📖 Book Review ~ Slaughter House Farm by T. Orr Munro

 

Harper Collins
HQ
25 May 2023

CSI Ally Dymond #2

My thanks to the publishers for the invitation to read this book

A family secret worth killing for…

In the dead of night, 72-year-old Miriam Narracott is found wandering on Exmoor, holding a knife and covered in blood. Inside the family farmhouse lies the body of her adult son, Gabe.

CSI Ally Dymond is on compassionate leave, but when approached by the new DI, recently arrived from London and eager to have Ally's keen eye and local knowledge on the case, she finds herself being drawn back in.

With their only suspect Miriam unwilling – or unable – to talk, the team must dig into the family’s history to uncover a motive. Instead they find evidence that Gabe was involved with a criminal network, suggesting a completely different chain of events. But if Miriam isn’t the killer – then who is?

📖 My Review ..

Late one night 72 year-old Miriam Narracott is found wandering Exmoor with a knife in her hands and covered in blood. When the body of her son Gabe is found on the kitchen floor of the farmhouse they shared, Miriam is the prime suspect for the murder, the only problem is that Miriam is unable to tell the detectives what actually happened on this fateful night. 

CSI Ally Dymond is still on leave following the catastrophic events which took place in the first book in the series and we pretty much pick up Ally's life just a few short months after Breakneck Point ended, so that those who are familiar with Ally's story will understand her reticence about returning to work or of leaving her teenage daughter alone for long. 

As with the first book, the story moves along at a cracking pace especially when a new DI approaches Ally for the expertise of her local knowledge and her ability to get right into the centre of the action. Slaughter House Farm is a tense and intricately plotted thriller which has everything I have come to enjoy in this author's books, there are twists and turns aplenty, more than enough secrets and sub-plots to keep you guessing, and at its heart is CSI Ally Dymond, a feisty investigator, who, regardless of her wish to live a quiet life seems to get swept up in intrigue and danger.

There is much to enjoy in this crime series, which has the possibility to run and run and whilst Slaughter House Farm can be read as a standalone, it does make sense to start with Breakneck Point. 

About the Author

Tina Orr Munro is a journalist, specialising in writing about policing and security. In another life, she was a police scenes of crime officer. She lives in North Devon.

Twitter @TinaOrrMunro #SlaughterhouseFarm 

@HQStories

📖 Book Review ~ The Garnett Girls by Georgina Moore

 

HQ
16 February 2023

My thanks to the publishers for my copy of this book

Forbidden, passionate and all-encompassing, Margo and Richard’s love affair was the stuff of legend– but, ultimately, doomed.

When Richard walked out, Margo locked herself away, leaving her three daughters, Rachel, Imogen and Sasha, to run wild.

Years later, charismatic Margo entertains lovers and friends in her cottage on the Isle of Wight, refusing to ever speak of Richard and her painful past. But her silence is keeping each of the Garnett girls from finding true happiness.

Rachel is desperate to return to London, but is held hostage by responsibility for Sandcove, their beloved but crumbling family home.

Dreamy Imogen feels the pressure to marry her kind, considerate fiancé, even when life is taking an unexpected turn.

And wild, passionate Sasha, trapped between her fractured family and controlling husband, is weighed down by a secret that could shake the family to its core...

📖My Review...

Right at the heart of the story are strong women who collectively make up The Garnett Girls, three adult sibling sisters who have each been damaged by the events of their upbringing at Sandycove, the idyllic family home on the Isle of Wight. Their mother’s doomed relationship with their alcoholic father has left its mark on each of the girls and as the story unfolds and we get to know more about Rachel, Imogen and Sasha so we understand the destruction nature of witnessing a tremendous love which ultimately destroyed everything.

The story flows seamlessly introducing us to each of the sisters, getting to know more about them as adults and yet glimpsing within the vulnerable children who had been so let down by family secrets and lies. Their mother, Margot, is a force of nature, not always likeable and very often exasperating and yet I was fascinated by her and thoroughly enjoyed getting to know more about her and her ill-fated love affair with the girls’ father, Richard,  and her subsequent attempt to remove him totally from their lives.

The story is beautifully accomplished and almost magical in places, bringing place and people so vividly alive I felt as if I stood in the grounds of Sandycove looking out across the bay. The stultifying nature of living within a close community where everyone seemed to know each others’ business only reiterates the sense of atmosphere and makes the story quite memorable.

The Garnett Girls is that special story I was waiting to read and devoured it in the space of a couple of days. It proved to be both fascinating and thought provoking and is such a wonderfully presented debut by a talented writer who knows how to hold the reader in the palm of her hand.

