Historical Novels Review, Issue 85 (August 2018)

H I S T O R IC A L

NOV EL S REVIEW

ISSUE 85

August 2018

MYSTERIES OF CREATION

FEATURED IN THIS ISSUE ...

More on page 8

On the Wings of Icarus Or, How I Lost My Heart to an Aviatrix

Thoughts on the 200th anniversary of the publication of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein

Page 10

Women Speak Up for Themselves Pat Barker’s The Silence of the Girls Page 12

Ahead of Their Time Forgotten Female Surrealists Page 13

Pain, Kindness & Friendship Andrew Miller’s Now We Shall Be Entirely Free Page 14

Writing Fiction Off the Edge Mandy Haggith’s The Walrus Mutterer Page 15

Historical Fiction Market News Page 1

New Voices Page 4

History & Film Page 6

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H I S T O R IC A L

NOV EL S REVIEW ISSN 1471-7492

Issue 85, August 2018 | © 2018 The Historical Novel Society

PUBLISHER Richard Lee

Marine Cottage, The Strand, Starcross, Devon EX6 8NY UK <richard@historicalnovelsociety.org>

EDITORIAL BOARD

Managing Editor: Bethany Latham

Houston Cole Library, Jacksonville State University 700 Pelham Road North, Jacksonville, AL 36265-1602 USA <blatham@jsu.edu> Publisher Coverage: Simon & Schuster US (all imprints)

Book Review Editor: Sarah Johnson

6868 Knollcrest Drive, Charleston, IL 61920 USA <sljohnson2@eiu.edu> Publisher Coverage: Bethany House; Five Star; HarperCollins; Henry Holt; IPG; Penguin Random House (all imprints); Severn House; Australian presses; university presses

Features Editor: Lucinda Byatt 13 Park Road, Edinburgh, EH6 4LE UK <textline13@gmail.com>

New Voices Column Editor: Myfanwy Cook 47 Old Exeter Road, Tavistock, Devon PL19 OJE UK <myfanwyc@btinternet.com>

REVIEWS EDITORS, UK Alan Fisk

<alan.fisk@alanfisk.com> Publisher Coverage: Aardvark Bureau, Black and White, Bonnier Zaffre, Crooked Cat, Freight, Gallic, Honno, Impress, Karnac, Legend, Pushkin, Oldcastle, Quartet, Sandstone, Saraband, Seren, Serpent’s Tail

Edward James

<busywords_ed@yahoo.com> Publisher Coverage: Arcadia; Atlantic Books; Canongate; Head of Zeus; Glagoslav; Hodder Headline (inc. Coronet, Hodder & Stoughton, NEL, Sceptre); John Murray; Pen & Sword; Robert Hale; Alma; The History Press

Doug Kemp

<douglaskemp62@gmail.com> Publisher Coverage: Allison & Busby; Little, Brown; Orion; Penguin Random House UK (Cornerstone, Ebury, Transworld, Vintage, and their imprints); Quercus

Linda Sever

<LSever@uclan.ac.uk> Publisher Coverage: All UK children’s historicals

Karen Warren

<worldwidewriteruk@gmail.com> Publisher Coverage: Accent; Birlinn/Polygon; Bloomsbury; Duckworth Overlook; Faber & Faber; Granta; HarperCollins UK; Pan Macmillan; Penguin Random House UK (Michael Joseph, Penguin General, Penguin Press, and their imprints); Short Books; Simon & Schuster UK

REVIEWS EDITORS, USA Rebecca Cochran

<CochranR95@gmail.com> Publisher Coverage: Amazon Publishing; Hachette; Hyperion; Pegasus; and WW Norton

Bryan Dumas

<bryanpgdumas@gmail.com> Publisher Coverage: Algonquin; Kensington; Other Press; Overlook; Sourcebooks; Tyndale; and other US/Canadian small presses

Ilysa Magnus

<goodlaw2@optonline.net> Publisher Coverage: Bloomsbury, FSG; Grove/Atlantic; Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; Minotaur Books; Picador USA; Poisoned Pen Press; Soho Press; St Martin’s Press; and Tor/Forge

Arleigh Ordoyne

<arleigh.johnson@att.net> Publisher Coverage: US/Canadian children’s publishers

REVIEWS EDITOR, INDIE Richard Lee

<richard@historicalnovelsociety.org> Publisher Coverage: all self- and subsidy-published novels

EDITORIAL POLICY & COPYRIGHT Reviews, articles, and letters may be edited for reasons of space, clarity, and grammatical correctness. We will endeavour to reflect the authors’ intent as closely as possible, and will contact the authors for approval of any major change. We welcome ideas for articles, but have specific requirements to consider. Before submitting material, please contact the editor to discuss whether the proposed article is appropriate for Historical Novels Review.

In all cases, the copyright remains with the authors of the articles.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the authors concerned.

MEMBERSHIP DETAILS THE HISTORICAL NOVEL SOCIETY was formed in 1997 to help promote historical fiction. We are an open society — if you want to get involved, get in touch.

MEMBERSHIP in the Historical Novel Society entitles members to all the year’s publications: four issues of Historical Novels Review, as well as exclusive membership benefits through the Society website. Back issues of Society magazines are also available. For current rates, please see: https://historicalnovelsociety.org/members/join/

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Interested in receiving copies of new historical novels and sharing your thoughts with other historical novel enthusiasts? We’re looking for reviewers for all eras and subgenres of historical fiction. Please email me at sljohnson2@eiu.edu for the guidelines. Especially sought are UK, European, and Australian reviewers and those who can read from e-format. New writers are welcome.

ISSUE 85 AUGUST 2018 COLUMNS 1

Historical Fiction Market News

Sarah Johnson

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New Voices Profiles of debut historical fiction authors Laura Carlin, Lauren Chater, Kali Napier and Lucy Treloar | Myfanwy

6

History & Film My Cousin Rachel | Bethany Latham

Cook

FEATURES AND INTERVIEWS 8

Mysteries of Creation The 200th Anniversary of Frankenstein

by Bethany Latham

10 On the Wings of Icarus

Or, How I Lost My Heart to an Aviatrix

by C.C. Humphreys 12 Women Speaking Up for Themselves

Pat Barker’s The Silence of the Girls

by Charlotte Wightwick 13 Ahead of Their Time

Forgotten Female Surrealists

by Mary Sharratt 14 Pain, Kindness & Friendship

Andrew Miller’s Now We Shall Be Entirely Free

by Myfanwy Cook 15 Writing Fiction Off the Edge

Mandy Haggith’s The Walrus Mutterer

by Lucinda Byatt

REVIEWS 16 Book Reviews

Editors’ choice and more

HISTORICAL FICTION MARKET NEWS NEW BOOKS BY HNS MEMBERS Congrats to the following authors on their new releases! If you’ve written a historical novel or nonfiction work published (or to be published) in May 2018 or after, please send the following details to me at sljohnson2@eiu.edu or @readingthepast by Oct. 7: author, title, publisher, release date, and a blurb of one sentence or less. Details will appear in November’s magazine. Submissions may be edited for space.

A sequel to The Chalky Sea, Clare Flynn’s The Alien Corn (Cranbrook Press, Jan. 3), set in 1946/7, follows Jim Armstrong and his war bride, Joan, to his farm in Canada, where she must adjust to a new life as he battles with the traumas of his wartime experiences in Italy.

Murder in Belgravia (Mayfair 100 series) by Lynn Brittney (Mirror, Jan.) is set in London, during WW1; a new clandestine detective team is set up, comprising of professional policemen and female amateur detectives.

In Jennifer Delamere’s The Heart’s Appeal (Bethany House, Mar. 6), set in 1881, Julia Bernay comes to London to study medicine, and ends up saving the life of a barrister whose client wants to close down the medical school.

Set in India during the Mutiny, Tony Foot’s A Fortune to India (Chaplin, Mar. 8), the sequel to The Fortunes at War, follows the adventures of Jack Finch of the Rifle Brigade as he plays a cat-and-mouse game with rebels in enemy territory while disguised as a mutineer.

Joseph Pillitteri’s Courage Between Love and Death (Fireship, Mar. 28) is a story involving a strong-willed heroine and the medical care President McKinley received when he was assassinated in 1901 at the Pan American Exposition in Buffalo, NY. From the Realm of Time (Amazon, Mar. 29) by Scott Douglas Prill follows a retired Roman Army general and his wife, who seek a peaceful life at the end of the 4th century, but they are drawn into multiple conflicts that complicate achieving such a life.

Mary Sharratt’s Ecstasy (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Apr. 10), finally gives one of the most controversial and complex women of her time the center stage: Alma Schindler Mahler, Klimt’s muse and Mahler’s greatest love, the woman whose life would define and defy an era.

Fate has not yet finished with the first crowned queen of England in M J Porter’s The First Queen of England Part 3 (M J Porter/Amazon, Apr. 12).

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Clare Flynn’s The Gamekeeper’s Wife (Cranbrook Press, Apr. 17) is a tale of love across class lines, duty, sacrifice and determination, set in the aftermath of the First World War.

25) follows four teens who unknowingly tip the balance of power in the magical realm of Avalon and end up on a quest to prevent an evil wizard from taking over both worlds.

Charlene Newcomb’s Swords of the King, Battle Scars III (indie, May 1), is an epic saga revealing the fighting spirit and impact of war on the knights who serve Richard the Lionheart, the bonds of comradeship – and love – that develop between them, and their personal joys, sorrows and struggles.

Charlotte Betts’ The Palace of Lost Dreams (Piatkus, May 31) is set in 1798, as the French and the British battle for control over India’s riches, and Beatrice travels from Hampshire to Hyderabad to live with her brother and his Indian wife’s extended family in a dilapidated palace famed for the theft of a fabled diamond.

The heroine of Wendy Teller’s Becoming Mia (Weyand Associates, May 1) is Mia Brower, a bright but naive young woman who seeks her destiny in the midst of the academic, social, and political challenges of colorful but turbulent 1960s Berkeley, California.

In her sequel, Taming the Twisted 2, Reconstructing Rain (Wordsy Woman Press, Jun. 3), author Jodie Toohey helps Alice Sinkey, Abigail’s sister in the first Taming the Twisted, tell her story of putting her family back together during the aftermath of the American Civil War and the tornado that killed her parents.

An Orphan’s War (Avon UK, May 3) is the second in Molly Green’s Dr Barnardo’s WW2 series: Maxine Taylor, a young widow, flees from St Thomas’s hospital after a shocking betrayal and returns to Liverpool to become a nurse at the orphanage, not dreaming that one little boy in particular will help heal her own broken heart…not to mention Squadron Leader Crofton Wells.

In Vanessa Couchman’s The Corsican Widow (Vanessa Couchman with Ocelot Press author collective, May 10), taking place while Corsica fights for independence against Genoa in 1755, a prophecy on the eve of Valeria Peretti’s betrothal spells misfortune ahead, but can she escape from her destiny?

Clock Master’s Daughter by Patrice McDonough (CreateSpace, May 12) is set in Paris during the French Revolution when the “City of Light” becomes a city of terrifying darkness, and Sophie, the clock master’s daughter, must devise a plan of rescue as intricate as the inner workings of a clock in a race against time that pits her skills against the blade of “Madame Guillotine.”

The Fourth Son (Book Locker, May 14), Brien Brown’s debut, is set in late 17th- and early 18th-c. France and America, in which a 16-year-old noble, Jean-Marc Bompeau, discovers he is penniless, endures a harrowing ocean crossing, is stranded on a beach in Maine, befriended by natives, captured by British colonists, sold into servitude, and falls in love.

Dan Morales’s debut The Scouts of St. Michael: Operation Archangel (Elm Grove Publishing, May 22) is set in 1940 England and tells the story of six orphan boy scouts who find themselves conscripted by British Intelligence for a covert mission deep inside Nazi Germany.

In R. S. Rowland’s Portrait of a Bitter Spy (CreateSpace, May 26), Josefa, a ruthless, seductive spy, is serving Germany in the Great War when she finally reunites with Captain Fleming Hughes, the young student she’d met in the happy summer of 1913, who is also serving his country in MI5.

In Frances McNamara’s Death at the Selig Studios, Book 7 of the Emily Cabot Mysteries (Allium Press of Chicago, May 29), set in 1909, Emily is drawn into a murder at a silent film studio in Chicago.

Marty Ambrose’s Claire’s Last Secret (Severn House, May 31/UK; Sept. 1/US) is a historical mystery told by Claire Clairmont, the last survivor of the Byron/Shelley circle; she is living out her final years in 1873 Florence, Italy, but finds herself caught up in a tragic death that takes her back to the “haunted summer” of 1816 to discover the identity of her old enemy.

J. Lynn Else’s YA adventure novel Descendants of Avalon (Inklings, May

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In A Woman’s Lot (SilverWood, Jun. 4), Book 2 of The Meonbridge Chronicles, Carolyn Hughes’s series set in 14th-c. rural England, women are still seeking to play a greater part following the social devastation wrought by the Black Death, but some men abhor them as the weak and treacherous “daughters of Eve” and are intent on keeping them in their place.

Clues abound, as do suspects, none with a provable alibi, in Kenn Grimes’s Paint the Librarian Dead (Cozy Cat Press, Jun. 10), the third book in the Booker Falls Mystery series, set in Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula in the 1920s.

Set in 12th-century Rhineland, P.K. Adams’ The Greenest Branch, a Novel of Germany’s First Female Physician (Amazon/Iron Knight, Jun. 18) tells the true story of Hildegard of Bingen, who, enclosed in a convent at a young age, defies the Church hierarchy to fulfill her dream of becoming a physician.

Shortlisted for the 2016 HNS New Novel Prize, Kelleigh GreenbergJephcott’s debut novel Swan Song (Hutchinson, Jun. 14), about the line between gossip and slander, self-creation and self-preservation, is the tragic story of the literary icon of his age, Truman Capote, and the beautiful, wealthy, vulnerable women he called his Swans.

Caroline of Kumasi by Priscilla G. Watkins (Amazon, Jun. 25) is the story of a young cane field slave in the 19th-century Danish West Indies who learns she can buy her freedom; despite objections by friends and betrayal by lovers and owners, Caroline is willing to do anything including inciting riot to gain emancipation.

The Fifth Sun by Wendy Lozano (Citrine, June 29) is the story of an Aztec warrior sworn to chastity and a young courtesan who find they need each other to survive as Cortes and his Spanish soldiers tear their world apart.

Olivia Hunter’s visions of the past lives of two individuals, contemporaries who lived over two thousand years ago, result in the apparent accidental or self-inflicted deaths of those with whom she shares them, in Kenn Grimes’s religious conspiracy thriller, Ancestors (Enigma House Press, Jun. 30).

In Kate Braithwaite’s The Road to Newgate (Crooked Cat, Jul. 16), writer Nathaniel Thompson risks career, marriage, friendships, and freedom in his pursuit of Titus Oates, a preacher who has thrown London into uproar by revealing a Popish Plot to kill Charles II. Set in the 17th-century Venetian Empire, the Barics’ saga comes to a satisfying conclusion in Jillian Bald’s The House of Baric Part Three: Widows and Weddings (Hillwalker, Jul. 22), the last book of the trilogy.

November 1035. King Cnut is dead: this is the subject of M J Porter’s The English Earl (M J Porter/Amazon, Jul. 26).

In Catherine Kullmann’s new Regency novel, A Suggestion of Scandal (Willow Books, Aug. 1), governess Rosa Fancourt’s life and future are suddenly at risk when she surprises two lovers in flagrante delicto; in Sir Julian Loring she finds an unexpected champion, but will he stand by her to the end?

Becoming Belle (GP Putnam, Aug. 7) by Nuala O’Connor is a witty and inherently feminist novel about passion and marriage, set in Victorian London and based on the true story of the unstoppable Belle Bilton, a music hall actress who became an Irish countess.

In Kim Rendfeld’s Queen of the Darkest Hour (indie, Aug. 7), Fastrada must stop stepson Pepin’s conspiracy before it destroys everyone and everything she loves; based on historic events during Charlemagne’s reign, the novel tells a story of family strife endangering an entire country—and the price to save it.

In I Am Mrs. Jesse James (Blank Slate, Aug. 28) debut author Pat Wahler weaves the harrowing tale of Zee Mimms James, a woman torn between her conscience and her love for the most infamous outlaw of the American Civil War era.

In A Spring of Green (Endeavour Media, Sept), Felicity Luckman’s second novel, Nigel Tregellis is filled with ideas of glory as he prepares to fight for his friend the Duke of Monmouth but is quite unprepared for what ultimately happens.

Harry Miller’s novel of 17th-century China, Southern Rain (Earnshaw, Sept. 1), narrates the star-crossed romance between a dreamy young artist and a brilliant Buddhist nun who struggle to get and stay together as the once-splendid Ming dynasty collapses all around them.

Mimi Matthews’ The Matrimonial Advertisement (Perfectly Proper Press, Sept. 4) is set in England, 1858: When ex-army captain Justin Thornhill places an advertisement for a wife, the mysterious lady who appears on his doorstep isn’t quite what he was expecting.

In Nicole Evelina’s Mistress of Legend (Lawson Gartner, Sept. 16), the final book of the Guinevere’s Tale trilogy, Guinevere does not spend her final days in penance in a convent; rather, she fights for her ancestral homeland against an invasion that threatens both her people and her life.

In the second of E.M. Powell’s new Stanton & Barling medieval murder mysteries, The Monastery Murders (Thomas & Mercer, Sep. 27), the pair are called to investigate the bizarrely horrific murder of a monk in a remote Cistercian abbey.

Paula Butterfield’s La Luministe: Berthe Morisot, Painter of Light (Regal House, Oct), is the story of a woman who battles the art establishment of late 19th c. Paris to help found the Impressionist movement, and of her life-long love for Edouard Manet.

Hakon the Good seized Norway’s throne from their father, Erik Bloodaxe, and now Erik’s brood has come with the Danes to get it back, in Eric Schumacher’s War King (Creativia, Oct. 15).

In Margaret Porter’s Beautiful Invention: A Novel of Hedy Lamarr (Gallica, Oct. 16), Austrian refugee and Hollywood film star Hedy Lamarr responds to WWII atrocities by secretly inventing a new technology for her adopted country’s defense—and unexpectedly

changes the world.

Gill Paul’s The Lost Daughter (Headline/UK, Oct. 18; Morrow/US, summer 2019) returns to the Romanovs, about whom she wrote in her bestselling The Secret Wife, this time imagining the fate of Grand Duchess Maria, while a second plot tells of a 1970s Australian woman uncovering the secrets of her past.

The Highlander Who Protected Me, Clan Kendrick 1 (Kensington Zebra, Oct. 30), is first in a new Highland Historical series from USA Today bestselling author Vanessa Kelly.

In Carrie Callaghan’s A Light of Her Own (Amberjack, Nov. 13), set in 17th-century Holland, artist Judith Leyster tries to follow her daring ambitions without losing those she loves.

NEW PUBLISHING DEALS Sources include authors and publishers, Publishers Weekly, Publishers Marketplace, The Bookseller, and more. Email sljohnson2@eiu.edu or tweet @readingthepast to have your publishing deal included.

The Most Dangerous Woman in Europe by Karen Harper, which follows Elizabeth Bowes Lyon, Queen Elizabeth, wife of King George VI, through the dangerous days of World War II, sold to Lucia Macro at William Morrow/HarperCollins via Annelise Robey at the Jane Rotrosen Agency.

Impossible Saints author Clarissa Harwood’s next historical novel Bear No Malice, pitched as Grantchester meets Great Expectations, about a clergyman with a painful past and an artist trapped by her own secrets, sold to Katie McGuire at Pegasus, in a nice deal, for publication in Winter 2019, by Laura Crockett at TriadaUS Literary Agency.

Ellen Alpsten’s sweeping historical epic Tsarina, based on the life of Russia’s Catherine I, born into serfdom in Latvia, and who rose to become Peter the Great’s second wife and successor, sold to Charles Spicer at St. Martin’s by Deborah Schneider at Gelfman Schneider/ ICM on behalf of Alice Lutyens at Curtis Brown UK. UK rights sold to Faiza Sultan Khan at Bloomsbury UK. U.S. Naval Institute Naval Institute Press has acquired Robert N. Macomber’s 14th installment in his Honor Series titled Honoring The Enemy, with a release date set for March 2019.

For forthcoming novels through mid-2018, please see: https:// historicalnovelsociety.org/guides/forthcoming-historical-novels/

COMPILED BY SARAH JOHNSON Sarah Johnson is Book Review Editor of HNR, a librarian, readers’ advisor, and author of reference books. She reviews for Booklist and CHOICE and blogs about historical novels at readingthepast.com. Her latest book is Historical Fiction II: A Guide to the Genre.

A publication of the Historical Novel Society | www.historicalnovelsociety.org

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NEW VOICES Captivating readers with their creative blend of historical fact and fiction are debut novelists Laura Carlin, Lauren Chater, Kali Napier and Lucy Treloar

Laura Carlin

Kali Napier

Lauren Chater

Lucy Treloar

Every author draws his or her inspiration from a different source, and for Lauren Chater, author of The Lace Weaver (Simon & Schuster Australia, 2018) it was when browsing the shelves of her local library’s craft section in 2014. She says, “I stumbled across a book called Knitted Lace of Estonia. Curious to know more, I pulled it out and sat down to read, little realising that the book would be my portal into a world of lace shawl-making, Estonian folk tales and stories of anti-Soviet resistance. I soon learned that the little Baltic country of Estonia had been occupied many times throughout the centuries, starting with the Danes, the Baltic Germans and finally the Russian Soviets and the Nazis. It was the intriguing detail of the lacemaking that drew me in, the idea that these female knitters, who had suffered the worst kind of atrocities under the heel of governing nations, had survived and managed to preserve their heritage in the form of these seemingly innocent-looking shawls. I decided I had to write a book that not only exposed the brutalities that Stalin’s Russian government inflicted on the Baltics, but also celebrated the courage and fortitude of the Estonians who resisted and survived such terrible hardships.”

Chater worked for many years in a variety of media roles before turning her love of reading and research into a professional pursuit, establishing a popular blog and winning the First Pages pitch competition at the HNSA Conference 2015 and placing second in the Short Story Competition at HNSA Conference 2017. In preparation for writing The Lace Weaver, she says, “I read lots of books about both Estonia and Russia and interviewed Estonian women, some of whom were lace makers. They proudly showed me their beautiful crafts, and it was an honour to hear the stories behind the different patterns and how they came to be ‘master knitters.’ In 2015, I

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travelled to Estonia and Russia. The highlight of my trip was visiting Haapsalu, where the tradition of making lace shawls is believed to have originated. I bought quite a few shawls while I was there and took them home to study them. However, it was the characters of the women who had made those shawls which fascinated me most.

When I began to imagine how they must have lived, suffering under the daily oppression of the Russian occupation, the story really came to life. The novel’s heart is the knitting circle, a place where women can be themselves, tell their stories and support each other. The lace shawls become their voice, a way for them to communicate what can’t be said.”

Lucy Treloar, like Chater, also stumbled across the story for her novel, Salt Creek (Aardvark, 2017). Treloar feels, she says, “as if a book is waiting to be written, and when a writer stumbles on it it’s as if the untold story says, ‘Finally!’ I’d been carrying what became Salt Creek for as long as I could remember by the time I began writing in the lea of a sand hill above the roar of the Southern Ocean.”

For Treloar, ‘the Coorong,’ the setting of her novel, played a key role because it “has an almost mythical quality for my family. Every school holiday of my childhood we’d make the 500-mile journey to our beach house in South Australia, each time passing the Coorong – a grand, remote and melancholy landscape of rolling saltbush and shimmering sky. My mother would tell almost fantastical stories of one of our ancestors and his large family (13 children!) who in the 1850s moved to these wilds in an attempt to restore the family fortunes.”

She explains, “There was my great-great-great grandmother (the model for Salt Creek’s headstrong Addie), who legend has it ‘ran wild with the blacks’; her mother, who was rowed across the Coorong lagoon at dead of night in the middle of an obstructed labour in a desperate search for help; and an indigenous boy who lived with the family. Those fragmentary tales were the foundations of Salt Creek, but it was visiting that landscape and feeling it around me that made the stories come alive – almost as if I’d had an electric shock. I kayaked up a narrow lagoon to the windswept Younghusband Peninsula and the old family homestead, and thought of long-ago children galloping horses along the white beach and roaming the vast sand hills and finally understood why my family was still haunted by that resonant landscape. There, watching my own children tumbling down the dunes, I began writing Salt Creek. Everything followed from that moment.”

Moments of epiphany for writers can be sudden, but often the seed of an idea is planted which takes the writer on a longer voyage of discovery, as in the case of Kali Napier. Her novel, The Secrets at Ocean’s Edge (Hachette Australia / Piatkus UK, 2018) found its origins, Napier says, “when I worked as a family history researcher, connecting Indigenous clients with knowledge of who their family members were, where they came from, and how they were connected to their Country. Because of the long history of forced removals, forced employment, and control of all aspects of Indigenous people’s lives under State Protection Acts in Australia, many of these connections are lost to descendants. Only when piecing together these families’ stories of trauma, secrets, and belonging from the government archival records, did I start voicing aloud an urge to ‘write a book.’”

However, Napier realized, “Their stories were not my stories to tell.

At one point in my novel, Mrs Feehely, an exempted Aboriginal woman, cautions her daughter, Ruby: ‘Those are our stories, girl. You keep them to yourself’ when Ruby asks to share a Dreaming story with ten-year-old Girlie. Girlie learns a valuable lesson about the power of stories to create connections, and to delineate who she did and didn’t belong to.”

Napier continues, “But as Girlie discovers, there are gaps and inconsistencies in the story of who she is. Just as there are in my own, caused by migration, estrangement, and the silencing that comes with second marriages.”

Napier relates, “I had lived in the Mid-West of Western Australia for several years, where the novel is set, where to be considered an insider, I would have needed ‘three generations in the boneyard.’

