Author of Saxon historical fiction and non-fiction, 20th-century historical mysteries, and Norse-inspired historical romantasy. Book reviewer and blog host.
Happy release day to Dragonbound, the first book in the Ice and Fire series, #historicalromantasy #booklaunch
To be a writer, you first must write
Dragonbound has been a story so many years in the making that since I first set pen to paper (yes, you read that correctly) I’ve undergone a complete sea change in how I write, and probably, why I write as well.
But with the release of Dragonbound, I thought I’d share a throwback image of what a first story looks like, from the very beginning. Although that’s not quite right either, because this image is from when I first ‘properly’ started to write this story, and I can assure you I’d already discarded some even earlier ideas. (I had yet to discover my favourite inky pen).
A handwritten notebook showing the first page of what would become Dragonbound by MJ Porter
And now you can read the ‘cleaned up’ version of this opening of the book in Dragonbound, released today. A story, I am very proud to say, has taken me about 30 years to get to this stage. It’s a good job that I went on to write other stories in the intervening period.
Here’s the blurb
The Long Night is ending. The dragon is waking.
Sereh is finally free — but the frozen wilds are just as deadly as the life she left behind. When she saves a mysterious stranger, she binds herself to a fate she doesn’t understand.
Erann has secrets. About the cold. About the land. About why the world is changing.
As the Long Night lingers and something ancient stirs beneath the frozen land, survival means staying together. And their fragile alliance turns into something neither of them can afford.
Because in a world of ice and fire, trust might be the spark that destroys them both.
This slow-burning Norse fantasy romance is perfect for fans of Robin Hobb, T. Kingfisher, S.L. Rowland and Anne McCaffrey.
I’m reviewing the new book in the Armstrong and Oscar Cozy Italian Mysteries, Murder at Christmas by TA Williams #BookReview #BlogTour #CosyCrime #ContemporaryCrime
I’m reviewing the new book in the Armstrong and Oscar Cozy Italian Mysteries, Murder at Christmas by TA Williams #BookReview #BlogTour #CosyCrime #ContemporaryCrime
Here’s the blurb
BRAND NEW instalment in the page-turning Armstrong & Oscar cozy mystery series, this time in the snowy Italian Alps.
A festive gathering…
Private investigator Dan Armstrong, accompanied by his wife and his canine sidekick, Oscar, are spending the days before Christmas in a luxurious Alpine chalet tucked away in a hidden valley. It should be the perfect escape, except the owner is in fear for his life.
A house full of secrets…
Amid perfect winter wonderland scenery, the more Dan discovers about his host and the other guests, he realises that all is not as it seems. What should be a happy family party is riddled with rancour, mistrust and hatred.
A killer in the snow?
Then the snow falls – fast and heavy – and within moments, someone is dead. Accident, suicide, or murder? As the snow closes in, Dan has to work out if he’s looking for a killer, or whether he and Oscar are barking up the wrong tree.
Murder in Rome is somehow the 16th book in the Armstrong and Oscar mysteries.
This latest outing sees Dan and his wife venturing into the Alps to meet a friend from an earlier mystery, and of course, there’s an ulterior motive as well. Is someone trying to kill their host, or is he simply paranoid?
Against the backdrop of a winter storm, Dan (and Oscar) feel their noses twitch and decide to find out exactly what is happening – if they can manage to do so between the meals being prepared for them. And, if it is murder on the mind, there are any number of potential suspects.
Murder at Christmas is a distinctly chilly mystery and the resolution, when it comes, is a little more nuanced than we readers might expect, but no less satisfying.
Check out my reviews for earlier books in the series, and be sure to start at book 1, Murder in Tuscany.
Meet the author
I’m a man. And a pretty old man as well. I studied languages at Nottingham University a long time ago and then lived and worked in France and Switzerland before going to work in Italy for seven years. My Italian wife and I then came back to the UK with our little daughter (now long-since grown up) where I ran a big English language school for many years. We now live in a sleepy little village in Devonshire. I’ve been writing almost all my life but it was only thirteen years ago that I finally managed to find a publisher who liked my work enough to offer me my first contract.
