Not Dead Yet

It is the weekend and Detective Superintendent Roy Grace has been called out to a chicken farm where a body has been found.  He takes along his Sergeant Glenn Branson.  Identification of the body is going to be difficult because it is missing its head and limbs.  Why had this been done to the victim?

The following morning, Cleo, Grace's pregnant fiancé, discovers her car has been vandalised and a threat made to her baby.  At the same time, Grace has been brought in to headquarters.  He is tasked with protecting a famous actress, Gaia Lafayette, who is going to be shooting a movie in Brighton.  As an aside, Grace is told that Amis Smallbone has been released from prison.  He had threatened Grace after Grace was responsible for sending him to prison.

Later more body parts are discovered in a rural lake.  This time there is no torso, nor head.  The pathologist feels that the limbs might have been frozen.  Despite the missing head, DNA analysis and a missing persons report allows the team to identify the victim.  It turns out that the victim is obsessed with all things Gaia.

Once again, author Peter James has written an intensely, gripping murder mystery full of surprises.  It is a real page turner, hard to put down.

The King's Hounds

Halfdan, a dispossessed Saxon is in the right spot at the right time to save Winston from robbers.  Winston is an illuminator on his way to Oxford to paint a picture of Cnut for his first wife, Aelfgifu.  They team up, agreeing that Halfdan would work for Winston for food and four pennies per month.  Upon reaching Oxford, they find an inn in which to live.

The pair are surprised when the owner of the tavern, Alfilda, tells them that Cnut has called a witan to meet in Oxford.  When the pair go to meet Aelfgifu, they rather end up meeting Cnut.  While talking with Cnut, a noblewoman bursts into the room accusing Cnut of murdering her husband.  Cnut tasks the pair with investigating the murder.

As Winston and Halfdan begin their investigation they come up with several different potential suspects.  Later as Halfdan does some investigation of his own, he is attacked and has to kill his attacker.  Why was he attacked?

Halfdan discovers the victim's sister and learns that she is now without the income that he had provided her.  That brings into question the possible motives of the victim's wife and brother.  Then the body of the first victim's bodyguard is found with his throat slashed.

Danger ensues for the two investigators as they pursue their objective, not just from people who might want them to stay quiet, but also the king's wrath because they are unable to solve the murder.

Author Martin Jensen has written an intriguing, fast paced murder mystery set in long ago England.  A good, enjoyable, quick read.

The Lost Boy

Erica Hedstrom and her sister Anna survived the crash they were involved in, however Anna lost her baby while Erica's twin boys survived the Caesarian section following the accident.  Anna is experiencing depression, shutting out her husband Dan.  Erica's husband, Patrik had been rushed to the hospital just before the sister's automobile accident with an apparent heart attack.  He is slowly returning to work.

A short time after returning to his police duties, Patrik is called out to the scene of a murder.  A man has been shot in the back of the head in his flat.  As the investigation progresses, the more of a mystery the victim becomes.  Could the finding of some cocaine by three seven year old boys in a litter bin outside the home of the victim lead to a break in the case?

With the new evidence in place, author Camilla Lackberg picks up the pace in this murder mystery.  New twists are thrown into the plot leading to a surprising conclusion.  I was completely engrossed in this book, unable to put it down.  Lackberg is a top notch mystery writer.

Blood of the South

Lassair is in Cambridge when a brouhaha breaks out at the quayside.  She is called upon to help a lady and her infant.  There seems to be a mystery surrounding the pair.  She claims to have kin in The Fens.

Later that day evening, Lassair's two mentors, Gurdyman and Hrype, start to teach her how to use a glass ball in a vision quest.  The following day Lassair is asked to look at the child because the wet nurse feels that it is sad.  Together with Jack Chevestrier, the sheriff's deputy, the decision is made to take the lady and her child to Lassair's village.

Meanwhile, Lassair's part-time lover, Rollo, is busy on an errand for King William Rufus in Constantinople.

When a storm surge hits The Fens, Lassair and Jack are tasked with finding out the identity of a woman who died during the storm.  Lassair has a few visions during the search, but are they relevant?  Will the stone reveal the identity of the dead woman?

Author Alys Clare spins a good tale full of mystery and folk lore.  A good, quick read.

Crusade

Abbot William of Malmesbury has gone into northern England in search of Prince Edgar so that he might record the man's story.  He is met and guided by Owain Rheged who seems to have an interesting story, too.

