Category: Historical Mystery

Nowhere Man by Sheri Cobb South

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Historical Mystery, Regency Era (1811-1820)Leave a comment

Nowhere Man: Another John Pickett NovellaBarbara’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: John Pickett Novella (Book 10.5 maybe)
Publication Date: 10/1/20
Number of Pages: 126

This take-off on It’s A Wonderful Life (or maybe Alice in Wonderland) was a delightful read. John Pickett is having a bit of a crisis – not a mid-life crisis because he isn’t old enough for that, but he’s feeling pretty useless. He has a rich, aristocratic wife, but he feels he is contributing absolutely nothing to the marriage – especially since he resigned as a Bow Street Runner to start his own inquiry agency. After a month with no clients – not one – he’s taken to roaming the streets in order to make Julia think he’s investigating something. He wonders, not for the first time, if it might have been better if he had never been born.

Well, hang on to your hats because he soon gets the answer to what might have been had he never been born – and it isn’t pretty in most cases. After being struck by a wagon and knocked unconscious, he ‘awakens’ to discover that nobody knows him – not his former coworkers, not his former mentor, nobody. He can’t find Julia because she doesn’t reside at what has been their home. People who had died are still alive, people who had been convicted of crimes are walking the streets, people who had happy endings – haven’t. John has well and truly traveled down the rabbit hole. There are lots of surprises in store for him as he attempts to navigate this hostile new world.

During a conversation with someone from his past, John learns some very important lessons about life.

No one lives on this earth, no matter how brief their stay, without leaving some trace of themselves behind.

Every life touches other lives, and if that touch is removed, then those lives are changed, sometimes in rather unexpected ways.

You can’t go wrong with this delightful novella. I’ve always admired John and Julia’s absolute love and trust for each other – and now we learn that same love and trust could hold true in more than one reality.

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

A Pretty Deceit by Anna Lee Huber

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

A Pretty Deceit (Verity Kent #4)Barbara’s rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: Verity Kent #4
Publication Date: 9/29/20
Number of Pages: 304

This might be the best book in the series so far. All of them have had great mysteries and all of them have furthered the investigation into the overarching villain – but this one shows further character growth that I really appreciated. For me, it has been a slow go to warm up to Sidney – read the first book in the series, This Side of Murder, to learn why. Speaking of that, you can read this as a stand-alone book and you’ll definitely appreciate the single mystery contained within it, but to gain a good understanding of the overarching mystery as well as the character’s relationships with each other, you really ought to read the series in order.

Verity and Sidney are preparing to leave for Falmouth to further their investigation into Ardmore whenever Verity received a call from her parents asking her to travel to her aunt Ernestine’s estate, Littlemote, in northeastern Wiltshire. There were some issues that needed handling at the estate. Many soldiers from the nearby airfield were billeted at Littlemote during the war and caused a lot of damage to the structure. Along with that, several small items have disappeared and a number of the more valuable paintings have now been identified as forgeries.

When Verity arrives, she learns that not only are items missing and paintings forgeries, there is a maid missing. Verity quickly comes to a solution on the paintings, but the body of one of the employees turns up in a wooded area. Oh! My! Sounds like a job for the local constabulary.

As Verity, Sidney, and company zip around the countryside investigating Ardmore and the mishaps at Littlemote, we have more bodies, more danger, car chases, you name it. Solving this one won’t be easy and it certainly won’t be safe for Verity or her friends. Things are really beginning to heat up with Ardmore. Oh! Heart Palpitations!

I thoroughly enjoyed the read – the writing is excellent, the pacing is exciting, and the plot is interesting and keeps you wondering until the last moment. I am also coming to like Sidney much better – especially with the way that he allows Verity to take the lead on investigations and he’s even accepting of her friendships with the males in the group – even though it gives him a bit of a pang, he shows his trust and faith in her. So, I’m thawing toward him.

I hope you will enjoy the read as much as I did.

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