What Angels Fear

 What Angels Fear (2005) by C. S. Harris (Candice Proctor) 

King George III's reign is drawing to a close and it's the dawn of the Regency era.  Whigs and Tories are battling behind the scenes for influence over the Prince Regent (George Augustus Frederick). A beautiful young actress found murdered on the altar steps of a church--her throat savagely cut and her person violated. When a dueling pistol belonging to Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, is found and a witness's testimony place him at the scene, the police are quick to believe they have their killer. After all, he wouldn't be the first young nobeleman to have gone off the rails, broken by experiences as a soldier in the Napoleonic Wars. 

Except...Devlin didn't do it. And he's determined to prove it. He escapes the long arm of the law and begins his own investigations--at first simply to clear his name, but the more he learns the more he is determined to seek justice for the woman. He gathers a band of allies--from the ex-military doctor who conducts an unauthorized autopsy (discovering that the woman was raped after the murder) to a young street urchin to Kat Boleyn, a lovely actress who once broke Devlin's heart. Another woman is killed and the nets of the law are drawing closer to our hero...time is running out. He is startled to find that his investigations are leading closer to home than he imagined and it all ties in with an underground of espionage. When one more woman's life is at stake, will he be in time to save her? 

According to my records, I read this once upon a time before I started blogging. The fact that I remembered very little of it points to the reason I started this blog in the first place--so I could write reviews of the books I read and hopefully give my sieve-like memory a boost. One of my favorite sub-genres of mystery is the historical mystery. I have a strong preference for the Victorian era, but the Regency period is also a favorite. I recently picked up several of the later books in the series (from a library bookstore clearance sale) and wanted to go back to the beginning and read in order.

Harris does a fine job setting her Regency-era scene and I definitely felt like I was being drawn back in time to the period. Her characters are fairly stock-in-trade (from the silent, near-loner hero who publicly seems a bit hard-as-nails, but underneath is sympathetic to those in need to the injured, ex-military doctor to the mysterious, forbidden love interest to the villains who want nothing more than to see our hero fail), but she makes them her own and manages to make the reader interested in and really care about them. She ties up the threads of the primary mystery very neatly, but there are plenty of loose threads from the rest of the pattern to follow up in future books. I look forward to reading about them. ★★★★

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Deaths = 3 (two throat cut/stabbed; one drowned)

Duke of My Heart

Duke of My Heart (2016) by Kelly Bowen

Captain Maximus Harcourt, the tenth Duke of Alderidge, comes home for an infrequent visit to find his sister missing and a very naked and very dead earl tied with scarlet ribbons to her bedposts while a ball in her honor goes on downstairs. The Duke isn't exactly the sole of propriety himself, captaining a ship and fending off pirates on the high seas, but he does expect his little sister to have been a bit more conventional. He also finds Miss Ivory Moore in possession of the scene, at his aunt's request. 

Miss Moore represents Chegarre and Associates, a company who specializes in sweeping all the high-class nastiness under the rugs. Ivory is giving orders in his house...and he's not sure he likes that. Especially when she starts ordering him about. But he soon realizes that Miss Moore knows what she's doing and if he wants to save his sister Lady Beatrice from scandal then he'll have to follow orders.

He finds it hard to believe that a woman could meet such a situation without turning a hair. In fact, Miss Moore acts like this is just a small matter and easily handled--like a package that has been delivered to the wrong address. Like she does this every day. And for all he knows, she does. 

Once the immediate crisis is averted and the earl is discovered dead (and fully clothed) in the guest room, where--after telling Alderidge that he felt poorly and would just lie down for a bit--he apparently died of overindulgence (in food and drink...not anything more scandalous than that), Max and Ivory turn their attention to tracking down Lady Beatrice...and each other. For Max can't deny that he's never met a woman so fascinating, so self-possessed, and so unimpressed with his ability to cope with this particular crisis. And Ivory can't deny that she's never a man who so intrigued her and made her forget her job. Notes arrive purporting to be from Beatrice and telling her brother that she's fine and don't bother looking for her, but Max is sure there's something wrong. 

The trail leads to an "antique" dealer who offers rare and hard-to-get (read stolen) treasures to the highest bidder and Ivory will wind up making a bargain she just might regret in order to save the sister of the man she loves.

[Possible spoilers ahead]

The first book in the Seasons for Scandal romantic intrigue series by Bowen doesn't have quite the mystery flair of Between the Devil & the Duke. Having read Between as an entry in the Monthly Awards challenge, I decided to go back to the beginning and see how Ivory (who helps Lady Angelique and Alex get to the bottom of who framed Angelique's brother for murder) met her Duke. The story of their meeting and working out their relationship was pretty good, but I have to admit to being disappointed that there wasn't as much mystery involved in this one. We know pretty quickly where Lady Beatrice is and there wasn't nearly as much tension in the rescue scene as anticipated. I'm glad I read this for the backstory on Ivory and her Captain--but I'm also glad I didn't read it first because I don't think I would have read any more.  ★★★ 

Between the Devil & the Duke

Between the Devil & the Duke (2017) by Kelly Bowen is a regency romance novel with heavy doses of mystery, intrigue, and murder. It features Lady Angelique Archer who bears the weight of her family's troubles on her shoulders. Her mother died five years ago from a mysterious illness. Then her father, the Marquess of Hutton, died during a hold-up by a highwayman, leaving his family with far less money than anticipated. The family solicitors hem and haw about the difficulties, but it boils down to the fact that the Marquess sold off all of his property save the family home in London and the proceeds from those sales have disappeared into the ether. No one knows why he was selling or where the money went. 

