Mercenaries

Tancred  de Hautville has brought his sons to Duke Robert of Normandy asking that they be allowed to serve the duke as knights.  The duke rudely rejects the request.

Far to the south in Salerno, Guaimar and Berengara have been dispossessed of their property.  They are now at the beck and call of Pandulf, Prince of Capua, the man who had stolen their father's lands and titles.  Guaimar secretly plans to regain his lost possessions.

William de Hautville and his younger brother, Drogo, head to Italy in search of gainful employment as knights.  They are employed as mercenaries by Rainulf Drengot.  William helps to capture a stronghold, but experiences the wrath of Drengot for not slaughtering everyone. 

Meantime, Guaimar and his sister have made it to the court of Conrad, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.  They hope that Conrad will help them gain their lost lands and titles.  It isn't Guaimar, nor his sister that persuade Conrad to march south, but the actions of the Pandulf.  Guaimar hopes to turn Drengot thereby getting his support against Pandulf.  However, it is William that negotiates and accepts on his behalf.

Guaimar has his principality returned to him.  The Normans under William head south to battle the Saracens in Sicily.  What William achieves there sets his imagination as to what else he might achieve.

Author Jack Ludlow has presented the reader with a thrilling, and adventurous historical novel.  This is the first in a series.  Well worth the read for a fan of history, I am looking forward to the sequels.

Forty Words for Sorrow

A body has been found in an old mine shaft on an island near Algonquin Bay.  Detective John Cardinal has been assigned the investigation.  Lise Delorme has been assigned to work with him on the case, he would have preferred Ian McLeod.  What Cardinal doesn't know is that Delorme is checking up on him on behalf of Special Investigations.

There are two other young people missing; a young boy who inexplicably disappears, just like the young girl, which the body turns out to be, and a 17 year old girl from Toronto.  Cardinal's boss, Don Dyson, refuses to believe that it is murder until the younger girl's body has been found.

Cardinal begins to go through old cases of missing young people in hopes of finding something similar.  His investigation leads him to another body of a young boy.  With the body is found a cassette tape, which provides surprising information, but not enough to nail the killer, whoever that may be.

Meantime the killer has picked up another victim, and is keeping him drugged.  Delorme still has to go through with the investigation of her partner, and what she has found appears incriminating.

Author Giles Blunt has done a wonderful job of getting into the minds of the criminals and police in this murder mystery.  The climax of the story is exciting and makes for tense reading.  It was a book I couldn't put down, I highly recommend it.

Only One Life

Louise Rick has been called out to the coast where the body of a young girl has been found submerged in the water.  The body is wrapped in chicken wire and a concrete slab tied to her abdomen.

Louise has been brought in from Copenhagen because of her experience and partnered up with a local detective, Mik Rasmussen.  Towards the end of the day a young girl comes in to report that her friend is missing, wondering if the missing girl is her friend.

When the girl is identified, Louise and Mik are unable to get hold of her parents.  They are not home.  The following morning the father comes in.  The police wonder if her death was an honour killing as the family had emigrated from Jordan.  The police begin their investigation by focussing on the family.

Louise's friend, Camilla Lind has been assigned to investigate the story by her newspaper.  Her attempt at interviewing the mother of the victim brings angry recriminations from the father.  However, later she does get an interview and learns a lot about the faith and rules she has to live by.  Louise has no luck when she interviews the victim's friends.

Louise is shocked when one of the victim's good friends, Dicta, is found brutally murdered outside the hotel where she is staying.  Dicta had wanted to become a model, so Louise and Mik bring in her photographer for questioning.  However, Louise is convinced that the father and brother of the first victim are responsible for both murders.  Now the team just has to gather the evidence. 

Camilla disagrees, she thinks that they will be forced to release the two men and the police will look stupid because they arrested the two men based on racial profiling.  Camilla wants to publish an article showing that Danish families also committed family exclusion.

When the truth of the matter is discovered it is both sad and very tragic.  Author Sara Baeldel has provided the reader with a thrilling murder mystery.  I highly recommend it.

