MAILBOX MONDAY/IT'S MONDAY! WHAT ARE YOU READING?

I came across some downloads of Anthony Trollope's books and these will form my Mailbox this week. They are big books so I really don't know when I am going to finish them all.

I like stories dealing with the church and this is one of those. Not particularly religious though. More dealing with the politics of the bishopric.

Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell.  English society pre 1832.

This is a good one. A father tries very hard to direct the lives of his children and finds his wishes are not taken into account.  Applies even now!!!

Lots of intertwined stories in this novel.

Hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.

I am reading The Small House at Allington. Not a book one could rush through but at 700 odd pages I need to get a move on.

This is going to be a classics week I think unless I can dig out a mystery or a murder from somewhere!

JUST ONE EVIL ACT by ELIZABETH GEORGE

Slightly different to the usual Inspector Lynley stories this is more personal to Barbara Havers are Sergeant than anything else. Her good friend and neighbour is the Professor Azhar. His daughter Hadiyah has been abducted by Angelina his wife, but Azhar has no legal leg to stand on as he was not married to Angelina and his name does not appear on the birth certificate.

Azhar realizes that he has to deal with Angelina diplomatically if he is ever going to get his daughter back. The blow comes when Angelina informs him that Hadiyah has been abducted from a market place in Tuscany and that she has no clue as to why or how the kidnapping took place.

The Italian police are investigating this crime but the Yard will not get involved despite Barbara's impassioned pleas to Lynley and in a typical Barbara manner she goes in head first, against all rules and regulations of her own force to try to solve the puzzle and bring Hadiyah back home.  Reaching Italy, Barbara realizes that she is having to face both Angelina and her lover, the Professor on the one side and also face expulsion even from her job with a disciplinary inquiry looming over her head. 

With far more implications than a mere kidnapping and with more twists and turns the story reaches its inevitable end. However, it was not the usual Elizabeth George story that I look forward to. I was so very happy when I came across this book as its one of the latest from this author and it disappointed me. She veered so much off course from her normal mystery/murders which are exquisitely told. I hope the next one will be back on form though.

THE QUEEN'S JEWELS JESSICA FLETCHER & DONALD BAIN

Jessica Fletcher has always wanted to cruise. To relax, to take a couple of sessions in the luxurious spa and generally to forget about the daily chores and worries. Before embarking on this voyage, she calls her good friend at Scotland Yard to apprise him of her plans. He does mention the loss of a fabulous diamond and that during the heist the owner of the diamond was also killed. From his description it is obvious also that whoever killed the owner was well known to him as there was no sign of forced entry.

Jessica embarks on her journey and soon meets up with a mixed bunch of characters. Coincidentally one of the people is the partner of the man who was murdered along with his partner the very beautiful Betty. Along with them are myriad other characters including people from Jessica's own past who are connected to various mysteries that she had solved before. It seems too much of a coincidence that all these people should be on one ship, including not just the British secret service but even a member of the Israeli secret service. 

The book follows the usual pattern of murder mystery and though very predictable is a very pleasant read. Just enough of mystery and murder not too much to overpower you and enough twists in the tale to keep you interested.

ASTONISHING SPLASHES OF COLOR by CLARE MORRALL

This was not an easy book to read or to even write a review. So many going back and forth that you had to stop and think where you were with the story.

Kitty is married and has lost her baby recently. To all appearances she seems to have "got over it" but the reality is that the pain of the loss lives with her every single day.  She looks at the mums waiting at school and thinks of the color yellow as the color of optimism. Her husband on the other side with his scrupulously clean house (they live in separate households), meticulous standards and pristine furniture is white (everything in the house is white). Her father a commercial painter loud and exuberant is red. This was the first time I looked at characters and thought of a color myself which opened another vista for me!

Brought up in a family of four boys with a mother who died when she was a toddler  Kitty has always felt separate. Different and separate. Very protective of their only sister all four boys are anxious about her welfare both mental and physical. Kitty is the only one who cannot remember their mother at all and any questions put to her brothers adds to the complexity of her mind. They all have totally different images of the one woman whom they call Mother.