Lady Angelique's brother (now the Marquess) is a wastrel--frittering away what little money was left on wine, women, and song--and she is at her wit's end as to how she can keep things together. She has sold everything in the house that could be converted into cash and still isn't going to be able to meet the bills--including the school fees for her twin younger brothers. But the lady has a skill that she can put to use. She has extraordinary mathematical abilities and decides to use those abilities to allow her to count cards at society's gambling dens. She's turning a fair profit and managing (she thinks) to draw little attention to herself in the process....

But Alexander Lavoie, owner of the club she's been frequenting, has noticed her. He noticed her the moment she walked in and has watched the masked woman work the cards like no one he's ever seen before. He doesn't mind because she's been playing vignt-et-un and relieving some rather despicable members of the ton of their money. More than that, he doesn't mind because she fascinates him and he wants to find a way to discover who the lovely lady behind the mask is. Opportunity falls into his lap one night when one of his customers becomes more than unusually upset at having lost and accosts her. Even though it's clear that the woman can handle herself, Lavoie takes advantage of the situation and steps in as owner. He uses the situation to find out more about her and offers her a job dealing the cards for a vingt-et-un table--where she'll be able to make money for the house (and considerably more for herself with percentage he guarantees).

One thing leads to another and, of course since this is a romance novel, sexual tension starts running all over the place. Alex keeps telling himself that he must keep business and pleasure separate, but we all know that's not going to last long. Angelique is too alluring, too clever, and too able to make him a good partner in all ways. On her side, she keeps telling herself that she had a lucky escape from an really bad engagement and that she doesn't need a man to interfere in her affairs, but that's not going to last long either. Alex is too handsome, too easy to talk to, and too concerned about her for her to walk away from. And she does wind up needing his help...

Her wastrel brother gets framed for a murder he swears he didn't commit and Alex has connections that can help get to the bottom of the plot. And plot it is--someone has hated the Archer family for at least five years and is willing to kill repeatedly to get the revenge they feel due. The budding romance has to go on hold while Angelique and Alex follow the twisting trail to a surprising culprit.

I don't read a lot of romance novels anymore...but this fit right into a challenge category that I was having difficulty with, so I snatched it up from the library. It was a pleasant surprise to find a murder mystery plot receiving equal time with the romance--and to find it to be an interesting mystery plot. I thoroughly enjoyed the relationship between our two protagonists and I have to say that my favorite scene occurred after they had sneaked into the Tower to visit her imprisoned brother. They are making their way out when they hear guards coming. Alex (who is dressed in his old military uniform) tells her to hide while he tries to talk his way out of it and he spins a story about his general sending him to look up records (they're caught in some sort of records stash area in the Tower). The guards aren't buying it and Angelique, who is dressed in male clothing with hair stuffed under a hat, bustles out and plays the pompous secretary to the general to perfection. It's a delightful scene.

Overall, an enjoyable read, though I do prefer older regency romances (such as those by Georgette Heyer) with less emphasis on the sex. This one mitigates the sexy bits by offering up a nice, juicy mystery. ★★★ and 3/4

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Deaths = 5 (one poisoned; one stabbed [throat slit]; three shot) 

Murder at Melrose Court

Murder at Melrose Court (2018) by Karen Baugh Menuhin

Menuhin has set her historical mystery series right in the middle of the Golden Age. This debut novel takes place at Christmas time in 1920. Major Heathcliff (please don't call him that) Lennox discovers a dead body on his doorstep. It is established that the man died of a heart attack, but the local police are still suspicious that Lennox knows more than he tells. Which he does. The man had a scrap of paper in his pocket with the name "Countess Sophia Androvich Zerevki Polyakov" on it. The major tells the police that he has never met the woman--which is, strictly speaking, true; but it's a good thing he didn't say he'd never heard tell of her.

Following on the heels of the deadly discovery, Lennox receives a telegram from his Uncle Charles Lennox insisting that he come home to Melrose Court for the Christmas holidays because he has "important news to impart." The important news? Uncle Charles...long confirmed bachelor, tottering around with his walking stick...is engaged to be married. To (you'll never guess...) the Countess Sophia Androvich Zerevki Polyakov. Other family members are on deck and Uncle is going to change his will.  But Uncle Charles is a jolly fellow and we like him, so (unlike many of the Golden Age mysteries written in the 1920s and 30s) he isn't the one who gets murdered. The next dead body to make an appearance is...(you'll never guess) the Countess Sophia Androvich Zerevki Polyakov. And our hero finds himself standing over her, having stupidly picked up the gun lying beside her--because it was his gun and what's it doing there, darn it? Now the local police are really suspicious of him and pretty much the whole house thinks he's a murderer. But he's not and now he's got to prove it. A couple more dead bodies, several red herrings, and a handful of clues later he does. And in classic Golden Age style, he gathers everyone together for a final reveal-all scene. 

This was a pleasant first mystery novel. I enjoyed seeing many of the familiar Golden Age tropes employed--sometimes with a bit of a twist. The overall historical feel of the book is good and I appreciated the humor and witticisms strewn throughout. My primary concern with the novel is Major Lennox. His character just doesn't interest me as much as the protagonist in a series should. There are glimmers of a character I could enjoy over the length of a series, but it's not fully realized--not as much as one would like upon a first meeting. I do have hopes (given the glimmers) that Menuhin will build on the major's character in future books and I enjoyed the novel enough to be ready to try the next one when the occasion arises. ★★★ and 1/2.

