book review – Page 4

I’m sharing my review for The Atlantis Covenant by Rob Jones #actionandadventure #blogtour #bookreview

Here’s the blurb

The greatest mystery of all time is about to be revealed.

When world-famous archaeologist and ex-soldier Max Hunter finds a mysterious artifact in a tomb beneath the Gates of Nineveh, his lifelong dream of finding Atlantis comes one step closer.

But he’s not the only one looking for it…

His discovery unleashes a high-speed hunt for the lost civilization between a mysterious Swiss foundation, the FBI, and the world’s most secretive society.

From the dangers of the Iraqi desert to Cuba and the jungles of El Salvador to the enigmatic Valley of the Kings in Egypt, Hunter faces a race against time and murderous enemies who will stop at nothing to claim the greatest prize in history. As he fights for his life, it soon becomes apparent that his enemies are searching for something altogether more sinister than the lost city…

Hunter must use his unique ingenuity and knowledge to decipher the clues and find Atlantis – and its lethal treasures – before they fall into enemy hands.

Purchase Link

https://mybook.to/AtlantisCovenantbook

My Review

The Atlantis Covenant is a rollercoaster of a ride, through the ruins of many of the worlds ancient civilsations, bringing us, hopefully, to the discovery of the mythical Atlantis, via a lot of guns, helicopters, ‘bad guys and gals,’ and the involvement of a number of government agencies.

While this is one of The Hunter Files, there are many more characters than just Max, and we get to hear from most of them with a little bit of head-hopping (alas, not my favourite literary device), discovering their back stories and working out how they all came to be hunting for mythical items in a modern-day adventure story.

It’s a lot of fun, if a little silly in places, filled with mostly irreverent characters who are very devil-may-care, but with some of those good old National Treasure vibes, which do certainly appeal to me. I love a good old-fashioned treasure hunt, and if it involves the Illuminati and some ancient Egyptian treasures, then all the better.

Meet the Author

Rob Jones has published over forty books in the genres of action-adventure, action-thriller and crime. Many of his chart-topping titles have enjoyed number-one rankings and his Joe Hawke and Jed Mason series have been international bestsellers. Originally from England, today he lives in Australia with his wife and children.

Connect with the author

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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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It’s the first day of the blog tour for Warriors of Iron, the second book in the Dark Age Chronicles Trilogy. I’m sharing a recording of me ‘trying’ to say the character names correctly #newrelease #MenOfIron #WarriorsOfIron #histfic

It’s the first day of the blog tour for Warriors of Iron, the second book in the Dark Age Chronicles Trilogy. I’m sharing a recording of me ‘trying’ to say the character names correctly #newrelease #MenOfIron #WarriorsOfIron #histfic

How do you say that?

You can follow the Warriors of Iron blog tour

Bookish Jottings Review

Sharon Beyond the Books Review

Scrapping & Playing Review

Amy McElroy Review

Let us Talk of Many Things Review

Ruins & Reading Review

TBHonest Review

StoriedConvo Review

Listen to the beginning of Warriors of Iron

Curious about the trilogy? Check out my blog for more details below

Blog links

The Dark Age Chronicles

To what extent can we – or should we – select one date or event as ‘the end of Roman Britain’? #non-fiction

Image shows a map of Early England showing the places mentioned in the text of the book — The Dark Age Chronicles Map

Purchase Links (click on the images)

Image shows the book cover for Men of Iron by historical fiction author MJ Porter

Image shows the book cover for Warriors of Iron by hstorical fiction author MJ Porter

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#TheLastHorse is 5 years old, and for one day only, it’s FREE on Amazon Kindle. #bookbirthday #histfic #TheLastKing #Coelwulf #Mercia

https://amzn.to/4mzHQDd

https://amzn.to/4n5Eqbj (the less sweary version)

Limited hardback editions

There are also special edition hardback formats available directly from me for The Last King and The Last Warrior. Follow this link to discover them.

Check out all the details for The Mercian Kingdom: The Ninth Century.

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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

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 delighted to share my review for The Players Act 1: All the World’s A Stage by Amy Sparkes #historicalfiction #bookreview

Here’s the blurb

How far would you go to save what you truly love?

