The Dark Angel by Elly Griffiths

February 3, 2025 By Leave a Comment


The Dark Angel by Elly Griffiths
Publisher: Quercus
Genre: Contemporary, Historical, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

When archaeologist Angelo Morelli asks Ruth Galloway to come to the Italian countryside to help identify bones found in picturesque Fontana Liri, she jumps at the chance to go—and brings her daughter along for what she assumes will be a working vacation. Upon arriving, Ruth hears murmurs of Fontana Liri’s strong resistance movement during World War II, and begins to sense that the townspeople are harboring an age-old secret. But how, if at all, could this chapter in history be connected to the human remains that Angelo has unearthed? Just as she’s getting her footing in the dig, DCI Nelson appears, unexpectedly and for no clear reason. When Ruth’s findings lead her and her crew to a modern-day murder, their holiday turns into anything but as they race to find out what darkness is lurking in this seemingly peaceful place. . .and who may be on their trail.

Dr Ruth Galloway finds herself in a bit of a low patch. With her mother only recently dead in the last few months, her off/on relationship with her married lover – DCI Harry Nelson – solidly off for now, and Nelson’s wife newly pregnant things are feeling difficult for Ruth. When an old colleague from Italy calls out of the blue asking for Ruth’s assistance, it feels like exactly the right time for her and her young daughter to take a quick working vacation before the school year starts once again. Only things in the sleepy little Italian town are not as peaceful as Ruth was expecting. Can she sort out what’s really going on before she and her daughter find themselves in danger?

I really love the plots in this series – always finding them to be a solid weaving together of British police procedural mystery and scientific archaeology. The plots and mystery are always clear and multi-layered. The romantic and family relationships, however, is usually quite murky, messy and often heart wrenching. I find Ruth generally to be a strong and independent heroine for these stories. While it’s completely understandable that Ruth is a little blue with quite a few changes having occurred in the recent past for her, I did find that low ebb of her confidence really seemed to cast a bit of a cloud over the story for me. I also think having Cathbad back in England and Ruth in Italy for the majority of the book might have helped this darker cloud feeling seep into the story for me. I feel Cathbad often can help Ruth feel a little more optimistic and seen. I really feel he lightens her thoughts sometimes and for this book I could have used a bit more of that.

That all said I absolutely love the murder mystery aspect to this plot and as always, I found the strongly written and well plotted archaeology was a joy to read. For me personally this is hands down the best series out there with this style of writing – I guess I just wish the personal and romantic relationships weren’t as messy and complicated as they are.

Readers who want a straightforward mystery might not find this gives them what they wanted. The inter-personal relationships take up a fair bit of space in this novel and while the plot and history are strong components of this book the relationships certainly give the other plots a run for their money. Readers who have enjoyed the previous installments likely will thoroughly enjoy this book as much as they have the others – and like me curiosity on what will happen next shall likely compel them into reading more, just like I’m sure I’ll be picking up the next in the series as well. A well plotted and well written novel, though an emotionally difficult one to read.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

Sour Apples: A Novel For Those Who Hate to Read by Paul Jantzen

January 28, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Sour Apples: A Novel For Those Who Hate to Read by Paul Jantzen
Publisher: Black Rose Writing
Genre: Middle Grade (8 – 12 y.o.), Historical
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

The year was 1975, and that summer would prove epic for Jimmy Hamilton. Imagine, an eleven-year-old boy with an imagination so powerful that he uses it like others would use a compass. Jimmy Hamilton sets out for the adventure of a lifetime. But summer, with all its promise, throws him a curveball, and he loses his fort on three separate occasions to unwanted squatters. He comes to discover each new unwelcomed tenant proves more difficult to evict than the last. His plans have a modicum of success but each comes with unintended consequences.

Add to that mix, the prettiest girl his age, a baseball diamond, a groundhog, a snapping turtle, a boy with a heightened olfactory acuity, and the town vagrant and Jimmy soon finds his summer adventure is more than he expected.

Not every lesson happens in school.