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Deaths = 4 (one heart attack; two shot; one pushed from height)

The Colorado Kid

The Colorado Kid (2005) by Stephen King

"The Colorado Kid" is the name given to an unknown man who shows up dead on a Maine island beach in 1980. the autopsy indicates that he died from a lack of oxygen (steak lodged in his throat) that may have caused a stroke (or vice versa). At first it looks like there are no clues to the man's identity--no wallet or papers on his person and no one comes forward to even say they saw him arrive on the island. The State Troopers assigned to the case have more important fish to fry (a real live murder case!) than an accidental death. Two newspapermen on the island and a grad student intern assigned to the Troopers dig up a few meager bits that lead to Colorado and ultimately the identification of the man as James Cogan.

But that's it. The investigation can't tell them why a mild-mannered advertising man who to all appearances was devoted to the wife and son he left behind in Colorado should have walked out of the office one fine morning on an errand for coffee and traveled across country to die on a lonely Maine beach. The newspapermen believe there is more to it than meets the eye--but can't find any leads or evidence to tell them what. And they never do. Years later, they tell their whole--incomplete--story to a young woman working as an intern for them. [I'm guessing that's supposed to be her there on the cover....]

Say hello to the mystery novel that really isn't a mystery novel. Is there a dead body? Sure. Do we ever really find out anything about what happened to him and why--other than he choked to death on a piece of steak? Nah. That wasn't King's point. King's point is how odd things happen all the time in real life that never get explained--so just deal with the fact that he doesn't explain what happened in his story either. And what's particularly annoying is that he know full well that mystery readers expect a resolution and he just thumbs his nose at them in the afterword:

Mystery is my subject here, and I am aware that many readers will feel cheated, even angry by my failure to provide a solution to the one posed. Is it because I had no solution to give? The answer is no.

So--he could have played by the mystery fiction rules. He just didn't want to.

As straight fiction--I liked this a LOT more than 11/22/63 (the only other King book I've ever read--also for a challenge). Quite possibly because it's a heck of a lot shorter. But also because I enjoyed the interactions between the main characters. And I enjoyed the way the two old newshounds told their story. I even enjoyed the build up of the story...which explains why I've given this ★★★. As a mystery or crime fiction novel--it leaves a LOT to be desired...which explains why it's not getting even a partial star more. Don't fly your story under the mystery/crime fiction flag and then refuse to play by the rules. Quite honestly, I'm confused as to why this was included in the Hard Case Crime editions. My only conclusion is they thought King's name would draw attention to the series.

Am I sold on King as an author? No. I probaby won't read another one unless I run into him in another challenge that requires one of his books.

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Deaths = one (asphyxia)

This Is Paradise (mini-review)

This Is Paradise (2013) by Kristiana Kahakauwila

Kristiana Kahakauwila is a native Hawaiian whose debut collection of short stories gives the reader a vivid look at what life on the islands is really like. This is no travel guide. No pretty overview of the beautiful landscape. These stories focus on the lives of the Hawaiians--those who grew up there and whose ancestors have been there for generations and who feel bound to the islands; those who feel the need to leave but who always hear the call of the land of their forebears; those who are of Hawaiian descent and born elsewhere but who are drawn back by invisible ties; and those whose ancestry lies elsewhere but who can't feel at home anywhere else. More than anything the stories are about knowing or finding the place where you belong.  ★★★★ and 1/2.

The Seven Dials Mystery (spoilerish)

The Seven Dials Mystery (1929) by Agatha Christie

Sir Oswald and Lady Coote had rented Chimneys with the idea of enjoying country estate living. In their last days at the secluded country house, they did what all country house owners do--they hosted a country house party. It was all going so well--lively young people all over the place. But then the young people decide to play a great joke on Gerry Wade. Gerry had proven himself to be a champion sleeper--rising for "breakfast" in time for luncheon. So, his friends decide that it would be great fun to go out and buy an alarm clock each (and a few more for good measure) and line them all up under Gerry's bed after he'd gone to sleep. Eight alarm clocks, all set at incremental intervals are put in place and the group eagerly await the moment when Gerry will shoot out of his bed like a rocket after hearing the noise.

Only...he doesn't. Because during the night he had a lethal dose of chloral hydrate. The inquest brings in a verdict of "death by misadventure" but Gerry's sister doesn't really believe it. After all--she'd never known her "champion sleeper" of a brother to need a sleeping draught. 

When Lady Eileen Brent, "Bundle" to her friends, and her father come home to Chimneys after a trip to the Continent, she finds an unfinished letter from Gerry Wade to his sister in her desk drawer. She's heard all about the unfortunate death and believes that it just might need a bit of looking into. As she's rushing into town to consult a friend, she (as she thinks) runs over a man and kills him. But when the doctor examines the body he finds that the car didn't touch him and the man was actually shot. The man's dying words had been "Seven Dials...tell....Tell...Jimmy Thesinger." Now Bundle is sure something must be done. She teams up with Jimmy Thesinger (friend of Gerry Wade and the dead man, Ronny Devereaux) and Gerry's sister Loraine and the three set out to find the Seven Dials and get to the bottom the mystery.

Bundle also consults Superintendent Battle, whom she met previously in the incidents related in The Secret of Chimneys. After due consideration of the letter written by Wade, she is convinced that he (as a member of the Foreign Office) had run across a secret society and was killed for his pains. She wants the superintendent to give her the names of all the secret societies in the Seven Dials. He complies, but tries (unsuccessfully) to warn her off. The secret society is found, some secret plans are nearly stolen, and much mayhem ensues before the secret of the Seven Dials is finally revealed.