Edgar's story starts with the fall of England to William.  Edgar has been forced to retreat to the safety of Scotland under the care of Malcolm.  It isn't long before William threatens Scotland.  Malcolm is forced to accept Hadrian's Wall as the border between the two countries.  Edgar puts himself in the hands of William and goes to Normandy where he meets William's son, Robert.  He and Robert become good friends.  Later Robert humiliates William in battle, and becomes the new Duke of Normandy.

Having helped Robert secure his good standing, Edgar and his brothers in arms, Edwin, Sweyn, and Adela head to Italy.  They enjoy their time in Italy, however Sweyn falls in love with a Muslim girl.  They elope, angering her father.  He sends assassins to kill her.  Sweyn demands retribution.  When the group returns to Normandy, they find William in poor health.  With his death, things change in the area.

William Rufus is now King of England.  Malcolm tries to take advantage of this and raids into northern England.  William sets up an ambush where Malcolm and his son Edward are killed.  Back in Normandy, William's brother, Robert prepares to go on crusade to the Holy Land.  To finance it he sells a portion of his dukedom to William.

In Constantinople Edgar's small group meet Hereward, long thought to be dead.  It is a joyous reunion before moving on to Jerusalem.  The trek to Jerusalem will be filled with despair, shame, death and surprise, as will their return to Europe.

Author Stewart Binns has told a great story of the time of the first crusade; the harshness of life and the brutal of war.  An immensely good read for fans of historical fiction.

Tread Softly On My Dreams

Robert Emmet was born March 24, 1778 in Dublin.  Would he survive or would he die young like many of his siblings, gone before him?  Fortunately Robert would survive and become a quiet lad.  He keeps his thoughts hidden, but he quite agrees with the ideas of Wolfe Tone, that the Protestants and Catholics need to unite to put Irish grievances forward to London.

Later his older brother, Thomas, is arrested for being part of a group, known as United Irishmen, wanting autonomy for the Irish.  Shortly after that, Robert was expelled from Trinity because he refused to swear allegiance to George III.  Martial law was also declared in Ireland.  Shortly afterwards, the leader of the group, Lord Fitzgerald was arrested and jailed.  Will the fight go out of the Irish now?

Fitzgerald's death in 1798 led to open and widespread rebellion.  The British sent in the army to quell the rebellion, and quell it they did, leaving over 30 000 dead.  A short time later, Wolfe Tone was captured.  Following a court martial, he committed suicide.  Having been named as a member of the United Irishmen, Robert must now go into exile.

Later an amnesty is granted to those in exile and Robert is able to return.  Although the fires have been suppressed, they still smoulder.  Robert begins to scheme and organise.  He sets himself up in a house as Mr. Ellis and engages Anne devil to be his housekeeper.  Robert sets about getting all of Ireland onside for his planned rebellion.

At the last minute the plans go awry.  Had somebody sabotaged them?  Was there a spy in their midst?  Brutality ensues as the authorities impose martial law.  Rewards are offered for the main conspirators.  Before long many of the conspirators are in custody, including Robert Emmet.

Author Gretta Curran Browne has been brutally descriptive in her recounting of the life, times and death of the Irish rebels and their English overlords of this time.  An excellent read for fans of historical fiction.

Rebellion

Robert Bruce escaped to Ireland following the Battle of Falkirk. King Edward of England now has the Sword of Mercy, the Crown of Arthur, plus the Stone of Destiny, and all that he needs is the gem encrusted Crosier of Jesus also known as the Staff of St. Malachy to have complete control of Britain.  Robert intends that Edward shall never have the last.  Unfortunately Bruce falls hostage to the Earl of Ulster.

After several weeks in captivity, Bruce manages to escape with an unlikely companion; Ulster's youngest sixteen year old daughter, Elizabeth.  His dash for freedom doesn't last long as the pair are soon captured.  Reluctantly, Bruce agrees to submit to Edward.  Meanwhile the Comyns fight on in Scotland.  In London Edward announces that Bruce will marry Elizabeth.

Having submitted to Edward, Bruce must now fight his own people.  At the end of the fighting season, he is appointed Sheriff of Ayr and Lanark.  His task now, is to bring in William Wallace.  Unfortunately the Scots are unable to maintain the fight against Edward and submit in 1304; all that is except Wallace.

What does the future hold for Scotland now?  What role will Robert the Bruce have in it?  Will Edward's stranglehold lessen now that he has to return to London to look after things there?  Author Robyn Young has told a compelling tale of the history of Britain during these troubled times, leaving the fan of historical fiction looking forward to the third book in this trilogy.  Well researched and well presented.

