A Treacherous Curse by Deanna Raybourn

Overview:

Members of an Egyptian expedition fall victim to an ancient mummy’s curse in this thrilling Veronica Speedwell novel from the New York Times bestselling author of the Lady Julia Grey mysteries. 
 
London, 1888. As colorful and unfettered as the butterflies she collects, Victorian adventuress Veronica Speedwell can’t resist the allure of an exotic mystery—particularly one involving her enigmatic colleague, Stoker. His former expedition partner has vanished from an archaeological dig with a priceless diadem unearthed from the newly discovered tomb of an Egyptian princess. This disappearance is just the latest in a string of unfortunate events that have plagued the controversial expedition, and rumors abound that the curse of the vengeful princess has been unleashed as the shadowy figure of Anubis himself stalks the streets of London.
 
But the perils of an ancient curse are not the only challenges Veronica must face as sordid details and malevolent enemies emerge from Stoker’s past. Caught in a tangle of conspiracies and threats—and thrust into the public eye by an enterprising new foe—Veronica must separate facts from fantasy to unravel a web of duplicity that threatens to cost Stoker everything...

My Review:

This is the third installment of the Veronica Speedwell Mystery Series.  In it, we find Veronica and Stoker summoned by Sir Hugo Montgomerie, head of Special Branch, and given orders to investigate a supposed curse that has befallen an Egyptian archaeological expedition.  Stoker is set to refuse until he is told that a murder has also taken place and that when word leaks out, he will be the prime suspect.  The victim is none other than John de Morgan, Stoker's former best friend and the man who ruined his life by marrying Stoker's wife who had divorced him on the grounds of cruelty.  

Enter Stoker's ex-wife who is every bit the shrew Veronica thinks, and is not sorry in the least for destroying Stoker's life.  Stoker must deal with the past once and for all and lay his demons to rest before they ruin him once again and Veronica is right by his side to help.

I love Veronica and Stoker and I enjoyed that we learned more about Stoker in this book but as I mentioned in my review of A Perilous Undertaking, they are near carbon copies of Amelia Peabody and Emerson in Elizabeth Peter's Amelia Peabody series.  I am NOT suggesting that Raybourn plagiarized or based Veronica and Stoker on them.  I am simply drawing comparisons.  That being said, I would like to see more information about their pasts come to light.  Things are being trickled out a little too slowly for my liking.

Veronica and Stoker both have to answer questions within themselves about their relationship and I am curious to see how that plays out in future books.

I love this series and have high hopes for it but am a little hesitant.  I also loved the Lady Julia Gray series by Raybourn and after five books, she seemed to get bored with it and just abandoned it so I hope that doesn't happen with this one as well.  

Have you read this series?  What did you think? 

Some Danger Involved by Will Thomas

Overview:

An atmospheric debut novel set on the gritty streets of Victorian London, Some Danger Involved introduces detective Cyrus Barker and his assistant, Thomas Llewelyn, as they work to solve the gruesome murder of a young scholar in London's Jewish ghetto. When the eccentric and enigmatic Barker takes the case, he must hire an assistant, and out of all who answer an ad for a position with "some danger involved," he chooses downtrodden Llewelyn, a gutsy young man with a murky past. 

As they inch ever closer to the shocking truth behind the murder, Llewelyn is drawn deeper and deeper into Barker's peculiar world of vigilante detective work, as well as the heart of London's teeming underworld. Brimming with wit and unforgettable characters and steeped in authentic period detail, Some Danger Involved is a captivating page-turner that introduces an equally captivating duo.

My Review:

This is the first book in the Barker and Llewelyn series.  In it we meet Cyrus Barker, a Scotsman living in London, who owns a private enquiry agency.  His first assistant Quong, had been murdered several months earlier so Barker put an advertisement in the paper looking for a new assistant and is very clear in the ad that there will be "some danger involved" in the position.  Enter Thomas Llewelyn, fresh out of Oxford Prison and in desperate need of employment.  

Barker has been asked to solve the murder of a young Jewish scholar whose body had been found crucified and hung on a cross.  It is trial by fire for young Llewelyn who is quiet and scholarly and he must learn the tricks of the trade quickly or he may be the next victim.

The story is well-plotted and full of period detail that enhances the tenseness of the story, rather than take away from it.  

The characters are superbly crafted and the author has done an excellent job of feeding the reader details of their lives and personalities at just the right moments.  We don't learn until much later why Mr. Llewelyn had been in prison but by that point, we have already learned what kind of person he is and can understand completely his actions which led to his incarceration.  Cyrus Barker is an enigma and we don't learn nearly as much about him but it's enough to really connect with him.  Even the secondary characters are fleshed out and help to advance the story as opposed to being just "filler" like in most books.

I loved this book and can't wait to read the rest of the series.  