******Spoilers ahead in my reactions to the story. Continue at your own risk.*******

This semi-sequel to The Secret of Chimneys is a bit of a toss-up for me. On the one hand, I thoroughly enjoyed the light-hearted, near-Wodehousian atmosphere of the country house party and their build-up to the alarm clock hi-jinks. The characters are quite good fun. And if I had kept that tone in mind throughout the book, I might not have a rating dilemma on my hands. But Bundle gets downright serious about her search for the secret society and when she found it, I was all for getting down to mystery business and capturing the evil mastermind behind it all. Except...that's not what we've got. The secret society is really on the side of the angels and the culprit is....someone I didn't expect.

I suppose I should hand it to Dame Agatha for pulling the wool over my eyes on this reading, especially since I read this once back in the mists of time. I believe I enjoyed twisty ending much more that first time round. After a bit of thought: ★★★ for this reading. Good solid fun and high-spirited adventure. 

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Deaths =  (one poisoned; one shot)

Palaces for the People

Palaces for the People by Eric Klinenberg

Klinenberg, a professor of sociology at New York University, examines how our social structures--from the library to schools to community gardens--can help mitigate problems and challenges of our divided civic life. He posits that neighborhoods, regardless of economic or over-all social standing, which have strong social infrastructure do better at taking care of one another when crises strike and also do better at resisting crime and other negative social impacts.

This was an interesting thesis, which once thought about made a great deal of sense to me. I was very interested to dive in and see what research he did and how the research supported (or didn't) his theories. However, as with other readers on Goodreads (I peeked at reviews when I finished the book), I found the chapter on libraries the most interesting and most compelling. The other chapters seemed to treat their focus in a much more cursory way and managed for the most part to loop back to talking about libraries.

Klinenberg seems very invested in libraries--and why not, libraries are very important to communities. But it seems to me that he would have done well to either rein in his enthusiasm for libraries in a book with a broad premise (such as this one purported to be) and give more thorough, organized attention to the other social structures OR, perhaps, to write a book that focused only on libraries and their importance to the social infrastructure of their communities. He also spent far less time than I anticipated on how these social structures help address inequality. ★★★

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Pick Your Poison: Check Out Those Lists (Show Us Your Books Favs 2018--from Jana's list of favorite nonfiction books)

Deep Waters: Murder on the Waves

Deep Waters: Murder on the Waves (2019) edited by Martin Edwards contains a lovely set of water-related mysteries for the reader with a fondness for crime. Stories ranging from those from the pen of well-known authors such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Edmund Crispin to the more obscure offerings of Gwyn Evans and Kem Bennett. Overall, a very strong showing with a wide range of liquid murderous methods. My favorites are "The Pool of Secrets," "Four Friends and Death," "The Turn of the Tide," and "The Queer Fish."  ★★★★

"The Adventure of the Gloria Scott" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: Sherlock Holmes tells Dr. Watson about his first case. A nice literary tidbit, but it serves more to give background on Holmes and show the earliest use of his powers of observation than to serve up an actual mystery for Holmes to solve. There are few deductions on display--the answer to the puzzle is served up in a document from the father of Holmes's friend.

"The Eight-Mile Lock" by L. T. Meade & Robert Eustace: John Bell, who specializes in debunking the supposed supernatural, is taking a short holiday with his friends Lord and Lady Ridsdale aboard their house-boat on the Thames. While there, Lady Ridsdale's beautiful diamond bracelet disappears. But it isn't until Bell helps the local lock-keeper to get to the bottom of the ghostly cries for the locks to be open that the thief and the whereabouts of the bracelet are revealed.

"The Gift of the Emperor" by E. W. Hornung: The last of the Raffles stories. Our gentleman burglar decides to steal a pearl of great price and boards a German ship to do so. Will he succeed? Will he escape justice? And what of poor Bunny?

"Bullion!" by William Hope Hodgson: Strange deaths by "just sickening and going off" and mysterious late-night whisperings haunt a ship hauling cases of gold bullion. The second mate realizes just in time what it all means.

"The Echo of a Mutiny" by R. Austin Freeman: Two men who had previously been involved in a mutiny meet up for duty in a lighthouse. One of the men is killed and the other tries to cover his tracks--but when Dr. Thorndyke enters the case, his hopes for escape rapidly dwindle.

"The Pool of Secrets" by Gwyn Evans: features a murder that is supposed to be the work of the Silver Bride, the ghost of a woman who drowned herself in her wedding gown. Quentin Drex uses some unorthodox methods to get to the bottom of the mystery.

"Four Friends & Death" by Christopher St. John Sprigg: a short vignette about whether friendship can last when one of the four friends (alone together on a boat) falls down dead--from poison!

"The Turn of the Tide" by C. S. Forester: A murderous lawyer finds the answer to the problem of what to do with the corpse....with unexpected results!

"The Swimming Pool" by H. C. Bailey: Dr. Reggie Fortune is called in when an anonymous note says that Old Mr. Colburn's death wasn't as natural as it seemed. Fortune is disturbed by the disused swimming pool on the estate and soon has a headless corpse and a missing nurse on his hands.

"A Question of Timing" by Phyllis Bentley: Bentley begins her story with an interesting hook: "A month or so ago, one Thursday afternoon, I stopped a murder." And this short little story goes on to tell how Robert Beringer, a writer, did just that while out on a walk along the Thames. He saved a life and got the girl...all in an afternoon's walk.