I started off writing romances but after 28 of them, I knew I wanted to try something different, and so the first of the Armstrong and Oscar cozy mysteries, Murder in Tuscany, was born three years ago. I’ve been having a lot of fun ever since getting to know the dynamic duo (and introducing them to people all over the world). These books are cosy crime [a genre I didn’t even know existed when I started writing them). They are murder mysteries, but not gory, over-violent stuff, but stories designed to exercise the brain of the reader and to put a smile on their face. Maybe it’s because there are so many horrible things happening in the world today that I feel I need to do my best to provide something to cheer my readers up. My books provide escapism to some gorgeous locations all over my beloved Italy.
It’s time… 757, the first book in the brand-new series, The House of Mercia, is now available. Listen to me talking about the new book #fiction #TalesOfMercia #fiction #nonfiction #Mercia #MJPorter #HistoricalFiction #SaxonEngland #VikingAge #AngloSaxonHistory #BernardCornwell #LastKingdom #HistFic #ReadingCommunity #BookTok #Vikings
It’s time… 757, the first book in the brand-new series, The House of Mercia, is now available. Listen to me talking about the new book #fiction #TalesOfMercia
I recorded this when 757 was complete
Here’s the blurb for 757
This is Mercia. The year is 757. A king will fall. A king will rise. But first, civil war will rage.
King Æthelbald’s forty-year vice-like rule over Mercia has been rigid. But he lacks a legitimate heir despite his insatiable bedchamber antics.
Offa must stand hostage to his family’s good behaviour, when his father missteps in removing his mother from Æthelbald’s bed. Shockingly, his younger sister now replaces her.
But the king isn’t finished with his denigration of Offa’s noble House. When his parents are traitorously killed, Offa’s resentment grows, compounded by the ridicule heaped on him by King Æthelbald’s oathsworn warriors.
With the king’s health deteriorating, the matter of the succession becomes paramount. There are plenty who share a claim to the kingship.
Discord threatens to fracture the mighty realm, and those with sword and shield, seax and spear are prepared to risk it all to be the future king of Mercia.
Join my Boldwood newsletter to receive a free prequel short story, written exclusively for the the release of The House of Mercia series.https://BookHip.com/MKSKVRX
It’s nearly time… 757, the first book in the brand new series, The House of Mercia, will be with readers in July 2026. Listen to me talking about the new book #fiction #TalesOfMercia #fiction #nonfiction #Mercia #MJPorter #HistoricalFiction #SaxonEngland #VikingAge #AngloSaxonHistory #BernardCornwell #LastKingdom #HistFic #ReadingCommunity #BookTok #Vikings
I recorded this after completing the strutural edits for 757
Here’s the blurb for 757
This is Mercia. The year is 757. A king will fall. A king will rise. But first, civil war will rage.
King Æthelbald’s forty-year vice-like rule over Mercia has been rigid. But he lacks a legitimate heir despite his insatiable bedchamber antics.
Offa must stand hostage to his family’s good behaviour, when his father missteps in removing his mother from Æthelbald’s bed. Shockingly, his younger sister now replaces her.
But the king isn’t finished with his denigration of Offa’s noble House. When his parents are traitorously killed, Offa’s resentment grows, compounded by the ridicule heaped on him by King Æthelbald’s oathsworn warriors.
With the king’s health deteriorating, the matter of the succession becomes paramount. There are plenty who share a claim to the kingship.
Discord threatens to fracture the mighty realm, and those with sword and shield, seax and spear are prepared to risk it all to be the future king of Mercia.
Join my Boldwood newsletter to receive a free prequel short story, written exclusively for the the release of The House of Mercia series.https://BookHip.com/MKSKVRX
Introducing 757, the first book in the brand new series, The House of Mercia #fiction #nonfiction #Mercia #MJPorter #HistoricalFiction #SaxonEngland #VikingAge #AngloSaxonHistory #BernardCornwell #LastKingdom #HistFic #ReadingCommunity #BookTok #Vikings
Image of the crypt at ReptonImage of the crypt at ReptonImage of the crypt at ReptonImage of the crypt at ReptonImage of the crypt at ReptonImage of the crypt at ReptonImage of the crypt at Repton
Here’s the blurb for 757
This is Mercia. The year is 757. A king will fall. A king will rise. But first, civil war will rage.
