BOOK REVIEW: There Will Be Bodies by Lindsey Davis

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

I’ve been following Flavia Albia since she was a young girl in the Falco series by Lindsey Davis. She now has a series of her own. There Will be Bodies is book 13.

Albia has inherited a knack for investigating from her adoptive father, Falco. Her long-suffering husband, Tiberius Manlius, not only allows her this unconventional profession, but encourages her and sometimes helps her. He is a builder (and a magistrate) and has been assigned the task of looking over and cleaning up a property purchased by his wealthy uncle. The property is in the vicinity of Mount Vesuvius, and suffered in the famous volcano eruption 10 years earlier.

Sextus Curvidius, the man who inherited the property and sold it to Tiberius’ uncle, has asked them to see if they can locate his elder brother who lived there but disappeared during the time of the eruption. He is presumed dead, but Sextus would like to provide the proper funeral rites if his body can be located.

Tiberius and Albia are warned, and warn their crew, that there will be bodies, given that the estate is partly buried in volcanic ash.

Bodies are found. But, suspiciously, they don’t seem to be merely victims of the volcano. Foul play is Albia’s diagnosis. She just needs to prove it and found out who did it.

Using her trademark snark and brazenly marching into danger, Albia wracks up suspects, clues, and possible witnesses, but can’t quite choose which of the potential scenarios is the right one until she gathers all the suspects together to try out her theories. 

Although I love this series, this was one of my least favorites. Maybe Albia’s cynical/soft-hearted voice is growing stale for me. Or maybe I wish Tiberius was a more interesting partner. Or maybe the plot required a few too many coincidences. Still, the mystery is wrapped up in a satisfying conclusion. And I’m sure I’ll come back for book 14.

BOOK REVIEW: The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder

It was time to read another classic, so I picked the Pulitzer Prize winner, The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder, first published in 1927.

The blurb on my 2004 copy, taken from the foreword, calls it “As close to perfect a moral fable as we are ever likely to get in American literarure.”

So, what is it about? It’s about the 5 victims of a (fictional) bridge collapse in Peru in 1714. The rope bridge had been there for so long it was considered indestructible. So when it broke, there were those who considered it an Act of God. The collapse was witnessed by the local Franciscan, Brother Juniper, who decided it would be a perfect test for his theory that with careful study, one could interpret God’s plan. There is no such thing as an accident. There was a reason that these five people had been on the bridge that day. These five and no others.

Brother Juniper then spends six years compiling the information in the next few chapters, the life stories of the victims. The writing is beautiful. Their stories are moving and sad. Brother Juniper’s ultimate fate is surprising. And the conclusion seems to be the opposite of what he’d hoped to prove. In the end, it is the Abbess in the town who draws her own conclusion: the only thing that lasts, that has any meaning, is love.

It’s a short book, but not a quick read. Recommended for when you’re in the mood for something reflective.

BOOK REVIEW: The Trick of the Treasure by Mary Lancaster

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

Constance Silver and Solomon Grey are at it again in The Trick of the Treasure, Book 4 of Mary Lancaster’s new Victorian mystery series. 

Constance is the owner of high-priced brothel and safe place for disadvantaged women. Solomon is a hugely successful self-made businessman. And they have fallen in love.

They are also the detectives running the Silver and Grey Agency. Their latest assignment is finding a treasure that has gone missing from the safe room of an adventurer, Barnabas Lloyd. Lloyd is addicted to treasure hunting, to the point that he has nearly bankrupted his family. This treasure, literally discovered on a deserted island with the help of an old map, is desperately needed to pay off creditors and keep the family afloat. The family consists of a grown son who accompanied Barnabas on this latest trip, a sixteen-year-old daughter who is discovering suitors,  a twelve-year-old daughter who is wiser than her older siblings, and a wife who finds life more enjoyable when her husband is away than when he is home. There is also Barnabas’ spinster sister, who is ignored at home but finds her joy in charitable endeavors.

The treasure was unloaded from the ship, inspected by customs officers, then carried to the Lloyds’ home, where it was locked in an interior room with no windows and only one door. The next morning, when Barnabas went to show the treasure to his youngest daughter, the treasure chest was empty.

Someone stole it. But who? And how?

Constance and Solomon dive into the mystery with their usual conscientious flair. Along the way, they begin to question whether the danger of investigative work is worth it. Although each is willing to risk their own life, it’s different watching a loved one do so.

This is another intriguing, well-plotted historical mystery. The romance between the two leads is progressing apace. I recommend this series highly – but strongly suggest you start with book 1.

BOOK REVIEW: Measure of Devotion by Nell Joslin

Measure of Devotion by Nell Joslin is a poignant story of a mother’s determined love set against the backdrop of the Civil War.

Susannah and Jacob Shelburne are South Carolina farmers with Union and abolitionist sympathies. However, their son, Francis, is a heart-and-soul Confederate, who joined the army as soon as he turned 18. There is a good deal of quiet family dysfunction in the Shelburne home, but when a telegram arrives reporting that Francis has been severely wounded in Tennessee, Susannah sets off to find him and tend to him.

The novel follows Susannah on her journey and also takes the reader back in time to see her past and the forces that shaped her. Her inner strength allows her to overcome the difficulties of travel and the hardships of caring for her wounded son in war-torn Tennessee. When the Confederates lose the Battle of Lookout Mountain and retreat, Francis becomes a prisoner of war. Susannah must use every resource she can to win him a parole he does not want.

This is a beautifully written, moving novel that does not shy away from the devastation of war.

