Category: book review

I’m delighted to welcome a returning Helen Golden to the blog with her new book, An Heir is Misplaced. #bookreview #cosymystery #blogtour #avidreader

I’m delighted to welcome a returning Helen Golden to the blog with her new book, An Heir is Misplaced. #bookreview #cosymystery #blogtour #avidreader

Here’s the blurb

A missing heir. An out of sorts duchess. A Season in High Society that just became far more interesting…

London, 1891. With the gossip broadsheet The Society Page speculating that her husband is getting far too cosy with their female neighbour back at his country estate, Alice, Duchess of Stortford, is fed-up. And it’s raining! But when a flustered nobleman appears at her door, knowing of her reputation for managing discreet enquires, he begs her for help. His nephew, who is about to inherit an Earldom, has gone missing. 

But the deeper Alice digs, the murkier things become. Why are the late Earl’s wife and his stepson so evasive? What really happened at The Carlton Hotel the night the heir was last seen? And who’s set to gain the Earldom if the heir ends up dead?

Aided by her loyal maid Maud, her quick-thinking footman George, and the ever-resourceful private investigator Ben Beaumont—not to mention a certain well-known detective with a pipe—Alice must untangle a web of secrets to find the missing heir before it’s too late.

The clock is ticking, the gossip is swirling—and only Alice can set things right.

Purchase Link

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Heir-Misplaced-Duchess-Stortford-Mystery-ebook/dp/B0FB93JSMS

https://www.amazon.com/Heir-Misplaced-Duchess-Stortford-Mystery-ebook/dp/B0FB93JSMS

My Review

An Heir is Misplaced sees Helen Golden creating a new feisty female sleuth, set in the later Victorian era. Alice, the Duchess of Strotford, clearly has some very interesting connections, as we learn through this first encounter with her.

Tasked with finding a missing heir, she calls on all the resources a well-born lady of high society has at her disposal, while remaining within the confines of what would have been acceptable. As ever, the mystery isn’t quite all it seems, and Alice quickly grows suspicious, as the tangled threads begin to make sense.

This is a fabulous introduction to Alice, and I’m excited to read more of her backstory, as well as her future sleuthing endeavours.

Check out my reviews for the books in Helen Golden’s Right Royal Mystery series, featuring one of Lady Alice’s descendants.

Spruced Up For Murder

For Richer, For Deader

Not Mushroom For Death

A Dead Herring

A Cocktail to Die For

A Death of Fresh Air

I Kill Always Love You

A Murder Most Wilde

Meet the author

Helen Golden spins mysteries that are charmingly British, delightfully deadly, and served with a twist of humour.

With quirky characters, clever red herrings, and plots that keep the pages turning, she’s the author of the much-loved A Right Royal Cozy Investigation series, following Lady Beatrice and her friends—including one clever little dog—as they uncover secrets hidden in country houses and royal palaces. Her new historical mystery series, The Duchess of Stortford Mysteries, is set in Victorian England and introduces an equally curious sleuth from Lady Beatrice’s own family tree—where murders are solved over cups of tea, whispered gossip, and overheard conversations in drawing rooms and grand estates.

Helen lives in a quintessential English village in Lincolnshire with her husband, stepdaughter, and a menagerie of pets—including a dog, several cats, a tortoise, and far too many fish.

If you love clever puzzles, charming settings, and sleuths with spark, her books are waiting for you.

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I’m delighted to share my review for The Ladies Road Guide to Utter Ruin by Alison Goodman #bookreview #regency #historicalmystery

I’m delighted to share my review for The Ladies Road Guide to Utter Ruin by Alison Goodman #bookreview #regency #historicalmystery

Here’s the blurb

In Regency England, the eccentric Colebrook sisters are amateur detectives who use their wits and invisibility as “old maids” to fight injustice in this delightful and fiercely feminist novel of mystery and adventure from New York Times bestselling author Alison Goodman.

To most of Regency high society, forty-two-year-old Lady Augusta Colebrook, or Gus, and her twin sister, Julia, are just unmarried ladies of a certain age—hardly worth a second glance. But the Colebrook twins are far from useless old maids. They are secretly protecting women and children ignored by society and the law.

