Spy stories aren’t usually my thing, but a middle-aged, single-mum spy? In 1960s London? With humour and sass and secrets? Yes, I’m sold!
Thanks to Aria and NetGalley for my review copy. Opinions are entirely my own.
Continue reading Book Review: ‘Mrs Spy’ by M J RobothamThis isn’t my usual genre, but having recently discovered Bridgerton (yes, I know I’m so late to the party that I nearly missed it!) I was intrigued by a Regency romance told through a trans lens. Thanks to HQ and NetGalley for my review copy.
Lord Christopher Eden lives as a recluse – having lost his parents, he’s been able to bury himself in life at his country estate with only a couple of trusted staff for company, keeping away from the gossip of the ton. Unfortunately, his comfortable existence it put in jeopardy when he’s told the future of his estate rests on him finding a wife by the end of the Season, which might just cause a few issues… One of his first hurdles is to appear as a respectable and eligible young bachelor in the eyes of high society – and for that, he’ll need a valet. Of course, the valet that arrives – James Harding – is problematically gorgeous and may prove to be quite the distraction from Christopher’s main goal.
Continue reading Book Review: ‘The Earl Meets His Match’ by T J AlexanderClassic crime fiction fans, this one is for you! If you can imagine a modern ‘And Then There Were None’ (Agatha Christie in fine form) and mix it with all the crime tropes you can think of, plus throw in some classic horror elements…you might be part of the way to imagining this book.
Thanks to NetGalley for my review copy. As always, opinions are entirely my own.
Continue reading Book Review: ‘You Are Fatally Invited’ by Ande PliegoThis is such a hard book to review – it’s so dark and gruesome, disturbing and odd, Gothic and horrific, yet also strangely compelling. I found that I couldn’t put it down, even as I was being pulled into the twisted workings of the protagonist’s mind.
The novel follows Winifred Notty as she arrives at Ensor House, the home of the fairly odious Pounds family. Her role is to be governess to the children, Andrew and Drusilla, although her unconventional bedtime stories and tendency towards brutality are at first dismissed as merely eccentricities compared to their previous governesses. As she begins to draw the attention of the master of the house, strange things begin to happen – someone defaces the family portraits and even the staff start to go missing… When guests begin to arrive for Christmas celebrations, it becomes obvious that Winifred is going to continue on the path of destruction that led her to Ensor House in the first place.
Wow, this book is so dark – we are literally taken inside the mind of a killer whose twisted way of looking at the world means that no-one around her is safe. Her thoughts and actions are presented in graphic detail and her total lack of remorse or empathy is chilling for the reader – although her voice is also often humorous and knowing and so not totally alienating for the reader. The book often focused on the macabre and grotesque – this is a book where description is frequently visceral and repellent. There’s lots of blood, bodily function, gorging on stomach-churning things, decay and rot, filth and death. Yes, it’s disgusting, but also shocking and interesting and unlike much I’ve read before.
As is evident from the above, Winifred isn’t a character we grow to love – this isn’t a book for anyone who needs to like the characters in what they read. In fact, every one of the characters is awful in their own way. Indeed, we are shown a procession of greed and lust and any of the other deadly sins you can name – and it’s probably best you don’t get attached to any of the characters anyway as they don’t have long life expectancies!
The writing is clever, although references to ‘fall’ for autumn jarred a little within a story set within Victorian England – in an otherwise immersive book, I found this tricky to skim over.
So, if you’re of a strong disposition then there’s much to get caught up in within the world of ‘Victorian Psycho’ – I’m not sure it is a wholly enjoyable experience, but it’s one you won’t forget!
Photo by Aimee Vogelsang on Unsplash
I’ll be honest – the words ‘TikTok historian’ didn’t draw me to this book as I’m far too old to grapple with too many social media platforms and so was unaware of Jenny Draper before now. I am on a perpetual hunt for engaging, lively history books – and if they’re funny too then that’s a bonus. The blurb of ‘Mavericks’ proved appealing for this reason. Thanks to Watkins Publishing and NetGalley for my review copy.
