The Burning Chambers by Kate Mosse – Review

Tags

5 stars, Book Review, France, historical, Kate Mosse, mystery, religious wars, romance, series, thriller

About The Burning Chambers by Kate Mosse

Power and Prejudice: France, 1562. War sparks between the Catholics and Huguenots, dividing neighbors, friends, and family—meanwhile, nineteen-year-old Minou Joubert receives an anonymous letter at her father’s bookshop. Sealed with a distinctive family crest, it contains just five words: She knows that you live.

Love and Betrayal: Before Minou can decipher the mysterious message, she meets a young Huguenot convert, Piet Reydon. Piet has a dangerous task of his own, and he will need Minou’s help if he is to stay alive. Soon, they find themselves on opposing sides, as forces beyond their control threaten to tear them apart.

Honor and Treachery: As the religious divide deepens, Minou and Piet find themselves trapped in Toulouse, facing new dangers as tensions ignite across the city—and a feud that will burn across generations begins to blaze. . .

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Review of The Burning Chambers

<b>The Burning Chambers</b> is a deep dive into historical France, portraying the conflicts between Catholics and Protestants, sometimes in painful details.

Warning – the book starts off with a torture scene. However, the scene is brief and you are quickly swept into 1562 France. At the time, protestants were persecuted despite the crown’s decree that they be left alone. The history is tightly interwoven into the story of fictional characters Minou Joubert, Catholic though raised to be tolerant by her bookstore owner father and Piet Reydon, Protestant and a player in the resistance. The story does also incorporate some true historical characters to give the saga of Minou and Piet and authentic air.

When I started it, I was a bit put off by all the history. I suppose I was not in the mood for a lesson. But soon, I was caught up with Minou and Piet. Minou’s father has become withdrawn and rarely goes out. So Minou must become the family provider, running the bookshop. One day, on her way to the shop, she comes across Piet.

Piet is busy raising funds for the Protestants of Toulouse so they can build a church. When Minou and Piet meet, there is quiet attraction of strangers. Though they part with only a few words between them, fate will bring them together in Toulouse.

The book opens with historical notes about the religious wars. A list of principal characters is also included and is a nice reference.

The prologue takes place in 1862. I assumed the story would eventually get back to the characters in the prologue, but that did not happen. I believe the prologue storyline is meant to tie the books in the series together but the connection to the main story is not at all apparent.

The plot is just complex enough to keep the pages turning, but not so complex that the reader loses track of who is up to what. There are many players and many plotters. Piet and Minou are in the middle of it all. The ways all the characters are connected are revealed through many plot twists, much drama, happiness, tears, danger and adventures.

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

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The Business of Blood by Kerrigan Byrne – Review

Tags

5 stars, Book Review, historical, historical mystery, Jack the Ripper, Kerrigan Byrne, mystery, series, thriller, Victorian England

About The Business of Blood by Kerrigan Byrne

London, 1890. Blood and death are Fiona Mahoney’s trade, and business, as they say, is booming.

Dying is the only thing people do with any regularity, and Fiona makes her indecorous living cleaning up after the corpses are carted away. Her childhood best friend, Mary, was the last known victim of Jack the Ripper. It’s been two years since Fiona scrubbed Mary’s blood from the floorboards, and London is no longer buzzing about the Ripper, but Fiona hasn’t forgotten.

And she hasn’t stopped searching for Jack.

When she’s called to a murder in the middle of the night, Fiona finds a victim mutilated in an eerily similar fashion to those of the Ripper, and only a few doors down from Mary’s old home. The relentless, overbearing, and irritatingly handsome Inspector Grayson Croft warns her away from the case. She might have listened, if she hadn’t found a clue in the blood. A clue that will lead her down a path from which there is no return. As a killer cuts a devastating swath through London, a letter written in blood arrives at her door, and it is only then that Fiona realizes just how perilous her endeavor is. For she has drawn the attention of an obsessive evil, and is no longer the hunter, but the prey. Fiona Mahoney is in the business of blood.

But she’s not the only one…

With intriguing twists, blood-chilling discoveries, and dazzling prose, USA Today Bestselling author Kerrigan Byrne proves a woman’s work is never done, even when she is sleuthing out a serial killer.

