Maude Horton's Glorious Revenge by Lizzie Pook

December 1, 2023

Maude Horton's Glorious Revenge by Lizzie Pook

After being informed of her sister's death while on an Arctic voyage on the ship Makepeace, Maude Horton demands answers about what happened to Constance. The ship was supposed to be searching for an Arctic explorer who went missing with his ship, but Maude discovers that there was another purpose for the voyage. Meanwhile, Edison Stowe, the Makepeace's scientific officer, is deeply in debt and concocts a scheme to make a great deal of money by capitalizing on the Victorian fascination with murder and executions.

This is a well-researched historical novel about revenge, but the plot moves slowly. Much of the book is spent setting up the final scenes and a lot of time is spent explaining little-known aspects of Victorian life. It reminded me of The Square of Sevens in that way. Learning about the Victorian fascination with executions and that there actually were excursions to watch executions outside London was quite interesting. There are some gaps, since we don't find out what happened to a number of the characters or the fate of the rubies that Stowe was after. Sensitive readers should be aware that there are a number of scenes of animal cruelty. 

Many thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

In the Victorian age, executions were a source of public entertainment

The London Seance Society by Sarah Penner

October 15, 2023

The London Seance Society by Sarah Penner

After her sister was murdered on Halloween, Lenna Wickes travels to Paris to study with Vaudeleine D'Allaire, a famous medium who specializes in conjuring the ghosts of murder victims to solve their cases. In London, the head of the London Seance Society (a men's club) had coincidentally also been murdered on Halloween. The vice president of the society asks the two women to travel to London to conduct a seance to solve the man's murder, but the two women also plan a seance to solve the murder of Lenna's sister. But the more Lenna and Vaudeleine dig around, the more they suspect that the society is a fraud.

This was part of my seasonal reading for Halloween. I started with the eARC but switched to the audiobook, which I much preferred. The London Seance Society is loosely based on The Ghost Club, which still exists in London today. It took a long time to get to the seance and the solution wasn't that interesting, and the narrative dragged. There is also some LGBTQ tossed in rather casually. This is mainly historical fiction and anyone reading this expecting ghosts and scary things will be disappointed. It's about as creepy as that Long Island Medium television show.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

19th century seance

To Kingdom Come by Will Thomas

September 5, 2023

To Kingdom Come by Will Thomas

Cyrus Barker and Thomas Llewelyn are back for another adventure. After a radical Irish group bombs Scotland Yard and threatens to destroy half of London, Barker and Llewelyn agree to assist by posing as bombmakers and infiltrating the group.

Historical mystery, the second book in the Barker and Llewelyn series. Lots of colorul characters, including some from the first book:  Mac, Barker's Jewish butler; Llewelyn's Jewish friends Israel and Ira; and Harm the Pekinese. Set during the last decades of the 19th century, incorporating history with fiction. Recommended to readers of historical fiction.

Late Victorian London

Some Danger Involved by Will Thomas

July 22, 2023

Some Danger Involved by Will Thomas

Thomas Llewellyn has hit rock bottom, with no family or friends, unable to find employment, homeless. As a last resort, he answers an advertisement for an assistant to an enquiry agent, which involves some danger. Cyrus Barker is an unusual employer to say the least, taking on cases that need to be investigated discreetly. Shortly after he is hired, Cyrus and Thomas agree to investigate the murder of a young Jewish scholar, found stabbed and crucified in the Aldgate district of London. The crime is stirring up unrest, particularly among the city's lower classes. Even though he knows that there may be some danger involved, Thomas will need all his wits to stay alive.

This is a departure from the usual cozy Victorian mystery, where two spinsters or a couple investigate crimes usually among the middle or upper classes. The tone and atmosphere here are much more hard-boiled, featuring sectors of the London populace that are usually ignored in more genteel mysteries. The main characters are interesting and unique without being overly eccentric. While I suspected the motive, I did not guess who the murderer was, which was part of the reason I liked it. It's unfortunate that prejudice against the Jew and other minorities is still going on, over a century later. The first book in a series. 

Aldgate slums, late 19th century

The Magpie Lord by K. J. Charles

October 1, 2021

The Magpie Lord by K. J. Charles

Upon the death of his father and older brother, Lucien Vaudrey is summoned home from the far east, having inherited the family earldom. He is now Earl Crane. But his family has magical enemies and he needs help fast. He summons a magician from London to assist him. Magician Stephen Day arrives to help but he secretly hates Crane's family, for good reason. But the two are forced to work together to clear the malevolent forces threatening Crane's estate. They also discover a powerful physical attraction to each other.

This was a freebie from Amazon Prime. It's the first book in the Charm of Magpies series. There's nothing wrong with the story or the magic aspect, but I did not like how Lucien treated Stephen. Stephen is a petite man and Lucien bullied and abused him, even/especially during the sex scenes (which were more graphic than I expected them to be). I'm a small person (although female) and I know how threatening it feels to have a much larger person trying to dominate you, just because they can.

