Martyr

Queen Elizabeth, the Virgin Queen, holds the throne of England.  However, her throne is threatened by the Roman Catholics and especially King Philip of Spain.  Sir Francis Drake is her best sea captain and it is his aim to protect England from the huge armada that Philip is building.

Intelligence has been gathered that there is an assassin who is planning on killing Drake.  John Shakespeare, working for Walsingham is given the task of finding this assassin before he has a chance to kill Drake.  Into the mix comes Topcliffe, a man assigned by the Queen to root out any Jesuit priests who are spreading dissension in her realm.  Topcliffe and Shakespeare will come into conflict as they go about their assignments.

This is an excellent historical novel that boils continually throughout reaching a climax, followed by another stimulating anti-climax.  Rory Clements has done a great job to keep the attention of his readers.  I look forward to the sequel entitled "Revenger".

Frozen Assets

Iceland is on the verge of going into an economic tailspin when a body is found in the water alongside a small town.  Sergeant Gunna sets out to investigate.  As she investigates, she discovers that the death was not a drowning, but likely a murder and the murder could be tied to another death by a hit and run vehicle.

Throughout the story are reports by a blogger about corruption within the government and at a new aluminium smelting plant that is being built near Gunna’s town.  Gunna’s investigation seems to tie the murders to the smelting plant, which is the target of “Clean Iceland”, an Icelandic environmental group, and to the manager of a PR firm involved with the smelting plant.  The manager of the PR firm is married to the minister of the environment and together they have investments in the smelting plant and PR firm.

As the story progresses, the pace picks up leading to an interesting climax. 

Author Quentin Bates keeps the reader involved, but the unusual Icelandic place names can be real tongue twisters.  All-in-all a very good read.

The Cuckoo's Child

Laura Harcourt has just finished school and has taken the opportunity to work with poor women in London.  Now the job has come to an end, and her friend Philip Carfax (a lawyer) has suggested that he has an opportunity of work for her.  She could catalogue the books of a rich industrialist up in Yorkshire.

Shortly after arriving at Farr Clough she meets the industrialist, Ainsley Beaumont, his grandchildren, twins Gideon and Una and daughter-in-law Amelia.  Gideon helps Ainsley at the woolen factory while Una has become involved in the suffragette movement.  Ainsley thinks that Laura will do just fine.

Sometime after Laura has set to work on the Beaumont library, Ainsley is found floating at the dam that supplies water to the factory.  Detective Womersley and his Sergeant Rawlinson soon determine that he has been murdered.  It doesn’t look good for Laura when she is named as a recipient of £15 000.00 in Ainsley’s will.  However, that doesn’t stop Womersley looking for other possible culprits and author Marjorie Eccles offers many potential suspects before giving the reading a surprising end to the story.

Bleeding Heart Square

London, 1934 and a young socialite is about to tell her husband something, but unfortunately she interrupts a meeting he is having.  He later slaps and punches her because she interrupted the meeting.  As a result she packs a bag and leaves going to live with her father in Bleeding Heart Square.

There Lydia Langstone comes upon the story of Miss Penhow and how she was swindled out of her savings and home.  The thing is, Miss Penhow has been missing for four years.  While Lydia is looking for a job she discovers a man watching Bleeding Heart Square.  And, unbeknownst to her, a young journalist is looking into the disappearance of Miss Penhow on behalf of her niece.  Rory Wentwood has just returned from working as a journalist in India, and moves into the same building that Lydia is now living in.

Together the two young people begin to put their heads together to determine what has happened to Miss Penhow.  Lydia's husband has joined the British Union of Fascists, and their brutal tactics play a role in the story.  Throughout the story, author Andrew Taylor continually references the diary of Miss Penhow.  The diary slowly puts together her story.

Although the story is slow at the start it builds up a good head of steam and in the end the reader is given a totally surprising conclusion!  A very good read.

A Christmas Homecoming

Charlotte Monk's mother Caroline and her actor husband Joshua Fielding have been invited to Whitby, Yorkshire by the Netheridge family for Christmas.  Accompanying them are a troupe of actors who have been asked to put on a play created by Alice Netheridge, the only daughter of the Netheridges.  The play is based on the newly released book by Bram Stoker, "Dracula".  The play is to be presented just after Christmas to friends of the Netheridges.

The play needs work and a winter storm strikes Whitby, burying it in snow.  Shortly after the storm hits, a stranger arrives at the door.  His carriage has broken a wheel and he is in need of shelter.  Before long, the unexpected guest is helping with the reworking of the play.  Everything seems to go smoothly until he is found murdered in the hallway near the in-house theatre.  Caroline sets out to solve the murder because they are snowed in and the police won't be able to get there in good order.

This is a neat little novelette written by Anne Perry; a quick read.

A Pig of Cold Poison

Gil Cunningham freely admits at the beginning of the story that he has seen the poison administered, but he can't figure out how it is done.

Thus starts "A Pig of Cold Poison" by Pat McIntosh, another murder mystery set in 12th century Glasgow.  Without the advantages of modern day DNA techniques, Gil has to set about solving a murder by poison that occurs right in front of a crowd of people in his sister's home.  A mummer is poisoned by a splash of what is supposed to revive another mummer during a play.  A number of apothecaries could be responsible, but which one.  It takes some time for the type of poison to be determined and by that time two more deaths will occur, both in the same family; a family which is made up of apothecaries.  Could they be set upon murdering one another since they all have knowledge of mixing potions.

Another good historical murder mystery by author Pat McIntosh.

An Irish Country Courtship

For those who enjoy Patrick Taylor's "Irish Country Doctor" series, this is another pleasurable read from the author.

Dr. Barry Laverty has been working with Dr. Fingal O'Reilly for the past six months.  It is New Year's Eve, and Dr. Laverty receives the devastating news that his girlfriend plans to dump him.  On the other hand Dr. O'Reilly's romance seems to be on the upswing.  Kinky Kincaid, their housekeeper, is worried that the lady in Fingal's life is going to take her spot.

For the next several months life in Ballybucklebo is typical for small town doctors of the '60s in Ireland.  There are constant house calls and normal surgery life, and of course the typical Irish blarney.  Amidst this is a swindle involving a racehorse owned by a syndicate of a belligerent councillor and his workers that Fingal sets out to put right plus an outbreak of ringworm at the local school that Barry is confused over.

All-in-all a fun and amusing read.  Well worth the light heartedness that it provides the reader.