The Treehouse

The Sandalwood Tree by Elle Newmark

 

Not having read many fiction stories about India and having studied India at university I was keen to dive into this book. As with many books, the story is divided into two time periods and the book begins during 1947 and the lead up to Partition in India. Evie Mitchell has travelled to India with her young son Billy and historian husband Martin whose job it is to record the last days of British rule in India. Martin is a man much changed by his experiences in the Second World War and as a result their marriage is suffering and they are growing apart. Finding the disintegration of her marriage impossible to deal with, Evie throughs herself into endless bouts of cleaning and in doing so discovers a bundle of letters which have been hiding in the house since the nineteenth century, just shortly before the Indian Mutiny of 1857.

The letters were written by a young Victorian girl named Adela to her friend Felicity. the discovery of them plunges Evie into an obsessive search for the truth of the girls' story and what happened to them. Evie discovers little pieces of the story in various places - the local church, the local British club and hidden diaries of Adela's that she discovers. As she continues to search out the story of Felicity and Adela her own world continues to disintegrate as her husband becomes less able to cope with his war nightmares and reluctant to confide in her and as the days of British rule draw ever more swiftly to a close. 

Elle Newmark describes the sights and sounds of India both in the nineteenth and twentieth century in a wonderfully rich fashion. This, in addition to the mystery of Adela's and Felicity's lives and the closed book of Marin's war experiences and its effect on his marriage make this a compelling story which will satisfy fans of historical fiction. 

This book was provided by Transworld as part of their Book Club and is my 20th read for the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge.

 

Black Swan Rising by Lee Carroll

This urban fantasy story by Lee Carroll is a great addition to shelves of paranormal literature. When New York jeweller Garet James stumbles into a previously unnoticed antiques shop during a sudden fog her life takes a different course altogether. She admires a box and is subsequently asked if she would take it home and open it up as it is sealed shut. A large sum of money is offered if she's able to perform this seemingly simple task. Garet and her father are in urgent need of funds and so that night Garet sets about opening up the box. Immediately her life begins to change and she embarks upon an adventure with vampires, fairies and all manner of supernatural characters. Along the way she discovers that she has powers of her own and also that the death of her mother, many years previously, is connected to the box. Her ultimate goal is to prevent the world being overtaken by the demons of Despair and Discord and to have a life with the man that she has fallen in love with.

Fans of supernatural fiction will find this book difficult to put down. The story captures the imagination from the first paragraphs with fabulous characters and quick paced action. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am eager to read the second one which is called The Watchtower.Thanks to Transworld who sent this book to me as part of their current book club review programme. 

A Monstrous Regiment of Women by Laurie R. King

This is the second book in Laurie R Kings series about Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes and once again I enjoyed her writing very much. The story here sees Mary coming to the end of her degree at Oxford and reaching her 21st birthday and thus gaining her inheritance and freedom from the despised guardian Aunt. The blurb for the story is...

"After a tedious visit from relatives, Mary is looking for respite in London when she comes across a friend from Oxford. The young woman introduces Mary to the enigmatic Margery Childe, leader of the New Temple of God, a charismatic sect involved in the post-World War One suffrage movement, with a feminist slant on Christianity. Intrigued and curious, Mary begins to wonder if the New Temple is a front for something more sinister. When a series of murders claims members of the movement's wealthy young female volunteers, Mary, with Holmes in the background, starts to investigate, but events spiral out of control as the situation becomes ever more desperate, and Mary's search plunges her into the worst danger she has yet faced... "

The two books that I've so far read in this series both tend to start of a little slowly but perseverance pays off and not only is there a good mystery story going on but Mary's academic background provides for some very interesting reading at times as well. Holmes is irresistable as always and is portrayed in these books with slightly softer edges than normal, he's a little less brittle I think but his mind is, of course, as sharp as ever. Regular characters from the Conan-Doyle books pop in and out - Mrs. Hudson, Mycroft and a Lestrade detective although it is the son of the original. I find these stories irresistable and am currently half way through the third one!

This is my 19th book for the Historical Fiction reading challenge.

Soulless / Changless / Blameless by Gail Carriger

 

 

Alexia Tarabotti is a rather extraordinary woman living in an alternative Victorian England. Not only is she of the bluestocking variety of women, she is also soulless. In this alternate version of the nineteenth century, vampires and werewolves abound and are accepted by British society (it's a different matter entirely on the continent). Queen Victoria boasts regiments of werewolf soldiers who fight for the Empire and she relies upon the advice of her Shadow Council the leaders of which are a vampire and a werewolf. 

