Top Ten Tuesday: Books Set in Another Time

 

This week's theme for Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, is "Books Set in Another Time." Since that is practically all I read that is an easy topic for me! Here are my top ten favorites right now although I think with more time I'd probably change the list constantly. 

The link will take you to Goodreads if you are interested in the book. You won't be disappointed in any of these if they are in a genre you enjoy. Happy reading ya'll!

1. The Land Beyond the Sea by Sharon Kay Penman- Crusader period 1100's

2. Voyager by Diana Gabaldon- Scotland/Caribbean 1700's 

3. The Falcon of Palermo by Maria R. Bordihn- Sicily 1100's-1200's

4. The Iron King by Maurice Druon- France- 1300's

5. Gracelin O'Malley by Ann Moore- Ireland- 1800's

6. Death of a Stranger by Anne Perry- Victorian England- 1800's

7. Uneasy Lies the Crown by N. Gemini Sasson- Scotland- 13-1400's

8. Murder in Mesopotamia by Agatha Christie- England- 1900's

9. Highland Fling by Amanda Scott- Scotland- 1700's

10.Pirates and Patriots by David Field- Elizabethan England- 1500's

I could honestly have a list of 100 or more books here. I absolutely love historical fiction and most of the books I've listed also belong to a series in which all the books are great. This list was hard to whittle down!

Stacking the Shelves #47

 

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Reading Reality. It's a place to showcase any books I have purchased, borrowed, or been lucky enough to have been given an advance copy of. Hope you find something that looks interesting to you or that makes you remember a favorite book you need to finish. Enjoy your reading this week!

Purchase from Amazon for Kindle: Free with points:

This setting looked unique and I'm always looking for lesser known series. I hadn't heard of this one or the author either before. Described as an "elegant mystery filled with intriguing characters," and a Downton Abbey vibe I thought I'd get it. I loved the cover also. That drew me in right away. It's the typical Lord and Lady story who solve a murder mystery so that is something I know I'll like. There are four books in the series which seems to have ended in 2016.

Purchase from Amazon for Kindle: Free Friday books from Hourly History website:

Every Friday I get my Hourly History newsletter with free books! Many are subjects I'm not interested in but this one I for sure want to read. I love the show on HBO Max about The Gilded Age and want to learn more behind it. I confess that I love history but am not schooled very well on this subject even though I am American. It's kind of glossed over quickly in our classes. These books are all meant to be read in...well....an hour, hence the name of the series. 

Borrow from Libby App: Free

I have read the first two in this series and think I'm ready for the next one. I think they are really funny and clever, although sometimes I'm not in the mood if I want a more serious mystery or less constant humor. But then I go back to wondering what Lady Georgie is doing and I need to check in! She goes home to Castle Rannoch in Scotland and I love that.  It also involves the Prince of Wales and his "divorcee houseguest" which we all know refers to Wallis Simpson. This one looks fun. 

Mrs. McGinty's Dead by Agatha Christie (Hercule Poirot Book 32)

 

Publication Date: February 1952

Genre: Classic Mysteries/Cozy Mysteries

Series: Hercule Poirot Mysteries 

Length: 243 pages

Book Description (GoodReads):

In Mrs. McGinty’s Dead, one of Agatha Christie’s most ingenious mysteries, the intrepid Hercule Poirot must look into the case of a brutally murdered landlady.

Mrs. McGinty died from a brutal blow to the back of her head. Suspicion falls immediately on her shifty lodger, James Bentley, whose clothes reveal traces of the victim’s blood and hair. Yet something is amiss: Bentley just doesn’t seem like a murderer.

Could the answer lie in an article clipped from a newspaper two days before the death? With a desperate killer still free, Hercule Poirot will have to stay alive long enough to find out. . . .

My Thoughts:

My favorite Christie books feature Poirot and Ariadne Oliver. So this one looked like a winner. I unfortunately could not access the current Read Christie book, So this was a suggested alternate choice.

