Can’t Wait Wednesday: Murder Wears a Hidden Face: A Gilded Age Mystery (Book 8) by Rosemary Simpson

 

For this week's Can't Wait Wednesday, hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings, I'm featuring Murder Wears a Hidden Face by Rosemary Simpson. The cover drew me in and then when I read the description I thought it sounded detailed and intriguing for a mystery. Also, it is unique in that it is set during the Gilded Age but the characters travel through New York's Chinatown, which I know nothing about. So I thought maybe I'd learn a little history and culture along with a solving a good mystery. 

November 28, 2023

Historical Fiction/Mystery

Description Courtesy of NetGalley

A diplomat’s murder draws heiress-turned-lawyer Prudence MacKenzie and former Pinkerton Geoffrey Hunter away from the opulent mansions of Gilded Age New York’s high society and into the dark heart of Chinatown . . .

February 1891:

New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art is hosting an exhibition of Chinese art objects, timed to coincide with the arrival of a new Chinese cultural attaché, Lord Peng. Prudence and Geoffrey are invited to attend the opening ceremonies. But among the throng of dignitaries making their way through the galleries is one decidedly unwelcome and unexpected visitor—an assassin who stabs the attaché to death, then flees through Central Park.

As witnesses, Prudence and Geoffrey quickly become immersed in the case and join former New York detective Warren Lowry in investigating the murder. But there are complications. The Peng family will no longer enjoy diplomatic standing and is threatened by deportation and possible disgrace or execution in their homeland. Desperate to remain in the West, they flee into the labyrinth of Chinatown, enlisting the protection of a long-lost uncle, now the leader of one of the city’s most feared Tongs. But that alliance comes with a price; Peng’s son must become his uncle’s apprentice in crime, while his eldest daughter will be forced to marry a Tong leader she has never met.

With a killer still at large, bent on revenge for a long-ago injustice and determined to eliminate every member of the Peng family, Prudence and Geoffrey are plunged into the heart of a culture about which they know very little. Each foray into the narrow streets and alleyways of Chinatown could be their last.

Murder At the Fair by Verity Bright (A Lady Eleanor Swift Mystery) Book Six

 

Publication Date: June 11, 2021

Length: 316 pages

My Rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆

This is book six in this series and this time Eleanor is going to the May Fair. She is looking forward to time with the citizens of Little Buckford and enjoying the beautiful weather. Unfortunately, she will become tangled in yet another murder. They just seem to find her!

Lady Eleanor Swift is delighted to be the special guest at the May Fair and is having a great time watching the homemade raft race. When the much beloved undertaker, Solemn John is found dead it turns into mayhem and Eleanor and Clifford, her butler, are determined to find out how and why he died. As they delve into things Eleanor clashes once again with her love interest, Detective Hugh Seldon, who wants Eleanor to leave it well alone. She agrees briefly, but then after a heartfelt conversation with Solemn John's widow she secretly renews her commitment to finding the killer. 

Strangely, an obituary appears in the local paper concerning John's death and it is not flattering of him. It appears to have been written by his apprentice, Willie Green, who has some sort of beef with his former, deceased boss and no one is exactly sure why. 

Meanwhile, Eleanor is fending off unwanted suitors and eventually becomes tangled in not one, but two more possibly related murders. Another strange obituary appears in the paper again and then she is attacked as well. Sure enough, an obituary it written about Eleanor and the ominous warning has her rattled. She and Clifford must find out what on earth is going on before she is silenced permanently. 

An enjoyable read, Murder at the Fair is humorous and follows the rhythm of past books. Eleanor and Clifford are their usual witty selves, Clifford always a step ahead of her in both etiquette and charm, Eleanor trying to be the "lady of the manor" but finding her return to her common self more authentic. Their interactions with the staff of Henley Hall, Eleanor's inherited residence, is sweet and endearing and one gets a thorough description of what spring cleaning was like in a country manor in the 1920's. The housekeeper acquires a new contraption called a "vacuum cleaner" which she names Victor. The usual cast of characters appear and continue the coziness of past books. 

