and the beginnings of the Underground Railroad in the early 19^th century, as well as a look into how immigrants were treated at that time. I found the book impossible to put down after Isobel arrives in America.

4.0 stars on Goodreads, 4.3 on Amazon

No Graves As Yet (Reavley #1) by Anne Perry (2003)

 

No Graves As Yet is the first in a five book series set during the years of World War I. This first book begins in the summer of 1914 and takes place in the area surrounding the University of Cambridge, England where life is peaceful until it is not.

The reader is first introduced to Joseph Reavley when his brother, Matthew, comes to Cambridge to inform him that their parents have been killed in a car accident. Joseph is a former chaplain who is now teaching at Cambridge and Matthew is an officer in the Secret Intelligence Service, now known as MI6. Their father, Joseph, had been on his way to London to show Matthew a document he claimed proves a conspiracy reaching all levels of British government with the power to disgrace England forever and destroy the civilized world. That is all Matthew knows about the document, except that it is now missing.

Joseph and Matthew soon discover the accident was actually murder and set out to find the truth. It is not long after that that one of Joseph’s most gifted students, Sebastian Allard, is found murdered at Cambridge.  Sebastian seemed to be loved and admired by everyone who knew him. Why would anyone want to hurt him? Joseph is determined to find out.

Elsewhere, the Austrian archduke is murdered by a Serbian anarchist and England’s peaceful existence is threatened.

The book also introduces us to the Peacemaker character and his nefarious cousin who appear to be at the head of the conspiracy.  But just who are these two?  Joseph and Matthew are hot on their heels but you will have to read the other four titles in the series to find out who they really are.

Perry’s writing style in this series is very different from her other novels. It is very dense and every detail is carefully examined so this is not a fast read. But the reader will feel like they are right in the middle of the action.

3.68 stars on Goodreads, 4.2 on Amazon

Remember Love by Mary Balogh (Ravenswood #1) (2022)

 

Mary Balogh is my favorite Regency author and Remember Love is just another reason why. It is the love story of Devlin Ware, the heir to the Earl of Stratton, and Gwyneth Rhys but the road to their happy ever after is not an easy one.  Both have loved each other from afar while thinking the other despised them. They have one beautiful day together when they confess their love for each other and look forward to a beautiful future.  That evening a scandal rips the Ware family apart and Devlin is banished from his family home forever.

Feeling betrayed by what he always believed to be true and the mother and woman he loved, Devlin enlists in the fight against Napoleon and didn’t look back for six years. He thrusts his family and Gwyneth behind a mental wall, behind which he never visits. His only contact with his old world is his half-brother Ben who travels with him.

When Devlin returns two years after the death of his father, he is a changed man. His face bears a nasty scar, he has lost the ability to feel, and his family and friends are virtual strangers. Everyone has been scarred by the scandal Devlin unknowingly unleashed.

After the shock of seeing what Devlin has become, Gwyneth is convinced the Devlin she knew and loved is still in there, buried deep but struggling to come out. And she feels it will be her love for Devlin that will help him learn to love and trust again and heal all their fractured lives.

The book starts slowly as the reader is introduced to all the members of the Ware family and their relationship to one another. No one paints a character or a place as thoroughly as Mary Balogh and it can be a bit tedious. After learning all about the idyllic world of the Wares and their Ravenswood home, the rug is thorn out for under everyone.

The next book in the series, Remember Me, is due out the end of June 2023.  Mary Balogh has written a number of different series and you really can’t go wrong with any of them but I highly recommend her Survivor’s Club series.

4.06 stars on Goodreads, 4.5 on Amazon

By Her Own Design by Piper Huguley (2022)

 

By Her Own Design is author Piper Huguley’s fictional account of the life of Ann Lowe, the first African American to become a noted fashion designer. Throughout her up and down career, Ann only worked for members of the social register and never repeated a design. She is best known for her fabric flowers and designing the dress worn by Jacqueline Bouvier when she married John F. Kennedy but fame did not come until after Ann's death.