The Devil's Cave

Bruno Courreges, Chief of Police in St. Denis, has received a phone call about a boat drifting in the river with a naked female body in it.  When the boat is retrieved with the body, also found are black candles and a pentagram daubed on the body.  A search of the river turns up a few places where the woman's boat could have been launched from.  Later Bruno learns that the woman had been a regular cocaine user, and had been involved on an orgy prior to her death.

A few days later, in a tourist attraction known as The Devil's Cave, a break-in has occurred.  Someone has painted the Madonna and the candles in the chapel black. Evidence in the cave gives Bruno an idea about who was behind this particular incident.

At the same time, Bruno is investigating a proposed development that could be coins to the area of St. Denis.  Apparently another small town had been given w similar opportunity and ended up badly in debt, and the development turned out to be much less than proposed.  Isabelle, Bruno's part-time girlfriend and an inspector with the French police is able to dig up some information on the prime movers and shakers in the development scheme.

As Bruno's investigation progresses, so does the excitement in this novel by Martin Walker.  Local intrigue extending to international plots add to the action.  It is an excellent read, and I am looking forward to the sequel.

My Lady Judge

Mara is the Brehon for the Burren in Ireland.  It is her responsibility to judge cases brought before her.  Some cases are tougher than others.  She is surprised on judgment day, when a marriage proposal is presented by a father for ratification by the king, which involves her young assistant, Colman, and a girl who is also completely caught by surprise.  Her assistant had drawn up a completely legal agreement without Mara knowing.

Another surprise awaits Mara that evening of Bealtaine, when she receives a marriage proposal from the king, Turlough Donn.  The day after she is informed that Colman has been blackmailing someone.  Two days after Bealtaine, Colman's body is discovered with the knife of one of her young students stuck in it.  Who is responsible and why?

As Mara continues her investigation, she realises that the clans will stick together to protect whoever the killer might be.  Mara's students help her with her investigation.  However, there turn out to be numerous people who wanted Colman dead because he was blackmailing them.

Author Cora Harrison provides several suspects before a surprising conclusion.  As I started to read this mystery I wasn't sure what I was getting into, however as the pages turned I found myself enjoying it more and more.  I will check out the sequel.

Warriors of the Storm

Brunanburh has been attacked, and its fleet burned.  Untried has taken his men from Caester to defend the fortress.  The prisoners they capture tell them that their leader is Ragnall Ivarson who has left Ireland with the intention of taking over Britain.  Mercia is now at war!

Much to Uthred's surprise, Ragnall builds a fortress not far from Caester, rather than marching north.  Because he is outnumbered, Uthred dares not attack Ragnall, and Ragnall is unable to attack Caester because of its stone walls.  Uthred is puzzled by Ragnall's actions.  So, he scouts to the north of the Maerse and discovers a bridge made of the boats Ragnall had used to invade.  Obviously his plans were to take Northumbria first and then look south to Mercia.

Aethelflad brought 800 warriors to Caester and is baffled by why Uthred is standing pat.  Surprisingly Ragnall does approach Caester, but it is a bluff as the following day he takes his army into Northumbria.  However, Uthred quickly comes to the realisation that this is simply a ruse.  He captures the fortress that Ragnall built thereby proving his point.

Ragnall returns with Brida, a sorceress, and she presents Uthred with his son, newly castrated.  Uthred vows vengeance.  When his son, a priest, recovers, he informs Uthred that Ragnall's brother in Ireland is against Ragnall.  Ragnall had come to an agreement with an Irish tribe to leave Ireland as long as that tribe destroyed his brother.  Uthred intends to go to the aid of the brother.  However, Aethelflaed forbids it.  She wants him to harass Ragnall as he retreats.

Will Uthred listen to the Lady of Mercia's command or will he do his own thing as usual?  Where will his choice take him?

Author Bernard Cornwell once again has written a thrilling novel of ancient times, one a fan of historical fiction will not be able to put down, one they will be left wanting more of the same.

When Maidens Mourn

Sebastian St. Cyr, Lord Devlin, has been called away from the bed of his new bride to investigate the murder of Miss Gabrielle Tennyson, who in fact is a good friend of his wife, Hero.  Did the murder of Miss Tennyson have anything to do with the research she was conducting at a site that might be the home of King Arthur?  Later Devlin learns that the two lads the victim had been supervising for the summer have disappeared.

