Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell

Monday, 26 September 2016

Murder at Sorrow's Crown - Steven Savile and Robert Greenberger

It is July 1881, and a frantic mother comes to 221B Baker Street, begging Sherlock Holmes to find her son. A naval officer posted to HMS Dido, he was part of the Naval Brigade that joined the Natal Field Force to fight the Boers. But he did not return with his men, and is being denounced as a deserter.

So begins a twisting tale of assassination, diamond mines and military cover-ups. Can Holmes and Watson uncover the truth, a truth that threatens the very fabric of the British Empire?

My thoughts:
You know what, I have actually never read a book about Sherlock Holmes. Ok one, but let us not count the monster one. There might have been another mashup too.

I imagine you know about Sherlock Holmes, if not, then you are kind of living under a rock. I am not gonna explain him. He is eccentric, to say the least.

And then there is Watson, and they do compliment each other so well.

This mystery is about a mother wanting answers. And they dig deep and it gets complicated. There is the Boer war, political intrigues and conspiracies. All while trying to find out what happened to a soldier...

I enjoyed the book. It was light, there were a good mystery and Holmes and Watson is quite the pair.

Paperback, 320 pages
Published September 13th 2016 by Titan Books
Historical mystery
For review

Sunday, 25 September 2016

Author post: Phaedra Patrick

Today I have Phaedra Patrick over for a post :) I read the book a few months ago and really enjoyed it.

Welcome!

‘My Inspiration’

As I showed my own childhood charm bracelet to my son, and told him the stories behind each of the charms, the idea came to me about an elderly man who discovers a mysterious bracelet in his late wife’s wardrobe. I wanted to write a story straight from my heart, and create a character that people would want to cheer, laugh and cry with. I love to collect ideas in my head, so each scene and character in the book was influenced by someone I know, something I’d seen, or personally experienced.

I once holidayed in India and bought a small brass elephant pendant, and this was the inspiration behind the first charm that sets Arthur off on his epic journey of discovery.

I knew I wanted a tiger in my novel and I loved the idea of a lord and lady who live in a crumbling manor house with their tigers prowling around the grounds. I really enjoyed writing a scene where Arthur is accosted by a ravenous tiger in his attempt to find out the story behind the tiger charm on the bracelet.

I wrote the book at a time when I’d had five previous novels rejected, and also after losing a close friend and a family member. I ploughed on with The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper whilst thinking about how life is for celebrating and living. So whilst Arthur’s journey is sometimes sad, it’s also poignant, funny and uplifting.

Thank you!

THE CURIOUS CHARMS OF ARTHUR PEPPER

BY PHAEDRA PATRICK

(HQ, £7.99, 22nd September)

40 years of marriage, 8 golden charms
One man’s journey of self-discovery

On the first anniversary of his beloved wife Miriam’s death, Arthur steels himself to tackle the task he’s been dreading: clearing out her wardrobe. There, hidden in a shoebox, he finds a glistening gold charm bracelet that he has never seen before. Upon examination Arthur finds a telephone number on the underside of a gold elephant charm. Uncharacteristically he picks up the phone.

And so begins Arthur’s quest – charm by charm, from York to Paris and London and even India – as he seeks to uncover Miriam’s secret life before they were married. And along the way, find out more about himself.

The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper is a joyous celebration of life's infinite possibilities, heralding the arrival of a major new talent in Phaedra Patrick. Phaedra Patrick studied art and marketing and has worked as a stained glass artist, film festival organiser and communications manager. She was inspired to write Arthur Pepper’s story by the memories of her own charm bracelet. Phaedra lives near Manchester with her husband and son.

Saturday, 24 September 2016

Carole's Saturday Review: The lady of the rivers - Philippa Gregory

Author: Philippa Gregory

Title: The Lady of the Rivers (The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels #1)

Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance, and Fantasy

Pages: 502

First Published: September 2011

Where I Got It: Borrow from library

Jacquetta, daughter of the Count of Luxembourg and kinswoman to half the royalty of Europe, was married to the great Englishman John, Duke of Bedford, uncle to Henry VI. Widowed at the age of 19, she took the extraordinary risk of marrying a gentleman of her household for love, and then carved out a new life for herself.

I truly have a love-hate relationship with this author. I either like her books or I hate them. There are a couple that fall in between. Sometimes the authors bends the historical facts too much and sometimes she does a good job. I think she does have a bias against some characters and she bends them too much for my liking.

Now, this story follows Jacquetta who is very underrated as a historical figure. She really intrigues me whenever she pops up. I find her story interesting. She is forced to marry an older man who dies. She gets his title and all that. Instead of marrying within in station, she marries a man who use to work for her late hubbie. Which this man is WAYYYYYYYYYYYY below her station. Very interesting for the times. What is even more interesting is that the king at the time quickly forgives her and her husband. Too quickly, but the king was a a decent man in some aspects.

In this version of the story, the author plays on the fact that Jacquetta was accused of being a witch and does make her have some supernatural powers like telling the future. Very interesting take to actually have her have visions and whatnot. I liked it, but I didn't really care for her first hubbie approving of these powers and trying to use them for his gain. At the time, I don't think he would have approved of her powers and would have screamed witch.

This was a fun book to read, because I liked the characters. However, there were SO MANY LULLS and nothing happening that I legit fell asleep a couple of times. I feel that there should have been some POV changes when Jacquetta was at home giving birth to her millionth child. Yes, the woman was a freakin' rabbit! xI But yes, sooooo many lulls that I did a lot of skimming.

The ending dragged on and on and on. The ending was cliff-hangerish if you do not know your history. And I get why she did that, because the story is not over yet.

In the end, I liked this. However, it was slow moving and the ending never ended. I am curious in reading the next book. This wasn't great, but it was okay. Out of five stars, I shall stamp this with 3.