BOOK REVIEW: And Then There Was the One by Martha Waters

I received this book for free from Netgalley. That did not influence this review.

I enjoy a good historical mystery with a romantic subplot. And Then There Was the One by Martha Waters caught my eye, so I was pleased with the chance to review it.

Set in 1930s England, it plays with the genre, both embracing it and spoofing it.

The heroine is Georgiana Radcliffe, daughter of a country gentleman. Georgiana is resigned to spinsterhood, believing that her widowed father and younger sister can’t function without her. In fact, she’s convinced she’s indispensable to her whole tiny Cotswold village, Buncombe-upon-Woolly. This impression was reinforced over the past year when four murders were committed in the otherwise quaint village. Georgiana inadvertently solved the crimes before the constables, thanks to her superior knowledge of poisons. (She is an avid gardener.) 

However, four murders is too many. Now, the town is overrun with Murder Tourists. And when the town’s council chairman dies suddenly, Georgiana is determined to investigate, even though the cause of death was ruled a heart attack. This time, she doesn’t want to go it alone. With the approval of her best friend, Arthur, the town’s very responsible journalist, she invites a renowned investigator from London to help solve the murder (if, in fact, one occurred.) The detective declines, but sends his assistant (actually, his secretary) to help them, Sebastian Fletcher-Ford.

Sebastian is the most handsome man ever seen in the village. He unabashedly uses his good looks and charm to ingratiate himself with the villagers and Murder Tourists. Georgiana refuses to be charmed. She thinks he is annoying and none too bright.

And yet, as their investigation proceeds, she finds there is more to the man than a handsome face, glowing skin, and athletic physique.

This is a smart romp with an interesting mystery at its core, a delightful romance, and a fun supporting cast.

BOOK REVIEW: While You Were Spying by Shana Galen

While You Were Spying by Shana Galen is a steamy Regency Romance, the first book in the Regency Spies series.

Miss Francesca Dashing is the unconventionally beautiful daughter of a viscount, whose first engagement ended in disaster and left her emotionally scarred. Convinced that she is not worthy of love, she has determined never to marry. Back home on her father’s Hampshire estate, she tends to wounded animals, watches over her stunning younger sister, and puts up with her loving but silly mother. This all changes when Ethan Caxton, the Marquess of Winterbourne, mysteriously appears.

Winterbourne is an alpha hero who also has a traumatic love affair in his past. He is convinced all women are untrustworthy. But he hasn’t time for love anyway, since he is trying to flush out a ring of smugglers involved with France.

The attraction between the two is instantaneous, though they both deny it. However, when Francesca is attacked, and Winterbourne suspects the attack might be related to the smuggling, he assigns himself the task of keeping her safe.

Of course, one thing leads to another.

For fans of high-steam romance with a touch of mystery!

BOOK REVIEW: The Hidden City by Charles Finch

I received this book for free from Netgalley. That did not influence this review.

About two years ago, I stumbled upon a cozy Victorian mystery series, A Charles Lenox Mystery, and loved the first book, A Beautiful Blue Death. It was an older novel, and there are a dozen in the series, but even though I intended to go on with the series, book 2 never rose to the top of my TBR pile.

I saw the newest book in the series, The Hidden City by Charles Finch, on Netgalley and was eager to read it, even though I’ve missed the books in between. It was delightful to return to the world of the detective, Charles Lenox, a British gentleman with a nose for mysteries. The book can be read as a standalone without detriment to the plot. However, his private life has moved on, and I want to go back now and catch up on that.

Lenox is recovering from a stab wound received during the investigation of his most recent prior case. The brush with death and the ongoing pain have him out of sorts. He is hunkering down, avoiding his colleagues at the detective agency he started. He’s having trouble re-engaging with that part of his life. Maybe feeling his age.