King Æthelbald’s forty-year vice-like rule over Mercia has been rigid. But he lacks a legitimate heir despite his insatiable bedchamber antics.
Offa must stand hostage to his family’s good behaviour, when his father missteps in removing his mother from Æthelbald’s bed. Shockingly, his younger sister now replaces her.
But the king isn’t finished with his denigration of Offa’s noble House. When his parents are traitorously killed, Offa’s resentment grows, compounded by the ridicule heaped on him by King Æthelbald’s oathsworn warriors.
With the king’s health deteriorating, the matter of the succession becomes paramount. There are plenty who share a claim to the kingship.
Discord threatens to fracture the mighty realm, and those with sword and shield, seax and spear are prepared to risk it all to be the future king of Mercia.
Join my Boldwood newsletter to receive a free prequel short story, written exclusively for the the release of The House of Mercia series.https://BookHip.com/MKSKVRX
I’m sharing my review for Death of a Fugitive, the second book in John Pilkington’s Elizabethan mysteries featuring Matthew Cutler #histfic #historicalmystery #bookreview
I’m sharing my review for Death of a Fugitive, the second book in John Pilkington’s Elizabethan mysteries featuring Matthew Cutler #histfic #historicalmystery #bookreview
Here’s the blurb
A BRAND NEW instalment in a gripping Tudor mystery from bestselling author John Pilkington. Perfect for fans of Andrew Taylor and S. J. Parris.
This Ward, Cutler… it seethes, does it not?
1595, Bishopsgate Ward, London. Matthew Cutler, constable for the parish of Spitalfields, prides himself on always being on the side of justice. So when a young man on the run, whose only ‘crime’ was protesting about high prices and corruption, hides out in Bishopsgate, not for the first time Cutler finds his duties as constable at odds with his gut feeling. He feels compelled to help him, and not just because his daughter Jane is smitten with the plucky lad…
Meanwhile there is trouble in Bishopsgate as fake coins keep turning up, convincing enough to fool many. Tensions rise and people are in fear of a brutal yet shadowy figure: the ‘coiner’ Thomas Gunnell, who seems to have eyes everywhere. Cutler must once again fall back on his skills of disguise, and risk his own life to root out Gunnell’s gang before they bring chaos to Bishopsgate Ward – and danger to everything he holds dear.
Death of a Fugitive is the secod book in the Bishopsgate Ward Mysteries, and I have read book 1.
Like the first book, our main character is Matthew Cutler, although he is assisted by a number of collegues (if such they could be called). The story unfolds mostly through his eyes, as he pieces together events that have occured during a short absence from the ward. Quite a lot of time has elapsed since the first book – his oldest daughter is married, and his wife’s aunt is being pursued by a suitor, while his own fledgling love affair is largely absent in this book, aside from a few odd mentions.
No sooner has he settled in the local tavern, than the mystery begins to unravel. Is there someone passing off fake coins in the area and how are they doing it? Cutler is resolved to finding out.
Like the first book, Death of a Fugitive is filled with information about the late Tudor era. It is also written in a slightly archaic way, (purposefully), but once you get used to it, it doesn’t distract from the story, which rumbles along at a decent enough pace, although I found some elements a little slow.
That said, this was a very enjoyable mystery and Cutler does once more, place himself in terrible danger in order to bring the enemy to justice, making some rather tricky decisions along the way.
A writer for over forty years, John Pilkington was born in Lancashire and worked at many jobs including laboratory assistant, farm worker, weaver, shipping clerk, picture frame-maker and cabaret musician before taking a degree in Drama and English and finding his true 2 vocation. He has since written plays for radio and theatre, television scripts for a BBC soap, a short-lived children’s series and numerous works of historical fiction, concentrating now on the Tudor and Stuart eras. He also ventured into speculative fiction with his biography of Shakespeare’s famous jester, Yorick.