Years and a cross-country move later, a basic search of the digitised newspaper archive revealed that my father’s maternal family had actually come from the Mid-West, and my great-grandfather had been a bankrupt who’d moved to Dongara during the Depression to establish a shop. This sparked the idea for my novel, as I sought to discover through fiction what my unknown ancestors’ lives might have been like. What would it have meant to them to have to walk away from their way of life and begin again amongst strangers?

What aspects of their past would they have not been able to leave behind, carried within them? And what happens when that which they’d thought long buried catches up with them?”

Laura Carlin left school at 16, and it was only after 28 years of working in a bank that she began to write. The Wicked Cometh (Hodder & Stoughton, 2018), Carlin says, is the result of “a lifetime’s love of British history, and a passion for the English language. It was inevitable I would one day turn to writing historical fiction, but with so many pockets of history to explore, few can be as compelling as 1830s London: an influx of immigrants and internal migrants, as a legacy of the Napoleonic wars, swelling the population of London to 1.7 million; a burgeoning police force struggling to contain the increase in criminality; and an un-reformed Parliament, unfit to protect the interests of the underclass. London was indeed a dark and dangerous place.”

Already having an interest in the period, Carlin was fascinated to discover the real-life events from which The Wicked Cometh is inspired: “countless people going missing from the streets of London, and the terrifying suspicion that a serial-killer was at large, greater in scale and depravity than the city had yet known.”

Over the years of research she conducted, Carlin says, “I also gained an awareness that although reference materials tell us what happened, they don’t always say what it felt like to be there, so it was important to me that the story’s narrator was one of the vulnerable poor: young, orphaned and female; the type of voice generally unrepresented in textbooks and archives.”

In order to convey the dramatic nature of her subject matter, Carlin has written her novel, she says, “in first-person, present tense – to lend immediacy to the narrative – I really hope the reader becomes immersed in the time period, and vicariously experiences the feelings, emotions, shocks and triumphs of the narrator, Hester White.

“The Wicked Cometh shines a light on a very dark period in British history, but it is also a story of survival, hope, friendship and above all, love – teaching us that in the end, there is light in the dark. Then again, maybe it’s best not to read it alone, at night, with the lights down low!”

Historical fiction writers such as Carlin, Chater, Napier and Treloar are, in many ways, like Chater’s knitters of lace shawls in Estonia: they can follow a pattern of historical facts, but are also able to knit these into new and vivid stories using their craft as wordsmiths.

WRITTEN BY MYFANWY COOK Myfanwy Cook is an Associate Fellow at two British Universities and a creative writing workshop designer. Please do email (myfanwyc@btinternet.com) if you discover any debut novels you would like to see showcased.

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HISTORY & FILM My Cousin Rachel: The Beauty of Ambiguity

In my personal canon of Gothic literature, Daphne du Maurier is one of the greater saints. By the time I discovered her, she had long since aged out of bestseller status, known to most only through Hitchcock’s adaptations of her work (e.g., Rebecca, The Birds). From my first encounter, I wanted to devour everything she had written, novel and short story. That first pre-teen encounter happened to be My Cousin Rachel (Victor Gollancz UK, 1951 / Doubleday US, 1952).

My Cousin Rachel is unique in that it takes one of the primary tenets of Gothicism and flips it: Gothic novels usually feature a young, naïve heroine – her youth and inexperience put her at a decided disadvantage when dealing with the older, romantic hero/anti-hero. It is this worldly male who has all the secrets, serving an almost pedagogical function for the poor young woman as she makes her way through the formulas inherent in Gothic plotting. Du Maurier chose to make her protagonist male, and the inversion offers some interesting corollaries.

In the early Victorian era, Philip Ashley is an orphan, raised by his older cousin, Ambrose, on an estate in Cornwall. Ambrose is the very best of replacement parents. Adamantly opposed to the interference of females, his household is all-male, even the dogs – a contented, testosterone-tinged world. So it comes as a surprise when Ambrose, who has traveled to Florence, begins sending missives home to Philip about the widowed Contessa Rachel Sangalletti, a distant cousin. It’s an outright shock when he writes soon after that he has married her.

Things immediately take a dark turn; Ambrose’s health fails. He writes he is constantly watched by his wife and her “friend” and lawyer, Rainaldi. Perhaps he is being poisoned. He begs Philip to come to him at once. “She has done for me at last, Rachel, my torment.” Philip sets off posthaste, but arrives too late: Ambrose is dead. Doctors diagnosed a brain tumor that caused Ambrose to lose his mind, prey to all kinds of terrible suspicions. The villa is unoccupied, and no one knows where Rachel has gone, including her “friend” Rainaldi, whom the grief-stricken Philip instantly distrusts and dislikes.

Philip is all vengeful passion, a reaction that would have been highly problematic in a female narrator. He wants nothing more than to visit suffering on those who, he believes, are responsible for his beloved cousin’s death. When Rachel almost immediately shows up in Cornwall, he gets his chance. Yet when he meets his cousin, she is not

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at all what he had expected, and from the outset Philip doesn’t stand a snowball’s chance. Rachel is attractive, sophisticated, charming; she brightens up the house, encourages Philip to smoke in her boudoir and catch glimpses of her hair down, her nightdress. Soon his vengeful passion is just passion, and Philip is pouring the family jewels in his cousin’s lap. He cannot wait (literally, he’s ready to go at the stroke of midnight) for his 25th birthday when he comes into his majority and the estate…so he can also hand that over to Rachel.

Philip’s friends, his legal guardian Nicholas Kendall and Kendall’s daughter, Louise, are plagued with anxiety. Though Rachel charms all she meets (even the dogs flock to her), there are rumors of financial profligacy and a first husband dead from dueling with one of the contessa’s lovers. She is also a decade Philip’s senior. Still, no one can speak sense to the rash young man, whose obsession trumps all sage advice and his own mistrust. When Rachel grants him a carnal return on his estate investment, he is the happiest of men. In a fashion almost universally reserved in such stories for unworldly girls, he incorrectly equates sex with love and an acquiescence to marry. Thus, his shock is immeasurable when he announces his betrothal to a gathering of birthday guests, and Rachel promptly assures everyone he’s either drunk or over-tired, and to think nothing of his outburst. A clause that the estate will revert to Philip if Rachel remarries ensures she has no intention of re-entering the matrimonial state. The only way she could and keep what she has gained…is if Philip were dead. Rachel is skilled in herbs and makes healthful teas (“tisanas”); Philip falls ill. (You see where this is going.)

A simple enough and somewhat familiar plot, except perhaps for the gender reversal. Even Rachel’s name, Sangalletti, puts one in mind of blood. Yet du Maurier has accomplished a masterwork of ambiguity here. Her writing style is propulsive, and there are enough disparities and contradictions to call all assumptions about Rachel into question. Philip, as narrator, cannot put conflicting pieces together with certainty. What type of woman is Rachel, truly? Is she guilty of murdering Ambrose? Of attempting to murder Philip? Du Maurier herself, when asked, simply said she did not know, for she had put herself in Philip’s place as the teller of the tale, and he must reconcile all the contradictory elements at play. The narrator finds himself unable to pronounce innocence or guilt. So it is up to the reader to decide. For me to say more would entail spoiler alerts, so I advise simply reading the book. Or…watching a film adaptation. (This is History & Film, after all.)

Though it is Philip telling the story, Rachel is the character who most fascinates; she commands Philip’s attention and ours. In Hollywood’s Golden Age, a year after the book was published, the rights had already been auctioned and actresses were queuing up to play her (Greta Garbo, Vivien Leigh, et al.) in 1952’s adaptation. The role went to Olivia de Havilland, with Richard Burton as Philip, in his first American film role. As is his wont, Burton chews the scenery with relish – he is suitably vengeful, passionate, and obsessed. He’s not called upon to be much more, and the jury is still out as to whether he ever manages to elicit sympathy. His anger and willful blindness leads him into needless cruelty to those who care for him most, such as Louise (Audrey Dalton). De Havilland, by contrast, is the very picture of subtlety, and an absolute delight to watch. The second she steps onscreen, all eyes are on her. She is uniformly charming, composed, and knows all the right moves to make, especially with men. There are times when her delivery seems angelic and others when it is tinged with the sinister. When Philip, uncomprehending, finds a different

“morning after” than he expected, she offers an indulgent smile and coolly rebuffs him with, “That was last night. And you had given me the jewels.” De Havilland’s Rachel is an unapologetic liar; when Philip confronts her about secret visits to Rainaldi, she is entirely nonplussed. Her greatest gift as an actress in this film is maintaining the ambiguity, with every look, every gesture, every line delivery. As one critic observed, “Once the titular widow makes her entrance, there is nary a moment throughout the remainder of the picture when the viewer can conclusively state that de Havilland’s role is that of a master manipulator, or just a beautiful, sophisticated yet ultimately unfortunate woman who is a problem magnet.”1 By the end of the film, I was struck with a desire to immediately re-watch it, to observe Rachel more carefully – every word she says and action she takes, as well as what others say of her. To seek further elucidation. Despite an impressive performance by de Havilland, it was Burton who was nominated for an Oscar, for Best Supporting Actor.

Naturally, I was somewhat intrigued when I saw, floating around the Internet, that a new adaptation of the novel was in the works, which eventually turned into last year’s My Cousin Rachel, starring Rachel Weisz in the titular role and Sam Claflin (of Hunger Games fame) as the callow youth. Much has changed in the realm of women’s roles since the 1950s, and I was interested to see how this would manifest itself in this new adaptation. Filmmakers can seldom resist modernizing historical characters to cram them into a promotional mold for their current agendas, sometimes in hilariously ridiculous fashion (I refer you, digressively, to Netflix’s travesty, Anne with an E, for a prime example). Writer and director Roger Mitchell didn’t disappoint on that score; he has stated that he wanted “Rachel to feel in part like a woman from 2017 who parachuted into that world.”2 Perhaps her crinoline helped slow the descent? So now we have a Rachel who furiously exclaims, “Can’t you let me be a person in my own right?!” when Philip offers to support his penniless cousin with a generous allowance. She would prefer to teach Italian, to work. Philip, shirtless for some reason, blusters, “I simply will not permit it!” For all her expository proto-feminism, Weisz’s Rachel is a great deal more weepy woman than de Havilland’s. The waterworks occur with great frequency and to immediate effect on Philip, who has “never seen a woman cry.” Claflin mostly mixes painfully inexperienced with soulful and occasionally unhinged (there are multiple instances of throat throttling). Philip is also intentionally obtuse. He cares not for “books or cities or clever talk.” One loses count of how many times other characters explain something to him with various versions of “Do you understand?”

Weisz’s Rachel shows herself to be somewhat of a chameleon: she is witty yet suitably decorous with Philip’s English friends, down-toearth with those who work his land, and almost wholly foreign when she lapses into rushing Italian (complete with over-animated hand motions) with Rainaldi. The impression is that it is this last shade which is closest to the “real” Rachel. This adaptation raises more than once the specter of the half-Italian Rachel as a sort of foreign menace.

Ambrose preemptively defends her from unvoiced criticism in his first letters: “She is as English as you or I.” Before he meets her, in his rage, Philip thinks to see “hysterics, isn’t that what one expects of Italians?

All that macaroni – she’ll probably be too fat to get up the stairs.”

One of the very traits that makes Rachel appealingly exotic marks her as not fully English, and therefore, to Philip and his coterie, at once lesser and dangerous. She is described as a woman of “very strong impulse and passion” as well as “unbridled extravagance and limitless appetites.”

In comparison with its 1952 counterpart, the 2017 film does have various strengths. The supporting actors (Iain Glen as Nicholas Kendall and Holliday Grainger as Louise, in particular) exhibit far

more depth and acumen than than their 1950s predecessors. The film is also worth watching for the cinematography alone: gorgeous shots of the Cornish coast, immersive interiors, and sunlit, color-saturated exteriors. One scene in particular, a wince-inducing outdoor romantic encounter, is stunning in its use of the vibrant pop of color created by bluebells against verdant wood and field. The 1952 adaptation, as a black and white film shot almost entirely on a sound stage, cannot compete in this arena. Its sets are dark and unsettling, deep shadows lit by candlelight. It often evinces an almost noir-like feel that adds to the oppressive tension (and the appeal for this lover of noir).

While Weisz is not wholly disappointing in her portrayal of such a complex character, she lacks de Havilland’s subtlety and, most especially, the driving force of the novel and its previous film adaptation: ambiguity. It is not entirely Weisz’s fault. Mitchell has appreciably tipped the scale, attempting to imply Rachel’s innocence in a variety of ways. Rainaldi is removed as a romantic rival (read: threat) – Mitchell has made him gay. Rachel is not a blatant liar; she simply omits things that might be “upsetting” to Philip, as she explains to him. Certain other aspects of the original plotting are left out or changed, and with each slight modification, the balance tips further in Rachel’s favor as the film attempts to sway viewers – thereby depriving us of one of the main joys of this tale. The novel and the 1952 film adaptation began with the line, “They used to hang men at Four Turnings in the old days.

Not anymore, though.” This is a nod to the penalty for murder, and at the same time, a reflection that now those accused must be given a fair hearing. The verdict cannot be a foregone conclusion. Rachel must have her hearing, and it is the reader/viewer who should sit as jury. The 2017 version opens with the musing, “Did she? Didn’t she?

Who’s to blame?” and then does its best to answer that question for us. Unfortunately.

REFERENCES 1. Edgar Chaput

“Friday Noir: My Cousin Rachel.” 3 February 2017. CutPrintFilm website (http://cutprintfilm.com/features/friday-noir-cousinrachel). Accessed 15 July 2018.

2. Laura Varnam

“New Adaptation of Daphne du Maurier’s My Cousin Rachel Will Leave You Wondering Long After Credits Roll.” The Conversation website (https://theconversation.com/new-adaptation-of-daphnedu-mauriers-my-cousin-rachel-will-leave-you-wondering-longafter-credits-roll-78546). Accessed 10 July2018.

WRITTEN BY BETHANY LATHAM Bethany Latham is the Managing Editor of Historical Novels Review. She has authored various nonfiction books, numerous journal and magazine articles, and is a regular reviewer for HNR and Booklist.

A publication of the Historical Novel Society | www.historicalnovelsociety.org

7

MYSTERIES OF CREATION The 200th Anniversary of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein

Silicon Valley have extrapolated personal meaning from the story of Frankenstein.

At its heart, Frankenstein is a characterization of two beings: one the creator, the other that which was created. Authors building on Shelley’s work usually choose to focus on one or the other to explore a variety of concepts. What are the dangers of an obsession with knowledge heedless of cost? What responsibility does a creator bear towards the life he brings forth and, conversely, for the consequences of his creation, the cascade effect of that creation’s actions? How do we deal with alienation and loneliness, empathy and love? What does it truly mean to be human?

Shelley’s creature is a far cry from the stiff-limbed, square-headed version popularized by movie adaptations. Instead, he is “prodigiously eloquent, learned, persuasive”1 in ways that frequently beggar belief, but are necessary in order to evoke empathy in the reader. The creature himself realizes his need for fundamental human comfort: “I do know that for the sympathy of one living being, I would make peace with all. I have love in me the likes of which you can scarcely imagine and rage the likes of which you would not believe. If I cannot satisfy the one, I will indulge the other.” It is the denial, the lack of empathy, beginning with Victor Frankenstein, the man who owes it most, which results in tragedy – for the creature and many others. In her poetic yet opaque A Monster’s Notes (Knopf, 2009), Laurie Sheck has an eight-year-old Mary Shelley encountering the creature at her mother’s grave, asking his name, to which he replies, “I don’t have one.” The creature here is loss and loneliness personified, a concept with which Mary Shelley was terribly familiar; he is denied even the comfort of a name – unnecessary, since there is no one who would call it.

“So much has been done, exclaimed the soul of Frankenstein — more, far more, will I achieve; treading in the steps already marked, I will pioneer a new way, explore unknown powers, and unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creation.”

This year, 2018, marks the 200th anniversary of the first publication of Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus. Mary Shelley’s novel was revolutionary in a myriad of ways, and it manages a continual relevance that few works from the Romantic era (or any era) could boast. It has been produced in countless editions, translated, annotated, interpreted, explicated. Shelley herself, influenced by the successive deaths of almost everyone she held dear, made significant thematic revisions to the 1818 original in her 1831 edition (the frontispiece appears above). Thus, Frankenstein demonstrates its continual malleability, bringing different meaning to different readers, or even the same reader (its author) depending on external experiences. Frankenstein, often overlooked in popular culture as a simple mad scientist horror story, is replete with complex themes. The novel has had a profound influence, creating an entire genre (science fiction), as well as spin-off literature, and trickling down (however diluted) into popular movies and television. Historical fiction authors are but one group that has successfully mined Shelley’s original.

Everyone from the child dressed in a green face-painted and neckbolted Halloween costume to the AI-obsessed technologists of

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Others have taken the opposite tack, such as Dave Zeltserman in his novel, Monster (Overlook, 2012). Here the nameless creature is given not only a name, but a past. Friedrich Hoffman is executed for a murder he did not commit. He wakes from that execution to a new horror – Hoffman’s brain has been animated inside Frankenstein’s creation of pieced-together corpses. Hoffman retains his memories, and struggles to retain his humanity as well, despite his monstrous new form. He is pitted against a Victor Frankenstein that, in this imagining, is less obsessed scientist and more intentional evil. The question of who is actually the “monster” is another essential precept of Shelley’s original.

The struggle to achieve or keep humanity, even the very definition of what it means to be human, fascinates authors who tackle Shelley’s work. In Confessions of the Creature (Fireship, 2012) by Gary Inbinder, the creature is given the opportunity for normalcy, starting with his outward appearance. Inbinder notes that it is first “Frankenstein [who] denies the creature’s humanity. As their hatred for each other grows, both creator and creature become less human, more monstrous.” Rejected by his creator from the outset, Shelley’s poor creature was never offered the empathy he perhaps deserved; Inbinder chose to be kinder: “In my sequel, the creature is given the chance of becoming truly human, the person he was meant to be.

No longer hideous, the transformed creature sets out on a quest of redemption through love, the love that was denied him in Shelley’s novel.”

IT SEEMS to portend a time when technology would lead humanity to inventions that could threaten its very survival.

Susan Heyboer O’Keefe, in Frankenstein’s Monster (Broadway, 2010), gives her version of the creature the introspection to ask why this love was denied, how he had failed his creator: “What had he wanted from his labors that I proved so poor a substitute?” This, then, is the question that many authors who focus on the creator, Victor Frankenstein, attempt to answer. Peter Ackroyd’s The Casebook of Victor Frankenstein (Chatto & Windus UK, 2008 / Nan A. Talese US, 2009) has a religious Frankenstein tempted over to the dark side by the atheist poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. What Frankenstein seeks from his labors is nothing short of the creation of the perfect human being, an impossibility he hopes to achieve through unfettered knowledge. “How I loved to learn!...The worst of my faults even then was ambition. I wished to know everything…”

It is this thirst for knowledge, for scientific exploration, that must necessarily figure heavily in any adaptation of the character of Frankenstein, for it was such a large part of the era in which Shelley’s original was written. Kathryn Harkup, author of Making the Monster: The Science Behind Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (Bloomsbury Sigma, 2018), acknowledges the central scientific elements of Shelley’s work: “It can be read in the context of the fantastic scientific advances that were occurring at the time and how the excitement and possibilities of science were both exhilarating and frightening. The pace of discovery was astonishing.” Shelley’s approach was unique in that, even though Frankenstein is classed as a Gothic horror novel, as Harkup stresses, Shelley “relies entirely on science, not magic or the supernatural, to drive its plot. It is a huge legacy.”

While the very name of Frankenstein, Harkup points out, “has become a by-word for bad science or science gone wrong…her creature was not the product of bad science; Victor Frankenstein’s scientific experiments were enormously successful. The creature is more intelligent, articulate, stronger, faster and more resilient than his creator and other humans. It was Shelley’s character’s lack of care for his creature that brought about his downfall, not a mistake in his science.” This illustrates a central concept of the novel: while many view it as a cautionary tale of science gone awry, it is just as easily read as a warning against the moral failings of humans towards those they consider “lesser” or “other.”

And what of Frankenstein’s creator herself? Shelley certainly knew what it was to be considered lesser. Some have used this to approach the subject of Frankenstein tangentially – examining the historical events surrounding Mary Shelley’s creative process. Marty Ambrose, in Claire’s Last Secret (Severn House, 2018), observes Shelley and her coterie from the point of view of her step-sister, Claire Clairmont, who tells the story of the “haunted summer” of 1816 when Frankenstein saw its genesis. “It’s always daunting to include a literary figure in historical fiction — no less one as iconic as Mary Shelley,” says Ambrose. “How does one even begin to portray her as a person, yet do justice to her stature as a writer?” Most are familiar with Byron’s ghost story contest and the nightmares which led Mary Shelley to the creation of Frankenstein, but Ambrose notes, “She and Claire were largely silent partners in the evenings at Villa Diodati when the two great poets [Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley] debated philosophy, science, and politics. Mary described this summer as one of the happiest times in her life but, in reality, she and Claire led somewhat isolated lives as the mistresses of married men.”

The reaction to Frankenstein when first released was, at best, to view it as “singular” and “peculiar,” yet a work of “original genius” – all adjectives used by Sir Walter Scott in his review in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine. Of course, Scott and most of his contemporaries assumed that Frankenstein was written by Percy Bysshe Shelley, not his teenaged mistress, later wife.2 The novel was roundly condemned by those of a more conservative persuasion: “a tissue of horrible and disgusting absurdity,” and the author “often leaves us in doubt whether he is not as mad as his hero.”3 Critics were more dismayed when they learned the novel’s author was a woman. Even today, there are those who depreciate Shelley’s original manuscript in favor of her husband’s edits to it, however slight they may have been.

The novel is, on the one hand, undeniably a product of its time: Gothic, Romantic, melodramatic. Its epistolary structure is decidedly early 19th century, and its reliance on galvanism for reanimation, a concept convincing to its original audience, long since debunked.

And yet, as Ambrose notes, “It’s Mary Shelley’s understanding of personal conflicts and human limitations that make Frankenstein such an enduring novel. Frankenstein explores the ever-relevant themes of love and abandonment, the consequences of scientists playing God, and the ‘monster’ who lies within each individual. It also seems to portend a time when technology would lead humanity to inventions that could threaten its very survival. How could that kind of novel ever grow outdated?”

How indeed? Happy 200th anniversary, Frankenstein.

REFERENCES 1. Jill Lepore

“The Strange and Twisted Life of Frankenstein,” The New Yorker, 19 February 2018.

2. Walter Scott

“Review of Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus,” Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, 2 (March 1818): 613-620.

3. John Wilson Croker

“Review of Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus,” The Quarterly Review, 36 (January 1818): 379-385.

WRITTEN BY BETHANY LATHAM Bethany Latham is the Managing Editor of Historical Novels Review. She has authored various nonfiction books, numerous journal and magazine articles, and is a regular reviewer for HNR and Booklist.

A publication of the Historical Novel Society | www.historicalnovelsociety.org

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ON THE WINGS OF ICARUS or, How I Lost My Heart to an Aviatrix

in the tens of thousands would greet her wherever she landed.

Her reputation was carefully managed – and monetized – by her husband, George P. Putnam. However, her reputation was founded on both flying skills and breathtaking daring. For though the planes could be beautiful, they were also basic, with primitive navigation and a host of things that could go very wrong – with very little to get out of the situation when they did. Pilots died in them all the time. Yet Amelia was never daunted, pushing herself, determined to advance the cause of women. She wrote, “Women must try to do things, as men have tried. When they fail, their failure must be a challenge to others.”

She kept setting records – first woman to solo the Atlantic, first person to fly from Hawaii to California, first to attempt to fly around the whole planet! Yet as the world knows, on the final stage of that attempt she vanished, a tragedy that created one of the world’s great unsolved puzzles (and, I am hoping, the next Roxy Loewen Mystery).

In Amelia’s indomitability, I found some for my gal, when she tries to land her plane in the African dark, or take off from a bomb-cratered runway. While there were other characteristics I found in other amazing women, I’ll name but two.

“Once having tasted flight you will walk this earth with your eyes turned skyward. For there you have been and there you long to return.” – Leonardo da Vinci Like many of life’s great enterprises, this one began with beer.

I was back in London, seeing agents and publishers, doing some research. (The more I live away from my city, the more I feel the need to set stories there.) I’d come up with an idea that would at last bring me into the 20th century – a thriller-heist yarn about a gun-running pilot named Jack Warren. Then I met up with my old editor, Jon Wood of Orion, at the Blackfriars pub, and he asked about the story. I told him what I knew so far. He took a swig and asked, “Why not make the pilot a woman?”

Genius! I went to my digs, did what we do… googled… and a rabbit hole opened before me; I happily fell into it. Now I needed to find out about those early woman flyers, to seek my heroine, Roxy Loewen, in their open cockpits and vapor trails.

Of course, the first name that came up was Amelia Earhart.

It is hard now to fully comprehend the level of her celebrity. Crowds

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The purest passion for flight – together with the ability to sum it up – comes from Beryl Markham. She has made it into fiction before: thinly disguised as Felicity in the movie Out of Africa, and more recently as the heroine of Paula McLain’s Circling the Sun (Penguin Random House, 2015). But the best words about her were the ones she penned herself. West with the Night (Virago, 1984) is truly one of the finest books on discovering flight, as well as the most beautifully written memoir. Her skill made Hemingway, who knew her a little, spit. “She can write rings around all of us who consider ourselves as writers,” he complained. Like Amelia, Beryl set records. Unlike the famously faithful Earhart, Beryl took up with and discarded lovers – notorious lovers – in a thoroughly modern way, among them Denys Finch-Hatton (Redford in Out of Africa) and fellow pilot Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (The Little Prince).