Ann learns the art of sewing from her grandmother, a former slave, and her mother who were thought to be the most talented seamstresses in the state of Alabama. She excels at many flower embellishments and offers them for sale.

Ann dreams of becoming a celebrated designer but puts the dream on hold when she elopes at 12 with an older tailor. When a Tampa socialite sees Ann's talent she offers to take Ann back to Tampa to sew and design clothing for Florida's society elite she walks away from her abusive marriage with her young son.

Ann faced many struggles during her 40-year career, which began in the 1920s. The author does justice to both the ups and downs in Ann’s live and writes an engaging novel.

 4.48 stars on Goodreads, 4.7 on Amazon

This book is not available at EPL. Ask any of the reference librarians to get it for you from an area library.

Fierce Poison (Barker & Llewelyn # 13) by Will Thomas (2022)

 

Fierce Poison was my introduction to author Will Thomas and his pair of private equity agents (private investigators in Victorian London). Cyrus Barker and his assistant Thomas Llewelyn first appeared in Thomas’ 2004 book Some Danger Involved. Although each book in the series reflects the passage of time, it is not necessary to read them in order. Each contains enough backstory for the reader to keep up. In Fierce Poison, Barker and Llewelyn have been partners for ten years.

The pair couldn’t be more different from each other. Llewelyn has spent time in prison and Barker has spent much of his life in the Far East. The books are narrated by Thomas Llewelyn and he infuses the story with many humorous asides, observations, and descriptions.

In Fierce Poison, Roland Fitzhugh, the newest Member of Parliament, arrives at the equity agent’s door but dies on the floor before he can tell them why he is there. The agents quickly learn he's been poisoned with a cyanide laced raspberry tart and Barker is determined to find the culprit even though there is no paying client. The very next day an entire family in the East End is found dead after consuming a large raspberry tart. As Baker and Llewelyn’s investigation heats up, they find themselves the poisoner’s latest target; even Barker’s dog is at risk.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, reading it in two sessions. It is an easy read, the writing is excellent, the characters well-rounded, and the mystery intriguing. I figured out the motive for the killings near the end of the book but had no idea which of the unusual cast of secondary characters was the guilty party.  Maybe you’ll have better luck.

Book 14, Heart of the Nile is due out in April 2023.

Masquerade at Middlecrest Abbey by Abigail Wilson (2020)

 

Masquerade at Middlecrest Abbey is a regency romance, wrapped around a really good mystery. Unwed mother, Elizabeth Cantrell and her young son are traveling to her new job as a ladies’ companion after being left penniless by her now imprisoned brother. During the journey their coach is attacked by a highwayman who is not what he seems. In fact he is the widowed Lord Torrington, acting on behalf of the British crown. He is searching for documents he believed were being carried in that carriage. Instead of the documents Lord Torrington finds an unconscious woman he feels compelled to help.

To protect both his secret identify and Elizabeth’s name, Torrington proposes a marriage of convenience. Soon after the newly married couple’s return to Middlecrest Abbey, the intended of Torrington’s eldest daughter is murdered and the hunt is on for the murderer and the missing document. Could the two things be connected? The future of England is at stake. At the same time Elizabeth is protecting a secret of her own, her son is actually Lord Torrington’s nephew!

4.21 stars on Goodreads, 4.6 on Amazon

Rizzio by Denise Mina (2021)

 

I love historical fiction titles, especially those that are based on a real person or event as I always learn something. Denise Mina’s novella Rizzio is the author’s fictionalized version of the murder of David Rizzio, a trusted friend and secretary of Mary Queen of Scots, on May 9, 1566. Mary’s husband, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, is the man behind the plot and he wants the murder to take place in front of his pregnant wife. Darnley wants the crown for himself and hopes that the shock of witnessing the murder will kill both Mary and the unborn child.

Mina’s writing is so powerful; I could feel the terror of both Rizzio who knew what was to come and Mary as she feared for her life and that of her unborn child. For those interested in Mary Queen of Scots or this time period, Rizzio will be a treat.

