A Body at the Altar by Dee MacDonald (Kate Palmer Book No. 4)

I like that the detectives in the story are not so young and not so dynamic as the detectives one generally finds in books. Kate is in her sixties and her retired partner Detective Inspector is older. Kate has a propensity to be drawn to danger, mystery and murders! In this story we start with a bridegroom who keels over at the altar - dead by poisoning. Investigating further Kate discovers that four other weddings have been cancelled just before the date, for no proper reason. Knowing that this is too much of a coincidence to be true, she finds out that each of the bridegrooms not got a letter outlining some unsavoury part of their fiancee's past to make it too hard to continue with the marriage. All of them are very bitter over it, but all have moved on. Finding out who could be the murderer was difficult to pin point, especially when Kate's own suspect was found murdered by electrocution. Now Kate and Woody had to set aside their earlier assumptions and work with the new Detective Inspector - the very pretty Charlotte whom Woody liked and Kate did not, to find out who the murderer was. Settinngn of an English village was very nice reading (especially for someone who is not English and does not live in England). Nice detection work. Though part of a series, fine as a standalone. Sent by Bookouture for an unbiased review, courtesy of Netgalley.

The Secrets of Elloughton Park by Stephen Taylor

This was a fascinating read. Set over two timelines a present day historian who gets more and more enchanted by a woman of two centuries ago and is enthralled by her. James Postlethwaite is fascinated by social history and is very excited to come across the journals of Lord and Lady Carlisle of the 18th century. What was hidden amongst the papers was the quite very well known writings of a cinder maid Ginny Farmer whose account of her life of so very humble beginnings abandoned in a foundlings hospital, then her appointment as a maid in the kitchen and her rise to the ranks of a lady's maid. This position sadly brought her to the attention of the drunken master of the house, she was raped and then fell pregnant and was kicked out. This was the norm. Ginny's meteroric rise from being penniless and destitute to become a prostitute was not a surprise. For a young woman, with no references, no training and no family or money there was no other choice but here too she landed on her feet and slowly developed an aura of being someone who came from a very good family but had fallen on hard times (or been kicked out by her family) and had to make her way in the world. Becoming the sole mistress of one Lord was something Virginia as she was now known, was not something she favoured but she took the step until that too was terminated by her protector. Going solo again Lady Virginia was befriended by unusual men - men who did not look on her just as a prostitue but as a friend and someone whom they mentored, and encouraged to learn more and more. This was what the journals depicted and this was what was so unusual. James relationship with his student protegee and his feelings towards her and his inability to express them was just a secondary story. The real story was Ginny alias Lady Virginia and what a fascinating story. Lots of history, and a lot of details of society and how it evolved at the time - very descriptive. Very detailed of Georgian times. Sent by Sapere Books for an unbiased review, courtesy of Netgalley.

Next in Line by Marion Todd (Detective Claire Mackay No. 5)

Though this was a No 5 in the series, it does well as a stand alone. A murder takes place in an exclusive boutique hotel, in isolated gardens in Scotland. The victim and his family are well known and reporters are all over the place. The family had faced tragedy before when they lost another sibling in the tsunami in Thailand and this murder is resurrecting a lot of old memories. Celebrating his 40th birthday Russel did not expect to be murdered on his birthday. The marksman who shot him was an expert shot and Detective Claire has to whittle down her suspects - the immediate ones are cagey, careful and extremely smart. Further widening her net, Claire discovers many extraneous strands to the initial story and now she is looking at people far beyond her initial line up. Family complications galore in the victims family, treachery amongst friends of decades and keen and slow methodical detection makes this a best seller read. The setting too added a lot of atmosphere to the story. Sent by Canelo for an unbiased review, courtesy of Netgalley.