About the Author

Georgina Moore grew up in London and lives on a houseboat on the River Thames with her partner, two children and Bomber, the Border Terrier. The Garnett Girls is her first novel and is set on the Isle of Wight, where Georgina and her family have a holiday houseboat.

Twitter @PublicityBooks #TheGarnettGirls

@HQstories

📖 Featured Book of the Month ~ The Winter Garden by Nicola Cornick

 

HQ
10 November 2022

My thanks to the publisher for my copy of this book

1605: Anne Catesby fears for her family. Her son, the darkly charismatic Robert, is secretly plotting to kill the King, placing his wife and child in grave danger. Anne must make a terrible choice: betray her only child, or risk her family’s future.

Present day: When her dreams of becoming a musician are shattered, Lucy takes refuge in her family’s ancestral home in Oxfordshire. Everyone knows it was originally home to Robert Catesby, the gunpowder plotter. As Lucy spends more time in the beautiful winter garden that Robert had made, she starts to have strange visions of a woman in Tudor dress, terrified and facing a heartbreaking dilemma.

As Lucy and Anne’s stories converge, a shared secret that has echoed through the centuries separating them, will change Lucy’s life forever...

📖 My Review..

This clever time-slip novel combines both a strong sense of history with a compelling modern day mystery. Set during the latter part of the sixteenth century we are introduced to the Catesby family whose connection to the aptly named Gunpowder Cottage gives a clue as to where the story is going. In the present day Lucy, due to a debilitating illness, is coming to terms with the loss of her musical career and recuperates at her aunt's converted property in Oxfordshire. Gunpowder Barn shadows the original Tudor buildings and it is here where Lucy feels an affinity with those who once lived in the shadow of the Gunpowder plot.

The Winter Garden moves effortlessly between past and present without either time periods overshadowing the other. I was equally engrossed in the Tudor world, getting to know the Catesby’s and Robert in particular, whose mercurial and reckless nature, would lead him along the path of insurrection and danger. There’s a distinct air of melancholy in the Tudor sections but this is offset beautifully by the supernatural elements in the modern day mystery and especially Lucy’s determination to uncover the secrets of those who once called Gunpowder Cottage home.

The Winter Garden is an engrossing dual time story which captured my imagination from the start and as it’s such a perfect autumnal story I am delighted to make it my Featured Book of the Month for November.

🥂Best read with.. a glass of champagne and marshmallows toasted on the fire…

The Winter Garden is published by HQ on the 10th November and is available to pre-order from wherever you buy your books.

About the Author

International bestselling author Nicola Cornick writes dual-time historical mysteries that draw on her love for genealogy and local history. She studied History at London and Oxford and worked in academia for a number of years before becoming a full time author.

Website

Twitter @NicolaCornick

@HQStories

📖 Book Review ~ Other Parents by Sarah Stovell

HQ
18 August 2022

They all have opinions.

They all have secrets.

In a small town like West Burntridge, it should be impossible to keep a secret. But the problem with having your nose in everyone’s business is that you can miss what’s staring you in the face.

Rachel Saunders knows gossip is the price you pay for a rural lifestyle and outstanding schools. The latest town scandal is her divorce – and the fact that her new girlfriend has moved into the family home.

Laura Spence lives in a poky bedsit on the wrong side of town. She and her son Jake don’t really belong, and his violent tantrums are threatening to expose the very thing she’s trying to hide.

When the local school introduces a new LGBTQ+-friendly curriculum, Rachel and Laura find themselves on opposite sides of a fearsome debate. But the problem with having your nose in everyone else’s business is that you often miss what’s happening in your own home.

📖 My Review..

Sarah Stovell is fast becoming one of those authors whose work I will read as soon as it is published and, for a change, this time, I decided to listen to the audio version of the book via the BorrowBox library app. I wasn't disappointed as the narrator, Elaine Claxton, did  a really good job of interpreting the story. With over 11 hours of listening time, the story doesn't rush but builds up each layer with accurate precision and as each of the main protagonists come to life so all the quirks of their distinct personalities are captured.

West Burntridge is one of those small town places where everyone knows everyone else's business and when Rachael Saunders leaves her husband to start a new relationship with her girlfriend, Erin, it not only fractures her family but also alienates half the town. Add into the mix, Kate and Laura, a couple of over zealous PTA members at the local primarily school who object to the introduction of a proposed LGBTQ+-friendly curriculum and you have all the elements for riotous dissent.

Other Parents is a great story, it made me laugh out loud in places, especially the cake fight, but it also made me stop to consider small town pettiness and the bigotry which exists and lurks in the shadows and which can cause so much misery. The characterisation is, as always, excellent, as this talented author knows how to get right inside the heads of the people she so skillfully creates, bringing them to life with a perception and insight into just what makes people tick.