It doesn’t help that a favorite cousin, who made his life in India and lost touch with the family, has recently died. Lenox is named as guardian to his cousin’s twenty-year-old daughter Angela. When Angela’s ship comes in, she is accompanied by a friend, Sari. The two are as close as sisters. They don’t expect to be greeted with the generosity and open-mindedness that Lenox, his wife, and his brother show them. It’s sweet to watch the way they are integrated into the family. Lennox’s wife undertakes the task of introducing them to society, because, of course, it’s important that they find suitable husbands.

At the same time, Lenox receives a letter from his old housekeeper, who is now retired and has returned to London to live near her nephew. The house she is living in was the site of an unsolved murder, years ago, and she has been plagued by strange events that make her worry she might be in danger. She asks him for help. This is not a case he can turn down.

Lenox is a clever investigator and the mystery is complex and intriguing. Tracking down the killer takes Lenox into parts of London that are generally hidden to men of his class.

The two plots progress alongside one another without significantly intersecting. Moreover, the reader gets to see Lenox’s physical and mental recovery from the trauma of his last case.

I enjoyed these books so much that I did go out and buy one of the others in the series and I requested book 2 from the library. So I hope to fill in the gaps! 

BOOK REVIEW: Indigo Field by Marjorie Hudson

Indigo Field by Marjorie Hudson is a grand, sprawling, multi-family, multi-generational epic set in contemporary rural North Carolina.

Rand Jefferson Lee is a retired army colonel who is embittered about life. He has moved to a retirement community at his wife’s request. She is active and sociable, while he simply wants to be left alone. His only real activities are running (to bring on a second heart attack) and dwelling on his plans to leave her a well–provided for widow. His plans fail when she is the one to die suddenly.

Joylene is a youngish widow with a late-teenage son with Down Syndrome. She owns a goat dairy farm and hard-scrabble garden. Actually, the bank owns it and she is desperate to hold onto it so she can continue to care for her son. But the mortgage needs to be paid and she just can’t keep up.

Reba is an elderly Black woman with native blood whose people at one time populated the whole area. She is the last of her line, after a meth-addled white man killed her niece. Now, she is fostering the killer’s troubled young teenage son because her niece loved the boy, and he has no one else. Reba also has second-sight and communes with spirits, adding a touch of magical realism.

Reba and Joylene are friends, even though Reba has had nothing but pain and suffering from the white people she encounters. This now includes Rand, who smacked into her old rusting car while he was running and looking at his phone. She feels he should pay to fix the dent. He feels she is at fault and is just after his money.

The characters all have deep, dark secrets. The book is permeated with grief and loss. It takes a cataclysmic storm to bring everything out into the open in this immersive, ultimately redemptive novel.

BOOK REVIEW: Miss Morton and the Missing Heir by Catherine Lloyd

I received this book for free from Netgalley. That did not influence this review.

I’m a big fan of Catherine Lloyd’s historical mysteries. The Kurland St. Mary Mysteries are not to be missed, and neither is her current series, the Miss Morton Mysteries.

Miss Morton and the Missing Heir is book 4. Miss Caroline Morton is the daughter of an earl. However, her father gambled away everything that wasn’t entailed, including the dowries of Caroline and her sister. When he died with no known male heir, the two young girls were thrown onto the mercy of relatives, who did not treat them well. The backstory comes out in books 1-3, so I recommend reading the series in order.

Caroline struck out on her own, taking employment as a companion to Mrs. Frogerton, a wealthy businesswoman, who was pleased to have an aristocratic lady to help her launch her daughter into society. With that accomplished, and with the possibility of an inheritance coming to her through other means, Caroline is faced with the possibility of leaving Mrs. Frogerton’s employ. But not yet.

A Mr. Scutton appears, along with his mother and sister. Mr. Scutton says he is the next living male relative in the Morton line, and he has come to claim the earldom. His claim is fairly credible. Caroline doesn’t want to have anything to do with the earldom, and is content to let him have the title and ancestral home. While the old house is being fixed up (it was in quite a state of disrepair), Mrs. Frogerton invites the Scuttons to stay with her and Caroline.