The first book sees Alexia investigating the appearance of strange, unmannered and untutored vampires along with the gorgeous, beastly Lord Maccon (a werewolf) - their relationship develops considerably over the course of the book but will they come out of the adventure alive? There's a book 2 and a book 3 so I'm not giving away too many spoilers when I say that they do! Book 2 sees them both travel to Scotland to Lord Maccon's old werewolf pack - danger is everywhere as more than one attempt is made on Alexia's life but the reason for the attempts are unclear as she investigates the mysterious loss of werewolf-ness that the Scottish pack are suffering from. In Book 3, Alexia travels to Italy in order to try and find out more about her Soulless-ness which was inherited from her father (now dead) and once again her life is in terrible danger as vampires try to kill her and Templar knights hold her prisoner.

I enjoyed these books and so did my daughter. They're a funny, light hearted take on the supernatural genre set in Victorian London, without the need for the X rating that's sometimes required for these types of story (and that's why my 14 year was reading them!).

These are books 16, 17 and 18 for the Historical Reading Challenge.

Books read in May

Poor blog has been well and truly neglected this month. I've managed to fit a bit more reading in this month but still not back to my usual amount of books. Poor amount of sewing done too as the elbow has flared up. I am well and truly behind with my book reviewing for the Historical Fiction challenge, I've read many more books than I've reviewed so I'll have to try and catch up with those at some point.

Every Secret Thing by Emma Cole (aka Susannah Kearsley) I've read quite a few Susannah Kearsley books lately - none of them are bad but some of them are better than others. I was curious to see how this one would be different as she writes it under a different name. It was definitely one of her better books.

The story blurb is "No one lives for ever. But the truth survives us all'. Kate Murray is deeply troubled. In front of her lies a dead man, a stranger who only minutes before had approached her wanting to tell her about a mystery, a long-forgotten murder. The crime was old, he'd told her, but still deserving of justice. Soon Kate is caught up in a dangerous whirlwind of events that takes her back into her grandmother's mysterious war-time past and across the Atlantic as she tries to retrace the dead man's footsteps. Finding out the truth is not so simple, however, as only a few people are still alive who know the story - and Kate soon realises that her questions are putting their lives in danger. Stalked by an unknown and sinister enemy, she must use her tough journalistic instinct to find the answers from the past - before she has to say goodbye to her future."

I thoroughly enjoyed the book. The characters were well written and I liked both Kate and her Grandmother and thoroughly disliked the 'baddie' of the plot! An comfortable, enjoyable read with some interesting history that I didn't previously know about. (library book)

Review 7 for Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

The Empress of Ice Cream by Anthony Capella - I picked this up on a whim in the library one day. In spite of the fact that neither of the main characters are particularly pleasant people I really enjoyed this book. It was a change from the periods of history that I normally choose to read about and the history of ice cream making was interesting to read about - who knew that ice cream played such an important role in mattes of state at one point!

Here is the blurb : "FRANCE 1670. Carlo Demirco's mastery of the extraordinary new art of creating ice creams has brought him wealth, women, and a position at the court of Louis XIV. Then Carlo is sent to London, along with Louise de Keroualle, an impoverished lady-in-waiting. The most powerful ministers of two countries have decided that Louise is to be Charles II's new mistress, and will stop at nothing to make sure she submits. But Carlo too is fascinated by the enigmatic Frenchwoman.With the king's every pleasure the subject of plots and betrayals, and Carlo's only weapons his exquisite ice creams, soon he must decide ...Where do his loyalties lie?" (library book)

Book 8 for the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde - back to his previous excellent writing, I ate this up in one bite and enjoyed every single crumb! This is Fforde's new series for children and there is more to come soon I think...can't wait! (library book)

The Death Maze, Relics of the Dead and The Assassin's Prayer by Arianna Franklin - catching up a little with overdue reviews here as the first of these books I read back in February! I hadn't come across this author until I reviewed the first book of this series for the Great Crime Caper. After reading that one I wanted to read the rest.