I spent several hours in Burntridge as the story unfolded, placing my loyalty with those who needed it, especially Rachael's daughter Maia who was left lost and bewildered by her mother's actions and also with immense sympathy, in the end, for Laura who really had her own demons to chase. 

Beautifully written, immensely entertaining and ultimately enlightening, Other Parents is this talented author writing at her absolute best.

📖 Best read with.. Decorated cupcakes, loaded with icing

About the Author

Sarah Stovell was born in 1977 and spent most of her life in the Home Counties before a season working in a remote North Yorkshire youth hostel made her realise she was a northerner at heart. She now lives in Northumberland with her partner and two children and is a lecturer in Creative Writing at Lincoln University. Her debut psychological thriller, Exquisite, was called ‘the book of the summer’ by Sunday Times.

Twitter @sarahlovescrime #OtherParents

@HQstories

📖 Publication Day Book Review ~ Breakneck Point by T Orr Munro

 

HQ
14 April 2022

My thanks to the publisher for my copy of this book

CSI Ally Dymond follows the evidence – wherever it leads.

Her commitment to justice has cost Ally her place on the major investigations team. After exposing corruption in the ranks, she’s stuck working petty crimes on the sleepy North Devon coast.

Only when the body of nineteen-year-old Janie Warren turns up in the seaside town of Bidecombe can Ally put her skills to good use. Yet the evidence she discovers contradicts the lead detective’s theory. And no one wants to listen to the CSI who landed their colleagues in prison.

Time is running out to catch a serial killer no one is looking for – no one except Ally. What she doesn’t know is that he’s watching, from her side of the crime scene tape, waiting for the moment to strike. When he does, Ally will be forced to question the true nature of justice like never before..

📖 Book Review ...

When we first meet  CSI Ally Dymond she is giving evidence in a court case which will not go well for some of her police colleagues. With this scandal forever following her, Ally, although a talented and meticulous crime scene investigator, is relegated to mediocre cases which do nothing to test her expertise. However, when a the body of  a young woman is found in the seaside town of Bidecombe, Ally happens to be the first CSI on the scene and therein lies the rest of this fascinating crime thriller.

The story is unusual as we get to know very early on who is responsible for a spate of murders which are taking this sleepy area of Devon by surprise but what the author does so cleverly is to give us a ring side seat as we observe just how cleverly the perpetrator plays cat and mouse, not just with the police, but also with Ally for whom the search for justice gets very personal.

I raced through Breakneck Point, fascinated both at the way the story was unfolding and also eager to discover more about Ally Dymond. She is a fascinating multi-layered character who I am sure we will get to know more about as the series progresses. I'm already looking forward to the next book in the series.

🐻 Best read with... a packet of Haribo Gold Bears.

About the Author

Tina Orr Munro is a journalist, specialising in writing about policing and security. In another life, she was a police scenes of crime officer. She lives in North Devon.

Twitter @TinaOrrMunro #BreakneckPoint #FollowtheEvidence

@HQStories

📖 Feature Friday ~ Breakneck Point by T. Orr Munro

 

Welcome to Feature Friday

It's a warm space to a highlight a book coming soon which is on my radar

and one I am looking forward to reading

HQ
14 April 2022

My thanks to the publisher for my copy of this book

A gripping new crime series for fans of Val McDermid, Jane Casey, Cara Hunter and Mare of Easttown

CSI Ally Dymond follows the evidence – wherever it leads.

Her commitment to justice has cost Ally her place on the major investigations team. After exposing corruption in the ranks, she’s stuck working petty crimes on the sleepy North Devon coast.

Only when the body of nineteen-year-old Janie Warren turns up in the seaside town of Bidecombe can Ally put her skills to good use. Yet the evidence she discovers contradicts the lead detective’s theory. And no one wants to listen to the CSI who landed their colleagues in prison.

Time is running out to catch a serial killer no one is looking for – no one except Ally. What she doesn’t know is that he’s watching, from her side of the crime scene tape, waiting for the moment to strike. When he does, Ally will be forced to question the true nature of justice like never before.

The idea of starting a different crime series from the beginning is very appealing especially when it is a new author who is also just starting on this literary crime journey. I read a lot of gritty crime stories set mainly in UK cities so to retreat to the sleepy Devon coast will be a nice change of scene.

So as they say...watch this space..

@jaffareadstoo #FeatureFriday #amreading

Breakneck Point is available to pre-order from wherever you buy books.

Twitter @TinaOrrMunro #BreakneckPoint #FollowtheEvidence

@HQStories

📖 Book Review ~ The Return by Anita Frank

  

HQ
11 November 2021

My thanks to the publishers for my copy of this book

Jack Ellison’s war is over, but the battle for his family has just begun.

When Jack left for the war, he made a parting pledge to his pregnant bride, Gwen, that he would never return. It was, after all, best for everyone that he didn’t.