Not going to continue with the series.

A magpie

The Five: the Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold

September 23, 2021

The Five: the Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold

Jack the Ripper's five victims are dismissed as prostitutes and drunks who deserved to be murdered. But that was a 19th century media depiction designed to sell newspapers, not the truth by any means. The five women were daughters, wives, and mothers, not just victims. They were women who were in the wrong place at the wrong time, placed there by circumstances.

Women's fathers and husbands were usually their only source of financial support in the 19th century. If a woman was widowed or her parents died and she was left penniless, there was often no other way for her to support herself and her children than resorting to prostitution. Some of the Ripper's victims weren't prostitutes at all, just forced to sleep rough because they didn't have the means to rent a room for the night. Cheap gin was a way to forget the horror that their lives had become. Poverty, homelessness, and no prospects for employment drove them to the streets and prostitution.

This is a really insightful look at the Ripper's victims as people and not just as horribly mutilated dead bodies. Very well-researched.

The women who were victims of Jack the Ripper

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC.

Spellmaker by Charlie N. Holmberg

September 9, 2021

Spellmaker by Charlie N. Holmberg

England 1895 - Elsie Camden is an unlicensed spellbreaker, a crime punishable by imprisonment. When she refuses to work with a dark magician who is responsible for the deaths of a series of wizards and the theft of their spell books, her secret is exposed and she lands in jail. But elite magician Bacchus Kelsey comes up with a plan to legitimize Elsie's work, but they must marry to make the story believable. Elsie then has to pretend to a dim-witted magic tutor that she has only basic spellbreaking skills, rather than the high level she really possesses. Meanwhile, she and Bacchus work on a plan to identify and thwart the dark villain.

Holmberg wrote a wonderful historical fantasy set in Victorian times. She overlays the real world with magic, and it's an acceptable part of the times. Even the romance aspect didn't annoy me (so often, an author will throw in a romance that doesn't serve any purpose). I loved this duology and I hope there will be another book in the series. The cover art reminds me of Gail Carriger's Soulless series.

Lady of Ashes by Christine Trent

August 27, 2021

Lady of Ashes by Christine Trent

London 1861 - Violet Morgan is one of the few female undertakers in Victorian London. She owns a funeral parlor and service with her husband, but he has lost interest in the business. Her husband Graham bears a grudge against the United States and has gotten involved in a scheme to sell arms to the Confederate South. Meanwhile, Violet receives the commission of a lifetime: to arrange the funeral of a friend of Queen Victoria. At the same time, she begins investigating a series of deaths among London's poor.

Not a bad book, just a jumble of ideas that's not sure what it wants to be. Mystery? Historical fiction? Romance? Although the concept intrigued me, I don't plan on continuing with this series.

Funerals in the Victorian era were elaborate affairs, even among the poor

A Murderous Relation by Deanna Raybourn

July 12, 2020

A Murderous Relation by Deanna Raybourn

Veronica Speedwell and her partner Revelstoke Templeton-Vane (i.e., Stoker) are back for their 5th adventure, this time involving Prince Eddy, oldest son of Edward, Prince of Wales.  Eddy has been visiting a house of pleasure run by the mysterious Madame Aurore, and he hasn't been very circumspect about his activities.  He ordered a piece of diamond jewelry for Madame Aurore from his mother's jeweler and billed it to her account, thinking she would never find out (sigh).  Worse yet, Lady Wellie, guardian of royal secrets, has been receiving anonymous notes and newspaper clippings insinuating that Eddy is involved in the Jack the Ripper murders.  Urgently needing a discreet inquiry into both matters, she calls on Veronica and Stoker to investigate and retrieve the jewel before it falls into the wrong hands.  Veronica's mysterious ancestry unexpectedly comes into play as well, and matters between Veronica and Stoker personally continue to heat up.

I really enjoy this series, for the entertaining dialogue and the perils that the characters land in.  I usually don't enjoy mysteries with sleuthing couples since they tend to be simpering and sugary, and the couple are almost never in conflict with each other.  Not so with Veronica and Stoker - their verbal sparring and undeniable chemistry keep things entertaining.  There is enough quirkiness to keep the reader amused - Patricia the Galapagos tortoise is getting married, Lady Rose (Lord Rosmarron's daughter) is scheming to poison her brother (but only a little), and Stoker's brothers make an appearance as well.  I also like how historical characters and events are skillfully woven into the story line.  This series is smart, sexy, and well-plotted, with fast pacing and frequent twists.  The Victorian-style silhouette covers only add to the series' attraction.  The only bad part is that once you finish the book, you want the next adventure, and it's probably going to be about a year before you get it.

If you haven't read any of the titles in this series, I highly recommend starting with the first book, A Curious Beginning, where we first meet Veronica and Stoker.