Author: Barbara

Avid reader/reviewer of historical romance and historical mysteries.

Bamburgh by L.J. Ross

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Bamburgh (DCI Ryan Mysteries, #19)Barbara’s rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Series: A DCI Ryan Mystery #19
Publication Date: 3/31/22
Period: Contemporary, Northumberland, UK
Number of Pages: 312

This author excels at creating an excellently convoluted mystery while still allowing you to spend time with and get to know the members of the investigative team. This book is an excellent example of that talent. If you have read other books in the series, you’ll already know about the tragic event that shaped Melanie Yates’s life. If you haven’t read other books in the series, you’ll get enough background to easily follow the story. The author does an excellent job of weaving the events from 2007 into the contemporary story of 2022 and enabling us to better understand what is driving Melanie as an adult.

Woven into the background of several books we’ve seen there is a serial killer stalking England. This murderer has gotten much more clever over time and while the police know there are more victims, they never find the bodies. Melanie’s (Mel) sister Gemma was one of this sadistic killer’s earliest victims and Mel has blamed herself for what happened. It is why she joined the force and why she spends all of her off-time working the case. In the last book, one of the victims managed to escape – and miracle-of-miracles – there was trace DNA evidence found on her body. Sadly, the authorities haven’t found any matches in the system, so they’ve not been able to identify the killer – yet. Finding that DNA was enough to get the powers-that-be to agree to form a task team to concentrate on finding the dastard. However, that team has to exclude Melanie or risk being challenged in court.

We learn early on – almost at the beginning – who the serial killer is. The story is spent watching the team work toward identifying him – and watching him plot his course to thwart the team. It is quite interesting to see the inner workings of such a twisted mind, and you have to wonder how he can seem so normal and engaging.

While they are working on the serial killer case, they are also working on the case of a very wealthy older lady who is murdered in her home. It almost – almost – looked like an accident, but sharp eyes noticed that all was not as it seemed. We learn what a delightful lady she was and mourn her loss. It was a pleasure to see her murderer identified.

However, the very best part is watching the serial killer gloat and plan and – get caught. I will say, though, that the ending was a bit abrupt without a real build-up to it. Also, the aftermath with Mel, her family, and DC Lowerson was left sort of up in the air. I can hardly wait for the next entry into the series so I can, hopefully, see how it all worked out.

I definitely can – and do – recommend this book. It is well-written, excellently plotted, and excellently paced. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did.

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A Sunlit Weapon by Jacqueline Winspear

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Historical Mystery, Part of a Series, World War II Era (1939-1945)2 Comments

A Sunlit Weapon (Maisie Dobbs #17)

Barbara’s rating: 4.5 of 5 Stars
Series: Maisie Dobbs #17
Publication Date: 3/27/22
Period: 1942 – WWII
Number of Pages: 366

The previous books in this series have spanned 3 decades and two world wars. I will admit that I was not a fan of the first books in the series – not because they weren’t wonderful stories, but because Maisie seemed to have the saddest life of anyone I’ve ever seen and that just wasn’t for me. These later books have a more settled Maisie and the mysteries are just as good as those in the beginning. So, a win-win for me.

With Germany bombing England every evening, Maisie is spending most of her time away from London. Not just because of the bombings, but because she wants to spend more time with her newly adopted daughter and her handsome hunk of an American diplomat. While in London, Maisie is approached by a young woman who is a ferry pilot responsible for delivering planes among the various British bases. Jo Hardy was flying a Spitfire to Biggin Hill when she realized someone was shooting at her. Surely not! This comes on the heels of learning her beloved fiancé has died in a crash – with no apparent reason for it. Later, the young woman went back to the site where she had been fired upon and discovered a young American soldier bound and gagged in the barn.

Days later, a good friend of Jo’s – another ferry pilot – is killed flying the same route as Jo had flown. While the official ruling was ‘pilot error’, Jo was quite certain that it wasn’t – and that her fiancé’s crash, Jo’s incident, and her friend’s crash were all related somehow. At the suggestion of another friend, Jo seeks out Maisie Dobbs and lays out her case. Maisie, of course, is intrigued and begins her investigation.

As the investigation progresses, Maisie begins to think maybe there is more than one case – and one of those sets of circumstances seems to cross paths with Maisie’s American diplomat husband (Mark Scott) who is responsible for the American First Lady who will be visiting soon. Are the cases related? Is there more than one case?

Interwoven with the fast-paced mystery is a bit of a mystery and strife in Maisie’s homelife. That home life highlights the circumstances those within England must confront daily. Are there spies within their midst? Are those people who look different or have strange-sounding names sympathizers of Hitler?

I thoroughly enjoyed this story and the mystery contained within as well as the characters who are wonderfully relatable. The story also highlighted American racist attitudes. I don’t question those, and it makes me ill to have borne witness to the treatment of the black American soldier. I think the author took great pains to subtly portray American racism for the vile thing it is – but – when it came to the English prejudices, it was a few villagers who had lost sons/husbands, etc. and their prejudice was toward the Italians, French, etc. because of that.

This is a great story, with strong, compelling characters and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did.

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