Forsaken Soul

Prioress Eleanor, Sister Anne, and Brother Thomas have returned to Tyndal.  Brother Thomas has difficulties sleeping due to things that had happened in Amesbury.  Both Eleanor and Anne are concerned for him.  On the other hand they are pleased that Crowner Ralf has returned from being at court.

Shortly after they all return, a murder occurs in the nearby inn.  Crowner Ralf begins his investigation into it.  It is also at this time that Eleanor receives information that Thomas is really a spy for someone higher up in the church.

Sister Anne informs Ralf that Martin died of poisoning.  Eleanor questions Ivetta, the whore he was with at the time of his death, on Ralf's behalf.  Fingers point at Will and Hob, who were arguing with Martin just before his death.  Also in the frame is Signy, the serving wench who brought Martin his food.  But, Ralf is sure that Ivetta is the culprit.

Throughout, Thomas has been caring for an elderly lady.  He takes her a sleeping draught each evening so that she may rest peacefully.  One evening she reveals to Thomas that Will murdered her son, but got away with it.  The death had been deemed an accident.

When Ivetta dies in the same manner as Martin, the question arises, was it an accident as a result of an attempted abortion, or was it murder?  Ralf takes a blunt approach to his investigation, while Eleanor is more logical in her pursuit of the criminal.  Thomas' soul is tormented throughout the investigation as a result of past and present things.

Once again, author Priscilla Royal has provided the reader with an excellent historical murder mystery.

Murder at Swann's Lake

DS Gower accidentally stumbles on the corpse of Robbie Peterson.  Peterson has a six inch spike driven into his skull.  Chief Inspector Charlie Woodend is assigned by Scotland Yard to investigate.  He takes DS Bob Rutter with him.

Rutter is sent to another town to investigate a connection to what might be a smuggling racket that Peterson might have been involved in.  Although he doesn't speak directly to Alex Conway, an elderly lady who lives below helps him with his inquiries.

DS Gower, although suspended for his nocturnal discovery of Peterson's death, continues to follow Peterson's daughter Annie.  He feels that she has something to hide, but he is unsure of just what it is. 

Sid Dowd, Peterson's former partner in Liverpool, shows up to Peterson's funeral and hopes to ensure that Woodend doesn't come after him.  He also wants to see that the killer of Peterson is found.  He is prepared to provide Woodend with a list of names.

Gerry Fairbright is arrested for trying to break into the former office of Peterson.  He refuses to say why he was doing that.  A snoopy reporter needs Dutch courage to ask Woodend and Rutter about Fairbright, giving the detectives wonder as to why.

The investigation returns to Conway's flat, but for some reason it is devoid of details about the man himself.  Is he the murderer, or has he gone into hiding?  Many false leads lead to other discoveries as Woodend and Rutter go about solving this particular crime.  Another excellent murder mystery in the Chief Inspector Woodend series by author Sally Spencer.

Auslander

Piotr Bruck was found in a Polish orphanage by the German SS.  They wanted to find those of true Volksdeutsche - German blood.  Those found thus, would be placed in good German homes.  Piotr was quite excited about the prospect, but the other boys were not.

Professor Franz Kaltenbach lived in Berlin and had the job of ensuring that people brought before him were of proper German blood.  He was asked along with his wife Leise and their three daughters to take in Piotr.  They accept Piotr, but Germanise his name to Peter and ask him to call them Onkel and Tante.

Piotr learns that education meant sports and politics in everything at school.  He became a member of the Hitler Youth.  There he is befriended by Gerhart Segur.  They had to be careful in what they said or they would be reported to the Gestapo.  Excitement rose in Germany as the army pushed into the Soviet Union.

Anna Reiter was a pretty young woman and a member of the League of German Maidens.  She is concerned about how careful she has to be in everything she says and does.

Piotr feels pride in the German successes, but at the same time feels guilt about what is happening to the people of Poland.  He tries helping a young Polish boy, but only ends up creating trouble for the lad.  He begins to feel more and more like an Auslander - a foreigner.