If the British-African Beryl Markham gives Roxy her touch of class and her independence, there was an American who set the benchmark for wildness and the quest for a full throttle life: Florence “Pancho” Barnes. With a cigar forever clamped between her teeth (Roxy loves to smoke) and a passion for sex (she considered it almost as fun as flying), by twenty-six she’d set up the Pancho Barnes Flying Mystery Circus of the Air. No hint of Monty Python, just pure barn-burning – wing-walking, barrel-rolling, the perfect Falling Leaf. She founded the Stunt Pilot’s Union to stop movie producers’ exploitation, and the Happy Bottom Riding Club at her ranch in the Mojave desert, right by what became Edwards Air Force base. Famous for its debauched parties, it was featured in the book and movie, Tom Wolfe’s The Right Stuff. Edwards is where Chuck Yeager famously broke the sound barrier – and no doubt celebrated afterwards at the Club with his drinking buddy, Pancho.

These women were amazing. Proto-feminists, out-daring, out-flying, out… well, they carved their own path. They started to shape Roxy for me – not as a composite, but with aspects and attitudes drawn from them, and from the reality of their times. That zest for life, that pure bravado inspired me in writing her. Yet there was still one thing I

THOUGH THE PLANES could be beautiful, they were also basic, with primitive navigation and a host of things that could go very wrong...Pilots died in them all the time. needed to understand much better, to complete the portrait…

How the hell did they fly those planes?

I am not an aviator – but I am the son of one: Flight Lieutenant Peter Humphreys RAF, Battle of Britain Hurricane pilot. So there may be a trace of it in my blood. For the purposes of fiction though, I obviously needed more than a feeling. I needed a book.

I needed The Book. In my experience there’s always one that makes the novel, the one you later realize, amongst all your background reading, you couldn’t have done without. Sometimes there’s an element of mystery about the finding, as if it is somehow… waiting to be found. Like the Grail. When I desperately needed to better understand the Iroquois for my first Jack Absolute book, I saw a second-hand volume in the window of a tatty pornography store in London. It was The League of the Iroquois, published in 1851. Through the beaded curtain I went, and though I had to withstand a lecture from the pornographer… on, of all things, how the Ark of the Covenant was a giant CD player for the playing of extraterrestrial messages… I handed over ten pounds – and made the book!

With Chasing the Wind, the book awaited me in one of the world’s great second-hand bookstores: MacLeod’s, in Vancouver. Amidst the groaning shelves and teetering piles – you can easily turn an ankle in there! – I was directed to the Aviation section. There I was faced with endless bios of Amelia, many copies of Beryl, rows of coffee-table tomes… and, on a shelf that required a ladder to reach, one squat, black, unlettered spine. You know the kind. Like me, you have so often reached for the kind.

I pulled it down, blew off the dust. The front cover was scarcely legible… but I deciphered: Aviation Manual. The first page proclaimed: “A Practical Handbook On Flying As A Business – Planes, Motors, Instruments, Training Courses, License Requirements, Air Traffic Rules – Flight In Theory And Practice.”

It’s a strange alchemy, isn’t it, the putting together of an historical novel? That balance between fact and fiction, that seeking out of the springboards that are going launch you to the places your character already resides, awaiting your awakening touch. Roxy came to me in surges, as I read of those amazing women, as I learned what they overcame to climb into their birds and take to the skies. Yet the final blessing was to come in the form of a song.

For my birthday last year I received a record player. I’d forgotten the joys of vinyl in the convenience of digital, and I immediately set out to re-create a collection largely lost in all my emigrations – or to buy the ones I wanted but had never owned. Second-hand records are everywhere, so one day, for seven dollars, I acquired “Year of the Cat” by Al Stewart – a bedsit favourite. Chasing the Wind was in galleys when I first played it and listened again to a song I’d forgotten, “Flying Sorcery.” Between da Vinci’s epigraph and the plot in my novel to steal Brueghel’s Fall of Icarus… Aw hell, take it away, Al! The sun comes up on Icarus as the night-birds sail away And lights the maps and diagrams That Leonardo makes You can see Faith, Hope and Charity As they bank above the fields You can join the flying circus You can touch the morning air against your wheels…

Kind of ties it all together, huh?

Chasing the Wind (2018) is published Canada by Doubleday and the rest of world by Two Hats Creative.

Trembling, I sought the publication date: 1930.

I had found my grail.

The book had everything – from the specifications of dozens of craft to the specificities of the Curtis Challenger engine. From elementary aerodynamics to advanced flying techniques: dead stick landings in a crosswind, fishtailing, barrel rolls; how to clear ice from your wings in flight or navigate with your wristwatch when your compass is broken.

And while I am never one for lessons in my fiction – the dreaded info dump, unconnected to character or plot – the underpinning of fact does, as all historical novelists know, give the story verisimilitude and context to the character’s choices, all while acting as a springboard for the imagination.

One example: I learned that the sound the bracing wires make as the plane descends gives you the angle of descent – vital at night when you can’t judge that angle from the horizon. If the note’s too high, you are coming in steep; too low, and you are shallow. Not only was this good “character in peril” detail, it led to a whole period riff on Caruso singing at Carnegie Hall. Triple score!

WRITTEN

BY C.C. HUMPHREYS Chris Humphreys has acted from London to Hollywood.

His novels include The French Executioner, Vlad, The Fetch and The Jack Absolute Series. Plague won Canada’s Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Novel in 2015. Chasing the Wind is his 16th novel.

A publication of the Historical Novel Society | www.historicalnovelsociety.org

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WOMEN SPEAKING UP FOR THEMSELVES: A NEW VOICE FOR AN EPIC RETOLD

The Iliad, about ten years ago] was outrage at the silence of the girls who are handed out as prizes to the fighters.”

BY CHARLOTTE WIGHTWICK

Perhaps that is why the novel resonates so deeply. The Silence of the Girls isn’t the only novel that has gone back to Greek mythology recently – in the last year alone we’ve seen books by Colm Tóibín, Madeline Miller, Stephen Fry and Kamila Shamsie. Barker reflects on this trend: “People generally return to the past when they feel they are nearing the end. You see that in old people at the end of their lives. The closing years of the 20th century saw an upsurge in writing about the First World War – the great catastrophe that marred its beginning. So why this interest in going right back to the dawn of literature? Is it because literary culture is on its last legs? Or is it because there seems to be a gear change in relationships between the sexes? Or is it, perhaps, an interest in telling stories that have resonated with people for 3,000 years – when so many of our own narratives seem both trivial and ephemeral?”

Pat Barker discusses her new novel, The Silence of the Girls.

The Iliad is famously a story about the anger of men. The Trojan War itself was, according to myth, caused by the abduction of Helen. The subsequent wounded pride of her husband and his allies launched the “thousand ships” which led the Greek army to the beach under Troy. The Iliad itself is centred on the anger of Achilles, as its opening lines make clear: Anger be now your song, immortal one, / Akhilleus’ anger, doomed and ruinous, / that caused the Akhaians loss on bitter loss / and crowded brave souls into the undergloom, / leaving so many dead men – carrion / for dogs and birds; and the will of Zeus was done. 1 In her new re-telling of the epic, Pat Barker chooses to focus instead on the fear, the trauma – and yes, the anger – of the women of The Iliad, and of one woman in particular, Briseis.

Briseis is the trigger for the quarrel between Achilles and Agamemnon (the war leader of the Greeks). Agamemnon takes her from Achilles when he has to sacrifice his own favoured slave girl. As a result, Achilles refuses to fight under Agamemnon’s command, even when he is offered Briseis back. This forces his dearest friend Patroclus to take his place in the Greek lines. Predictably, Patroclus is killed and The Iliad only ends when Achilles has killed, defiled, and then returned the body of Hector, greatest of the Trojans, to his elderly father.

The Silence of the Girls follows this story from Briseis’ standpoint.

Barker says of the novel: “My aim was always to echo The Iliad from a woman’s point of view. In The Iliad Briseis is the subject of a quarrel between two very powerful men, both of whom are eloquent, powerful speakers, but she herself says nothing. My aim was always to break that silence.”

She does so, in a haunting, exquisite novel that explores the depths of grief, fear, confusion and anger that a woman in Briseis’ position may have felt. As Barker says: “Hers is by far the most dramatic story in The Iliad. She goes from queen to slave girl in a single day, and is then forced into a sexual relationship with a man who killed her husband and all four of her brothers… My first reaction [on reading

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The novel explores these themes without pulling any punches. Briseis goes from a queen in a palace to being a possession whose value is as a symbol of a man’s power over another. Her viewpoint and expectations have to change rapidly to meet her new circumstances: her biggest fear is not being passed around between the commanders, who, no matter how repellent, will ensure that she is fed, housed and clothed, but to have them tire of her and be handed down to the common soldiers, potentially to starve and freeze to death in the gutter.

Yet the women of Barker’s novel are not passive victims. Briseis uses her skill in medicine to gain for herself a place of respect beyond her status as a slave girl and secures the admiration of Patroclus, who in turn persuades Achilles to make provision for her future life.

Despite their circumstances, the women in the Greeks’ camp form friendships, develop interests and skills, bond over their common experiences and win small triumphs over their captors. Above all, it is a story of survival and hope in horrific circumstances.

The Silence of the Girls will be published on 30 August 2018 by Hamish Hamilton (UK), and on 11 September 2018 by Doubleday (US).

Charlotte Wightwick is a reviewer and article contributor for the HNS and the History Girls’ Cabinet of Curiosities. She’s currently writing a novel about the discovery of the dinosaurs in nineteenthcentury England.

REFERENCES 1. Homer, The Iliad, trans. Robert Fitzgerald (London: Everyman, 1992), lines 1-6.

AHEAD OF THEIR TIME: FORGOTTEN FEMALE SURREALISTS

BY MARY SHARRATT Rupert Thomson speaks to Mary Sharratt about his novel, Never Anyone But You. While Frida Kahlo is arguably the world’s most famous female artist, most women in the surrealist movement have been overlooked.

Frida’s sister surrealists now seem to be experiencing a long overdue resurgence, with recent international exhibitions showcasing Leonora Carrington, Meret Oppenheim, and Dora Maar. The 2017 documentary film, Out of the Shadows, focuses on Penny Slinger.

American art photographer Lee Miller is the subject of Whitney Scharer’s boldly feminist debut novel, The Age of Light, which sold to Little Brown and Company for seven figures, following a fierce bidding war.

Though I was familiar with these artists, Rupert Thomson’s novel, Never Anyone But You (Other Press, 2018) reveals two extraordinary women I’d never heard of — Lucie Schwob aka Claude Cahun (1894–1954) and Suzanne Malherbe aka Marcel Moore (1892– 1972). They met as teenagers and fell irrevocably in love, beginning a passionate relationship which would endure until Cahun’s death.

In a twist of fate no novelist could invent, Moore’s widowed mother married Cahun’s divorced father and the two secret lovers became stepsisters, enabling them to live together without suspicion in an age when lesbian relationships were taboo. Moving to Paris in

the 1920s, they adopted androgynous pseudonyms and became involved in the fledgling surrealist movement. In 1937, they left Paris for Jersey. Later, when the Germans occupied the island, the women created an anti-Nazi propaganda campaign. They were arrested and sentenced to death, but the war ended before their executions could be carried out.

As artists, they are best known for their collaborative and highly stylized portraits in which Moore photographed Cahun, who assumed startling personae, from dandy to circus performer to vamp.

Rupert Thomson describes his first encounter with their work: “I opened a copy of the London Review of Books and was stopped dead in my tracks by a black-and-white photograph of a woman with a shaved head and no eyebrows, her face half-turned away from the camera. She appeared to be wearing black eye-shadow and black lipstick. She looked like a vampire… I was astonished to discover that the photograph had been taken in 1928. It looked so very modern.”

How is it possible, I asked him, that Cahun and Moore are not better known?

Thomson believes that they were simply too radical, too far ahead of their time. Surrealism was a movement dominated by men who were more comfortable seeing women as muses rather than independent artists. Most of Cahun and Moore’s work remained obscure in their lifetimes, and much of it was destroyed by the Nazis.

“After Moore’s death in 1972, the two women completely disappeared from history,” Thomson told me. “References to Claude Cahun usually described her as a man, and [it was] mistakenly reported that ‘he’ had died in a concentration camp.”

Controversially, the current Wikipedia entry for Cahun erases her sex yet again by referring to her with the gender neutral “they.”

After biographer Francois Leperlier rediscovered Cahun in the 1980s, she has been the subject of many international art shows, including one curated by David Bowie in New York in 2007.

Thomson narrates his luminous, deeply moving novel through Moore’s first-person voice. He thought that this approach would enable him to write a “Great Gatsby” narrative, with the “conventional” Moore describing someone extraordinary. “Moore

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would be my Nick Carraway, and Cahun would be my Gatsby. As the novel developed, however, I was surprised to discover that Moore was at least as interesting as Cahun, if not more so.”

Portraying two remarkable women over the sweep of more than fifty years would be formidable for any author, yet Thomson managed to keep his narrative under 350 pages — a feat which required great discipline. Paris in the 1920s and 1930s was such a rich subject in itself, he risked getting lost in it, he said. “While researching, I constantly came across extraordinary stories. They clamoured to be included, but I would set them aside, since it’s the imagined facts – the emotional facts – that have to be given priority. Real facts are servants of the narrative. They have to earn their place.”

Though Moore and Cahun were born more than a century ago, Thomson believes their story is “almost uncannily relevant today.”

They devoted their lives to fighting the things we are still fighting in 2018: “patriarchy, homophobia, gender stereotyping – fascism in all its forms.” Their photographs “pushed gender boundaries and explored the idea of what it meant to be a woman.” If Cahun were alive now, Thomson can imagine her “in the forefront of movements like Gay Pride and Me Too.” Never Anyone But You is a portrait of two women who dared to speak their truth when such a thing was unheard-of.

Mary Sharratt is on a mission to write women back into history. Her novel, Ecstasy, about composer Alma Mahler, was an Amazon Best Book of the Month for April, a Chicago Review of Books Book of the Month, and a New York Post Must Read Book. Visit her website: www. marysharratt.com

PAIN, KINDNESS, AND FRIENDSHIP

BY MYFANWY COOK Andrew Miller’s skill as a novelist is unquestionable, and he has won a raft of prizes including the Costa Book of the Year, the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and the Grinzane Cavour Prize. His latest novel Now We Shall Be Entirely Free (Sceptre, August, 2018) opens when the central character Captain John Lacroix has returned to Somerset, but is unable to come to terms with the sights he has witnessed during the Peninsular War. Miller explains why he decided to set his novel during this period.

“I write novels set in the 18th and 19th centuries for reasons I don’t entirely understand. I think I like the way a novel set back in time allows me to see things ‘in the round’. In this way I sometimes feel like a film director who has built an elaborate set – think of Fellini’s Roma at Cinecittà, or Carné’s Air of Paris on the lots at Billancourt.

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When I write fiction set in the ‘now’ (a now that is never quite now by the time the book is published) it’s more like wondering the streets with a hand-held camera. And I find it relatively easy to make an imaginative connection with the past. As a young boy – eight, nine, ten – I was obsessed with Ancient Rome and lived, hours at a go, in some nether land that embraced both the present moment and a time before the birth of Christ. It didn’t feel difficult to do. And what was imagined had a sensuous quality – that is, it felt real.”

Miller’s sense of realism may well have influenced his decision to use the retreat to Corunna as the catalyst for Lacroix’s disturbing memories. “The retreat to Corunna was a disastrous episode in British military history. It took place in the mountains of northern Spain in the middle of winter. The soldiers had no proper equipment, the roads were almost impassible, and Lieutenant-General Moore pushed them on at a pace the troops could not sustain.” Having pointed out that “Moore himself described the army’s conduct as ‘infamous beyond belief,’” Miller wanted, he says, for his “central character to have come out of this chaos. He survives it but carries it with him. It is his ‘secret’; it torments him. The question then is, can he get free of it? And if he cannot, what kind of life might still be possible for him? To that degree, it is – as with my novel The Optimists (Sceptre, 2005) – a story about aftermath. About what happens next.”

Much of the action in Miller’s novel takes place in the Hebrides, which he selected as a setting, he reveals, “because of their edgeof-the-world feeling. Also, of course, their beauty. I’ve sailed around them and walked across them. They are immensely seductive. And in the time the novel is set – 1809 – Britain (or perhaps I mean England) was ‘discovering’ the highlands and islands. People visited with their sketch books in search of the sublime. Britain of the Industrial Revolution was, I think, reaching for its own wild self. We would find (stepping out of our time machines) Regency England a rather empty and unspoilt place, but for contemporaries it was already a heavily settled, domesticated and human-shaped environment. For John Lacroix the Hebrides’ chief appeal is that it might be a very good place to hide. It turns out not to be!”

Period and place are vital ingredients in Miller’s writing, as is the emotional landscape of his characters. “Pain, suffering and rejection appear in the novels because they appear in in our lives. But I hope my novels are also about some of the other things in life! Kindness, for example. Kindness seems to me the principal human virtue. I like writing about characters who, in the midst of the rush and confusion of their own lives, and the human inclination to avoid getting tangled up in the problems of others, do – sometimes – manage to pay attention to the needs and suffering of another, perhaps in quite small ways, but ways that count nonetheless. And I think I write a lot about friendship which, in terms of a novel, might seem a lot less interesting than a love story, a romance (I write about them too), but which is, surely, the real emotional basis of most people’s lives, from childhood onwards. The other ‘principal human virtue’ (if I’m allowed two) is courage, and again, I like characters who have no extraordinary resource of it, are in no way exceptional, but who find it when they need to. I often think of the end of Beckett’s novel, The Unnamable: ‘I can’t go on, I’ll go on.’”

Myfanwy Cook is an Associate Fellow at two British Universities and a creative writing workshop designer. www.myfanwycook.com

I WANT TO UNDERSTAND what is known, and then write fiction off the edge of that. When archaeologists and scientists start guessing, then that’s where the novel can roam.

WRITING FICTION OFF THE EDGE: THE WALRUS MUTTERER

BY LUCINDA BYATT Mandy Haggith’s The Walrus Mutterer Imagine the thrill of having written about a walrus hunt in Orkney, set over one and a half thousand years ago, when, just two weeks before your book is launched, a walrus returns to those same waters for the first time since 1954. To use the author’s words: “If that isn’t an endorsement, I don’t know what is!” The Scottish press christened the marine visitor Wally the Wandering Walrus.

Mandy Haggith is a former scientist and academic. She now lives on a croft in the northwest Scottish Highlands, where she writes passionately on the environment. It’s a passion that seeps into her historical novels. Her debut novel, The Last Bear (Two Ravens Press, 2008; reviewed by Ann Oughton in HNR, May 2008), won the Robin Jenkins Literary Award for writing that draws on Scotland’s cultural heritage and unique environment. Set around a thousand years ago, The Last Bear evokes the lasting changes that occurred when the old pagan beliefs were challenged by the new Christian faith. The inspiration for her latest work came while she was working on the ruin of an an Iron Age broch – “a cooling tower-shaped, double-walled building that would have been about 40 feet tall when it was built, probably in the fourth century BC.” As part of the local history organisation, Historic Assynt, she was closely involved in the exploration excavations on the Clachtoll broch in 2012, for which she kept “dig diaries.” At the same time, she also read Barry Cunliffe’s account of Pytheas, a Greek from modern-day Marseille, who travelled to Scotland around 330 BC.1 He is reported to have ventured into the Arctic, becoming the first Greek to see Ultima Thule (an expression he coined to refer to Iceland), before also exploring the Baltic. Mandy told me, “I put two and two together and realised that Pytheas probably came to Assynt and may have visited the broch. That was the start of what became an obsession – how did he travel, why did he travel, who did he meet on his travels, what kind of culture-shock would he have experienced when he came here?”

Writing about Iron Age Scotland is a challenge because much remains to be discovered about this sophisticated maritime society.

However, this is where the fascination of storytelling comes into its own. “I want to understand what is known,” she says, “and then write fiction off the edge of that. When archaeologists and scientists

start guessing, then that’s where the novel can roam.”

The Walrus Mutterer (Saraband, 2018) is the first book of a trilogy, with a highly memorable cast of characters: Rian (a “compelling heroine”), her foster mother Danuta, Ussa (a formidable adversary, a trader greedy for power and men), the enigmatic Pytheas, and of course the mutterer, Manigan. Mandy briefly sketched the trilogy: “The second volume, The Amber Seeker, looks at the whole story from Pytheas’ point of view and puts it in a slightly longer time-frame. The third volume, The Lyre Dancers, returns to Rian’s point of view with an additional element that must remain a secret!”

Mandy has a deep knowledge of plant lore which she interweaves with what is known of Iron Age hunting and farming practices, social relations, and the trading systems of the time. Ussa, the female trader mentioned earlier, barters and sells tin, amber and walrus ivory – one of the reasons that justifies the risks of walrus hunting. Slaves were also a valuable commodity and they, too, were trafficked and sold: Ussa has slaves from Cornwall and the far south, near modern-day Portugal; other slaves, like Rian herself, are local and are exchanged for luxury goods. The author’s research is as thorough as possible: for example, she tells me: “I went off to Cornwall to meet someone who does bronzesmithing using techniques from the period, so I could get that right.”

“But, of course,” she continues, “it’s a slippery surface because we are learning every day. Assumptions I have made in my novel could be refuted by an archaeological discovery tomorrow. That’s the risk I take.

I want the novel to be as close to known fact as possible. Of course, I can’t possibly know everything, so I rely on at some point switching from research to writing and then letting the characters dictate the story.”

Learning about seafaring and the kind of journeying that Pytheas would have done has taken her research to another level. “I spent a summer at sea writing the book in 2015. The basic principles are the same, and the wind, sea and tides are just as they would have been in the Iron Age. So, too, once you are off the coast and the buildings are just dots, the landscape is just as Pytheas would have encountered it. I even sailed in Svalbard, in the Arctic, to understand walrus habitat and behaviour, and what it is like to sail in northern waters. I have had a longstanding interest, for decades, in indigenous peoples, so the hunting and belief systems of The Walrus Mutterer come from that.”

I asked Mandy about the mysterious three-faced stone head, the Head of Telling or the Death Stone, that appears in the trilogy. “It’s a real object,” she told me, “in the National Museum of Scotland, and it seemed to need a story.” She’s certainly given it a compelling one that will be well worth following.

Lucinda Byatt is HNR’s Features Editor. Fascinated by Scotland’s past, she is more usually to be found translating from Italian, as well as teaching and researching on early modern Europe. @Lucy13Byatt REFERENCES 1. Barry Cunliffe, The Extraordinary Voyage of Pytheas the Greek (New York: Walker & Company, 2002).

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REVIEWS ONLINE EXCLUSIVES Due to an ever-increasing number of books for review and space constraints within HNR, some selected fiction reviews and all nonfiction reviews are now published as online exclusives. To view these reviews and much more, please visit www.historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews

ANCIENT HISTORY FINDING THE WAY

Wayne Ng, Earnshaw, 2018, $18.99, pb, 324pp, 9789888422784

Written mostly in flashback, Ng’s lyrical debut is the story of Lao Tzu’s vibrant and turbulent life during the 6th century BC. In the beginning of the novel, Lao Tzu is an old man who is captured in a military camp.

Readers meet him riding into the camp on the back of a water buffalo. The captain of the camp is at first understandably untrusting, for spies take all manner of guises in his world. But he soon realizes that the old man is who he claims to be—the renowned scholar Lao Tzu—and he quickly commands a scribe to come and record his tale of escape from the royal Zhou palace. Lao Tzu and the captain’s tales are closely linked, to the captain’s astonishment, proving to him that The Way has many wandering paths that diverge and intersect but all have a larger purpose in life.

Ng’s novel is a superbly written tale, full of intrigue and drama and rich with cultural narrative. All of the main characters are vivid and multidimensional, and even the secondary characters are distinct and memorable. I think some of the tertiary characters get a little lost, but even they are not just faceless beings in a crowd.

The writing itself is lovely. There are so many turns of phrase throughout this novel that are simply pretty that I took quite a long time to read this, just because I spent a lot of time highlighting things as I read. The philosophical discussions embedded within are welcome food for thought, and I learned a lot about Taoism. It piqued my interest to learn more, which I think is the highest praise I can give to any book: that it inspired me to 16

go learn something new because of it. Highly recommended.

Kristen McQuinn

CLASSICAL

FOR THE IMMORTAL

Emily Hauser, Doubleday, 2018, £16.99, hb, 334pp, 9780857523198

The final novel in the Golden Apple trilogy from Emily Hauser is a triumphant finale.

This story continues to draw from the many characters that people Greek mythology and once again details varying events that led to the Trojan War. The two main characters are Admete, a Greek princess, and Hippolyta, the Queen of the Amazons. Both women’s fates are tied to the Greek men in their lives. Both are forced to confront their pasts and reconcile who they are with what they have done and what’s been done to them.

Emily Hauser’s writing is exquisite, and her research is unsurprisingly impeccable. Admete is searching for a cure for her brother Alexander and to discover the fate of her mother – an Amazon. Hippolyta is desperate to conceal a secret from her youth and to maintain the safety of her people. Admete agrees to travel with Hercules on one of his twelve labours. Arriving at the Amazon stronghold, Admete is fascinated by the women she meets, but Hercules and his companions have plans beyond searching for medicines. Drawing from surviving epic poems and the scraps and references to those that didn’t survive, Hauser has created a vivid portrait of two strong, caring women and a vivid thrilling tale of war, betrayal, family, love and loss.

This will be a must read for anyone who enjoyed Madeline Miller’s Circe or Manda Scott’s Boudica.

