Books We Love (Or Not)

Set in Victorian England, this historical mystery is written in the tradition of Agatha Christie and Elizabeth Peters. Widowed Lady Julia Grey is attending a holiday house party in an isolated manor, snowed in with her eccentric family, when a guest turns up murdered. Then Julia’s spectacular Grey Pearls disappear, along with her spinster aunt. To solve the mystery, Julia must join forces with her old flame, cynical but seductive detective Nicholas Brisbane—before someone else turns up dead.

This story is a delight that any lover of historical mystery or historical fiction is certain to satisfy. Constant twists and turns continually surprise the reader (and Julia, although Nicholas always seems one step ahead of the game), and the story unfolds with the intricacy of a peeled onion, layer by layer. Multiple villains—all of them colorful, and some definitely more malignant than others—keep the story lively. The chemistry between Julia and a fiercely-resistant Nicholas provides an enjoyable romantic subplot, while quirky characters and a vivid sense of place contribute further fascination. The book is #2 in the Lady Julia Grey mystery series, which debuted with the RITA-winning SILENT IN THE GRAVE.

If you enjoy historical mysteries and the authors I mentioned above, you’re going to enjoy this one. It’s beautifully written, and you’ll savor every sentence. Has anyone out there had a chance to read the first book in the series?

This book was another amazing find from The Complete Idiot’s Ultimate Reading List. The story, by an author best known for her vivid fantasy novels, was a fascinating marriage of vampire horror and detective fiction, set in Victorian-era London.

Oxford don and sometimes-covert agent James Asher is shocked when he returns to his townhouse one night to find Spanish Inquisition-era hidalgo vampire Don Simon Ysidro looming in the parlor over Asher’s unconscious wife. But the vampire’s purpose is far deeper than it appears, and Ysidro uses Asher’s fear for his wife to blackmail Asher into investigating who is murdering the vampires of London. Despite the pair’s mutual distrust, Asher and Ysidro must work together if they want to survive their investigation and stop a supernatural killer unlike any they’ve ever encountered, before the killer stops them.

I cannot express to you how refreshing, well-written, and just plain good this story was! It was an interesting cross of early vampire fiction, historical fiction and a good, old-fashioned, twisty detective story. Published in 1988, the novel’s vampires may have been somewhat influenced by Anne Rice’s early work–and of course, early Rice is one of my very favorite things to read! Despite the vampire’s current popularity, in the 1980s almost no one else was writing sympathetic vampire fiction. In Hambly’s tale, the Victorian detective twist–well-researched and presented with very sharp prose—-made the story entirely fresh. The cautious friendship that grows between detective Asher and vampire Ysidro is one of the story’s particular strengths. And the mystery is complex and surprising, with an unexpected solution to the crimes. I understand the author is a historian by training, and the Victorian-era worldbuilding is very well done indeed. There’s apparently one sequel to this story, which I will eagerly look for!

I heartily recommend this book for those who enjoy vampire fiction or Victorian-era mystery/suspense. It’s darkly textured and sometimes violent, but never gratuitously so.

In this Victorian-era mystery set in 1880s London, outspoken society spinster Charlotte Ellison is horrified when neighborhood women begin to be strangled, including her own maid. Working-class Inspector William Pitt undertakes an investigation of the crime, and becomes intrigued by Charlotte. The two struggle to find the murderer before he kills again, and Charlotte may be the next target.

This is the first book of what is reportedly the longest-running mystery series of all time. This first book was pubbed in 1979 and, amazingly, has never gone out of print. The upper-class Victorian setting was perfect for this story and organic to it. The seething tensions of three generations of the Ellison family, the dialogue that reveals what’s NOT being said, the family secrets and long-unspoken resentments bubbling to the light added so much to the story.

WARNING, PLOT SPOILER AHEAD: I was dismayed by the murder of Charlotte’s sister, one of the main characters whose point of view we enjoyed, near the story climax. I liked this character and wasn’t prepared to have her die! But of course it served the goals of increasing the tension and stakes for the heroine to solve the crime. Because the story is a bit dark, I’m not sure whether it would be classified as a “cozy” mystery, which is the kind I find myself seeking out most frequently lately! One thing I like about reading mystery writ large is that, as with romance, you have a guaranteed happy ending. A mystery is about the quest for justice. The crime is always solved, and justice is always served in the end.

I’d recommend CATER STREET HANGMAN for fans of historical mysteries. Because the romance between Pitt and Charlotte is central to this first book and it has a happy ending, I’d also recommend it to romance readers who like Victorian-set stories and savor a bit of suspense with the read. The next books in the Pitt series are Callander Square, Paragon Walk, and Resurrection Row.

This book is the enticing first in a historical mystery series set in Tudor England at Queen Elizabeth’s court. Widowed gentlewoman Ursula Blanchard accepts a sensitive position guarding Lord Robert Dudley’s wife, who fears her husband will murder her in order to marry his beloved Elizabeth and win the English throne. When the unhappy Amy is murdered despite Ursula’s vigilance, and a beloved servant is killed as well, Ursula is driven to hunt for the killers. The clues lead her to the highest levels of the Queen’s court. When Ursula’s own life is jeopardized, she must decide how far she’s willing to go for justice.

This story was an excellent read! Astonishingly well researched, yet the research is woven seamlessly into a brisk and twisty plot, while the stakes for Ursula continue to mount. The mystery involved several surprising twists and has a fully satisfying ending. I would read this author’s other books in a heartbeat, and have just picked up THE QUEEN’S RANSOM, which is #3 in the Ursula Blanchard series. I have a lot to learn from this author about tight pacing and the use of action and intrigue to make complex history accessible to the mainstream reader.

This book is a great choice for anyone intrigued by Tudor England and the controversial romance between Elizabeth and her dashing master-of-horse Dudley. It’s also fully satisfying as a mystery. No steamy sex in this read, yet there is plenty of sexual tension between Ursula and her aristocratic suitor–who may also be involved in the crime. The violence primarily takes place off the page, yet a sense of menace is effortlessly maintained throughout.

Set in Regency England, this historical mystery is a treat for any fan of Jane Austen. It’s the second book in a series of “cozy” mysteries in which Austen herself is the amateur sleuth. Using characters and events from Jane’s own life as revealed by her remaining correspondence, the stories are written in the voice and style of Austen’s novels. This one had just a bit of a slow start, but a wonderful feeling of comfort quickly develops, as if one is reading Austen’s own work.

For me, the only source of frustration was the need to remain true to Austen’s own life. Since the real Jane Austen never married, this book’s romantic subplot involving Jane and a true “Darcyesque” hero cannot have a happily-ever-after ending. Nonetheless, this was a thoroughly pleasurable and well-done story, and I would read additional works by this author. Currently on my weighty shelf of library loans is the first book in this series, called JANE AND THE UNPLEASANTNESS AT SCARGRAVE MANOR.

I’d recommend this series to any fan of Jane Austen, fans of historical fiction and historical mysteries set in the Regency period. There’s no sex, graphic violence or language, yet the story manages to be quite atmospheric and Gothic when it needs to be! Despite the absence of a happy ending for the romance, the mystery is satisfactorily resolved, and Jane survives to continue her sleuthing hobby in future books.