Author: Barbara

Avid reader/reviewer of historical romance and historical mysteries.

Miss Morton And The Spirits Of The Underworld by Catherine Lloyd

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Historical Mystery, Part of a Series, Victorian Era (1837-1901)Leave a comment

Miss Morton And The Spirits Of The Underworld (Miss Morton Mysteries #2)

Barbara’s rating: 4.4 out of 5 Stars
Series: A Miss Morton Mystery #2
Publication Date: 8/22/23
Period: Victorian – 1838 London
Number of Pages: 304

It is 1838 and Miss Caroline Morton along with her employer Mrs. Frogerton and Mrs. Frogerton’s daughter Dorothy have settled into their rented London home to attend Dorothy’s first season. Dealing with the ton will be a cakewalk compared to the harrowing times they lived through in Miss Morton and the English Houseparty Murder, the first book in the series.

Dorothy is busy setting the ton on its ear with her forthright, headstrong, and very engaging manner. Yes, they sit up and take notice even though her wealth comes from – gulp – gasp – trade. Meanwhile, Mrs. Frogerton has taken an interest in spiritualism and has attended a few sessions with Madam Lavinia. She even takes Caroline with her to a session to see what she thinks about it. Very doubtful and very skeptical, Caroline wants to bring Dr. Harris to one of the sessions for his opinion. Why? Well, Madam Lavinia passed along something that no one else could have known – and she did the same with Dr. Harris. Could she genuinely have a gift? We’ll never know because Caroline and Dr. Harris found her body – and Dr. Harris was soon charged with murder.

It was so much fun watching Caroline and Mrs. Frogerton set Scotland Yard on its ear with their staunch belief in Dr. Harris and their flat-out refusal to let him be railroaded. Since Sergeant Dawson wasn’t really interested in finding the real murderer – he only wanted to close the case as quickly as possible – Caroline and Mrs. Frogerton decided they’d solve it to save their friend.

I think you’ll be genuinely surprised by the identity of the villain. You will probably wonder – what if – but you won’t be sure. There are plenty of red herrings to keep you and our erstwhile sleuths off on tangents and plenty of wit to keep you smiling and shaking your head.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and can recommend it. The characters are delightful – especially Mrs. Frogerton, because, for me, she steals the show. So far, there isn’t a romance of any sort – and I really need one of those to totally enjoy the series. There is, of course, Dr. Harris from the last book. I never warmed to him in that book and the same was true of this one. Then, there is a new character, Mr. DeBloom, who is a bit intriguing. Not only could he be an excellent romantic interest, but there are some other hints of things to come for Caroline’s future as well. Cool – mystery within a mystery.

So, if you decide to read this book – I hope you love it as much as I did! Happy Reading!

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

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The Highlander’s Secret Avenger by Heather McCollum

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Part of a Series, Scottish/Highlander, Tudor Era (1485-1603)Leave a comment

The Highlander's Secret Avenger (Brothers of Wolf Isle #4)

Barbara’s rating: 4.4 out of 5 Stars
Series: The Brothers of Wolf Isle #4
Publication Date: 8/21/23
Period: Tudor – 1548 Highlands of Scotland
Number of Pages: 237

Be still my heart! Those five Macquarie brothers are all large, handsome, brawny, intelligent, honorable, and determined to break the curse on their clan while reclaiming their home – Wolf Isle. The outward manifestation of the curse – an ancient willow tree – is showing more and more signs of life as each brother finds his true love. Will Drostan find his HEA or will he seal the fate of the Macquarie clan? You’ll just have to read this exciting, well-paced, excellently written story to see!

Amelia MacLeod has been sorely mistreated by her family – especially her two brothers. Since her mother died, Amelia has no protection at all and is being offered up as the prize to win an alliance with the powerful MacLean clan. Well, she’ll have none of that – she’ll prove how valuable she is to her clan by single-handedly defeating her clan’s biggest enemy, the Macquarie brothers. She knows the curse – and she knows how to use it. She just has to seduce one of the Macquarie brothers. Then – one of them rescues her and perhaps they aren’t the monsters she’d been told they were. OOPS!

Drostan Macquarie has always known he would be the one to bring his family down – the one who would allow the curse to come to fruition. Knowing this, he took measures to circumvent it, but – can the curse be circumvented by trickery? He may find out because the young woman he just rescued is definitely tempting. Sparks fly when he sees her – he cannot stop himself. Uh Oh!

What will happen when Drostan finds out about Amelia’s betrayal? Can he stand by and let her go? Then, there is the dastardly Jandeau who seems to have more lives than a cat – what will he do?

This was a lovely, fast-paced, exciting read and whets the appetite for the next, and final, book in the series. Yes, Eagan is the last man standing, and, to completely break the curse, he must find his true love. I wonder which lady will snare him.

I can definitely recommend this book; however, I would recommend reading the entire series in the order they were released to get the full enjoyment and understanding of the curse and Jandeau who is the overarching villain of the series. Happy reading!

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

View all my reviews