Lisa Redmond

THE FALCON OF SPARTA

Conn Iggulden, Penguin UK, 2018, £20.00/ C$42.95, hb, 433pp, 9780718181468

Artaxerxes is the Persian king’s oldest son and heir. Cyrus is Artaxerxes’ younger brother, and the main character of the book, at least at the beginning. On his deathbed, the Persian king calls for Cyrus, who comes bearing 10,000 Greek mercenaries, skilled and battlehardened. Though Cyrus does not believe that his brother will harm him when he becomes king, he is wrong. And so the stage is set for a tale of family rivalry.

If you don’t know anything about Xenophon’s March Up Country, or Anabasis, the 4th century BC account of how 10,000 Greek mercenaries were stranded behind Persian lines and their harrowing journey home, you won’t be caught off guard by how this book starts way before

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the events of Xenophon’s account. If you do know about it—like I do—once you get your bearings you’ll enjoy this rousing, immersive, historically vast tale of kings, soldiers, and clashing kingdoms. Characters are fleshed out in considerable detail, making them easy to identify with.

While you will be disappointed if you expect Iggulden’s narrative to follow every detail of the March Up Country, general readers of historical fiction will find this novel meets all the notes of a moving, epic tale. Highly recommended.

Xina Marie Uhl

CLASH OF EMPIRES

Ben Kane, Orion, 2018, £14.99, hb, 424pp, 9781409173373

On the cusp of destroying its bitter foe, Carthage, the Roman Empire is already looking for its next target.

In Clash of Empires, the first in a twobook series from Ben Kane, we are dropped into the middle of the forgotten war between Rome and Macedon.

We follow five main characters spread between the two powers, giving a multi-sided view of the cause of the conflict and the fighting itself. On the Roman side we have two veteran soldiers, brothers Felix and Antonius, and the wildly ambitious Senator Flamininus. Opposite them Kane creates a young oarsman, Demetrios, desperate to join the famous phalanx and the Macedon king himself, Philip V, dreaming of emulating the feats of his illustrious ancestor, Alexander.

All these characters have a part to play as the Romans take on the last major Mediterranean power standing in their way. Let battle commence.

Bytellingthistalefromeachandeveryside,the reader is forced into an almost neutral position of watching from the sidelines, absorbed in the battle between the two powers. The characters are, as ever, powerfully drawn by the author, and the battle scenes are both thrillingly gruesome and impressively authentic. Kane has obviously done his research but restrains any urge to dump information, instead using it as a rarely-seen foundation for the involving story and the twisting narrative. He continues to improve from book to book, and Clash of Empires sees him at the height of his powers. He seamlessly pulls together the narrative threads of his main characters and drives the reader onwards to the second and final book in this series. His many fans will wait impatiently for the conclusion of this story, as Clash of Empires is a historical novel of the highest quality.

Gordon O’Sullivan

THE WORLD BEYOND

Deanna Madden, Flying Dutchman, 2017, $10.99, pb, 260pp, 9780692897737

The World Beyond is a coming-of-age story set in 429 BC ancient Athens, where slaves and women do not share the freedoms extolled by the city. The young, rebellious Rhea has lost her entire family to plague and is betrothed to a cruel man more than twice her age in an arranged marriage.

After becoming infatuated with a handsome young athlete, she climbs the Acropolis, so she can pray to Athena to spare her from the contractual marriage. There she meets an intelligent and skilled sculptor-slave, Maron, who challenges her traditional beliefs about foreigners and the role of slaves and women in Athens. Rhea’s budding relationship with Maron emboldens her to explore Athens and to meet other people outside her social class. She must ultimately decide whether to resign herself to an unhappy fate decreed by the Greek paternalistic society or choose her own destiny with a slave she learns to love and cherish.

Deanna Madden masterfully tells the tale from the first-person perspective of Rhea.

The storytelling is engaging as we experience Rhea’s journey into a new world outside her social class. The compelling, historical tale is relatable to modern-day women trying to figure out who they are and what they want in life. The powerful theme that friendship and love can bridge cultural differences makes this a poignant and heartfelt novel.

The World Beyond is an ancient historical novel with modern-day relevance for both young adults and adults. Highly recommended.

Linnea Tanner

BIBLICAL

A LIGHT ON THE HILL

Connilyn Cossette, Bethany House, 2018, $15.99, pb, 336pp, 9780764219863

1399 BC. The Hebrews have been settling into the Promised Land ever since the walls of Jericho fell seven years ago. But before the fall, however, Moriyah, a woman who was abducted, was branded on the face with the symbol of the Canaanites’ gods.

She hides herself beneath a veil and believes her prospects of marriage gone. Wanting to ensure Moriyah is cared for, her loving father secures a betrothal by offering a handsome dowry, his successful vineyard, to a friend’s son. But when a dinner that Moriyah hopes will impress her future husband accidentally results in the death of two children, she must flee to a City of Refuge before her life is taken in vengeance by a blood avenger, the deceased’s next of kin. Once at the city, she’ll be given a fair trial…if she can make it there before the blood avenger, the man she was to marry, catches her.

Cossette has an uncanny ability to deepdive into her characters. I loved the main

and secondary characters alike, all with just enough backstory to create a diverse mix of interwoven perspectives. Plot wise, I could not predict anything that happened. Each new turn on the characters’ path is unexpected and engaging, making this a page-turner.

Additionally, a gradually-building romance helps balance the heightened danger nipping at Moriyah’s heels. Only twice does the pacing trip up: when, during a tense moment or an active pursuit, a character would stop to give a snippet of exposition.

This book possesses a strong emotional heart, constantly wrestling with faith, forgiveness, acceptance, love, and trust.

Cossette’s talent in lovingly drawing out characters as well as historical settings is stunning and delightful, making her one of my favorite authors. Recommended!

J. Lynn Else

1ST CENTURY

THIEF OF CORINTH

Tessa Afshar, Tyndale, 2018, $24.99/C$34.99, hb, 400pp, 9781496428653 / $15.99/C$21.99, pb, 400pp, 9781496428660

After years under the oppressive yoke of her grandfather’s and mother’s expectations, Ariadne runs away to her father’s house in Corinth, refusing to marry the brute her grandfather picked for her. Her parents’ divorce has weighed heavily on her father, and it isn’t long before she discovers the secret that rends the marriage in two: her father is the Honorable Thief, a man who robs from corrupt citizens to help himself and others who have suffered from corruption. When a financial crisis begins to threaten their livelihood, Ariadne decides to help her father in his after-dark escapades. But after meeting Paul, a Jewish rabbi, Ariadne’s father decides to stop stealing. Ariadne isn’t convinced, though. She believes becoming the Honorable Thief is the only way to save their home from debt collectors… until her actions harm those she loves. Can Paul’s God ease the suffering caused by Ariadne’s mistakes? And can this God offer hope in the midst of uncertainty and hardship?

In the first half of the book, our main character, Ariadne, isn’t directly affecting the plot. There isn’t a strong protagonist, and the story seems uncertain about where it wants to go. Then in the second half, consequences from Ariadne’s choices propel the plot forward, and the novel becomes hard to put down. Afshar is great at developing characters who struggle with God’s message. Ariadne’s journey to overcome past hurt is what gives this novel heart. Additionally, I enjoyed the research spent on medical practices, clothing styles, toiletry habits, and social decorum. As a Robin Hood story set in the ancient world that explores the deeper morality of responding to villainy with thieving, this is an enjoyable tale with interesting characters, a strong setting, and an endearing message.

J. Lynn Else

FIRE IN THE YEAR OF FOUR EMPERORS

Rick Deragon, Ventadorn, 2017, $12.98, pb, 362pp, 9780998410500

This riveting novel is set in 1st-century Rome following Nero’s rule. Galba, the governor of Spain, declares himself emperor. Four Roman generals battle for the throne during one of the most turbulent eras in imperial Roman history. The novel follows the unexpected rise of Batavian prince Julius Civilis, called “Rokus,” who successfully resisted Rome during the Britannia campaigns. He is charged with treason and jailed for sedition, having rebelled against Rome’s military drafting of Batavian youth.

The story begins after Rokus is freed by Emperor Galba to return to his homeland, Batavia, accompanied by Marius, an ambitious Roman veteran. Unbeknownst to Rokus, the true reason for his release is to facilitate the suppression of the Batavian and other northern tribes, and to impress more of their men into military service on behalf of Roman senators vying for power. Marius will be handsomely rewarded if successful.

Rokus’ journey home is marked by both external and internal battles when he realizes the true reason the Romans are returning him to Batavia. His personal motives also strengthen as he sets out to avenge the death of his brother at Rome’s hands, as the sheer ruthlessness of Roman brutality causes him to reevaluate this own inner nature.

The characters are rich and authentic, especially the prophetess Veleda and the tiny orphan girl Ulla, ravaged by war. Veleda predicts a new era for Batavia, one in which Rokus will play a key role. Through his growing paternal feelings for little Ulla, Rokus’ compassion is reborn, culminating in a battle against Marius and his own inner demons, and an inspired campaign for the liberation of his Batavian people. Replete with historical detail, this well-crafted story is recommended reading.

Jackie Drohan

TABOR: The First Christian

Dixie Distler, CreateSpace, 2017, $11.99, pb, 264pp, 9781530993482

When the star appears in Bethlehem to announce Jesus’s miraculous birth, Tabor is just a baby. His parents befriend Joseph and Mary, who eventually warn them to flee Bethlehem before Herod’s soldiers arrive with swords drawn. Thus, raised in the hills beyond the city, Tabor grows up a shepherd. He falls in love, marries, and becomes a father. But when Roman soldiers steal Tabor’s daughter to become a slave of Caesar, Tabor sets off to rescue her from the Roman palace where Pontius Pilate lives. When Tabor is later arrested after hiding a sacred artifact from the Romans, he meets a unique prisoner who preaches forgiveness over violence. But how can Tabor forgive the depravity of the Roman

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occupiers who kidnap Jewish children and loot holy artifacts from their temples?

Tabor: The First Christian is a unique look into a Jewish shepherd’s life during the 1st century. The varied characters drew me in, particularly Saul. The author does a great job illustrating the difficulties the characters faced, ranging from high taxes to prejudice to the exploitation of the Passover holiday.

Tabor must also contend with his own conflicts of faith. Through the harshness of this life, it’s easy to understand Tabor’s reasons for hating those who have hurt his family and friends.

Based on the title, I expected a bit more direct interaction with Jesus. Additionally, I think the prologue does a disservice to the power and the surprise of the final chapters. I also felt the pacing midway through slowed a bit. Overall, though, this is a well-researched narrative with good characterization and a bittersweet message.

J. Lynn Else

2ND CENTURY

THE ENCIRCLING SEA

Adrian Goldsworthy, Head of Zeus, 2018, £18.99/$29.95, hb, 370pp, 9781784978167

The Encircling Sea sees the return of Goldsworthy’s loveable rogue Flavius Ferox to the northern frontier of Roman Britain in 100 AD. Roughly twenty years before the construction of Hadrian’s Wall, the ‘border’ is loosely marked by a zone of Roman forts and treaties with local tribes, making it an unstable and dangerous area. Threats are not confined to those directly north and south of this area, though, as raiders strike from ports unknown across the Irish Sea. It is this situation that Ferox, the regional centurion, must deal with to maintain this distant part of Rome’s empire.

With Goldsworthy’s academic background, the historical accuracy of the novel is unquestioned. More impressive are the quality of the narrative and complexity of the characters. More of an adventure novel than the usual sword-and-sandals epic, The Encircling Sea is a hugely enjoyable read by a master of non-fiction turned deft hand at Roman historical fiction. If you’re looking for a book of this genre, you’d do well to start with this series. Recommended.

Chris James

5TH CENTURY LANCELOT

Giles Kristian, Bantam, 2018, £12.99, hb, 498pp, 9780593078556

Son of a 5th-century Breton king ousted by a rival, eight-year-old Lancelot is an orphaned fugitive taken under the wing of the Lady Nimue on St Michael’s Mount, where he meets the young Guinevere. Her Christian-convert father has sent her there, embarrassed by her pagan gifts. Lancelot eventually falls in love with her, but his destiny lies at Tintagel, where the dying Uther Pendragon is about to name 18

his successor, who turns out to be his own son, Arthur. Not everyone is pleased, least of all Arthur’s cousin, Constantine, and Morgana, mother of Arthur’s bastard son, Mordred.

Lancelot, captivated by the charismatic Arthur, joins his army to fight Constantine, then the encroaching Saxon hordes and finally Mordred, that great hater.

Arthur doesn’t appear until halfway through the novel, but it’s worth persevering with Lancelot’s own rather overlong story before getting to the meat of the tale, as all comes full circle in the end. The battle scenes are vivid yet restrained; the tragic, doomed love-triangle between Arthur, Guinevere and Lancelot is beautifully handled, a proper grown-up love story. There’s depth in the characters, and the writing overall is both muscular and lyrical, culminating in a poignant ending that echoes in the mind after the last page has been turned.

Sarah Cuthbertson

7TH CENTURY

COMETH THE HOUR

Annie Whitehead, FeedaRead, 2017, $14.95/£7.99, pb, 344pp, 9781786979469

With a careful hand and keen appreciation for the era’s material culture, Annie Whitehead, the inaugural winner of the HWA Dorothy Dunnett Short Story Competition, depicts five tumultuous decades in early medieval Britain. In her third novel, she puts a human face on the Game of Thrones-style drama involving the kingdoms of Deira, Bernicia, Mercia, and East Anglia. The story spans from 604 AD – when the devious Aylfrith of Bernicia attacks neighboring Deira, abducting the king’s sister, Acha, and sending her other brother, Edwin, into exile – up through the Battle of the Winwaed in the year 655. Every personage once lived.

The family tree and dramatis personae prove critical, since there are many characters, viewpoints, and relationships to track. The action sometimes feels episodic, and some significant historical events aren’t shown firsthand, but subsequent scenes make it clear what happened.

The battle scenes, seen from close-up, are fierce and forceful. “War is for men, but it is the women who suffer,” states one newly-made widow, all too correctly, and Whitehead devotes significant attention to the women, including peace-weaver brides, mothers, abbesses, and loyal wives set aside after their husbands tire of them. Among the most sympathetic portrayals are kind-hearted Carinna (Cwenburh), a princess of Mercia, and Derwena, whose lovematch with Carinna’s cousin, Penda, helps hold their large family together. Then there’s Queen Bertana of East Anglia, whose scenes are brief but memorable. Her reaction to her husband Redwald’s religious conversion is a hoot!

Penda of Mercia, a pagan in an increasingly Christianized land, emerges as the strongest hero. Alliances frequently shift, with motivations changing over time, and the story

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demonstrates how overzealous ambition can warp one’s nature. As a result, not all characters retain readers’ sympathy throughout, and the transitions are skillfully done. A solid choice for fans of the period.

Sarah Johnson

9TH CENTURY

THE SEA QUEEN

Linnea Hartsuyker, Harper, 2018, $27.99, hb, 464pp, 9780062563736 / Little, Brown, 2018, £18.99, hb, 464pp, 9781408708828

Hartsuyker ’s re-imagining of the founding of Norway in the 9th century captures all the glory of its source material, the 13thcentury saga, Heimskringla, but also adds a rich, Shakespearean approach to characters and politics.

The first volume of this trilogy, The Half-Drowned King, introduced her fascinating characters: idealistic warrior Ragnvald; his sister, the brave adventuress Svanhild; and her lover, the brooding, Loki-like pirate Solvi. These fictional characters humanize the historical center of the novels, King Harald Fairhair, whose prowess and charisma forged a nation out of chaotic tribal alliances and feuds.

The Sea Queen is less focused on the characters’ inner lives and more on the complex web of incidents that tests their loyalties and shapes their destinies, but all three main characters, Svanhild particularly, are so beautifully realized in their intelligence and emotional development that the descriptions of sea voyages, battles, and mead hall law-wrangling mesh seamlessly with the more personal stories. Svanhild, who had abandoned her home and brother to join Solvi in his travels, finds herself at the beginning of this volume longing for a home of her own, as Ragnvald struggles to balance his loyalty to Harald with his responsibilities as father and a king. The treachery and greed of Harald’s enemies set the three on a collision course that will culminate in an epic battle not only for Norway’s future, but for Svanhild’s desire to be warrior, mother, and queen all in one. To do so, however, will cost her most cherished loves, including Solvi, whose fierce independence is incompatible with Harald and Ragnvald’s dream of a nation of law rather than war.

This compelling story is enhanced by a wealth of detail about the daily lives of Norse men and women, whose ambition and entrepreneurship sent them all over the known world centuries before the rest of Europe began its age of exploration. This is historical fiction at its best and shouldn’t be missed.

Kristen McDermott

10TH CENTURY

FLESH AND BONES: Of Frome Selwood and Wessex

Annette Burkitt, Hobnob, 2017, $15.00, pb, 390pp, 9781906978501

Archaeologist Annette Burkitt structures this work innovatively through her combination of the flesh (the fictional part of the text) and the bones (detailing of the archaeological and historical data). She focuses on the reign of Athelstan in the early to mid-10th century, utilizing place names, mythology, and primary sources to depict a period of great change within the Anglo-Saxon world.

Readers get a glimpse into the socio-political evolution of the various cultures that existed and transformed during the late Anglo-Saxon period. Through the eyes of the fictitious clerk, Nonna, the book also explores what may have motivated Athelstan to some of the religious and political choices over his fourteen-year reign.

Burkitt’s unique voice is ingenious in the development of the storyline. I had trouble, at times, following the course of the plot between various years and narrators; however, I did find that the movement kept me engaged as a reader. This book will also interest those intrigued by place-name evolution in Britain, which Burkitt explores in the Bones section of Flesh & Bones. Knowledge of the AngloSaxon period is not necessary to read and comprehend, although it may help readers better place some of the contemporary issues (dynastic rollercoasters, Viking raids, and Welsh pseudo-assimilation, etc.).

Anna Bennett

SMILE OF THE WOLF

Tim Leach, Head of Zeus, 2018, £18.99, hb, 343pp, 9781788544108

Tim Leach’s previous novel, The Last King of Lydia, was set in an opulent, sunlit Mediterranean city-state in classical antiquity.

Nothing could be further from the setting of the present novel: poor, cold, cruel mediaeval

Iceland.

I have chosen Smile of the Wolf as an Editor’s Choice primarily because of its sense of place, not just the physical place, although this is described wonderfully in all its beauty and horror, but also because of its feel for the community of mediaeval Iceland. This was a land without kings, taxes or towns, where each wretched farmstead was an independent principality at war or peace with its neighbours. Leach’s story is based

on the Icelandic sagas, but these are heavy going for modern readers with their cycles of senseless violence where non-violent deaths are considered dishonourable. Leach takes us into this world and tells the tragic tale of an itinerant storyteller caught up in a family vendetta. Through him we understand the pitiless code of honour which drives almost everyone in the story to destruction – we understand, and we care.

Edward James

11TH CENTURY

Hood legend, Dixon explores more than simply the socio-political dynamic of preMagna Carta, Crusade-entrenched England.

Rather, her apt and tasteful romance between Robin and Will Scathelock, his squire and right-hand man, guides readers through an understanding of contemporary mores and perspectives on homosexual and bisexual relationships. Dixon’s Knight of Sherwood is a captivating tale, and stands alone, though clearly readers who think they would enjoy it may prefer to choose Heir of Locksley first.

Anna Bennett

CURSE OF THE HEALER

THE KING’S JUSTICE

Ireland in 1095 AD is made up of small, fractured clans, each with its own “king.” In the wake of beloved High King Brian Boru’s death, a legend arises of a great woman healer. The man who takes her as his own will become the one King above all. The two romantic protagonists, the healer Aednat and clan chief Diarmuid, get off to an unpleasant start. But as time passes, they overcome family rivalries, her physical deformity and later kidnapping, and the tension of armed combat to finally recognize their immense love for each other.

This superbly crafted medieval novel is a glistening historical romance with the added attraction of battling warriors and unexpected twists, all set in a mysterious and seemingly magical Irish venue. The clan divisions and internecine strife accentuate why Brian Boru’s death following his earlier decisive victory over the Viking invaders at Clontarf was so unfortunate for Ireland. Yet Aednat and Diarmuid illustrate that hope remains, and the surprising ending happily caps all the driving emotions and answers the readers’ remaining questions. Although I’m not generally a fan of romance, I can nevertheless recommend this one.

Yorkshire, 1176. When a village blacksmith is viciously murdered, the lord of the manor intends to hang his suspect, an outlaw, despite the absence of witnesses and evidence. Aelred Barling, the meticulous clerk to the King’s Justice, is sent to investigate, assisted by a reluctant Hugo Stanton. Resenting the King’s men’s interference, the lord and villagers demand that the execution proceed. Hugo questions the outlaw’s guilt, but when he escapes, more murders follow. Then Stanton is unexpectedly attacked. Can they find the murderer before more die?

It takes time to warm to Barling, whose reserve and pride in Henry II’s judicial reforms are necessary to oppose the lord’s illegal claim to rough justice and to rein in Stanton’s impetuous methods. While the picture of medieval daily village life is well drawn, the cottagers remain stereotypes. However, these are minor problems. Cleverly plotted, the action is fast-paced and full of twists and turns, surprises, and suspense. The identity of the murderer remains a mystery up to the exciting end.

This is the first in a series. We are given tantalising hints of Stanton’s tragic past, and Barling is a character I look forward to learning more about. Highly recommended.

Ashley York, Ashley York, 2017, $7.99, pb, 214pp, 9780998668413

Thomas J. Howley

12TH CENTURY

KNIGHT OF SHERWOOD

N. B. Dixon, Beaten Track, 2017, £3.99, ebook, 520pp, 9781786451581

Sherwood’s most famous resident is back for the second installment of N.B. Dixon’s Outlaw’s Legacy trilogy. Following Heir of Locksley, Knight of Sherwood finds Robin entrenched in the Crusades under the Lion Heart, with a very sharp and pressing reason to return to England. Granted leave, his homecoming celebrations are cut short by the news of his father’s death and his own newfound status: outlaw. As his band of Merry Men grows, so too do the stakes in his fight against the Sheriff of Nottingham. While evading the law and the unwanted attentions of Lady Marian, Robin Hood finds himself in thicker brambles than expected.

In this imaginative re-telling of the Robin

E.M. Powell, Thomas & Mercer, 2018, £8.99/$15.99, pb, 288pp, 9781542046015

Lynn Guest

13TH CENTURY WILD JUSTICE

Priscilla Royal, Poisoned Pen, 2018, $15.95/£11.99, pb, 222pp, 9781464209352

In 1282 in England, Prioress Eleanor, Sister Anne, and Brother Thomas travel to the Mynchen Buckland Priory with a gift to be delivered to the Prioress Amicia. Upon their arrival, they learn Prioress Amicia has been imprisoned, convicted of murdering a widow from the village. Bypassing the newly elected Prioress Emelyne, Eleanor delivers the gift to Prioress Amicia, who claims she did not commit the crime.

Curious as to who the murderer is, Eleanor fakes an injury to her foot, which leaves her incapacitated and unable to leave her room, let alone return home. She then has Sister Anne and Brother Thomas help investigate

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the crime without the newly elected Prioress having knowledge of their activities.

Priscilla Royal has written many medieval mysteries, and I believe this book will satisfy those who have enjoyed her previous novels.

She has written a book with a steadily unraveling plot, with details of the monastery routine coming to life. I loved the characters within the monastery and their interactions in this absorbing blend of history and mystery.

Jeff Westerhoff

14TH CENTURY

THE GIRL IN THE TOWER

Katherine Arden, Ebury Press, 2018, £12.99, hb, 346pp, 9781785031069 / Del Rey, 2018, $16.00, pb, 400pp, 9781101885987

As a highborn girl in 14thcentury Russia, Vasilisa Petrovna should be leading a sheltered and pious life, waiting for a good marriage – like the one that brought her older sister Olga to be a princess in Moscow.

Instead, Vasya is running from home, masquerading as a boy, haunted by her father’s death, and pursued by the worst kind of rumours. Because really, a girl who sees what others don’t, speaks to “devils”, and rides a most peculiar horse must be a witch, mustn’t she? To make things even more difficult, Vasya crosses paths with her cousin, the Grand Prince of Moscow, and her soldier-monk brother – out to hunt for Tatar bandits; when Prince Dmitri welcomes his adventurous and capable young “kinsman”, Vasya must add dangerous deception and court intrigue to her troubles… and of course, the worst has yet to come.

Katherine Arden weaves together Russian history and folklore in a lovely, atmospheric, beautifully written tale, filled with the beauty and dangers of winter, slowly revealed secrets, magic, and vivid characters. A treat for winter nights.

Chiara Prezzavento

BOOK OF COLOURS

Robyn Cadwallader, Fourth Estate, 2018, A$32.99, pb, 368pp, 9781460752210

In the year 1320, in anticipation of a major family inheritance, Lady Mathilda commissions a book of hours: an exquisite book, to raise the prestige of her husband’s name. She asks the distinguished London limner, John Dancaster, to complete the work. For Dancaster, the commission is the opportunity of a lifetime.

He employs Will Asshe, a limner newly arrived from Cambridge, to help with the intricate hand-painted pages. But Will has secrets, as 20

do Dancaster and his wife, Gemma—secrets that must be kept from the London guild master, Southflete. But as war ravages the countryside, Mathilda loses her inheritance, and the limners’ secrets come bubbling to the surface: secrets that will find their way onto the manuscript’s pages, affecting all whose lives are linked by its delicate threads of colour.

Having enjoyed The Anchoress, I couldn’t wait to read Robyn Cadwallader’s Book of Colours. In terms of story, the two works have little in common, one being set almost entirely in solitude, the other in the hurly burly of a nation at war. The only tenuous link between the two is memories of a burned prayer book.

Told from the viewpoints of Lady Mathilda, Will and Gemma, Book of Colours gives insight into the work of a master limner, the hidden work of women, and the way in which ordinary people were affected by the ravages of war and famine. Running throughout, like the golden illuminations of a manuscript, the book explores faith and creativity, guilt, loss and the possibility of new beginnings.