I thought this was a great way to spend what has been an extremely busy May and beginning of June for me, winding down the school year, and they are a go to if you want fun, cute recurring characters, and a mystery that has enough twists and turns to keep you guessing. I'll be tackling Book 7 this fall as I like to read them in order and according to the matching seasons. If you like this type of cozy mystery you won't be disappointed in this installment!

Can't Wait Wednesday: Matilda II: The Forgotten Queen by Joanna Arman

 

For this week's Can't Wait Wednesday, hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings, I'm featuring Matilda II: The Forgotten Queen by Joanna Arman. I have always loved reading about the reigns of Henry I and II but it is hard to find anything on the wife of Henry I. Much has been covered about their daughter, the Empress Matilda, but not so much about her mother, also named Matilda. I am glad to see this subject given a whole book and hope it is informative and interesting. 

*I'm not finding it anywhere for sale in the United States yet but hopefully it won't be long.

Happy Reading!

June 30, 2023

History

Description courtesy of NetGalley

The wife of King Henry I and the mother of the Empress Maud is a woman and a Queen forgotten to history. She is frequently conflated with her daughter or her mother-in-law. She was born the daughter of the King of Scotland and an Anglo-Saxon princess. Her name was Edith, but her name was changed to Matilda at the time of her marriage.

The Queen who united the line of William the Conqueror with the House of Wessex lived during an age marked by transition and turbulence. She married Henry in the first year of the 12th century and for the eighteen years of her rule aided him in reforming the administrative and legal system due to her knowledge of languages and legal tradition. Together she and her husband founded a series of churches and arranged a marriage for their daughter to the Holy Roman Emperor. Matilda was a woman of letters to corresponded with Kings, Popes, and prelates, and was respected by them all.

Matilda’s greatest legacy was continuity: she united two dynasties and gave the Angevin Kings the legitimacy they needed so much. It was through her that the Empress Matilda and Henry II were able to claim the throne. She was the progenitor of the Plantagenet Kings, but the war and conflict which followed the death of her son William led to a negative stereotyping by Medieval Chroniclers. Although they saw her as pious, they said she was a runaway nun and her marriage to Henry was cursed.

This book provides a much-needed re-evaluation of Edith/Matilda’s role and place in the history of the Queens of England.

Stacking the Shelves #6

 

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 jogs your memory of something you want to read. Enjoy your reading this week :)

I have been working my way through Anne Perry's Christmas books for years now. She passed away just a few weeks ago and so she'd been on my mind lately. I thought I'd get a jump on one of the last three of these books I have left. It's a little sad to realize when I finish them, there won't be another one. I so look forward to them each holiday season. 

The fourth book in this series was on sale for Kindle but I'd rather start with the first book in a series so I got this one instead. It got good reviews for period accuracy which is important to me in historical fiction books, even mysteries. And it's based on a real person I'd never heard of ...Ela Longespee of Salisbury. Some of the reviews say it is a bit thin in the details department but I'm willing to give it a shot. I like this time period and the cover kind of drew me in.

I read Fall of Giants, the first in this series years ago and loved it. I learned so much about the lead up to World War I and even though sometimes the characters could be a bit one dimensional, I appreciate the way Follett tried hard to incorporate a ton of history. It's a great way to learn without getting bored or totally confused. I have put off reading this one because this time period seems so depressing. But it's summer and I may have the strength to finish it!

Jamaica Inn by Daphne Du Maurier

 

Publication Date:  1936

Length: 332 pages

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I have loved the book Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier all my life and have watched the 1939 movie adaptation countless times. I am not sure what took me so long to try another of her books but I'm glad I did. Jamaica Inn was so different from Rebecca (except for the Gothic touch) that it almost felt like it was written by a different author. It touches on a topic that is definitely unique and the only other book that comes to mind is Poldark, which is set in Cornwall as well. I love all things associated with the ocean, pirates, and Cornwall so I was really looking forward to reading this.