In book 2 - The Death Maze, the heroine Adelia is sent by the King to investigate the death of his favourite mistress and gets trapped and cut off in an abbey due to winter snows. Not as good as the first book but still an enjoyable read. (library book)

In book 3 - Relics of the Dead, Adelia is sent to investigate some corpses which have been long buried at Glastonbury Abbey and have recently become exposed following a fire and earthquake. Again, Adelia's life is in peril and she is saved by her lover the Bishop of St. Albans - that part of the storyline I found to have become a little tedious by now and wished for them to settle the matter of their forbidden love! Good story with some unexpected twists and turns. (library book)

In book 4 - Assassin's Prayer, Adelia is sent back to Italy to accompany the King's daughter who is on her way to her wedding. For such an intelligent woman, Adelia has little common sense regarding her own safety at times...and I found her carelessness to be rather silly however the matter of the illicit love affair did seem to be being brought to a conclusion in this story. This is the last in the series as sadly the author passed away - earlier this year I think. Generally, these books are definitely worth a read for fans of the medieval period of time and Adelia and her companions are very likeable characters even if she is a little careless with herself! (library book)

Books 9, 10 and 11 for the Historical Reading Challenge

May Contain Traces of Magi by Tom Holt - I spotted this in Carole's book list and ordered it up from my library. Thoroughly enjoyed it and it was a good break from my favourite historical books...sometimes you can have too much of a good thing and it's a good idea to change genre - this was the perfect solution.

I've four more historical books to write reviews for which will bring my total up to 15 so far this year but I'll save those for another post, I think this one has gone on for long enough! Must try and keep on top of things once I caught up! 

Past Caring by Robert Goddard

Over the years I've read quite a few books by Robert Goddard and have yet to be disappointed by any of them. This is another novel set in different time periods with events taking place from 1910 through to about 1980. 

Martin Radford, an out of work historian is offered the (paid) opportunity to research the events recorded in the journal of little know MP Edwin Strafford. After reading the journal, Martin jumps at the chance and sets about finding out why Strafford resigned his position of cabinet minister at the height of his career and why his fiance rejects him. 

Mystery and intrigue abound in this story as do murder, deception and manipulation. In the first part of the book we read along with Martin as he absorbs Strafford's journal and becomes committed to discovering what caused the man's fall from grace. It's difficult to say too much without giving away pieces of the plot however, once Martin begins to research and look into events, the action comes thick and fast and Martin himself has several surprises up his sleeve to present the reader with. While the part of the book that deals with Strafford's journal is perhaps a little slow, once the action gets going this book is not one to be put down. 

 

This is the third book that I have reviewed for the Great Transworld Crime Caper and was provided by Transworld. It is my sixth review for the Historical Reading Challenge.

Sophia's Secret by Susanna Kearsley

Susanna Kearsley is a new author to me and I am so glad that I found her! I read a review of one of her other books on the Historical Tapestry blog and decided that I needed to give her books a go and so, without further ado I ordered a couple up from my library. 

The book is about Carrie McClelland, an author of historical fiction. Carrie is writing a book about an 18th century Scot called Hooke and by chance happens to visit the ruins of Slains Castle in Scotland. She feels drawn to the area and the story that she has been struggling to write suddenly becomes vividly alive in Carrie's mind. Carrie takes a cottage in the area and sets about reworking the ideas of her novel, indeed she seems to have little choice in the matter as her characters dictate the course of events in her mind. There are two threads running through the book - that of Carrie writing the book and the actual story of the book that she is writing which happens to be about the little noted Scottish rebellion of 1708, the heroine of that part of the book being the Sophia of the title. 

This is the blurb from the back of the book...

"When bestselling author Carrie McClelland visits the windswept ruins of Slains Caslte, she is enchanted by the stark and beautiful Scottish landscape. The area is strangely familiar to her but she puts aside her faint sense of unease to begin her new novel, using the castle as her setting, and one of her own ancestors, Sophia, as her heroine. Then Carrie realises her writing is taking on a life of its own and the lines between fact and fiction become increasingly blurred.

As Sophia's memories draw Carrie more deeply into the intrigue of 1708, she discovers a captivating love story lost in time."

I've read several books where the main character is somehow 'connected' to past events or comes under their influence and I was curious to see how this element would be dealt with - hoping that it wouldn't be in a way that had been 'done before' so to speak. I was not disappointed. Had it not been for the fact that life must go on I doubt that I would have set this book down at all without reading all the way through. I found both parts of the story thoroughly captivating and was in need of tissues in a couple of places. This is one of those books where the characters remain with you long after you have finished reading the novel.  I have already begun reading my second Susanna Kearsley novel and look forward to reading more in the future.

