Summons to Murder by J C Briggs

I am glad that I am ending my year with a book by J C Briggs. I've not always been successful in getting the books but am very appreciative to Sapere Books for sending this on to me. 1851 London - Detective Sam Jones and Charles Dickens are good friends. They also know a kind of fatalistic feeling that they are working against great odds. Especially when one of the aristocracy is involved. London is not kind to the poor and helpless, the system of law and justice is weighted heavily in favour of the rich, the famous and the powerful. Depicting London at its worst one could be forgiven for thinking that this is not part of the developed world even in 1851 - the primitive way of living, the squalor and dirt and illness found in the slums of London cheek by jowl to the houses of the rich and famous was in itself upsetting to read about. The callousness and indifference of those who had it all to those who worked for them and came from the lower economic and social classes was immense and hard to even read about. Here the two men have to find a murderer of a friend of theirs. Pierce Mallory was found with a gunshot wound to his head, deemed as a suicide but Dickens knows that this is not the case. Uncovering a story of bigamy, murder, cruelty (forcible incarceration of a wife in an asylum) and using his wits and cleverness to acquire more and more wealth our suspect is a legal luminary much respected and feared by his peers and a member of the aristocracy to boot. Getting him acquitted is not going to be an easy task. The story is both of the historical and mystery murder genre and covers both in great detail. The plot is complicated the suspects and victims are many but the story weaves a good tale to keep the reader engrossed. Sent by Sapere Books for an unbiased review, courtesy of Netgalley.

Accomplished in Murder by Dara England

Combining a combo of two things I like - a vintage mystery murder and a female sleuth both hard to find in books made this an interesting read for me. Celeste is a long standing friend of Drucilla and when she gets a letter with underlying tones of her being scared Drucilla sets off on a long, tedious journey to frozen Cornwall ostensibly to see her friend Arriving at the house and being welcomed and then warned by two of Celeste's in laws before being told that their friend was dead is a shock for Drucilla but one mystery she is determined to get to the bottom on. Uncovering a story which is common for the era of almost a forced marriage, bigamy, and finding a fortune from a rich wife to bolster the family fortune was a very common occurrence at the time. But when it involved murder the story changes. Intriguing and interesting to read, the backdrop of an aristocratic family - the limitations of the law when dealing with such people protected by their own where even the law backs off for fear of repercussion is sadly prevalent at the time. A download from Amazon.

The Son and Heir by Alexander Munninghoff

An emotional epic story of the author's own journey to his past and the slowly unraveling of something that was quite hard to fathom and understand. That his father had a Nazi background and things slowly became discovered about his past. How he tries to reconcile the past of a tortured early 20th century Europe and the ramifications of war on ordinary citizens and how it changed their lives and their children's lives forever and how on earth do you try to reconcile the two worlds. Both World Wars changed the lives of people not just in Europe but all over the world but Hitler and Nazi Germany brought about a brutishness and a brutality which was by far very harsh. How many people still like to cover the traces of what their ancestors did during this period, especially if you were from the wealthy and aristocratic classes in Europe. A book that gets you to think. What your ancestors did is not your responsibility. A download from Amazon

Murder at St. Anne's by J R Elliz

This was a very good story. It combined so much - the ecclesiastical scene in modern times but with its age old ideologies and sometimes old fashioned ideas so out of place in modern times, then you get the clergy themselves trying to keep up with the 21st century, also trying to appease those parishioners who are slightly behind them, and the myriad secrets that people all over the world have. We have a murder. The vicar - a woman popular, compassionate and friendly has been brutally murdered and even the weapon that was used is a puzzle to the detectives. No outward clues. No scandals in the background. She was ear marked for a bishopric and could this be the cause for the women hating members of her congregation. The detection set against a harsh wintry landscape is very descriptive and the two Detectives on the case go forward very slowly because clues keep getting unearthed - but mainly of secrets that people would want hidden but which really do not have a bearing on this murder. When the second murder happens we know that the ghost of St Annne's is definitely not behind the murders and then a foiled murder attempt sets the pace up a bit faster as we know our murderer is not going to stop. The book is a page turner. One that will please any mystery murder reader never mind those of a eclesiastical bent. Sent by Amazon Publishing Uk for an unbiased review, courtesy of Netgalley.