He now lives in a village on a tidal estuary in Devon with his long-term partner Elisabeth; they have a son who is a psychologist and musician. When not at the desk he walks, swims, listens to music and tinkers with d.i.y. projects, and is enjoying being a grandfather.
I’m reviewing Harbour of Thieves by Richard Cullen, a brand new 19th century tale of smugglers and North Yorkshire #historicalfiction #bookreview @boldwoodbooks @wordhog
Here’s the blurb
An epic NEW historical crime story of treachery and bitter rivalry between Yorkshire’s tough smuggling gangs 💥 Perfect for the fans of Bernard Cornwell’s Sharpe series, House of Guinness and Peaky Blinders 🩸⚔️
Can one man forget his past, or will he be dragged back into the world of violence he worked hard to leave behind?
Yorkshire, 1840
Along this treacherous Yorkshire coastline, the cutthroat industry of smuggling thrives, and two rival gangs rule the night… the Stringers of Bay Town and the Lambs of Ravenscar. Waging a war for control of the contraband that flows through England’s northern cities.
After a lifetime of violence and bloodshed, Jim Hood returns to his hometown of Whitby with his friend Samuel Comus, their pockets heavy with prize money from their exploits along the African coast. They dream of respectability, of turning their backs on their past, but old friends and enemies await, and old habits die hard…
When tragedy strikes, and Jim’s well-laid plans turn to ash, Jim is forced to return to the brutal world he’d sworn to leave behind.
Now he must navigate the deadly currents that flow between rival smuggling empires, where childhood loyalties war with newfound enemies, and where the price of survival might be the very soul he’d fought so hard to reclaim.
Perfect for the fans of Bernard Cornwell, Ken Follett and Dan Jones.
Harbour of Thieves is a rollicking good read set in the 1840s, in and around the coastline of Whitby and Scarborough (North Yorkshire) and focuses on the underbelly of smuggling as two rival bands face not one, but two enemies, and are riven with discord between each other as well.
We have multiple characters in this thrilling, fast-paced tale, and we also need to give a shout-out to the Yorkshire weather! There are many characters we simply despise, a few we quite like, and others we can perhaps admire, while being grateful never to be faced with the decisions they have to make. We have strong women, even stronger women and those we think we should pity but who, in their own way, are perhaps the strongest of all. We have villains aplenty, from the excise man to the leader of the Lambs, who is a nasty piece of work.
The story is fast and satisfying, as events wrap around our would-be heroes, forcing them to make hard decisions to survive. This is a thrilling adventure of high stakes and high seas, and I devoured it in only 24 hours!
Check out my review for Rebellion, the first book in the Chronicles of the Black Lion series.
Meet the author
Richard Cullen is a writer of historical adventure and epic fantasy. Previously published by Head of Zeus and Orbit Books, his new historical adventure series for Boldwood, Chronicles of the Black Lion, set in thirteenth-century England, will launch in October 2024.
I’m reviewing the new book in the Armstrong and Oscar Cozy Italian Mysteries, Murder in Rome by TA Williams #BookReview #BlogTour #CosyCrime #ContemporaryCrime
I’m reviewing the new book in the Armstrong and Oscar Cozy Italian Mysteries, Murder in Rome by TA Williams #BookReview #BlogTour #CosyCrime #ContemporaryCrime
Here’s the blurb
The BRAND NEW instalment in the bestselling, beloved Armstrong & Oscar Cozy Mystery series!
A road leading to Rome
Former DCI Dan Armstrong has been living and working in Florence for nearly three years—yet somehow, Rome has always eluded him. That is, until glamorous TV celebrity Tamsin Goodfaith turns up with a request he can’t refuse: investigate her uncle’s suspicious death in the Eternal City.
Murder at the castle
Philip Hastings was a billionaire financier, found dead at his magnificent—if slightly spooky—medieval castle in the Roman hills. Dan and his faithful canine companion, Oscar, soon find themselves surrounded by luxury, secrets and more suspects than sightseeing opportunities.