When Lord Evan—a charming escaped convict who has won Gus’s heart—needs to hide his sister and her lover from their vindictive brother, Gus and Julia take the two women into their home. They know what it is like to have a powerful and overbearing brother. But Lord Evan’s complicated past puts them all in danger. Gus knows they must clear his name of murder if he is to survive the thieftakers who hunt him. But it is no easy task—the fatal duel was twenty years ago and a key witness is nowhere to be found.                    

In a deadly cat-and-mouse game, Gus, Julia, and Lord Evan must dodge their pursuers and investigate Lord Evan’s past. They will be thrust into the ugly underworld of Georgian gentlemen’s clubs, spies, and ruthless bounty hunters, not to mention the everyday threat of narrow-minded brothers. Will the truth be found in time, or will the dangerous secrets from the past destroy family bonds and rip new love and lives apart?

Purchase Link

https://amzn.to/4mu3adg

My Review

It might have taken me way too long to get to this book on my TBR, but I have devoured it in three days.

The Ladies Road Guide to Utter Ruin is a thrilling adventure set in the Regency period, with our main character, Augusta, or Gus as she prefers to be called, taking a journey into the underbelly of Regency society in an effort to save two women from their families, as well as a few other people.

The narrative builds steadily until the last 30% when it gallops to a fabulous conclusion, setting the scene beautifully for the next book in the series.

I’ve read Alison’s Dark Days Club Series as well, and I adore how she weaves a narrative through the conventions of the time, while still giving her female characters room to move. This is not a Regency romance, although there are elements of it. This is a Regency adventure with a thrilling heroine, no end of jeopardy and an eye to the history of the period.

Read this, fellow Regency fans. You will not be disappointed.

The Ladies Road Guide to Utter Ruin is available now, as is the first book in the series, The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies, which I have, but I jumped straight in with book 2, because sometimes I do that stuff:)

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I’m sharing my review for A Case of Life and Limb by Sally Smith #historicalmystery #newrelease

Here’s the blurb

Winter, 1901. The Inner Temple is even quieter than usual under a blanket of snow and Gabriel Ward KC is hard at work on a thorny libel case. All is calm, all is bright – until the mummified hand arrives in the post…

 While the hand’s recipient, Temple Treasurer Sir William Waring, is rightfully shaken, Gabriel is filled with curiosity. Who would want to send such a thing? And why? But as more parcels arrive – one with fatal consequences – Gabriel realises that it is not Sir William who is the target, but the Temple itself.

 Someone is holding a grudge that has already led to at least one death. Now it’s up to Gabriel, and Constable Wright of the City of London Police, to find out who, before an old death leads to a new murder.

Purchase Link

https://amzn.to/4nisd3l

My Review

I’ve not encountered Gabriel Ward KC before, but I’m very pleased I took a chance on A Case of Life and Limb.

This is a delightfully quirky mystery, beginning in late 1901, and taking the reader on a journey through the social mores of the age, and the conflict between the upper and lower middle classes, all played out beautifully between Gabriel and Constable Wright, with a few others along the way. And most of it takes place within the Inner Temple, and its seeming separation from what happens beyond its garden and walls. 

The novel is filled with gentle humour and Gabriel is a bit of a sweetie behind his stern facade. I especially loved his interactions with the cat.

The mystery itself was well resolved, and I will certainly go back and read book 1 in the series.

A Case of Life and Limb is available now, as is book 1 in the series, A Case of Mice and Murder.

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I’m sharing my review for Death at the Village Christmas Fair by Debbie Young #cosycrime #newrelease #blogtour #DeathAtTheVillageChristimasFair

Here’s the blurb

It’s been a busy year for Alice Carroll, with her Curiosity Shop opening for business, and not one but two murders shaking things up in her quaint Cotswold village. She’s looking forward to her first countryside Christmas, complete with traditional Christmas Fair and Santa Run.

But her hopes for innocent festive fun are thwarted when one of the Santa Runners steals something from her mum’s knitting stall. His festive outfit makes him hard to spot, until he’s found fatally injured outside the village hall with the stolen item.

Despite what the police say, Alice suspects there’s more to his murder than meets the eye. She’s determined to solve the mystery – including why, once more, a stranger thought something from her Curiosity Shop was worth killing for.

