The Villa Matisse by Jane Jennings

 

Set in the descriptively gorgeous French Rivera, it sounded an idyllic story. Alix on a temporary cooking assignment for a family over Christmas is a bit lonely having handed over her son to her ex husband for a skiing holiday. Her parents are visiting her sister and she is alone for the holidays. This assignment seems ideal. But on arrival she finds that she is not really busy and has quite a bit of free time on her hands.

There are complicated relationships at play here. First a bit of tension between her employer Luc and herself, then there is Caroline who sees herself as Luc’s girlfriend and is quite proprietary,there is tge very loud and demanding Susan who is Luc’s mother, his daughter Emma and a few domestics adding to the mixed menagerie over a family holiday period. Lots of stories at play, all interesting and a romance that ends in a happily ever after.

A nice light hearted, happy read.

Sent by The Book Guild for an unbiased review, courtesy of Netgalley 

Santa Monica, Goa and definitely keep out! Bit decrepit but really beautiful buildings from the time the Portuguese were in Goa.

A Ghost Hunter’s Guide to Catching A Killer by F H Petford

 

My second read of the series and it did not disappoint. Does well as a stand alone too.

Alma has inherited a hotel in Falmouth during WWII. She is well settled, has a fiancée, her interests in being a clairvoyant is gaining attention and life is going on smoothly. Until the sudden murder of a young woman who had come to the hotel seeking Alma’s assistance. The young lady did not have any connections to any of the hotel guests or staff and Alma and the seriously depleted Detectives in Falmouth are at a loss how to proceed.

Apart from the murder the sub plot involving Joy and Nell the former a trainee nurse and tge latter an experienced one and how Joy manages her life, moving from a very comfortable life to the rough and tumble of nursing the wounded is an interesting read in itself. The snobbery and expectations of tge upper class in Britain at the time, the attitude towards the Irish and the still very distinctions of class add historical interest against the daily threat of war during this time.

The detection goes on, sometimes in the wrong direction but it does work itself out in the end.

I am looking forward to the next in the series.

Sent by Hodder & Stoughton for an unbiased review, courtesy of Netgalley.

The Irish Inheritance by Daisy O’Shea

 

Tara and her mother are on a fact finding spree. A surprise inheritance but one with a very black history behind it for her mother. Her grandmother had been a hateful woman who later became a nun, ending up as Mother Superior, cruel to her children and her charges. Her father was a bystander, till he took to drink and tortured one of his daughters. Everyone was aware and no one said anything. There was no one to protect the children.

The story apart from being a personal life story of Tara and her mother unraveling a gruesome and vicious past is more about the Church and the abuse physical and sexual heaped on orphans, destitute children and women and heaven help “fallen” women who ended up in these homes. A lucrative business of forced adoption, no wishes of the mothers taken into account at all. The harsh reality of living in a world where the authority of the Church was final and unforgiving. It was very difficult reading considered that I was convent educated throughout  and have such good memories of nuns and how they treated children and teenagers. This was a harsh read but factually correct and Ireland was very rigid during that particular era.

Though not an easy read, one must not forget that atrocities like this happened and is a stark reminder that it happens with variations even today. One must not conveniently think that it is in the past and ignore what happens today.

The story here had a happy ending and that was pleasant.

Sent by Bookouture for an unbiased review, courtesy of Netgalley 

The Bookseller by Tim Sullivan

 

Another exciting read about Detective Sergeant Cross, and unusually Ottey (upto now his subordinate)going to be his boss. There is Alice and Swift the  forensic genius and Carson the big boss who always enjoys the media hype and who is ever ready to shift the blame if the shit hits the fan.

Into this myriad complex assortment of characters we have a murder of a seemingly innocuous book seller. One who deals in rare books and one whose career was established by a straight forward and genuine book seller father. On close examination, the victims life is anything but straightforward and in turn we deal with forgeries, under hand dealing with Russian oligarchs, gangsters, adultery and sexual abuse. Detection leads to several suspects, all have to be discarded and the trail almost goes cold.

With the finesse of a brain surgeon, the case is taken apart one thread at a time and the results are unexpected and explosive.

Excellent reading.

Sent by Grove Atlantic for an unbiased review, courtesy of Netgalley.

Murder at the Highland Games by Dee Macdonald

 

Its the Locharran Highland Games and the whole village is abuzz. The competitive spirit is very high with known defenders for each sport. But this time, there are “foreigners”. A trio of Scottish origin Canadians in fine fettle, one of them a reigning champion in Canada. Does not augur well for a spirit of brotherhood! 

When the Canadian winner is found with his head bashed in, the local Detectives have to appeal to Ally, particularly since the whole lot are putting up at her guesthouse. Archie did create a lot of antagonism with his win, but was it enough to kill him for it. When his brother in law, the quieter man is also found murdered, the investigation has to pick up before another death takes place.

The setting for the story is idyllic, the characters larger than life and details of the various games still popular today intriguing. 

Another very interesting cozy from this author.

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

An antique shop in Jewtown, Cochin, India.

Cassandra A Scandal in Pemberley by Linda O’Byrne

 

After a series of murder mysteries this was a somewhat lighter read. I like variations on Pride & Prejudice and subsequent narrations of how the Bennett sisters lives have progressed. We now seem to be going into the next generation and this story is tge turmoil that Cassandra is forced to face, with flighty, irresponsible Lydia as her mother, Wickham supposedly dead in India and an unappealing step father.

Running away from home after over hearing a conversation about an exchange of money between her stepfather and an older man, Cassandra comes to Pemberley not knowing that her Aunt and Uncle are not in residence and ending up with a local doctor and his sister. The doctor is someone whom she met in London and whom she liked but circumstances changed so much that despite an engagement, she ran away again! 

It all ended well and it was a happily ever after ending eventually.

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

Tge Blackthorn Women by Jess Lourey

 

Four generations of women living in a small town. They have a reputation for magic and spells and this holds them apart from other townsfolk.  The family has a curse on them, known only to one of the women who will do everything she possibly can to protect all of them. Add to this the event called snakening where every few years tge town is over run by snakes which is a precursor of hard and difficult situations.

Altogether a peculiar setting for small town modern America but the story was compelling. The mix of four modern women living in close proximity to each other, trying not to interfere even if it is for good is hard. Protective instincts are there but then one realises that everything one thinks of cannot be implemented and sometimes mistakes have to be made. Relationships are fragile, easily broken and hard to mend. Add to the family dynamics, the spirit of magic and the going is tough.

Despite magical realism being not a genre I would pick, I enjoyed the read.

Sent by Thomas & Mercer for an unbiased review, courtesy of Netgalley.