"The Thimble River Mystery" by Josephine Bell: Bell's story could also have been titled "A Question of Timing"--because timing becomes very crucial to the solution of the murder. There is a limited window of time when the killer could have reached the boat to do the deed.

"Man Overboard" by Edmund Crispin: A blackmailer's stash helps Inspector Humbleby catch a killer--an American whose brother supposedly "accidentally" drowned.

"The Queer Fish" by Kem Bennett: Albert Pascoe, salmon poacher, is forced at gunpoint to give transport to two strangers who want to make landfall in France. He takes them for a ride all right...and gets a bit of a surprise for his trouble.

"The Man Who Was Drowned" by James Pattinson: A woman claims to have seen a man go overboard, but Barton Rice, friend of the ship's captain and something to do with Scotland Yard, immediately spots a few inconsistencies in her story. He decides to do a little investigating on his own.

"Seasprite" by Andrew Garve: A smuggler gets more than he bargained for when he takes on a new partner.

"Death by Water" by Michael Innes: Did Sir John Appleby's vague philosopher friend commit suicide or did someone help him to his death by water? A very fishy state of affairs with a very fishy little clue.


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Deaths: 16 (one other/natural; six drowned; two other [attacked by piranhas]; three poisoned; two strangled; one hit on head; one fell from height)
PopSugar: Anthology
Pick Your Poison: Shorts (book of short stories)

The Beatles Yellow Submarine

The Beatles--Yellow Submarine story adapted by Bill Morrison (2018)
~based on a song by John Lennon & Paul McCartney (1966)
~from the Screenplay by Lee Minoff, Al Brodax, Jack Mendelsohn, and Erich Segal (1968)

Climb aboard the Beatles' Yellow Submarine and take a 60s psychedelic journey to Pepperland where the boys will help Young Fred, Old Fred, and the Mayor restore music, peace, happiness, and love to the land that has been attacked by the dreadful, music-hating Blue Meanies.

This is a beautifully rendered graphic novel version of the Yellow Submarine movie. The colors are vibrant and it was fun to revisit the story. I hadn't seen the movie for decades. The only way it could have been better would be if the music played when you opened the pages (like the greeting cards that come with sound). It was a shame not to hear "All You Need Is Love" playing in the background at the end. Highly enjoyable nonetheless. ★★★★★

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Pick Your Poison: Movie Quotes (I'm not bad, I'm just drawn that way: Graphic Novel)

Flame in the Mist

Flame in the Mist by Renee Ahdieh is a young adult historical fantasy set in feudal Japan when samurais protected the royal class and young girls were raised for one purpose--to make good marriages that would bring honor to their families. Mariko is the daughter of a samurai and she never seemed comfortable preparing for her role--she asked too many questions, her mind was always busy, and she was a gifted alchemist. But when the time comes and one of the Emperor's sons offers for her hand, she gives in to destiny. But fate has a way of twisting things up...

On the way to her bridegroom's palace, her convoy is attacked by what seems to be a horde of bandits who go by the name the Black Clan and who have been hired to kill Mariko. Miraculously, she survives and vows to find out who is beyond the plot to kill her and dishonor her family. She cuts her hair and disguises herself as a young peasant boy. Soon, she finds herself in the position to infiltrate the Black Clan and discover their secrets.

Meanwhile, her twin brother Kenshin is hunting for her. Despite the wreckage and burned bodies left behind by the attackers, Kenshin is sure his sister survived and he's determined to find her. He's not alone, Raiden--her intended--is also looking. But is his concern for her safety or do other motives drive him?

When I was looking for an award-winning book to read for this month's entry in the Monthly Book Award Challenge [2018 Southern Book Prize--Children's/Juvenile category], this sounded like a really interesting option. Young samurai daughter setting out on a quest to avenge herself on the bad guys who attacked her caravan and tried to kill her. You bet. Strong female character. Lead me to her. But honestly--she spends a great deal of time talking to herself (inside her head) like she's trying to convince herself that she's as tough as the book blurbs said she was. Not a whole lot happens for about two-thirds of the book. And the bulk of the action happens in the last 30 pages--all crammed together.

The writing is okay, although a great deal of the time I felt like the prose was trying too hard--too hard to be lyrical and descriptive, too hard to be all fantasy-like in a historical Asian setting. Some of it may have been an effort to duplicate the feel of translated Japanese works. I've read several books translated from the Japanese and it has an entirely different pace. But it never came off. Overall--a decent story, but I didn't quite feel that it was good enough for prizes. ★★★

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Pick Your Poison: Birds of a Feather (wings or feather on cover)

The Plague Court Murders

Set down in the midst of decaying brick buildings, gaunt and crooked against the dawn, with their blind windows staring into it, this yard was uncanny in its desolation. You felt that no church-bells, or street-organs, or any homely, human sound could ever penetrate it.

The Plague Court Murders (1934) by Carter Dickson [John Dickson Carr] is the first in the Sir Henry (H. M.) Merrivale mysteries by the locked room master. It is a nice little puzzle with gothic and supernatural undertones and a thoroughly unpleasant villain. Merrivale comes into the story about mid-way. We begin with Ken Blake at his club. He is approached by an old friend, Dean Halliday, with an unusual request. He wants Blake to come with him that very night and join him at a vigil at a haunted house. The house in question belongs to Halliday's family and has a history of murder and death. It is said to be haunted by the ghost of the original owner, one Louis Playge who was a hangman and died in mysterious circumstances during the years of the Plague.

