#historicalmysteries – Rosepoint Publishing

Death Comes in Threes by Michael Jecks #BookReview #RenaissanceHistoricalFiction

A Bloody Mary Tudor Mystery Book

Book Blurb:

Princess Elizabeth’s unlikely assassin finds himself on the hook for two murders in this light-hearted Tudor mystery series!

August, 1558. As London is bustling with growing trade from foreign lands, and Queen Mary’s health is once again a hot topic, Jack Blackjack has much to keep him busy. And that’s before his new tenant – a Dutch merchant – disappears under a cloud of suspicion, quickly presumed murdered, and Jack’s latest female companion’s body is found mere streets from her dwelling place.

People around Jack keep inconveniently getting murdered, and he seems to be the most likely culprit! With both the authorities and the unsavoury echelons of London on his tail, nowhere is safe for Jack to hide. He must go about proving his innocence – and uncovering the mirky truth – while ensuring he doesn’t find himself dancing the Tyburn jig!

The question is – can he rely on friends in high – and very low – places to get him out of this ever-increasing mess?

For readers who like their historical mysteries with a dash of farce and frolicking fun!

His Review:

Britain in the late 1500’s was not a pleasant place to live. Serfdom was just coming to an end and wages were pitifully low. Anyone with property was a target to all of the oppressed population. One needed bodyguards to go to the pubs or houses of ill repute and were always a target of the poor. Jack Blackjack was one of those targets.

Jack maintained a number of houses and had many enemies. He was a dandy who enjoyed the favors of many of the young ladies in the village. He was known and often chased by those who hated him. He had worked with both Lady Elisabeth and Queen Mary and had received a Royal pardon for his crimes. This did not sit well with his enemies.

This tome reveals a time in history when individual life was not worth much. Being well armed with swords and knives as well as cudgels was essential. Jack continues to live by the craftiness of his upbringing and his attention to detail. Living in this part of the past would not be a welcoming environment. Enjoy Jack’s escapades. 4.5 stars – CE Williams

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book. These opinions are my own.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Renaissance Historical Fiction, Historical Mysteries
Publisher: Severn House
ISBN:1448313805
ASIN: B0D9M8KVDG
Print Length: 258 pages
Publication Date: January 7, 2025
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon-US | Amazon-UK | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: Who is this guy Jecks?

Michael was a moderate student and early on, being a callow youth, decided on a career as an actuary. This decision was based solely on the fact that he heard it was the highest paid profession. Well, he had a father who was one, and a brother, too, but the money certainly helped.

Not realizing that a standard definition of an actuary is “someone who finds accountancy too exciting”, he achieved the relevant grades at A level and wandered off to City University, London. There, he excelled – as bar chairman – but not at actuarial studies. Firmly convinced that his course was incomprehensible (Life & Other Contingencies? Advanced Statistics? Programming in Pascal?) and other parts were designed by knaves, cretins and the criminally insane (Economics), he left the course after failing every exam for two years.

With the glittering example of a second, unqualified, brother who earned very good money, had a bonus scheme, free car, free petrol, expense account and free holiday each year, Michael decided to follow this brother into computer sales.

Moving to safer shores with software sales, Michael joined IBM’s largest software supplier, Bluebird. They went bust a year later (owing him a lot).

Out of Computing, Into Writing

In three months, Michael worked seven days a week, fourteen hours a day. In that time he wrote a modern day thriller, a management book on how to get work when made redundant (he had experience of that) and a historical crime novel that was to become The Last Templar.

Since 1995 and the launch of The Last Templar, Michael has been a persistent and prolific author. City of Fiends was the 31st story in the series that follows the lives of Sir Baldwin de Furnshill, a renegade Templar, and his friend Bailiff Simon Puttock through the miserable period of famine, war and disease that was the first half of the fourteenth century.

The series is the first to tell the tale of that time.

Michael is a regular speaker about the Knights Templar, the end of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, about writing and publishing, and about finding work. He is also keen to help those who are now going through the latest recession. He endured enough hardship, and lost all his savings, during the last recession, and understands what it means to risk losing everything.