Jimmy’s character development was realistic and well done. I enjoyed his adventurous and courageous personality as well as the fact that he was the sort of kid who would try almost anything once. One of his biggest flaws were the sometimes sexist things he said and thought about women and girls. Given the historical setting and his very limited exposure to other ways of living, this, too, felt accurate. While I hoped that he grew up to be more accepting given a few illuminating experiences he had with people who didn’t fit his assumptions about what girls should be like, I understood why he wasn’t currently at a stage in life when he was ready to think critically about such things.

It would have been helpful to have that same sort of character development for the secondary characters, too. Since everything was shared from Jimmy’s perspective and like many folks his age he wasn’t always interested in understanding other people’s points of view, this meant that readers only had small, brief glimpses into what anyone around the main character was actually feeling or thinking. Obviously, I wasn’t expecting multiple chapters dedicated to this topic or anything given how active and busy Jimmy was, but even occasional scenes here and there that dug more deeply into their personalities and interests would have gone a long way while I was trying to figure out what they were like as individuals.

While I wasn’t yet alive in this era, I did grow up in a family that didn’t have Internet access and sometimes didn’t even have a television for years. Boredom is much harder to come by when someone has constant access to such passive forms of entertainment, and the descriptions of the zany things kids come up with when they are left to their own devices were as relatable as they were funny to me. Yes, there was some risk taking and a few bad decisions involving wildlife, but there were also hours of fun to be had out in nature with nothing but a vivid imagination and whatever could be found in the woods to work with. That’s the sort of childhood everyone should have a chance to experience if you ask me.

Sour Apples: A Novel For Those Who Hate to Read made me feel like I’d visited the 1970s.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , ,

Serpent’s Point by Kate Ellis

January 23, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Serpent’s Point by Kate Ellis
Publisher: Piatkus (Little, Brown Book Group)
Genre: Contemporary, Historical, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Serpent’s Point in South Devon is the focus of local legends. The large house on the headland is shrouded in an ancient tale of evil, and when a woman is found strangled on the coastal path, DI Wesley Peterson is called to investigate.

The woman had been house-sitting at Serpent’s Point and Wesley is surprised to discover that she was conducting an investigation into unsolved missing person cases. Could these enquires have led to her murder?

While the case takes Wesley to Yorkshire and the Cotswolds, archaeologist Neil Watson is making a dramatic discovery of his own in the fields near the house.

When a skeleton is uncovered, the pressure rises to find a killer, and Wesley and Neil realise that Serpent’s Point holds more secrets than anyone could have imagined.

Serpent’s Point house in South Devon is shrouded in ancient tales of evil, so when a woman house sitting there is found strangled on the coastal path DI Wesley Peterson and his team are called in to investigate. Can they sort out what is trapped in the past and what is very much in the present day?

I’ve been enjoying this British police procedural mystery series for over a year now and found this book to be an excellent addition to the series. While there’s a bunch of previous books, readers should feel comfortable picking this one up even if the author and series is new to them. The police team have quite a history together, but they work well enough that no real prior knowledge is needed. Also the plot line and simultaneous archaeology plot are both fully contained in this story and can easily be picked up.

Readers who prefer an action-oriented story might find this a little slow – but I personally thoroughly enjoy the slower unwinding of the mystery and piecing together of the clues. I admit I found parts of the mystery plot easy to guess but there were still a few twists I didn’t see coming so I was invested and interested the whole way through the book. I also really like how the historical and archaeology aspect winds together so well with the mystery and that’s a driving force keeping my attention for such a long running series.

Readers who enjoy mysteries and/or historical books should check this book and this series out.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Blessings and the Thief by Elaine Violette

January 20, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Blessings and the Thief by Elaine Violette
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Genre: Romance, Paranormal, Holiday, Historical
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Damien Reeves grudgingly agrees to host his ailing Uncle Lionel’s Christmas party at the Blackmoor Inn, a restored castle famous for absurd ghost lore. When he learns of petty thefts that have occurred among his uncle’s elderly friends, he hopes discovering the culprit might keep him from reliving his own tragic holiday memories. When a beautiful young woman arrives, a more enticing challenge appears.