Now, as celebrations erupt for Victory in Europe, Gwen is terrified that Jack will renege on his promise, threatening the life she has built for herself and their son on the family farm.

But war has changed Jack, and he is coming home, determined to claim a place in Gwen’s life – and her heart.

As events of the past come back to haunt them, Jack and Gwen find themselves facing their greatest battle – and it is a fight neither of them can afford to lose.

In this sweeping historical story with huge heart, Anita Frank weaves a glorious tale of love and loss, secrets and promises.

📖 My Thoughts..

Jack Ellison has a secret he is determined to keep hidden as he doesn't want to jeopardise his chances of employment at the Berkshire farm run by father and daughter, Jim and Gwen. Jack takes to farming really well and both Jim and Gwen come to rely on Jack's kind nature. However, from the outset we realise that Gwen is, herself, harbouring a secret and with the prospect of war looming, an agreement is made between Jack and Gwen which will have far reaching consequences.

The sheer backbreaking hardship of keeping the farm running with little or no help comes across as does Gwen's need to do what is best for herself. And whilst I felt an immediate rapport with Jack's character, he is difficult not to like, I struggled to like Gwen very much but understood the reasons why she comes across as heartless in places. I enjoyed how the story moved around in time, so that we get Jack's perspective in 1939,  alongside that of Gwen in 1945 when the war is coming to an end.

The Return is a nicely written historical saga which has, at its heart, an emotional story of heartbreaking secrets and lost promises.

About the Author

A farmer’s daughter from Shropshire, Anita Frank studied English and American History at the University of East Anglia before moving to London to work in media analysis and communications. She currently lives in Berkshire with her husband and three children.

Twitter @Ajes74 #TheReturn

@HQStories

📖 Blog Tour ~ The Shanghai Wife by Emma Harcourt

 

Delighted to host a stop on this blog tour today

Harper 360
16 September 2021

My thanks to the publishers for my copy of this book
and to Random Things Tours for the invitation to the blog tour

Forbidden friendship, political conspiracy and incendiary passion draw Australian woman Annie Brand deep into the glamour and turmoil of 1920s Shanghai. Leaving behind the loneliness and trauma of her past in country Australia, Annie Brand arrives to the political upheaval and glittering international society of Shanghai in the 1920s. 

Journeying up the Yangtze with her new husband, the ship's captain, Annie revels in the sense of adventure but when her husband sends her back to Shanghai, her freedom is quickly curtailed. Against her will, Annie finds herself living alone in the International Settlement, increasingly suffocated by the judgemental Club ladies and their exclusive social scene: one even more restrictive than that she came from. Sick of salacious gossip and foreign condescension, and desperate to shake off the restrictions of her position in the world, Annie is slowly drawn into the bustling life and otherness of the real Shanghai, and begins to see the world from the perspective of the local people, including the servants who work at her husband's Club. 

But this world is far more complex and dangerous than the curious Annie understands and, unknowingly, she becomes caught in a web of intrigue and conspiracy as well as a passionate forbidden love affair she could not have predicted: one with far–reaching consequences...

📖 My Thoughts...

When The Shanghai Wife opens, Annie Brand, and her new husband, Alec, are on board a river boat travelling along the Yangtze river but following the news of significant unrest, Annie is advised to get off the boat, leaving her husband, as the boat’s captain, to continue with the dangerous journey alone with his crew. 

However, returning to Shanghai isn’t what Annie had in mind but with no choice other than to do what’s expected of her, she soon finds that waiting for Alec's return, and living her life alone, in Shanghai, isn’t going to be easy. Annie soon finds that rather than be part of the gossipy nature of her fellow expats, she is drawn ore sympathetically towards the lives of the local people. However, as she gets drawn deeper into the real Shanghai, so Annie finds herself caught up in intrigue, danger and forbidden friendships.

The story flows well and the author brings everything to life with imaginative flair and a sympathetic look at the vagaries of history.  I particularly enjoyed discovering what life was like in Shanghai in 1925, and there is much to discover about the political implications of this particular time in China’s troubled past. I enjoyed how the author based the story of The Shanghai Wife on her grandmother’s experiences and so, with her authentic descriptions, 1920s Shanghai comes alive in this interesting historical novel.

About the Author

Emma Harcourt has worked as a journalist for over 25 years, in Australia, the UK and Hong Kong. In 2011, she completed the Faber Academy Writing a Novel course and The Shanghai Wife was borne. Emma lives in Sydney with her two daughters. She is currently working on her second novel.