With the help of her charming neighbour Robert Praed, can Alice find the killer before the bells ring out this Christmas?

Purchase Link

https://mybook.to/VillageChristmasFair

My Review

Death at the Village Christmas Fair is the third book in the Costwold Curiosity Shop Mysteries by Debbie Young. I’ve read the previous title in the series.

Our main character, Alice, is gearing up for a quiet Christmas with her new beau and her mum, until a Santa is discovered, wounded on the school playing field, and Alice immediately suspects foul-play. From here, the storyline moves fairly quickly (it takes a while to get to the actual ‘death’ at the Village Christmas Fair, but the same happened in the previous book, so readers will be used to this), as we follow Alice and Robert as they endeavour to determine why the man met his death. They also have to convince the police the man’s death was indeed murder.

This is an engaging, light-read, stuffed with Christmas events and activities, in a picturesque location. The author does an excellent job of portraying a village gearing up for Christmas.

Meet the author

Debbie Young is the much-loved author of the Sophie Sayers and St Brides cosy crime mysteries. She lives in a Cotswold village, where she runs the local literary festival, and has worked at Westonbirt School, both of which provide inspiration for her writing.

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I’m delighted to welcome a returning Helen Golden to the blog with her new book, Murder Most Wilde. #bookreview #cosymystery #blogtour #avidreader

I’m delighted to welcome a returning Helen Golden to the blog with her new book, Murder Most Wilde. #bookreview #cosymystery #blogtour #avidreader

Here’s the blurb

In the world of amateur theatre, the drama isn’t all onstage…

Tragedy Strikes the Windstanton Players

Popular local actor, Noel Ashworth, who collapsed during the rehearsal of Oscar Wilde’s classic comedy, The Importance of Being Earnest, was pronounced dead at the scene. As shock ripples through Windstanton’s tight-knit amateur theatre group, the Fenshire Police are looking at them as suspects.

I can’t let Perry’s acting debut end in disaster! With the cast spooked and the local police under-resourced, Bea—along with Perry, Rich, Simon, and her trusty Westie, Daisy must shift through the cast’s petty jealousies and diva behaviour to unmask the killer before they strike again. 

When the show must go on…will everyone make it to opening night?

Purchase Link

https://www.amazon.com/Murder-Wilde-Right-Investigation-Mystery-ebook/dp/B0DS2PP3WJ

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Murder-Wilde-Right-Investigation-Mystery-ebook/dp/B0DS2PP3WJ

My Review

Murder Most Wilde is the latest installment in Helen Golden’s Right Royal Investigation mystery series. I’ve read all the books in the series so far, including all the short stories. Lady Bea and Perry, our amateur detectives, are both fab characters, even if, these days, they do have a large collection of professionals on hand to help out.

This time, we return to Windstanton, after our brief holiday in Portugal. We’ve been hearing about Perry’s debut on the stage for a few books now, and he’s so excited to be cast in The Importance of Being Earnest. But of course, not everything goes to plan, and he and Bea find themselves once more investigating a suspicious death.

New readers will not be disappointed if they dip their toe into this series. It’s always reliably good (that might sound boring, but it’s a compliment). The mysteries are enjoyable to unravel, and it’s always a race to see if I’ll solve it before the characters do (not very often).

Check out my reviews for the other books in this fabulous series.

Spruced Up For Murder

For Richer, For Deader

Not Mushroom For Death

A Dead Herring

A Cocktail to Die For

A Death of Fresh Air

I Kill Always Love You

Meet the author

Helen Golden spins mysteries that are charmingly British, delightfully deadly, and served with a twist of humour.

With quirky characters, clever red herrings, and plots that keep the pages turning, she’s the author of the much-loved A Right Royal Cozy Investigation series, following Lady Beatrice and her friends—including one clever little dog—as they uncover secrets hidden in country houses and royal palaces. Her new historical mystery series, The Duchess of Stortford Mysteries, is set in Victorian England and introduces an equally curious sleuth from Lady Beatrice’s own family tree—where murders are solved over cups of tea, whispered gossip, and overheard conversations in drawing rooms and grand estates.