The story progresses on two wavelengths. The unraveling of Kitty's mind with her inability to cope with the reality of her loss of her baby. The other deals with her mother who is apparently not dead and who is also apparently not Kitty's mother at all, when she finally appears. 

Our narrator in the story is Kitty herself. The story is at times child like in its simplicity and straightforwardness and at other times becomes very complex. It is not a dark and heavy novel but it is heartbreaking at the same time. 

This was a recommendation of a fellow blogger - Cornflower Books.  

BECOMING JOSEPHINE by HEATHER WEBB

Rose originally from the island of Martinique always wanted to escape the backwaters of her native background and be the cynosure of all eyes in Paris. For her marriage was the escape clause that opened up new vistas for her and she was determined to hold on to it at any cost. Despite a marriage to a man who was condescendingly patronizing to her - a country bumpkin - she saw that this was just a first step on her upward journey but she herself never imagined what a journey it would be.

Married to Alexandre and with two children Rose finds herself still on the fringe of society with a philandering husband. When she is widowed in the tumult of revolutionary France, she realizes a protector not just temporarily but permanent is a must if she is to maintain a position in French society. Having caught the eye of Napoleon then a mere general the story of his love for Rose whom he rechristens Josephine and her liking for him which developed into a passion for the general is the basis of the story.

Set amongst the war in France between the Royalty and the Republicans and the establishment of the Republique and the ouster of the King and Queen of France, we see the ultimate rise of Napoleon to the position of Emperor. A position of irony as he deposed an existing King to become Emperor. With Josephine at his side, Napoleon though professing love for her which was undying was nevertheless besotted with mistresses galore and finally divorced Josephine as she did not have any children from him, and as Emperor he needed an heir. The fact that Josephine had two children from her previous marriage still made her the one at fault in this instance.

The rags to riches story is one that is magically told, holding one's interest throughout. For lovers of historical fiction this is a good one.

MAILBOX MONDAY/IT'S MONDAY! WHAT ARE YOU READING?

A recommendation from Cornflower Books.

Like this series.

The Inspector Lynley series. Love the books and the TV series as well. Watched it till I dropped in Melbourne almost daily!

Another recommendation from Cornflower Books.

A win from The Bibliophilic Book blog. Thank you.

Hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.

This was a win from Caffeinated Life. Thanks Lianne.

With this lot of books my choices of books will get limited once again! Back at home and enjoying it.

THE BOOK OF LOST FRAGRANCES BY M J ROSE

The book focuses on the L'Etoile family and along with it there are many characters linked to the world of perfume, all of whom bring to the story their own individual stories from both long ago and the present.

We have Jac and her brother Robbie - both of the present generation heavily influenced by not just their dead parents but by their grandfather as well. The legacy of the perfume business has been one of generations - and with it are myriads of stories both unfounded and true and the search for the twelve memory tools in perfume dating back to the time of Cleopatra goes on.

Even in present day times there are those who believe that if those essences could be distilled it would lead to reincarnation and the ability to be linked with a loved one through birth and constant rebirth. Of the two Jac seems to be the one more spiritually linked to the perfume as well as to the possibility of reincarnation but she has actively removed herself from the scene preferring to deal with the prosaic business of life in the here and now.

Spanning a time frame from Cleopatra and Egypt to the present day unrest in Tibet and the atrocities committed by the Chinese in putting down the Tibetan rebellions and modern Paris we smoothly move from one era to the next, from one geographical sphere to the next and this all adds to the fascination of this story. The descriptions are imaginative and I found the episodes in the catacombs in Paris evocative and added to the aura of mystery to the story.

I never knew the importance that perfume played in history and this book was an education in itself on the subject. Fascinating reading as it was not just a family saga of the L'Etoile family and their ancient business but it also combined mystery, present day politics and the stories of the Dalai Lama and how the Tibetans are not just surviving but progressing in the face of rigid aggression but also how religious as well as other beliefs do survive despite any obstacles you throw at it!

An author I will be going back to.