Twitter @emma_harcourt #TheShanghaiWife

@Harper360UK

@RandomTTours

📖 Book Review ~The Last Daughter by Nicola Cornick

HQ
8 July 2021

My thanks to the publishers for my copy of this book

Ever since her sister disappeared eleven years ago, Serena Warren has been running from a ghost, haunted by what she can’t remember about that night.

When Caitlin’s body is discovered, Serena returns to her grandfather’s house, nestled beside the ruins of Minster Lovell Hall in Oxfordshire, determined to uncover the truth. But in returning to the place of her childhood summers, Serena stands poised at the brink of a startling discovery – one that will tie her family to a centuries-old secret…

Taking readers from the present day to the Wars of the Roses in the 1400s, and with an enthralling mystery at its heart, The Last Daughter is a spellbinding novel about family secrets, perfect for fans of Lucinda Riley, Victoria Hislop and Kate Morton.

📖 My thoughts..

When her sister's body is found Serena Warren returns to the Oxfordshire area where she and Caitlin spent many happy summers at the home of their grandfather. However, Serena has scant memory of what happened eleven years ago on the night Caitlin disappeared and hopes that by returning to the ruins of Minster Lovell Hall she will awaken the memories she has buried for so long.

By linking the story to events long past we move cleverly back to the time when Minster Lovell Hall was the home of Francis Lovell and his wife Anne Fitzhugh, both characters from history who were caught up in the momentous years of the Wars of the Roses when, in the aftermath of Bosworth, the Yorkists sympathisers were hunted and punished by the new king, Henry VII.

There's a wonderful sense of atmosphere throughout the novel which brings to life both the upset and sorrow in the present day as Serena confronts her hidden memories about the disappearance of Caitlin, whilst, with a strong sense of time and place, the last few years of the Plantagenets starts to come vividly to life. By cleverly combining myth, legend, folklore and documented history an intriguing story of what might have happened to the young princes in the tower starts to emerge. I especially enjoyed the inclusion of The Mistletoe Bride into the story which combines a touch of the supernatural with the intriguing sense of history.

The Last Daughter is a fascinating timeslip novel by a talented author who continues to shine in this genre and whose clever stories never fail to entertain.

About the Author

International bestselling author Nicola Cornick writes dual-time historical mysteries that draw on her love for genealogy and local history. She studied History at London and Oxford and worked in academia for a number of years before becoming a full time author.

Website

Twitter @NicolaCornick

@HQStories

📖 Book Review ~ The Therapist by B A Paris

 

HQ
15 April 2021

My thanks to the publishers for my copy of this book

When Alice and Leo move into a newly renovated house in The Circle, a gated community of exclusive houses, it is everything they’ve dreamed of. But appearances can be deceptive…

As Alice is getting to know her neighbours, she discovers a devastating secret about her new home, and begins to feel a strong connection with Nina, the therapist who lived there before.

Alice becomes obsessed with trying to piece together what happened two years before. But no one wants to talk about it. Her neighbors are keeping secrets and things are not as perfect as they seem…

📖 My thoughts..

Alice and Leo seemingly have an idyllic life together as they have recently moved in their dream home in an exclusive gated community. However, whilst some of her neighbours appear friendly enough there are those who seem resentful of Alice and Leo's presence amongst them and with Leo often away on business, Alice is lonely and keen to make friends amongst those who live close to her.

I always enjoy enormously the way the author keeps the tension cranked up to high in her novels which are all just a little bit different. Throughout The Therapist, and particularly when Alice makes a devastating discovery about her beautiful new home there is a decided air of menace, especially when unexpected things start to occur and Alice finds out just what deadly secrets her beautiful home is hiding. As always with this clever author's writing there are twists and turns aplenty and with so much going on with the plot to say too much would be to spoil the overall effect of the novel. 

I've now read everything that this talented author has written and I think that her stories just get better and better. What is always guaranteed is a beautifully controlled psychological suspense/thriller, complete with a set of complex characters who you immediately either feel an affinity for, or who make your skin creep, but which have the uncanny ability to make you question everything on the page, and when all is finally revealed there's a definite sense of having read another cracking good story.

About the Author

B A Paris is the internationally bestselling author of Behind Closed Doors, The Breakdown, Bring Me Back and The Dilemma. Having sold over a million copies in the UK alone, she is a New York Times bestseller as well as a Sunday Times bestseller. Her books have been translated into 40 languages. Having lived in France for many years, she and her husband recently moved back to the UK.

Twitter @BAParisAuthor #TheTherapist

@HQStories

Guest Author ~ Anne O'Brien

✨✨ Happy Publication Day ✨✨

Anne O'Brien celebrates 10 years of giving a voice to the forgotten women of history

It is with great pleasure that I introduce best selling historical writer, Anne O'Brien to talk to us today about Constance of York, who features in her latest novel, A Tapestry of Treason, which is published in hardback and ebook today by HQ.