3.90 stars on Goodreads, 4.2 on Amazon

The Woman Who Spoke to Spirits (World’s End Bureau Mystery, #1) by Alys Clare (2018)

 

This new Victorian mystery series is set in 1880s London. The World’s End Bureau, an investigation agency, is owned and operated by L.G. Raynor or Lily as she is known to her acquaintances.  Lily lives and operates the business out of the three-story building left to her by her grandparents.  As the story opens Lily is looking to hire a clerical assistant and interviews F.P.D.M. Wilbraham (or Felix) for the job.  Of course Felix thinks L.G. is a man and Lily assumes F.P.D.M. is a woman.

On his very first day Felix is left alone in the office when Ernest Stibbins comes in and assumes Felix is L.G. Unwilling to correct a potential client’s misconception Felix plays along which works out well in the long run. Stibbins claims his wife Albertina has been warned by her spirit guides that someone is out to harm her and he wants the World’s End Bureau to investigate the threat.

With the Stibbins case and the one she is currently working on, Lily needs help. She hands some small tasks over to Felix and soon discovers he has the makings of a skilled private enquiry agent.  Before you know it, Felix and Lily are sharing the workload, although Felix never forgets he is an employee.

Written in the present tense, the reader is drawn into Lily and Felix’s world. The author has such a way with descriptions that you will feel you are walking down the street with Felix and experiencing events alongside Lily. Much is learned about the two main characters and there are hints of tragedy in Lily’s past and hardship in Felix’s which I expect will be ferreted out in subsequent novels. The reader meets many other interesting characters during the course of the book, including the ballerina who refuses to bathe, Lily’s housekeeper with an attitude, an aging actress involved with the young son of an aristocrat, and a river boat captain who appears to be Lily's closest friend.

Book 2, The Outcast Girls, is also available at EPL.

Alys Claire is a pseudonym of Elizabeth Harris.

3.88 stars on Goodreads, 4.5 on Amazon

Portrait of a Scotsman (#3 in A League of Extraordinary Women) by Evie Dunmore (2021)

 

Evie Dunmore’s League of Extraordinary Woman is made up of four Oxford students who have banned together in 1880 over their belief that changes needed to be made to the Married Women’s Property Act which gave husbands financial and legal control over their wives along with control of all property owned by the now married woman and that woman deserved the right to vote.

Hattie Greenfield is the heroine of Portrait of a Scotsman, who after being caught kissing her father’s business rival, financier Lucian Blackstone, is forced to marry him. Hattie only knows Lucien by his reputation for being ruthless in business and fears he will be the end of her dream of becoming a recognized artist.

Lucien is a self-made man driven by political ambitions and a need for revenge. He has wealth but no power and marriage to Hattie is his entry into polite society where the power is held.

As in so many romances Lucian has no time for his new bride but things start to change when he takes Hattie to Scotland with him to check out a mine he just purchased. Although the two discover they really do care for one another, Hattie asks for a divorce when they return to England. Divorce was a scandalous thing in 1880 and had to be allowed by the husband. Hattie was not willing to stay with a husband whom she felt had bought and paid for her, she wants to be wooed.

The Married Women’s Property Act was finally changed in 1882. The new law allowed women to own/buy/sell property, keep any income from the property or an occupation, and keep any inheritance. The law also made both parents equally responsible for their children. Under the former law woman had no rights to their children. The women of Britain were granted the same voting rights as men in 1928.

Although it is not necessary to read the books in order, the characters and events from previous novels are mentioned in the books that follow.

Bringing Down the Duke (2019)

A Rogue of One's Own (2020)

The fourth title has not yet been announced

3.96 stars on Goodreads, 4.4 on Amazon

This series is not available at EPL. Ask any of the reference librarians to get it for you from an area library.

A Darker Reality (Elena Standish #3) by Anne Perry (2021)

 

Anne Perry is well-known for her historical mysteries and the annual Christmas mystery she has written since 2004, but A Darker Reality was my introduction to the author. Now I know why Perry has so many dedicated fans.