Tessia Bennington is relieved to spend the holidays at the reputed haunted inn with her aunt and uncle after the man she’d expected to marry begged off. She enjoys the frolicking escapades of the aged partiers while ignoring the handsome host’s flirtations. What she can’t ignore is a ghostly presence seeking her help.

Neither Tess nor Damien could have imagined the bizarre events and this most unusual holiday. Will they part with special memories or shed their defenses and find happiness in each other?

Christmas is the perfect time for romance and ghost stories.

I enjoyed the gentle ambiance of this tale. The characters lived in a world where the most scandalous thing that could occur were a missing pair of gloves or two young lovers kissing for a moment when the elders weren’t looking. This was a place where everything always turns out well in the end even if there may also be a few mischievous ghosts rumpling the bedsheets or moving personal items around. There’s something to be said for spending time in such a peaceful world.

It would have been helpful to have more character development in this piece, especially considering how many people were staying at this inn over the holidays and how little time there was to get to know most of them. I found myself feeling sympathy for characters like Annabelle who tended to be described in ways that didn’t always paint her in the best light. While I’m not sure if this was the author’s intention, it made me wonder what she and other characters like her would be like if their virtues were highlighted instead as well as how this tale would be different if told from another perspective instead.

The paranormal subplot made me smile. I enjoyed learning the backstories of the various ghosts who were said to haunt Blackmoor Inn and seeing what the characters thought of them. Would they believe in ghosts or think that question was a silly one? Other readers should discover the answers to these questions for themselves, but I thought these scenes added depth and humor to the storyline.

Blessings and the Thief was a cozy Christmas tale.

Filed Under: Reviews, Romance Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Yes, I Am a Vampire by Stephen Kozeniewski

January 15, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Yes, I Am a Vampire by Stephen Kozeniewski
Publisher: French Press Publishing
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Non-Fiction, Holiday, Contemporary, Historical
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Despite all the evidence to the contrary, I swear I am not a vampire. Cross my heart and…eh, nevermind.

Just trust me, there are no vampires within these pages. Plenty of zombies, though. One of the short stories in this book features a zombie caveman, for instance. And another is called Exploding Shit Zombies. You can probably guess what that one’s about.

Not every story is zombie-themed, of course. I’ve also got a monster under the bed piece that’s pretty fucking scary. And in another, a bunch of little alien goblins take over a farmstead.

This isn’t just a short story collection, either. Half of it’s my autobiography. I guarantee you’ve never seen those two styles mashed together before.

I also guarantee you’ve never seen any fucking vampires before. Not here. Not anywhere. So let’s just drop it.

What do you mean, bloodstains all over the book? Don’t worry about those. Just wipe the gore off your fingers and dive in to…

Yes, I Am A Vampire

Truth and fiction are sometimes opposite faces of the same coin.

Before I dive into this collection, let’s talk about the notes that were included after each instalment to explain how the author came up with them and, in some cases, got them published. I’m the sort of reader who loves learning this sort of background information and always reads it. There were so many exciting tidbits here, many of which helped me enjoy certain stories even more than I had before. I definitely recommend checking out these sections if you don’t normally read them. They were well worth my time.

This may be the first time a swear word has ever appeared in one of my reviews for Long and Short Reviews, but I can’t talk about “Exploding Shit Zombies” without breaking that social convention for a moment. May my editor forgive me! Yes, the premise is exactly what it sounds like, and this fan of undead fiction who knows better than to use the common word for such creatures was quite curious to discover why these walkers are so full of, ahem, feces in this universe. The reason made a great deal of sense and made me wonder why this topic isn’t covered more often in this subgenre. I also enjoyed the jokes sprinkled throughout this one. They fit the tongue-in-cheek tone of it well.

The prehistoric setting of “The Man with Four Scars” grabbed my attention immediately, especially once I realized this was set at a time when hominids had just begun speaking a few words to each other but had not yet come up with the concept of names yet. The protagonist – or maybe I should say antagonist – was a violent and impulsive individual who was terribly jealous of anyone who was more intelligent than him. Creating such an unlikable main character is a brave choice even for the horror genre, and I kept reading as I wondered if there was going to be a moment when I was anything other than irritated by and frightened of the danger he posed to the other members of his tribe. My fingers are crossed I will find more prehistoric horror in the future as this was deliciously chilling to read.