Piotr discovers Anna in the library and walks her home on a dark evening.  They find that they have a like mindedness about many things.  They also begin to secretly listen to the BBC.  They discover that the British are calm, and quietly seem to know what it is really like in Germany.  Later, Anna takes Piotr to visit her brother in the hospital.  He has been invalided back from Stalingrad, and what he tells them is not pretty.

As the bombing of Berlin intensifies, Piotr and Anna are given new duties within the city, as are all young people.  Later, the family Piotr is living with receives news that his grandmother was Jewish.  He denies it, saying that she was very Catholic.

Not long after that Anna's father is arrested by the Gestapo.  Fortunately Anna and her mother see it happening.  They come for Piotr, too.  Now they must escape.

Author Paul Dowswell has written an exciting novel about life in Nazi Germany.  An excellent read.

Avon Street

Belle Bennett is an actress down on her luck.  She shares a flat with Jenny and Jenny's daughter Molly.  Jenny sews bonnets to make a living, but has had to borrow from Nathaniel Caine, who collects his money back with interst.  If he doesn't get it back, his thugs will beat the borrower.  Belle feels threatened by an actor named Cauldfield and a rogue by the name of Frank Harcourt.

James Daunton is a member of society, but his debts are piling up.  His friend, Dr. Richard Wetherby, warns him that many are aware of his looming insolvency, the banks won't lend to him, so where will he turn?  His annuity from land in Ireland has dried up as a result of the famine.

James' friend, Father Sean Brennan, has promised the poor of Avon Street that he would set up a Friendly Society to help them save money and to lend to them in times of need.  For that he is beaten by Caine's thugs.

James has been conned by Frank Harcourt, a man he implicitly trusted,  into gambling his money away.  As he wanders drunkenly along Avon Street he is set upon by thugs.  He manages to get away with the aid of John Doyle, however, he kills one of the thugs in his escape, and the thugs are set in revenge.  James has two options, to give in, or to fight.

With the help of a former con, James and his friends begin to scheme.  Author Paul Emanuelli gives a very descriptive writing of how the scheme is plotted and carried out.  He builds tension and releases it partially time and again as he takes the reader to the ultimate conclusion.  An excellent read.

Justice for the Damned

Prioress Eleanor has travelled to Amesbury Priory to visit her aunt after a spell of illness.  Travelling with her are Sister Anne and Brother Thomas.  Unknown to Eleanor, Thomas has been tasked with finding persons unknown who are planning on stealing the Amesbury Psalter.  Shortly after arrival there, it is reported that a ghost is once again visiting the priory, too. 

Eleanor, through Thomas, sets to finding out more of this ghost.  A ghastly murder outside the walls of the priory shortly after they arrive leaves many wondering if the ghost had committed this vile act.  Thomas doesn't have much luck in his investigations.

Later, one of the monks is murdered within the priory.  He died covering the famous psalter.  His death creates many more questions for Eleanor and her investigation.  They are sure there is no ghost, however, Eleanor and Thomas have suspects in mind, but no proof, so they devise a way to trap the culprit.

Priscilla Royal has written another good historical murder mystery in the Prioress Eleanor series.  A good read.

Blackstone and the Great War

Inspector Sam Blackstone has been summoned by his former army officer, General Fortesque, to search for the murderer of his grandson who died on the Western Front.  Not only is Blackstone summoned, he is ordered to investigate.  He will take no guff from anyone, whether he be a simple soldier or an officer; Blackstone is determined to find the guilty party.

Blackstone is blocked in his attempts to find the guilty party by officers at the front because they see it as an affront that a civilian is investigating the murder, and they cannot fathom that a member of the officer class could be the murderer; it has to be an enlisted man.

Although the men may have seen an officer enter Lieutenant Fortesque's dugout on the morning of the murder they are afraid to name names.  Blackstone has three possible culprits in mind, however he is unsure as to what their connection to the lieutenant is that would lead to one of them murdering him.

Blackstone needs help.  He telegraphs DS Archie Patterson with a request and enlists the help of a newly arrived private.