Helen lives in a quintessential English village in Lincolnshire with her husband, stepdaughter, and a menagerie of pets—including a dog, several cats, a tortoise, and far too many fish.

If you love clever puzzles, charming settings, and sleuths with spark, her books are waiting for you.

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Today I’m reviewing Kelly Oliver’s fabulous new Golden-Age crime mystery, The Case of the Body on the Orient Express #newrelease #cosycrime #blogtour

Here’s the blurb

Paris, 1928: Agatha Christie and fellow writer Dorothy L Sayers board the Orient Express, bound for Constantinople. Christie in particular is looking forward to a break from recent dispiriting events in both her work and private life – the finalisation of her divorce from her philanderous husband Archie, and the miserly reception of her latest book.

But before the duo can settle in to enjoy the luxuries of their first-class journey, their journey is derailed when a fellow guest drops dead during the dinner service. And as the last person to speak to the victim, Dorothy finds herself a prime suspect in his murder.

As the train hurtles East, Sayers’ resourceful assistant Eliza and her friend Theo must navigate a maze of suspects. But with each passing mile, the stakes rise, and when another body is discovered, their search to find the killer before they reach their destination becomes increasingly complicated.

Can Eliza and Theo stay one step ahead, crack the mystery and clear Dorothy’s name? Or will this be one journey too far for the amateur sleuths?

Purchase Link

https://mybook.to/CaseBodyOrientExpress

My Review

The Case of the Body on the Orient Express is a fun murder mystery, reuniting us with outspoken and headstrong Eliza, and her fellow sleuth, Theo, who, in true ‘tormented writer’ guise, has spent the last two years in France, roughing it in an attempt to escape the object of his torment, Eliza. What could be better than throwing them together on the Orient Express, with a host of mystery writers on their way to a writers convention?

As their journey gets underway, Eliza is aware of undercurrents from Dorothy, her employer, and she’s alert to the other passengers as well. She’s not about to accept that Ivan died of a heart attack. And so begins her sleuthing, with the aid, sometimes unwillingly given, of Theo. And the case becomes curioser and curioser as the train finally reaches Istanbul/Constantinople.

Another fab addition to Kelly Oliver’s sleuthing mysteries. I do love the little connections between this series and the Fiona Figg books. But, of course, you don’t need to have read them. I also enjoy the addition of the real-life mystery writers. Fans of the genre will thoroughly enjoy Eliza and Theo’s new escapade.

Check out my review for The Case of the Christie Conspiracy.

Check out my reviews for the Fiona Figg and Kitty Lane Mystery books Chaos at Carnegie Hall, Covert in Cairo, Mayhem in the Mountains, Arsenic at Ascot and Murder in Moscow by the same author.

Meet the Author

Kelly Oliver is the award-winning, bestselling author of three mysteries series: The Jessica James Mysteries, The Pet Detective Mysteries, and the historical cozies The Fiona Figg Mysteries, set in WW1. She is also the Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University and lives in Nashville, Tennessee

Connect with Kelly

Bookbub profile: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/kelly-oliver

Newsletter Sign Up: https://bit.ly/KellyOlivernews

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I’m welcoming The Soprano’s Daring Duke by Susanne Dunlap to the blog #blogtour #RegencyRomance #bookreview

Here’s the blurb

A princess with a scandalous secret. A duke desperate for a wealthy bride. A debutante torn between duty and passion.

Newly widowed Princess Adelheid Kinsky thought she was free—until she learns of her abusive late husband’s final betrayal. The son she believed dead, the illegitimate child of a forbidden love, still lives. To secure his future, she must marry within a month—without revealing the truth. Her best prospect? The Duke of Hartland, a notorious rake drowning in debt.

Meanwhile, Hartland sets his sights on Olivia Fontenoy, an heiress whose fortune could solve all his problems. But innocent Olivia dreams of music, not marriage, and seizes the chance to perform in disguise at the King’s Theatre—unwittingly ensnaring everyone she knows in scandal.

As deception and desire collide, Olivia finds herself drawn to Hartland’s closest friend, the quiet yet passionate Marquess of Lewiston—a man who offers her something far more profound than mere security. And for Adelheid, an unexpected alliance may hold the key to her dreams.