Let’s see if I can include one of my favorite pieces, “The Old Man and the Seesaw,” in here without giving away any spoilers about it. This was set in a universe where there was a grey area between life and death that more and more folks were beginning to inhabit, and it specifically shared how the first person to survive in this hazy place managed to do so. I was impressed with how creative this was, especially given the vivid descriptions of what happened and how the living characters reacted to it.

One of my favorite parts of being a book reviewer is getting to know more about the authors who submit their work for review. It doesn’t happen all the time, of course, but every so often I get to read a funny anecdote about the author’s life in the preface or learn more about how their mind works by reading the notes some writers are generous enough to include after each short story in a collection or anthology. While I’ve never met Mr. Kozeniewski, reading this made me feel like I was fortunate enough to go out to a pub or a coffee house with him for a few hours and hear about some of the many creative ideas rattling around in his skull.

Yes, I Am a Vampire reminded me why I love this author’s work so much. What a treat!

Filed Under: Non-Fiction, Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

A Calamity of Noble Houses by Amira Ghenim

January 14, 2025 By Leave a Comment


A Calamity of Noble Houses by Amira Ghenim
Publisher: Europa Editions
Genre: Historical, Fiction
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Lavender

Tunisia, 1930s. Against the backdrop of a country in turmoil, in search of its identity, the lives and destinies of the members of two important upper-class families of Tunis intertwine: the Ennaifer family, with a rigidly conservative and patriarchal mentality, and the Rassaa, open-minded and progressive.

One terrible night in December 1935, the destiny of both families changes forever when Zbaida Ali Rassaa, the young wife of Mohsen Ennaifer, is accused of having had a clandestine love affair with Tahar Haddad, an intellectual of humble origins known for his union activism and support for women’s rights. The events of that fateful night are told by eleven different narrators, members of the two families, who recall them in different historical moments, from the 1940s to the present day. The result is a complex mosaic of secrets, memories, accusations, regrets, and emotions, taking the reader on an exciting journey through the stories of individuals caught up in the upheavals of history.

Set against the backdrop of Tunisia in the 1930s, readers see a country that is rebelling and trying to find itself. We discover this through the eyes of several characters living through the vibrant energy all around them. Certain things are forbidden and tried anyway.

Zbaida Ali Rassaa is accused of cheating on her husband with Tahar Hadda, a man of humble origins, but quite an interesting one. He is an activist and wants to improve the lot of women. The accusation of infidelity between the two characters creates great trouble for the families. As secrets are uncovered, readers get to know the characters on a more intimate level.

This story is an entertaining way to learn about an exotic culture in times past. It comes across as realistic. Though the book is educational, it is also fun to follow along with the different people being affected throughout the tale. Emotions will be evoked, and readers are sure to have their favorite characters while being thrown into a foreign yet relatable world.

Filed Under: Mainstream Fiction, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

The Stone Chamber by Kate Ellis

January 13, 2025 By Leave a Comment


The Stone Chamber by Kate Ellis
Publisher: Piatkus
Genre: Contemporary, Historical, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Fern

On a summer evening, Robert and Greta Gerdner are shot dead at their home in the Devon countryside.

DI Wesley Peterson suspects the execution-style murders might be linked to Robert’s past police career – until Robert’s name is found on a list of people who’ve been sent tickets anonymously for a tour of Darkhole Grange, a former asylum on Dartmoor.

Wesley discovers that other names on the list have also died in mysterious circumstances and, as he is drawn into the chilling history of the asylum, he becomes convinced that it holds the key to the case.

When his friend, archaeologist Neil Watson, finds the skeleton of a woman buried in a sealed chamber dating back to the fifteenth century at his nearby dig, Wesley wonders whether there might be a connection between the ancient cell and the tragic events at Darkhole Grange.

With the clock ticking, Wesley must solve the puzzle, before the next person on the list meets a terrible end . . .

DI Wesley Peterson and his team are called in to investigate when Robert and Greta Gerdner are shot point blank in their Devon country home. Wesley suspects the execution like murder has ties back to Robert’s previous career in the Met – but Wesley and his team find Robert’s name along with others who have suffered from mysterious deaths all linked to a ghost tour of Darkhole Grange. Can Wesley and his team find what’s really going on?