An enthusiastic photographer and watercolourist, Michael can often be seen walking across Dartmoor where he lives, gaining inspiration into the lives of our ancestors for his stories. When relaxing he can usually be found clad in white in a pub near you before dancing mad stick Morris.

Of course, if you want to contact him or link on social media, you can find him at writerlywitterings.com, he’s on YouTube as writerlywitterer, on LinkedIn, he is at Facebook.com/Michael.Jecks.author, at Flickr.com/photos/Michael_Jecks, on Instagram, Pinterest and everywhere else too! He appreciates hearing from readers, so do please contact him.

[Note: My apologies to the author but parts of this bio were truncated. Please see the author page for his complete story.]

Happy Thursday!

Battle Annie by Trish MacEnulty #BookReview #TuesdayBookBlog

The Queen of Hell’s Kitchen

Rosepoint Rating: Five Stars

Book Blurb:

No woman in Hell’s Kitchen is as tough as Battle Annie. Known as the sweetheart of the notorious Gopher gang, Annie makes a living as a brick hurler and brawler, always working for the highest bidder during the railroad strikes of the 1890s. An orphaned girl named Cora endures the brutal life of a guttersnipe on the street. Her only hope for survival is serving as Annie’s helper during the brawls.

After an encounter with the famous socialist Eugene Debs, Annie has second thoughts about hurling bricks against striking workers. Those second thoughts lead to trouble when a rival comes for Annie’s throne and a powerful railroad executive wants more from Annie than he’s paid for. When she’s falsely accused of murder, Annie flees New York with Cora in tow. Hiding in plain sight, they pass themselves off as a respectable milliner and her orphaned niece. But eventually Annie’s past catches up to her and she must run again or face the electric chair. Cora will need to shed the trappings of her new life in order to save Annie, but Hell’s Kitchen is in her blood. Without anyone around to guide her, will she abandon Annie and return to a desperate life in the rookery where she was once a guttersnipe? And will Annie be executed for a crime she didn’t commit?

My Review:

Absolutely loved this unique novel showcasing Battle Annie (Annie Walsh), who becomes queen of the Battle Row Ladies (Lady Gophers) Social and Athletic Club of Hell’s Kitchen of New York. She organized other women of the streets in the job of brawling—throwing bricks and creating general mayhem. Annie sells her business to the highest bidder in the battle between the unions and the railroad barons. She learned from the best, her pa, convicted and sent to prison for a murder he didn’t commit.

Annie has a smart, fighting spirit and living in the rookeries has organized a gang of hundreds of women. They speak in a special lingo.

Life takes a risky turn when she meets Eugene Debs, honorary member of the union.

“Mr. Debs, you can’t squeeze blood out of turnip and you can’t squeeze pity out of a tenement rat..”

“Annie, I do have to present myself in a certain way to accomplish union business, but believe this: While there is a lower class I am in it, while there is a criminal element I am of it, while there is a soul in prison I am not free.”

He talks her into brawling for the union side against Webb and the railroad. Webb proves to be a powerful enemy, particularly when she refuses his favors. Discovery of his body leads the police back to Annie. With the help of Debs, she manages to escape, taking with her one of her guttersnipes, Cora, desperate for Annie’s food, protection, and street knowledge.

Relocated to Baltimore, she has a new name and assumes the role of respectable society lady. And that disguise works well years enough that Cora grows into a beautiful young woman and has learned to love the new respectable society their successful millinery has brought.

“The main rules here are never swear, never get angry, always be cheerful.”

POVs switch from Annie to Cora and Cora divulges she’s on the search for her sister—separated when they hit the streets.

But can the Pinkerton’s be far behind?

No sag in this narrative. It’s descriptive of both locations to the point where it’s easier to breathe once out of the slums of Hell’s Kitchen. I loved the support characters in Baltimore, and both Annie and Cora are well-developed, defined in their roles. Humorous to watch how awkwardly Annie assumes the role of milliner and devoted aunt to Cora who quickly discovers she loves the new well-heeled society. Very well-researched and further explained in Author’s Notes following a satisfying conclusion.

