A Perfect Death

In South Devon, a farmer reported flames in an area near his farm late one night.  When the firemen put them out, they discovered a body.  DCI Gerry Heffernan will have to attend to this case without his DI Wesley Peterson as he and his wife are vacationing in France.  He does have DS Rachel Tracey at hand, though.  Pathologist Colin Bowman, after examining the scene is sure that they have a murder of a woman on their hands.

Meanwhile, Peterson has been approached by an old university mate to see if he could look into a girl who had gone missing in the area Peterson and his wife, Pam, call home.  When the man doesn’t show up for a second meeting with information about the missing girl, they decide to do a bit of investigating.

Back home Tracey and Heffernan think that they have identified the victim.  However, DNA evidence proves that the victim is not who they thought it was.

The evening of the Petersons’ return home, an old cottage was torched.  Unbeknownst to the arsonist there was someone inside, and that person died.  Peterson is shocked when this victim turns out to be the man he and Pam had met in France.  Also the missing girl’s car was found nearby.  DNA this time matches the missing girl.  Who could have committed this brutal murder?

Could it be connected to a murder that had occurred over seven hundred years before?  Peterson’s friend, Dr. Neil Watson, is excavating an archeological site near where the girl was burned to death.  The site he is working on was the home of a man who had burned his wife to death for infidelity.  Is history repeating itself?

Author Kate Ellis has some secrets up her sleeve in this murder mystery, and although there are more deaths to come, there are also some surprises.  With the twists to the plot and the interesting conclusion, this is a very good read.

Swords of Good Men

Ulfar Thormodsson and his cousin Geiri are in Stenvik in the hopes of expanding trade between their community and this one.  Ulfar is entranced by a young woman and is unable to speak on behalf of the pair while Geiri makes a terrible botch of it.

Meanwhile Sigurd Aegisson, headman in Stenvik has been confronted by Friar Johann who has told him of a horde of invaders headed their way.  What is he supposed to do?  Search for the invaders or stand pat to defend the community?

At the same time, King Olav Tryggvason is gathering a huge army, which he intends to use to remove the old gods from Norway and replace with the White Christ.

Skargrim, leader of the invaders behind Skuld, a woman who has amazing powers, gathers many fighters Wyrmsey, which is an island not far from Stenvik.  His first act is to have a couple of his scouts burn a few ships in Stenvik and poison its well.  They also left a horse’s head in the square on a pole.  Sigurd’s reaction is to tell his people not to have any fear.

Not long after this the town is attacked by outlaws.  Are they part of Skargrim’s force?  Locked inside the walls of Stenvik, it is Ulfar who first notices the sixty-three ships of Skargrim advancing from the sea.  What’s the future of the town now?  Can King Olav arrive in time to counter the invaders from the sea?

Author Snorri Kristjansson is very descriptive in outlining the final battle for Stenvik.  There is lots of action with a couple of surprises at the very end.  When I started reading this historical fiction novel, I was unsure of what I was getting into, but it turned out to be a very good read.

Close to Home

DI Adam Fawley and DC Chris Gislingham have been called out in the early hours to a home where a young girl has gone missing.  Could Daisy have been abducted?  DC Verity Everett, assigned to door-to-door reports that a woman had seen a man carrying a girl in the area.  The girl seemed to have been crying.

DNA found on bloodied tights found near the home are not a match for Daisy.  Then a techie shows pictures from the evening the girl went missing.  There was another girl there dressed in the same way as the missing one.

The parents aren’t really cooperative, however when it is discovered that the husband has been on a dating site, the wife brings in incriminating evidence against him.  When news of his being on a dating site is leaked the home is fire bombed.  Fortunately, the mother and her son managed to escape.  The husband had been turned out of the home, so he was not there.  In turn, the husband provides potentially incriminating evidence against the wife.  Are they trying to frame each other?

Fawley finds that his case is going topsy-turvy.  Author Cara Hunter has Fawley’s team gathering evidence that points to only one suspect.  Twist upon twist!

This was a murder mystery, which I started reading late one afternoon.  I could not put it down!  Had I not had to go to work the next day, I would have stayed up all night to finish it.  Kudos to the author!  I can’t wait to get my hands on the sequels!

A Sea of Gold

Tyger has been ordered to the Mediterranean.  Sir Thomas Kydd impulsively bets 20 guineas with Cochrane of the Imperiuse as to which frigate would anchor there first.  Due to fog in Port Mahon, it was impossible to determine which ship had arrived first.

As their work begins, Cochrane, who has a few months seniority on Kydd, takes charge, much to the chagrin of Kydd.  It will take some time for the two men to understand each other.  Once they do, they begin to take the war to the French by destroying their semaphore stations along the coast.

Meanwhile, back in London, the powers that be are scheming a way to bring Austria onside in the war against Bonaparte.  It will be very costly and they decide to bring in Kydd’s old friend Nicholas Renzi, now known as Lord Farndon.  It will require subterfuge and high finance.