Book of Colours is an exquisite book, full of poignant characters and evocative prose.

From the icy Cambridge road, to a hidden manor house in the Welsh March, and the bustling streets of London, Cadwallader’s medieval world is vividly created. A must for all who love literary historical fiction.

Elizabeth Jane Corbett

SCOURGE OF WOLVES

David Gilman, Head of Zeus, 2018, £18.99, hb, 444pp, 9781784974503.

Scourge of Wolves is fifth in The Master of War series and, this said, it stands alone. It is a gritty novel set at the height of The Hundred Years’ War as Thomas Blackstone, the series protagonist, fights to impose English rule on France. It is winter 1361. Edward III has agreed a treaty with the captive French king, John II, by which John ceded tracts of territory to the English. For five years mercenary bands and warring lords have fought over the French kingdom, and now Thomas Blackstone battles to enforce Edward’s claim. He sees his name blackened, men slaughtered, and his son hunted by enemies close to the French crown as he tries along with the King’s negotiator, Thomas Chandos, to bring recalcitrant defaulters under English control.

This is a gripping story of pitched battles and treachery, portraying honour, loyalty and determination. The narrative is exceptionally pacey and atmospheric; it has heart. The historical background is fascinating, accurate and thoroughly researched. The novel’s

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characterisation is thoroughly rounded and convincing. It is an exceptionally well-written book with such vivid prose it easily transports the reader back into the high medieval world.

Highlights are the attack at Sainte Bernice and the wicked Countess, Catherine de Val, a malevolent, beautiful woman who rules Felice and who is superbly characterised. I highly recommend this novel for readers who enjoy Giles Kristian, Angus Donald and Bernard Cornwell. It is a roller-coaster of a read, beautifully written.

Carol McGrath

A GATHERING OF GHOSTS

Karen Maitland, Headline Review, 2018, £14.99, pb, 490pp, 9781472235886

This novel is set in 1316 near Dartmoor and uses three narrators. One is the Prioress Johanne of the Sisters of the Knights of St John, who is struggling to keep her priory together and functioning in the face of many issues, including a mysterious blind boy whom many believe to be the devil incarnate, famine and suffering in the countryside, strange plagues of frogs and flies and a visiting Hospitaller monk who is deeply suspicious of everything she does and says. A second narrator is Morwen, daughter of the local witch, who is in touch with the energy of the earth and the dark forces which predate Christianity. The well itself could in fact be more pagan rather than Christian and is where strange events are often manifested. Sorrel is the third narrator; a mistreated waif with a withered arm who is called to Morwen by forces beyond her ken.

She is connected to the tinners who struggle for survival and are exploited by an unpleasant overseer named Gleedy.

The three strands coalesce in mysterious and at times supernatural ways. The nuns watch over the sacred well of St Brigid’s, taking money from the pilgrims who come to be healed by the holy water, but now everything seems to be falling apart. Based on impeccable historical research and supported by extensive notes at the end, this latest offering from Maitland is very much of the style and flavor of her previous novels. If you like medieval stories flavoured with darkness and the unexplained, there is no better.

Ann Northfield

THE DEATH OF A FALCON

Susan McDuffie, Liafinn Press, 2018, $13.95, pb, 310pp, 9780984790098

In this, the fifth of the Muirteach MacPhee mysteries, Muirteach and his wife, Mariota, find themselves at the court of King Robert II of Scotland in 1375. Muirteach is new to the ways of the court in Edinburgh, and he is soon beguiled by Lady Ingvilt, wife of one of the knights.

This distracts him from the ship recently arrived from the northern lands, its captain, and its cargo of three magnificent falcons. The two largest falcons are worth a king’s ransom.

Then one is stolen and the other slashed and

close to death. Not long afterwards the stolen bird is found dead and the captain’s own daughter is found murdered.

The captain is imprisoned, suspected of the killing. Muirteach struggles to find the killer, all the while besotted by the beautiful Lady Ingvilt. More murders occur and death creeps closer to both Muirteach and Mariota.

This novel is well researched, the settings accurate and vivid, the characters varied and interestingly unpredictable. As a bonus we get a glimpse of life in the northern world of Greenland and Iceland in medieval times. It is an enjoyable, fast-paced read that opens up one of the lesser-known corners of history.

Valerie Adolph

THE TROUBADOUR’S TALE

Ann Swinfen, Shakenoak, 2018, £8.99, pb, 270pp, 9781999927417

The Troubadour’s Tale is the fifth book in Ann Swinfen’s 14th-century Oxford Medieval series. While this is a standalone story, it serves as an appetiser for the series, and I look forward to reading the remainder.

The Troubadour’s Tale tells of Nicholas Elyot’s family and friends journeying to spend Christmas in the country with his mother.

He is an Oxford academic, bookshop owner and scrivener. His entourage travels by cart and on horseback. Shadows of the Great Pestilence still linger, and the country is in the grip of the little ice age. It is a time when bands of dispossessed and violent men roam the countryside, and the Elyot party does not escape their attentions.

Set against the backdrop of the politics of the Black Prince, the mystery centres on a group of troubadours from Provence coming to entertain at Leighton Manor and the importance of a letter carried by Azalais.

Yet the heart of the story lies in the details of domestic life – cooking, dishes, clothes, mending, and Swinfen’s ability to build on detail to create the whole picture. The history of the time is woven lightly throughout, and all sorts of delicious words and phrases crop up – mutton collops, strike-a-lights, cup-shotten (inebriated), rush dips and candle lanterns, assarts (dwellings) and alaunt (an extinct breed of dog).

This is a delightful story, the only disappointment being that Nicholas skirts around his affection for Emma. Perhaps in the sixth book of the series, he’ll commit?

Patricia O’Reilly

THE DEEPEST GRAVE

Jeri Westerson, Severn House, 2018, $28.99/£20.99, hb, 224pp, 9780727887948

In his entertaining 11th adventure, Crispin Guest, known throughout late 14th-century London as the Tracker, has his hands full with two perplexing cases. The first is rather grisly: Father Bulthius of St. Modwen’s asks him to investigate the “demon’s march” of corpses from the graveyard. The dead are supposedly unearthing themselves and dragging their

coffins around after dark. Crispin can hardly believe it until he visits the parish church and sees a shadowy figure carrying a heavy object, and then the empty grave. Something mysterious is clearly afoot. His apprentice, Jack Tucker, a devout lad, is too creeped out to be enthusiastic about their venture but dutifully follows where his master leads. In the second instance, Crispin receives a note from an old lover, Philippa Walcote, who’s now a prosperous mercer’s wife. Her seven-year-old son, Christopher, is accused of murdering his father’s neighbor and competitor; even worse, the boy confessed to the crime. With nowhere else to turn, Philippa requests Crispin’s help.

The novel offers a compelling balance of situations and emotions. There are some hilarious moments spurred by Jack’s reluctance to go skulking about amongst the graves (who can blame him?). Crispin, a disgraced knight and longtime bachelor, also broods a bit about his unusual household. Jack and his wife, Isabel, are living at Crispin’s place and are expecting their first child imminently, and Crispin is sort-of-but-not-quite a member of Jack’s growing family. Both his home life, and meeting Philippa and her son, leave Crispin pondering what might have been. Westerson wonderfully evokes the streets, taverns, and other haunts of medieval London, when the city’s outskirts were still rural, as well as period mentalities (among other mysteries, a religious relic appears to have a mind of its own). Crispin’s backstory is woven in so well that newcomers won’t feel lost, either.

Sarah Johnson

15TH CENTURY

IN THE PRESENCE OF EVIL

Tania Bayard, Severn House, 2018, $28.99/£20.99, hb, 240pp, 9780727887887

Christine de Pizan is the latest historical figure to be tapped to serve as a crime solver in a mystery series. This 14th-15th century Italian lady of letters lived in France and wrote for the court of King Charles VI. The intermittent madness of the king and resulting instability of the kingdom form the basis of the plot.

A mysterious, evil book of magic has been brought to court, ostensibly to cure the king, but the courier is murdered and the book stolen.

Misfortunes in the king’s circle increase, and it seems no one is safe. When one of the queen’s ladies is arrested for poisoning her husband, Christine sets out to prove her innocence and is drawn more deeply into the mystery surrounding the book. Christine’s friends, a monk and a prostitute, are sympathetic characters who do much of the heavy lifting of solving the mystery. However, it is Christine’s determination to do the right thing that helps bring about the conclusion.

The various elements making up the plot are rather scattered, so although the different conflicts are resolved in the end, the connections seem cobbled together. For a murder mystery, the pace is fairly slow, but this may be because I was not particularly drawn

in by Christine. I had higher expectations for the fictional character development of this brilliant historical woman. But this is the first book in a series, and her sleuthing skills may develop more in subsequent stories.

Sue Asher

THE BLOOD OF PRINCES

Derek Birks, Derek Birks, 2018, £11.99/$17.99, pb, 524pp, 9781910944288

This is the latest story of the Elder clan, a fictional family living in the turbulent times of the wars of the Roses. Edward IV has died, and Richard of Gloucester has taken the young heir into “protective custody”. He is also arresting his rivals and any and all of their adherents, which unfortunately includes our heroes. Can they navigate their way out of the political turmoil of the succession?

I have a lot of time for self-publishers.

Writing 140,000 words of creative English is not easy, and publishing and marketing it are at least as difficult and time-consuming.

However, I have to point out the problems.

Firstly, because the “Princes in the Tower” and the accession of Richard III are so familiar, we know the Elders are on the wrong side of this power struggle and it’s not going to end well. Technically, the story is mostly told in dialogue, and it rather presupposes familiarity with earlier episodes. The point of view wobbles occasionally, and many characters are not well developed, so their deaths don’t elicit much of a reaction.

But the biggest weakness is the grafting of modern morality onto late medieval history.

This is a common problem with historical novels; it’s very difficult to get readers to root for heroes whose opinions they find repugnant, but an attempt really has to be made.

Martin Bourne

THE WESTERN WIND

Samantha Harvey, Jonathan Cape, 2018, £16.99, hb, 298pp, 9781787330597 / Grove, 2018, $26.00, hb, 294pp, 9780802128287

England in February 1491. John Reve is the priest in the small, benighted village of Oakham, in Somerset. He is told by the rural dean to investigate the circumstances in the death of the major village landholder Thomas Newham. The dean believes it was murder, while Reve thinks it was just an unfortunate accident in falling into the rain-swollen river.

John Reve has to deal with a range of bizarre superstition and ignorance amongst his flock.

The village is so isolated and neglected that it is almost a pastiche of medieval attitudes in which the population seeks answers to their daily struggles via celestial intervention. A significant element of the story takes place in the confessional, where Reve tries to make sense of villagers’ worries and sins. The death of Newham threatens to unravel the stability of the village, inviting in outsiders to meddle and mess everything up.

It is an intelligent and literate story – seeped in the pre-Reformation prejudices and poverty

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of rural England, where it was a major struggle just to survive a wet and chilly winter.

The novel has a reverse chronology structure, which may be a merry little project for a creative writing course, but which creates some difficulties for the reader. I found the effect rather irritating and constantly had to think back to what I already knew and adjust this knowledge when reading the narrative and making sense of it backwards. It allows the writer to expand upon the story and provide details that the reader had not initially seen or been aware of, but I could have done without the constant mental acrobatics.

Douglas Kemp

THE FLAMES OF FLORENCE

Donna Russo Morin, Diversion, 2018, $14.00, pb, 256pp, 9781635763799

As the 15th century draws to a close in Florence, danger lurks around every corner.

Donna Russo Morin’s deft strokes illustrate the deep socioeconomic changes wrought by the fall of the Medici family and rise of Savonarola.

In this historical fiction work, third in a series, Morin explores the relationships of women who are simultaneously celebrated and abhorred for their art under the loving tutelage of Maestro Da Vinci. As the rise of Savonarola induces a schism between the ladies of Da Vinci’s Disciples as surely as it does the city, our leading ladies must fight for their city, their art, and their friendships.

Morin’s depiction of history is so acute as to leave readers in no doubt of the strength of her research, though at times the effusion of history in this fiction can distract the reader. The Flames of Florence features too many references to the previous two for standalone reading, particularly with the fluid movement between a number of narrators. However, readers will delight in the breadth of perspectives at such a tumultuous time, giving a rounded approach that all fans of history can appreciate.

Anna Bennett

QUEEN OF THE NORTH

Anne O’Brien, HQ, 2018, £14.99, hb, 415pp, 9780008225414

Queen of the North tells the story of Elizabeth Mortimer, wife of Henry Percy (known to history – and Shakespeare fans – as Hotspur).

Set in the turbulent years at the start of the 15th century, as Henry IV first wrests the crown from Richard II and then fights to keep it, it is a story of love, ambition, power, and the consequences of playing for high stakes. As she is the greatgranddaughter of Edward III, Elizabeth’s family has a claim to the throne arguably as good as that of Henry IV. And the Percys are a power in their own right, effective rulers of northern England and crucial to keeping the Scots at bay. Together, Elizabeth and Hotspur are a formidable couple, using their networks of blood and allegiance to their own advantage.

Their passionate natures and personal family loyalties add another level of tension: sometimes they work together, sometimes in opposition to one another. But when their 22

attempt at the crown goes catastrophically wrong, Elizabeth must seek to salvage what she can for herself and her children.

As always, Anne O’Brien’s storytelling is vivid and captivating, bringing to life the tangled web of loyalties inherent in medieval politics. One of the most compelling aspects of the novel, however, is O’Brien’s depiction of Elizabeth’s emotions as she gradually comes to accept and take responsibility for the consequences of her ambition. A highly enjoyable read.

Charlotte Wightwick

16TH CENTURY

THE LOCKSMITH’S DAUGHTER

Karen Brooks, William Morrow, 2018, $16.99, pb, 576pp, 9780062686572 / MIRA Australia, 2016, A$32.99, pb, 512pp, 9781489210548

Mallory Bright, the titular locksmith’s daughter, is trying to restore her reputation, which she ruined by running away with a man who turned out to be abusive. Now, she is back with her parents, trying to right her wrongs.

Her father, meanwhile, has arranged for his old friend, none other than Queen Elizabeth’s spymaster, Sir Francis Walsingham, to hire her, ostensibly as companion to his own daughter.

However, when Walsingham sees Mallory’s skill at picking locks, he begins training her as one of his own spies, knowing that Mallory can get into places as a woman that are barred even to the greatest spy in Her Majesty’s service. But Mallory soon learns that being a spy, serving Queen and country, and following her heart are not all one and the same thing, when secrets and espionage threaten people she loves, and she sees the full human impact of her intrigues.

Perhaps you might be groaning at the thought of another novel set in Tudor England, but rest assured, you would be wrong to do so.

This book is not set in the courts or focused on the nobility, nor is Mallory a noblewoman. At times, she may be rather too progressive for a genuine Renaissance woman, but overall, she is a good addition to the strong, independent women canon. Brooks especially does a great job capturing the disdain the various religious sects felt toward one another; it is appalling to see just how horrific people can be to each other. However, the major plot twist feels unnecessarily contrived and melodramatic, which mars what is otherwise excellent writing.

If you enjoy a fast-paced and intricate plot and don’t mind some brutal torture or domestic abuse on the page, this story should please you. If you want your plots to be a little more

REVIEWS | ISSUE 85, August 2018

believable or with less violence, you may want to reconsider.

Kristen McQuinn

THE BUTCHER’S DAUGHTER

Victoria Glendinning, Duckworth Overlook, 2018, £16.99, hb, 352pp, 9780715652916 / Overlook, 2018, $28.95, hb, 352pp, 9781468316339

Agnes Peppin, the butcher’s daughter of the title, has been caught in the age-old way of young women. Forced to leave behind her newborn son, Peterkin, she is in disgrace and sent out of the way to become a nun in Shaftesbury Abbey. Unfortunately, it is 1535 and Henry VIII has started his process of reformation, or appropriating all the wealth of the monastic houses for himself and his adherents, depending on your point of view. The fear, uncertainty and in some cases despair felt by the soon-to-be ex-nuns is palpable, and the reader can really feel those moments in time where the fates of these women hang in the balance. Some, of course, are better equipped than others to face a life in the world; others who have known nothing but the cloister for decades are understandably lost and fearful of the future.

The difficulties of being a woman in a man’s world is a key theme, and the Abbess, used to power unusual for a female at that time, tries hard to save her community, but ultimately cannot battle against the political and religious forces sweeping the country and changing the dynamics of country life forever. Agnes herself is a strong, perceptive woman, a reader and a thinker with a strong will. She is a memorable character, and the historical detail of the novel is completely believable and meticulously researched. This is an unusual and thoughtprovoking novel which is recommended particularly for fans of Wolf Hall.

Ann Northfield

A PEOPLE WITHOUT A PAST

Jaan Kross (trans. Merike Beecher), Maclehose Press, 2018, £14.99, pb, 423pp, 9780857054654

Northern Europe, 1563. In Livonia, the coastal town of Tallinn is under siege, while inside the walls, plague takes its toll. Balthasar Russow has been appointed Pastor of the Church of The Holy Ghost. Hardworking and compassionate, surely at this time of crisis he must be welcomed by his fellow citizens? Not so: there are many who cannot overlook that he is what he always has been, a peasant. He is cleverer than most of them, which adds to their well-founded suspicions: Balthasar has been keeping a written record of events in the town, and this startlingly revealing document needs a second copy. The Pastor delegates the work to his most trusted protégé. A mistake for which he pays dearly.

If the author is a magician in creating and presenting readers with this magnificent story, then his translator is a worthy sorcerer’s apprentice. Lucid, absorbing and frequently

astounding, the narrative forges along like one of the valiant little ships that sail these dangerous waters. There are wonderful set pieces – how does royalty react when in imminent danger of death by drowning?

Anyone about to start reading has a treat in store, including a protagonist blessed with a wry, humorous view of humanity’s absurdities.

Nancy Henshaw

THE ANGEL’S MARK

S. W. Perry, Corvus, 2018, £14.99, hb, 418pp, 9781786494924 / £12.99, pb, 418pp, 9781786494955

When I started this book it had, to my mind, multiple strikes against it: it was long, it was written in the present tense, had multiple points of view, occasionally used modern language, and the author sometimes addresses the reader: ‘after one of Vasey’s lectures it was the habit of the young physicians to celebrate their survival by getting fabulously drunk.’

Yet, I enjoyed it. It has good historical detail, is well-plotted, has believable characters, and Perry has created a convincing Elizabethan world. The story takes place over six months, from August 1590 to February 1591, and opens with the hero, Nicholas Shelby, communicating through a bedroom wall, with his wife, who is pregnant and in seclusion.

Earlier in the day he has seen the body of a young crippled boy and noticed an odd mark on his ankle.

From that first oddity we are led through Nicholas’s personal tragedy to his meeting with Bianca, a tavern keeper in Southwark, and the discovery of more bodies with a similar mark. Nicholas tries in vain to get the authorities to investigate what he believes are serial murders, until he catches the eye of Robert Cecil, who insists he goes to stay with John Lumley at Nonsuch Palace and investigate him for Catholicism.

Full of well-drawn fictional and historical characters, I found this a captivating read.

There is a hint that it is the first in a series, in which case I look forward to the next one. jay Dixon

APRICOTS AND WOLFSBANE

K.M. Pohlkamp, Filles Vertes, 2017, $16.00, pb, 356pp, 9781946802026

T h e r e aren’t many opportunities for educated women in Tudor England outside of the convent or royal court, but twentysomething Lavinia Maude carves out a unique niche for herself. Having lost her parents as a teen, she

uses her knowledge of herbology and poisons to build a career as one of the few female assassins. As her victims and clients increase in stature from commoners to nobility, so do the risks to her life and her heart. When the local magistrate begins to suspect she might be behind the death of an Earl, Lavinia must decide what she is willing to risk: her faith, her life, her heart, or all three?

If you ever wondered what it would be like if Sweeney Todd had a conscience (and no need for Mrs. Lovett’s pies) or what would happen to Robin LaFevers’ assassin nuns if they weren’t in the convent, this book will give you a taste. In this impeccably written and researched work, Pohlkamp takes you into the mind of a conflicted assassin for whom the science of poisons is a passion; she loves what she does and enjoys murder, but she is not a cold-hearted serial killer. She also recognizes the sin in her profession and struggles to find absolution. The inherently high stakes of Lavinia’s profession, coupled with the danger of her rapid rise in notoriety, make for a pageturning plot. Add to that a one-sided love affair with the local lawman, and you have a recipe for a cracking good read. This book drew me in unlike any other in a long time. The author’s website promises a sequel, and I for one am glad. Very highly recommended.

Nicole Evelina

THE 13: Ashi-niswi

Lorin R. Robinson, Open Books, 2018, $15.95, pb, 174pp, 9781948598071

The 13 takes place in the time before time, the time before white men came to Gichigami (Lake Superior), the time when Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) were at war with the Dakota (Sioux).

In early spring, while men from a band of 90 Anishinaabe are hunting game, Dakota attack their camp. Many women, children, and old men are speared or axed to death, their scalps taken. Upon returning, the men decide they will find the evil ones and seek revenge—but now is not the time.

Sixteen-year-old Keeshegkoni (Burning Fire) has other ideas. He assembles a war party of 12 of his young friends to follow him.

Told by his brother Animikil that he is too young and inexperienced to be included, 14-year-old Aajim (Tells a Story) nevertheless takes off after the war party, determined to avenge the death of his friend Omiimii whose “lustrous black hair had been ripped from her forehead.”

The trail leads Aajim on the path of 24 moccasin footprints, along animal trails, through rain and show, to a gathering of the Dakota tribe where he is witness to the fates of his older brother and friends.

Told in the straightforward language of a young Native American boy, The 13 gives voice to the ceremonies of the tribe, the actions of the spirit guide, the imagery of the forest and the raven, and the prophesy of dream. There is power as well as music in simplicity that leaves readers to define the boundaries of honor,

duty, respect, and love and to appreciate the burden of Aajim.

K. M. Sandrick

TRIAL ON MOUNT KOYA

Susan Spann, Seventh Street, 2018, $15.95/ C$17.00, pb, 256pp, 9781633884151

November, 1565. This sixth installment of Spann’s Shinobi Mystery series finds master ninja Hiro Hattori and the Portuguese Jesuit he’s protecting, Father Mateo, traveling to a Buddhist temple on Mount Koya with a message. They arrive shortly before a snowstorm covers Japan’s sacred summit, preventing anyone from leaving. After Hiro delivers his message, the monk who received it ends up murdered. More horrifying, the dead man is posed as a Buddhist judge of the afterlife. Hiro suspects the samurai warlord who recently attacked his clan, the losses from the attack still raw in Hiro’s heart. However, Father Mateo has different ideas surrounding the perpetrator’s identity. As others are murdered and posed in the same manner, Hiro and Father Mateo find time running out, and one of them may be the next target.

Spann’s exceptional understanding of 16thcentury Japan is obvious early on. I have scant knowledge about this time and place, but the author’s fluidly descriptive prose painted vivid pictures from which I could almost hear the shoji sliding open or smell the incense smoke coiling around the narrative. Despite being the sixth book of a series, I was pleasantly surprised at how easily I fell into the storyline.

The characters have been through a lot at this point, and Hiro is very gruff for most of the book as he continues to cope with a loved one’s loss. While a few hints of the past eluded me, overall I was able to grasp the relational dynamics between Hiro and Father Mateo. A well-crafted, atmospheric mystery with its fair share of surprises. I’ll be going back to read the first novel in this series.

J. Lynn Else

17TH CENTURY AGAINST THE INQUISITION

Marcos Aguinis, (trans. Carolina De Robertis), AmazonCrossing, 2018, $14.95, pb, 617pp, 9781503949263

Against the Inquisition is the 2018 English translation of the 1991 Argentine novel La Geste del Marrano. Widely praised by Argentine readers and reviewers, the book fictionalizes the life of Francisco Maldonado da Silva, burned at the stake as a heretic after 12 years of imprisonment by Lima, Peru’s Holy Office of Inquisition.

The son of a physician who himself was imprisoned by Inquisitors until he renounced Judaism in 1605, Francisco is raised as a Christian, turning to Judaism at age 18 and secretly practicing the faith until taken into custody at age 35.

The novel captures Francisco’s recollections

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of his father’s arrest, his family’s fall into penury, and their separation from one another.

It describes his journey from Argentina to Peru and his reunification with his father and sisters and his dedication to medicine and science. Interspersed throughout are scenes from Francisco’s prison cell, where day is no different from night, shackles encumber even slight movement, and monks pray for him to rediscover the true faith.

Despite interrogation and torture, Francisco holds tenaciously to his beliefs. He carries to the stake books written on scraps of paper with charcoal and a pen fashioned from a chicken bone that record his deep conviction and conscience, his death an affirmation of selfdetermination. Against the Inquisition is both a personal reflection and a universal indictment of intolerance masquerading as the quest for purity of faith.

The story of dogmatism and inhumanity is an unpleasant one to tell and most likely will not be embraced by some readers. But it is told with sensitivity and understanding. I, for one, long for more novels willing to delve into the ugliness of the past to illuminate the human spirit that, in the end, transcends.

K. M. Sandrick

THE KING’S WITCH

Tracy Borman, Atlantic Monthly, 2018, $26.00, hb, 448pp, 9780802127884 / Hodder & Stoughton, 2018, £16.99, hb, 448pp, 9781473662308

Once an attendant and healer to Queen Elizabeth I, Frances Gorges has no interest in joining the court of James I. Anti-papist to the hilt, James also believes it is his duty to ensure that all witches – and that includes wise women and healers – are put to the stake or hanged. Wisely, Frances wishes to remain at her family ancestral estate, Longford, as far away as possible from the Stuarts. But when Frances’s ambitious uncle, always trying to wiggle his way into the Court’s good graces, arranges for Frances to become the attendant to Princess Elizabeth, the daughter of James and Queen Anne, she joins the Court. Immediately becoming a suspect of Lord Cecil’s, who is also trying to earn his bones with James, Frances is accused of witchcraft and sent to the Tower.