Halliday's aunt, Lady Benning, and fiancee Marion Latimer are devotees of a medium/psychic and are determined to hold a vigil in the house while Roger Darworth and his medium, a young boy named Joseph, work to purge the house of its ghosts. Halliday wants Blake's assistance to prove the psychic a charlatan and they both call upon Chief Inspector Masters of the Yard (who dabbles in the art of exposing psychic fakes himself) to lend a hand. Meanwhile, the Playge Dagger--originally belonging to the hangman and donated by the Halliday family to a London Museum--has been stolen.

During the vigil, Halliday, his aunt, fiancee and her brother Ted, and Major Featherton (family friend) stay together in a room while Darworth is installed in a lonely stone building in the courtyard. The door is locked (both outside and in), the widows are closely barred, and surrounding the building is about thirty feet of smooth mud. And, yet, during the night Darworth will apparently be stabbed to death by a ghostly hand wielding the missing Playge Dagger. Masters is sure it's murder by a human hand, but can't see how the thing was done. Locked room expert, Sir Henry Merrivale is pressed into service "one more time" to show them all how it was done.

I enjoyed the atmosphere of this one--especially with all the details from the years of Louis Playge. It gave the story a nice ghost-story feel. Of course, H.M. dumps cold water on the idea that any supernatural forces are at play, but the build-up to the murders is very nicely done. The plot is not quite a smoothly polished as later Dickson novels will be, but it still a clever puzzle and Dickson manages to show you how it was done while firmly telling you that it couldn't have been done that way. Nobody says you have to believe characters implicitly when they tell you things....★★★ and 3/4.

For more reviews of The Plague Court Murders please check out the following blogs:
Brad @ Ah Sweet Mystery Blog
Ben @ The Green Capsule
Les @ Classic Mysteries


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Deaths = four (three shot; one burned to death)
Vintage Extravaganza Gold: Rule #2 Supernatural elements
Calendar of Crime: May (Pub Month)
PopSugar: Recommended by favorite blog(s)-- Les @ Classic Mysteries; Brad @ Ah Sweet Mystery Blog; Ben @ The Green Capsule; The Grandest Game
Pick Your Poison: Hidden--Author uses pseudonym

First Line: Old Merrivale, that astute and garrulous lump who sits with his feet on the desk at the War Office, has been growling again for somebody to write the story of the Plague Court murders; chiefly, it is believed, to glorify himself.

[Halliday] had sobered down, but he still had enough of the old humorous devil to make him good (sometimes dangerous) company. He had seen men and places. He had acquired a tolerant droop of the eyelid. Also, there was about him a certain fresh vitality and frankness which must have disturbed the somnolent air around Lancaster gate. You liked his grin. He was very fond of beer, detective stories, and poker. (p. 9)

Wait a bit, though. Is that facts--you know what I mean: hard, absolute, really 'appened facts, that no counsel could shake--or is it only more impressions? You'll admit that you've had a lot of those impressions, you know. (Chief Inspector Masters; p. 77)

Well, sir, I've generally discovered that a hunch is what you call an idea that you're afraid is wrong. (Detective Sergeant Bert McDonnell; p. 145)

Tut, tut. That's not fair detective-fiction, to go and dump down a mere name, somebody we haven't seen and that ain't connected with the business. (Sir Henry Merrivale; p. 170)

Last Line: "She died in the right place, son. She and Louis Playge--they both belong there."

The Corinthian

I am not quite sober you know. In fact, I am drunk, but I cannot help feeling this is all a trifle, shall we say, irregular?

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We were overturned in a ditch, we became--er--intimately acquainted with a thief; we found ourselves in possession of stolen goods; assisted in an elopement; and discovered a murder. I had not dreamt life could hold such excitement.
~The Corinthian (1940) by Georgette Heyer

Sir Richard Wyndham is a Corinthian--a wealthy, handsome dandy of twenty-nine. He has the world at his feet and his relatives nagging him to death to get married and carry on the family name. He prepares himself to give in to family pressure with a night of drunken gambling when Fate takes a hand. He decides to walk off his drinks and wanders into a quiet neighborhood where he spies a youth climbing out of a second story window on a much-too-short rope of bedsheets. 

He quickly realizes that the youth is a young woman when she literally falls into his arms. Penelope "Pen" Creed, a young lady just turned seventeen, is escaping from her aunt's house where she is being pressured to marry her "fish-faced" cousin, Fred. 

"He has a wet mouth," said Miss Creed despairingly.

In his still slightly drunken state, Sir Richard decides that it would be a grand idea to help Pen run away to her country estate (I forgot to mention that Pen is an heiress who is expected to marry her cousin and share her fortune with her less-fortunate relatives...) where she hopes to be reunited with a childhood friend with whom she shared a "blood oath" to marry once they were old enough. Besides, if he helps her run away, he can run away himself. As Miss Creed says when she tries to dissuade him from accompanying her:

"Do please consider....If you went with me, no one would know what had become of you."
"No one would know what had become of me," repeated Sir Richard slowly....

That seems to him to be a lovely idea.

The two marriage-truants find themselves involved in the most "exciting adventures" (to quote Pen). Pen continues her cross-dressing escapades with Sir Richard cast as everything from her tutor to uncle to trustee. They run up against thieves, find and lose a fabulous diamond necklace, discover a murder, and save people from their own romantic follies...all while slowly coming to realize the growing affections between them. But will Fate take another turn and keep them apart? Not if Sir Richard has anything to say about it.