England, 1715.
When society doesn’t understand you, and your family is out of the picture, a strolling theatre company could be your perfect home…

Ambitious lead actor Thomas is determined to reach Drury Lane and prove to his father that he is not a failure.

Fierce Caroline has a traumatic past and is determined to protect the company which saved her.

Kind-hearted Annie just wants to look after her found family.

So, when their heartbroken manager Robert is injured and decides to fold the struggling company, the players are resolved to change his mind, whatever the cost. Unfortunately for them, the odds are stacked against them. They’ve lost their stage, they still haven’t got a skull for Hamlet, and flamboyant ex-member Piero is hunting them down, with a spot of revenge on his mind…

Is it time for the final bow?

The Players Act 1: All The World’s A Stage gives voice to the forgotten strolling players of the 18th century in this fun, uplifting, and page-turning read.

WHAT TO EXPECT:

Energetic, accessible historical fiction
Working-class characters
Found family
Comedy and tragedy
Shakespeare
LGBTQ+
Neurodiversity
Mental health issues
Multiple POV
Heart and hope

Purchase Links

https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/the-players-act-1

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Players-Act-All-Worlds-Stage-ebook/dp/B0DY8CM3LX

https://www.amazon.com/Players-Act-All-Worlds-Stage-ebook/dp/B0DY8CM3LX

My Review

The Players Act 1 follows our cast of strolling players from a hurried exit from their latest performance. Dejected and ejected, Thomas decides on a desperate course of action to save his dream of becoming an actor and treading the boards at Drury Lane. Still, he’s forgotten that not everyone in his family shares his dream.

And it’s not only Thomas. We’re treated to the thoughts and feelings of many of our cast, as they endeavour to make the seemingly impossible happen to reverse the strolling players’ bad fortune.

There’s much desperation for our characters, much hope and laughter, and even more disappointment as the storyline rumbles towards its conclusion. The reader, like the main characters, is desperately hoping for some stroke of fortune for our players. Will they earn it, or will this comedy end in tragedy? Read on to find out.

Meet the author

Amy was born in Eastbourne, England, where the sea and South Downs encouraged her love of the outdoors and nurtured her wildness. Her childhood was filled with folk music, caravans and imagination, and she was always dreaming up stories and characters – usually when she was meant to be doing something else.

She enjoys stories that explore both comedy and tragedy. She is a New York Times bestselling author and her work includes THE HOUSE AT THE EDGE OF MAGIC series, and the picture books for BBC’s THE REPAIR SHOP. THE PLAYERS is her debut novel for adults.

Amy now lives in Devon with her husband and six children. When she isn’t writing, Amy enjoys drinking tea, climbing trees and playing the piano, although disappointingly she is yet to master doing all three at once.

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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

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.

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.

Connect with the author

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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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It’s happy release day to Warriors of Iron, the second book in the Dark Age Chronicles Trilogy. I’m sharing some photos from my visit to Sutton Hoo #newrelease #MenOfIron #WarriorsOfIron #histfic

Sutton Hoo

As part of my research for the trilogy, I visited Sutton Hoo in July 2024. While it was a fascinating place to visit (see the images below of the surviving grave mounds), it was actually something else my Canadian guide told me that resonated with me for the series. It was that while this area gets a lot of interest, a further gravesite has also been found under where the car park for the visitor centre is now. This gravesite contained thirty-six graves (I think I’ve got the figures correct), twenty-nine of which were burials while the rest were cremations. The car park burials are believed to date to between 510 and c.600, and so before the Sutton Hoo burial of such fame. Fourteen of the graves were warrior graves, buried with shield and spear.

You might wonder why that intrigued me so much, and you’d be correct to do so. But, of course, I wanted to write the series before the advent of what we know as Saxon England, and this was therefore where I needed to be researching. The ‘shiny’ helmet and sword (reconstructions, I know), have a strange allure for us as we live in a time where we don’t need such things (hopefully), but did the earlier warriors have the same? This trip to Sutton Hoo certainly influenced the way I wrote about Wærmund and his fellow warriors. And the trip to the Norfolk Broads reminded me of how pesky bugs can be, and how much they like to nibble me. I came straight home and added that to the storyline. It always pays to remember the little elements that make characters feel very real to readers.