Welcome back, Anne and congratulations of the publication of  A Tapestry of Treason

Constance of York

A Woman of Tarnished Reputation

Meet Constance of York, Lady Despenser, and her magnificently dysfunctional family in the reign of King Henry IV. Few families have come down through history with such a questionable reputation, and Constance not the least of them. Not averse to swapping allegiances with unnerving frequency, plotting murder and insurrection, they were a deviously cunning bunch, worthy of a soap opera. How could I not write about Constance and such a superb cast of characters?

- Her father Edmund, Duke of York , the most ineffectual and poorest of the five sons of King Edward III. 

- Her mother Isabella, a Castilian Princess, with a reputation for easy morals.

- Her elder brother Edward, on the surface indolent and pleasure loving, but driven by hot ambition and with a sly charm to match it. 

- Her younger brother Richard, penniless and lacking a title, damned with the taint of possible illegitimacy.

- Her husband, Thomas Despenser, as ambitious and self-seeking as the rest. 

And what of Constance? Tradition says that she equalled her family in ambition and treachery, involving herself in every twist and turn of their conspiracies. History has damned her as a 'thoroughly bad lot'. Enjoying recognition at the vivid Court of Richard II, Constance could not accept the fall from grace that came with his overthrow and death. Thus her life became vicious and unprincipled, devoted to revenge, to restore her family's influence.

But was Constance as black as history paints her? Here we peek behind the tapestries and spy into her life more closely. Product of an affectionless family, committed to a loveless marriage, Constance's life was emotionally barren. No victim, she chose to live in an man's world and involve herself in her family's quest for power. That is until she fell in love, with all the possibilities of change and happiness. Unless Constance threw away her chances of fulfilment. Unless her lover abandoned her. 

This is tale of treachery, that is true, but also of thwarted ambitions and betrayed love. It highlights the influence that a woman could use, but also the limits on that influence in the medieval world. Constance was a woman of misplaced loyalties but must be admired for her steadfast support of those who demanded her duty. The ultimate betrayal by Constance's lover brought her heartbreak and loneliness. 

How could I possibly resist writing about her, bringing her to life? Constance is not an easy heroine, but she presents a formidable protagonist in A Tapestry of Treason.

Huge thanks to Anne for  being our guest author today and for sharing her thoughts about Constance of York.

A Tapestry of Treason

HQ
22 August 2019

About the Author

Anne O'Brien was born in the West Riding of Yorkshire. After gaining a BA Honours degree in history at Manchester University and a Master's in Education at Hull, she lived in the East Riding for many years as a teacher of history.

She now lives with her husband in an eighteenth century timber framed cottage in the depths of the welsh marches in Hertfordshire the borders between England and Wales.

Website 

Facebook

Twitter @anne_obrien #TapestryofTreason

Amazon UK

You can read my book review of A Tapestry of Treason by clicking here 

Hist Fic Saturday ~ A Tapestry of Treason by Anne O'Brien

On Hist Fic Saturday

Let's go back to...1399

HQ
22 August 2019

My thanks to the author for my proof copy of this book

Her actions could make history – but at what price?

1399: Constance of York, Lady Despenser, proves herself more than a mere observer in the devious intrigues of her magnificently dysfunctional family, The House of York

Surrounded by power-hungry men, including her aggressively self-centred husband Thomas and ruthless siblings Edward and Richard, Constance places herself at the heart of two treasonous plots against King Henry IV. Will it be possible for this Plantagenet family to safeguard its own political power by restoring either King Richard II to the throne, or the precarious Mortimer claimant?

Although the execution of these conspiracies will place them all in jeopardy, Constance is not deterred, even when the cost of her ambition threatens to overwhelm her. Even when it endangers her new-found happiness.

With treason, tragedy, heartbreak and betrayal, this is the story of a woman ahead of her time, fighting for herself and what she believes to be right in a world of men.

What did I think about it..

The richness of A Tapestry of Treason is as sumptuous as anything that ever graced the walls of a medieval castle. Lovingly stitched by an author who continues to bring fascinating life to the forgotten women of our history. 

Constance of York was born into a vainglorious and deeply ambitious family whose familial connection to Edward III places them close enough to royalty to always be a threat. It is their unwavering allegiance to Richard II which will prove to be disastrous when in 1399 their cousin Henry IV usurps Richard’s crown inciting the York’s do all they can to restore Richard back to power.

A clever blending of fact and fiction brings the mercurial medieval court of Henry IV to life. Filled with political intrigue and deadly ambition, Constance discovers that despite her cunning and formidable ability she is always at the mercy of men who would exploit and deceive her. Despite an uneasy marriage to Thomas, Lord Despenser, Constance is never far from political intrigue and her uncompromising personality and her capacity to be drawn into scandal is what makes this account of her life such a fascinating read. That Constance is a worthy heroine is in no doubt, her life reads like a modern day reality show, and yet, by the end of the novel I couldn't help but have enormous respect for the trials she endured during her life in which her undoubted charisma, tenacity and sheer strength of will are tested to the absolute limits.

