Farewell Blues by Maggie Robinson (Lady Adelaide Mysteries No. 4)

Lady Adelaide is not the average lady of the day. She is more than halfway in love with Detective Devanand Hunter, a relationship which will be scandalous for more than half the aristocracy. Her worries right now are not on that score. Her mother the very proper Dowager Compton is in prison for the murder of the Duke of Rufford. The evidence is over whelming, the Rufford family wants to see justice done and this seems the quickest way to achieve it and they are not too bothered if the Dowager is actually guilty or not. Lady Adelaide is not going to take things lying down. She is determined to see her mother vindicated, and free and at the same time find out who the murderer was. She knows socially the family will be outcasts with this scandal and the future of not just her but her younger sister is at stake. The story written with the setting of the English aristocracy with all their eccentricities and foibles, their methods of doing things just so, the attraction between the young Detective and Lady Adelaide, the unscrupulousness of the Rufford family all do their level best to put roadblocks in the investigation. The Police, corrupt as they possibly could just want to finish the case, see the Lady hang and be done with it. I loved the writing style, the setting, the romance (not overly done) and the entire story. I hope I can get more from this author soon. Sent by Poisoned Pen Press for an unbiased review, courtesy of Netgalley.

Little Bones by Patricia Gibney (Detective Lottie Parker No. 10)

Though this is No.. 10 in the Detective Lottie Parker series, this does very well as a stand alone. Isabelle Gallagher is found murdered, her throat slashed, a razor blade in her hand whilst her infant daughter is screaming in her cot. The baby is unharmed. Detective Lottie Parker is on the scene and what she unravels with a belligerent husband, a mother who is hiding something and a very quiet, unassuming victim who obviously incurred the wrath of someone to meet a death like this. No clues are apparent, the killer was clever but when another mother and son go missing and when the body turns up again with razor blades on the scene there seems to be a connection, however tenuous it is. Connecting the dots and turning up a trail is not easy for these victims who led lives with no history and who lived almost under the radar. A good thriller, well written holding one's interest from start to finish. Sent by Bookouture for an unbiased review, courtesy of Netgalley.

Susan a Jane Austen Prequel by Alice McVeigh

A mix of Regency Romance, touches of Persuasion, lots of Pride and Prejudice and you get a scintillating mix for the Jane Austen fantasy. A mixed bag of characters with the familiar Lady Catherine always hovering in the background, her daughter Lady Anne being more assertive than ever before, Frank Churchill dying before his time and Alicia Collins and Susan the start of the show. The characters were nicely placed and I liked that Susan was not all that sweet and submissive and ladylike. On the contrary she was scheming (not just for herself but for others as well), but with good intentions throughout, although her manner of achieving her aims was not very conservative. Mr and Mrs Collins were very nicely portrayed, long suffering and under obligation always. The entire story with its romantic themes interwoven throughout was a good one. Sent by BooksGoSocial for an unbiased review, courtesy of Netgalley.

The Woman at the Gates by Chrystyne Lucyk-Berger

A difficult story to assimilate as no holds barred in the telling of it. But this is how a story should be told especially one like this. It is also difficult if one has not lived through oppression of been under government control to understand living conditions like this. You can never under estimate the power of neighbours or relations who may not like you and who may "dob" you to the authorities. Compromise which may seem the cowards way out on reading it, may be the only way to survive and the human spirit does need to survive, come what may. The story set in 1944 embodies the spirit of survival, of family ties, of love and the heartbreak behind it all. Of personal sacrifice for the better of the common good. The characters in this story are doing the best they can not just for their country but for their own survival. I followed the maps which were interspersed with the chapters and saw how the borders of Ukraine, Lithuania, Slovekia, Yugoslavia, and even Russia changed every few years with wars and greed of one power taking over another. The story is full of historical detail (in great depth) which may not appeal to anyone other than those who like history because though the personal story is very powerful, the historical story is the one which is uppermost. It was my first read of a story set in 1944 Ukraine. Sent by Bookouture for an unbiased review courtesy of Netgalley.

A Death at Candlewick Castle by Emma Jameson (Book No. 2 in series)

The setting of a book and the geography also contributes much to the pleasure of reading, especially if you are not from the area, live in a totally different type of environment. Having a book set in Cornwall and the Scilly Isles brings to the overseas reader another glimpse of Britain - a most idyllic one here in this story. The story of a cozy mystery murder set in such surroundings, with an unofficial sleuth on hand and her band of friends adds to the piquancy of the read. When one body is found, and questions raised and he is found to be not such a nice guy after all the suspicions start pointing all ways and when another body is discovered Jem knows she has to get cracking with the clues before the bodies start piling up. Very pleasant reading from this author whom I discovered through another series by her. Sent by Bookouture for an independent review, courtesy of Netgalley

A Small Hotel by Suanne Laqueur

The story set in the islands seems idyllic. The family of Fiskare is close knit, lovable and part of a Swedish community. The ethnicity is quite marked and when a exotic relation from Rio turns up you know sparks will fly and they do. Then the equalizer of the Great War starts and the boys enlist, the household gets broken up, Astrid gets torn away from the love of her life Kemmet by her vindictive mother and there is general heartbreak around. The story continues in the setting of wartime Europe and extremely harsh it is most of the time. One of the sons dies, another is wounded and only one escapes unscathed physically, changed completely mentally. The war descriptive and brutal and all episodes in the various villages were quite difficult to read, fathom and accept. War however is never pretty and this was very harsh. We then go back to peacetime, back to the islands, back to a reconciliation and trying to pull together broken strands of everyone's life to make it all whole and complete again. The settings were different - from the peace and calm of a backwater island, to Europe and everything in between. A family of young men, peaceful and kind and basically good were returned in slightly different form after the ravages of war. Acceptance of being different was an important feature of the story. An unusual book in unusual settings. The horrors of war well told. Sent by Cathedral Rock Press for an unbiased review, courtesy of Netgalley.

The Girl in the Maze by Cathy Hayward

Some mother daughter relationships are fraught with so many roadblocks. Emma had rarely spoken to her mother over the last couple of years because it invariably became tense, rude and unforgivable things were said. The fact that her mother was a difficult woman was acknowledged by many, but her mother's animosity towards Emma's second child, her daughter Libby was unforgivable. When her mother died, and Emma was left to clear her house and stuff, her will was enough in itself to be upsetting. She had changed her will one day before she died, leaving the flat to Libby - the grand daughter whom she refused to be courteous to during her life, and on further delving into papers and journals Emma discovers an entire new life her mother had. Something totally unknown, disturbing, and in hindsight accountable for her mother's distorted way of living her life. The story was alarming, very tense, very emotional, disturbing but an excellent read of hidden elements in a person's life and how eventually they do surface - intentionally or unintentionally. Some things seem like fate, some things should be left buried but are somehow dug up and then you cant put it back in the box neatly. It disrupts everything from that moment on. I did not feel that the facts that were buried, but were deliberately opened helped to bring about peace and happiness at least not very much. The story is unusual. Disturbing but unusual. Sent by Agora Books for an unbiased review, courtesy of Netgalley.