If you enjoy historical fiction, you can’t help but love this one and if you don’t, it’s an absorbing and entertaining story. You’ll enjoy it either way.

I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the author and publisher through @NetGalley that in no way influenced this review. These are my honest thoughts.

Book Details:

Genre: Historical Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Fiction, Historical Mysteries
ASIN: B0D3J28Q2S
Print Length: 212 pages
Publication Date: September 3, 2024 Happy Publication Day!
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon-US | Amazon-UK | Barnes & Noble

The Author: Trish MacEnulty grew up in Jacksonville, Florida, and earned degrees from the University of Florida and Florida State University. For 20 years, she lived in Charlotte, North Carolina, where she was a Professor of English at Johnson & Wales University, teaching writing and film classes. She now lives in Florida with her husband, cat, and two dogs and teaches journalism. In addition to her historical novels, she has written novels, stories, plays, and a memoir under the name “Pat MacEnulty.” She currently writes book reviews and features for The Historical Novel Review.

Check out her website for book club visits, reader guides for her historical fiction, upcoming events, book news and more: https://trishmacenulty.com.

#TuesdayBookBlog

The Comfort of Ghosts: Maisie Dobbs Book 18 by Jacqueline Winspear #AudiobookReview #HistoricalMysteries

in Historical Mysteries

Book Blurb:

A MILESTONE IN HISTORICAL MYSTERY FICTION AS MAISIE DOBBS TAKES HER FINAL BOW

London, 1945: Four adolescent orphans with a dark wartime history are squatting in a vacant Belgravia mansion—the owners having fled London under heavy Luftwaffe bombing. Psychologist and Investigator Maisie Dobbs visits the mansion on behalf of the owners and discovers that a demobilized soldier, gravely ill and reeling from his experiences overseas, has taken shelter with the group.

aisie’s quest to bring comfort to the youngsters and the ailing soldier brings to light a decades-old mystery concerning Maisie’s first husband, James Compton, who was killed while piloting an experimental fighter aircraft. As Maisie unravels the threads of her dead husband’s life, she is forced to examine her own painful past and question beliefs she has always accepted as true.

The award-winning Maisie Dobbs series has garnered hundreds of thousands of followers, audiences drawn to a woman who is of her time, yet familiar in ours—and who inspires with her resilience and capacity for endurance. This final assignment of her own choosing not only opens a new future for Maisie and her family, but serves as a fascinating portrayal of the challenges facing the people of Britain at the close of the Second World War.

My Review:

The eighteenth in the series and I didn’t realize when I got it, intended to be the last. As I read it, however, it seemed an obvious goodbye; farewell.

This is one of those series where the protagonist actually ages with the years, beginning in 2003 as a teen in the early twentieth century and ending in 2024 having lived through two world wars. This book ends with the end of WWII in 1945, post-war UK.

The author does a beautiful job of molding a young woman through her service as a young maid to becoming a nurse during the war and extending her expertise to becoming a private investigator, psychologist. She has endured love and lost it, experienced the death of both husband and child but she never turned inward, instead becoming a compassionate support for post-war individuals and their stories.

This story is about the discovery of children who, like many post-war individuals, discovered empty or abandoned homes in which to squat. The children eventually tell a harrowing story of the service to their country they were to execute should there have been an invasion of the English shores. It’s a shocking story now becoming familiar. A sad testament to the use of one last desperate commodity.

Maisie also begins to uncover secrets tied to her own past when yet another revelation is made that has her digging into the death of her first husband. The dual plot line leads to doors that will open to a peaceful future and quell heartaches she’s failed to conquer. A lovely conclusion pulling together threads not closed prior to Book 18.

Back in February 2022, I read To Die But Once and greatly enjoyed it, vowed to read more in the series. It’s a great historical novel with the mystery well drawn and satisfying then in the conclusion. I can recommend to any who enjoys a detective story authentically mixed with WWII wartime drama.