But when Princess Elizabeth falls deathly ill with smallpox, James and Anne realize that it is only Frances who is capable of saving her – and despite Cecil’s machinations, Frances is freed and Elizabeth survives. By that time, Frances has fallen in love with Tom Wintour, a young lawyer at Gray’s Inn, a man she does not realize 24

is a Catholic until he involves her in what will ultimately be known as the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. We all know that the plot failed, but Frances survives, apparently to be featured in Books 2 and 3 of this anticipated trilogy.

Borman is a respected historian with a passion for the Tudor world. This departure into fiction is not merely welcome; it should be celebrated. Beautifully written with characters lovingly formed, it grabs you and keeps you in thrall. Everyone including Frances is an historical personage, and all are as real as if they lived on your street – good and bad alike (and there is a lot of bad!). Frances, through whose eyes we witness events, is a masterpiece: sensitive, smart, often fearless. The best book I’ve read this year.

Ilysa M. Magnus

THE ROAD TO NEWGATE

Kate Braithwaite, Crooked Cat, 2018, £6.99/$10.99, pb, 354pp, 9781719536370

Suspicion and religion are intertwined in London in 1678, a little over a decade after the Great Fire ravaged the city. Nathaniel Thompson, a newlywed political writer, has found his nemesis: Titus Oates. Titus Oates is an instigator, a man who whips up public fear over a Popish Plot. King Charles II has no direct heir, and when he dies, the crown will go to his Catholic brother. Titus places himself in the middle of it all, the witness to Jesuit machinations against the King, and by extension, against the struggling London populace. Nathaniel knows that Titus Oates lies, bribes, and threatens his way into the good graces of the aristocracy and the courtroom.

Nathaniel finds he cannot stand idly by as strangers, acquaintances, and friends are held in the horrific confines of Newgate prison, and sometimes, brought to the gallows.

The rantings of a blowhard are not centuryspecific, and Braithwaite shows that regardless of the specifics, whipping up the public is not without consequence. Some find it morally abhorrent when political scheming leads to real-world results, while others, like Titus Oates—a real man who lived this very real plot—seem to sleep well at night as long as he remains popular. One quote in particular felt very timeless, describing the character of Titus Oates: “Where I’ve previously held sheer meanness of spirit to be his defining feature, it comes to me that perhaps his greatest weapon is his audacity.”

While this book could be identified as suspense, to this reader it felt more like horror, given how often I felt I’d just read a headline based on this type of man. The Road to Newgate is a good read, modern in the sense that these characters are so recognizable, while deeply rooted in documented history.

Katie Stine

CATCHING A WITCH

Heidi Eljarbo, TCK Publishing, 2017, $19.99, pb, 284pp, 9781631610332

When Clara Dahl returns to the small

REVIEWS | ISSUE 85, August 2018

Norwegian coastal town she grew up in, she takes great pleasure in being reunited with old friends and reacquainting herself with town life. The daughter of a minister, she has had an unusual life for a 17th-century woman.

She is well-educated and well-travelled. The happiness of her return to her seaside home sours with the arrival in the town of Angus King. King is an Englishman, said to be an apprentice of Matthew Hopkins, known as the Witch-finder General, a man responsible for the death of numerous Englishwomen during the 1640s. King, like his mentor, is determined to find and root out witchcraft in all its forms.

The novel begins a little slowly, but the arrival of King signals a welcome shift in pace.

Two innocent women are ‘tested’ as witches and quickly die in the process. Clara’s close friend Bess, a midwife and healer, inevitably attracts Angus King’s interest. To save her, Clara and her friends must battle against time and a community seemingly sucked in by King’s rhetoric. A welcome sub-plot with two mean-spirited twin daughters of an important local family keeps the action flowing, and the threatening presence of the town’s reclusive gravedigger adds another interesting character to the story.

At times the language used is a little modern and the twins’ storyline is not as well resolved as it might be. But this is an enjoyable read, strong on its portrayal of witch-hunting and sympathetic and interesting in its consideration of women’s lives in the period, particularly with the tensions between medicine and healing, religion and superstition, and men and women’s lives and education.

Kate Braithwaite

LONGING TO BE FREE

Judith T Guskin, Wonder Spirit, 2018, $16.99, pb, 436pp, 9780999856703

The budding Plymouth colony wouldn’t have survived its first winter without the help of the Wampanoag tribe. Since then, the colonists have had a peaceful and respectfilled coexistence with a people whose social customs are vastly different from their own.

But as more colonists arrive, tensions grow.

The English see the Wampanoag as savages who can’t be trusted unless they’re converted.

Young Comfort Bradford watches in horror as her Wampanoag friends become foes and a war between the English and Native Americans threatens everyone she loves, Wampanoag and English alike.

In her novel, set between 1630 and 1677, Guskin knows this time period like the back of her hand. From the Wampanoag culture to the developing New England cities, the strong setting is a delight to read. Unfortunately, while the setting is well described, everything else is told to readers. For example: “She watches the men shake their head in disapproval. Roger is aware of their disapproval.” Told in thirdperson present tense, the narrative is lacking in compelling emotions. The first chapter is an info dump about Comfort’s father. Later, Comfort asks her father to discuss her late mother in front of a group of people – but you

don’t discuss something that upsets your father in front of a group. In addition, grammatical errors, awkward past and present tense switches, and missing punctuation made for inelegant sentences.

I really wanted to like this book, and I truly respect this author. This is a story that needs to be told. Unfortunately, the novel reads more like a script with dialogue and stage direction. As a reader, I didn’t want to be told how to feel; I wanted to experience it.

J. Lynn Else

THE WELSH LINNET

A.J. Lyndon, Tretower, 2017, $17.80, pb, 470pp, 9780987626103

This is Book One of the War Without an Enemy series, set during the English Civil War. It opens in July 1642, as divisions between King Charles I and his parliamentary opponents are leading to war. It finishes in the winter of 1643, as the siege of Basing House continues.

In between are stirring, accurate accounts of the battles at Edgehill and Roundway Down.

The story follows the fictional fortunes of the Royalist Lucie family, focusing on the father, Sir Henry Lucie, sons Will and Harry, and daughter Elisabeth (Bess), although there is a large, varied cast. The Welsh linnet is introduced later: Gabriel Vaughan is a Royalist soldier and talented musician. He and his family secret will change Bess’s life.

The author has a historical knowledge and respect for historical integrity that are impressive. Her endnotes are helpful and explain much, but there are weaknesses in this debut. Bess Lucie’s banal, romancenovel antics cheapen the whole story. Her foolish, headstrong behavior is anachronistic, and she is often TSTL (Too Stupid To Live).

Fortunately, Gabriel Vaughan is an interesting, multifaceted man with depth, and it looks as if we will see more of him in future novels.

There are troubling mechanical issues.

Compound modifiers preceding a noun are almost always left open. Hyphenating them would be more conventional and make for easier reading. Scenes from Bess’s point of view are in first person, and everything else is in third, which is jarring, to say the least.

Gabriel’s dramatic flashbacks fill in some backstory, but interrupt the narrative flow.

I had trouble getting through the first fifty pages of slow set-up. Then came the Battle of Edgehill, and from then on I couldn’t put the book down.

Elizabeth Knowles

PAINTER TO THE KING

Amy Sackville, Granta, 2018, £14.99/A$29.99, hb, 322pp, 9781783783908

In 1622, the artist Diego Velázquez was summoned to Madrid to paint King Philip IV and his courtiers. He remained a member of the King’s household for the rest of his life; Painter to the King portrays the Spanish court through his eyes. It shows the personal and

political weakness of the king and his struggle to provide a living heir. We see the greed and ambition of his courtiers and the excesses of the court. Along the way, we also get glimpses of Velázquez’s own life, and of his gradual rise as a trusted servant of the king.

The style of the book is almost stream-ofconsciousness, told as though the narrator is standing before Velázquez’s paintings and trying to squeeze meaning from them. There is no dialogue, and little action. But there is lots of evocative detail, examining the minutiae of everyday life. Through Velázquez, and his work, the narrator reflects upon the process of painting and upon what static images can, and cannot, tell us. We are left with a sense of a past that is ghostly, whose reality can only ever be guessed at.

Once I got used to the way it was written, I found Painter to the King intriguing and thought-provoking. It is a book to savour, particularly recommended for art lovers, and for anyone who enjoys a slow, thoughtful read.

Karen Warren

BY LOVE DIVIDED

Elizabeth St. John, Falcon Historical, 2017, $14.95, pb, 380pp, 9780999394410

This is the second book in the Lydiard Chronicles, covering the years 1630-1646 and the English Civil War. It immediately follows the first book, The Lady of the Tower (16031630). Read the series from the beginning to get to know the St. John family, specifically Lucy St. John and Sir Allen Apsley.

Sir Allen has died, leaving the family destitute.

Heavy debts were incurred while he was in service to King Charles, and the King promised reimbursement but hasn’t honored his warrants. Widowed Lucy fights to get what is rightfully hers but encounters numerous obstacles. She is tricked into marriage with a cruel, extremist Puritan, Sir Leventhorpe Franke, by promises that he will intercede on her behalf. Instead, Franke plans to profit should her money be recovered.

Lucy’s and Sir Allen’s adult children, Allen and Luce, become the focus of this second book.

While the family struggles with their new poverty, Allen studies law at Trinity and Luce marries John Hutchinson. The love story of Luce and John is beautifully told. The complex politics of the time and the civil war come to the forefront of the story as many families are torn apart over differing opinions and forced to take sides. When war breaks out, Allen joins for the King and Luce takes up

the Parliamentarian cause, creating a fierce divide within the Apsley family.

It is evident that Elizabeth St. John has done extensive research in writing this book based on her own family’s experiences during this time in history. The language she uses is so authentic. Her writing engages the senses with the sights, sounds, and smells of 17thcentury life. Her world and characters are so real I wanted to remain there. I loved this book, and the Lydiard Chronicles are now on my list of all-time favorite historical novels. A fantastic read.

Janice Ottersberg

THE QUEEN’S PROMISE

Brenda Rickman Vantrease, Severn House, 2018, $28.99/£20.99, hb, 240pp, 9780727887931

Vantrease’s long-awaited return to the historical fiction scene showcases her painstaking attention to characterization and period atmosphere. Opening with a prologue depicting the execution of Charles I’s advisor Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Strafford, in 1641, the novel follows a wide array of individuals as tensions between the king and Parliament erupt into civil war. In 1642, Queen Henrietta Maria, detested by England’s people for her extravagances and fervent Catholicism, travels abroad to deliver the 10-year-old Princess Mary to her future husband and convince the Dutch to buy England’s crown jewels. She has promised to help finance her husband’s battles and return to her younger children, but her words may be as empty as those of her husband, who had vowed to save his friend Strafford. Meanwhile, young Prince Henry and Princess Elizabeth are quietly taken into the care of Lucy Hay, Countess of Carlisle—Strafford’s former lover, Henrietta’s sometime friend, and current lover of Parliamentary leader John Pym. Lucy, a courtier who was one of the era’s most intriguing personalities, tended to serve both sides simultaneously when it suited her purposes. In Vantrease’s portrayal, this doesn’t demonstrate fickleness on her part but a unique blend of survival instinct and human compassion. Although Henrietta and Lucy are the ostensible protagonists, the narrative splits into many different strands that take a long time to form into a cohesive story. The chapters with Caroline Pendleton, wife of a wool merchant turned knight, succeed in evoking the desperate plight of women left alone during wartime. Others focus on James Whittier, a nobleman, printer, and one-time highwayman whose path crosses Caroline’s.

While their stories are interesting when taken individually, the overlarge cast makes the novel lose focus. And so the Broken Kingdom series has a fairly slow start; hopefully Part Two will draw all the stories together more tightly.

Sarah Johnson

18TH CENTURY

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SLAVE OLD MAN

Patrick Chamoiseau (trans. Linda Coverdale), The New Press, 2018, $19.99, hb, 175pp, 9781620972953

This novel begins: “In slavery times in the sugar isles,” which we later deduce to be Martinique. It’s an arresting story of an African slave who toils on his master’s sugar plantation. For many years he works hard, is well liked, and is the “most docile among the docile.” Yet one day, affected by intense energy but for no apparent reason (other than the obvious), the “slave old man” escapes into the lush green rainforest. He is soon pursued by the strict master and his vicious mastiff.

The huge dog was raised on a special diet of “palpitating meat, hot peppers, snake fats,” and other ghastly items to make him adept at capturing and mutilating runaways. A thrilling chase results, in which the slave, using all his strength, tries to outrun not only the master and his mastiff but also other mythical demons teeming in the jungle.

Martinique-born Patrick Chamoiseau vividly presents the island’s flora, fauna and both the French and the Creole cultures. The novel is written in his characteristic lyrical prose, which has won him awards. While originally written in French and Creole, the translator has attempted, with some success, to replicate the voice in English. Some Creole words are kept, adding to its panache. The novel starts in the third-person viewpoint, but towards the end changes to the first to bring closure to the storyline. Although this change is rather abrupt, it does achieve its purpose. The novel might seem to be yet another on the theme of slavery and captives’ harsh treatment, yet it presents a different perspective, particularly in the Caribbean setting and the French and Creole interactions in the story. There are some complex undertones in the over-descriptive narrative that might require a reread to comprehend them fully.

Waheed Rabbani

MARY B

Katherine J. Chen, Random House, 2018, $27.00/C$36.00, hb, 336pp, 9780399592218

The Austen continuation genre has gained another literary take with this debut novel focused on the character of Mary Bennet. The story begins with Mr. Collins’ visit as per the original story of Pride and Prejudice and finds Mary infatuated with her cousin. It does not deviate from Austen’s version—although does give insight to motives—and all four marriages from the canon take place. Mary then travels to Pemberley, where she is rudely accosted

by Darcy’s cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam, and another romance ensues. In her downtime, Mary begins writing a novel, which takes on an important role in the story, displaying her intelligence and wit while connecting her with others, and giving her options beyond her sisters’ choices.

The character of Mary has a smart and delightfully sarcastic personality, and most of her choices make sense given her situation.

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However, other characters deviate drastically from Austen’s vision, and readers may take offense at these new incarnations. While Mary B has a strong, polished start, the momentum deflates rapidly as some characters who were once open and sincere withdraw unapologetically and with no proper resolution.

The ending is commendable but could have been accomplished with less drama. Even so, the writing style is splendid, with many tidy turns of phrase, as well as perfectly constructed paragraphs—perhaps most notably regarding the novel-inside-a-novel parts. There are no instances of modernity imposed on the era, as can be an issue with many Austeninspired pieces. Overall, this is an engaging and complimentary account of a sometimes vilified, often ignored literary figure.

Arleigh Ordoyne

A REFUGE ASSURED

Jocelyn Green, Bethany House, 2018, $14.99, pb, 410pp, 9789764219078

Lacemaker Vivienne Rivard flees the Terror of the French Revolution to relocate to the French Quarter of Philadelphia, along with other expatriates, including Henri, who may be the heir of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette.

Accommodating to the new environment, Vivienne learns to make a living by baking bread, protects Henri from both disease and men who wish him harm, and gives her heart to a young American militiaman, as well as the father who abandoned her and her mother years before in France. In her quest for sanctuary, Vivienne finds the French Asylum, which was built in the Pennsylvania wilderness in a vain attempt to offer protection for Marie Antoinette from the guillotine, as well as refuge in her faith.

Green is the author of several historical novels that focus on everyday heroines thrust into key moments of conflict. Fans will not be disappointed in A Refuge Assured. Among the details of ordinary living, the novel threads insights about both the French and American Revolutions and conflict between central governmental rule and the rights of individual citizens. The book presents the views of the ruthless and radical Jacobins who wish to continue the Terror in France, foment revolt against the new U. S. government, and spur Americans to fight alongside French revolutionaries. It also shows the viewpoints of Alexander Hamilton’s Federalists, who seek to tamp down the rebellion over the taxation of whiskey in western Pennsylvania, and settlers who rise up against what they consider to be taxation without representation.

K. M. Sandrick

CITY OF INK

Elsa Hart, Minotaur, 2018, $25.99, hb, 352pp, 9781250142795

China, 1711. Li Du returned to his home of Beijing three years ago and is still trying to unlock a mystery from his past. Working as a clerk in the North Borough Office, his personal investigation is interrupted when he is called to

REVIEWS | ISSUE 85, August 2018

assist the chief inspector at the scene of a crime.

At a tile factory, two bodies have been found, the factory owner’s wife and a man appearing to be her lover—both murdered. A discarded love note left at the scene makes the husband their prime suspect. But during inquiries, Li Du uncovers more than a jealous husband. How far can he go before threats from powerful men become more than just brushstrokes of ink on paper?

Elsa Hart’s third Li Du novel continues to impress. The mystery is multilayered and keeps you guessing. The setting breathes within the narrative, vividly enchanting readers into 18thcentury China. Hart’s narration has a musical quality that is descriptive while adding cultural flair. From the way tea leaves sulk in a cup to the way walls drape across the landscape like a necklace, the prose is beguiling. With an intelligent plot, intriguing characters, and historical depth, this book is a delight!

J. Lynn Else

THE ROAD TO MAGNOLIA GLEN

Pam Hillman, Tyndale, 2018, $14.99/C$20.99, pb, 358pp, 9781496415943

Kiera Young and Quinn O’Shea “meet cute” on the boat from Ireland to Mississippi in 1792.

Kiera, her two younger sisters in tow, is headed to an arranged marriage, while Quinn plans to drop his younger brothers with elder brother Connor, whom he resents for abandoning them.

When Kiera’s marriage contract actually turns out to be an indenture to a brothel, Quinn and his friends leap to the sisters’ aid, whisking them away to Connor’s plantation.

Class differentiations quickly disappear as Kiera shows herself perfectly capable of rolling up her sleeves and putting together a kitchen for workers and travelers, while Quinn wrestles with forgiving his brother and giving up his desire to wander the world. The threat to all three sisters is not over when old enemies of Connor get involved.

Evoking the South of plantations without the stain of slavery is a bit of fantasy, and Quinn’s dilemma is reiterated perhaps one too many times. Late in the book, faith becomes a prominent theme, which makes historical sense but sticks out in the midst of a more swashbuckling tale. On the whole, though, it’s an engaging story. This book is the second in the Natchez Trace series but can be easily read on its own.

Martha Hoffman

THE GALLOWS POLE

Benjamin Myers, Bluemoose, 2017, £15.00, hb, 380pp, 9781910422311 / £9.99, pb, 360pp, 9781910422328

George III notwithstanding, there’s only one king in West Yorkshire: “King” David Hartley, leader of a local gang of “coiners.” A ragtag groupofHartley’srelatives,farmers,tradesmen, and vicious criminals, the Cragg Vale Coiners engage in the Yellow Trade: clipping bits off of coin edges, using these shavings to counterfeit

new coins, and then spending both. William Deighton, an excise officer, is determined to bring down this band that debases the currency, ruins local businesses, strong-arms the valley’s few lawabiding citizens, and horrifically murders those who jeopardize their illegal enterprise.

This novel, winner of the 2018 Walter Scott Prize, is uniformly excellent. The sense of place (the Upper Calder Valley) is crafted with an exactitude seldom encountered. The characterization is so vivid that it overspreads the page with three-dimensional dynamism.

The prose is astounding in the best of ways: alliteration abounds, there are repetitive lists that begin to feel almost like a poem or a song, evocative descriptions coupled and tripled (“Soot and ash. Snot and spume. Quag and sump and clotted moss. Loam.”). All combines with authentic dialogue and more substantive sentence structures to give a sense of inevitable, propulsive momentum from the novel’s first lines to its last. These third-person chapters alternate with appallingly spelled diary entries penned by an imprisoned Hartley; he looks back at the road that brought him nigh (to the gallows pole), the “king’s” voice to explicate his story. The looming threat of industrialization, the harshness of life on the moors, its lack of options, and the delineation of class all serve as elements of the whole: one Georgian machine, many moving parts.

An unsettling cover reminiscent of something unearthed from a 1970s thrift shop bin completes the unique experience of this book, which would be a standout in any genre, and is certainly a rare historical fiction gem. Very highly recommended.

Bethany Latham

THE CORNISH DRESSMAKER

Nicola Pryce, Corvus, 2018, £7.99, pb, 457pp, 9781786493835

It is 1796, and Elowyn Liddicot is young, independently minded and attractive, as is usual with heroines. When the novel opens, she is engaged to Nathan Cardew, but she then becomes involved in the rescue of a mystery man from the sea, William Cotterell with whom she falls madly in love. Elowyn has to resist the machinations of her family to keep her independence and her business of dressmaking.

This is a sequel, following on from Pengelly’s Daughter and The Captain’s Girl, and there is quite a bit of back history for the reader to catch up with. It would have been easier to follow had I read the previous two novels.

The plot trundles along quickly enough, however, and there are twists and turns and many characters who are not as they seem. Is it Nathan or William who is telling the truth?

I had to try to overcome a rooted aversion to novels who use accented dialogue (badly) all the way through. One example of many: ‘An’ next week ye’ll do the same, an’ ye’ll keep yer mouth shut’ (p72). This is one for fans of historical romance such as by authors like Dilly Court and Rosie Goodwin, and for those readers who are drawn to book covers like this one has, with a young woman dressed in period costume wrapped in a shawl looking at the camera. Not my kind of thing, but I am sure it will have its market.

Ann Northfield

CONFESSIONS OF THE FOX

Jordy Rosenberg, One World, 2018, $27.00, hb, 352pp, 9780399592270.

Confessions of the Fox is ostensibly set in 1713-1724, following Jack Sheppard, thief and lover extraordinaire. But, is it? Jack Sheppard is a thief, but only because he must. He is an extraordinary lover, but only to Bess, who sees his true self, his “wonderful, fetching Something.” And before that, Jack was treated as a girl named P— by his mother and his enslaver. Finally realizing he could break his literal shackles, Jack Sheppard emerges.

But is Confessions of the Fox a novel set in the 18th century? Well, yes and no. The footnotes reveal a university professor who has discovered this manuscript and must authenticate it. But that’s not the whole of it, because the university exists in an Atwoodian dystopia, beholden to a pharmaceutical company, and contracts with the military for security. And this professor isn’t any academic, but one who also started life assigned female, but now, notably, takes pharmaceuticals as a transgender man.

This revolutionary novel gives every twist a turn. It is a show of queer force, done with the semaphore and oblique asides that dominated mainstream literature. The titular animal is apt, not because this book is sly, but because it is clever and exceptionally bold.

This novel lays traps for its readers, and once I discovered that, I became more and more enamored. It is a work of research and academic depth, made all the more enjoyable for its juicy conspiracy-and-heist plot layered on top. This is a tale for a vulnerable spirit who could use shoring up, or a tough sort who needs some heart. Or just a person who likes insults that have to do with farting.

As this complex tale spins out its yarn, it is both a rebuke to some and a hopeful reminder to others that just because you don’t know something, doesn’t mean it isn’t there.

Katie Stine

ILL WILL: The Untold Story of Heathcliff

Michael Stewart, HQ, 2018, £12.99, hb, 328pp, 9780008248154

What happened to Heathcliff after he left

Wuthering Heights in Emily Brontë’s novel, only to return three years later, a well-dressed, educated and wealthy gentleman? Where did he go and how did he come by all his money? These questions are never answered in Wuthering Heights, but in this novel Michael Stewart attempts to fill in the gaps. We see Heathcliff travelling by foot all the way from Yorkshire to Liverpool and striking up an unlikely friendship with ten-year-old Emily, the foul-mouthed daughter of a hanged highwayman. Heathcliff’s goals are made clear from the start: to find out the truth about his origins while also seeking the means to revenge himself on Hindley, Linton and his beloved Catherine. Before achieving these goals, Heathcliff will commit some terrible deeds that shape him into the psychopath he later becomes.

In Stewart’s rendering, Heathcliff is an engaging albeit not very sympathetic character and his companion Emily is a fascinating creation, her name and hacking cough a clear nod to the author of the original Heathcliff. What Heathcliff discovers about his origins is a little predictable but makes sense; however, the implications of this discovery for his past and future life could be delved into further and considered more carefully by Heathcliff himself.

Stewart researched his novel thoroughly.

This is vividly manifested in detailed and lovely descriptions of the places Heathcliff and Emily travel through in northern England. The many changes taking place in the late 18th century are clearly portrayed, with Heathcliff’s acute observations of the stark contrast between destitution and wealth in the industrial cities.

Overall, the novel is a realistic depiction of northern England at a time of rapid change, and is a truly enjoyable read despite the many profanities uttered by both Heathcliff and his fair companion.

Ingibjörg Ágústsdóttir

19TH CENTURY

CLAIRE’S LAST SECRET

Marty Ambrose, Severn House, 2018, $28.99/£20.99, hb. 192pp, 9780727887979

In 1873, Claire Clairmont recounts her life with Percy Shelley, Mary Shelley, and Lord Byron (George Gordon) back in 1816.

William Michael Rossetti appears to Claire in Florence, Italy and wants to buy the long-lost letters of Shelley and/or Byron in order to write a new biography about Shelley. Now in her 70s, Claire is drawn to reminiscing about the time the poets and writer spent in Switzerland.

They were poor and lived simply, focused on their art and passions. Another character, Polidori, Byron’s physician, was hostile to Claire. Shelley and Mary lived together with their son, William, and Claire and Byron had a brief romance that produced a daughter, Allegra, who later dies tragically. Byron broke Claire’s heart as he became depressed and claimed he could no longer write or love.

Reference is made to the explosion of the

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volcano at Mount Tambora on the northern shore of Sumbawa in the Java Sea. The destruction of this famous site parallels the explosive and then waning passions of these exciting characters. The elderly Claire discovers a mystery when she receives a note that her daughter is still alive. Her determination to find out if this is fact or fiction sets off a series of incidents in which a monk is murdered, and a physical attack threatens Claire’s life.