I liked the format of this audiobook – short chapters focusing on different ‘mavericks’ from history from whom we can learn something important, or certainly intriguing (“firing a gun at someone won’t make them love you” being a favourite). The figures chosen were mostly ones I hadn’t encountered before, although a few more familiar names such as Margery Kempe and the Chartists were mixed in. I enjoyed learning about historical figures who had taken the unconventional path – especially as these figures included a lot of women, non-nobles and those from around the world who don’t always make it into traditional history books. The chapters revealed quirky and telling details about each of the figures, reflecting Draper’s eye for an entertaining story and skills in producing vivid biographical writing.
The audiobook is engagingly narrated by the author herself – I’ll admit that I enjoyed hearing the stories told in the author’s own voice as the pacing sounded natural and the jokes landed well.
I’d recommend this to anyone who enjoys history told with humour and wit – think along the lines of ‘The Rest is History’ or Terry Deary for comparison.
I haven’t been great at keeping on top of my blogging recently. Sometimes life just takes over! However, I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to highlight some crime fiction and thriller gems that I’ve enjoyed in the past few months.
‘The Dark Hours’ by Amy Jordan
I loved the premise of this novel – seeing a police officer at the very start of her career in 1994, then when she’s called back as a retired detective in 2024 to pick up a case that has echoes of that traumatic first one.
Continue reading Book Reviews: New Crime FictionThis is the seventh book in the engaging DS George Cross series – thanks to NetGalley for my review copy.
‘The Bookseller’ takes us into the (who knew?!) murky world of antiquarian bookshops. When a bookseller is discovered dead in his store, it seems unlikely that brutal murder would strike at the heart of the sleepy, bookish community in Bristol. However, DS George Cross soon discovers that the book world is packed with shifting allegiances, hidden secrets and bitter rivalries – all he has to do is work out who has the motive to kill, picking from a pretty packed field. Add in the multi-generational nature of the family-run bookstores and there’s plenty of simmering resentments for him to examine…
Continue reading Book Review: ‘The Bookseller’ by Tim SullivanWelcome to my stop on the blog tour for the latest in Bonnie MacBird’s brilliant Sherlock Holmes series. ‘The Serpent Under’ is the 6th book in the series and is a great addition.
With thanks to Random Things Tours and Collins Crime Club for my place on the tour and my copy for review. Opinions, as always, are entirely my own.
Continue reading Blog Tour: ‘The Serpent Under’ by Bonnie MacBirdCara Hunter is one of my favourite crime writers and a new DCI Adam Fawley book is always exciting! This is the seventh book in a brilliant series – although I think it would work as a standalone. It actually picks up the characters from a previous book in the series, although I didn’t know this until after I’d finished reading as I think it’s the only one of the series I haven’t read!
Continue reading Book Review: ‘Making a Killing’ by Cara HunterI’ve followed this series since the beginning and have thoroughly enjoyed all of the books – this is the fifth. I was delighted to be granted a review copy by NetGalley and couldn’t wait to read about DI James Walker’s latest terrible Christmas.
Because DI James Walker always has a horrific festive season! All the books take place over the Christmas/New Year period and it seems the only time of year that serial killers appear in (usually sleepy, small-town) Cumbria.
This latest book takes place in DI Walker’s home village, making him the first on the scene as the snow starts to pile up. The deceased – dressed as Santa Claus – is someone he knows and someone who oddly hasn’t been reported as missing, even though he’s been in the snow a while. When another body is found, Walker and his team have to face up to the fact that there is another killer loose in Cumbria – and the villagers aren’t at all happy with the fact. Walker needs to keep his neighbours happy while finding the killer among them…
This series is always entertaining and engaging – there’s always lots of twists but also really solid police procedural elements that keep the story moving forward. I did guess the killer slightly ahead of DI Walker, but I’m quite a seasoned armchair detective these days! I liked the village setting as it put the crime scene/possible suspects/police team all in close proximity – something that made the setting quite claustrophobic as the snow fell and the village was isolated from the outside world.
If you’ve enjoyed the previous books in the series, there’s lots to like here – I think this was one of my favourites. If you haven’t discovered DI Walker, these are perfect winter reads and you’ve got 5 to enjoy!
Header photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