This installment signals the end of an era, sad to say of a lovely series that draws you in and invests in the characters so you might very well wish to begin with Book 1. The narrator does an emotional job of it, conveying her own goodbye.

I downloaded a copy of this audiobook from my local well-stocked library. These are my honest opinions.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Historical Mysteries, Women Sleuth Mysteries
Publisher: Recorded Books
ASIN: B0CQZ3TJG1
Listening Length: 10 hrs 6 mins
Narrator: Orlagh Cassidy
Publication Date: June 4, 2024
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Link: The Comfort of Ghosts [Amazon-US]
Amazon-UK
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

The Author:

Jacqueline Winspear is the author of eighteen novels in the award-winning, New York Times, National and International bestselling series featuring psychologist-investigator Maisie Dobbs. In addition, Jacqueline’s 2023 non-series novel, The White Lady was a New York Times and National bestseller, and her 2014 WW1 novel, The Care and Management of Lies, was again a New York Times and National bestseller, as well as a Dayton Literary Peace Prize finalist. Jacqueline has also published two non-fiction books, What Would Maisie Do? and an Edgar-nominated memoir, This Time Next Year We’ll Be Laughing. Jacqueline’s work encompasses essays and journalism covering a wide range of subjects, from women working in wildfire management to articles on international education and social history. [Amazon]

Jacqueline Winspear was born and raised in the county of Kent, England. Following higher education at the University of London’s Institute of Education, Jacqueline worked in academic publishing, in higher education and in marketing communications in the UK.

She emigrated to the United States in 1990, and while working in business and as a personal / professional coach, Jacqueline embarked upon a life-long dream to be a writer.

A regular contributor to journals covering international education, Jacqueline has published articles in women’s magazines and has also recorded her essays for KQED radio in San Francisco. She currently divides her time between Ojai and the San Francisco Bay Area and is a regular visitor to the United Kingdom and Europe.

Jacqueline is the author of the New York Times bestsellers A Lesson in Secrets, The Mapping of Love and Death, Among the Mad, and An Incomplete Revenge, and other nationally bestselling Maisie Dobbs novels. She has won numerous awards for her work, including the Agatha, Alex, and Macavity awards for the first book in the series, Maisie Dobbs, which was also nominated for the Edgar Award for best novel and was a New York Times Notable Book. [Goodreads]

The Narrator: Orlagh Cassidy is an American actress, both parents from Dublin, Ireland. She works in Theatre, Television and Film and has recorded numerous award winning audiobooks and commercials. She can be seen in ‘St. Vincent’ with Bill Murray as well many guest starring roles on ‘Homeland’, ‘Billions’, ‘Good Wife’, ‘Elementary’ and ‘The Mysteries Of Laura’. She has worked in New York theatre at MTC, The Public Theatre, MCC, Origin Theatre Company and The Irish Rep where she received a Drama Desk nomination for the role of ‘Mamie’ in the ‘The Field’ in 2007. She is a recipient of The Princess Grace Foundation Award and has a BFA from SUNY Purchase.

City Gone Askew by Matt Cost #BookReview #InternationalMystery&Crime

A Brooklyn 8 Ballo Mystery Book 2

Blurb:

Award-winning author Matt Cost brings us back to Brooklyn in the Roaring ’20s and Hungarian private eye, 8 Ballo, who is hired by Theda Lazar Vogel to prove that her husband was murdered. His colorful cast of friends returns, as well as legendary figures such as Dorothy Parker, Coleman Hawkins, Bugsy Siegel, and Lucky Luciano.

8 discovers that a priceless Aquila—an ancient eagle Roman standard carried into battle 2,000 years ago—was stolen from Karl Vogel when he was killed. This provides ties to a secret German organization known as the Batavi. But Vogel was also involved in the eugenics movement centered in Cold Spring Harbor on Long Island, as well as being involved with the Ku Klux Klan.