Lloyd does a great job of presenting Mr. Scutton as a character to love to hate. He is arrogant, snooty, and he feels entitled to tell Caroline how to live. Of course, she must give up her employment and behave as a lady. And she definitely must give up her friendships with Inspector Ross (a detective who has helped Caroline and Mrs. Frogerton solve mysteries in the past) and Dr. Harris (a gruff, talented physician who has also been there in the past for Caroline.) Both men have fallen for Caroline, but she isn’t ready to commit to either. The reader will be as indignant as Caroline over Scutton’s presumption.

While they are waiting for Scutton’s claim to be approved by the powers that be, two murders occur. Caroline and Mrs. Frogerton investigate, alongside Inspector Ross. Scutton and his mother fume at the slow pace of the investigation.

Caroline’s calm is impressive as she deals with the insufferable Scuttons while trying to solve the murders. The novel is fast-paced and well-plotted. And the developing relationships keep me coming back for more.

BOOK REVIEW: Vengeance in Venice by Mary Lancaster

I received this book for free from Netgalley. That did not influence this review.

Vengeance in Venice by Mary Lancaster is the 6th book in the Silver and Grey mystery series. Throughout the series so far, Constance Silver, a beautiful brothel owner and Solomon Grey, a handsome, very wealthy businessman, have fallen in love while solving murders, have married, and are now on their honeymoon in Venice.

They are charmed by the magic of the city, but unfortunately, they are not able to enjoy the peace for long. Witnessing a man being beaten by a group of thugs, Solomon goes to the rescue, and while he is busy, Constance is kidnaped. Although she is quickly released, it’s clear they have stumbled into the middle of a dangerous rivalry. This event is a segue into a murder. And even though they are supposed to be enjoying their wedding trip, the pair dive into the investigation.

The motive for the murder is unclear. Is it jealousy? Greed? Political rivalry? A combination of all three? It seems everyone they meet is a possible suspect. But every time they think they’ve solved the puzzle, they are proven wrong. When the actual culprit worries they are getting too close to the truth, they may be the next victims.

This is a roller-coaster ride of a whodunit that kept me guessing the whole time. The pace gets faster and faster as the story barrels along to its conclusion. The novel could stand alone, but the nuances of the relationship would be lost. If you’re a fan of historical mystery/romance, start with book one. The series does not disappoint!

BOOK REVIEW: What We Can Know by Ian McEwan

I received this book for free from Netgalley. That did not influence this review.

What We Can Know is a new novel by Ian McEwan, author of Atonement. In it, he examines the pitfalls of trying to recreate the past by looking at fragments. What is missing may be the most important part.

The premise is clever: a gentler vision of the future we leave to posterity, but a disturbing one nonetheless. In the year 2119, after a nuclear apocalypse and climate catastrophe, England is largely submerged, leaving it an archipelago. People live in small island communities and have to take boats from one island to the other. Infrastructure is limited, but there are remnants, including higher education and libraries up on the higher ground, where scholars can suss out the lessons of the past. Thomas Metcalfe teaches literature from 1990 to 2030 to sullen college students who have no interest in the topic. He co-teaches with historian Rose Church. She is his collaborator, critic, girlfriend, and life partner.

Thomas’ area of study, his research project, is a lost poem from 2014. Composed by famed poet Francis Blundy, the poem “A Corona for Vivien,” was a birthday gift for his wife. He recited it at her birthday dinner party in front of a small number of guests. Because he wanted it to be special, he destroyed all early drafts and made only the one copy. The poem was never published. It disappeared. But the fact that it had once existed was well-documented, and speculation about it was rampant, until interest faded.

Thomas visits the archives and reads all the letters, texts, emails, and journals of Bundy, Vivien, and the guests at the dinner party to construct a story of what happened, in hopes it will lead him to the poem. In the process, McEwan builds a mesmerizing view of a future world, and a complicated look at the time we are living in.

None of the characters are very likeable, but their flaws make them seem very real. Beautifully written. Highly recommended.