I have been enjoying Ellis’ Wesley Peterson and Neil Watson’s Archaeology/British police procedural crossover books for over a year now. While there are nearly 30 books in the series, I feel that the writing and plotting is still going strong – and best of all this book definitely can be read as a standalone mystery/archaeology story. While there are things happening in the secondary character’s lives – Wesley’s colleague Rachel and with his son, Michael – these sub-plots can be easily picked up and understood and really no prior books need to be read to thoroughly enjoy this story.

I also really enjoyed the fact that the Archaeological side of the story with Neil and his newest excavation linked in strongly to Wesley and the murder mystery. Often these two parts to the book run side by side and don’t necessarily overlap or really link together. While I don’t mind this – I did find myself highly enjoying the fact that this time the two stories were solidly woven together and interacted a lot more strongly than I recall in the last few books.

I definitely feel readers should feel comfortable with picking up this book to see if they like Ellis’ writing style or if they want to see if the series would interest them. Like any long-running series individual books rise and fall – but I feel this is one of the stronger plotted and written books and would be a good place to dip your toe into the long series if you’re not certain and didn’t want to necessarily go right back to the start to have a go.

With an interesting murder mystery plot well woven around an archaeological dig and a strong historical plotline this is a different and interesting book that I enjoyed.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

Hauntings and Hoarfrost by Rhonda Parrish (editor)

January 1, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Hauntings and Hoarfrost by Rhonda Parrish (editor)
Publisher: Tyche Books
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Paranormal, Holiday, Contemporary, Historical
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Wild storms, the sound of ice skates cutting across an empty pond and blankets of soft, white, beautiful death.

In the dark depths of winter, it is easy to become isolated as snow obscures landmarks and drifts create claustrophobic situations that can leave you huddled in your house, struggling to keep warm . . . and, perhaps, to ignore the message scrawled in the frost on the window.

Within these pages, you’ll discover eerie tales of long ago ghosts stretching frost-bitten fingers into the present, unexplained footprints in the snow, screaming madness, and icy cold sanity.

Editor Rhonda Parrish presents Hauntings and Hoarfrost, an anthology brimming with chilling stories and poems of the mysterious and uncanny for all lovers of horror, fantasy, and gothic.

Winter has many faces.

I adored the friendly ghosts in “And We All Come to the End, Around, Around” who all died in or near the same rustic cabin in different years. Finding the similarities between them was exciting due to the wide variety of eras they lived in and lifestyles they lived. I also enjoyed the plot twist later on that involved the ghosts deciding to band together and do something no one could ignore.

I was impressed with how many different approaches were included in this collection, from the kind and gentle tale I mentioned earlier to much darker and scarier interpretations of the theme. “Neither Rime Nor Reason” was one of these, and it followed a man named Donnan who walked into a deadly mountain range to try to save his foolish brother. The anger, confusion, and despair in this instalment made me curious to read more because every single character felt at least one – and usually more than one – of those emotions even if it wasn’t immediately noticeable to the reader. Peeling back those layers to try to figure out why everyone felt this was satisfying and made me want to learn more.

One of the worst things about winter is being deliriously sick and home alone during a blizzard. “Ice Lamp” explored the confusion and danger of that experience for a character who can’t quite tell which parts of their experience are memories of the past, distorted glimpses of their cold, damp cabin when viewed through the perspective of someone experiencing a serious illness, or vivid dreams that simply feel real. While I can’t provide any hints about which of these interpretations are correct, I felt like I was experiencing all of these possibilities alongside the protagonist as they struggled to figure out what to do next.

Hauntings and Hoarfrost was the perfect read for a cold, snowy day.