With a surprising ending worthy of grand opera, The Soprano’s Daring Duke is a sweeping Regency tale of love, risk, and the courage to defy expectations.

Purchase Link

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0DZHXZZ6H

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0DZHXZZ6H

My Review

The Soprano’s Daring Duke is a Regency romance with a difference. It starts with a bang as we’re introduced to Adelheid at her husband’s deathbed, where she reacts, not with grief, but rather delight, until the terms of his will reveal her dilemma.

Olivia is our second female lead, who, awkward and too tall, and not at all the Regency ideal wife, longs for something other than marriage, but is being pushed into the marriage market by her mother. The scene is set, and all the reader need do is wait for our male lead to appear with his own Regency problems and dilemmas.

This is the second of Susanna Dunlap’s Regency novels I’ve read and it will delight fans of the genre while placing our main players in situations a little different to those we might expect, and all with a delightful ring of authenticity and dilemma.

Check out my review for The Dressmaker’s Secret Earl

Meet the author

Susanne Dunlap is the award-winning author of over a dozen historical novels, as well as an Author Accelerator Certified Book Coach in fiction, nonfiction, and memoir. Her love of history began in academia with a PhD in music history from Yale. Her novel THE PORTRAITIST won first prize in its category in the 2022 Eric Hoffer Book Awards, and was a finalist in the CIBA Goethe Awards and the Foreword Indies Awards. THE ADORED ONE: A NOVEL OF LILLIAN LORRAINE AND FLORENZ ZIEGFELD, won first place in its category in the 2023 CIBA Goethe Awards for Late Historical Fiction. Today, she lives, coaches, and writes in beautiful Biddeford, Maine.

Connect with the author

https://susanne-dunlap.com

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It’s happy release day to Killer at the County Show by Kate Wells, a fabulous contemporary mystery set in the Malvern Hills #mystery #newrelease #blogtour

Here’s the blurb

Foul play at the sheep show…

Tensions are high at the Three Counties Show when accusations of cheating add fuel to a longstanding feud. For Jude Gray, whose only hope was to not make a fool of herself showing her Kerry Hill sheep, farming life has never been so dramatic.

When a body is found, belonging to one of the competitors, there is no shortage of suspects. Every sheep farmer in this close-knit community has a motive and beneath their show-ready smiles, they all have something to hide.

Experience has taught Jude that when there’s a murderer at large, nobody is truly safe. And with secrets simmering beneath the surface, this may be her most challenging investigation yet. Can she unearth the truth before it’s too late?

A gripping new instalment in the Malvern Farm Mystery series, perfect for fans of Frances Evesham, Merryn Allingham, and Faith Martin.

Purchase Link

https://mybook.to/KillerCountyShow

My Review

Killer at the County Show by Kate Wells is the fifth book in the Malvern Farm Mystery series and I’ve read four of them (see my reviews below).

It’s a delight to return to Jude and her farm and family, and hasn’t she just got involved in yet another murder mystery, all while attending the County Show to exhibit her sheep.

This is another welcome addition to the series. I always enjoy the fact that I never quite manage to guess who the murderer was in every book, and the plot is twisty enough to keep me reading. I will certainly be reading book 6.

Check out my reviews for Murder on the Farm and Death in the Hills, two earlier titles in the fab series.

Meet the author

Kate Wells is the author of a number of well-reviewed books for children, and is now writing a new cosy crime series set in the Malvern hills, inspired by the farm where she grew up. 

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I’m sharing my review for Fields of Glory by Michael Jecks #newrelease #histfic #blogtour

Here’s the blurb

1346. France. King Edward III is restless. Despite earlier victories the French crown remains intact. Determined to bring France under his own rule, Edward has devised a new plan of attack – one which he believes will finally bring the French army to its knees: a final, cataclysmic battle …

Berenger Fripper, Vintener of a pox-ridden mob of sixteen who make up the Vintaine of Sir John de Sully, storms the beaches of Normandy to bring victory to their king. But the French are nowhere to be seen…

And so Berenger leads his Vintaine through France and onward to battle – the Battle of Crécy – one which will both bond and break his men and be a decisive turning point in the Hundred Years’ War.

