The Crossing Places…….by Elly Griffiths (2009)

Mystery——First in a series, the fourth book is set to be released in February 2012

I have loved this series since I read the first book  (THE CROSSING  PLACES) and I believe the series has improved with each book. Ruth Galloway is a university lecturer and a forensic archeologist.  She is almost forty, a wee bit overweight, and she lives at the edge  of a salt marsh in Norfolk U.K.–a lonely existence that she believes suits her just fine.  She is called in by the police to investigate when the bones of a child are uncovered. The police are sure that they will belong to a young girl who went missing almost ten years earlier. But no; Ruth determines that the bones belong to a child from the iron age, 2000 years earlier.

I love historical mysteries but this is a contemporary mystery that  still gives me some historical enlightenment. And the characters are great. DCI Harry Nelson is more complex than he seems at first and there is also a Pagan priest and Ruth’s Nordic mentor.The characters develop with each installment. This novel  is the perfect cross between a thriller and a who-done-it.

The other books presently available are THE JANUS STONE—-(2009)   and THE HOUSE AT SEA’S END  (2010)

This is a mystery series that I highly recommend!

Instruments of Darkness….by Imogene Robertson

Historical Mystery, Regency Mystery

(2011, Pamela Dorman Books, Viking)

I suppose it is probably pretty obvious that I am a fan of historical Mysteries, and if they are in a series-well that is even better.  INSTRUMENTS OF DARKNESS is the first book in a new series that now numbers three books.  The heroine is a ship captain’s wife; a woman who spent many years at sea with her husband but , since the arrival of children, she has been running the family estate; a stay at home mom circa 1780 with wet nurses and servants. She is a no-nonsense person who has run this estate profitably.  Her neighbour is a gentleman recluse, a man who has rejected his own noble title and instead he stays at home and studies human  anatomy among other things. His name is Gabriel Crowther and he is  more at home with the company of dead things.

The sea captain’s wife (Mrs. Harriet Westerman) discovers a dead body on her property and she immediately seeks the assistance of her reclusive neighbour. They become a team as they try to unravel this mystery. Along the way they encounter a misplaced heir. The American war of Independence figures in to the plot and the action moves between a country estate and London. Harriet and Gabriel make an interesting pair of amateur sleuths and the murder mystery is satisfying.  We see small glimpses into Gabriel’s past that hints at why he is such a hermit.

The second book in the series is called ANATOMY OF MURDER  and there is also a third book called ISLAND OF BONES. The third book is available at bookstores but it is not yet available at my library.  I am in queue and look forward to receiving it to read.

A Crimson Warning……by Tasha Alexander (2011, St. Martins Press)

A book review….Historical Mystery…Victorian Fiction…..Series…

I love historical mysteries, I love Victorian fiction, and I love fiction featuring strong female characters. Bingo! This is the seventh book in the Lady Emily Series and the reader is rewarded with an engaging mystery while being reunited with many of the characters from previous books in the series.  At the beginning of the book it becomes clear that many members of  the “ton”   (aristocracy )  are   being targeted by some deranged individual, determined to  reveal deep dark secrets about the targets.  The upper echelon of society is in a tizzy as friends, neighbours and  acquaintance regard each other with mistrust.    Invitations to balls are withdrawn, betrothals are ended, and family members stop communicating. Red paint splashed on the front door at night is a signal  that a secret lies within the house.

Along with the red paint case,Emily’s husband is investigating the death of a fine and fair-minded businessman when someone starts to threaten his fiancée. The  fiancée ( Cordilia) is in deep mourning and has no idea what the blackmailer wants.   It is soon clear Colin and Lady Emily are working together on a murder (He is an agent of the crown)….yet sometimes he must work alone. These various threads come together as the book progresses.

Sometimes I find Lady Emily is a little too perfect–beyond the fact that she is usually instrumental in solving the case–she speaks many languages (studies Homer in the original greek), collects and then donates rare antiquities,works for women’s rights and the rights of the impoverished–oh yes , and she looks smashing in a Mr. Worth gown. But this is the seventh book I have read in the  series so I like the books and maybe I am just a little jealous of Emily.    Of course  she manages this all within a very confining Victoria society.  You go girl, Emily!

Enjoyable read and very worthwhile series.

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Fans of this series should definitely try  the Lady Julia series by Deanna Raybourne.

I Am Half-Sick of Shadows…….by Alan Bradley

Historical Mystery

A Flavia de Luce Mystery

Post War England

This is the fourth book in a mystery series featuring the precocious, self-taught, 11-year old chemist–Flavia de Luce.  I can’t imagine any 11-year-old being this smart but then, I suppose I can’t imagine any household being visited by four murders in one year either. The beauty of fiction. I like  following  a series since each book wraps up a nice little who-done-it yet there are other mysteries unravelling slowly–like a soap opera.  It certainly keeps me watching for the next book in the series to be released.

This book has a Christmas background .  Father is almost completely out of funds so he reluctantly rents the entire Buckshaw Estate to a film company. Flavia and  her two sisters, beautiful Ophelia and bookworm Daphne, are excited about the impending film shoot and the townspeople at nearby Bishop Lacey are thrilled to have movie stars in their midst. A special Christmas eve fund-raiser for the church is planned at the estate–but of course, all does not go smoothly. A blizzard strands the household and then there is a murder .It’s a little Agatha Christie-like (which is referenced in the book) but definitely entertaining.