As 8 peels back layers of the underbelly of 1920s Brooklyn, the more complicated and dangerous it becomes for him and those who are important to him. What is happening at Cold Spring Harbor with Herman Wall and the eugenics movement? Who are the mysterious Germans threatening 8? And what is the identity of the charismatic Grand Cyclops? 8 must race against time to uncover the truth and put a stop to the most chilling triumvirate ever conceived.

His Review:

The Aquila carried into battle by the Romans is a gold and silver eagle about 1 foot tall. A barbaric Germanic tribe led by a former Roman officer took it when they defeated the Romans. Theda Vogel’s husband Karl got it during the occupation of Germany after the Second World War. Theda knows it is priceless and wants it back. 8 Ballo also needs to identify her husband’s killers.

Youn City Gone Askew by Matt Cost g ladies are apparently becoming part of a eugenics movement that became common in many large cities in the United States during this time. 8 Ballo is enraged by this thoughtless crime.

Matt Cost has explored these problems with rare insight. 8 works to help the well-healed maintain a distance from crime and corruption. At the same time, he also has some major allies in Bugsy Siegel and other major crime heads. The country is being controlled by White Supremacists and crooked public officials.

This book is very enlightening and will expand public understanding of those turbulent times. Enjoy! 4.5 stars – CE Williams

I read Book 1 of this series back in April last year and greatly enjoyed. The series tackles a tough historical period for the country as well as the world. Many thanks to the author for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book. These opinions are my own.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: International Mystery & Crime, Historical Mysteries, Private Investigator Mysteries
Publisher: Encircle Publications
ISBN-10: ‎ 1645995445
ISBN-13: ‎ 978-1645995449
ASIN: B0D3SXMD59
Print Length: 304 pages pages
Publication Date: July 31, 2024
Source: Author

Title Link(s):

Amazon-US | Amazon-UK | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: Over the years, [Matthew Langdon] Cost has owned a video store, a mystery bookstore, and a gym. He has also taught history and coached just about every sport imaginable.

During those years, since age eight actually, the true passion has been writing. I Am Cuba: Fidel Castro and the Cuban Revolution (Encircle Publications, March, 2020) was his first traditionally published novel.

Mainely Power is the first of the Mainely Mystery trilogy featuring private detective Goff Langdon. This will be followed by Mainely Fear (coming in December, 2020), and Mainely Money (to be released in May, 2021).

Cost now lives in Brunswick, Maine, with his wife, Harper. There are four grown children: Brittany, Pearson, Miranda, and Ryan. A chocolate Lab and a basset hound round out the mix. He now spends his days at the computer, writing.

Enjoy Your Sunday

The Big Lie by Gabriel Valjan – #BookReview – #HardboiledMysteries

A Shane Cleary Mystery

Book Blurb:

LOST: Poodle. Standard. Black. Studded collar. No tags. Goes by the name of Boo.

Sun Tzu may have said, ‘Keep your friends close; keep your enemies closer,’ but he didn’t live in Boston, he’s not Shane Cleary, and Shane’s latest and most unexpected client is Southie’s most dangerous criminal.
The man who almost killed Shane wants to hire him, but Shane is more interested in Jimmy’s ‘bonus for a job done well and discretely—information about his father’s death.
His cat Delilah is against it, his girlfriend Bonnie the lawyer doesn’t know.

Everything screams he shouldn’t take the gig, but Shane can’t resist Jimmy’s ‘incentive.’
Life is neither easy nor simple for Shane. Bonnie asks for help on a pro bono case, friend Bill wants a background check, mafia henchman Tony makes a peculiar request, and Shane can’t help but think his client just might kill him anyway after he finds the dog.

Does Jimmy know a Truth that will change Shane’s life, or is it a big lie?

His Review:

A beloved pet is missing. Tony Two-Times wants him back and orders our hero to find him. There will be no reward, just a ticket to stay alive. Finding a dog does not usually require a private detective but refusing Tony invites a visit to six feet under. No is not a word in Tony’s vocabulary! He has lost his beloved dog and wants the bitch back yesterday.

Others suspected of absconding with the furball are dispatched very unceremoniously. The job won’t pay but then again, not doing it will result in permanent burial. Many in Tony’s world have received the reward for not finding Tony’s dog but there are roadblocks in the way.