The Alienist by Caleb Carr

Overview:

The year is 1896. The city is New York. Newspaper reporter John Schuyler Moore is summoned by his friend Dr. Laszlo Kreizler—a psychologist, or “alienist”—to view the horribly mutilated body of an adolescent boy abandoned on the unfinished Williamsburg Bridge. From there the two embark on a revolutionary effort in criminology: creating a psychological profile of the perpetrator based on the details of his crimes. Their dangerous quest takes them into the tortured past and twisted mind of a murderer who will kill again before their hunt is over.

My Review:

I know this book has been out for just shy of 25 years and though I have had it on my shelf for what seems like nearly half that time, I am just now getting around to reading it.  I guess the TNT series based on this book is what finally reminded me that I had the book and incentivized me to actually read it.  Now I am kicking myself for waiting so long.

In this book, we meet John Moore - a reporter for a New York City newspaper - and his friend Dr. Laszlo Kreizler.  Dr. Kreizler is what was then known as an alienist but today we would call a psychiatrist/psychologist.  After a gruesome murder of an adolescent boy "whore", Dr. Kreizler and John put together a team to to come up with a criminal profile of the murderer.  As they delve deeper into his psyche, they realize they can attribute other child murders to him, even as he continues to kill.  

The book is part psychological thriller and part murder mystery, and I found it to be riveting.  I loved the mixing of the two and the added historical details, such as Teddy Roosevelt (who was the Police Commissioner at the time).  The characters are a little complicated in that we don't really learn much about them (Sara still remains a mystery) and yet they still seem well developed and believable.  I have to confess, though, that I did not care for John that much.  He was too arrogant and yet cowardly at the same time and I just couldn't get on board with him which could have been problematic considering he was the one telling the story.

One thing I really disliked was the amount of unnecessary detail of some things, like the seemingly endless description of the opera house or the restaurant they frequented.  Throughout the book, Carr spends way too much time "telling" and not "showing".  It really took me out of the story because I want to see the world through the action of the story, not the author just describing it to me.  Does that make sense?  It felt like I was reading a brochure on the opulence of the buildings instead of seeing it through the eyes of the characters as it related to the story.  

That being said, I really enjoyed the story.  I have not seen the TNT show yet as I was waiting to finish the book and now that I have, I am curious to see how it was adapted for television.  I also need to pick up the sequel, The Angel of Darkness.  I also read on the Entertainment Weekly website that there are possibly two more books in the series being written but I haven't seen confirmation of that by Carr so take it with a grain of salt.

Have you read this series and/or watched the television show?  If so, what did you think?  

Wicked Intentions by Elizabeth Hoyt

Overview:

A MAN CONTROLLED BY HIS DESIRES . . .

Infamous for his wild, sensual needs, Lazarus Huntington, Lord Caire, is searching for a savage killer in St. Giles, London's most notorious slum. Widowed Temperance Dews knows St. Giles like the back of her hand-she's spent a lifetime caring for its inhabitants at the foundling home her family established. Now that home is at risk . . .

A WOMAN HAUNTED BY HER PAST . . .

Caire makes a simple offer-in return for Temperance's help navigating the perilous alleys of St. Giles, he will introduce her to London's high society so that she can find a benefactor for the home. But Temperance may not be the innocent she seems, and what begins as cold calculation soon falls prey to a passion that neither can control-one that may well destroy them both.

A BARGAIN NEITHER COULD REFUSE

My Review:

Yes, you are on the correct blog.  No, this book is not about murder.  Well, it sorta is but we'll get into that later.  Yes, this is a romance novel.  Shocking, right?  One of my New Years' resolutions was to open up my literary horizons but I just can't bring myself to read chick lit like The Notebook or Young Adult (except Harry Potter).  I've tried both those genres and just couldn't stomach them and since my hubs is quite concerned that I have only ever read murder mysteries, I decided ease his mind and try some romance so here we are.

This is the first book in the Maiden Lane series and I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised.  The story takes place in 1737 which I love because most romance novels seem to be set in the Regency period so right off the bat it had my interest.  It focuses on Temperence Dews, a widow who helps her brother run a foundling home for orphaned children in the slums of St. Giles.  There have been some killings in the area which are so gruesome that the residents can't believe a human would be capable of so they start calling the killer the Ghost of St. Giles.

Enter Lazarus Huntington, Lord Caire, who has begun investigating the murder of his mistress and asks Temperance to help him navigate through the area.  She agrees, but only because he offers to pay her handsomely and she desperately needs the money to save the foundling home and its children.  

Of course the pair fall in love but it isn't easy and it isn't really the main focus of the story.  The romance aspect was woven in beautifully so that it seemed like a natural progression and moved the story forward without being cliche. 

The characters were really well done in that they are flawed and seem realistic.  You can sympathize with Temperance for doing whatever is necessary to save the children in her care and that makes her relate-able. I have been having such an issue with characters lately so it was refreshing to actually read a story that had some who are well developed and believable.

The setting is gritty and hard and a nice break from the upper class one usually sees in this genre.

I was very surprised how much I liked this book and that may be due to the fact that it still focused on murder but the romance sub plot kept it from being too harsh.  I also have the next one in this series which I will be reviewing a little later.

