Author: Barbara

Avid reader/reviewer of historical romance and historical mysteries.

Stolen by the Rogue by Sasha Cottman

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Victorian Era (1837-1901)Leave a comment

Stolen by the Rogue (Rogues of the Road #1)
Barbara’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Rogues of the Road #1
Publication Date: 2/22/21
Number of Pages: 209

I thoroughly enjoyed meeting George and Jane and following their journey toward their HEA – not to mention the entertaining internal dialogue each of them carried on within themselves. The story is well-written, well developed, and the characters were interesting – though I still haven’t come to understand why this group of men decided to travel on the illicit side of life. That still didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the story.

The Honorable George Hawkins is quite a contradiction. He is the son of one of the most powerful men in the judiciary and he is also a master thief. He just couldn’t reconcile himself into a life as a member of the judiciary as his father wished – nor could he become clergy, etc. He’d always loved the thrill of the lie, the chase of the treasure, the planning and flawless execution of the theft, so that became his profession. Though now, he is becoming a bit jaded with that life and would love to make a big enough score to give up the life and become a law-abiding citizen – one of whom his father can be proud. He’s even more rattled when he nearly gets caught during a theft. That really brings home the precariousness of his position – he could very easily end up in the hangman’s noose. Just one more job – something big – something that would allow him to ‘retire’. He knows he’s found it when he sees the advertisement for an exhibit from the Ottoman Empire curated by one J. Scott, Esq.

Jane Scott has had quite an interesting and lively life. Her father was an antiquities expert and they lived in a number of other countries, but mostly within the Ottoman Empire. Jane worked a lot with her father and has been asked to oversee an exhibit in the Ottoman embassy in London. Jane meets a very handsome and interesting man during one of the showings – and he shows a pronounced interest – but she doesn’t trust him at all.

It was entertaining to watch George’s nefarious plans to steal from the exhibit frustrate him to no end while the lady in charge of it intrigued him more and more. Can George have it all? Can he steal from the exhibit, leave crime behind, and still get the girl? OMGoodness – George certainly has his work cut out for him.

I enjoyed this read and I hope you will as well. I will definitely be looking forward to the next book in the series, The Rogue and the Jewel.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A Fatal Lie by Charles Todd

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Historical Mystery, Interwar Period (Nov 1918 - Sep 1939)Leave a comment

A Fatal Lie (Inspector Ian Rutledge, #23)Barbara’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Inspector Ian Rutledge #23
Publication Date: 2/16/21
Number of Pages: 352

Mother and son writing team, Charles Todd, beautifully portrays the damage – seen and unseen – suffered by those in WWI. Ian Rutledge’s damage is the unseen kind and he suffers from and deals with the aftermath hour-by-hour. His construct for dealing with the horror is named Hamish and he resides in Rutledge’s head. No, Rutledge doesn’t belong in an asylum, but he definitely suffers from what we would call PTSD in today’s world – and he has a severe case of it. I admire the way the authors show the vulnerable side of Rutledge as well as the skilled investigator side. I’d really like to think Rutledge is getting better and relying on Hamish less and less.

Rutledge’s boss at Scotland Yard doesn’t like him, so, once again he is being punished. He’s been working behind a desk for what seems like forever when his boss sends him off on a case in the Llangollen Valley in northern Wales. The body of a man has been found in the River Dee – no identification and a badly damaged face. Was the man pushed from the aqueduct or did he fall? If he fell, why wouldn’t he have some identification on him?

Nobody in the small village admits to having seen a stranger and they are sure the victim isn’t a local. Who is he? How did he come to be in the small village of Cwmafon? The only clue to the man’s identity is the tailor’s label in his shirt. If Rutledge can just trace that, maybe he’ll be able to find the victim’s name – and talk to his family.

Rutledge is one of the most tenacious, dedicated investigators you’ll ever meet. He never stops until all of the threads are pulled and the total mystery is solved, and this one is definitely convoluted. Before we are done, we’re looking for a missing toddler and we have multiple bodies on our hands. Everyone seems to have secrets and they only tell half-truths or totally mislead. As Rutledge learns more and more, he has to backtrack and go back to the beginning more than once. Time is of the essence for finding the toddler and for discovering the murderer before there are more bodies.

The more Rutledge learns the more he comes to like the victim and the more concerned he becomes for the missing toddler. He speeds over the narrow, curvy, mountainous roads of Wales and England looking for clues. He’s had little sleep and no rest. He’s been attacked, mislead, lied to, and mistrusted. Yet, he is determined to find what has happened to all of the victims.

You should know that it is neither light nor humorous – but it is an excellent read. I love Rutledge and how human he is. I would love to see a bit more light come into his life. Maybe we’ll see that in some of the future books.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.