Boy Underground by Catherine Ryan Hyde

1941 America. Steven Katz from a well to do farming family, who are ultra conservative is different. He has found friends which are not in keeping according to his mother of their status in the community. One of them is Japanese origin, born and bred in America but with Pearl Harbour harsh treatment meted out to the Japanese on the one side and his friend and his family get incarcerated in a camp. Another close buddy of his is on the run, because his own father has lied to the police on a battery charge intimating to them that it is the son who is responsible when Steven knows very well on the day in question four of them were on a hike. The actions of the adults in the situation draw the four boys closer and closer together. One volunteers for the Army and on the journey out his ship is torpedoed. So then there were three. Nicky is hidden on the farm away from detectives and kept till it is safe for him to try to find his mother who had abandoned him as a child. That does not end well either. The Japanese are releaed eventually and Steven finds that the insularity of his family is holding him back and he is just waiting for his eighteenth birthday to leave home. The fact that he has discovered he is homosexual and has feelings for Nicky does not help the situation, and once his family knows this it certainly makes him very isolated. The story of a young boy facing responsibilities and pressures well before his time, facing situations which he cannot imagine and trying to deal with them whilst at the same time being under his parents control being under eighteen was hard. Steven did not openly rebel which would be the option of most. He bided his time, waiting for the opportunity to do what he had to do. A fabulous coming of age story, set in hard circumstances of family who were constrained by their upbringing and could never see the bigger picture. A family who preferred to lose their son, rather than acknowledge him for what he was. Sent by Lake Union Publishing for an unbiased review courtesy of Netgalley.

At Midnight in Venice (Charles Dickens and Superintendent Sam Jones. Book No. 5)

I adore this series and have bought them off Amazon because I could not resist. I love the English setting specially the contrast between the so very rich and aristocratic society always brought into the stories (as in this one) and then you get the stark contrast with the bone shattering poverty and crime that seemed to abound in London just metres away from the rich and famous. The poor were brought into the rich homes as menials in domestic service, in suppliers of all goods and services and how a rebellion did not happen earlier is a mystery! Two cities - one vision. Venice a few years before where Charles saw a vision of a murder and then fast forward to London where a young woman employed in an aristocrats house goes missing at the same time as the young music master. Add to this the case of the missing daughter of the house "sent to the country" due to ill health, the terrified nature of the Lady of the house and Dickens knows there is more to unravel. Very slowly unravelled with a host of characters, these stories are not for the ones who want fast paced action. This is slow detection work against the odds of having to be very careful when dealing with the high and mighty who have no compunction in using whatever powers that be to protect their name and family to the detriment of everyone else. It further highlighted the hopelessness of the poor and those who did not have family support and these people inhabiting the stories did not have much. Victorian London at its best with a mystery murder thrown in.

Murder at the Castle (A Belinda Pendhurst Mystery Book 2) by Lisa Cutts

Belinda is attracted to Harry though they are two very different characters. They've solved one murder mystery and are now on their second. The local Detectives are a bit miffed that the two seem to get the upper hand on solving the mysteries whenever they occur and have to remind them that they are not police detectives but this definitely does not hold back Belinda who drags the slightly unwilling Harry on. This was a pleasant cozy mystery murder - set in very English surroundings with the usual inhabitants knowing everyone else's business and if they don't finding out by one means or another. Nothing is very private so that when a murder takes place, every one in the village has an opinion of what and how and who. Very engaging and full of humour, this was a very pleasant read. It does well as a stand alone. Sent by Bookouture for an unbiased review, courtesy of Netgalley.