A mob leader or mafioso boss has many things in common. Denying their requests is not an option. Our hero finds that leads he feels may be fruitful were not. Meanwhile, the time is getting short and the dog cannot be found!

This story explores the underworld and the loyalties that are required to stay alive! Cleary, an ex-cop, is the subject of the mob bosses’ angst, and the dog better be found. The result is an exposé of the thinking within the mob. Very informative! 4.5 stars – CE Williams

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book. These opinions are my own.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Hard-Boiled Mysteries, Historical Mysteries
Publisher: Level Best Books – Level Historia
ASIN: B0CL14JLMK
Print Length: 214 pages
Publication Date: March 12, 2024
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: Gabriel Valjan is the author of the Roma Series, The Company Files, and the Shane Cleary Mysteries. He has been nominated for the Agatha, Anthony, Silver Falchion Awards, and received the 2021 Macavity Award for Best Short Story. Gabriel is a member of the Historical Novel Society, ITW, MWA, and Sisters in Crime. He lives in Boston.

Cheers!

To Slip the Bonds of Earth by Amanda Flower – #BookReview – #TuesdayBookBlog

Book Blurb:

While not as famous as her older siblings Wilbur and Orville, the celebrated inventors of flight, Katharine Wright is equally inventive – especially when it comes to solving crimes – in USA Today bestselling author Amanda Flower’s radiant new historical mystery series inspired by the real sister of the Wright Brothers.

December 1903: While Wilbur and Orville Wright’s flying machine is quite literally taking off in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina with its historic fifty-seven second flight, their sister Katharine is back home in Dayton, Ohio, running the bicycle shop, teaching Latin, and looking after the family. A Latin teacher and suffragette, Katharine is fiercely independent, intellectual, and the only Wright sibling to finish college. But at twenty-nine, she’s frustrated by the gender inequality in academia and is looking for a new challenge. She never suspects it will be sleuthing…

Returning home to Dayton, Wilbur and Orville accept an invitation to a friend’s party. Nervous about leaving their as-yet-unpatented flyer plans unattended, Wilbur decides to bring them to the festivities . . . where they are stolen right out from under his nose. As always, it’s Katharine’s job to problem solve—and in this case, crime-solve.

As she sets out to uncover the thief among their circle of friends, Katharine soon gets more than she bargained for: She finds her number one suspect dead with a letter opener lodged in his chest. It seems the patent is the least of her brothers’ worries. They have a far more earthbound concern—prison. Now Katharine will have to keep her feet on the ground and put all her skills to work to make sure Wilbur and Orville are free to fly another day.

My Review:

Living in the shadow of her two upcoming famous brothers, Wilbur and Orville Wright, isn’t easy, especially for a woman at the turn of the century. Katherine is also the youngest of the Wright children in a progressive patriarchal household. Losing her mother at the age of fifteen has catapulted her into the role of household manager and caretaker as well as manager of their bicycle shop.

Back when women were thought to be best left uneducated, she was privileged to attend and graduate from Oberlin College. Her education and smarts have created a strong-willed woman at twenty-nine who is fiercely independent. She also teaches Latin at the local school in competition with a male teacher with less expertise in the language arts.

When her brothers triumphantly return from Kitty Hawk, they do not receive quite the accolades expected. When Wilbur decides to keep his unpatented plans with his wing-warping notes with him to a party, they go missing about the same time as the assumed main culprit is found murdered. As the problem solver, it falls on her to discover the truth.

For most of the book, Katherine is a solid intelligent woman and at times I found her grating though she becomes a bit clumsy near the conclusion. She could be both impressive and sad at the same time, assumed dedicated and accepting of the Wright family and home for life.

I enjoyed the historical tidbits of early flight interwoven into the storyline along with Katherine’s investigation of both the murder and the theft, drawn to a satisfying conclusion.

An easy, entertaining read, well-plotted and paced. I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the author and publisher through @NetGalley that in no way influenced this review. These are my honest thoughts.