Beautifully written and impeccably researched, A Tapestry of Treason is another absolute triumph of a novel from an author who allows us, with her clever words and vivid imagery, to experience life in medieval England. We stand shoulder to shoulder with those strong and decisive women who forged our history, not armed with crossbows on the battlefields of Europe, but who, in draughty anterooms and dusty solar, could be found cleverly plotting and deftly weaving together the tapestry threads of  conspiracy, intrigue and deadly danger.

 A Tapestry of Treason is published in hardback and ebook on the 22nd August by HQ and is available to pre-order

About the Author

by kind permission of the author

In 2019 Anne O'Brien celebrates ten years of giving voice to the forgotten women of history

Anne O'Brien was born in the West Riding of Yorkshire. After gaining a BA Honours degree in history at Manchester University and a Master's in Education at Hull, she lived in the East Riding for many years as a teacher of history.

She now lives with her husband in an eighteenth century timber framed cottage in the depths of the welsh marches in Hertfordshire the borders between England and Wales.

Website 

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Twitter @anne_obrien #ATapestryofTreason

🎄 Review ~ Miss Marley by Vanessa Lafaye (with Rebecca Mascull)

HQ
1 November 2018

It's always been my tradition to re-read Charles Dickens', A Christmas Carol at this time of year, spending time in the company of Ebeneezer Scrooge, and the ghost of his erstwhile companion, Jacob Marley, seems to be reminiscent of so many of my Christmases past.

However, this year, I decided to read something a little different but still keeping the theme of Dickensian London, so I turned to Miss Marley, which was written by Vanessa Lafaye. Very sadly, Vanessa died earlier this year before she could complete the story of Jacob Marley's sister and so, rising to the challenge, historical novelist,  Rebecca Mascull, a close writing friend of Vanessa, completed the story.

From the opening chapter of Miss Marley and the introduction to the young Jacob Marley and his sister Clara Belle, I was immediately taken into the world of the Victorian underclass. Forced to survive by using their considerable wits both of these intrepid youngsters do what they must in order to eke out some sort of living, but circumstances can change in a heartbeat and Jacob, always brave enough to take a chance, steers both of their lives in a very different direction.

Miss Marley is as beautifully written as all of Vanessa Lafaye's previous novels. Without doubt, she is a master story and describes time and place so perfectly that you feel as if you wander the London streets hand in hand with the young Jacob and Clara Belle, seeing the shapes and shadows that framed their lives. The hawkers and the barrow boys, the street sellers and the costermongers, the shouts, the snippets of gossip, the promise of a meal and a pint of porter in the Ox and Plough, all  jostle for space against the cacophony of noise that made up the great city of London. 

I have to admit that reading the story was bittersweet in so many ways, not just because A Christmas Carol is one of my favourite Christmas stories and I so wanted this to sit comfortably alongside such a classic, and it does admirably, but also because I know just how important finishing Miss Marley was to Rebecca Mascull who completes the story with such love and fine attention to detail that the transition is seamless. 

Miss Marley isn't a long story, coming in at around 170 or so pages, so it's perfectly possible to read the story comfortably over the space of an afternoon or evening. It's Vanessa Lafaye writing at her best and is a lasting tribute to her absolute joy of story-telling.

About the Author

Vanessa LaFaye was an American born author living in England. A thirst for adventure brought her to Europe in 1987, first to France and then England. She spent many years in academic publishing, including the Oxford University Press. She wrote two acclaimed historical novels set in Florida, Summertime published in 2015 followed by First Light.  LaFaye was the founder of the Marlborough Community Choir in Wiltshire, England. She detailed the impact of living with cancer in her popular blog Living While Dying.

Twitter @Vanessa Lafaye #MissMarley 

@RebeccaMascull

@HQStories

Amazon UK

Review ~ Wrecker by Noel O'Reilly

On Hist Fic Saturday


Let's go back to ...Eighteenth Century, Cornwall

HQ
Harper Collins
14 June 2018

My thanks to the publishers and also to Lovereading.co.uk for my copy of this book

The wild and windswept Cornish coast with its rich history of ship wrecks comes alive in this story of village secrets and ancient superstition.