The Murder of Patience Brooke by J C Briggs

The first in the series of Detective Sam Jones and Charles Dickens. London 1849 was a city of contrasts. You had the well to do leading a life of comfort and ease, and then you got the horrendous alleys and slums where every villain and vice existed. Literally hell holes. J C Briggs brings London to life in his stories. Almost unimaginable but obviously very much part of the life of the city the two sides lived together almost seamlessly. In this story a young, quiet, well behaved woman living at a Home of Refuge found brutally murdered and her body displayed in a deliberately wanton manner brings Detective Sam Jones and Charles Dickens to investigate and find out how this happened. Clues are scarce and by piecing a few random bits of information a net is thrown to find the young man - a toff, moneyed and fearless and bring him to book. It was not going to be easy - the suspect is shrewd, knows how to play the game, knows how to play on his connections and this is a time when Detectives and people like Dickens were looked down upon. Dickens himself of very humble origins has climbed out of the poverty he was born into and has always a fear that he will be dragged back into that morass. The story apart from trying and solving the mystery murder of this young woman is also a piece of history detailed and descriptive of how the city of London was and how it was evolving. It also was descriptive of the social changes that were happening and what was going to come. The development of industry, railways and the education of women were all just coming into being and the story has glimpses of all this. An absolute page turner for all lovers of vintage crime detection, for those who like to read about social change and those who like stories like the ones of Sherlock Holmes and that vintage. A download from Amazon this was a fabulous find.

Stalker Stalked by Lee Mathew Goldberg

I did expect something different from the story, and maybe that was why I found it hard going though I did finish the book. Lexi is a character that I found it hard to like. Pill popping, alcoholic who is addicted to reality TV. Fixated on a particular character, wanting to be part of the inner circle and determined to get there and frustrated beyond belief when she is determinedly left out. The influencers on this show are a very tightly knit circle, they don't want newcomers barging in. Lexi is not helped by the fact that she had a horribly abusive childhood. Her relationships have fizzled out due to her excessive neediness apart from the fact that she herself stalks her partners mainly due to her insecurities. This was a tough book to read, but I think realistic as well as it depicts exactly how insecure, spaced out people may behave. Sent by All Due Respect for an unbiased review, courtesy of Netgalley.

Murder Most Festive by Ada Moncrieff

Christmas 1938. It is meant to be very Christmassy especially since it is a mixed gathering, but there seems to be many hidden tensions. The hosts the Westbury's themselves are a mixed bunch. Lord W is vague and somewhat out of place, Lady W is the mistress of ceremonies who has to hold things together, Three grown up children all squabbling with each other - all seemingly having hidden agendas. Then the invitees themselves. When David one of the guests and a very old friend of the family is found murdered on their doorstep, Hugh Galveston is called in as an old friend and visitors for Christmas to try to use his detective skills to solve the murder. The local constable thinks it is an open shut case of suicide and his language is hilarious in the description. The story of Hugh trying to detect, but avoiding the local police and the family and the other guests from interfering and upsetting his plans are amusing. It is 1938 and on the cusp of WW but these seem far away for this family who want to stick to their traditions of what they consider a "proper Christmas". Trying to keep within these boundaries of what is considered respectable is also a burden as even a post mortem is considered not quite right for the aristocracy. Reminiscent of an era long gone, this was a cosy mystery murder set with just few characters but all vastly different from each other. Sent by Poisoned Pen Press for an unbiased review, courtesy of Netgalley.

Darjeeling Inheritance by Liz Harris

1930s Darjeeling. The era was an interesting one. The British are firmly in control and intend things to stay that way. A more liberal minded Britisher would think that giving some kind of liberty to the Indians is on the cards but the majority do believe, very sincerely that they are a superior race and it is their views and their opinions that count. The tide is turning however and with Gandhi on the horizon things are never going to be the same for the British Raj. In Darjeeling Charlotte returns from her extended boarding school stay in England to find her father dead and her mother determined to leave India on the next boat. Persuading her mother to stay so that she will get married and take over the reins of Sundar, the tea property bequeathed to her by her father was no easy task. Charlotte persuades her mother that she is willing to keep an open mind to marry Andrew, because that was the wish of her late father who wanted to join the two properties together. What no one accounted for was that Charlotte though young and very inexperienced in life had a mind of her own and was determined to make her own way in Darjeeling. The complications of the newly married Mrs. Banning making a play for Andrew, Charlotte's intended was a spoke in the wheel for the smooth courtship that was envisaged. The story meanders through the daily workings of a remote tea plantation with an insular tight knit community, where gossip is rife because there is nothing else to do. Everyone's business is known if not to the other, by their servants who pick up all the information very fast. It was a good life, an interesting one but only if you liked the country, the flora, the fauna and the weather. Otherwise it was devastating with also a major loss of life especially of children. This was a very descriptive read one of the history, then the geography of Darjeeling in the 1930s. The description of the daily lives of both the Britishers and the Indians added a lot of interest to the story. Sent by Heywood Press for an unbiased review, courtesy of Netgalley.