The Elena Standish series (one of several by Perry) takes place in pre World War II Europe. Elena is a photographer from England in her late twenties but she is a lot more she appears. Her father is a career diplomat and his father once headed MI6. Let’s just say this apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

Elena travels to America with her parents for the 60^th wedding anniversary party of her American mother’s parents in Washington, D.C. Her grandfather, Wyatt Baylor, is a very powerful financier who has just been appointed an adviser to President Franklin Roosevelt, who is also attending the party. When one of the guests is found dead after being run over by his car, Wyatt is arrested. He claims he is being framed by his enemies and Elena and her father set out to find the truth. The book also touches on the feelings of many Americans at that time – isolationism and racial purity. The splitting of the atom also has a role to play.

Anne Perry is a master at building the suspense throughout the book until the surprise ending. Although it is not necessary to read the books in order, readers will find this title refers quite often to the events of numbers 1 and 2. I have already checked them out!

The Loyal League Books 1, 2, and 3 by Alyssa Cole

 The Loyal League is a covert organization of spies during the Civil War, many of whom are former slaves. Although each book can be read as a standalone novel, it is helpful to read them in order as the main characters return as secondary characters in books 2 and 3.

An Extraordinary Union (#1) (2017)

Elle Burns, a former slave, is living in freedom in Massachusetts. She possesses an extraordinarily memory for visual images and uses this skill to aid the Loyal League, a covert organization of spies. For her latest mission, Elle agrees to return to the South as a mute slave to spy for the Union Army.

Malcolm McCall is a detective in Pinkerton's Secret Service masquerading as a Union soldier. His mission is to infiltrate a Rebel enclave in Virginia. Elle and Malcom join forces when they discover a plot that could turn the tide of the war in the Confederacy’s favor.

Because Elle is acting as a slave she is regarded as less than human in the South. The members of the Caffrey household she serves, and their visitors, speak freely when Elle is in the room, never realizing they are giving away secrets. The situation is a spy’s gold mine.

Malcolm’s skills lie in his charm which make it very difficult for Elle to trust him, even when they are working together. He is also white but appears to have some understanding of the black man’s world.

The author never loses sight of the black perspective. She freely shares Elle’s thoughts and emotions about how blacks are viewed and treated and the danger of her growing feelings for Malcolm.

The story is based on Mary Bowser, a freed slave who spied for the Union Army.

3.85 stars on Goodreads, 4.3 on Amazon

A Hope Divided (#2) (2017)

Marlie Lynch, a gifted healer, is the daughter of a freed black woman and a wealthy white plantation owner. Her half-sister Sarah, an abolitionist, acknowledges Marlie as a member of the family and the two live together in the family home. Things go south rapidly when Sarah's brother and his malicious, racist Southern-belle wife return home

Unbeknown to Sarah’s brother, Marlie has been aiding the North’s war effort by providing tisanes and poultices for Union prisoners, assisting slaves and Freeman escape north and providing the Union with coded messages about anti-Rebel uprisings in the woods near her. When the vicious Confederate Home Guard takes over Marlie's home as their new base of operations in the war against Southern resistors Marlie’s future is in jeopardy.

Marlie soon learns that having a white father will no longer protect her. Although she's a free woman, she can still be sold into slavery and she becomes a prisoner in the house she'd always considered home. Marlie’s fear and uncertainty and the injustice of it all jumps right off the pages.

What the Guard does not know is that Marlie is harboring a wounded Ewan McCall in her laboratory, after his escape from a Confederate prison. When a shocking family secret is revealed and Marlie's freedom is on the line, she escapes the house with Ewan’s help. The pair follow the path of the Underground Railroad and get caught in a battle before they are even out of North Carolina.

4.09 stars on Goodreads, 4.6 on Amazon

An Unconditional Freedom (#3) (2019)

We first met Daniel Cumberland in An Extraordinary Union. Like Elle, he is also free and one of her closest friends. That all changes when he is kidnapped and sold back into slavery. In An Unconditional Freedom a plot to free Daniel is carried out by Malcolm McCall (the hero of An Extraordinary Union) and Daniel is recruited into the Loyal League. Here Daniel finds opportunities to help take down the Confederacy and vent the rage that consumes him.