Mary Yellan has lost her mother and is traveling to Jamaica Inn, a long way from her home in Helford, to fulfull her mother's dying wish. The women had lived a bare bones, hardscrabble life on their farm without Mary's father to help them and now that Mary is alone, her mother wants her to go and live with her Aunt Patience and Uncle Joss. Although Mary is very independent minded and wants to stay on the farm, she realizes that her mother may know better and therefore decides to journey forth, hoping for an exciting adventure and warmth from distant relatives.

Upon arriving at the inn Mary immediately is met with a sense of darkness when she meets her Uncle who is anything but welcoming. A harsh, bitter drunk, he is abusive and secretive and her Aunt Patience is clearly a mental prisoner suffering from years of living with her precarious situation.  Mary tries to jump in and accept her life, offering her services in the cleaning and supervising of the inn, but quickly starts to notice they receive no visitors and the place is hardly fit for travelers. She suspects there is more going on underneath and her suspicions are confirmed when late one night she witnesses the rowdy comings and goings of shady men who appear to be unloading cargo and stashing it in a secret room under the direction of her Uncle Joss. Threatened with harm if she discloses what she knows, Mary at first keeps the secrets she has seen, if only to protect her Aunt and her place at the inn.

In her spare time, Mary explores the vast moors and when she becomes lost near dusk, she encounters help from a strange, Albino priest who takes her in, feeds her and gives her a ride back to the inn. She can't quite put her finger on why he makes her a bit uneasy but decides to trust him and knows if she ever gets into a real bind she can go to him. He shows her compassion and appears to be a friend.

As she learns more about her Uncle's "business" ventures and nocturnal activities, Mary becomes terrified that she has stumbled into a situation involving more than just stolen, stored goods. One night Joss, in a drunken stupor, reveals how he obtains the goods and confesses to horrific deeds which plague him even as he has no plans to stop. The ships containing the cargo he steals are plundered in a way that Mary could never have envisioned and she is helpless as to what to do with the information she now knows. 

Mary also meets her Uncle's brother, Jem, who she fights an attraction to. He is a much younger brother, closer to Mary's age and the two begin a tentative flirtation that turns somewhat romantic when he challenges her to join him on Christmas Eve in the nearby town of Launceston for holiday festivities. While there, Mary witnesses Jem's reckless behavior when he attempts to sell a stolen horse and she knows she is in over her head, Jem, being a younger version of Joss, and having the same romantically, dangerous streak that drew in her Aunt years ago. Mary does not want to end up like Patience and vows to stand her ground against her feelings for Jem but finds it almost impossible as he awakens feelings in her she has never known before. 

Upon returning home to Jamaica Inn, Mary faces her worst nightmare yet. She becomes a pawn in her Uncle's schemes and finds herself in mortal danger.  She must find a way to save herself, her Aunt, and reconcile her feelings towards Jem, all while not becoming as hardened as the men who control her. 

This book is darker than one I'd normally gravitate to. I admit I found myself wanting more light hearted moments but after finishing it, I realize it does have some light at the end of the tunnel, you just have to be patient. The writing is superb, hence the five star rating, and I can understand why it is a classic, still being read nearly one hundred years later. The characters are fleshed out superbly through their thoughts and flaws as human beings and Du Maurier really captures the despair of Joss, Patience, and Jem, who are tortured in their own, personal ways for the choices they have made in their lives. Mary is a heroine even as you know she doesn't set out to be, she is just trying to survive.  Uncompromising in her wish to do the right thing at each turn, you begin to admire her ability to survive each situation she is put in.

I'm not sure if I'll read another Du Maurier book soon. Eventually I'd like to read My Cousin Rachel and The Scapegoat. But I think it's time for a lighthearted summer read....this one was pretty dark and heavy!

Stacking the Shelves #5

 

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. Here are this week's new to me books! 

This is the Read Christie 2023 June book and I can't wait to get started. It's actually on hold through the Libby App but I'm hopeful I'll get it any day now. I like to stay ahead on these and am starting to feel like a Christie book a month is a habit I'll keep....weird how I didn't like her much a year ago. Now it is strange not to have a book going all the time.

This book is not a subject I've seen before. Yes the Nevills appear in any book on the Wars of the Roses but not in a book exclusively their own. Glad I ran across it. Not sure if I'll love it, but I had to try it out and see if I learn some interesting side stories not found elsewhere about this powerful family. 

