Review ~ Cross Bones Yard by Kate Rhodes

Mulholland Books
2012

I read this one almost in one sitting, as once started I couldn't put it down, as the both story and writing drew me in from the beginning. Alice Quentin is a clinical psychologist living and working in London. She is a beguiling character, damaged by a traumatic childhood, she identifies with her patients on far too many levels. Her fear of commitment and her irrational need to, almost, go it alone, is a struggle which she faces on a daily basis. When she is drawn into a police investigation, almost by default, she finds that dealing with the fallout from a series of copy cat murders comes far too close to home for her own comfort.

What then follows is tight and cleverly complex murder investigation which has more than enough twists and turns to keep you guessing. The manipulation of both plot and malice is well thought out and even though, at times, I wanted to Alice to go in a different direction, I could understand why the author made her act in the way she did. Mostly, I can suss out the perpetrator quite early on, and in this one, I thought I had the killer in my sights only to be completely surprised by what happened.

As is the first in a series of crime books, which focus on Alice Quentin, there is an element of getting to know the main characters, however, I think the enjoyment in subsequent books will come in the way certain characters are allowed to evolve over time.

Book two - A Killing of Angels ( published 2013)

Book three  - The Winter Foundlings ( published January 2015)

  

About the Author

A bit about Cross Bones Yard.

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Review ~ One Apple Tasted by Josa Young

Elliot & Thompson
2009

Set between several very different time frames, One Apple Tasted explores the boundaries between love, friendship and those indefinable moments which can change the course of a life in a heartbeat. The story opens in 1982, on St Agnes Eve, when according to Keats... “..Young virgins might have visions of delight...” and for Dora Jerusalem meeting the charming Guy Boleyn at a party offers a very charming vision of delight. 

I enjoyed getting to know Dora; she is product of her time. I remember that to be young and female in the eighties was a time of great individuality, however, for Dora, despite her independence, she yearned for the conventional. I was less sympathetic to Guy who I felt was an ungentlemanly man and undeserving of Dora’s adoration. Whilst Guy and Dora’s friendship is beset with problems, which beguile throughout the whole of the novel, interspersed within the narrative are the threads of two quite different stories which when taken as a whole help to pull the entire book together.

I won’t go into great detail about plot as that would spoil the overall charm of the story but what I’ll concentrate on is the way that the author manipulates all the threads so that , like a mammoth jigsaw puzzle,  when the last little piece fits , you think ..ah, yes, that makes sense !  Overall, One Apple Tasted is nicely written, and I can see why there was such excitement about it when it was first published, however, it must be remembered that this was the author’s debut novel, and at times, perhaps her enthusiastic excitement at this being her first novel shows in trying to place too many people and plots together. However, generally speaking the book works rather well and once I had all the characters in their rightful place in my mind, I could relax into the story.

I’m embarrassed to say that this book has sat unread on my book shelf since its publication in 2009. I remember reading a very good review of the book in one of the weekend newspapers and bought it on the strength that. Why it has then remained unread is a mystery to me - it just emphasises that we all have hidden gems squirreled away for a rainy day and that from time to time we should delve into the dusty recesses of our bookshelves to see what hidden delights we can discover.

About the Author

 

 Josa Young's second book Sail upon the Land 

will be published on 1 December 2014

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Book Beginnings on Fridays...

Hosted by Gilion at Rose City Reader

Book Beginnings on Fridays as stated by the host was started:

 "to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires."

You can share on Google + and social media , please post using the hash tag #BookBeginnings

and there's also a Mr Linky on the host's blog.

Book Beginning : The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory

Spring 1453

The light of the open sky is brilliant after the darkness of the inner rooms.I blink and hear the roar of many voices. But this is not my army calling for me, this whisper growing to a rumble is not their roar of attack,the drumming of their swords on shields.   The rippling noise of linen in the wind is not my embroidered angels and lilies against the sky, but cursed English standards in the triumphant May breeze. This is a different sort of roar from our bellowed hymns, this is a howl of people hungry for death: my death.