If you are looking for a way to dip your toe into the romance genre, this book is a good way to do it.  The sex isn't over - the - top and distracting. It's there but there isn't too much and it feels natural.

Do you read romance?  Do you have any suggestions for me on how I can keep up with my resolution and not scare the hubs half to death?  Let me know in the comments!

Mixing Recipes with Murder

The previous two books I reviewed were full of chocolate recipes so I thought I would dedicate today's post to the subject of recipes in books.

It seems like most cozy mystery books are chock full of recipes - from chocolate to baked goods, and even pub fare but the question of the day is:  Do you think it's a good idea to mix cooking with murder?  Or do you think having the recipes gives a welcome break to the action of the book?

I am personally in the latter camp.  I love to cook and bake and am always looking for new recipes to try.  I used to spend hours on Pinterest looking for dinner and dessert ideas but since they decided to basically make every single pin in my feed a sponsored ad for things I am not interested in, I gave it up and started looking elsewhere.  I love that the books I am reading include recipes and I think when they are strategically placed, it is a great way to let the mind rest between intense action.  Some books have the recipes at the start of chapters and others include them in a separate section at the end but either way, I enjoy the added content. 

Most of the books I read have sweet recipes, like the Lady Arianna Regency Mysteries by Andrea Penrose which include chocolate recipes at the start of every chapter and I am excited to try some of them but I think my favorite series (as far as recipes go) is the Brewing Trouble Mystery series by Joyce Tremel.  It's pub food with a German twist and both those ideas are so different for a book series and I love it.

At some point, I would love to put together an entire book of all the recipes from the cozies that I read so that I have them all in one place. 

Here's a list of a few series you may want to try (if you haven't already) if you're looking for some good recipes:

Brewing Trouble Mysteries by Joyce Tremel
Lady Arianna Regency Mysteries by Andrea Penrose
Magical Bakery Mysteries by Bailey Cates
Hannah Swensen Mysteries by Joanne Fluke

Do you like recipes mixed with murder?  What other series have you read that include recipes?

Recipe for Treason by Andrea Penrose

Overview:

A diabolical traitor who's always out of reach...

England, 1814. Lady Arianna Hadley and her husband, the Earl of Saybrook, want nothing more than to savor a quiet life embellished by the occasional cup of the finest chocolate. However, when they receive orders to travel to Scotland and capture an elusive traitor, they feel their duty to the Crown must come first.

In a laboratory in Scotland, they discover the corpse of a chemistry professor—and cryptic papers hinting at a dangerous new discovery now in enemy hands. Racing against time, Arianna and Saybrook pursue their most cunning and dangerous adversary yet through a complex network of intrigue involving exotic chocolates, daredevil aviators, a missing inventor, and a secret recipe that must be recovered at any cost...

My Review:

This is the third (and hopefully) not last book in the Lady Arianna Regency Mystery series.  It takes place immediately after the events in the previous book, The Cocoa Conspiracy and I enjoyed that.  Typically, in the next book in a series, events will be months and sometimes years after the previous one and that leaves me feeling like I have missed something.

Arianna, Saybrook, and their most trusted friend Henning travel to Scotland to continue to pursue the traitor known only as Renard.  Henning's nephew has been jailed and Saybrook has secured papers from Grentham for his release but he is murdered instead, sending Henning into a deep depression and a path for revenge.  

In the midst of all this, Saybrook and Arianna still need his help with talking to a chemistry professor but he also ends up dead, forcing the pair to return to London where they come across an unusual group of aeronauts - pilots of hot air balloons.

Soon, the identity of Renard is revealed and it becomes a race  - literally - to catch the fox before all is lost.

I love that this is a direct continuation of the Cocoa Conspiracy but it seemed a little disjointed.  For example, there was something hinted at throughout the book that ended up meaning nothing (which I was glad about) but the ending, while exciting, left me with more questions than answers because it just didn't fit in with what had been heavily implied throughout the rest of the series.  When books do that, it makes it seem like the author didn't really have a well thought out plan for the series or book and that they were just making it up on the fly which leaves the reader feeling somewhat betrayed.

I also wish that we could learn much more about the characters.  At three books in, we should know much more about them than we do and while I think they are well fleshed out, there is still too much information missing.

That being said, I still loved this book.  As with the other two, there are recipes at the start of each chapter and it is still on my list of things to do to put them all together in a binder of some sort.   I also really enjoyed the addition of  hot air balloons, as that is something unique that I haven't read about in other books other than steampunk.  I love it when authors can throw in details like that which are unusual but still make sense.

I guess if the author wanted to end the series here she could, although it still leaves me with a lot of questions.  I don't know if it was intended to be a trilogy but that is what is seems like.  I checked Penrose's website, though, and she says that she will be announcing a new full-length Lady Arianna novel soon.  I hope that is the case because I really want to see this series continue!  She also released a novella called The Stolen Letters last fall.  I would love to read it but it is on Kindle only, which I don't have.  Hopefully it doesn't reveal any important information that would lead into the next book (assuming there is one).

I highly recommend this series, especially if you love chocolate like I do!