This was a delightful little trip into a "guilty pleasure" book for one of my challenges. Not that I really feel all that guilty about reading a Regency romance--but, then, I don't really feel guilty about anything I choose to read. Georgette Heyer provides light-hearted romance and witty repartee in all of her romance novels. The Corinthian gives us two charming protagonists in our run-aways and adds some very entertaining supporting characters along the way. Cedric Brandon is marvelous. He's unrepentant about his scapegrace ways and very forthright about them with Sir Richard. He very truthfully tells Richard that he better run from a marriage with Melissa (Cedric's sister) or the whole family will be sponging off him. And he sees straight through Pen's schoolboy disguise. 

There could have been a bit more lead-in to the romance between Richard and Pen. I mean, anyone who has read Regency romance novels before knew what was coming--but there was very little real indication of what was happening between the two. A better build-up would have made for a much more satisfying  story. But overall--very enjoyable.  ★★★ and 1/2.

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PopSugar: Favorite prompt from a previous PopSugar Challenge--Item of clothing/accessory on cover (2019)
Pick Your Poison: How Old? (written before you were born)

First Line: The company, ushered by a disapproving butler into the yellow saloon of Sir Richard Wyndham's house in St. James's Square, comprised two ladies and one reluctant gentleman.

As a boy you would have been in no way remarkable; as a female, believe me, you are unique. (Sir Richard Wyndham; p. 70)

I would not have come all this way with you if you had not had such smiling eyes. Isn't it odd how one knows if one can trust a person, even if he's drunk? (Pen Creed; p. 90)

If you are not sorry to be here, do not let us give it another thought! It is so very fatiguing to go on being sorry about things one has done. (Pen Creed; p. 136)

Miss Creed reflected that in a more perfect world no servant would intrude upon his legitimate business at unreasonable moments. (p. 213)

PC: Well I didn't drop out precisely. I climbed out because I was escaping my relations.
CB: I've often wanted to escape from mine, but I never thought of climbing out of a window.
(Pen Creed, Cedric Brandon; p. 222)

Haven't I been trying to get you to go away this past half-hour? Never met such a thick-skinned fellow in my life! (Cedric Brandon; p. 250)

Your scruples were very fine, I make no doubt, but how should a chit of Pen's age understand what you were about? She would not care a fig for your precious honour, and I dare say--indeed, I am sure!--that she thought your forbearance mere indifference. (Lady Luttrell; pp. 253-4)

Last Line: "Let them see!" said the Corinthian

The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

Somebody's going to be murdered at the ball tonight. It won't appear to be a murder so the murderer won't be caught. Rectify that injustice and I'll show you the way out.
~The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle (2018) by Stuart Turton

That quote essentially sums up the plot of The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. Evelyn Hardcastle has come home to Blackheath after being sent to Paris for schooling. Nineteen years ago her younger brother Thomas was murdered. The family abandoned their home, leaving the memories behind, until Lady Helen Hardcastle decides to throw a party in Evelyn's honor on the anniversary of Thomas's death. She invites all the same guests who were at the house nineteen years ago. And plans to announce her daughter's engagement to Lord Cecil Ravencourt at a gala ball. But all her plans are ruined when Evelyn dies of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound in full view of the guests.

That's the overall set-up. But then there's another thread to the story. Among the guests are some interlopers--our narrator, Aiden Bishop finds himself inhabiting the body of various members of the guest list. Eight guests in all--and he hops from body to body (through what mysterious means, we're never told) and back again over a period of eight "days." He slowly learns that he has been tasked with the unraveling of the murder of Evelyn Hardcastle--no matter how much it looks like suicide. A mysterious figure, named the Plague Doctor for the mask he wears, instructs him that if he solves the murder by 11 pm of the night of Evelyn's death, then he will be free to leave. Otherwise, once the eight days (actually the same day, spent repeatedly as different guests) are over, his memory will be wiped and he'll have to start again.

Oh...and there's another complication. He has two rivals who are also trying to solve the murder and earn their escape. He has the advantage over them--he has eight "hosts" to help him and can carry memories from each host's day with him. The rivals live the day as themselves and if the story gets reset, they lose what they've learned. Aiden is allowed to see the events from several different viewpoints to gather clues from all directions. He finds himself drawn to Anna, one of his rivals, and vows to save both her and himself even though the Plague Doctor tells him that only one of the three can escape. He will have to fight his way through lies and betrayals if he's going to make good his promise to Anna. He will also have to avoid being killed (in all his different bodies) by another mysterious figure known as the Footman.

This is an intricate book--not only intricately plotted at its most basic level, the storyline (which it has to be in order to follow so many viewpoints that switch not just once per host but multiple times) but there are also many layers to that plot. We have the basic murder mystery to solve. We have the backstory for the three rivals and trying to figure out who the Plague Doctor and the Footman are. There are intricate themes being played out--themes of revenge and redemption and loyalty and betrayal. There is an examination of just how possible is it for the most reprehensible people to really change

Do you know how you can tell if a monster's fit to walk the world again, Mr. Bishop? If they're truly redeemed and not just telling you what you want to hear?

Aiden Bishop learns. And while he inhabits the various bodies--belonging to people who are, for the most part, vile in various ways--he is able to influence them and help them be, if only temporarily, better people than they were. And each of these hosts also manage to leave their mark on him--assisting him in his efforts to find the truth and find a way out for both Anna and himself.

