Tombland by C. J. Sansom

November 14, 2021

Tombland by C. J. Sansom

Spring 1549 - With a child king on the throne, England is heading into chaos. Radical Protestants are waging war on Catholics, the Protector's war in Scotland is a disaster, and the economy is collapsing. Lawyer Matthew Shardlake is working for the Lady Elizabeth, Henry VIII's younger daughter. The murder of Edith Boleyn, a distant relative of her mother, could have political consequences for Elizabeth.

I love this series, but this is my least favorite book thus far. It is well-researched like all of the books in this series since the author is an historian. But it's way too long, and the author focuses too much on Kett's rebellion in Norfolk - the book would have been 400 pages shorter (basically the last half of the book could have been edited out - it's mostly history, not mystery). Sansom should have stuck with Edith's murder. If he wanted to write a book about Kett's rebellion, it should have been a separate nonfiction book.

The next book, #8 in the series, is coming out toward the end of 2022.

Map of Kett's rebellion in Norfolk

The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths

January 22, 2021

The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths

Ruth Galloway is a forensic archaeologist, studying old bones from the Iron Age. She is 40-ish, overweight, and frumpy, living in a remote cottage with her two cats, living a quiet, orderly life. When a child's bones are found in the sand of a beach near her home, the local police suspect they are the bones of a child who disappeared about ten years earlier. But to Ruth's delight, the bones are much older, about 2,000 years old from the Iron Age. But then another child disappears and Ruth begins receiving threatening letters similar to the letters that the police received when the first child disappeared. 

This is the first book in the Ruth Galloway series.  It's a creepy mystery, very atmospheric, lots of dark and fog with the tide coming in and cutting off escape routes. Although Ruth describes herself as dumpy and unattractive, there are several men who are interested in her. I didn't care for this series enough to continue reading any more of the books, but many people enjoy it.

This House is Haunted by John Boyne

October 8, 2019

This House is Haunted by John Boyne

It’s October, so the time has come for scary things, like ghost stories.  After the death of her father, Eliza Caine applies for a position as a governess for two children at a country house, Gaudlin Hall in Norfolk.  But when she arrives, there are no adults present and the children are alone with no explanation for the missing adults.  Eliza soon learns that there is some creepy stuff going on in the house, and when she enquires about the family, the villagers give her strange looks.  Eliza eventually learns that she is the sixth governess to hold that position in a year.  The children refer to their mother frequently, how she expects them to dress and act, and Eliza begins to suspect that her ghost is haunting Gaudlin Hall.

Written in the style of Dickens, some readers have complained that the story isn’t scary enough (or at all scary), but this is a ghost story for those who enjoy literary fiction and pays homage to the classic ghost story The Turn of the Screw by Henry James, as well as Jane Eyre and the ghost stories of Edith Wharton.  Disquieting and atmospheric rather than horrifying, this is gothic fiction in the style of the Victorian era.  With none of the gore or violence that characterizes many modern ghost stories, this is a perfect book to curl up with on a chilly October night, with a fluffy throw, a cup of tea or a glass of wine, and a plate of shortbread cookies (and the dog or cat, of course).  I love just about anything that John Boyne writes, and while this novel isn’t quite as good as most of his other books (such as The Heart’s Invisible Furies), the writing is elegant and it’s still worth reading.

N.B., if you are interested in gory, violent, unlimited horror, search “splatterpunk” in your library’s online catalog.