An engagement in the Mediterranean resulted in damage to the Tyger, which could not be repaired there, so it was back to England for repairs for the ship and a three week layover.

When the French fleet break out of Brest, the English Channel fleet force them to seek protection at Rochefort.  However, once settled in there, the English can’t simply sail in and destroy them in a set battle.  The admiralty order Cochrane to take fireships and assault the French.  He asks that Kydd help him with the enterprise.  Unfortunately the enterprise was only partially successful.

Kydd also has an enterprise going ahead in England, which could prove to be the saving of his household or his ruination.  Author Julian Stockwin has plenty of action awaiting Kydd, his brother-in-law and of course the crew of the Tyger, which will mean death and destruction for someone.

Mad About the Boy?

It is 1923 and there is a summer ball being held at Hesperus to celebrate the silver anniversary of Alice and Phillip Rivers.  Unfortunately, one of the guests mars the celebration by committing suicide.

Jack Haldean, nephew of the Rivers isn’t sure that it was a suicide.  How can he convince the police, since the Chief Constable has already declared it a suicide?

The following morning a Russian turns up at the house and accosts one of the guests.  Alfred Charnock, a relative of the Rivers, speaks Russian to him and then turfs him out of the house.  He apparently is a Bolshevik!

Haldean and three of his friends work at some theories amongst themselves.  A maid had heard what she thought was a shot.  Could it have been a firework?  After checking in the fireplace, where a firework might have gone off, the group agree that the so-called suicide could very well have been a murder.  Then it comes to light that the victim, who worked for a lord, might not have been the intended victim.  Maybe the lord, who in reality is a bit of a scammer, was the intended victim.

Could this be true, because he is stabbed to death in his room the next day!  It appears that the culprit is Haldean’s good friend, Arthur Stanton, and he is caught red handed!

Haldean’s friend, Superintendent Ashley, returns to begin the investigation.  However a few days later, late at night, just as Haldean and his friends are returning from Brighton, their car is highjacked and another of his friends is taken hostage.  Everyone is sure that Russians were involved in the kidnapping.  One of the girls is also sure that they intended to kill Haldean, but fortunately, he was only wounded in the arm.  What’s going on?

Author Dolores Gordon-Smith has some twists to her plot and a few surprises with hints at suspects before drawing this murder mystery to a close.  A good quick read.

A Fete Worse Than Death

Major Jack Haldean is visiting his cousins at a fete hosted by his aunt.  He is surprised when a man he really had no use for from the Flying Corps comes up to him in the beer tent.  Later in the afternoon the same man is found dead in the fortune teller’s tent.

Haldean is a writer of detective mysteries, so he wants to pump Superintendent Ashley for information.  Ashley has a plethora of suspects.  Haldean offers his services to Ashley as he had recently helped The Yard with an investigation.

The following morning Ashley calls Haldean to a local pub where a man has been found shot to death in the room of the previous victim.  Ashley had checked the room the previous evening and all was right.  Haldean has no idea who the new victim is.  They learn he is from London.

Up in London with the help of Inspector Rackham, who Haldean had helped earlier, they get into the victims’ flat.  There they discover a pendant belonging to Haldean’s cousin, Isabelle.  How had it come to be there?

While in London Haldean takes the opportunity to research records at the War Office.  Will it help figure out anything about the two victims?  Searching the records gives Haldean the idea that the murders could have something to do with blackmail.  After discussing it on the way home, Ashley is of the same mind.  It points to someone close to Haldean’s cousins.

How can Haldean and Ashley find the culprit?  It is going to take an inadvertent meeting with a little girl that will provide Haldean with a potential answer.  Author Dolores Gordon-Smith has lots of twists and surprises for the reader in this murder mystery.  A good, quick read.

The Judge Hunter

Balthasar de St. Michel is feckless in the eyes of his brother-in-law, Samuel Pepys.  He is constantly bothering Pepys in the hopes that he will provide some sort of work.  Balty, as Pepys calls him, is surprised when Lord Downing gives him the job of hunting for two judges who were involved in the execution of the former king.  The problem is, Balty has to travel to New England.

When Balty arrives in Boston he finds that it truly is a Puritan stronghold.  It is a few days before his contact, Hiram Huncks, makes himself known to Balty.  They leave Boston in unusual circumstances.  Their next stop is New Haven.  It doesn’t take long for the pair to get into trouble with the locals.  An accident has Huncks paralysed and Balty concussed.

It’s during their recovery that Balty learns that there is more to their mission than just finding the two judges.  Once recovered, they learn that the judges have moved on to New Amsterdam.  However, moments after arriving in New Amsterdam, the city is shut up, and the pair is taken into custody.  It seems that four British ships have also arrived in the area.

Can the pair achieve their two objectives or will the Dutch frustrate them?  Author Christopher Buckley’s historical novel is a fun, quick read, and based on historical fact.  Quite enjoyable.