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

The Book of Thunder and Lightning by Seb Duncan

December 19, 2024 By Leave a Comment


The Book of Thunder and Lightning by Seb Duncan
Publisher: Roundfire Books
Genre: Young Adult (14 – 18 y.o.), Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Paranormal, Historical, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

A vigilante ghost stalks the East End of London… Before the lightning, he was just a boy, now he’s ready for revenge. The Book of Thunder and Lightning is a Gothic mashup of Oliver Twist and Top Boy, a love letter to London, wrapped up in a mind-bending ghost story. In 1888, unlucky Tom Baxter is thrown into a world of toxic masculinity, where his only weapon is his imagination. But at least he’s got his crew, a gang of misfits just like him, to back him up. As lightning stretches across time and space to a gritty 21st-century London, history is repeating itself. Tom has the chance to save his modern-day twin, with help from a reluctant hero, a posh girl from Chelsea, and a donkey called Dorris. His luck has to change sometime, right?

Life isn’t always fair.

Both of the settings involved characters who were not only participating in illegal activities but involving kids in their crimes as well. This was something I expected to find in the historical timeline but not so much in the contemporary one. Some of the most interesting scenes to me were the ones that explored what the kids thought about the secret errands they were sent on or the odd things the adults in their lives occasionally said or did. A child’s understanding of these things isn’t going to be the same as an adult’s, after all!

I struggled with the time jumps between the late 1800s and the modern era. It took quite a while for me to discover the connections between them, and while I found the conflict interesting there weren’t many detailed descriptions of the characters or settings to grab my attention in the meantime in the present day. I found myself wishing that these scenes were as easy to visualize as the ones set in and around 1888.

It was intriguing to learn how the afterlife worked in this universe. Instead of focusing on traditional options like heaven or hell, at least some of the dead could earn the opportunity to do things they genuinely wished to do. Although I can’t go into detail about what they did to earn those treats without giving away spoilers, I did enjoy learning about how that system worked and what the dead thought of it.

The Book of Thunder and Lightning made me smile.

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

The Burial Circle by Kate Ellis

December 13, 2024 By Leave a Comment


The Burial Circle by Kate Ellis
Publisher: Piatkus
Genre: Contemporary, Historical, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Fern

A skeleton discovered. A murder to be solved . . .

On a stormy night in December, a tree is blown down on an isolated Devon farm. When the fallen tree is dragged away, a rucksack is found caught amongst the roots – and next to it is a human skeleton.

The discovery of the body and the rucksack revives memories for DI Wesley Peterson. A young hitchhiker who went missing twelve years ago was last seen carrying a similar backpack. Suddenly a half-forgotten cold case has turned into a murder investigation.

Meanwhile, in the nearby village of Petherham, a man is found dead in suspicious circumstances whilst staying at a local guesthouse. Wesley’s friend, archaeologist Neil Watson, is studying Petherham’s ancient mill and uncovering the village’s sinister history. Could the string of mysterious deaths in Petherham over a hundred years ago be connected to the recent killings?

As Wesley digs deeper into the case, it seems that the dark whisperings of a Burial Circle in the village might not be merely legend after all . . .

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When a storm knocks down a tree an old red rucksack – and the bones of a young woman – are found. After confirming the remains belong to a missing young woman from 12 years ago Wesley is determined to find out what really happened to her. The case is complicated by Neil also uncovering more than they bargained for at Petherham’s old mill and when a man is then found dead at the mill linking the two cases together Neil and Wesley both need to find the answers they seek.

I have been thoroughly enjoying this British police procedural which is very effective at weaving together the current day murder plot and a historical murder/crime and reflecting the two off each other. While this book is well into the series, I do feel mystery readers can pick this book up and thoroughly enjoy it on its own merits. The team is very cohesive together and the long-standing friendship between Neil and Wesley are both quite well explained.

Readers looking for a high-action style of mystery or one with a relentless pace might find themselves disappointed. While I do feel the pace of the mystery and the various elements weaving together is well timed this is certainly more of a police procedural style of gradual unfolding and not a more action orientated breakneck speed. The historical plotline weaving around also might be seen by some as slowing the current day murder mystery, but I have to admit I enjoy these two elements being given equal attention and it’s one of the big things I thoroughly enjoy about this whole series. It sets this series apart from the many other British police procedural novels out there and adds another enjoyable element to the mix.

Mystery readers looking to try something new should find this an enjoyable and modern story with good characters and a different and compelling plotline.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,
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