Category: Historical Mystery

A Lady’s Guide To Mischief and Murder by Dianne Freeman

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

A Lady's Guide to Mischief and Murder (A Countess of Harleigh Mystery, #3)Barbara’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Countess of Harleigh Mystery #3
Publication Date: 7/28/20
Number of Pages: 304

This new-to-me author was a delightful find. The story was very well written, the historical sights, sounds, language, etc. were period correct, the plot moved along at the perfect pace – and best of all there was romance. My favorite genre is historical mysteries, but I have to have a romance in those – and this one had TWO!

This is the third book in the series, but I have not read the first two books and don’t feel I really missed anything in this story by not having read them. However, since this book was so much fun, I’ll go back and catch those first two!

The characters are delightful – both main and supporting. There is a scene toward the end between Frances and her mother that will have you rolling on the floor laughing. It is absolutely perfect to see that side of Frances’ mother. When you get there, you’ll recognize it because you can’t miss it – think buckets of water, horse dung, and pitchforks.

Frances and George are secretly betrothed. Not because they are hiding anything, but because they don’t want to tread on Frances’s sister Lily’s big moment – her own wedding. George isn’t thrilled with keeping it a secret, but he’ll honor Frances’s wishes. When the need arises to move Lily’s wedding up by several weeks, George is more than happy to offer his brother’s estate, Risings, as the perfect venue. There is a perfect small church and the house will accommodate the close family and friends. Perfect solution.

Strange occurrences begin – accidents surely – but are they? The first couple of ‘accidents’ are viewed as just that, but as more accidents happen – and a death – Frances and George suspect there is a villain loose among them. Who is the intended victim? Is it Leo, Lily’s betrothed, or is it George himself? They both seem to always be at the scene of the accident and could have easily been the victim. Who could want Leo dead or injured? His brother-in-law? His best friend who might hold a romantic interest in Lily? What about George? Could someone from one of his past Home Office cases be coming back to seek revenge?

With suspects and victims galore, George and Frances will have their work cut out for them. They’ll definitely need all of their skills to prevent more injuries or deaths and to catch the villain.

I thoroughly enjoyed this read and surely hope you will also.

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

Rags of Time by Michael Ward

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Historical Mystery, Jacobean/Stuart Era (1603-1714)Leave a comment

rags of time (1) finalSeries: Thomas Tallant Mysteries #1
Publication Date: (Original 7/9/19 – Re-Release soon)
*** 3.5 Stars ***

Historical mysteries are my favorite and the book-blurb sounded very interesting, so I was happy to get the opportunity to read it. I rarely read a book that takes place during this period – 1639-1640 – and those I have read have always been from Scotland’s side. Reading from the English perspective was quite interesting. The times were turbulent with the lead up to the English Civil War that would begin in 1642. The tensions between the Royalists and the Parliamentarians were moving into more strident and violent territory. The Puritans were fighting the changes in the church and there were riots everywhere. Poor Thomas Tallant chose this time to return to England from two years away and was immediately embroiled in the death of a fellow merchant. Things were definitely in the realm of mob rule and Thomas and his family were in mortal danger.

The prologue shows the murder of wealthy wool merchant Sir Joseph Venell – and a very strange murder it was. The man, Mr. Robert Petty, who is investigating the case more or less demands that Thomas look at the wounds and the scene to see if it could have been done by Peregrine Falcons. Thomas is bewildered because, while he has had exposure to hunting falcons, he doesn’t have any and assures the investigator that falcons couldn’t attack in that manner. The investigation goes on – more strange deaths occur – and Thomas is more and more under suspicion. The magistrate is determined to convict him, but the investigator is a bit more circumspect. As time goes along (over a year) they try to bring Sir Ralph Tallant, Thomas’s father, into the crimes. Luckily Tom has his best friend Edmund Dalloway to save him time and again.

Thomas also meets the lovely Elizabeth Seymour and is very attracted to her. Over the course of the year, they draw closer and closer. Elizabeth is a very smart lady who studies astronomy, mathematics, etc. and loves solving puzzles. That is a good thing because she’s going to need all of those skills to help save Thomas.

While I enjoyed the story, it was a very, very busy one. It definitely isn’t fast-paced and frankly, I didn’t care for most of the people who populated the pages. I really liked Thomas’s mother and I enjoyed Elizabeth’s intellect. I’m sure I was supposed to like and respect Sir Ralph, but I didn’t care for him. He seemed to support his radical son, Peter, in whatever he did, but he was always on Thomas’s case telling him how impulsive he was. To my view, the things Thomas did were all he could do in that situation and it wasn’t fair for his father to chastise him. I didn’t see Thomas as an investigator at all. He just floated along on the surface and let things happen to him and when they did, he let someone else save him – until Elizabeth finally handed him the solution on a silver platter.  Perhaps Thomas will take a more hands-on approach to future investigations in the series.

I did enjoy reading the story because it was from a period about which I rarely read. The author conveys the tensions and dangers very well. Like the US Civil War, it was brother against brother – friend against friend – and never knowing who was on which side or who you could trust. It will be interesting to see this author’s second book.

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