Like all the villagers in the remote Cornish village of Porthmorvoren whenever there is a ship wreck, Mary Blight heads to the beach to see what she can salvage, sometimes it’s a trinket or two, or occasionally, something more serviceable like a pair of wearable boots. When she discovers a distressed man in the sea, Mary risks everything to rescue him and nurses him back to health, but the villagers soon start to gossip about Mary’s motives for helping this stranger. The rescued man is Gideon Stone, an evangelical Methodist minister, who, on regaining his strength, sets out to bring salvation to this remote village which is blighted by religious fervour and age old superstitions. 

With a strong sense of time and place, Wrecker comes beautifully to life and highlights the difficulties of living in such a remote place. The superstitions which are so deeply ingrained into this harsh, and often unforgiving, community make it difficult for any stranger to get close to them and their vehement reaction to the minister’s attempt to save their souls is typical of their narrow-mindedness, whilst the way they treat Mary Blight borders on bigotry and hatred.

Wrecker is something of a slow burner of a story which I think is quite deliberate as it allows the place and its people to feature in a very realistic sort of way. The harsh realities of eking out a meagre existence in this unforgiving landscape are well described, as is the way that petty differences and scurrilous gossip are allowed to wreck and ruin lives. With a strong sense of time and place Wrecker comes beautifully to life, bringing together a strong story which is filled with a sense of destiny and which captures perfectly the spirit of this harsh and unforgiving time.

About the Author

I read this book as part of the LoveReading Review panel.  More reviews of Wrecker can be found on the LoveReading website by clicking here.

Twitter @noeloreilly #Wrecker

@HQStories

@LoveReadinguk

Review ~ Queen of the North by Anne O'Brien

HQ
31 May 2018

My thanks to the author for sharing her book with me 

What's it all about ..

1399: England’s crown is under threat. King Richard II holds onto his power by an ever-weakening thread, with exiled Henry of Lancaster back to reclaim his place on the throne.

For Elizabeth Mortimer, there is only one rightful King – her eight-year-old nephew, Edmund. Only he can guarantee her fortunes, and protect her family’s rule over the precious Northern lands bordering Scotland.

But many, including Elizabeth’s husband, do not want another child-King. Elizabeth must hide her true ambitions in Court, and go against her husband’s wishes to help build a rebel army.

To question her loyalty to the King places Elizabeth in the shadow of the axe.

To concede would curdle her Plantagenet blood.

My thoughts about it..

When Henry of Lancaster usurped the throne from Richard II in 1399, it was a far from amicable take-over of power, as it opened the country to the possibility of counter claims to the English crown. Elizabeth Mortimer is married to Henry Percy, the heir to the earldom of Northumberland, better known in history as the volatile and impetuous 'Hotspur', and even though Percy's involvement in English politics results in danger and uncertainty, it is through Elizabeth’s Mortimer connection to royalty where the real challenge comes, as Elizabeth is determined to see that her young nephew, Edmund Mortimer, pursues his legitimate claim to the English throne.

What then follows is a gripping story of politics, ambition and thwarted power which has its foothold firmly established in the unsettled atmosphere of a country which has been divided, not just by the political ambitions of people who merely wanted power for the sake of power, but also from those game players who truly believed that right was on their side.

Into this incredibly masculine world of control and authority, Elizabeth tries to make her voice heard and it is thanks to the skill of this talented writer that she comes to life in such a realistic and positive way. All too often the important women of history are side-lined by their sexier and more powerful male counterparts, and yet, as is so often the case, the women who endured and who worked surreptitiously in the background often had huge influence on the way that events eventually played out.

The author writes with passion and authority deftly bringing medieval England alive in all of its convoluted glory. There are plots and counter plots, meetings with the Welsh Prince, Owain Glyn Dwr, and time spent at the spectacular Northumberland castles of Alnwick and Warkworth and through all of the political maneuverings, Elizabeth Mortimer comes across a determined and hugely intelligent woman who felt that she and her family had grievances aplenty against a king who was, quite simply, not listening. That it doesn't bode well for Henry Percy is enshrined in history but what Queen of the North gives us so vividly is Elizabeth's interpretation of events as they unfolded during the momentous years between 1399 and 1408.

Mixing historical fact with fiction is a difficult challenge especially as so little is documented historically about Elizabeth Mortimer and yet, the author has succeeded really well in bringing her entirely to life, and gives Elizabeth a clear voice which is as bright and distinctive as the woman herself.

About the Author

Anne O'Brien was born in the West Riding of Yorkshire. After gaining a BA Honours degree in history at Manchester University and a Master's in Education at Hull. She lived in the East Riding for many years where she taught history.

Leaving teaching-but not her love of history-Anne turned to writing and her passion for giving voice to the oft forgotten women of the medieval era was born. Today Anne lives in an eighteenth century cottage in Herefordshore, an area steeped in history and full of inspiration for her work.

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Twitter @anne_obrien #QueenoftheNorth

Queen of the North will be published on the 31st May 2018 by HQ