Rosepoint Rating: Four Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Biographical Fiction, Historical Mysteries
Publisher: Kensington Books
ASIN: B0CGN3RCCL
Print Length: 301 pages
Publication Date: March 26, 2024
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: Amanda Flower is a USA Today bestselling and Agatha Award-winning author of over thirty-five mystery novels. Her novels have received starred reviews from Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, and Romantic Times, and she had been featured in USA Today, First for Women, and Woman’s World. She currently writes for Penguin-Random House (Berkley), Kensington, Hallmark Publishing, Crooked Lane Books, and Sourcebooks. In addition to being a writer, she was a librarian for fifteen years. Today, Flower and her husband own a farm and recording studio, and they live in Northeast Ohio with their two adorable cats.

Visit her at http://www.amandaflower.com

Happy New Year!

The Devil’s Glove by Lucretia Grindle – #BookReview – #TuesdayBookBlog

Rumors of War, Whispers of Witchcraft; A Spellbinding Historical Novel

Book Blurb:

Northern New England, summer, 1688.
Salem started here.

A suspicious death. A rumor of war. Whispers of witchcraft.

Perched on the brink of disaster, Resolve Hammond and her mother, Deliverance, struggle to survive in their isolated coastal village. They’re known as healers taught by the local tribes – and suspected of witchcraft by the local villagers.

Their precarious existence becomes even more chaotic when summoned to tend to a poisoned woman. As they uncover a web of dark secrets, rumors of war engulf the village, forcing the Hammonds to choose between loyalty to their native friends or the increasingly terrified settler community.

As Resolve is plagued by strange dreams, she questions everything she thought she knew – about her family, her closest friend, and even herself. If the truth comes to light, the repercussions will be felt far beyond the confines of this small settlement.

Based on meticulous research and inspired by the true story of the fear and suspicion that led to the Salem Witchcraft Trials, THE DEVIL’S GLOVE is a tale of betrayal, loyalty, and the power of secrets. Will Resolve be able to uncover the truth before the town tears itself apart, or will she become the next victim of the village’s dark and mysterious past?

My Review:

It takes a little while to get used to the writing style, emulating I imagine the speech patterns of the late seventeenth century. It’s stilted and somewhat hard to read, digest, interpret. Even so, the narrative is also heavy in prose resulting in quotables too numerous to list.

It’s the story of Resolve Hammond and her mother, Deliverance, who are trying to assimilate into the village of Falmouth. Deliverance, most especially, has become somewhat of a personality known for her cures and limited medical expertise, which has resulted in both a positive and negative in the villagers’ suspicion of her knowledge of poultices and potions. It is generally felt she gained much of her knowledge from the local natives who are viewed with fear.

When Resolve is not working with her mother, she is palling around with Judah White, with whom she has become close personal friends, foresworn blood sisters.

“…all that is beautiful is but a glove for the Devil’s hand.”

There is a lot of mistrust about the local tribe with a recent history of conflict still strong in the minds of the villagers. The whispers regarding new unexplained happenings grow stronger with rumors handed from one to another until truth is no longer recognizable.

“I’d not care to try to outrace or hide from them amid waves any more than among trees. That’s when you understand whose land, and sea, this truly is.”

Events are beginning to push war to a reality when a peaceful solution has been orchestrated but mishandled badly by a member of the colony with ulterior motives. In the meantime, Resolve is betrayed by the one she thought could be trusted while the wild child among them, her junior and dangerous, is furthering her own agenda.

It’s not looking good for Resolve (nee Savannah) nor her mother and appears to be time to move on—they are thinking perhaps to Salem?

Heavy with description, exceptional details, and weighed down somewhat by unnecessary backstory, the main storyline tends to wallow at times. I always enjoy the descriptive utilization of plants and their properties, a visit to a native village, and the possible use of hallucinogenics that pushes the narrative to a mystical and ethereal atmosphere.

A historical fiction novel obviously the benefit of research but not quite the pace or plot expected. I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the author and publisher through @NetGalley that in no way influenced this review. These are my honest thoughts.