Being an officer of the privileged class, Lieutenant Fortesque's body is shipped off to England for burial.  However, it doesn't make it.  The coffin disappears in Calais.  Blackstone finds out that three men bribed the soldier in charge of the stores where the coffin was.  What was in the coffin?

Blackstone has to return to the front to finally get to the truth.  In so doing he puts his own life in danger.  This is a well written novel by author Sally Spencer, well worth the read for fans of mysteries or historical novels.

Does Your Mother Know?

DS Christine Morris is on course in Edinburgh, courtesy of her Canadian police force.  While attending a lecture she is called to the phone.  Apparently her mother has been involved in a car accident; here in Scotland.  Christine didn't even know that her mother was in Scotland.  Her mother has disappeared from the scene and her passenger was killed.

Christine decides to go to the scene of the accident and check it out with the aid of the local police.  The island is small and it appears that her mother has disappeared into thin air.  On their way to the site, Christine's escort Sergeant Gillies receives a call.  Apparently her mother's car was seen leaving a place where a body has now been discovered; a body that has been dead a couple of days.

Christine has the victim's female companion take them through the house after the body has been removed to see if anything is out of place.  It seems as though a few things are tidier than normal.  The case takes a strange twist when the woman who owns the B & B where Christine's mother had been staying reports that a Sergeant Gillies has been there and picked up her suitcase, claiming that Christine's mother is okay.

Christine gets the shock of her life when she attends the dead man's funeral.  Now she finds that she has a number of new questions that need answers.  The answers that she gets shock her to the core.

Maureen Jennings latest novel is an extremely good read, which  I thoroughly enjoyed.

The Pendragon Murders

England is at peace, but Merlin is uneasy.  However, Colin, aka Nimue, and Petronus convince him to visit Dover.  Arthur gives him a task on his way to extend condolences to baron Darrowfield, whose father recently died.

When the three arrive at Darrowfield's castle they find Arthur's sister Morgan Le Fey, her son and Uther, Arthur's father in residence.  The trio stay at the castle before going on to Dover.  The younger two enjoy the festival, but just as it is ending, plague strikes.

Merlin determines that it is necessary to immediately return to Camelot in order to advise Arthur on the plague.  On the return trip they are stopped by crowds at Stonehenge for the autumn equinox.  As the approach the shrine three bodies are discovered there; Darrowfield and his three sons.

The plague begins to slowly spread throughout England.  As Arthur and his retainers are preparing to leave Camelot on a mission, his jester drops dead of what appears to be the plague.  However, something bothers Merlin about the death.

Arthur decrees that the cavalcade must proceed.  Unfortunately the weather is against them, and before they reach their destination, the entire group, including Arthur and Merlin are captured.  Fortunately Arthur had a force a day behind them, and were rescued.

Morgan awaits them near their journey's end.  How did she get there so quickly and why?  Is she a threat to her brother, the king?  If she is, how can they bring her to trial?  Merlin has his work cut out for him.

I thoroughly enjoyed this third novel in the Merlin mysteries by J. M. C. Blair. 

Christmas is Murder

Rex Graves is a Scottish barrister and has been invited to Brighton for Christmas.  The weather is dreadful, and shortly after his arrival he and the other guests are snowed in.  When he arrives, he finds that an elderly guest has died.  However, Charley, who is newly married and a paramedic, tells him that he thinks that the old fellow died as a result of cyanide poisoning.

Rex begins subtlety questioning the staff and guests about the evening in question.  Charley finds an empty bottle of sodium cyanide in the trash outside.  However, Mrs. Smithings, the owner of the hotel, claims it is used to clean jewelry.

That evening another death occurs when an American guest slips on the cellar stairs and falls to her death.  Is it coincidence or murder?  A mark on the back of her neck points to the latter.  When a third person is murdered, the hotel is put into disarray.  Everyone is a suspect.

On Christmas morning Rex meets with everyone together and goes through the list of possible suspects.  He also presents evidence of the true culprits, who are apprehended by the other guests and held for the police.

This was not a bad murder mystery for what I believe is a first time writer.

Age 14

It is 1924 and John Condon receives word in Waterford from the British War Office that he is dead and his remains have been found in Flanders.