An unpredictable resolution of this mystery unfolds beyond expectation. The exposition of the ideas, poems, stories, and philosophies of these famous writers is sheer delight. This is memorable historical fiction that promises more in this planned series.

Viviane Crystal

A HANGMAN FOR GHOSTS

Andrei Baltakmens, Top Five, 2018, $15.99, pb, 288pp, 9781938938283

New South Wales, 1829. Gabriel Carver is the convict who stepped forward to serve as hangman. He does his best to ease the passing of those condemned to die, judging rope and the prisoner’s weight with the accuracy of overuse of his skills. And then the female prisoner screaming with what seems like madness, newly arrived and seemingly guilty of murdering her wealthy employer, turns out to be Carver’s estranged wife. He knows she didn’t do it, and this is proved when two other murders lead to an intricate plot by which, for the right price, convicts can play the system that condemned them and gain passage home.

I have always wanted to know more about what life in the convict colonies must have been like. Baltakmens demonstrates that it was not all unrelieved horror and cut-throat depravity at the mercy of the system, although there is plenty of that: prostitution and drink to ease the sharp grief of never being able to return to Britain. Gabriel Carver is a great character, and Baltakmens’ style is intelligent and evocative. For some reason, I found the characters a little difficult to follow which, for an intricate mystery plot is important. For starters, too many of them had names starting with M, which is easy enough to fix.

Ann Chamberlin

WHIRLIGIG: Keeping the Promise

Richard Buxton, Ocoee, 2017, $13.99, pb, 486pp, 9780995769304

The American Civil War seems an unlikely place for a young Englishman to wind up in the name of love, but that is exactly what happens to Shire, who leaves his home in England in order to keep a promise to protect his childhood friend, Clara. She has come to Tennessee for what she believes is love, and Shire takes it upon himself to try to save her from disaster. His efforts involve joining the 125th Ohio Infantry in 1863.

The premise may sound simple, but Buxton tells a story rich in careful and touching detail.

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The events Shire experiences on his journey to find Clara are painstakingly researched and are told in a way that feels realistic to a modern-day reader. The story at times reads as though it could have been written contemporaneously, which is a feat with which established and seasoned writers often struggle. Yet Buxton has accomplished it in his debut novel, which means we are in for a treat the more he grows as a writer.

This is the first novel in what will become a trilogy, and I look forward to reading the next two books when they become available.

The characters are rich, the settings are impeccable, and the backstory is solid. Highly recommended for readers with an interest in the American Civil War who feel all the great war stories have already been written.

Elicia Parkinson

RIVERS OF STONE Beth Camp, CreateSpace, 2017, $15.99, pb, 435pp, 9781545217498

Evicted from her family’s land in Scotland in 1842, Catriona McDonnell is reluctant to be separated from her husband, Dougal, to the extent of disguising herself as a teenage boy and accompanying him to a trading post in remote Canada. But when the Hudson’s Bay Company assigns Dougal to go West with the Fur Brigade to Fort Vancouver, Cat is declared too young to go, which will mean a year’s separation.

Cat awaits his return while clerking in the store, doing her best to maintain her disguise.

Cree native Machk befriends Cat and shows her how to hunt in the harsh environment.

When the Fur Brigade finally returns, Dougal is not with them, and the men won’t tell what happened to him. Cat decides she must find a way to go West to search for her husband.

This is book three of the McDonnell Clan series. Its strength is the details of Canadian frontier life. Camp makes you see the primitive conditions, smell the bodies that go unwashed all winter, and experience the desperation Cat feels at being left family-less. Camp chose not to use multiple points of view, which made a refreshing change for this reader. Cat’s story is based on a real-life example, and Camp provides an extensive bibliography of sources.

An enjoyable read.

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B. J. Sedlock

THE BUTTERFLY CONSPIRACY

Vivian Conroy, Crooked Lane, 2018, $26.99/ C$38.95, hb, 304pp, 9781683317654

Unable to showcase her knowledge about the natural history of butterflies in Victorian England, Merula Merriweather must pretend that her uncle Rupert is the expert on the newest of her species discoveries—Attacus atlas.

Merula nonetheless cannot resist revealing the newly hatched specimen at a meeting of the Royal Zoological Society. Released from its makeshift container, the butterfly spreads its massive brick-red, gold-tipped wings, rises in the air, and comes to rest on the arm of Lady Sophia. Seconds later Lady Sophia falls to the floor and lies dead.

Merula is determined to absolve her butterfly—and her uncle who is arrested for murder—from blame. She is joined in the pursuit by Lord Raven Royston, whose actions prompted Merula to let the butterfly loose in the first place and whose instincts lead him to believe the answer to Lady Sophia’s death is not a simple one. The pair carefully separate facts from fiction, elude the police and the murderer, and piece together information about Lady Sophia, her heir, friends and enemies as well as her household staff.

The resolution of the crime is persuasive for readers, if not, perhaps, for constabulary or a court system which, one might imagine, would need more decisive proof. The Butterfly Conspiracy nevertheless is captivating and entertaining. In addition to Merula and Raven and their complex histories, the novel introduces Raven’s enterprising, if dodgy, manservant Bowsprit and his friend, the experimenter Galileo. Each of the quartet contributes clues and interpretations, and each makes the reader yearn to learn more about them. The book is a tantalizing debut for Conroy’s Merriweather and Royston new mystery series.

K. M. Sandrick

WIDOW 1881

Sara Dahmen, Sillan Pace Brown, 2018, $18.95, pb, 442pp, 9781640580237

In 1881, Jane Weber answers an ad in the Boston Daily for a housekeeper in the Dakota Territory. She is a recent widow, and for reasons revealed later, she wants to start a new life far from her family and circle of friends in Boston. This job situation with a doctor seems just the answer. A nine-day train trip brings her to the small western town of Flats Junction.

Doctor Kinney is young and handsome, and tongues would wag if the young widow lived at the doctor’s house as his housekeeper.

Arrangements are made for her to board with Widow Hawk, a friend of the doctor and the town’s outcast. Widow Hawk is a Sioux woman who they do not want to live in their midst, believing she belongs on the reservation. Jane is frightened to live with her since she grew up perceiving Indians as savages. She quickly discovers the error of her prejudices and who

the Widow really is: a kind, generous, and lonely woman.

The book begins with the employment ads Jane has circled, along with letters and telegrams arranging her hire. This felt authentic and pulled me in immediately.

When Jane arrives at Flats Junction, the reader meets the characters of the town and their interactions are enjoyable. The story starts strong about a woman seeking independence in the West, away from the confines of Eastern society. But as the first-person narrative unfolds, Jane becomes more emotionally dependent, and we live too much inside her head with her repetitive angst over whether the doctor loves her or not. The last part of the book drags along that vein and should have wrapped up 100 pages earlier than it did. The first part was a good read, but the second part was a disappointment.

Janice Ottersberg

THE HEART’S APPEAL

Jennifer Delamere, Bethany House, 2018, $14.99, pb, 374pp, 9780764219214

Julia Bernay grew up in an orphanage in London, but always planned to become a doctor, despite the fact that society frowns upon women doctors. Now in 1881, fortuitously, she finds herself rescuing handsome barrister Michael Stephenson during an Underground accident. This leads to a tentative friendship, and Michael repays her life-saving actions by helping her with Latin in order to pass the medical exams needed to enter the London School of Medicine for Women.

Their friendship fast develops and deepens.

But, Michael is torn between his heart, brain, and professional and social obligations. His superiors are involved in a scandalous lawsuit with that very School; his sister, Caroline, expects Michael to pursue a rich socialite instead; and most importantly, Michael isn’t sure about Julia’s complete faith in God and her commitment to becoming a missionary doctor someday.

Readers will recognize the familiar storyline of many Christian romantic historical fiction novels. The two main characters care deeply for one another, but are torn apart by society, faith, and other obstacles. But, love will win out and each will find a happy ending.

What’s different about Delamere’s story is her intricate weaving of historical figures such as Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, and her ability to shed light on a darker historical London. Julia spends a lot of time in the slums of London, realizing that she doesn’t need to go to Africa to do missionary work. These glimpses into a “real” London keep the reader interested. The mix of medical and legal storylines also keeps the story alive. All in all, this is a delightful read and one that should appeal to all romance fans.

Rebecca Cochran

THE ELEPHANT KEEPER’S DAUGHTER

Julia Drosten (trans. Deborah Langton), AmazonCrossing, 2018, $14.99, pb, 302pp, 9781542048552

In 1803, a daughter, Phera, is born to the elephant keeper of the independent mountainous Sinhalese Kingdom of Kanda.

Desirous of a son, he brings Phera up as a boy. For twelve years, Phera learns elephant keeping. However, Phera’s masquerade ends when the British invade Kanda. Phera and her family escape to a jungle village. Following the unsuccessful 1818 Uva Rebellion, they are discovered by British troops. Phera hides under the hut while most of the male members are slaughtered and the women raped. The commander, Charles, participates in the atrocities, despite the pleadings of his brother, Henry, the regimental surgeon. In 1822, Charles is put in charge of building a road and corrals local unpaid labor. Henry is attracted to the young mahout, the fiercely independent Phera. But a confrontation erupts between the brothers, not only over workers’ treatment and a mysterious road diversion, but also Charles’s desire for Phera, which threatens the uneasy peace.

Drosten has done a superb job of bringing to life this chapter in history when Kanda was finally captured and the whole Sri Lankan island taken over by the British. The plot is masterfully constructed with a young and aggressive female heroine; a kind-hearted British doctor as the protagonist; and his evil brother, the villain. While the storyline is purposely developed to show the atrocities of the invading army, the intense descriptions of cruelty, particularly by an officer on his brother, are a bit odd. Furthermore, a lengthy sex scene in a brothel appears gratuitous, and Charles’s malevolent nature remains unexplained. However, Drosten’s first-hand research is demonstrated by informative descriptions of Sinhalese customs, life, cuisine, and flora and fauna. The introduction of a baby elephant as a character will delight readers. The translation reads smoothly.

Waheed Rabbani

THE HOPE OF AZURE SPRINGS

Rachel Fordham, Revell, 2018, $15.99, pb, 320pp, 9780800734732

When an unknown young woman is found shot but barely alive, her appearance in Azure Springs sets off a chain of events Sheriff Caleb Reynolds must slowly unwind to both win the woman’s trust and get to the bottom of the mystery surrounding her past. Along the way, Caleb must deal with his inner demons, as well as learn how beauty and friendship have many definitions. The young woman, Em, has her own growth and nightmares to face, though it might be that her strength is in her ability to do something so simple: be herself.

The Hope of Azure Springs is a multilayered study of humanity within the past,

showing how emotional upheaval and internal conflicts were as real in the 1800s as they are today. With a cast of characters detailed through their deeds, Fordham offers a realistic taste of a Midwestern town.

There were orphans on trains, men harmed by the deeds of their parents, and spoiled brats, and insecurity in oneself was as rife in the hearts of our forbearers. Written with a deep understanding of the human spirit and psyche, The Hope of Azure Springs is a reprieve from traditional gritty westerns.

Sara Dahmen

THE LADY IS DARING

Megan Frampton, Avon, 2018, $7.99/C$9.99, pb, 352pp, 9780062666673

Bennett, Lord Carson, is supposed to be looking for a wife, but after earlier disappointments he is understandably gun shy, despite his reputation for taking his responsibilities seriously. Ida Howlett, youngest daughter of the Duke of Marymount, is spirited and highly intelligent, and she has no intention of getting married despite her mother’s pressure. What she does want to do is find her missing sister, who is in disgrace after eloping with their dance teacher, being abandoned, and bearing an illegitimate child.

Yet when these two find themselves thrown together on a quest to find the missing sister, they learn to appreciate each other and fall in love.

There are a rather large number of convenient coincidences and, as is often the case in historical romances these days, the sexual encounters are described at far greater length than the plot requires; but the humor is witty, the protagonists are likeable, and their willingness to change to accommodate each other in an equal partnership not only hard earned but admirable in the Victorian, or indeed any, Age. Recommended.

Ray Thompson

THE QUARRYMAN’S WIFE

Elizabeth Gill, Quercus, 2018, £20.99, hb, 428pp, 9781786482648

Set in the north-east of England in the middle of the industrialising 19th century, this is a rather grim saga of personal hardship, a tale of events conspiring to make a difficult life even more challenging and heartrending. Nell Almond is widowed with the sudden death of her husband. Not only does she has have to cope with her bereavement, but the family’s stone quarry, which her husband had owned and run, needs to be managed, and Nell has to face a number of severe difficulties in keeping the quarry a going concern to provide an income. Nell also had the death of her daughter Arabella, who left Nell responsible for her orphaned grandson, Frederick. For various reasons, Nell decides to farm Frederick off to a local family to be looked after – but she suffers all sorts of consequences. There is unhappiness, conflict and desperation.

Through it all though, there is room for human

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compassion, for the determination to act on one’s conscience and do the right thing.

This is a well plotted and interesting saga, well located in this historical context of England in the 19th century, when there was no social support, and when times were hard (as they invariably were) then you could only rely on family, friends, and neighbours to keep you from starvation or (horror!) the threat of the workhouse.

Douglas Kemp

ANNA, LIKE THUNDER

Peggy Herring, Brindle & Glass, 2018, $18.00/ C$22.00, pb, 384pp, 9781927366745

In 1808, the Russian brig St. Nikolai runs aground off the coast of Washington state, stranding twenty-two people. Among them is amateur astronomer Anna Petrovna Bulygina, the 18-year-old wife of the navigator. Their first meeting with the indigenous people of the area turns deadly, and eventually, Anna, separated from her husband, is taken to live with one of the tribes in the area. As months pass Anna wonders if she will ever see her home and family again. She slowly learns the customs of the Indigenous people she lives with; her perspective shifts and changes. The one constant in her life remains Polaris in the dark night sky, her own beloved star and touchstone.

We experience this tale from Anna’s point of view but, although written in first person, this poetic and lyrical novel brilliantly reflects a multiplicity of viewpoints. We discover the culture of the Indigenous people through Anna’s eyes, while her later reunion with her husband and other crewmembers provides a different perspective. The feelings of the Quileute and Makah peoples are conveyed as Anna observes and interacts with them. The author’s treatment of Indigenous languages is handled well; that dialogue is written in the native language with translations provided in footnotes. This gives the English-speaking reader a real sense of being surrounded by an alien tongue and culture. This book is based upon historical fact, but the novel transcends the written record to provide insight into the shifting universe of human experience.

Recommended.

Susan McDuffie

SO WILD THE WIND

Bonnie Hobbs, Five Star, 2018, $25.95, hb, 300pp, 9781432838522

Along the Texas Gulf coast in 1867, a ship founders and sinks along deadly rocks, leaving only a single survivor. Alida Garrison discovers her rescue is unusual in the small town, where ships often are inexplicably lured into the bay during storms, leaving no one alive. Alida slowly recovers thanks to the lame shopkeeper and elderly Hispanic woman who care for her, but she’s wracked by guilt over the deaths of her family, all of whom were found dead after the shipwreck. Shortly after her rescue from the waves, the local recluse, a wealthy man, takes 30

an intense and dark interest in her. Alida might have refused his offer of employment and his gifts if not for his young son, who reminds her of the boy she recently lost at sea. Caught in a dark web of mystery, tangled further by her own uncertainty, Alida must fight both the weather and other forces to truly find her own new peace.

The author’s ability to create characters absolutely shines when all of the peripheral characters come into play. The elderly Hispanic woman, the old African slave who remains with her master even after the Civil War, the several seedy individuals, the antagonists, and the local barmaid are full of vigor, fabulous cadences in their speech, and real strength.

The author is to be commended for her take on such unique people. The protagonists themselves are interesting, though could do with a deeper exploration of their internal driving forces, and sometimes the dialogue feels contrived or overly dramatic. This novel reads as historical fiction with a bit of romantic suspense.

Sara Dahmen

THE DUKE BUYS A BRIDE

Sophie Jordan, Avon, 2018, $7.99/C$9.99, pb, 368pp, 9780062463647

Indignant at the fate that awaits a young woman being sold at a wife auction, Marcus, Duke of Autenberry, buys her for the princely sum of fifty pounds. Though he does not want her as a wife, he offers to appoint her as housekeeper of his property in Northern Scotland. And so Alyse Bell sets off with her Not Husband on the long journey through Scotland in the dead of winter. Gradually, they fall in love, but can such a high-born aristocrat marry someone so much lower on the social scale despite her many admirable qualities?

It is interesting to discover that wife auctions, though uncommon, were a recognized custom among the lower social orders in the more remote areas of rural England until the 20th century and were often by mutual consent as a way to secure a divorce. There is no clear indication of when precisely this story takes place, however.

Apart from a couple of rather melodramatic crises, the focus is upon the protagonists’ state of mind as they struggle to adjust to their changing feelings. Recommended to those who enjoy the Cinderella story, prolonged passages of anxious introspection in their characters, and explicit sexual scenes.

Ray Thompson

SCANDALOUS: The Victoria Woodhull Saga, Volume Two: Fame, Infamy, and Paradise Lost

Neal Katz, Top Reads, 2018, $18.95, pb, 398pp, 9780996486095

Victoria Woodhull and Tennessee Celeste Claflin are spiritual mystics, owners of highend brothels, financial traders, journalists and

REVIEWS | ISSUE 85, August 2018

publicly acknowledged advocates of women’s suffrage. They have become wealthy due to their expertise in financial investment. They claim to have spirit mentors who advise them on every business and spiritual step they take. This second novel in a series narrates their support and opposition in the suffragette movement, follows the “scandalous” side of their lives through an actual trial which was harrowing, as well as emotionally and spiritually devastating, to the famous sisters. Victoria surmounts these difficult moments to become a nationally renowned speaker for the suffrage movement, stressing the equality of women with men, rather than placing weight on the right to vote, believing the latter would follow once law put the former in place. Tennessee attempts to run for state government, and Victoria actually becomes the first woman to be nominated for the Presidency of the United States. Both become good friends and acquaintances with Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, as well as Cornelius Vanderbilt, J. P. Morgan, Frederick Douglass, Karl Marx and the duplicitous Reverend Henry Ward Beecher.

The strength and courageous spirit of these two women are amazing. The author is so adept in his descriptions of characters, setting, issues, and challenges that the reader will feel she or he is right there in the thick of it all. Some scenes truly are so scandalously narrated that the reader is ready to condemn, but then with another turn of events withholds final judgments to acknowledge that such mastery of mind, body and spirit are the elements that truly reshaped history in unchangeable ways.

Excellent historical fiction!

Viviane Crystal

LADY BIRD AND THE FOX

Kim Kelly, Jazz Monkey, 2018, A$27.99/$17.99, pb, 380pp, 9781925579970

Lady Bird and the Fox is Australian author, Kim Kelly’s seventh historical fiction novel.

Kelly tells stories set in Australia’s past about ordinary people forced to navigate the violence, class and gender bigotry of the times.

Whilst her previous novels are set in the early 20th century, this is Kelly’s first novel about the mid-19th-century gold rush and bushranger (highwaymen) era.

The story is written as a first-person narrative of two separate protagonists from different social situations, thrown together on a desperate journey. Annie Bird is the daughter of an ex-convict father and aboriginal mother, who becomes a homeless orphan, cast out by a prejudiced and corrupt landlady. Her only plan is to try to find her maternal grandfather, someone she’s never met and knows virtually nothing about.

Jeremy (Jem) Fox is the son of a successful Jewish silversmith. Jem’s father banishes him from Sydney to country New South Wales, in a desperate attempt to break his gambling and womanizing habits. These two unlikely companions are forced together in a series of dramatic events that find them on the wrong

side of both the law and some vengeful, dangerous characters.

Kelly has written an exciting, fast-paced novel. Her research into the time and locations is meticulous. However, it’s in the multidimensional characterization of Annie and Jem that Lady Bird and the Fox excels. Annie is a headstrong, determined young woman straddling two cultures, class and gender restrictions. Jem is a spoiled brat from the privileged class, but his empathy for Annie’s situation and determination to help her with minimal encouragement, shows real strength of character.

Lady Bird and the Fox is a delightfully readable, coming-of-age adventure novel with some strong social insights.

Christine Childs

MISS WILTON’S WALTZ

Josi S. Kilpack, Shadow Mountain, 2018, $15.99, pb, 352pp, 9781629724133

This Regency sequel shifts attention to Lenora, the sister whose engagement was broken off in The Vicar’s Daughter. Embarrassed and humiliated by this experience, she goes to live with her aunt in Bath and becomes a music teacher in a girls’ school. Since she is painfully shy, vulnerable to panic attacks, this is not an easy transition, but she has been slowly gaining in self-confidence. And then, at the start of a new school year, she meets a troublesome new pupil and her unexpectedly attractive uncle, Aiden.

As in the earlier novel, the heroine experiences prolonged distress before she finds happiness, but this is unsurprising given her psychological state and the author avoids the overt didacticism of its predecessor.

Patience, forgiveness, and a willingness to trust eventually carry the day in this inspirational romance, and there are interesting insights into the strategies adopted by those struggling to cope with severe insecurities and a troubled childhood. Recommended.

Ray Thompson

THE CROW GARDEN

Alison Littlewood, Jo Fletcher, 2018, £16.99, hb, 378pp, 9781786485250

Towards the end of the summer in 1856, Dr. Nathaniel Kerner arrives at Crakethorne Manor in Yorkshire, to start a new job as deputy physician. Crakethorne Manor is a lunatic asylum located in the rugged wilderness of West Riding, and this is the youthful Kerner’s first post. He had ambitions to work at other better-known and more prestigious asylums, but it seems that his father’s suicide, when Kerner was a boy, has tainted his son’s reputation. Dr Chettle, Kerner’s superior in charge of the asylum, lets Kerner get on with his work with minimum supervision. His main interest is in a female patient, Mrs Victoria Harleston, a wealthy young wife who has suffered attacks of anxiety and paranoia.

The novel is primarily narrated by Kerner in the first person, and it soon becomes

apparent that he is indeed youthful and naïve, clumsy with the innate prejudices of his gender and class. While he has relatively enlightened views about the efficacy of getting patients to talk about their fears, rather than just relying on the mostly cruel physical treatments, Kerner is gullible and rather selfish, and the reader feels they are generally always a step ahead of him – but he is the epitome of the unreliable narrator, and increasingly it is very difficult to know where the truth lies.

His obsession with Mrs Harleston has, as the reader anticipates, serious consequences. As with the nature of obsession, this can lead to its own type of madness as the novel descends into a maelstrom of uncertainty and insanity.

This is a well-written and entertaining story that teeters on the edge of the fantastical as it also descends into the murk of mental illness and society’s harsh methods of dealing with this phenomenon in 19th-century England.

change in situation leaves Nolan questioning his plans for the future, Hannah her position by his side, and the Earl the actions that led to his lifestyle. Through it all, faith brings the three through a series of trials would daunt even the hardiest reader.

A Most Noble Heir was inspired by Mason’s own family history, paired with a wonderful talent for “what if.” Readers will find solace in Hannah’s quiet strength, understanding in Nolan’s struggle to find the right path, and hope in the Earl’s newfound outlook on his life and the people in it. Although a bit predictable at points, A Most Noble Heir reminds readers of what is important in life – love, trust, and the courage to be kind.

Douglas Kemp

The turn of the year 1815 sees the littleremembered war with America end, though the peace treaty has yet to be ratified. In the depths of the British winter, an unfortunate group of bedraggled sailors from The Eagle are marched across Dartmoor to be incarcerated within the walls of the forbidding granite edifice, an already overcrowded prison complex with a fearful reputation.

Despite their ability to live and work alongside their fellow sailors of African origin whilst on board their ships, the prison blocks have been segregated into six for white sailors and one for non-whites.

Amongst the inevitable bouts of disease, disorder, bullying and gambling expected within such a large group of men, the black prisoners are seen to have a modicum of respect for their block leader, King Dick. He sets the acceptable limits of behaviour and deals harshly with those who stray, whilst being creative in occupying their talents with a dramatic group who put on Shakespearian plays for the inmates. The block welcomes the young Joe Hill, a 16-year-old lad, recently arrived on The Eagle, and he is assigned the lead female role of Juliet in their production of Romeo and Juliet. The Governor has little understanding of the current powder keg awaiting a fuse to ignite the unrest in his prison. He is also ignorant of the true nature of the relationship between his wife and the prison doctor.

Though an established author of children and young adult books, this is Simon Mayo’s first adult novel. He creates a compelling tale using some of the key events, capturing the mood to give an engaging, yet chilling story with hope, love and suffering intertwined.

WICKED AND THE WALLFLOWER

Sarah MacLean, Avon, 2018, $7.99, pb, 416pp, 9780062692061

In this sensual romance set in 1837 London, a dashing rogue named Devil, benevolent crime lord and King of Covent Garden, meets his match in the daring Felicity Faircloth, marquis’s daughter, spinster, wallflower, lockpick. The silver-tongued Devil offers onthe-shelf Felicity her fondest wish—a return to the glittering center of high society—if she’ll be his pawn in a plot to wreak vengeance on the brother who drove him and his siblings into the streets. But curious, headstrong, determined Felicity longs for a marriage of passion, not convenience, and when she decides she wants to be part of Devil’s shadowy underworld, nothing will stand in her way. MacLean’s skillful handling of emotional tension and unraveling secrets keeps the plot at a rolling bubble, and she makes the city’s darkest corners as seductive as her scarred, valiant hero. The relationship between this well-matched, sharp-witted pair is a delicious dance to a satisfying, sigh-worthy conclusion, sure to leave readers eager for the rest of the Bareknuckle Bastards series and the fates of Devil’s siblings, Marwick, Whit, and Grace.