Image shows the book cover for Fieldsof Glory by author Michael Jecks. The image shows 5 mounted medieval warriors, one holding a banner, hurrying towards the viewer with a battlescene image behind them

Purchase Link

 https://mybook.to/Fieldsof

My Review

Fields of Glory by Michael Jecks is a novel about the Hundred Years’ War in all its bloody glory. Featuring an ensemble cast of characters, every person has their own story to tell, hidden behind the veneer of bloody war, and the demands of an intolerant king, who appears to preach reconciliation with the French but finds every excuse to change his mind.

I can’t say any of this ragtag collection of men is particularly endearing. Sir John cares more for his horse than his men, while King Edward and the Prince of Wales are just as thoughtless regarding the lives they’re destroying. This makes it a very realistic portrayal, if not for the faint-hearted. Indeed, if seeking some semblance of empathy between the characters, we must look to the men of the Vintaine, and not those who command them.

A blood-drenched traipse through France will bring our characters the opportunity to earn battle booty, if only they can live through it. Fields of Glory is a must-read for fans of the genre and those interested in the Hundred Years’ War.

Meet the author

Studied actuarial science, then became a computer salesman for 13 years- after the 13th company folded, he turned to writing.

He’s the author of 50 novels, 6 novellas, 4 collaborative books and short stories. His tales are inspired by history and legends, but are all grounded in real life and real people, what motivates them, and why they turn to violence. 

Founder of Medieval Murderers, he has served on the committees of: Historical Writers’ Association, CWA and Detection Club. He has judged the Debut Dagger, Ian Fleming Steel Dagger and other prizes, as well as serving as Dagger liaison officer and CWA Chair. He has taught writing at Swanwick and Evesham, and tutored for the Royal Literary Fund. He now runs South West Writers in Devon. 

His work has been celebrated by Visconti and Conway Stewart pens; 2014 he was International Guest of Honour at the Bloody Words festival in Toronto, and Grand Master of the first parade in the New Orleans Mardi Gras.

Newsletter Sign Up: https://bit.ly/MichaelJecksNews

Bookbub profile: @michaeljecks

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I’m sharing my review for The Hero Virus by Russell Dumper #blogtour #bookreview #thriller

Here’s the blurb

The Hero Virus tells the thrilling story of Chris Taylor, who is hanging on to life by a thread. Recently widowed, his only reason to carry on is his faithful Labrador, but even that doesn’t stop his willingness to gamble with death every day. When his companion suffers a violent demise, Taylor thinks he has nothing left to live for, until he discovers he has chanced upon a precious gift… when he gets very ill. 

The sickness gives him powers and, fairly soon, the authorities are swooping on to the ever-increasing list of cases. The Hero Virus might be different to other illnesses, but it’s no less dangerous. The effect it has on the world, though, is wildly different to any other virus that has come before. The unique reaction of the human body to infection means that everyone wants it. And some will do anything to get it.

How do you stop a pandemic when there are people who will kill for the virus? How do you stop people getting infected when they’re willing to die for it? How do you stop the infected when they have abilities nobody has ever seen before?

Purchase Links

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hero-Virus-Russell-Dumper-ebook/dp/B0DYKN68M1/

https://www.amazon.com/Hero-Virus-Russell-Dumper-ebook/dp/B0DYKN68M1/

My Review

The Hero Virus by Russell Dumper is an intriguing novel. Our main character is miserable and alone, aside from his faithful Labrador, but alas, our poor grief-stricken main character is soon to be bereaved again (and slight trigger warning, because the scene is not an easy read), but days later, he wakes very changed.

What follows is an action-packed tale sure to appeal to fans of the genre and with a very interesting premise. The pacing is great and I thoroughly enjoyed the novel.

Meet the author

The Hero Virus is the second novel from Russell Dumper, after releasing Britannia Rises to widespread acclaim last year, winning him three categories in the 2024 Bookstagram Awards, for Debut Author, Thriller and Historical Fiction. He lives in the east of England with his family and still has many more books in the pipeline. Next, he will be concentrating on The Britannia Series, more of which will be released in the near future.

Author photo for Russell Dumper, author of The Hero Virus and Britannia Rises.

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