A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett

 

High fantasy is not a genre I normally indulge in. This took me completely out of my comfort zone as the detailed, inexplicable and complicated workings of this world was slowly unfolding in the story.

A Treasury Officer disappears from a locked room, and the greatest detective of the realm is set to find him. So far the story panned out like any mystery but it stopped there. Very complex, and for a novice reader of this genre puzzling, interesting and oh so different.

I was determined to finish the book, though I did find it hard going, though that is my own fault definitely not the author.

Sent by Del Rey Random House Words for an unbiased review, courtesy of Netgalley.

Impact of Evidence by Carol Carnac

 

Set in Welsh Border country, we are dealing with hardy farmers in a very isolated community. Cut off with heavy snow, now melting into a flood a horrible accident involving a half blind doctor and a young farmer was just that, until the Police discovered that the unknown man in the doctors car also dead, was not dead from the crash but had been killed earlier.

Unraveling clues in a tight knit, very small community was not going to be easy. Everyone was an outsider and despite the doctor driving whilst half blind, no one thought of calling him out or informing the authorities.  Even after his death, the neighbours despite having reservations did not want to point out suspicious ideas they had as to why the doctor chose this remote outpost to live. Investigations move very slowly, but subtly and though in another setting it may have added to the reader being bored, in this case it was just the reverse. The characters, not just the inhabitants but even the detectives serving this area, the setting and the lifestyle added great interest and charm to the story.

Sent by Poisoned Pen Press for an unbiased review, courtesy of Netgalley.

iver knows your Name by Kelly Mustian

 

We have two timelines here 1930s the Mississippi area and then 1971 North Carolina. Nell and Evie very young children, and Hazel their mother. Always the two timelines makes for an interesting story when you compare lifestyles, attitudes and especially how far women have come in thirty years. 

Nell and Evie discovered a birth certificate thirty years ago in a copy of Jane Eyre. Evie's mother was not Hazel. The two girls vowed never to talk about this. How this discovery would have impacted and changed their lives if brought to Hazels notice is so huge, that it was only realized thirty years later.

The story winds around secrets of Evie’s arrival in Nell’s home, how Hazel became secretive, disconnected from her children and that distance was maintained almost to the end. The reasons of course unraveled and it showed Hazel in a totally different light, protective to the end.

Very atmospheric, with tragic/dark overtones, plenty of history intertwined within the story covering the Depression era. Most importantly very strong women figures in this story.

Sent by Sourcebooks Landmark for an unbiased review, courtesy of Netgalley.

The Secret Detective Agency by Helena Dixon

 

Jane Treen is efficient, cool and collected. She is a sleuth for the government working behind the scenes, very unobtrusive. When an urgent call summons her to Devon as one of her agents are found murdered, she has to coordinate efforts to find a traitor who can cause mayhem to a network. Her co conspirator Arthur Cilento, recently returned not in the best of health finds Ms Treens ways overwhelming and slightly intimidating. The two have to work together because the deaths keep mounting and it is apparent that the leak is well within their inner circle.

For a few chapters it was slow going and repetitive. Jane’s penchant to smoke indifferent to Arthur’s difficulty with smoke became boring but the book quickened its pace midway to become intriguing as the murders mounted and the investigators tried to keep pace, and prevent more deaths.

Detective genre and espionage the book may be, but it did have a lot to offer history fans.

Sent by Bookouture for a unbiased review, courtesy of Netgalley.

Homicide in the Indian Hills by Erica Ruth Neubauer

 

Bringing all the ritual, the romance and the grandeur of the British Raj, this story though a mystery murder, was evocative of Ootacamund in 1927. The British were in power and they wanted to hang on to it as much as possible. The independent movement had started and it would only gain momentum with the years and there would be protests and bloodshed galore before India gained her Independence.

This story dealt with British government officials bickering for power, and doing everything they could to prevent Indians having any say in formulating legislation. Redvers and Jane newly married have arrived in Ooty. Redvers job is to smooth the way for formulating laws advantageous to the British and keeping India very much in their grip. Redvers and Jane do not believe this is the right thing to do. In the midst of this two murders take place one of a British citizen who is very partial to Indian independence, and the secretary to the Governor.

Trying to find out not just who the murderer is, but also the motive for the murders is important. Besides this, there are plenty of behind the scene activity both political and personal and the couple want to see justice served despite the official coverup.

Very descriptive of the workings, the attitudes of British officers and how the Indians had to almost debase themselves to survive in this era are part of the story.

Sent by Kensington Publishing for an unbiased review, courtesy of Netgalley.

An additional novella at the end of this story, set in a snowy Christmas themed holiday where Redvers and Jane try to protect Redvers father from a bigamist, was a lovely story in itself.

The Runaway Wives by Karen King

 

We having sweltering, humid weather and it’s draining the little bit of energy I had!

I’m late on reviews and for this I apologize.

Dee is looking forward to her sixtieth birthday celebrations ever since she discovered her husband had been secretly planning a holiday break. Imagine the sadness when she did discover that he had forgotten her birthday and had planned a golfing break with his buddies.

On the other side Babs’s husband Geoff after their retirement, is determined to move to Spain and to her horror, without discussing it with her, has met a real estate agent, put the house on the market and arranged tours of property in remote areas of Spain without consulting his wife. To add to her anger, he informs her that the house they live in is his and he can do what he likes.

The two ladies decide unanimously to go on a short break themselves, to an idyllic village by the seaside. They are beginning to to enjoy themselves but each of them need different lifestyles. Dee despite her philandering husbands orders to return, is determined to make a new life for herself. Babs seeks a compromise. Both women show it’s never too late to change the direction of your life and one can make a break from the monotonous, the indifference and inject some excitement in one’s life however old you are.

Sent by Boldwood Books for an unbiased review review, courtesy of Netgalley.

The Versailles Formula by Nancy Bilyeau

Genevieve is now living a quiet life with her young son while her husband is working elsewhere. She was never meant for a humdrum, country living and feels stifled. An invitation to the castle of Sir Horace Walpole to also be a companion to Evelyn her friend and wife of Sir Humphrey Willoughby. Eventually, Genevieve finds out that the request was to be the facade for her to work her skills into finding out what and who is creating havoc at Sir Walpole’s castle, all in connection with a Fragonard painting.

Genevieve is no ordinary Huegenot refugee. She and her husband were responsible for the development of a cobalt blue pigment which was prized and pursued by both French and English, and which finally led to Thomas and Genevieve finding refuge in England. This was on top of the religious persecution at the time.Now Sir Willoughby wants to take Genevieve back to France to discover a spy network. Under a false name and history, Genevieve sets off on an adventure fraught with danger and one which she has kept secret from her husband.

There were many twists and turns in the story, it also seems unfinished. I hope there is a sequel. Mixed with fictional figures there is still plenty of actual history and figures to keep one deeply interested.

Sent by Joffe Books for an unbiased review, courtesy of Netgalley