This was an exhilarating roller coaster ride through the fun house with a side trip through the house of horrors--complete with mazes and mirrors and scary things jumping out at you in the dark. I thoroughly enjoyed trying to piece together the murder mystery plot while puzzling over why the three were being held there. It was difficult to capture all the pieces as they flew by, but I caught enough to have a good time trying. One small thing that I would like to know is how the trick of making Aiden pop into the various bodies was done--was it some kind of Star Trek holodeck-type program? ★★★★ and 1/2.

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Calendar of Crime: February (Pub date)
Mystery Bingo: Card #2-Clues & Cliches: Muddy/wet clothing; Red Herrings: maid/butler/chauffeur
Deaths = 11 (five stabbed; three shot; two poisoned; one drowned)

Quotes
[First Line] I forget everything between footsteps.

We are never more ourselves than we think people aren't watching, don't you realise that? It doesn't matter if Stanwin's alive tomorrow, you murdered him today. You murdered a man in cold blood, and that will blot your soul for the rest of your life. I don't know why we're here, Daniel, or why this is happening to us, but we should be proving that it's and injustice, not making ourselves worthy of it. (Aiden Bishop; p. 323)

I've always known more than them. I knew more than you. Knowledge was never my problem. Ignorance is the condition I struggle with. (The Plague Doctor; p. 452)

We've both hurt each other, Anna, and we've both paid for it. I'm never going to betray you again, I promise. You can trust me. You already have trusted me, you just can't remember it. (Aiden Bishop; p. 464)

The Plague Doctor claimed Blackheath was meant to rehabilitate us, but bars can't build better men and misery can only break what goodness remains. This place pinches out the hope in people, and without that hope, what use is love or compassion or kindness? (p. 480)

...today feels like a good day, and Blackheath hasn't seen one of those for a very long time. I think I'll enjoy it for a while and worry about the cost tomorrow. It will come soon enough, it always does. (The Plague Doctor; p. 503)

[Last Line] I just have to keep walking until I get there.

2020 Library Love Challenge

The Library Love Challenge

sponsored by

Angel's Guilty Pleasures AND Books of My Heart

This challenge encourages us to read books from our library. The minimum limit is twelve books and this fits well my Virtual Mount TBR Challenge, so I'm going to sign up for the minimum twelve. If you would like to join in, click on the link above.

1. The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton (1/15/20)
2. The Corinthian by Georgette Heyer (1/24/20)
3. Flame in the Mist by Renee Ahdieh (2/6/20)
4. The Beatles--Yellow Submarine story adapted by Bill Morrison (2/20/20)
5. Deep Waters: Murder on the Waves by Martin Edwards [ed] (2/24/20)
6. Palaces for the People by Eric Klinenberg (3/9/20)
7. The Seven Dials Mystery by Agatha Christie (6/14/20)
8. This Is Paradise by Kristiana Kahakauwila (6/16/20)
9. The Colorado Kid by Stephen King (6/17/20)
10. Murder at Melrose Court by Karen Baugh Menuhin (7/23/20)
11. Between the Devil & the Duke by Kelly Bowen (7/24/20)
12. Duke of My Heart by Kelly Bowen (8/6/20)

Challenge Complete!

13. What Angels Fear by C. S. Harris (8/8/20)

14.

Challenge Complete: I Love Library Books

I Love Library Books Reading Challenge

 Gina @ Book Dragon's Lair

January 1, 2015 – December 31, 2015

I was beginning to think that I was never going to finish this one. I didn't read near as many books from the library this year as usual--partly because I was making such an effort to fulfill all the challenges with as many of my own books as possible. But--I finally did it with Body of Opinion by Susannah Stacey. Gina won't be sponsoring this one next year and I'm not going to be looking for a Library challenge. If I read from the library, that will be good, but I'm buckling down even harder on my own stacks in 2016. Thanks for hosting this year, Gina!

My Chosen Level:  Young Adult - 24 books

And My List:

1. Pixie Tricks #2:The Greedy Gremlin by Tracey West (1/21/15) [review coming soon]

2. The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham (1/22/15)

3. A Dead Man in Trieste by Michael Pearce (1/27/15)

4. I Killed: True Stories of the Road from America's Top Comics by Ritch Shydner & Mark Schiff (2/10/15)

5. Glenn Ford: A Life by Peter Ford (3/9/15)

6. Safari by Parnell Hall (4/21/15)

7. The Adventure of the Three Students by Doyle; adapted by Vincent Goodwin (4/23/15)

8. Gods of Gold by Chris Nickson (5/23/15)

9. The Darling Dahlias & the Cucumber Tree by Susan Wittig Albert (6/5/15)

10. Grammy Lamby & the Secret Handshake by Kate & M. Sarah Klise (7/3/15)

11. The Lack of the Irish by Ralph McInerny (7/11/15)

12. Murder Past Due by Miranda James (7/13/15)

13. Resorting to Murder by Martin Edwards, ed (7/18/15)

14. The British Invasion by Barry Miles (7/20/15)

15. Ringworld by Larry Niven (8/20/15)

16. Briar Rose by Jane Yolen (9/14/15)

17. Murder with a Twist by Tracy Kiely (11/7/15)

18. The Bobbsey Twins' Search in the Great City by Laura Lee Hope (11/10/15)

19. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum (11/15/15)

20. Chef Maurice & a Spot of Truffle by J. A. Lang (11/24/15)

21. The Santa Klaus Murder by Mavis Doriel Hay (12/2/15)

22. Game Without Rules by Michael Gilbert (12/14/15)

23. The Valley of Fear by Doyle reworked by Ian Edginton and I.N.J. Culbard (12/20/15)

24. Body of Opinion by Susannah Stacey (12/26/15)