**

.....We don't know who this narrator is but there is a sense of desolation, of doom and impending danger. I am intrigued to see what is going to happen to this as yet invisible person, and want to read on to find out what is happening and where the roar of many voices is coming from, and why are they hungry for this person's death.....

**

A bit of book blurb

The second book in Philippa Gregory's stunning series,  The Cousins War, brings to life the story of Margaret Beaufort, a shadowy and mysterious character in the first book of the series - The White Queen - but who now takes centre stage in the bitter struggle of The War of the Roses. The Red Queen tells the story of the child-bride of Edmund Tudor, who, although widowed in her early teens, uses her determination of character and wily plotting to infiltrate the house of York under the guise of loyal friend and servant, undermine the support for Richard III and ultimately ensure that her only son, Henry Tudor, triumphs as King of England. Through collaboration with the dowager Queen Elizabeth Woodville, Margaret agrees a betrothal between Henry and Elizabeth's daughter, thereby uniting the families and resolving the Cousins War once and for all by founding of the Tudor dynasty.

If you like authentic historical fiction then I am sure you will be interested in the books in this series:

The White Queen

The Red Queen
The Lady of the Rivers

The Kingmaker's Daughter

The White Princess

The Women of the the Cousin's War (NF)

Let me know what you think of this Book Beginning....

More about the author Philippa Gregory

In light of the popularity of the TV series currently on BBC - the books have now been reissued with fabulous tie -in covers.

Review ~ The Flower Reader by Elizabeth Loupas

Preface June 2012

Rinette Leslie has the gift of floramancy, and it is this ability to interpret the language of flowers and predict the future which form the basis of this cleverly constructed historical novel which is set in Scotland during the tumultuous first years of the reign of Mary Queen of Scots.

When the dying queen regent, Mary of Guise entrusts the mysterious contents of an elaborate silver casket into Rinette's safe keeping, it throws open up a whole maze of conspiracies and lets loose a series of events which not only endanger Rinette and all those she loves, but also threatens the very monarchy.

A little slow at the start but once the story gets underway it really captures your attention and becomes a riveting look at monarchy, conspiracy and the unrelenting danger that comes from being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The clever interweaving of historical figures alongside fictional characters really make this an interesting and colourful look at Scottish monarchy.

I enjoyed it.

Review ~The Bones of Avalon

In order to get my "to be read" shelf lighter this year, I am part of the Just For Fun Goodreads Group which encourages you to read books that have been sitting on a book shelf for a while. As an active book reviewer, I am constantly approached to read and review new books, which is of course, an absolute delight and a dream come true for me, but I do neglect the books on my ever expanding bookshelves to accommodate review requests.

My Just for Fun challenge this year is to read twelve historically themed books, which I was interested enough in to buy for myself, but which have languished on my book shelf for more than a year....

Here is my first Just for Fun read of the year, and it's an historical whodunnit from Phil Rickman who writes the superbly successful Merrily Watkins series of books, as well as some very good stand alone historical chillers...

Corvus 2010

In this new series the author introduces the Elizabethan astrologer Dr John Dee, and has woven a series of historical mystery stories which find the acclaimed doctor in some tricky situations. Written with Rickman's customary skill, the  John Dee Papers combines the stark reality of life in Elizabethan England , alongside some convoluted and mysterious situations.

The Bones of Avalon (2010) ~ starts the series with John Dee and Elizabeth's favourite courtier Robert Dudley sent to the town of Glastonbury to seek the truth behind the legend of King Arthur, who is believed to lie buried within the grounds of the ancient abbey. However, the abbey has been left derelict since Henry VIII's plunderers tore it to shreds, and the town of Glastonbury still harbours a grudge towards those who seek to disturb its peace.

The story is a well written mystery which combines history with undeniable malice and is a real page turner that had me enthralled from beginning to end. The strands of the story are never over simplified and the many twists and turns reveal a convoluted plot that keeps you guessing until the very end.
5*****

The Heresy of Dr Dee is the second book in the series