Janeta Sanchez’s lives in a small Florida town that has been taken over by the Union army. When her father is unjustly imprisoned for treason, Janeta must spy for the Confederacy in order to gain his freedom. Janeta agrees to infiltrate the Loyal League as a double agent, and she finds herself teamed up with Daniel. Daniel has a secret mission of his own to settle a personal vendetta and has no desire for a partner, particularly one with no experience.

Janeta has been brought up in a culture that supports slavery and life in the real world soon causes her to question everything she believes it. Daniel plays a large part in this de-programing.

As in the other two titles in the series, the author does not shy away from the brutality of the Civil War, the injustice of slavery, the invisibility of slaves, and the pain of family secrets, alongside humor and lightness.

4.11 stars on Goodreads, 4.5 on Amazon

Murder on Cold Street (Lady Sherlock #5) by Sherry Thomas (2020)

 

Sherry Thomas offers a whole new take on the Sherlock Holmes stories we know and love. Charlotte Holmes (“Lady Sherlock”) is a female detective in Victorian England, a time that doesn’t approve of ladies getting their hands dirty, especially a member of the upper class. Lady Sherlock’s answer to the situation is to create a fictional brother named Sherlock whom she consults with on all her cases.

To advance the charade, Sherlock is always behind a closed door listening to each client’s story and although the investigation is conducted by Charlotte it is at Sherlock’s direction. The role of Dr. Watson is assumed by Mrs. Watson who is Lady Sherlock’s benefactor and assists Charlotte with her caseload. There are also a variety of secondary characters who move from novel to novel. There’s even a role for Moriarty to play.

Murder on Cold Street focuses on Inspector Treadles, Charlotte Holmes’s friend and Scotland Yard detective. He has been found locked in a room with two dead men, both of whom worked with his wife at a manufacturing enterprise she has recently inherited. The game is afoot to find the real murderer.

Descriptions in the book can be lengthy; the author does love her adjectives and the more the merrier. Murder on Cold Street is not a fast read, but enjoyable none the less. Although each novel in the series can stand on its own, it would be helpful to read them in order to keep up with the backstories of the various characters. There are many references to events from past books that I would have liked to know more about.

A Study in Scarlet Women (2016)

A Conspiracy in Belgravia (2017)

The Hollow of Fear (2018)

The Art of Theft (2019)

Murder on Cold Street (2020)

Miss Moriarty, I Presume? is due out in November.

4.22 stars on Goodreads, 4.6 on Amazon

None of the Lady Sherlock books are available at EPL. Ask any of the reference librarians to get the book(s) for you from an area library.

Sisters in Arms by Kaia Alderson (2021)

 

I LOVE reading historical fiction. More times than not I learn new things, in addition to enjoying a good story. Sisters in Arms has both covered. It is the story of the 6888^th Central Postal Directory Battalion (known as the Six Triple Eight), the only all-Black female battalion deployed overseas during World War II.

The story beings in 1942 with the formation of the U.S. Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (soon to become the Women's Army Corps or WAC). Forty black women were allowed to enter the first WAAC officer candidate class. This is when we meet our heroines Grace Steele and Eliza Jones, two women who could not be more different but grew to respect one another.

This well-written, engaging novel follows Grace and Eliza from the WAAC application process, through basic training until their discharge at the end of the war. It is a story about dreams, friendship, courage against all odds, and the prejudices the women faced from white officers, enlisted men, and the general population. Unfortunately, some things have not changed. Some of the supporting characters actually existed and others are fictionalized but based on actual people.

I would recommend this to any history buff.

3.7 stars on Goodreads, 4.3 on Amazon

For more info on the WAC and the Six Triple Eight Battalion, check out https://history.army.mil/brochures/wac/wac.htm and https://history.army.mil/html/topics/afam/6888thPBn/index.html

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens (2018)

 

Reese’s Book Club
#1 New York Times Bestseller

Where the Crawdads Sing takes place between the 1950 and 1969 in Barkley Cove, North Carolina. The book begins with two events that seem unrelated, but over the course of the novel intertwine. The portion of the story that takes place in the 50s is that of a young girl named Kya living in the marsh, the latter events revolve around the murder of local football celebrity Chase Andrews.