I thought there were a lot of characters to keep up with and off shoot storylines. I had to think hard to keep them all straight. Basically the story centers around the death of an elderly landlady, Mrs. McGinty and her convicted murderer, James Bentley. The local superintendent is not so sure he did it as there was the feeling of it being staged. Poirot is called in to investigate and as usual, can spot holes in the case right away. With his foreign flair and investigative skills he soon uncovers a much deeper answer....it involves the past of a local woman and her child and he has to interview multiple townspeople and sift through their personal drama to get to the bottom of things. 

At least one of the characters had me convinced they were the murderer for a good part of the book. They way she was portrayed had me strung along. There is no way I'd have guessed the ending as it really was cleverly disguised behind one small clue that most of us would overlook. Of course Poirot doesn't! Mrs. McGinty was a bit of a sleuth herself which ultimately puts her in the spotlight of danger and Poirot has to figure out who would use the information she obtained to silence her. But he's convinced from the beginning it isn't Bentley.

One character, Maude Williams, who once worked with Bentley doesn't believe he is capable of murder and offers to help with the case. A possible weapon is found in a local home, further giving rise to Poirot's suspicions, and a mysterious photo leads him to believe some people are not who they claim to be. 

I thought this was a decent attempt for Christie but it was pretty complicated at times. I found my mind wandering as I tried to keep up with everything. The ending was satisfying and unique though and didn't reveal itself until the last moment. 

I'm looking forward to March and the next Read Christie selection!

Can't Wait Wednesday: The Whitechapel Widow by Emily Organ (A Emma Langley Victorian Mystery Book One)

 

For this week's Can't Wait Wednesday, hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings, I'm featuring, The Whitechapel Widow, by Emily Organ. It is book one of the new Emma Langley Victorian Mystery Series and looks like a book for fans of Anne Perry. It is a little edgier than the average cozy and considering it involves the time and era of Jack the Ripper I'm not sure you'd call it a cozy. But the mystery looks intriguing as a woman tries to get to the bottom of who murdered her husband In Whitechapel London. It does say in the comments it is a clean mystery so nothing too disturbing here. I think I might have to start this series. 

I hope you've found a book you can't wait for this week. Happy reading ya'll!

Historical Mystery

March 27, 2025

Book Description courtesy of GoodReads:

London hunts the Ripper. A widow hunts her husband's killer.

London, 1888. While Jack the Ripper's reign of terror grips the city, Emma Langley's world shatters when her husband is found murdered in Whitechapel. But grief is quickly overshadowed by a startling discovery. William Langley was not the man she thought she knew.

As panic fills London's streets, Emma delves into her husband's secret life, uncovering a web of lies that stretches from glittering society drawing rooms to the seedy gambling dens of the East End. Aided by Penny Green, a former reporter with a nose for trouble, Emma follows a trail of blackmail and corruption.

But exposing her husband's killer could make her the next victim and in the shadows of gaslit streets, a murderer waits, ready to strike again…

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Never Reviewed (but maybe I should!)

 

This week's theme for Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, is "Books I Never Reviewed." Wow....that is hard to narrow down to just ten. My blog is only three years old so there are plenty to choose from. Sometimes I think of reviewing my favorites that I read long ago but is that cheating when you run a book blog? I mean, do I have to have read it that week for it to count? It's an interesting thought. Go back and write reviews for books I read five years ago? Even with Outlander I re-read them before I reviewed them.

Anyway here are ten books I really enjoyed but haven't reviewed. Maybe I should! Happy reading ya'll!

**No covers displayed due to time, but the titles are linked to Goodreads if you want more information on one of these amazing books!

1. The Murder On the Links by Agatha Christie (Cozy Mystery)

2. The Six Wives of Henry the VIII by Alison Weir (History- British Biography)

3. Highland Spirits by Amanda Scott (Historical Scottish Romance)

4. Leaving Ireland by Ann Moore (Historical Irish Romance)

5. Poldark by Winston Graham (Historical Fiction Cornwall)

6. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (Historical Fiction Russia )

7. Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon (Historical Fiction/Romance)

8. Celia Garth by Gwen Bristow (Historical Fiction set in Charleston)

9. Queen of This Realm by Jean Plaidy (Historical Biography of Elizabeth II)

10. Into Africa by Martin Dugard (History- Stanley and Livingstone's discovery)

Stacking the Shelves #46

 

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Reading Reality. It's a place to showcase any books I have purchased, borrowed, or been lucky enough to have been given an advance copy of. Hope you find something that looks interesting to you or that makes you remember a favorite book you need to finish. Enjoy your reading this week!

