Category: Historical Fiction

THOSE WHO GO BY NIGHT by ANDREW GADDES

Those Who Go by Night

A gruesome murder in a sleepy 14th-century English village sets the stage for a taut drama laced with witchcraft, depravity, and long-buried secrets.

This historical fiction had a few real life events in it and some speculation.

Set in England, where the residents are still in fear of the Church. No one wants an Inquisition. When a man is viciously murdered and left on the church altar in a small village, the Bishop of Lincoln sends his trusted fixer to find out if indeed this is witchcraft or something even more sinister.

Unfortunately the Archbishop has already sent his man to oversee the investigation. And what a horrible man this guy was! But, is he a killer?

Thomas is a decent character and I quite like learning a bit of history along with my fiction. However I found it rather wordy and would have liked more background on the characters.

November 29th 2018 by Crooked Lane Books /Netgalley Reads

 

A CHRISTMAS REVELATION by ANNE PERRY

A Christmas Revelation: A Novel

A short story of an orphan boy who sees a woman being kidnapped and is determined to rescue her whether or not she needs rescuing.

We didn’t really have much back story on any of the characters. I didn’t get a good idea of what any of the were really like. It was all surface information and very little had to do with Christmas.

This is one of those ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover’ lessons for me. It took place in Victorian England in a poor house for mostly prostitutes and it really isn’t a Christmas book.

Netgalley/November 6th 2018 by Ballantine Books

Song of the Damned (A Phineas Fox Mystery) by SARAH RAYNE

Song of the Damned: A Musically-Inspired Mystery

A macabre liturgy. A mysterious carving. An intriguing 200-year-old mystery for music researcher Phineas Fox to solve. 

Phineas Fox is one of my favorite characters, as is the lovely Arabella. When Phin is asked to authenticate an opera by the head of Cresacre Abbey School, Arabella is excited as she was once a student there and has heard all of the theories of the missing nuns.

The more Phin digs into the opera and the men who wrote it, he finds that the events that happened centuries ago may still be deadly today.

As Arabella tries to visit one of her old classmates, Olivia Tolliver, she feels something is off. Why has Olivia become reclusive and maybe a bit nuts? Does it have anything to do with what is hidden in the basement?

This was told in present time as well as the 1790’s through the diaries of a Sister Cecilia, one of the nuns who supposedly disappeared and a man who is a mystery to all of them.

Historical Mystery Fiction or whatever genre you would like to put on this one, this author never disappoints. I would highly recommend this one!

Netgalley Reviews/ November 1st 2018 by Severn House Publishers

NEW BOOKS OUT TODAY!

American Judas by [Dubrow, Mickey]    Seth and Maggie Ginsberg do their best to navigate an oppressive theocracy where fundamental Christianity is the only legal religion, and abortion, homosexuality, and adultery are outlawed. When a co-worker outs Seth as a Jew, Seth escapes to Mexico, while Maggie is sent to a Savior Camp. American Judas is a dystopian tale about a young couple’s life after opportunistic U.S. politicians abolish the wall of separation between Church and State.

Ernest Hemingway: Artifacts From a Life by [Katakis, Michael]

Beautifully designed, intimate and illuminating, this is the story of American icon Ernest Hemingway’s life through the documents, photographs, and miscellany he kept, compiled by the steward of the Hemingway estate and featuring contributions by his son and grandson.

Dear Santa: A Novel by [Naigle, Nancy]

From USA Today bestselling author Nancy Naigle, Dear Santa is a heartwarming Christmas story about finding your passion for life and love.

House of Gold by [Solomons, Natasha]

From the New York Times bestselling author of The House at Tyneford, an epic family saga about a headstrong Austrian heiress who will be forced to choose between the family she’s made and the family that made her at the outbreak of World War I.

Fun reading all of them. And they all debut today!

xx Patricia

 

HOUSE of GOLD by Natasha Solomans

House of Gold

Such is the power and wealth of the Goldbaums that on dull days, it’s said, they hire the sun just for themselves.

This story is  loosely based on the Rothschilds, one of the oldest and wealthiest families in the world.

It’s 1911 and Greta Goldbaum is set to be married off to her cousin in the English branch of the family to a man she has never met. The Goldbaum family has branches in Vienna, Paris and England and nothing happens without their knowledge and their money.

Their marriage if off to a rocky start and Greta is miserable. She’s young and wants to run around in her bare feet and dig in the dirt, which horrifies her family and her husband.

When in 1914 an Austrian Crown Prince is murdered by Serbians, throwing everyone into WWI. This is when Greta begins to see the world for what it  is.

I really enjoyed the historical aspects of this. It was really well done.

What I didn’t care for was the pages of family drama. There was quite a bit that could have been just left out. For me it’s a like not a love.

Netgalley/

October 23rd 2018 by G.P. Putnam’s Sons

NOVEMBER ROAD by LOU BERNEY

November Road

The Kennedy Assassination has always had its fair share of conspiracy theories and Lou Berney, has taken that most horrific of crimes, the murder of a sitting US President and given us a heck of a story!

Frank Guidry loves New Orleans and very little else. He is a loyal and trusted associate of Carlos Marcello, a very big mob boss. A man feared and for very good reason.

When Frank hears the president has been murdered, he knows his time is up. He now understands why he was sent to Dallas a couple of weeks ago to drop off a car. A get away car.

And he also knows his boss is not one to leave loose ends to be unraveled by the police.

Meanwhile in a small town in Oklahoma, Charlotte has come to a decision. She is sick and tired of having people feel sorry for her and her drunk husband. Everyone is shocked when she packs up her two girls and just leaves! Very brave thing to do in the 60’s. But Charlotte wants a life, she wants more for herself and her girls and her life is about to get a lot more interesting when her path collides with Frank Guidry.

While Frank tries to outrun the man sent to kill him and make it to Vegas where he is fairly tight with the boss there, Charlotte is having some bad luck in the car department. When she and Frank meet they both see an opportunity to get where they need to go. Frank knows better than to get involved with anyone. Love isn’t for hired killers. But when he falls hard for Charlotte it could cost both of them their lives.

I seriously did not know the author was from Oklahoma City until the end. What a pleasant surprise.

I enjoyed every character in this story. The author pulls you in and from the beginning you are invested in each one of the characters. Even the horrible ones I found really well done.

Highly recommended!

Edelweiss/ October 09, 2018