The  main characters reveal a few more secrets; just enough to keep the reader anticipating the next book . A quick and enjoyable read.

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

Historical Mystery

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie is a delightful Mystery featuring 11-year-old Flavia de Luce in 1950 England. I will describe Flavia but first  I would like to relate an anecdote about my own daughter. Years ago she was driving me crazy-I thought I  had bred the she-devil herself and then a wise person gave me some very good advice. She asked me to list words to describe my daughter-I did. Then she had me take that list and counter each negative word with a positive word, for example stubborn became determined and selfish became confident. And that is the story of how my stubborn, argumentative, selfish and unmanageable daughter became my determined, assertive, confident and independent daughter.  And here is my point; Flavia is a feisty,  independent, brilliant, and creative young lass. (and not a brat). She lives with her widowed father and her two sisters in a grand but decaying old mansion.  The family is “old money” but the money is mostly gone and the sisters are left  to raise themselves since father spends most his days studying his vast stamp collection. The estate also includes a shell-shocked gardener and a hopelessly incompetent housekeeper. And then a body appears on the doorstep. Father is implicated and Flavia goes to work uncovering the murderer. She is a self-taught chemist who uses her abilities to expose the culprit. The plot has some interesting twists and turns  and unfolds with a clever outcome.  This is the first of  four books with more likely to follow. Some of the background (like the mystery of the mother’s death) is revealed a little in each novel.

The other books in the series….                                                                                                                                                                             

The Weed That Strings the Hangman’s Bag  (2009)

A Red Herring Without Mustard (2011)

I Am Half-sick of Shadows (2011)

I highly recommend that this series be read in order. These are delightful books with an interesting and original heroine.

BOG BODIES…. otherwise known as my bog blog

Yes this is a book review but I thought it was timely since Halloween is just around the corner. Bog bodies are actual human bodies discovered in Peat bogs in Northern Europe. They can be thousands of years old but they are well-preserved by the naturally occurring conditions  in the earth; acidic water, low temperatures and lack of oxygen. They have allowed scientists to uncover a wealth of information regarding the food, health and customs of early man and some of  these bodies have  undeniably  been murdered……talk about a cold case! The corpses are usually discovered while the peat is being cut to use as fuel.

Bog Bodies are the focus of a series of books by Erin Hart; HAUNTED GROUND (2003) LAKE OF SORROWS(2004) and FALSE MERMAID(2010). The setting for these books is primarily Ireland although the third book has some action in America.  Nora Gavin is a pathologist and Cormac Maguire is an archeologist and they are called in as a team to investigate when a body is found.(Are they a couple……?) What follows in each book is an old mystery and a new mystery interwoven along with plenty of Irish folklore and legends. In the third book the cold case murder of Nora’s own sister  takes center stage.  I love these books but it seems as though Hart writes in spurts and thus far no new title has been announced.

 If you want to see a bog body 2,000 -year-old Lindow man (often referred to as Pete Marsh) is on display at the British museum.

And Only to Deceive by Tasha Alexander

A Victorian mystery series featuring  amateur sleuth Lady Emily Ashton

“And Only to deceive” is the first book in the Lady Emily Ashton Amateur sleuth series.  The first couple of books are fun to read and I have to admit I was impressed when Emily challenges the gender barriers by insisting she join the men after dinner for a cigar and port.  She is a smart cookie –choosing to spend her spare time translating Homer from the original Greek, yet she still manages to be exquisitely beautiful and fashionably dressed at all times. Did I mention she speaks several languages fluently. Around the third or fourth book she starts to be such a know-it-all that she becomes annoying and at times dangerous. (You need to listen to other people sometimes Emily)  But I do like this series and she has a charming love interest in Colin .I am waiting for the next installment  A Crimson Warning which will be available at my library soon. The other titles in this series are……….

And Only to Deceive (2005)

A poisoned Season (2007)

A Fatal Waltz (2008)

Tears of Pearl (2009)

Dangerous to know ( 2010)

A Crimson Warning (2011)

A this point I would like to make a few comparisons between this series and the Lady Julia Grey series reviewed yesterday Sept. 17 2011.  They are both Victorian ladies born to Titled families and wealth. Their detecting career (or is it a hobby) is born when their husbands die a mysterious death. I personally prefer Lady Julia for her witty banter and she doesn’t take herself too seriously. And Nicholas Brisbain is just so complicated and interesting.

Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn

Victorian Mysteries 

Lady Julia Grey Series by Deanna Raybourn.

The year is 1886 and Lady Julia Grey is a young widow.  She meets the dashing but secretive Nicholas Brisbane when her husband dies suddenly and it unfolds that the  husband had retained Brisbane regarding some threats on his life. Brisbane is an “agent of inquiry” considered a lowly person-of-trade in Lady Julia’s society but Lady Julia herself is considered a bit of an oddball among “the ton.” Julia’s siblings figure prominently in each novel including her lesbian sister and her doctor wannabe brother. The books are told in the first person with Lady Julia narrating which is what makes them so delightful.  Julia has a dry wit and her banter with other characters is amusing.  There are presently 5 books in this series but the most recent book is not yet available at my library. (It is available in bookstores)     The titles are……….

Silent in the Grave (2007)

Silent in the Sanctuary (2008)

Silent on the Moor (2009)

Dark Road to Darjeeling (2010)

Dark Enquiry (2011)