Month: November 2017

Death Comes To The School by Catherine Lloyd

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Georgian Era (1714-1837), Historical MysteryLeave a comment

Death Comes to the School (Kurland St. Mary Mystery #5)Death Comes to the School by Catherine Lloyd

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: Kurland St. Mary Mystery #5
Publication Date: 11/28/17

Another outstanding new book in the Kurland St. Mary Mystery series. As always, the mystery is outstanding, full of twists and suspects and keeps you guessing right up until the end. It is a well-written, well-paced and very well executed book – both romance and mystery.

Robert and Lucy have been married for three years and they are going through a bit of a rough patch. It is not that they don’t love each other, it is that Lucy is horribly depressed and Robert doesn’t know how to help her. He tends to order her around, demands that she take care of herself, etc. Frankly, I’m not sure what else he could actually do because she is inconsolable after going through two miscarriages within six months. Robert is afraid of losing her in childbirth and while he’d love children, he wants her more. He just isn’t good at actually making her understand that. She feels inadequate as a wife because she doesn’t think she can give him the heir he needs and wants. Most of the problems, as usual, fester because two people just don’t actually talk with each other.

What does it take to perk Lucy up? Well, a murder will do it nicely. Lucy has just met the new school teacher and did not like her at all. Normally, she would have been heavily involved in the selection of the new teacher, but she was ill and since Robert was concerned with Lucy’s health, both of them basically left it to Lucy’s father. After doing some checking, they have discovered that the teacher was dismissed without reference from her last position. When Robert goes to confront the teacher and to dismiss her, he finds her dead with a quill lodged in her eye.

Robert does his best to keep Lucy out of the investigation, but she’ll have none of that. As she gets more involved in the investigation we see more and more of her old spark come back. That delights Robert, but he still worries about her overdoing. Even with the spark of health coming back, something is still bothering Lucy – a lot. You’ll have to read the book to see what it is and if the relationship survives it.

Who murdered Miss Broomfield? Who is sending the incendiary notes to people in the community? Are they also being blackmailed? Do we have one perpetrator? Two? More? I’ll not tell – and you won’t guess. You’ll just have to wait until you get to the end of the story!

We get a couple of lovely new romances in this story as well – so they get their HEA’s. They are lovely romances and one of them will probably surprise you because we’ve known those two characters through all of the books.

Check out my reviews of the other books in the series:
Death Comes To The Village
Death Comes To London
Death Comes To Kurland Hall
Death Comes To The Fair

Please check out my reviews at:
Blog: https://flippinpages.blog/
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/flippinpages…
Twitter: https://twitter.com/FlippinPagesRev

“I requested and received this e-book at no cost to me and volunteered to read it; my review is my honest opinion and given without any influence by the author or publisher.”

Highland Redemption by Lori Ann Bailey

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Middle Ages / Medieval (476-1454), Scottish/HighlanderLeave a comment

Highland RedemptionHighland Redemption by Lori Ann Bailey

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Highland Pride #2
Publication Date: 11/27/17

This is the second novel by Lori Ann Bailey and I think she has great promise as an author. This series is set in 1640’s Scotland during a time of great turmoil between the Royalists and the Covenanters. I have not read the first book in the series and I think that may be what caused some of my questions about people in this book. There are some things that, to me, just aren’t plain and it makes me question their plausibility. I enjoyed the story, I just didn’t understand some of the character backgrounds and standing within the clan.

Skye MacDonald (or is it, Cameron, because her father was a Cameron farmer) is the niece of the MacDonald Laird. Skye was named for the Isle of Skye where her mother’s family lived. Skye’s mother was the daughter of the previous MacDonald Laird and the sister of the current one. Skye and Brodie were childhood friends and Brodie looked up to Skye’s father very much. The two spent most of their time together and friendship turned to love. Skye loved Brodie with all of her heart, but when Brodie began spending more and more time away, she began to wonder at his commitment to her. Then, when he disappeared during the worst time of her life, she was bereft and when her uncle came to take her back to Isle of Skye with him – she went.

Brodie Cameron is the cousin of the Cameron Laird. I’m not sure what his family ‘job’ as part of the Cameron clan is, but it sounds as if they are farmers. Brodie spent as much of his time as possible with Skye and her family. He loved Skye and felt as if her father was a second father to him. He wanted to marry Skye and make a life with her, but he didn’t feel worthy of her – especially after overhearing a conversation between Skye’s father and her uncle. So, when an opportunity to better himself arose, he took it. He became “The Raven” a spy for the Royalists. Sadly, that caused him to have to be away from home for long periods of time and didn’t allow him to explain those absences to Skye. When he returned from an important mission to find Skye’s father had died and Skye had left, he was inconsolable.

Five years later, Brodie rescues a young woman who is being abducted, only to discover that the woman is Skye. Both of them realize their love has never died and they also realize that neither of them is free to act on that. Argyle, a staunch Covenanter, has put a price on the head of The Raven and Brodie would never expose Skye to that and Skye’s uncle has betrothed her to the third son of another Laird in order to form a political alliance.

Brodie is taking Skye to safety when he discovers that Argyle has also placed a bounty on Skye’s head – dead or alive. He cannot understand why Argyle has placed the bounty, but he will do all in his power to keep her safe. How will they manage to get through that time and keep their hearts intact and not betray their clans and alliances?

This is a lovely story of love and redemption. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did.

Please check out my reviews at:
Blog: https://flippinpages.blog/
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/flippinpages…
Twitter: https://twitter.com/FlippinPagesRev

“I requested and received this e-book at no cost to me and volunteered to read it; my review is my honest opinion and given without any influence by the author or publisher.”