This book was one of my free choices for May with my Amazon Prime membership. It isn't one I might choose to buy but if I can borrow it, why not? It is currently listed as number one in historical mystery and thrillers so it's worth a shot. 

Happy reading this week!

Towards Zero by Agatha Christie: Superintendent Battle Book Five (Read Christie 2023 May)

 

Publication Date:  June 1944

Length:  257 pages

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆

I did not intend to read this book during the month of May but was unable to get a hard or digital copy of the current Read Christie book, Unfinished Portrait. This book was one of their suggestions for an alternate that was in keeping with the theme of betrayal. I am glad now that I chose it as the other book didn't appeal to me much. This is book five with Superintendent Battle as the investigator and I don't know much about him. So a good choice for me I'd say. 

As is common in Christie books, our story opens with an array of characters and events, seemingly unrelated and a bit confusing. There is a prologue where a group of lawyers are gathered around discussing hypothetical situations, the first chapter showcases a man who has attempted suicide, and then it moves to the main detective, Superintendent Battle, rescuing his daughter from a stressful situation at her boarding school. 

We continue to be introduced to the remaining characters,  who will soon be guests at Gull's Point, a seaside home of one Lady Tressilian, widow and matriarch who is confined to her bed. There are Nevile and Kay Strange, Nevile's ex-wife, Audrey Strange, family friend Thomas Royde, Ted Latimer, a friend of Kay's, and Mr. Treves, one of the lawyers introduced in the prologue. While Latimer and Treves are staying at a nearby hotel, the others are at Gull's Point in what is an awkward and tense atmosphere. Nevile has decided that in order to make peace with himself he must try to bring his current wife and ex-wife together and so has chosen a September weekend normally reserved for Audrey's visit, to foster harmony between them all. It does not go as planned and soon all the guests coming and going realize the idea is a grave mistake.

It is clear that Kay and Audrey have no love lost between them and Nevile seems conflicted about his choice to create a new life with Kay. She is spoiled and shallow and we start to see regret in him for his decision. Meanwhile, Audrey is seen as the sad victim of their affair and is loved from afar by Thomas.  Kay's friend Ted clearly has feelings for Kay and everyone sees the tension building, including Lady Tressilian, who is partial to Audrey and has no use for Kay. Her will states that Nevile and his wife will receive an inheritance upon her death, as her former husband took Nevile under his wing and raised him from a young man. When Lady Tressilain is found murdered, suspicion falls upon him, among others and Superintendent Battle, who is staying nearby on a vacation of his own, is called in to investigate. What seems a clear case of murder with a certain weapon soon becomes muddled when initial clues don't add up, and Battle finds it difficult to untangle the web he's been given.

The first half of the book is spent delving deeply into the relationships between Nevile, Kay, and Audrey. Much of the time we are privy to the hurt and pain caused by the divorce and remarriage of the guilty parties and how it has affected everyone involved. Audrey is presented as an introverted, depressed, scorned wife and Kay as an unfeeling and selfish, younger replacement. Nevile is irritatingly regretful about what he has done and spends time trying to convince Audrey he might have been wrong all along and should return to her. Thomas and Ted play the part of enamored would be suitors to Audrey and Kay respectively but get little recognition as the ladies are too caught up in the drama between the sad love triangle. When the murder occurs, things come to an explosive head and dark secrets and fears begin to surface.

I thought the story was compelling and the ending really detailed and original. So this story definitely deserves four stars. There was a lot that was hidden from the reader until the very end and what was interesting was that the murderer seemed obvious, yet the way things unfolded I'd never have guessed where it was going at all. 

The reason I gave it four stars instead of five is because I thought the first half started to repeat and drag a bit. The same feelings were rehashed and could've been shortened some. I also felt absolutely no connection to Superintendent Battle. It was odd that he referred to Poirot several times and in another review I read I agreed with the blogger who said why didn't Christie just go ahead and make this book a Poirot case? For this reason I'm not chomping at the bit to start another Battle book but I wouldn't rule it out entirely. This is a great plot line, just not my favorite so far.