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Tag Archives: 3.5 stars

The Clockmaker’s Daughter by Kate Morton – Review

05 Friday Oct 2018

Posted by WWMB in Book Review

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Tags

3.5 stars, Book Review, historical mystery, Kate Morton, multiple story lines

About The Clockmaker’s Daughter

A rich, spellbinding new novel from the author of The Lake House—the story of a love affair and a mysterious murder that cast their shadow across generations, set in England from the 1860’s until the present day.

My real name, no one remembers.
The truth about that summer, no one else knows.

In the summer of 1862, a group of young artists led by the passionate and talented Edward Radcliffe descends upon Birchwood Manor on the banks of the Upper Thames. Their plan: to spend a secluded summer month in a haze of inspiration and creativity. But by the time their stay is over, one woman has been shot dead while another has disappeared; a priceless heirloom is missing; and Edward Radcliffe’s life is in ruins.

Over one hundred and fifty years later, Elodie Winslow, a young archivist in London, uncovers a leather satchel containing two seemingly unrelated items: a sepia photograph of an arresting-looking woman in Victorian clothing, and an artist’s sketchbook containing the drawing of a twin-gabled house on the bend of a river.

Why does Birchwood Manor feel so familiar to Elodie? And who is the beautiful woman in the photograph? Will she ever give up her secrets?

Told by multiple voices across time, The Clockmaker’s Daughter is a story of murder, mystery, and thievery, of art, love and loss. And flowing through its pages like a river, is the voice of a woman who stands outside time, whose name has been forgotten by history, but who has watched it all unfold: Birdie Bell, the clockmaker’s daughter.

 

Review of The Clockmaker’s Daughter

The beginning of The Clockmaker’s Daughter hinted at the potential of a fascinating story told from the perspective of the modern woman, Elodie Winslow and the ghost, Birdie Bell. I would have been happy to see how Elodie’s research and Birdie’s recollections unveiled the truth about the events of 1862 and the people involved.

But then more viewpoints were added. And then more.

Most of the characters were well worth getting to know, each with their own impression of the mystery. They helped me piece the facts together so that I could come up with my own suspicions of what really happened in 1862. Did I guess the the truth about what happened before the author revealed it? Not exactly, but I was close.

The ghost, Birdie, is by far the main character. While the book blurb leads you to believe that Elodie is equally important, she actually disappears from the pages of the book for long passages. I really wanted more of her. I wanted her to use her research skills to uncover the personal histories, clues, and artifacts that make up the story of Birchwood Manor.

The story jumped all over the timeline, expecting the reader to keep up with the many characters and their relationships not just to the timeline, but to other characters in the story. To be honest, I found it a bit exhausting. Not everyone will agree with me and might even call me linear-minded. That’s okay.

My rating is 3.5 stars and will round to 4 for the review sites. Overall, I think The Clockmaker’s Daughter will entertain – if you have patience for this temporally challenged mystery.

Through NetGalley, the publisher provided a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

 

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The Phantom Tree by Nicola Cornick – Review

27 Monday Aug 2018

Posted by WWMB in Book Review

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3.5 stars, historical, mystery, Nicola Cornick, romance, time travel

About The Phantom Tree

Browsing an antiques shop in Wiltshire, Alison Bannister stumbles across a delicate old portrait—identified as the doomed Tudor queen, Anne Boleyn. Except Alison knows better. The subject is Mary Seymour, the daughter of Katherine Parr, who was taken to Wolf Hall in 1557 and presumed dead after going missing as a child. And Alison knows this because she, too, lived at Wolf Hall and knew Mary…more than four hundred years ago.

The painting of Mary is more than just a beautiful object for Alison—it holds the key to her past life, the unlocking of the mystery surrounding Mary’s disappearance and how Alison can get back to her own time. To when she and Mary were childhood enemies yet shared a pact that now, finally, must be fulfilled, no matter the cost.

Nicola Cornick offers a provocative alternate history of rivals, secrets and danger, set in a time when a woman’s destiny was determined by the politics of men and luck of birth.

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Review of The Phantom Tree

There are several things going on in The Phantom Tree.  Alison’s story in the past.  Alison’s story in the present. Mary’s story in the past.  I little bit of fantasy.  A chunk of history. And a mystery.

Alison and Mary are connected by the time they spent at Wolf Hall as forgotten children of royalty and nobles with no place to go.  Alison was the older of the two, cold and distant to Mary.  Mary was always a bit different because she had some unique abilities that would some day get her into trouble. They were not really close, but share some bit of friendship since they shared a room.

When Mary does get into trouble, Alison has a plan to help her out, though her plan is selfish.  She will get Mary someplace safe in return for Mary’s assistance in finding her son who was taken from her at birth.  And then, Alison basically abandons Mary.

Alison left home with no idea, really, of where she would end up.  All she knew was it was a very different place than her current circumstance.  In fact, it was four hundred years into the future.  Alison was not really smart enough to wonder if she could really even get back.  And she left her baby behind.  It was already established that she was somewhat cold and prickly.  Going to the future did not change her.  Her relationship with Adam proves that.  Alison is a main character that I could not develop any sympathy for.

On the other hand, I did like Mary.  The author filled in fictional details of Mary Seymour’s life that made her interesting and I wanted to see her get a happy ending.  However, Alison’s story seemed to be the main focus of the book, so I did not really get enough of Mary’s story.

I debated about posting this review on my blog. I was not really into it mostly because of Alison, though I did finish the book which is a positive.  I am giving it 3.5 stars (which I will round to 4 for other review sites).  I know there are many that will really enjoy this story and it does have a few good things to recommend it.  1) The character of Mary Seymour, as I mentioned earlier 2) historical settings were very well done and added to the overall atmosphere of the story 3) the use of clues provided in a portrait to research the past and provide answers to Alison’s questions.

The Phantom Tree is for history lovers who like a little mystery too.

Through NetGalley, the publisher provided a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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