This time it’s personal. But when a second murder follows close behind, the case turns dangerously personal. With whispers of ghosts and crumbling alibis, Dan and Oscar must sniff out the truth before he becomes the next victim. Harder to crack than castle walls—and harder still than stopping Oscar from stealing snacks—this Roman holiday is anything but relaxing. .
Murder in Rome is somehow the 15th book in the Armstrong and Oscar mysteries, and I’ve read them all (apart from 1, which I seem to have missed).
This latest outing sees Dan taking a trip to Rome, somewhere he’s not been before, with Oscar at his side. What he encounters is a palatial residence that seems to be hiding its own secrets, but his remit is simple, determine if Philip was murdered, or whether he really did commit suicide. As Dan begins to investigate there are strange goings-on in the dysfunctional, wealthy family.
Murder in Rome unfolds as earlier books in the series. The reader genuinely doesn’t know who can and can’t be trusted until there is a huge breakthrough. For this one, I loved the historical elements as it’s passed time Anna was able to help Dan solve his cases. Of course, Oscar has a starring role once more too.
Always a guaranteed good read, I didn’t guess who did it! I do love this series.
Check out my reviews for earlier books in the series, and be sure to start at book 1, Murder in Tuscany.
Meet the author
I’m a man. And a pretty old man as well. I studied languages at Nottingham University a long time ago and then lived and worked in France and Switzerland before going to work in Italy for seven years. My Italian wife and I then came back to the UK with our little daughter (now long-since grown up) where I ran a big English language school for many years. We now live in a sleepy little village in Devonshire. I’ve been writing almost all my life but it was only thirteen years ago that I finally managed to find a publisher who liked my work enough to offer me my first contract.
I started off writing romances but after 28 of them, I knew I wanted to try something different, and so the first of the Armstrong and Oscar cozy mysteries, Murder in Tuscany, was born three years ago. I’ve been having a lot of fun ever since getting to know the dynamic duo (and introducing them to people all over the world). These books are cosy crime [a genre I didn’t even know existed when I started writing them). They are murder mysteries, but not gory, over-violent stuff, but stories designed to exercise the brain of the reader and to put a smile on their face. Maybe it’s because there are so many horrible things happening in the world today that I feel I need to do my best to provide something to cheer my readers up. My books provide escapism to some gorgeous locations all over my beloved Italy.
I’m sharing my review for Sacrilege by Keith Moray, a brand new historical mystery set in 1361 #bookreview #blogtour #newrelease #boldwoodbloggers @BoldwoodBooks @KeithMorayTales @rararesources #Sacrilege
I’m sharing my review for Sacrilege by Keith Moray, a brand new historical mystery #bookreview #blogtour #newrelease
Here’s the blurb
A nun is found dead.
A priest is horribly attacked.
An evil older than sin is loose in Yorkshire…
Marske, 1361. Sir Ralph de Mandeville with his assistants Peter and Merek have recently come from Reeth to hold a court session in Marske but are pulled away at the news of a most heinous crime having been discovered further down the River Swale.
A boat has been found, floating down the river. Inside is a truly horrifying scene – the body of a nun, her wrists cut and her hands fixed in the sign of benediction… As Ralph uses his astute skills of inspection, his mind asks a most difficult question – is this self-murder or murder most foul? Were her last moments spent in benediction prayer… or malediction warning? With both Marrick Priory and Easby Abbey within a stone’s throw of Marske, it appears something is not quite right in the house of God…
When the body of a priest is found mutilated as if by a wild animal, the villagers fear the nun’s body has opened the gates and let loose a monster from Hell… but Ralph starts to wonder if something much more human is at the root of these evils.
As he follows the grim clues, he fears he knows where this miserable sacrilegious journey will end. The question is, can he catch the murderer and prevent more grisly deaths – his own included?
Sacrilege is the second book in the Ralph de Mandeville historical mysteries. I’ve read the first book, so you can check out my review down at the bottom.
