Tag Archives: Historical

Entry Island by @authorpetermay ~ Complex and Emotional Dual Timeline #MurderMystery #Historical #TuesdayBookBlog

Posted in Book Review, Contemporary Fiction, Historical, Murder, Mystery, Romance by

Author: Peter May

Performed by Peter Forbes

Released on Audible: December 2013 by Quercus

Category: Historical, Contemporary, Murder, Mystery, Romance, Book Review

When Detective Sime Mackenzie boards a light aircraft at Montreal’s St. Hubert airfield, he does so without looking back. For Sime, the 850-mile journey ahead represents an opportunity to escape the bitter blend of loneliness and regret that has come to characterise his life in the city.

Travelling as part of an eight-officer investigation team, Sime’s destination lies in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Only two kilometres wide and three long, Entry Island is home to a population of around 130 inhabitants – the wealthiest of which has just been discovered murdered in his home.

Detective Sime (Sheem) Mackenzie is part of the murder investigation team sent to Entry Island, one of Les Îsles de la Madeleine archipelago in the Gulf of St Lawrence, from the Sûreté de Police.

Continue reading →

A House Divided (Munro #2) by @margaretskea1 #BookReview for #RBRT Historical Fact/Fiction #FridayReads

Posted in Book Review, Historical Fiction, Saga by

Author: Margaret Skea

Published: May 2017 by Corazon Books

Category: Historical, Saga, Fiction, Book Review

Eleven years on from the Massacre of Annock, the Cunninghame / Montgomerie truce is fragile.

For the Munro family, living in hiding under assumed names, these are dangerous times.

While Munro risks his life daily in the service of the French King, the spectre of discovery by William Cunninghame haunts his wife Kate. Her fears for their children and her absent husband realized as William’s desire for revenge tears their world apart.

Following on from Turn Of The Tide, A House Divided picks up the story of the Munro family several years after they were forced to fake their own deaths in a fire at their home, in order to escape the machinations of William Cunninghame, heir to the Earl of Glencairn.

Continue reading →

The Betrayal (Guernsey Novels Book 6) by Anne Allen #BookReview for #RBRT @AnneAllen21 #TuesdayBookBlog

Posted in Book Review, Books, Contemporary Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Crime, Historical, Romance, Time Slip by

Author: Anne Allen

Published: October 2017 by Sarnia Press

Category: Contemporary, Historical, Romance, Crime, Book Review

Treachery and theft lead to death – and love

1940. Teresa Bichard and her baby are sent by her beloved husband, Leo, to England as the Germans draw closer to Guernsey. Days later they invade…

1942. Leo, of Jewish descent, is betrayed to the Germans and is sent to a concentration camp, never to return. 

1945. Teresa returns to find Leo did not survive and the family’s valuable art collection, including a Renoir, is missing. Heartbroken, she returns to England.

A story set in two different time periods, beginning in 1940s Guernsey when Teresa Bichard has been persuaded to leave Guernsey with her baby daughter, due to the expected invasion by the German army. Her husband Leo, is staying to look after the business and valuable items belonging to the family.

Continue reading →

#ThrowbackThursday ~ Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah #Audiobook

Posted in Audiobook, Book Review, Books, Contemporary Fiction, Historical, Throwback Thursday by

Renee at It’s Book Talk began this meme as a way to share old favourites, as well as books that were published over a year ago. Not to mention those that are languishing on the to be read pile for whatever reason.

My first Throwback Thursday post was about a book by Kristin Hannah that sits on my bookshelf unread. This time I’m revisiting one I loved. Winter Garden. It was released on audio in 2010 and narrated by Susan Ericksen. Here’s my review.. Continue reading →

Secrets: In the Shadows Lurks the Truth by Judith Barrow #ShortStories @barrow_judith #histfic

Posted in Book Review, Books, Historical Fiction, Reading, Short Stories by
  • Author: Judith Barrow
  • Kindle Edition published June 2017
  • Category: Short Stories, Historical, Fiction, Book Review, Books, Reading

Ashford, home of the Howarth family, is a gritty northern mill town, a community of no-nonsense Lancashire folk, who speak their minds and are quick to judge. But how many of them are hiding secrets that wouldn’t stand up to the scrutiny of others?

This is a wonderful collection of short stories, focussing on characters from Judith Barrow’s Howarth family trilogy and giving a brief but heartfelt glimpse into some of their lives, pre saga. Including situations and misfortunes, some of which were brought about by the restrictions and expectations of the time, unmarried women who have no choice but to give up their baby and the cruelty meted out to a conscientious objector to name just a couple. Others which are sadly still relevant today, namely the victims of incest and rape.  Continue reading →

The Mistress of Blackstairs by Catherine Curzon reviewed for #RBRT #HistFic @MadameGilflurt

Posted in Book Review, Books, Historical Fiction, Reading, Romance by
  • Author: Catherine Curzon
  • Published: March 2017 by Endeavour Press
  • Category: Historical Fiction, Romance, Book Review, Reading

In 18th century Covent Garden, Madam Moineau, is the mistress of Blackstairs, an establishment catering to the finest clients in London.

The mysterious, always heavily veiled in public and very French Madam Moineau, Georgina Radcliffe in a former life, is the mistress of the hugely successful brothel, Blackstairs, in Covent Garden. It’s the winter of 1785 and Georgina’s life is about to be changed by two men. It’s almost ten years since, as Georgina, she was left for dead by her abusive husband and she hasn’t seen him since. Until he turns up at Blackstairs, about to be married and looking for a mistress he can set up for his exclusive pleasure. Continue reading →

Irex by Carl Rackman ~ based on fact #BookReview for #RBRT @CarlRackman #Histfic #FridayReads

Posted in Book Review, Books, Historical Fiction, Murder, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller by
  • 51gv4vgjy-lAuthor: Carl Rackman
  • Published: September 2016 by Rackman Books
  • Category: Historical, Fiction, Drama
  • five-stars

In the harsh winter of December 1889, the sailing vessel Irex leaves Scotland bound for Rio de Janeiro. She carries three thousand tons of pig iron and just three passengers for what should be a routine voyage. But Captain Will Hutton discovers that one of his passengers hides a horrifying secret.

First of all, I have to say it’s hard to believe this is a debut novel. It’s so good and the quality of the writing is excellent throughout. The story is based in history, the ship, a couple of the main crew members, reason for the wreck and the attempts at rescue, are all fact. Carl Rackman has woven an incredibly imaginative and compelling tale around that tragic event. Continue reading →

Ghost Variations: The Strangest Detective Story in Music by Jessica Duchen #RBRT @jessicaduchen #bookreview #FridayReads

Posted in Book Review, Books, Fiction, Historical, Reading by
  • 32053103Author: Jessica Duchen
  • Kindle Edition
  • Category: Historical, Fiction
  • five-stars

London, 1933. Dabbling in the once-fashionable “glass game” – a Ouija board – the famous Hungarian violinist Jelly d’Arányi is amazed to receive a message supposedly from the spirit of the great composer Robert Schumann, asking her to find and play his long-suppressed violin concerto.

Ghost Variations is created from real people and true events which occurred during their lives; history dramatised into a rich and enchanting narrative.

Jelly d’Arányi, the central character, is a renowned Hungarian violinist, living in 1930s London with her sister, Adila and her family. Jelly has been the muse for several famous composers and is dedicated to her music, to the exclusion of her personal life, especially since she lost the man she loved at the Battle of the Somme during WWI. The sisters have lived in London since Jelly was sixteen and now as she approaches her fortieth birthday, Jelly is aware she is (unfairly) considered past her prime as a musician.  Continue reading →