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Review of The Business of Blood

I am a follower of Kerrigan Byrne.  I haven’t read everything she’s written, but I’ve read enough to know that The Business of Blood is a bit of a departure from her norm.  I am accustomed to her protagonists that may have had a dark past, but in the present, they strive for the light.

In The Business of Blood, Fiona is a protagonist with a dark past and a current life that keeps her alive in an era where single women are not generally taken care of.  That she takes on the job of cleaning up after corpses is not the only thing that makes her life a dark journey.  Her obsession with Jack the Ripper as well as other activities that could get her hanged complete the picture for Fiona’s grim life.

And yet, Fiona is a character to connect with.  As she went from one perilous adventure to another, I found myself cheering for her.  And trying to solve the mystery of the current rash of Jack the Ripper -like killings.

The Business of Blood is full of plot twists and turns.  I suspected just about everyone at one point or another.  Which means, at the end I could honestly say, “Aha!  I knew it!”  I guessed the culprit.  Then I changed my mind.  Then I changed my mind again.  This is the sign of a great mystery plot.

This book has many fascinating characters, including a cop, an organized crime boss, a henchman, Oscar Wilde, and a psychic aunt.  Each deftly carries out their vital part in the story.  I will enjoy learning more about these characters as the story continues.

The persecution of several peoples (the Irish, Jews and American Indians) is brought into the story.  Not meant to be a political statement, the effect was to prove that the more different people are, the more they are the same.

There is no way I will miss the rest of this series.  The story ends on a teaser for the plot of A Treacherous Trade, which is due out in December.  Not that I want to wish my summer away, but come on December!

 

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A Stroke of Malice (Lady Darby Mystery, #8) by Anna Lee Huber – Review

Tags

5 stars, Anna Lee Huber, Book Review, favorite series, historical, mystery, series

About A Stroke of Malice by Anna Lee Huber

Scotland 1832. After enjoying a delightful holiday with her family, Lady Kiera Darby is looking forward to finishing her new friend, the Duchess of Bowmont’s portrait, as well as attending the duchess’ annual Twelfth Night party. Though she normally avoids such fashionable events, Kiera trusts the attention will not be focused on her, but rather her notorious hostess and her family. But upon their arrival at the opulent Scottish estate, Kiera and her husband and fellow investigative partner, Sebastian Gage, swiftly deduce that all is not merry in the duke’s household. The family appears to be under a great strain, and someone seems determined to cause mayhem among the guests with a series of forged notes.

However, matters swiftly turn from irksome to downright deadly when the merrymakers stumble upon a decomposing body in the castle’s crypt. This corpse is certainly no laughing matter, especially when it is identified as the duchess’ son-in-law, the Earl of Helmsdale, who had purportedly traveled to Paris more than a month earlier. It is evident the man met with foul play, and Kiera and Gage step in to investigate, at the duchess’ insistence. Kiera and Gage must swiftly reexamine the facts, for a ruthless murderer walks among them and may well be a member of the duchess’ own family. Kiera soon discovers just how deep the killer is willing to dig to keep their secrets from ever seeing the light of day.

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Review of A Stoke of Malice

The latest book in one of my favorite historical mystery series reminds me of the very first Lady Darby Mystery, The Anatomists Wife.  The two books have in common a country manor, a house party and a murder.

I’ve always like the country manor setting for a mystery.  In A Stroke of Malice, it is not necessarily a locked room mystery, because the murder happened before the party even started.  But one assumes that all the pertinent suspects are present.

And there are plenty of suspects.  The Duchess has a large family with many connections that may or many not make them suspects.  In their usual discreet yet insistent investigative manor, Kiera and Gage sift through the family members and all their possible connections.  You will want to pay attention, there are many suspects!

Through the 8 books of this series, I have come to love Kiera.  Due to her past, she is can be plagued with self-doubt and fear, but her intelligence, courage, and tenderness help her overcome and make her special. Gage supports his wife in her unorthodox activities, making him just as lovable.  I also appreciate the author’s historical research, providing details and dialog that take me back in time.

Anna Lee Huber shines again, giving us suspense, romance, history and heart in A Stroke of Malice.

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

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