Young Patrick Condon is big for his age in 1911.  At 10 he goes with his father and brother to work on the quays at Waterford to help earn a few pennies for the family.  Two years later Patrick attempts to join the army, giving his age as 17 and using the name of his brother John, who is five years old than him.  Surprisingly he is accepted.  Patrick takes to the army with alacrity; he is now in the part time army.

As war looms Patrick joins the regular army and thrives.  When war breaks out he is extremely excited about getting to the front.  But you have to be 19 for that.  He can't wait until he turns 19 in the eyes of the army.

As the Irish troops enter Ypres, Patrick is excited by the devastation he sees, whereas his good friend, Tom, sees an appalling destruction of centuries of history.  The progress to the front is slow and at night.  From the front come weary soldiers, the wounded and the dead.  An MP tells them to turn off lanterns and to not smoke, unless they want to become targets for the Germans.

Shelling and machine gun fire is constant at the front.  It is bitterly cold in the trenches and the men are given whale oil to smear on their feet to protect them from the cold and damp.  Snipers pick off men who are foolish enough to stick their heads above the top of the trench.  Patrick is shocked by the death he sees around him.  A cycle of four days in and four days out of the trenches is set up.

By April of 1915 the weather was warming up, and poppies were starting to bloom amongst the many graves.  On the German side of the battlefield at Ypres, they are preparing to release their new devastating new weapon.  Chlorine gas is released against the Zouaves and Canadians at Ypres.  The Germans are unable to take advantage because the Canadians counter-attack.  Without gas masks the Irish are told to pee on their handkerchief and wrap it around their face.

The Second Battle of Ypres is devastating to both sides, costing thousands of men.  Patrick's Irish regiment is virtually wiped out.

This is an excellent, short novel, based on a true story.  Author Geert Spillebeen has really given the reader a sense of what it was like to live and die in the trenches near Ypres.  A very good read.

Watching the Dark

DI Lorraine Jenson has just discovered a body by the lake at the clinic where she is a patient recovering from a badly broken leg.  When the body is turned over by DCI Alan Banks and the crime scene doctor it is discovered that the victim was killed by a crossbow bolt, he was also a patient at the clinic and a DI himself.

Banks sets his team to querying the guests at the clinic while he went to Leeds to check up on the late DI Bill Quinn.  Banks' team is surprised when a member of the Professional Standards team, Inspector Joanna Passaro, is assigned to work alongside them.  Banks knows that she will slow down the investigation just because of who she represents.

Banks and his team discover what might be a migrant camp up in the dales.  Within the camp is found a body, the body of a man that might have been phoning Quinn from a nearby pay phone.  Delving deeper, it appears that there is a people trafficking connection, brought even closer to home when one of Banks' team find a number of deaths by cross bolt in Europe, and related to people trafficking.

Evidence comes to light that Quinn and the second victim were on the trail of a young woman who had gone missing in Estonia six years earlier.  Banks needs to travel there to gather more information.  Is the case of the missing girl tied to the people trafficking?  Banks heads to Estonia, but much to his chagrin, must take Passaro along.  What they discover is shocking and revealing.

I have been a fan of author Peter Robinson ever since I picked up his first Inspector Banks novel.  Robinson is a great story teller and you won't be disappointed with this latest novel.  An excellent read.

Nights of Awe

Ariel Kafka is a detective in Finland.  He has just been assigned a case where two bodies have been found near a railway bridge.  One has been shot several times and the other is an apparent suicide.  Both are foreigners.  It doesn't take long for the security police to become involved.

Kafka's investigation leads him to an auto body shop, where two more bodies are found in the paint booth, both from Iraq.  The investigative team wonder if there is a terrorist connection. 

The next morning a burned out car is found with a body in it.  It would appear that the car is the one connected to the four other deaths.  As the investigation continues, evidence points to an attack on the local Jewish synagogue.  Then another body is found.  This one has an Israeli passport on it.