Sacrilege starts quicker than the first book, and our first encounter is with Ralph and his two assistants, Merek and Peter, as Ralph holds court in Marske, but the day quickly takes a turn when the body of a nun is found on the river. And so begins another very grizzly, high-body-count mystery that involves both a priory and an abbey, a nobleman, a queen, and the local villages, and is deeply rooted in the area, with its iron smelting and fast-flowing river.
The mystery is tightly plotted and filled with increasing tension as Ralph finds himself butting heads with an uptight nobility who don’t want his interference, as well as a few jobs-worths along the way. And there are many people with secrets they don’t want Ralph to uncover, as well as a brief appearance from Queen Phillipa.
This is an engaging, if sometimes slightly gruesome, read, with no end of peril for our main characters. It is written in such a way that it feels ye-olde-worldly, and the characters embody the thoughts of the day. You can tell Keith has a great deal of medical knowledge! It will certainly appeal to fans of the genre (me), and I do think it can be easily read as a standalone for anyone keen to jump right in with this second book in the series.
Check out my review for Desolation, the first book in the series.
Meet the author
I was born in St Andrews and studied medicine at the University of Dundee in Scotland. I lived and worked in Wakefield in Yorkshire for 40 years, within arrow-shot of the ruins of a medieval castle, the base for a series of historical novels.
I am a retired GP, medical journalist and novelist, writing in several genres. As Keith Moray I write historical crime fiction in the medieval era and in ancient Egypt, The Inspector Torquil McKinnon crime novels set on the Outer Hebridean island of West Uist, and as Clay More I write westerns. Curiously, my medical background finds its way into most of my fiction writing.
In my spare time I enjoy the movies, theatre and making bread. I play golf and I run at carthorse speed. As a frustrated actor I have found occasional solace as a supporting artist, but enough said about that!
I now live in Stratford-upon with my wife Rachel and whichever of our children and grandchildren who happen to pop in.
I’m sharing my review for Operation Berlin by Michael Ridpath #blogtour #bookreview #OperationBerlin #boldwoodbloggers @BoldwoodBooks @rararesources @michaelridpathauthor
I’m sharing my review for Operation Berlin by Michael Ridpath #blogtour #bookreview
Here’s the blurb
In a city rebuilding from war, truth can be the most dangerous weapon of all.
Berlin, 1930.
Historian Archie Laverick, scarred mentally and physically by the Great War, travels to Berlin to research a famed Prussian general. His quiet study is shattered when he crosses paths with Esme Carmichael, a spirited young American intent on making her name as a foreign correspondent. When a shooting at a Saxon castle leaves a young Jewish woman accused of murder, Archie and Esme are drawn into a perilous hunt for the truth.
Their investigation cuts through the glittering façades and lingering scars of a nation still reeling from war – where resentment simmers, political alliances shift, and the first shadows of a new conflict fall across Europe. Amid whispers of blackmail and betrayal, the pair must navigate intrigue and danger to unmask a killer hiding in plain sight.
A tense, atmospheric mystery set in a world between wars – perfect for fans of Philip Kerr’s Berlin Trilogy, Robert Harris’s Fatherland, and Alan Furst’s spy novels.
Operation Berlin wasn’t quite what I was expecting, but if anything, that’s a good thing. I was expecting a somewhat taut thriller, but instead was pleasantly surprised to read something with more of a cosy crime feel, though deeply steeped in the era’s events.
Archie and Esme are entertaining characters, both with their own backstories, and while the storyline engages with the social mores of the time, it is far from shocking in this day and age. I also enjoyed the addition of Moses and hope he might appear in future books. I very much enjoyed Archie’s quest to track down information on the general he’s researching, as it meant I was educated on more than just 1930s Berlin.
Overall, a very pleasant surprise. I imagine I will try more of Michael’s books in the future.
Meet the author
Michael Ridpath is the bestselling author of over 20 crime novels and thrillers. His first novel, after a career in finance, was Free to Trade, a No 2 bestseller about the murky world of bond trading which was translated into over thirty languages. He is currently writing the Foreign Correspondent series of murder mysteries set in the capitals of Europe in the 1930s. He splits his time between London and Massachusetts.