Borrowed from Libby App:

I waited over a month for this one! I was excited to see it finally available. This author is very popular and this is her latest. Set in two different time periods it's not a novel I'd usually read but it involves Egyptian archaeology, museums, and a mystery so it looks intriguing. I'm on chapter 5 already and still hooked so I'm hoping I'm not disappointed. Looking at her other books I'm not sure if I'd like the settings but if this one is well written I might give them a try. It jumps back and forth between two main characters, Charlotte and Annie. Charlotte lives and works in 1970's New York and Annie lives in the same era. But we will be transported back to the 1930's to hear Charlotte's story. Traveling to Egypt something sinister happens and we will spend the book finding out what.

Purchase for Kindle: $1.99 on sale 

This is a book I will flip through and read when I need a break and just want to read a random chapter. It details all the major Queens of Scotland from Lady MacBeth to Anne. I'll just probably read it from week to week slowly and not necessarily in order. But that is nice as novels can sometimes take up so much of my time I don't read as much non fiction. This is in keeping with my goal to change that this year. I don't know a lot about the Queens of Scotland so I'm looking forward to a mini biography of each one.

Borrowed from Kindle Unlimited: 

This is book one in a mystery series I'd not seen before. It involves a sixteenth century Scottish lawyer, Hew Cullen, who is trying to solve a case of the murder of a teenager and accusations of misconduct by a Professor at the St. Andrews University. I love books set in Scotland and I love mysteries even more so I'm hoping this one is good. There are four more in the series too if I am wanting to continue. 

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Can't Wait Wednesday: Silent As the Grave by Rhys Bowen (A Molly Murphy Mystery Book 21)

 

For this week's Can't Wait Wednesday, hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings, I'm featuring,Silent As the Grave, by Rhys Bowen. I have only read the first book in the Molly Murphys series but I know they are very popular with mystery lovers. This is book 21 and Molly is sleuthing now as a wife and mother. She gets to go on set to watch a movie being filmed where the special effects turn deadly. Bowen does a good job with historical detail and her fans will be excited to see a new book continuing Molly's story. I hope you've found something you can't wait to read this week. Happy reading ya'll!

Cozy Mystery

March 11, 2025

Book Description courtesy of GoodReads:

With a newborn and two children, Molly Murphy Sullivan is tackling motherhood. Her husband, Daniel, is off to work in Washington as Easter break begins in New York. Her dear friend and writer, Ryan O’Hara, is shooting a movie, one of the first to involve a real plot and actors. He invites Molly and the children to visit the set and watch the excitement. When one of the actresses is fired, Molly’s adopted daughter, Bridie, is called to replace her in the scene. Turns out she’s a natural and is asked to star in the rest of the film. Molly is skeptical about leaving Bridie alone on set, but her great friends, Sid and Gus, offer to chaperone her.

The movie industry is still experimenting with ways to get the best shot, like pretending to tie Bridie to real train tracks. But soon, their special effects start to malfunction. After a few mishaps where no one is hurt, the special effects turn deadly. With rumors of a feud between studios, Molly believes these malfunctions are sabotage. She is invited to go undercover on set to investigate the burgeoning film war. Once again, Rhys Bowen and Clare Broyles deliver an engaging mystery full of vibrant historical details and thrilling escapades featuring one of mystery's most beloved sleuths.

Noteworthy News #7: Not Just the Tudors Podcast

 

Years ago I was obsessed with all things Tudor England. I read every Jean Plaidy book I could (my first book of hers I ever read was about Queen Elizabeth II and it hooked me) and researched them to no end. This was all before smart phones and Kindles and the internet. So we are talking 80's and 90's era. When you actually had to go to the library and hunt for things. Which I honestly miss. But that's another topic for another day! 