BOOK REVIEW: Bring the House Down by Charlotte Runcie

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

Wow! Bring the House Down by Charlotte Runcie  is a page-turner.

Sophie is a junior culture writer for a big London newspaper. She is on assignment in Edinburgh for the Fringe Festival, along with the paper’s top theater critic, Alex Lyons. They are sharing a rental flat provided by the company. They are work friends, not much more, when the real story begins.

Alex went to a one-woman show, put on by a young actress, Hayley Sinclair, about climate change and the patriarchy. The show was awful. He wrote a biting review and gave it one star. He filed it with his editor, then went to a bar for a few drinks. There, he met Hayley, also alone, having a drink. They hooked up. He didn’t tell her who he was, or that he had just written a potentially career-ending review of her show. She discovered this the next morning, reading the review in front of Sophie in the flat.

But Hayley turns the tables by re-inventing her show as The Alex Lyons Experience. She tells the audience what happened, reading aloud from the review, and encouraging women to tell their own stories about horrible men, particularly if the horrible man was Alex.

Over the course of the Festival, as more and more women speak up at the new show and on social media,  readers (and Sophie) see just what a misogynistic player Alex is, and how shallow and unrepentant he is. Only Sophie can see hints of vulnerability, and she makes readers see them too. It doesn’t make him any more likeable, but it does make him understandable.

Even recognizing his faults, Sophie is drawn to him. The more he confides in her, the more she learns about the forces that have shaped him, the more guiltily sympathetic she feels. And Sophie examines her own life as well. She desperately misses her mother, who died too young. She has conflicted feelings about her husband. She misses her carefree younger self and her one-year-old son in roughly equal amounts. She wonders if she is cut out to be a critic when she wants everyone to like her.

Runcie does a superb job of taking the reader into the heart of the Fringe Festival while also doing deep dives on the psychology of Sophie, Alex, and Hayley. The tension in the story keeps ratcheting up as Alex digs himself into a hole he can’t possibly climb out of, and, as a reader, I’m not sure that I want him to.

A gripping novel. Highly recommended!

BOOK REVIEW: A Tarnished Canvas by Anna Lee Huber

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

I’ve been following Anna Lee Huber’s Lady Darby Mysteries since the beginning of the series. For fans of historical mystery, this is a series not to miss. A Tarnished Canvas is the thirteenth book, and there is also a novella tucked in there. While the latest novel can be read as a standalone, it would really be better to have read at least some of the earlier books to get the gist of the relationships. The mystery can stand alone, but you’ll lose out on a lot of the heart of the story.

Kiera Gage (Lady Darby) is an artist, a new mother, a skilled sleuth, and a devoted wife. That is a handful for anyone, but fortunately, she and her husband are wealthy enough to afford good help – a valet, lady’s maid, and nursemaid who also aid with the sleuthing. The valet and lady’s maid add a second element of troubled romance to the storyline.

Kiera is a sought-after portraitist amongst the members of high society, but she is currently working on material for an exhibition of the downtrodden populace. While she wants to make her peers see the subjects, she’s fearful of a negative response. (Her past has her very insecure about being attacked for her work.) As the book opens, Kiera receives an invitation and catalogue to an art auction. The effects of a deceased collector are being sold off. During the auction, calamity strikes. Part of the floor collapses, sending numerous attendees plummeting. Although at first it appears to be an accident, there are hints that it was intentional. Kiera and her inquiry agent husband, Sebastian Gage, are drawn into the investigation. They are aided, to Gage’s dismay, by the local crime lord Bonnie Brock (who is infatuated with Kiera.)

Once again, Huber crafts a well-plotted mystery that will keep you guessing until the end, and immerses it within ongoing complex family dynamics. This is an engaging series to follow!

BOOK REVIEW: Look Before You Leap by Virginia Heath

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

Look Before You Leap by Virginia Heath is a delightful (moderately steamy) Regency Rom-Com.

Lottie Travers is a farmgirl whose family farm is failing, despite the efforts of her father and brothers. Lottie has been granted a great opportunity, education in Miss Prentice’s School, where she is to learn how to behave amongst wealthy aristocrats so that she can work as a governess, maid, or companion. She’s grateful for the opportunity because it allows her to earn wages to send home. Unfortunately, she is obsessed with fast horses, to the point that she can’t help flirting with stablehands in order to borrow mounts to go riding. And ultimately, in roundabout ways, getting herself fired. Fortunately, she is given the opportunity to be a companion to a crotchety old woman who seems amused by her escapades. Unfortunately, the lady is the aunt of a young lord with whom Lottie had collided in a park. The encounter was memorable for the lord’s rudeness and for his great good looks.

The lord, Viscount Wennington (Guy) is as grumpy as they come. Years ago, he made a fool of himself by making a very public proposal and being very publicly refused. Ever since, he has avoided female company, avoided polite society, and spent his time on his estate, taking care of his tenants. However, his 30^th birthday is approaching, and his grandchild-obsessed mother is plotting (along with her sister, Lottie’s employer, Lady Frinton) to throw him a birthday party filled with eligible ladies as guests. The party has to be kept secret because they know he’ll hate it.

While accompanying Lady Frinton, Lottie is repeatedly thrown into company with Guy. Their personality conflicts lead to a great deal of bickering and miscommunication, but the physical attraction is strong, and they are both good people at heart, so apologies follow the arguments and the two grow ever more enamored with one another. (Especially when Lottie is compared to the aristocratic competition!)

For fans of grumpy/sunshine romances, this one is fun!