Category: Historical Mystery

Playing it Safe by Ashley Weaver

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

Playing it Safe (Electra McDonnell, #3)Barbara’s rating: 4.5 of 5 Stars
Series: Electra McDonnell #3
Publication Date: 5/9/23
Period: WWII – Sunderland, England
Number of Pages: 288

Danger, stress, fear, and panic have taken hold in London with the nightly aerial bombings that have been going on for a month. Electra – Ellie to her friends and family – feels all of those things for her family and friends as well as those family members who are serving. She’s serving too – just in a different way. She serves by working at the behest of Major Gabriel Ramsey who heads up a secret division of the government. Ellie’s unique skills as a safecracker have already helped to uncover German spies. Now, she’s tasked with another mission – a vague one at best. She’s to travel to Sunderland under an assumed name and . . . Do what? Well, she doesn’t know yet.

In typical Ellie fashion, she makes her own mission until she learns more about her real one. Until Major Ramsey deigns to make an appearance and divulge her mission, she’ll just get to know the people around the lodging house to which she has been sent. She quickly befriends a group and begins to ask subtle (or maybe not so subtle) questions about anything and everything. But . . . those friends begin to die. Why? Ellie knows they are hiding something, but what? Is it pertinent to the deaths or to her mission? What does an ornithology book have to do with anything? Who is the charming Rafe Beaumont and why does she instinctually distrust him?

This was an exciting, suspenseful, excellently plotted and delivered story and I devoured it in one sitting. Ellie is such a fun character and I’ve loved watching her character grow and develop through the books. Major Ramsey has also been fun because he is such an uptight, proper, emotionless man – he has to be in his line of work – but it is going to be fun when the dam finally breaks and all of those walls come down. We almost saw it in this book, but some very serious stuff happened that precluded it. Maybe it will happen in the next one. 😊

Ellie and the Major won’t escape unscathed this time and the ending will leave you in a bit of shock – and dismay – and wondering what happened to those German spies. Never fear, I’m sure they’ll turn up in a future book. Great read!

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

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A Deadly Affair by Carla Simpson

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

A Deadly Affair (Angus Brodie & Mikaela Forsythe #1)

Barbara’s rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Series: Angus Brodie & Mikaela Forsythe #1
Publication Date: 7/19/22
Period: Victorian London (1889)
Number of Pages: 326

This is the first book I’ve read by this author, but I can assure you it won’t be the last. I love historical mysteries, and this one was first-rate. How could you go wrong when you have a willful, intelligent, self-reliant, female author and a strong, masculine, stubborn, protective Scot squaring off against each other while also accompanied by a former soldier who has no legs, a strong-minded dog, and an actress who is very eccentric (she has a pet Iguana)? My only complaint about the book is that it has such a very long series title – so, you can tell I really didn’t find anything wrong at all.

Mikaela Forsythe is a strong, intelligent, and very independent woman – who just happens to also write adventure novels loosely based upon her own travels and adventures. As part of those adventures, she’s learned many ways to defend herself with weapons and without. Therefore, when she learns her sister has gone missing, she knows she’s just the one to find her. Being an intelligent woman, she knows she also needs someone who is knowledgeable in the process of investigation. The aunt who raised her highly recommends Angus Brodie, Private Investigator – so – off she goes to obtain his services.

Angus Brodie came up from the streets to become an Inspector with the Metropolitan Police but then parted ways with them under a cloud. He now has offices and living accommodations in an area that isn’t quite the best part of London and seems to spend a lot of his time with wine, women, and song. He’s not inclined to help Mikaela until she tells him her aunt sent her. It would seem Angus Brodie and her aunt have had dealings before and he’s kindly disposed to help her when he can. So, a partnership of sorts is formed – although it might be a bit fraught with disagreements – loud disagreements.

Brodie and Mikaela are often at loggerheads with each other, but they each quickly learn to respect the other’s talents and they’ll quickly need all of the talents each of them possesses. As we move from kidnapping, to murder, to more murders, to civil unrest, and anarchy, our protagonists have to call on every resource they can find. Can they solve the murders? Will they find Mikaela’s missing sister? Who are those shadowy, shady characters who seem to be showing up wherever Mikaela is? Are the Royals involved? OMGoodness! So many questions, so much intrigue, so much action and you’ll just have to read the book to find all of those answers!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It was lively, entertaining, and contained just the right amount of wit and humor to lighten those much more serious scenes. I am thoroughly looking forward to the next book in the series – which, by the way, is nicely set up at the end of this one. You’ll come to really like all of the characters as well as the excellent writing style of the author, and the pacing of the story.

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