Blood on the Water by Anne Perry

I knew that this was about the River Thames and a wreck. What I didn't realize is that it was set in the 1860s so that the way things were handled were so very different to what it was today. 

A sudden explosion on a pleasure boat cruising the Thames sends it to the bottom of the river swiftly. 179 passengers are dead and Monk who is in charge of the River Police is by accident a witness to the entire incident watching from a boat alongside. He along with his fellow officer tries to save as many people as they could as do several other boats in the area. The death toll is huge and it is very easily identified as a deliberate explosion.

The how, why and who are the crux of the story. A little slow in the telling, a bit ponderous for me it takes us through the deliberations of the River Police and the Metropolitan Police who take over the investigation as it is considered "of diplomatic importance" and the total failure due to corruption, cover up and bribery on their part that finds it handed back to the River Police for its final call. Connecting the explosion of the Princess Mary to the soon to be opened Suez Canal which will enhance British shipping interests enormously, we are curious to see how this finally ends. 

Interesting to see that some things haven't changed from the 1860s to now. The bribery, corruption, feedbacks, blackmail. and most importantly shortfalls in the justice system still do exist so I guess nothing much has changed. It took a while to accept the slow pace of investigation of the times. We are in the present age used to such instant solutions and instant feedback that this took a little getting used to.

Downloaded to my Kindle through Netgalley - via Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine.

Mailbox Monday/It's Monday! What are you reading?

The post is late and maybe lopsided!

The images of the books are also not coming up so it is going to be dull.

A Distant Dream by Vivienne Dockerty

Blood on the Water by Anne Perry

Stella by Susan Wuthrich


These are the new books for the last week.




Reading is erratic as I am out of Colombo this time for over five days.

Returning tomorrow and will get the reviews up soon.

When the World was Young by Elizabeth Gaffney

Wally is an unusual child. Even her moniker is something quite different (she wants to be called Beatrice) but Stella her mother desists. Stella is also an unusual character. Even Gigi the grandmother is unusual for the times.

The family is a bunch of strong minded women - the men are either incapacitated or away in the war. All of them have got used to being on their own and carrying out their lives independently. Wally's world is Ham (their maid's son), the ant colony which comprises their main interest, and Wonder Woman comics. This sets her apart and throughout the book despite school being very much part of their lives you do not hear of school mates or school activities very much. Wally's world seems to centre around home and the people of their home.  As a result Wally remains faintly untouched and far removed from the harsh realities of life.

The story of Stella and Mr. Niederman the boarder - their love affair and subsequent break up with its disastrous consequences for not just the family but Wally in particular, the close relationship between Loretta the black maid who is a surrogate mother to Wally and Ham her son who is almost a brother to Wally.  The fact that he was black at a time when segregation was practiced in America hardly dawns on Wally's consciousness and when it does as adults she is furious. The cocoon she lived in was so absolute that things like this hardly ever impinged on her world though Loretta was very conscious and aware of the divide. There is also the story of first Stella and Rudy her absentee husband and then Rudy's relationship with Wally particularly when she was grown up. 

Family stories like this are unique - each one comprising separate characters with their own stories to tell and combined forming a completely different story are an insight into how people live, love and eventually die.

Liked this one. Sent to me by Netgalley via Random House Publishing Group - Random House for an independent review. 

Stealing Venice by Heather Redding

This was a classic - going from the contemporary to the sixteenth century, told in alternative voices. Two very different stories of love, loss, betrayal and survival. I would say the most important feature for me was the survival. The story behind the survival was love but the most striking feature of each story was the spirit of survival.

Anna is our contemporary heroine. Moving away from a world of finance to join two friends on a long sabbatical in Venice, she is intrinsically drawn to the beauty of Venice - from its palaces to its people, from its rich history of painting as well as a deja vu pull from the past and a befriending by a famous art historian and being part of a close knit family including his nephew.

Ginevra is our sixteenth century heroine. Daughter of a doctor, she cleverly hides the fact of her father's blindness by dressing as a young man, who is his assistant and helps her father in his work for years. She is different to the usual girls of her era, bold and innovative. She is also quite willing to take a risk and will rope in her Jewish friend Debra to also take huge risks with her. Both of them pose for a painting of the Madonna with her baby as models, unknown to their respective families. A huge risk for both girls if it became known. 

The story goes on in parallel lines - the troubles and heartbreak of Anna who feels betrayed by the love of her life and how she starts all over back in London, finding a totally new career path have similar reflections on Ginevra who to escape the wrath of a powerful man has to take not just herself but her husband and move far away. Her father also has to move in order to avoid being murdered.

How Anna and Ginevra find much happiness despite the heartbreak which goes before, both having to leave cities of their birth and their own families to find love and security elsewhere are very beautifully told.

I read that this is a debut novel. I do hope Ms. Redding comes up with something good to follow up on this one. It is going to be a hard act to follow!

This was a book sent to me through Netgalley via Troubador Publishing Limited. Thank you.

Mailbox Monday/It's Monday! What are you Reading?

I have very good reads coming into my Mailbox.

The following are courtesy of Netgalley

                     

Courtesy of Open Library

Hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.

Am reading Stealing Venice and finding it very good reading. Halfway through.

Today was out of Colombo. Just returned. Our property was full of this!

                

These are known as Rambuttan trees - and it is the season for this. The fruit is delicious and once you start eating you can't stop!                    

Mystery at the Manor a Cherringham cozy crime book and Never Miss a Chance (Regency Romance)

The second book I am reading (of a series) set in Cherringham.  Jack is our retired American detective and Sarah is our local girl, who somehow get involved in anything fishy involving a death in Cherringham. I liked the first book, this second one did not do anything very much for me. It was a short read and pleasant. Fairly routine. 

This was a free download from Netgalley courtesy of Bastel Entertainment.

This was an Amazon free download.

Regency England  - a duke's daughter who is supposed to be above scandal. Marcus, the Marquis of Everton  has been in love with her for years and when she gets into a scrape he offers her a way out by way of marriage which will still all the wagging tongues. 

A nice romance with a touch of humour and all the complications of Regency England. 

Now that I've read I think all of Georgette Heyer I am looking for substitutes!

The Bone Church by Victoria Dougherty

I know its sometimes childish but I am a sucker for covers. This was one of the reasons I chose this from an Amazon free download! Another is the WWII connection. I seem to drift towards those stories of both WWI and II. Somehow the family stories, the emotions, the history of that era seems to have had such a huge impact not just on people but on a way of life as well, changing generations of thinking almost overnight.

This was set in Prague (new to me) fugitive lovers who are forced by various circumstances to make new connections all in order to escape.  Felix and Magdalena have to escape but plot after plot fails. They then get involved in a plot to assassinate Goebbels who miraculously escapes. Magdalena is forced to separate from Felix and go in one direction  and Felix goes in another till they emerge to face their demons once again. 

The Nazi occupation as well as the Cold War in Czechoslovakia are both themes of the book. The anti Semitic feeling is very pronounced here and one that is also particularly felt by our couple. The story of mistrust, betrayal, support by unexpected people and the strong need for survival comprise the whole book.

A very strong read very forcefully told.  Very strong characterization and plots which are dark but hold your interest throughout.