Rosepoint Rating: Four Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Women’s Historical Fiction, U S Historical Fiction, Historical Mysteries
Publisher: Casa Croce Press
ASIN: B0BWSD5SVL
Print Length: 360 pages
Publication Date: May 1, 2023
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Link: The Devil’s Glove [Amazon]

The Author: Lucretia was born in Massachusetts. Her family moved to the UK when she was six months old, and she has spent the rest of her life – to date – living ‘half in England, half in the US’. She went to school and University in both countries, and rode and produced competition horses professionally before quitting her day job to write full time. She has published six novels, two when she was very young, and four since she wasn’t so very young. She writes both fiction and non-fiction, and when she isn’t staring absently out of the window, spends her time cooking, gardening, sailing enthusiastically if not very well, and discussing deer and squirrels with the dog.

#TuesdayBookBlog

Reaping the Whirlwind by Rosey Dow – #BookReview – #ChristianHistoricalFiction

Book Blurb:

No one suspects foul play when an old recluse dies behind locked doors.

The doctor claims the old woman’s heart gave out, and Deputy Sheriff Trent Tyson doesn’t give the case another thought until the medical examiner finds poison.

This death is just one in a series of unusual deaths happening in Tyson’s quiet town, which takes the deputy sheriff on the hunt for answers while the rest of the town is caught up in local hysteria, starstruck by visiting celebrities William Jennings Bryan and Clarence Darrow. Within a week, Deputy Sheriff Trent Tyson is on the tenuous trail of a serial killer who snuffs out the unwanted, the disabled—the most helpless and lovable—without reason and with no mercy.

Reaping the Whirlwind is a historical mystery set during the real events of the Scopes evolution trial in 1925 Dayton, Tennessee. The mystery weaves through trial events in an accurate portrayal of this pivotal case that forever changed the U.S. education system.

His Review:

Dayton has always been a small town devoid of any fame, but the city wants to be famous so they decide to set up one of their teachers to take the fall. He is arrested for teaching The Theory of Evolution as opposed to Creation as the source of human kind. This radical teaching will not stand in this small Tennessee enclave of Christianity.

The case attracts two of the most famous jurists of the early 20^th century; Charles Darwin and William Jennings Bryant. Newspapers from all over the country begin to sensationalize the trial and the notoriety. The local deputy constable/detective, Tyson, is assigned the case.

Because Bryant and Darwin are coming to town every possible domicile is let. The small town becomes notorious. Meanwhile, some young people are mysteriously dying of poisoning. Between keeping order at the courthouse and trying to solve the cases of murder Tyson has his hands full. Being a single parent, his first obligation must be to his disabled daughter, Lori.

The author weaves a very intricate fabric of suspense into the story. Everyone involved is extremely careful with the town’s young people and yet they keep dying! Guarding the courthouse and maintaining order in this small town becomes a very challenging task. Can Tyson solve the murders and foil the culprit? This is a fun and intricate story and plot line. Enjoy! 4 stars – CE Williams

Many thanks to Lana McAra and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Christian Historical Fiction, Religious Historical Fiction, Historical Mysteries
Publisher: Morgan James Fiction
ASIN: B0BT141GD6
Print Length: 378 pages
Publication Date: June 13, 2023
Source: Author and Publisher

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: Rosey Dow is the pen name of Lana McAra, an award-winning, international best-selling author and ghostwriter of more than 40 titles with a million books sold, including three cookbooks. An author via traditional publishing with Barbour Publishing and WinePress Publishing for 25 years, she has been editing and ghostwriting for more than 20 years, working for WinePress Publishing as well as Author One Stop and individual clients.

She won the national Christy Award for Reaping the Whirlwind in 2001, and her historical cozy mystery series, Colorado, sold more than 250,000 copies. Her titles have appeared around the world in bookstores and libraries in regular print, large print editions and audiobooks. She also has several journals and other titles under the name This Girl Loves Paper.

Originally from Delaware, she lived on the tiny Caribbean island of Grenada for 14 years and now resides in North Florida.

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