 

This is my fifth review for the Historical Reading Challenge.

Full Dark House by Christopher Fowler

This was my second read for the Great Transworld Crime Caper and the book was kindly sent to me by Transworld. This is the first book that I've read by Christopher Fowler...and it won't be the last.

The story is set in two different periods of time in London - modern day and WWII during the Blitz. In the WWII time period we see the rocky beginning of the partnership between Bryant and May as they try to solve the mystery of some rather gruesome murders that take place in a theatre. In the modern day setting we see May trying to find out why his partner has been blown to smithereens in an explosion at the office of the Peculiar Crimes Unit.

 

A book, like this one, that begins with the death of one of the main characters is guaranteed to interest. I read it at quite a slow pace for me because I simply didn't want to miss out on any of the detail - and this book is choc full of details with so many different threads to the story both in the past and in the present.

Second World Wartime Britain is described in fabulous detail as is the world of the theatre. At several points I expected a paranormal twist to the tale which kept me wondering and thinking until the finale. I think I held my breath several times as people wandered about the theatre unchaperoned, and I feared what ghastly fate awaited them - the murders in this book being  rather gruesome. 

The contrast between modern day Bryant and May and their younger selves was tantalising, making me want to know what adventures they had had in the intervening period and snippets of things that had happened to them over the years since their fledgling partnership first began were woven into the storyline seamlessly. They were at turns amusing, serious, intelligent and mistaken making their further adventures irresistible to follow and indeed I have already purchased the second of their adventures to enjoy in the near future.

Apart from a good story I like the artwork on the covers of these books...I'm afraid I've a soft spot for good book covers :)

 

This is my fourth review for the Historical Reading Challenge 2011 (I'm behind with my reviews and have two more to write up).

Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin

Once in a while a book comes along that you cannot put down and Mistress of the Art of Death was such a book. I was drawn into the story from the first paragraph and stayed there until the end of the book. The main character, Adelia Aguilar, held my attention and interest throughout the entire book with her most unusual, for the period of time, occupation. Not only is she a female doctor but she is also the medieval version of today's pathologist which is quite acceptable in her Italian home town of Salerno but very suspect in Medieval England. Travelling with two unlikely companions - a Jewish investigator and a Saracen who is her protector she has made her way to England in order to aid in the investigation of the death of four children in Cambridge. 

The story makes use of actual historical events and characters and the descriptions of Medieval England and the characters who live in Cambridge are rich and captivating; bringing those times to life in full colour in the mind. Adelia's character, that of dedicated doctor and avowed celibate, undergoes  a transformation during the course of the story and is done in a convincing fashion. Determined to remain a practising Mistress of the Art of Death and doctor, she adopts rather a modern approach when confronted with the prospect of falling in love. 

As a lover of both historical and crime fiction I'm delighted to find a 'new to me' author who brings these two genres together in such a convincing, competent and enjoyable fashion.

If I gave marks for books this would rate a 10/10 I truly couldn't put it down.

This is my first review for the Great Transworld Crime Caper and my third review for the Historical Reading Challenge.

Dark Road to Darjeeling by Deanna Raybourn

This is the fourth book in Deanna Raybourn's Lady Julia series of mysteries and having read the first three I was eager to see what events occurred after the marriage of Lady Julia and Brisbane. At the start of the book they are still on their (rather long) honeymoon and are staying at the hotel in Egypt. Both of them are chafing at the bit for a change of scene when Julia's sister Portia and her brother Plum arrive on the scene - help is needed in India where Portia's true love Jane is now residing. Jane is pregnant and her husband has died and there is a suspicion that the death wasn't 'natural'. Without further ado, Julia and Brisbane set sail for India along with Portia and Plum in order to ensure Jane's safety. 

Suspects and motives for murder abound and Julia is soon caught up in trying to solve the mystery of Jane's husband's demise - in spite of being warned off by Brisbane who is always conscious of Julia's lack of care for her own safety in these matters. Characters from a past story make an appearance alongside many new ones typical of the era, circumstances and location. Mystery, evil, heartbreak and more death occur and Lady Julia finds her killer in a quite unanticipated person. 

I did enjoy this book, it's full of the delights and problems of personal relationships with several convenient appearances by either characters from past books or people that have been mentioned briefly along the way. The mystery is a good one although not my favourite adventure of Julia's. 

 

This is my second review for the Historical Reading Challenge.