When I first came across this podcast I was intrigued from the name. It seemed to read my mind.....I love this era but I'd like to know more about what was going on in the world during the Tudor period outside of England. Or maybe at court but learning about other people besides Henry and his offspring and his religious battles. This podcast sets out to do just that. Bring us wonderful stories and history of the Tudors but not just the Tudors. 

So for example, right now I'm listening to a 4 part series (so far) on the rise of the Borgia family. This all takes place during the same general time but it gives perspective because I'm sure things happening in Italy were relevant to many other countries. I also don't mind getting back to storeis about the Tudors, which they do a lot of as well.

So if you are in love with and learning about the Tudors specifically you will love this show. And if you are like me you will love the side stories going on at the same time. It is also narrated by an excellent and knowledgeable lady, Dr. Suzannah Lipscomb. She's been on Matt Lewis's podcast, Gone Medieval and I've always enjoyed her stories and research. Check it out if you love this time period as much as I do. You won't be disappointed! 

Click on the picture to go to the website for more information and some really great content links!

Can't Wait Wednesday: The Case of the Christie Conspiracy by Kelly Oliver (A Detection Club Mystery)

 

For this week's Can't Wait Wednesday, hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings, I'm featuring, The Case of the Christie Conspiracy, by Kelly Oliver. I have really enjoyed her Fiona Figg series which are light hearted but well written cozy mysteries set during WWI. She has decided to take a whole new direction with this series by making Agatha Christie the suspect in the story. I'm not sure how it will turn out but it sure is an interesting premise. I hope you've found something you can't wait to read this week! Happy Reading ya'll!

Cozy Mystery

February 16, 2025

Book Description courtesy of GoodReads:

Agatha Christie is about to embark on a new, gripping murder case. But this time, she’s not the author – she’s a suspect…

1926 – Christie is a darling of the literary circuit and the most desired guest in London’s glittering social scene. She can often be found at meetings of the Detection Club – where mystery writers come together to share ideas, swap secrets and drink copiously. But then a fellow author's initiation ceremony takes a gruesome turn, and one of the group ends up dead. Now, Agatha is no longer just the creator of great mystery plots – she’s a player in one.

And when Agatha disappears the day after the murder, she’s widely assumed to be guilty. Only Eliza Baker, assistant to the Club’s enigmatic secretary, Dorothy Sayers, is interested in investigating the case. But in a world where murder is the ultimate plot device, can Eliza piece together the evidence and find the killer before it’s too late?

Stacking the Shelves #45

 

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Reading Reality. It's a place to showcase any books I have purchased, borrowed, or been lucky enough to have been given an advance copy of. Hope you find something that looks interesting to you or that makes you remember a favorite book you need to finish. Enjoy your reading this week!

Purchase from Hourly History website: Free

Every Friday Hourly History sends me an email with books that are free or very cheap for that day. I have loaded up on these. They are becoming my favorite quick books to read between longer ones. I don't know much about this Scottish ruler so a quick overview will be great and then I can decide if I want to delve further with a longer history or historical fiction book about him. I have a few books by author N. Gemini Sasson that I might dig back into. She has written a series called The Bruce Trilogy about Robert the Bruce that look good. 

Borrowed from Library: Free

I love Matt Lewis's books and podcast. He is so knowledgeable about the middle ages and especially the Wars of the Roses period. I never get bored listening to his show, Gone Medieval, on Apple Podcast. This book takes different instances of rebellion during the period of the Norman Conquest through the Wars of the Roses and adds his usual interesting spin on them. As a history buff I'm excited for this one!

Purchase on Kindle: $0.99 on sale

This author has written a series of books called, "Medieval Babes: Tales of Little Known Ladies." There are twelve in all, they are short, no more than on average, 250 pages but each one is about someone who is either a secondary person in the life of a more famous one or an overlooked queen, such as Eleanor of Provence. I love authors who write about these people because there is so much on the famous historical figures out there. It's nice to learn about someone entirely different sometimes.