As the investigation continues evidence is found of a planned attack on the synagogue just when the Israeli foreign minister is to visit it.  Terrorists, the Mossad and criminal elements make this into a very good thriller.  This is the first book I have read by Finnish author Harri Nykanen, and I was very impressed.  I look forward to reading more.

The Twylight Tower

Elizabeth has been on the throne for a short time.  In that short time her forces have defeated France and Scotland and forced a treaty on them.  Unfortunately her favourite musician has just fallen to his death because of too much drink.

Elizabeth accedes to the request of her cousin, Henry Carey to investigate the death of Geoffrey, her lutenist.  William Cecil, her main advisor wants Elizabeth to get back to concerning herself with the running of the country instead of dallying with Robert Dudley.  Cecil is also concerned about de Quadra, the Spanish ambassador.  He is sure the Spanish want to put Mary, Queen of Scotland and France on the throne of England.

Meantime, Elizabeth is sure someone is watching her and some of her servants are quietly investigating, what they feel, was not the natural death of her musician.

During a play, in which Elizabeth is to be raised as in flight, her loyal man, Luke Morgan collapses while holding the rope which suspends Elizabeth.  Things appear very suspicious.  Is Luke or Elizabeth the intended victim?  Author Karen Harper present three possible suspects behind the threat to Elizabeth.

It isn't long after this that Dudley's wife dies from a fall down the stairs.  Are Dudley and Elizabeth complicit in her death as many in the realm will come to suspect?  Elizabeth puts into motion an investigation into what she is now calling murders.

This novel is good, but not one that excited me as a reader.

The Thing Itself

"The Thing Itself is a mystery that goes back and forth in time.  This story contains a prequel to Peter Gutteridge's previous novels.  It outlines how the "Brighton Trunk Murder" came about.  A man who survived World War One killed and dismembered the body of his mistress because she had become pregnant, and he was sterile due to the Spanish Influenza.

Sarah Gilchrist is still investigating Bernie Grimes, the con that the armed police group had tried to arrest in Milldean earlier.  She has since found out that the young girl she had saved on the beach is Grimes' daughter.  Grimes asks Charlie Laker, another con, to take care of the girls who attacked his daughter.  Charlie has other investments that he needs to take care of as well.

Bob Watts and James Tingley also have unfinished business to attend to.  Watts wants to know about the Brighton Trunk Murder and its connection to his father.  Tingley is after two Balkan murderers.

Watts' father has a stroke and dies.  In his father's papers he discovers notebooks about the Brighton Trunk Murder.  He reads that his father was involved with British fascists in the 30s.  He also finds out about his father's role in the war.  Watts will discover much more in his investigation about the past and present in this thriller by Peter Gutteridge.  An excellent read.

Dorchester Terrace

Lady Vespasia Cumming-Gould's good friend is aging quickly and slipping into dementia.  Serafina  Montserrat knows what is happening to her and expresses concern to Vespasia that she might say something wrong at an inconvenient time, which could create problems for others.

Vespasia approaches Victor Narraway, former head of Special Branch, to see if there are any worries about Serafina disclosing secrets, and how she might be protected.  He is unable to approach Thomas Pitt, who has recently been confirmed as head of Special Branch, so Narraway has to do things on his own.

Meantime, Pitt's sergeant, Stoker has discovered that some foreigner is asking questions about the rail line between Dover and London.  This raises the possibility that foreigners plan to strike at Britain for some reason; or could it be a diversion for something else?  Later information comes to Pitt indicating that the target could be a minor member of the Austrian nobility.  Were he to be assassinated on British soil, the two nations could potentially end up at war.

When Serafina dies unexpectedly, Vespasia approaches Pitt with her concerns.  Pitt immediately goes to Serafina's home in Dorchester Terrace to investigate.  An autopsy proves that Serafina has succumbed to an overdose of laudanum.  Because of Serafina's knowledge, Pitt wonders if the two cases aren't tied together.  He approaches his old boss Narraway for advice.  Narraway is provided with information that there is possibly an agent of the Austrian government working in the Foreign Office.

Murder, political intrigue, conspiracy, and love are all well woven together in this 19th century mystery by author Anne Perry.  A good read.