A Different View of Shakespeare and His Wife

A young poet strolling in the cemetery of the Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon is accosted by an ancient gardener. He offers to sell her Anne Hathaway’s, Mrs. Shapespearse’s, diary. Realizing that she may be duped, the poet buys the diary, has it translated and begins to read.

The diary, which the poet is having authenticated by scientists, reveals Anne Hathaway as a talented writer and poet in her own right. Far from being the older wife, hidden away in the country, Anne clips her hair, dons men’s clothing and lives with Shakespeare as his cousin. In her male role, Anne collaborates with her husband on the plays and adds poetry of her own. Together they experience the excitement of the London theater and the court, including a conspiracy against Shakespeare founded in jealousy and lust.

The book is fiction, but the imaginings follow what is known about Shakespeare. Anne is a delightful character, an independent woman, who collaborates with her husband in a way no one expects. The book gives a fascinating picture of London at the time seen through the eyes of someone intimately engaged in the exciting theater world.

I am not a Shakespeare scholar, so I can’t comment on how closely the book follows history or the known facts of Shakespeare’s life. However, it’s a good read and an interesting hypothesis. If you enjoy historical novels based on real characters, I think you’ll enjoy this book. I did.

I received this book from Turner Publishing for this review.   

British Mystery Filled with Odd Characters

Flaxborough is a seaside town where little happens. Purbright, the amiable Detective Inspector, is intrigued by the funeral of Harold Carobleat. Usually, when a town notable dies everyone turns our for a good show. In this instance, Carobleat is mourned by only his wife and doctor.

The town is quiet for six months then Carobleat’s neighbors start dying, or being murdered. Purbright favors the latter hypothesis. Although he receives little encouragement from his superior, he starts looking into the causes of death and finally convinces his superior that a killer is loose.

Written in the 1950s, these mysteries are typical of the time. The books move along with Prubright looking for clues, but the pace is not fast. The writing is filled with subtle British humor. If you’re used to hard-boiled mysteries the leisurely pace and laid-back humor may take getting used to.

I found the solution to the mystery too easy to guess, but it was fun to keep reading to find out how Purbright would uncover the clues. It was quite interesting.

This is the first of four mysteries by Colin Watson that are being republished by Farrago books. If you enjoy a cozy mystery with oddball characters, I recommend this one.

I received this book from Net Galley for this review.

 

Gourmet Food and Murder in Lyon, France

Laure Grenadier, editor of a food magazine, and her photographer, Paco Alvarez, are in Lyon, France to do an article on the traditional bistros in the city. Laure is friends with several of the chefs. It’s doubly devastating when first one and then another of her friends is murdered in the same way suggesting the work of a serial killer.

The book does an excellent job showcasing the city and it’s bouchons (restaurants). The food is beautifully described and as an added bonus many on the recipes are included in the text. They were a bit complicated for me, but a better cook might enjoy trying them. We also get an overview of the city as Paco and Laure travel from restaurant to restaurant.

The characters are well done. Laure is a typical French woman, chic and intelligent. Paco is an artist with his camera. He also has a crush on Laure that isn’t reciprocated, although she recognizes his worth. She has desires in a different direction. This isn’t a romance, but the romantic affairs of the main characters make them more real.

This book is much like the Winemaker Detective Series by one of the same authors. Like that series, the focus is on the description of the food and the area. The mystery is interesting and woven into the story well, but it’s not a traditional mystery where the main characters spend their time looking for clues. The solution happens almost incidentally at the end. If you enjoy cozy mysteries with luscious backgrounds, you’ll enjoy this book.

I received this book from Le French Book for this review.

Florence Gould: Socialite, Empire Builder, Nazi Collaborator, Philanthropist

Florence Gould’s French parents did very well in turn-of-the-century San Francisco amassing a substantial real estate portfolio. The San Francisco earthquake changed all that. Although the family was safe, the buildings were damaged or destroyed. Florence’s mother fearing a worse catastrophe took her daughters to France.

From an early age, Florence knew exactly what she wanted: money and love. Marrying Frank Gould, son of the railway magnate, Jay Gould, she achieved financial success. With Frank, she moved to France where they amassed an entertainment empire of luxury hotels and casinos. World War II ruined many fortunes, but Florence and Frank stayed in France and prospered much through Florence’s contacts with the Nazis. Not only did she continue to be wealthy, but she bought a substantial art collection much of it looted by the Nazis.

