A Re-imagined Sherlock Holmes as a Lady Detective

Charlotte Holmes as Lady Sherlock solves crimes with the aid of her friend Mrs. Watson. She has invented Sherlock the detective as her ailing brother, but she and Mrs. Watson are the brains behind the detective work. In this case, a woman comes for a consultation. She listens to Charlotte’s explanation that her brother is listening in the next room, but leaves without engaging her services.

It transpires that the client, the Maharani of Ajmer, is an old friend of Mrs. Watson. She’s in need of help to retrieve letters that could cause much embarrassment which are hidden behind a Van Dyck painting in Vaudrieu, a French chateau. Stealing paintings is not really Charlotte’s line, but she with her friends Lord Ingram, Livia, her sister, and Mr. Marbleton, Livia’s beau, agrees to help and plans to infiltrate the house during a ball, presenting challenge and danger to the friends.

This series is a clever take-off on the original Sherlock Holmes stories. Although I found it amusing, it was hard to get into at first. This in not the first book in the series, so if you’re reading the series for the first time, it takes some thought to untangle the characters and background. Charlotte is an interesting character. She reflects on her life and friends and how she got to this place. I was hoping to see more of a romance with Lord Ingram, but they have both pulled back and seem to be evaluating where they want to go with their relationship.

The Victorian background is well done. It highlights the restrictions placed on women trying to pursue a career. If you enjoy historical mysteries with a strong female protagonist, this is a good book.

I received this book from Net Galley for this review.

Falling in Love in Ireland

Kate Moreton has always been in love with Ireland from the stories told by her father. Now she has a research fellowship in Limerick to finish her dissertation about the Blasket Islands. She plans to work and immerse herself in the land, but almost immediately she meets Ozzie Ferriter, a man whose family has a long history in the islands.

Kate has no plans to fall in love, but Ozzie is an insistent suitor. Finally, on a whim she marries him thinking it will all turn out perfectly. Ozzie, however, is a man whose demons have followed him from the war in Afganistan. Finally, Kate retreats to the safety of her academic life in the US, but the story is far from over.

The best part of this book, for me, is the description of Ireland and the Blasket Islands. You can smell the peat fires, see the sea views, and the green hills. It made me want to go and see it for myself. The love story is also captivating.

Kate is a conflicted character. She starts the novel not wanting an attachment. She’s in Ireland to work, but Ozzie is insistent, and she falls prey to the magic of the area. Ozzie is an interesting character. He has his demons, but he’s basically a good person. I felt even with the difficulties that he loved Kate.

This is a wonderful romance. The writing is poetic and, if you enjoy a character driven novel, this is a good one.

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

An Edwardian Christmas Celebrated with Murder

The Pennyfoot Hotel is again open for business and beautifully decorated for the Christmas season. Cecily Baxter hopes it will be a Christmas to remember and even more hopes the curse is off the hotel. Unfortunately, the last hope is dashed when one of the maids finds the body of a man in the laundry room with a woman’s scarf wrapped around his neck.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, a note in his pocket suggests that he was meeting with one of the maids, a very young girl that Cecily had high hopes for. Now she has a double reason to solve the mystery: protect the girl and clear the name of the hotel.

If you enjoy Edwardian mysteries this is delightful. I loved the detailed description of the decorations and of the hotel itself. There are a plethora of suspects and Cecily does a masterful job of pulling apart their alibis. She makes a great sleuth, very tenacious and smart.

Although this is the fourth book in the series, I found it easy to get to know the characters and follow the mystery. I thought the author did a good job of filling in background without pulling away from the story for long descriptions of the characters role in the Pennyfoot saga.

I received this book from Net Galley for this review.

Survival Under the Harshest Conditions

Only sixteen, Cilka was sent to Auschwitz with her family. Because of her beauty, she was separated from the other prisoners and used for sexual purposes by the commandant. When the camp is liberated, Cilka believes she will be free to go home, but the Russians charge her with collaboration for sleeping with the enemy and send her to the Gulag.

Thrust from one horrible situation to another, Cilka calls on her inner resources to survive. She finds a cause in taking care of other prisoners who are ill. She learns that friendship and even love are still possible.

This is an extremely moving book. Cilka is a very brave character. Caught in two horrific situations at a young age, she manages to survive and even thrive. I thought the author did an excellent job portraying her character and the challenges she faced.

This is not an easy book to read. The scenes in the concentration camp and the Gulag are heart rending. Still, it’s worth persevering because the dreadful backdrop allows Cilka’s character to shine. The book is fiction, but based on a true story. Whether you enjoy WWII books or not, I recommend this novel for the marvelous character development, realistic emotions, and the resilience of people caught in a horror few of us can imagine.

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

Love in an Orthodox Jewish Community

Leah, formerly Lola, has had a difficult life. She’s only thirty-four, but her fiance died tragically, and she has found no one else to give her the secure home life and children she craves. In her search for meaning, she joins an Orthodox Jewish community in Boro Park, Brooklyn. Her mother, an atheist, finds the idea ridicules. Leah has a business degree, a good job, and good prospects, but Leah can’t let her mother run her life.

Yaakov Lehman, a widowed Talmudic scholar, is trying to raise his children, but they and he are not coping well. Leah volunteers to help the family and soon finds herself enjoying the children. Predictably, she and Yaakov find they have feelings for each other, but it’s not as simple as it seems.

This is a sensitively told story of people looking for meaning amid the problems of daily life: family dysfunction, economic reverses, bigotry, and hypocrisy. The setting in an Orthodox Jewish community will not be familiar to many people, but the problems facing the people are the same in many other places.

The characters are engaging. I enjoyed Leah, but she almost seemed to be too good to be true when she took on the problems of Yaakov’s family. The children are an excellent addition to the story. Seeing the reactions of children tells a lot about what is happening under the surface of relationships.

Although the plot is relatively predictable, the book is well worth reading for the character development.

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

A Devotional Based on the Lord’s Prayer

This devotional invites you to immerse yourself in the Lord’s Prayer for 40 days. It’s a challenge worth taking. The book is structured so that each line of the Lord’s Prayer is accompanied by a meditation, often based on the author’s personal experiences. This is followed by a number of one line prayers and abstract illustrations.

The meditations cause you to think and evaluate you own life in relation to the Lord’s prayer. However, I think the best part is the single line prayers. Some like, “May I take joy in what it costs me to share my life with those I love.” stick with you. I think about that one frequently.

I’m not as sure about the pictures. They are representational, designed to enhance the prayer experience, but I found many of them difficult to understand and relate to. However, the rest of the book is excellent. I recommend it as another devotional to add to your collection.

I received this book from Waterbrook Multnomah for this review.

A Pastor Sees Poverty and Disease in the Himalayas

Pastor David Platt took a hiking journey through the Himalayas seeing poverty and disease first hand. His descriptions of the journey, which include passages from the Bible as well as excerpts from his journal, tell the story of his travels. He was tremendously moved by what he found. There was disease and poverty, but people were also willing to travel long distances on foot to hear the Christian message.

The book is well written and draws you into David’s adventure. It caused an awakening in him seeing all the problems he couldn’t cure and wondering how God could let these things happen. It will draw you in to David’s adventure and make you ask yourself the same questions.

While I very much enjoyed the book, I felt incomplete at the end. David had very moving experiences, but in the end, he went back to his well paid comfortable life in the United States. It certainly isn’t bad to see problems that challenge your faith and bring them to the attention of others, but the book felt as though he opened a window on problems that he walked away from.

I recommend this book. It highlights the problems of poverty and disease in the world and is an intriguing adventure.

I received this book from Waterbrook Multnomah for this review.