Devlin's wife isn't one to sit idly by, so she begins her own investigation.  She meets with a man who recently argued with the victim.  He wonders who might benefit as a result of the boys' disappearance.  An interesting twist to the situation is that the victim was seen with a gentleman who might be a French prisoner of war.

One can only wonder what Devlin's father-in-law's involvement is in the case.  As the king's right hand man, he seems to know everything that goes on in the country.  When Devlin meets the Frenchman, he learns that there were rumours of buried treasure at the site where the victim had been found.  Could someone who was looking for the treasure have also committed murder?

Later a late night attempt is made on Devlin's life by two French speaking men.  The following night, while visiting with the young French lieutenant, a shot rings out in the darkness hitting the lieutenant in the chest.  Did the shooter get the right man or was he aiming for Devlin?

Author C. S. Harris offers up a few suspects in this murder mystery, and in the end provides a real twist for the reason behind the murder.  An enjoyable read.

Dead Wake

Author Erik Larson begins his book about the last crossing of the Lusitania in 1915 by introducing the reader to the ship and her captain, William Turner.  Early in August of 1914 war had broken out in Europe.  It quickly spread and involved many nations across the globe.  The Germans had a new weapon, which they started to use to great effect; the submarine.  Initially they planned to use it to force Britain's navy to back down, however it was soon put to use sinking merchant shipping in the hopes of starving Britain into submission.  The waters around Britain were declared a 'war zone' and any ship therein was a potential target.

President Wilson of the USA up until this point should remain neutral.  However, when the German Kaiser said that all ships were targeted, he voiced a strong protest.  The passengers of the Lusitania on that fateful voyage began to congregate in New York City, 187 of them were American, a small portion of the total list.

Meantime, across the Atlantic, Unterseeboot-20 was just putting out to sea, captained by Walther Schweiger.  At this point, Larson discusses the type of captain that Schweiger was, and what life was like aboard a submarine.

In New York City, the Germans had spy's aplenty.  However, the British had Room 40.  Britain had cut the German trans-Atlantic cable at the beginning of the war, so Germany had to send their messages by air, and were easily picked up by the British.  The British also had a copy of the German naval code book, so were able to know when German ships/submarines were and where they were going.  Only a few in the British admiralty knew of Room 40.

On May 1, 1915 the German Embassy posted a warning in the New York newspapers to ships of the danger crossing the Atlantic.  In particular, the Lusitania was picked out.  However, very few paid any attention to it, and the passengers boarded the Lusitania that same day.  Meanwhile back in Room 40, the spymasters were well aware of the threat, and were following the messages of U-20.  They knew exactly where it was headed, as well as several other U-boats.  However, no one informed Captain Turner.

The Lusitania was slightly delayed in its departure, which in itself would be telling.  Also, due to the war, the Lusitania only used three of its four boilers, thereby reducing its speed from 25 knots to only 21.  In Room 40, the admiralty reluctantly allows the superdreadnought, 'Orion' to leave port, despite knowing that U-20 would be in the area it was scheduled to travel through.

And so the hunt begins; Turner unaware of U-20, and Schweiger managing to torpedo ships along the southern coast of Ireland.  Passengers aboard the Lusitania saw the lifeboats being positioned for easy lowering really thought nothing of it.  The Lusitania had departed New York City on Sunday May 1st, and by Thursday, Turner's ship was nearing Ireland.  It was at this time he was warned of submarines off the coast of Ireland.

On Friday May 7 at 2:10 p. m., Schweiger's torpedo struck.  Eighteen minutes later, the Lusitania was beneath the surface with many of her passengers.  Only 764 of the 1 198 aboard would survive.  Of those that died 123 were American.  There are many stories of survival shared by the author, but at the same time many sad stories of loss.

The day following the sinking, an inquest was held in Kinsale, Ireland.  It found the submarine's officers and men plus the emperor of Germany guilty of wholesale murder.  On the other hand, the admiralty set out to place all of the blame on William Turner.  This was done to draw attention away from what naval intelligence truly knew.  Lord Mersey would find in favour of Turner.

Many believe that it was the sinking of the Lusitania that brought the USA into the war, but it actually didn't enter the war until almost two years later when the Zimmerman Telegram came to light.  Germany had also declared all out war on shipping in the Atlantic.  President Wilson asked Congess permission to declare war.

"Dead Wake" is interspersed with many memories of the last voyage of the Lusitania.  Also included are many British naval secrets that have come to light in recent years.  It makes for good reading and is a book that any fan of history will enjoy.