The book is a fascinating, well researched look at Florence’s life. The early chapters present a picture of the young Florence and her determination to get what she wanted from life. The middle chapters describing Frank and Florence’s forays into French real estate are interesting, but I think the best part of the book details her activities during the Nazi occupation of France. Florence was a hard-headed woman determined to get what she wanted.

The book is not a quick read. I found parts quite boring. However, the ending chapters were worth waiting for. If you’re interested in the WWII period, I recommend this book. It gives an overview of the period and one of it’s colorful characters.

I received this book from St Martin’s Press for this review.

D.D. Warren Snags the Case of a Missing Teen and a Murdered Family

D.D. is looking forward to a relaxing day with her husband and son. They’re even going to look for a puppy. When the phone rings, D.D. knows her fun day is over. A family; mother, boyfriend, and two children, have been murdered in an execution style killing in their own home. One member of the family appears to have escaped. Roxy, the older teenage daughter, is missing along with the family’s two dogs.

D.D. isn’t the only one looking for Roxy. Flora Dane, a kidnapping survivor, has formed a group to help other survivors adjust. Sarah, one of the group members, knows Roxy. Flora thinks the teen needs help, and she starts a search that brings her into contact with D.D. Warren, who isn’t completely pleased to find her on the case.

D.D. and Flora are strong women. They come at solving crimes from two different perspectives, but their efforts mesh in the end. Flora has been D.D.’s nemesis on other cases. This time she seems to better understand Flora’s perspective and appreciate her involvement.

In addition to a fascinating mystery, the novel explores the social problems of children caught in the foster care system. Too many people have failed Roxy. Her mother, and the foster care and judicial system weren’t there for her. The school also failed when they didn’t prevent serious bullying.

I recommend this book not only for the fast paced mystery, but also for the look into the societal problems of families in turmoil

I received this book from Dutton for this review.  

Three Women’s Lives are Intwined with a Hidden Castle in France

Ellie Carver races to the nursing home afraid that her grandmother, an Alzheimer’s patient, is dying. She’s surprised to find her grandmother, Lady Vi, lucid and standing by a window. Lady Vi surprises Ellie by telling her of a hidden castle in the Loire Valley where the French Resistance met during WWII. Feeling a strong kinship with the story, Ellie heads for France to find the castle known as Sleeping Beauty Castle hoping to learn more about her grandmother before she loses her.

During the French Revolution, Avaline, a member of the nobility, is at the Sleeping Beauty Castle where her engagement to the son of the Duc et Vivay is to be announced. Before she even meets her fiance, the castle is attacked by angry villagers and nearly destroyed.

Lady Vi, working with British Intelligence during WWII, is nearly killed by the Germans while undercover in France. She escapes and makes her way to the Loire Valley where she joins the resistance using the castle as headquarters.

Although told from the perspective of three women in different generations, this is in some ways the story of the castle that survives through several attempts to destroy it. The history surrounding each of the three time periods from the French Revolution, to WWII, and the present day is well researched. However, the author doesn’t use the book as a history lesson. It is part of the background.

Descriptions of the Loire Valley, scenery, food, and the vineyards draw you into the story and form a background to each time period. All three women are strong characters, although I thought Ellie was the weakest. Sometimes it’s difficult to switch time periods in a novel with so many characters and stories, but the author did a good job making each story come alive.

If you enjoy historical fiction, I highly recommend this book. It’s hard to put down.

I received this book from Booklook Bloggers for this review.

Disappointing Discussion of How Democracies Decline

The authors, two Harvard professors, claim that democracies decline into authoritarian dictatorships. They provide four basic criteria with supplemental points to evaluate the criteria. The sum of their analysis is then described in a qualitative review of how European and South American dictatorships devolved into dictatorships.

I was disappointed in the level of analysis provided by the qualitative method used in this book. There was no attempt to analyze and present the spectrum of democracies. Some were far right; some far left. It would have been instructive to understand how their differences and similarities affected the outcome.

Another limitation of the discussion was that the authors insist on calling the US a democracy. It was planned as a republic. There are differences between the two systems of government, and those differences have meaning. I thought there should have been at least an acknowledgment of what factors make a democracy as opposed to a republic.