Kya’s lives on the outskirts of town in the marshland, which unfortunately comes with many preconceived notions from the town’s people. Throughout the novel the reader sees the prejudice the town holds towards those of the marsh. The people of the Barkley Cove assume Kya is uneducated based on her only having attended one day of school. However, Kya has learned the ways of the land by surviving when her family abandons her.  She was also able to make a lifelong friend Tate who decides to help Kya learn how to read and write. During their teenage years the two of them fall in love; however Tate leaves Kya to go off to college, to study the marsh, and breaks her heart.    As the story progresses, they reconnect and Kya becomes a published academic on the marsh.

During the time of Tate leaving for college, Kya gets involved with Chase Andrews. Chase and Kya also develop a relationship; however it’s not what Kya hopes for. Instead, Chase turns out to be an arrogant character that simply sees Kya as the dumb marsh girl, and assumes that he can use her however he wants. Kya eventually discovers that Chase is intending to marry another girl so she cuts off ties with him. However, when Chase turns up dead the people that were aware of their connection automatically assume it was Kya’s doing, including the local law enforcement. This escalates into them bringing charges against Kya based on questionable evidence at best, spurred on by the town’s bias of the marsh. To learn how the court case unfolds and the stories of Kya, Tate, Chase and the rest of Barkley Cove you will have to check out Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens.

I personally enjoyed this book, and found it to be a quick read with well written characters. While I will admit at times the character of Kya may be a bit hard to believe in the sense of realism, I found it easy to dismiss based on the likeability of the story. Originally I simply read this book for the Historical Fiction book club I host at the library without many expectations. When I picked the book I simply based it off of knowing it was a popular book with book clubs and was making its rounds through the library system. After having read it I can understand its popularity and would also recommend it.  If this book or historical fiction interests you, I invite you to check out the library’s Historical Fiction Book Club. We currently meet every third Saturday of the month at noon on Zoom where we discuss books such as this one.

4.46 stars on Goodreads, 4.8 on Amazon

Rust and Stardust by T. Greenwood (2014)

 

This novel is based on actual events. In the late 1940’s a young girl who is desperate to be in the cool girl click is given an initiation challenge. Florence (Sally) Horner is tasked to steal an item before being permitted to join the click. As she gathers her courage to do the deed, a man is watching her. When Sally slips the stolen notebook into her coat this man approaches her. His name is Frank, and he tells Sally he is an FBI agent and has witnessed the thief. Frank agrees to look the other way if Sally agrees to check in with him and keep it a secret. Sally readily agrees.

The next day Frank shows up again and tells Sally she must go to Atlantic City with him to face a judge but she must not tell her mother. Sally tells her mother she has been invited to go on vacation with her friend and her family. Sally’s mother is leery but relived that Sally has a friend and agrees to let her go. After several weeks Sally’s mom is getting worried even though Sally is regularly communicating. As the truth slowly comes out all seems lost.

It turns out Frank is a recently released convict who had been convicted of kidnapping and child molestation. As the police rush to Atlantic City to stop Frank he and Sally have fled to Baltimore. There they stay with a friend who believes Sally is Frank’s daughter. Strangely enough Frank still allows Sally to send home messages to tell her mother she is safe. It is while they are in Baltimore that Sally learns Frank is not an FBI agent; instead, he leads Sally to believe he is her long-lost father.

As the police again close in on them, the couple flee to Texas. While living in Texas, Sally confides in a friend that she has been kidnapped and sexually abused by Frank. Suddenly they are on the move again, this time to California. It is here that Sally is finally able to escape the almost 2-year ordeal.

I would like to be able to say things get better for Sally once she is home but that is not the case. Sally is no longer the 11-year-old she was when she left home; she is now 13 and grown far beyond her chronological age. Sadly, what happened to her over that two-year period does not compare to how her story ends.

I strongly recommend this book but please take the time to read the book before searching Google for information on Sally Horner.

4.13 stars on Goodreads, 4.3 on Amazon