4 Stars. I have loved and laughed out loud at Christopher Moore’s earlier work but Fool, Sacre Bleu, and Secondhand Souls did not do much for me. I had pretty much decided that I would stop reading his books. Then I was scrolling through my husband’s TBR looking for a book we could both listen to on [...]
4 Stars. The ninth entry in the Amelia Peabody series is another solid mystery with the usual delightful characters against the backdrop of Egyptian archaeology in its most famous heyday. The author introduced some memorable new characters who I either appropriately loved or loathed, as intended [...]
4 Stars. This graphic novel reminded me of a mashup between Sherlock Holmes stories and the TV series Penny Dreadful. It seems like an odd mix at first but it absolutely worked for me. I liked that the narrator of the story is a woman who is not all that she seems to be. I’m very curious to know more about her. The Sherlock [...]
3 Stars. I'm not a fan of New York. To be fair, I've only spent one day there and that was the day after my best friend's funeral; still, nothing about the city has ever appealed to me. That said, Time and Again didn't work particularly well for me but I think those who love New York and its history will relish it. I don't [...]
4 Stars. I love this series so much! Goldie can be annoyingly cocky sometimes but her friends keep her grounded. The mysteries are fun and somehow remind me of cartoons I would watch as kid. The diverse cast of characters is a delight. There were some new illustrators added into the mix in these two volumes. There are some [...]
3.5 Stars. I've never read any of Elly Griffiths' other mysteries but this one was good. I had a vague guess as to "whodunnit" but I didn't really know why or how. There was a more personal twist at the end that did surprise me quite a bit. I like surprises. But somehow the whole novel felt a bit gray. DI Stephens seems to have [...]
Matthew Shardlake has been summoned by Archbishop Cranmer to assist with some law work as King Henry makes a royal progress through the rebellious north. He must also try to keep a prisoner alive for later questioning. But conspiracies still abound in the area and Shardlake's life is endangered when he stumbles onto something. Reading this felt like slogging through the mud created by the never-ending rain in the book. It just dragged on and on and on. Finally, in about the last hundred pages, the action picked up and everything started to get interesting. I enjoyed reading more about Shardlake and Barak, but overall, I have a lot of problems with the book. There were a lot of typos that drove me crazy. The Bealknap case (remember that from Dark Fire?) is still. dragging. on. C'mon and let it die already! With Shardlake being in the barbarous north, he obviously doesn't really understand the dialect. The explanation of some of the more common terms was unbelievably clumsy. One character basically says out of the blue, "Oh, by the way, old boy, did you know that gate means street up here?" Yes, it really was that bad. Reading this so soon after Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth was actually pretty interesting. In Pillars, we get to see how important the monasteries are and the hard work that goes into building a cathedral. In Sansom's books, the pendulum has swung the other way and they're being destroyed. I've never really thought too much about how much art, architecture, and history was lost in these kinds of purges, but the juxtaposition of the two books really brought that home for me. I'll keep reading, and if you've read the others, I would recommend you do the same. It was still…
Matthew Shardlake has been asked to defend a young woman accused of the terrible murder of a child. The problem is that the girl refuses to speak in her own defense and time is running out. Luckily, Thomas Cromwell intervenes and gains Shardlake two more weeks to prepare a defense. In exchange, Matthew must find the secret to the recently rediscovered Greek Fire, a technology that promises to place England firmly in control of her own destiny. For me, this was really as enjoyable a read as Dissolution. Shardlake is perhaps even more full of melancholy, doubt, and loneliness, but he hasn't quite lost his faith in either God or humanity. He sees innocence in the eyes of the accused murderess and sets out to prove it, despite the unpopularity of her case. She has already been tried and hanged in the court of public opinion, but Shardlake desperately wants to see justice done. The one weakness for me was in the two plotlines. This could easily have been two separate books, but instead one book had the two stories jammed together. The deadline given for both adds to the urgency of the story, but that felt a bit like an artificial device added by the author for that very reason. Overall, though, Sansom has created a great character in Matthew Shardlake and surrounded him with a few other characters that are more complex than meets the eye. Jack Barak is introduced in this book, and at first he appears to be a beautiful bully, but he quickly shows that he is much more than that. In reading the author's notes at the end, it sounds like he has stayed as true to the period and history as possible. At the same time, he has taken something that was a…
3.5 Stars. This didn't quite have the charm and originality of the first book, but it was still good. I think this one felt a bit too dark for me. I typically steer clear of books that involve children's deaths. I know it happens, but I prefer to read in a world where it doesn't. I guess I like to keep my head in the sand. The [...]
*Possible spoilers for Crocodile on the Sandbank* Amelia Peabody and Emerson have married and had a son, Ramses. They've decided to stay home in England with him and live a quiet life, at least until he's older. They're both going slowly crazy. Emerson has been reduced to practically begging the neighbor to let him dig in his barrow. Then an opportunity in Egypt presents itself that they just can't turn down. Leaving Ramses with his aunt and uncle, they take off. Someone is determined to undermine the expedition. Emerson was called in because the original financial backer of the dig was found dead under mysterious circumstances and the chief archaeologist has disappeared. The mysterious events continue under Emerson's supervision, as do the deaths. I didn't like this book quite as much as the first, but I still enjoyed myself immensely. I remembered how much I like Amelia Peabody, but I had forgotten why. I knew she was a practical woman who had no qualms about taking charge but I forgot how often she messes things up. Not that she would ever admit it. But she's fierce in her love of Egypt and Emerson and she unintentionally left me giggling. The rest of the characters were a hoot too. I adore Emerson and, despite his legendary temper, he must be a bit of a saint to put up with Amelia. He orchestrated one scene that had me howling with laughter. I didn't know Emerson had it in him! Madame Berengeria, a crazy widow who attaches herself to their party, positively cracked me up. I would have been tempted to wrap my hands around her neck in person but on the page--! I love that Emerson is practically terrified of her. There are several young men flocking around Madame Berengeria's daughter but…