My overall impression of the book was that instead of a scholarly analysis exploring both sides of a question, the authors slanted the presentation of their research to make a political point. They do not like President Trump,and feel he is dangerous, an outsider on the way to becoming a dictator. From reading the news on a daily basis, I suspect there is more than one story to be told here and should include analysis of both political parties.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.  

An Epic Fantasy

Lark is hiding. He’s frightened and lost and not sure where he is or where he’s going. He peeks from his hiding place in a thicket near the waterfall and finds he’s not alone. A beautiful elf decides to take a plunge into the pool. Lark is a teenage boy. He can’t help but watch. He doesn’t realize that the elf is also watching him. She confronts him and decides to take him with her to the Great Western Fair.

Lark was hiding because his village had been destroyed and his parents killed. They fought bravely to give him a chance to survive, but now he’s alone and there is so much he doesn’t understand in the world peopled by elves, trolls, dwarfs and other creatures.

I enjoyed the characters. Lark is growing, learning, and finding that things are not the way he thought they were. As he and his companion progress toward the fair, he asks questions and learns quickly, the prototype of a teenage boy. The descriptions of the surroundings are good. They draw you into Lark’s world and make it real.

My only problem with the book is the length. It is a very long fantasy adventure, and only the first book in the proposed series. There are multiple plots and many interesting characters, but it can get tedious to read about encounter after encounter.

I enjoyed the Lord of the Rings which is an equally long fantasy adventure, but that book has the Hobbits. Although there are many interesting characters in this book there are none that rival the Hobbits. If you enjoy immersing yourself in fantasy adventure, this is a good book.

I received this book from PR by the Book for this review.

FBI Chases a Ted Bundy Type Serial Killer

In Solace, Texas, women are disappearing without a trace. The police are stumped and request help from the FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit. Caitlin Hendrix, a rookie profiler, is assigned to go with the team to Solace.

Shortly after they arrive, another woman goes missing. An informant hearing the details of the disappearances tips the FBI to her ex-boyfriend, who she still fears. Then two bodies are found in the woods laid out in eerily similar poses. A serial killer is on the loose.

This is the second book in the UNSUB series. Caitlin, the heroine of both books is back in her new role in the FBI. She loves the challenge, but getting into the mind of a serial killer brings back the psychological problems of her teen years. Caitlin is gutsy. In spite of the toll it takes on her, she puts her personal problems aside to find the killer.

This story is based on the facts of the Ted Bundy case, including his work on a suicide hotline. However, the author fleshes out the story primarily with Caitlin’s reactions. It makes a fast paced, thrilling story that’s hard to put down.

All the characters in the book are realistic from the profilers to the townspeople and police. The descriptions of the serial killer were scary, but pretty accurate. I did miss the interaction with her lover, Sean. He’s in San Francisco; she’s in Virginia,

and long distance romance is full of pitfalls.

If you enjoy fast paced thrillers, this is a good one. Even knowing the Bundy story, which made the plot somewhat predictable, I enjoyed the way the characters dealt with the challenge.

I received this book from Dutton for this review.

Historical Fiction and Romance

Mary Elizabeth, a member of the Separatists, is afraid to leave the only home she’s known in Holland, but her father has secured passage on the Speedwell, a vessel bound for the new world and a better life. Her best friend Dorothy is also going on the boat. This helps Mary Elizabeth adjust because while Mary cries constantly, Dorothy is enthusiastic.

William Lytton is also headed for the new world on the Mayflower. He’s a carpenter hoping for a better life. Abandoned as a child he was rescued by his mentor, also a carpenter. Now his mentor is dead and he’s eager for a new start. This new start seems to be very auspicious when he’s approached by Crawford, one of the sponsors of the voyage. Crawford recruits him to keep an eye on his company’s interests. Since this entails a significant sum of money, William immediately draws an enemy.

If you enjoy historical novels, this is worth reading. It is well researched and the author describes the difficult voyage in a way that well illustrates the danger faced by the Separatists. The characters are well chosen and the romance between Mary and William shows how the settlers find love in spite of the hardships.

My difficulty with the book was Mary’s character. She was so weepy in the beginning of the book that I found it hard to like her. It did give plenty of room for her character to grow, but being turned off, I wasn’t as interested in her development as I might have been.

I received this book from Net Galley for this review.