Misty Urban

A MOST NOBLE HEIR

Susan Anne Mason, Bethany House, 2018, $15.99, pb, 353pp, 9780764230875

Set against the backdrop of Victorian Derbyshire, this wholesome romance follows three primary characters through the ups and downs of love, family, identity, and inheritance. Nolan Price only ever wanted a simple life with the woman he loved, Hannah Burnham. Both are in service to the Earl of Stainsby, and neither could imagine how their life would change with the passing of Nolan’s mother and sole surviving family member. Or is she? A startling revelation and subsequent

Anna Bennett

MAD BLOOD STIRRING

Simon Mayo, Doubleday, 2018, £12.99, hb, 400pp, 9780857525154

Cathy Kemp

A PLACE CALLED NEW HOPE Catherine McGreevy, Sweetwater, $17.99, pb, 266pp, 9781462121878

2018,

Letty Leighton, feeling guilty over the privileges she enjoys as a wealthy mill owner’s

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only daughter, aspires to build a model community where the deserving poor can come to share land, resources, and harmonious country life. Pursuing her dream means offering marriage to her handsome neighbor, Patrick Marlowe, whose appeal rests on three factors: he has an estate he’s not doing anything with, he’s off to explore Africa, and he’s content for her to spend her large inheritance however she likes. A determined idealist, Letty finds there are no problems she can’t solve by dispensing money or sage advice, curing their ailments and offering hope to the troubled denizens of her little utopia.

But around the midpoint, when Marlowe unexpectedly returns, the story jumps tracks from a Dickensian exploration of Victorian class and social mores to Perils-of-Paulinestyle romantic suspense. While the fanatical vicar, dramatic courtroom scenes, fire, false accusations, and general villainy certainly keep events lively, and McGreevy’s prose is highly readable, one wonders what she might have accomplished were she more interested in the subtler nuances of character growth and the deeper conflicts of social justice, rather than keeping things relatively light and sweet under the conventions of historical romance.

Misty Urban

WINNING MISS WINTHROP

Carolyn Miller, Kregel, 2018, $15.99, pb, 320pp, 9780825445330

In 1816 England, estates were usually entailed to male heirs. Therefore, when Lord Walter Winthrop died without male heirs, everything went to a distant cousin, leaving his widow and two daughters in constrained circumstances. When the new lord, Jonathan, and his mother moved into the manor, the former residents moved into the dower house on the estate. Kate, the elder daughter, continues to visit and help the tenants, as she had when her father was the lord. Jonathan and Kate had been great friends as children, but now her family regards Jonathan as no better than a thief. Unable to bear her low status, Kate’s mother moves the family to Bath to live with her sister. There, Kate is taken up by an older man, a general, which leads to jealousy on the part of Jonathan, who is struggling with his new position as lord. The rumors surrounding his birth, and his personal wealth, which comes from trade, do nothing to help matters.

In Winning Miss Winthrop, Carolyn Miller has taken the usual boy-meets-girl plot and written an interesting story, full of period details and believable situations and predicaments. This is a good book to take to the beach, or to read on a rainy summer afternoon. It rates high marks.

Audrey Braver

FATHER UNTO MANY SONS

Rod Miller, Five Star, 2018, $25.95, hb. 265pp, 9781432843441

Lee Pate is a dreamer. It is the 1840s, and Pate hates the institution of slavery. He decides to uproot his wife and three sons from 32

their home in Tennessee and head west for parts unknown. Upon arriving in Arkansas, he discovers he forgot a valuable book and tells his sons to return to Tennessee and get it from his brother. His youngest son, Abel, who believes in his father’s visions, accidently kills his uncle but does obtain the book. They then return to Arkansas.

The Pates meet up with the Lewis family while laying up at Fort Smith for the winter.

The Lewis family consists of a father and four daughters. Together, the Pates and the Lewis family head for New Mexico. The families face almost insurmountable odds along the way.

A Spur Award-winning author, Rod Miller has produced a page-turning novel that includes family disunity among the brothers along with a love story. The characters are likeable and, blended together with very good scenic descriptions, provided me with a narrative that kept me in suspense until the conclusion.

Jeff Westerhoff

THE TIN GOD

Chris Nickson, Severn House, 2018, $28.99/£20.99, hb, 224pp, 9780727887863

Superintendent Tom Harper chafes at the routine of administration, “trying to recall when he’d once believed that coppering meant solving crimes.” His wife, Annabelle, is standing for Poor Law Guardian – one of the few public offices open to women. Someone doesn’t want females on the ballot and begins using bombs and murder to attempt to force them out of the race. With his family in danger, this case is personal for Harper.

This series is usually evenly balanced between mystery and character development; this go-round the mystery receives fairly short shrift, the feel more repetitive than procedural as Harper and his comrades follow pointless lead after pointless lead and talk to the same people. When the malefactor is unveiled, Annabelle herself says, “I suppose it’s obvious, once you think about it, isn’t it?” Yet the fruitless leads do offer a sense of the frustration Harper labors under, and the characters inspire engagement and empathy; one enjoys spending time with them, as well as exploring social issues through their lives. While perhaps not the strongest mystery offering in this series, The Tin God is another appealing, excellently written book from Nickson that convincingly captures life in 19th-century Leeds.

Bethany Latham

MIST-CHI-MAS

J. L. Oakley, Fairchance, 2017, $19.99, pb, 524pp, 9780997323726

In 1860, Jennie Naughton brings her fiveyear old son, Jeremy, to Victoria, British Columbia, far from a scandal in England. She creates a new name and a new life for herself and her son. Unfortunately, when smallpox kills Jeremy, Jennie is left alone, feeling “forever bound to a lie.” Jonas Breed, an American raised on Hawaii and fostered by a sea captain,

REVIEWS | ISSUE 85, August 2018

was captured as a lad by Haida Indians. For seven years Jonas was a mistchimas – a slave – until he won his freedom by saving his Indian master. However, he notes that “Sometimes we are forever mistchimas.”

Jonas and Jennie are drawn together after she nurses Jonas’s smallpox-stricken Indian and Hawaiian friends. She is intrigued by the mysterious Jonas, who bears the emblem of slavery tattooed on his wrist. However, Jonas can no more remove it than Jennie can erase her past. It follows her to Victoria in the person of an Englishman who recognizes her and remembers the scandal that, though she was blameless, still pursues her.

Mist-Chi-Mas, a historical romance by J. L. Oakley, drips with atmosphere like rain from the misty Olympic forests. She tantalizes readers with hints about Jonas’ and Jennie’s lives that they would prefer kept secret, their complex, doomed love affair, and the mysterious business partner who comes to the forefront after Jennie’s husband is killed. My sole complaint is that, for a book subtitled “a novel of captivity,” Mist-Chi-Mas reveals almost nothing about Jonas’s life among his Haida captors, and the scandalous past that Jennie is fleeing is also sketchy. Even so, I enjoyed MistChi-Mas, and recommend it.

Jo Ann Butler

BECOMING BELLE

Nuala O’Connor, Putnam, 2018, $25.00, hb, 384pp, 9780735214408 / Piatkus, 2018, £13.99, pb, 384pp, 9780349421254

O’Connor is a celebrated Irish author who lives near the Clancarty estate that was occupied by the “Peasant Countess,” Belle Bilton, in 1891. The best part of this novel of Belle’s life comes at the end when she finally arrives, after many tribulations, at the ancestral home of her husband, Viscount Dunlo.

O’Connor clearly loves the Irish countryside and has a gift for nature description. However, the bulk of the novel takes place in the cafes and shops of bohemian London, where Belle endures years of delay in her quest for marital bliss.

It’s a story that would only work if we were convinced that Belle was a woman of grand passion and artistic ambition, neither of which are evident in her music hall celebrity status or her dogged loyalty to a bland, underage viscount. Historical fiction is a broad-minded genre; its heroines don’t have to (indeed, shouldn’t) be perfect. The heroine of Becoming Belle is lovely and feisty but incredibly naïve, not overly principled (think Scarlett O’Hara, but without her spine of iron), and maddeningly incurious about anything but clothes.

There’s little in the way of social drama to involve the reader as Belle effortlessly seduces and secretly marries Dunlo, only to see him packed off to Australia by his tyrannical father. Her passivity in the face of adversity is frustrating at first and becomes infuriating as the tale drags on. Her fixation on the befuddled William is inexplicable (graphic descriptions of their sexual activity are meant to convince us

of their compatibility), and the climactic court case brought by the viscount’s father in an attempt to divorce them is presented as little more than a dry transcript. Bilton did indeed have an eventful life, but in this novel, it all comes too easily to her and leaves her with little to do but fret over her own feelings.

Kristen McDermott

KELEGEEN

Eileen O’Finlan, BWL Publishing, 2018, $18.99, pb, 432pp, 9780228600299

At the cusp of the Great Famine in Ireland, the O’Connor and Quinn families look forward to the union of their eldest children, Rory and Meg. But when the potato blight arrives, and the winters grow harsher, both families and their neighbors endure loss, tragedy, starvation, and cruelty at every turn.

As the years march and the crop continues to fail, Rory and Meg are unable to marry, though it’s the least of their troubles as death stalks in many forms. Their local parish priest, Father Brian O’Malley, is a constant beacon of faith and love, but even he must battle his own inner demons and face his past once and for all, thanks to a surprising friendship.

O’Finlan is clearly well-versed with the history of Ireland, and her grasp on history is woven well within the lines of Kelegeen. The tragedies unfold slowly and with a touch of despair and horror. However, with much of the plot carried through in dialogue instead of action, repetition can slow the pace, and a reader will be hard-pressed to describe the town, the landscape, or even the physical characteristics of any of the characters.

O’Malley’s personality is realistic, but the rest of the cast and the conflicts offered by O’Finlan are not strong enough to truly set Kelegeen apart from other books tackling the Famine. Unfortunately, this book could also do with a professional editing team to tighten it, fix the grammar and spelling, and polish the overall execution.

Sara Dahmen

EVERYTHING WE LOSE Annette Oppenlander, Enterprises, 2018, $16.99, 9780997780079

Oppenlander pb, 278pp,

The Civil War is a time of great sundering – the U.S. violently torn in half, and families divided by a vast struggle over slavery and states’ rights. Personal loss comes in many forms as Adam Brown, a 15-year-old Tennessee farm boy, learns. A letter from the U.S. War Department informs the Brown family that Adam’s father was killed in the war’s first battle. His dream of veterinary school is obliterated, and Adam’s life becomes a struggle to hold onto the family’s farm.

One bright spot in Adam’s life is Tip, an enslaved friend. However, Tip’s master thrashes the teen when he leaves his plantation to comfort Adam. As bad as that beating is, Nathan Billings, the master’s sadistic son, is even bigger trouble. Adam defends Tip against Billings’ savagery, only to accidentally lay him

low. Believing that Billings is dead, Adam joins the Union army under an assumed name.

With his life in danger, Tip also flees north.

The friends are parted, seemingly forever. As the title indicates, both young men face huge losses, but they also have much to gain.

Annette Oppenlander’s Everything We Lose follows Adam’s and Tip’s diverging lives across America’s Midwest. Her description of Tip’s abusive owners is particularly vivid, but I might question why Tip was repeatedly tortured.

Severe beatings made an example of runaway slaves after recapture, but what slave owner – even a sadist – would risk valuable “property” for fun? Nevertheless, Ms. Oppenlander’s rich, gritty descriptions are a joy to read. Her touching story moves along quickly but will keep you in suspense until the final pages.

Jo Ann Butler

THE JEWEL GARDEN

Marilyn Pemberton, Williams and Whiting, 2018, £9.99, pb, 388pp, 9781912582037

The title refers to a type of Spiritualist belief in the novel about death and acts as a motif running through as a kind of heaven, or place where the recently dead are reunited with those who have gone before. Hannah Russell is an unusual Victorian heroine in that she is independently wealthy and, as a single woman, she is in charge of her own finances and destiny. She is also hopelessly in love with Mary de Morgan, a writer of fairytales, who really existed.

Pemberton has also written a biography of de Morgan, and this novel is intended to imaginatively fill in the gaps where the evidence is lacking. Hannah is inspired to help with the East End families, as she feels guilty about her sizeable but unearned fortune. She wants to use it to do good. Deciding to travel to Egypt, mainly for the health of Mary, who is vulnerable to her family curse of tuberculosis, Hannah and Mary both volunteer at a local reformatory, where Egyptian and mixed-race criminal children are educated and put onto the path of goodness. The role and pressures upon women in this society are examined, as are the fate and difficulties of the poor in Egypt and the East End of London. Family, love, deceit and delusion are all important themes.

The novel is an interesting one, with its mix of imagination and reality, and I enjoyed it.

Ann Northfield

SISTER AND BROTHER

Agneta Pleijel, Gallaudet Univ. Press, 2018, $34.95, pb, 248pp, 9781944838201

In 1829, Isaac Berg seemed destined for greatness. He toured Europe for several years as an operatic tenor, and anyone talented enough to bring down the house at Venice had a bright future at Sweden’s Royal Opera House. However, Isaac is in love, and his future father-in-law refuses to let his daughter marry a performer. Disappointed, Isaac gives up the stage, weds Lina, and plans their son Albert’s future. Will he be a musician? A singer? When

their baby’s deafness is revealed, Isaac pins his hopes on his next child, Helena.

Unable to hear and barely able to talk, Albert is acutely aware that he cannot communicate as others do. His frustration grows into tantrums, so when he is eight, he is placed in an institute for the deaf and blind.

Will Albert ever find self-expression?

As for Helena, her singing voice is angelic.

She is strictly tutored by her father, who craves the artistic recognition for her that he surrendered. He controls every aspect of her life, and Helena comes to realize that she is kept nearly as mute as her brother.

Using family stories and letters, Agneta Pleijel draws on the life of artist Albert Berg – her great-grandfather – for her sensitive historical novel, Sister and Brother. Ms. Pleijel’s thoroughly-researched narrative explores 19th-century cultural views of women and deaf persons, groups which share a struggle for autonomy. At times Ms. Pleijel steps in to address the reader directly, filling in background or expressing her own feelings about her great-grandparents’ lives, and I particularly liked those mini-conversations with the author. I also very much liked Sister and Brother.

Jo Ann Butler

FINAL RESTING PLACE

Jonathan F. Putnam, Crooked Lane, 2018, $26.99, hb, 288pp, 9781683315988

Twenty-nine-year-old trial lawyer Abraham Lincoln campaigns to save his seat in the Illinois Legislature as the Whigs’ standard-bearer. Summer 1838 promises to be heated politically as well as literally, because Democrat Stephen A. Douglas is also in Springfield campaigning to become a Senator. Tensions boil over at a lavish Fourth of July party when the head of the land office allegedly assassinates his rival. The political irony escalates when the accused, a Democrat, hires Lincoln to represent him, and Douglas is tasked with prosecuting a fellow Democrat.

With the help of his best friend and roommate, shopkeeper Joshua Fry Speed, Lincoln uncovers more clues than he can use.

Complications arise in the form of his ne’erdo-well father and stepbrother, who arrive attracted by the promise of free food and easy money courtesy of some shadowy figures from Lincoln’s past. Their past and present actions could undo Abe’s good name in his adopted town. Newspapers publish threats on Lincoln’s life. His current paramour dies in a way that mimics the death of his first love, Ann Rutledge. An itinerant preacher fires up the masses, and the politically charged trial starts only two days after Lincoln is reelected while Douglas’s fate still hangs in the balance.

Putnam is a master at bringing Lincoln to life, and we see Douglas getting under his skin many years before their famous debates. The inclusion of Lincoln’s kin is especially poignant since Speed returns from his younger sister’s funeral just as the book begins, reflecting

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on the power of family. This is an intriguing historical mystery, made even more so because the author’s note alerts readers to the few ways in which Putnam’s novel differs from actual events. This third installment in the series will please the legion of Lincoln fans.

Tom Vallar

TO LOVE A DUCHESS

Karen Ranney, Avon, 2018, $7.99/C$9.99, pb, 384pp, 9780062841049

1864, seven years after the Manipora Massacre, finds former soldier Adam Drummond in London, working for the shadowy branch of the War Office known as the Silent Service. His latest assignment has him undercover, searching for evidence of treason in the late Duke of Marsley’s manor – the same Duke that Drummond knew, and loathed, during his time in India. He plans to get in, get the evidence, and get out; but he failed to make room for the surprising duchess.

As they slowly become acquainted, sharing heartaches and memories, an unexpected romance changes their perspectives – and their plans!

Ranney’s use of Manipora, loosely based on the Cawnpore Massacre of 1857, allows readers to explore the dynamics of the Indian Rebellion, through soldier Drummond and civilian Suzanne. A nod to the East India Company, the changing role of the War Office, and the gray area of political support and sponsorship underline Adam and Suzanne’s romance, giving readers context to place the story within, and a mystery to solve in between bouts of kissing between the noblewoman and her most treasured staff member.

Anna Bennett

A TALE OF TWO MURDERS

Heather Redmond, Kensington, 2018, $26.00/ C$28.95, hb, 320pp, 9781496717153

This engaging cozy mystery—the first in a series—finds 23-year old Charles Dickens employed as a journalist for the Evening Chronicle in London. It is the winter of 1835.

On the night his boss and future father-in-law invites him to dinner at his estate, the terrible death of a young neighbor woman draws Charles into a tangled web of lies and deceit.

Was the girl’s agonizing death murder, suicide, or a tragic accident?

When Charles learns a similar death occurred exactly one year earlier, his suspicions are aroused, and he feels compelled to investigate. But how? His employer’s 19-yearold daughter, amiable Catherine (“Kate”) Hogarth, provides Dickens entry to the rich houses whose occupants he wishes to interrogate, while also leading him down the delightful path to romance. A sassy cast of secondary characters and an entertaining look into Dickens’s family and Victorian lifestyle carries the story forward. It is an intricate story that, toward the end, he believes could provide the backbone for a novel (A Tale of Two Cities), if he ever decides to write one. Charming.

Alana White

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THE HOUSE ON HALF MOON STREET

Alex Reeve, Raven Books, 2018, £12.99, hb, 368pp, 9781408892695

An intriguing debut: The House on Half Moon Street is a Victorian murder mystery which features Leo Stanhope, a young coroner’s assistant in 1880s London. Leo is in love with Maria and plans to save her from her life at the brothel on Half Moon Street. When Maria turns up dead in mysterious circumstances, Leo turns amateur sleuth, but he must tread carefully. Although Leo identifies as a man, he was born as Charlotte, so keeping this a secret means Leo is in constant danger of being found out and losing his job, his home and his friends.

This is a brilliantly realised tale of the dangers of being transgender in Victorian England. To be true to himself Leo risks jail or an asylum, and the rejection of his family has taken its toll. Maria was one of the very few who had known Leo’s secret and did not judge him for it, making him all the more determined to track down her killer. The investigation leads Leo into some dangerous parts of London and some dangerous company, making this a thrilling and page-turning adventure with a main character you will be rooting for all the way. I look forward to reading more of Leo’s adventures in the future. This will be a mustread for fans of Lisa Tuttle, Andrew Taylor and Katherine Stansfield.

Lisa Redmond

HOUR GLASS

Michelle Rene, Amberjack, 2018, C$16.99, pb, 300pp, 9781944995492

$14.99/

This story begins and ends in the last decade of the 19th century. However, most of it takes place in 1876 in Deadwood, a town in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

It opens with a typical Old West bar fight. A man holds a cocked shotgun to the chest of a leathery, drunken old woman. She seems to enjoy taunting him. A cowboy, new in town, recognizes her and comes to her defence. Later he finds her sitting outside, drinking. He knows her as Calamity Jane and remembers that when he was 12 years old she saved his life. This novel is a series of stories about Calamity Jane, most of them woven around her care of 12-year-old Jimmy Glass and his handicapped little sister, Hour. Jimmy has managed to bring his sick father from their isolated cabin into Deadwood for medical help. Arriving exhausted, Jimmy sees his father put in the pest tent with other smallpox victims.

It is Calamity Jane who ensures the children are given a tiny room behind a brothel and

REVIEWS | ISSUE 85, August 2018

regular food. From then on, they have a series of amazing old west adventures with the harddrinking, loud-cursing Jane (don’t read this book if bad language offends you). Each story is full of sharply defined Old West characters, along with all we have come to expect from tales of the period—hostile Lakota, a runaway stagecoach, a fire, crazed horses, ladies of the night. It’s the spirit of the Old West brought to life.

But then the story becomes more serious as Jane realizes Jimmy and Hour need a proper education. The tone of the book changes, and it moves to a touching conclusion. This novel is both entertaining and very moving. A tale told by a master storyteller.

Valerie Adolph

UNMASKED BY THE MARQUIS

Cat Sebastian, Avon, 2018, $5.99/C$7.50, pb, 320pp, 9780062821607

Alistair de Lacey, eighth Marquis of Pembroke, is a model of propriety. Why, then, does he find himself so unaccountably attracted to a charming young gentleman?

This turns out to be a good news, bad news situation. The good news is that Robbie Selby is actually Charity Church, a young woman who has disguised herself to help her sister-inlaw Louisa make a good marriage, and she is equally attracted to him; the bad news is that she has no interest in resuming a woman’s confining role (and clothing), even when the marquis offers marriage. Nor is that the only obstacle to a happy ending. Charity’s situation is, in fact, highly complicated (fraud, class differences, family obligations…).

Women living their lives as men are historically documented, and the author manages to create an intriguing scenario in this lively Regency romance. Charity is likeable and admirable both: forthright and independent, yet ready to sacrifice her own happiness to help others. Alistair, meanwhile, grows from a self-righteous snob to a tolerant and generous man. Both deserve the happiness they find together, even though the difficulties seem endless and the resolution rather optimistic.

Recommended.

Ray Thompson

A SCANDALOUS DEAL

Joanna Shupe, Avon, 2018, $7.99/C$9.99, pb, 373pp, 9780062678911

Eva Hyde dreams of establishing herself as an architect and not just living under her famous father’s shadow. With three dead fiancés and the gossip mill in London limiting her options, she flees to New York City to work on a grand project under her father’s name: to build a monumental hotel for the legendary developer Phillip Mansfield. An anonymous tryst on her trip from England to the United States winds up being more complicated than she bargained for when she discovers her lover is none other than her future employer! When Phillip wishes to continue the liaison, Eve faces

professional complications from following her heart.

This is a steamy romance set in Gilded Age New York City, with dashes of political intrigue, gender discrimination, and Eva’s professional disguise further complicating matters. It was enjoyable to follow a determined and skilled heroine facing adversity while finding love.

While timeless issues, the framing of Eva’s professional and personal concerns feels modern at times, but well-defined characters and the rich historical setting are plenty to draw you back in. Recommended for all historical romance fans.

Ellen Jaquette

THE REMOVES

Tatjana Soli, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2018, $27.00, hb, 384pp, 9780374279554

In the late 19th century, General Armstrong Custer embodied the mixed feelings of Manifest Destiny in the United States, and this book not only depicts the uneasy alliance people had with the handsome soldier, but also evokes the feeling in the reader as well.

This novel weaves together the story of Custer, known as “Autie” to his wife, Libbie, with the story of a young, white pioneer girl who is captured by the Cheyenne during a frontier raid. The author does not shy away from the gruesome historical details, and there are times that one can almost smell the blood in the prairie dust.

What becomes troubling are the mixed messages: Autie respects the Native tribe members, both as scouts who work with him, but also as the elusive enemy who ultimately bests him. But the brutality and unrelenting U.S. Army crushes not just the homeland of native populations, but also their language, their culture, and their resources, and does so with thoughtful purpose. Just as the white captive must learn to speak a different language, learn how to skin buffalo and move camp, so must the native population adjust after the Army ravages their way of life. It is a strange time, those few decades on the frontier, and Custer is the strange figure who becomes its icon.

Vivid and unsettling, this book is an engaging read.

Katie Stine

THE MAGPIE TREE

Katherine Stansfield, Allison & Busby, 2018, £14.99, hb, 320pp, 9780749021719

1844 on Bodmin Moor. Anna Drake wants to set up her own detective agency at a time when this service was very new and only undertaken by men; in order to achieve this, she takes on the task of searching for a young boy missing from his village on Bodmin Moor. With her is Shilly, a Cornish woman well familiar with the tales and suspicions of the woods. St. Nectan, an ancient local saint, with his ‘warning’ bell and his ability to protect the local people, is also involved, as are the magpies which live in the trees.

This book won The Times’ Historical Book of

the Month and is described as ‘creating a dark and macabre atmosphere’. It is well written, and the main characters come across well in all their variety. The woods are dark and mysterious, and the sounding of a bell when danger arises could be that of St. Nectan, or simply the warning bell from the nearby slate quarry that blasting is about to take place.

Those who like this sort of thing will probably enjoy this book, but this particular genre is definitely not my scene.

Marilyn Sherlock

I AM MRS. JESSE JAMES

Pat Wahler, Black Slate Press, 2018, $13.03, 316 pp, 9781943075461

At the age of 15 in 1860 Missouri, Zerelda (Zee) Mimms is unwilling to settle for an arranged marriage; she vows to never marry except for true love. Five years later, while nursing her first cousin to recovery after a bullet wound to the chest at the close of the Civil War, Zee realizes she has found her mate—Jesse James. Weeks later James proposes to Zee, “his anchor,” but the marriage doesn’t take place for another nine years. While Bushwhackers ambush Northern sympathizers who have looted and burned the properties of friends of the South, Zee questions the truth of reports that blame Jesse and Frank James for increasingly audacious acts against so-called Federal outrages.

Nevertheless, after her marriage Zee is on the run, traveling and living under an assumed name, even facing off against a man seeking to cash in on a reward for information about the outlaw Jesse James. Yet the plot is more fact than feeling. Where is the anger when Jesse carries a weapon in front of their child? The lament when Jesse is unable to settle down to farming like his brother has? The doubt that she might have done more to make a home for her family?

Zee periodically makes observations about the uncertainties that dog her life with a notorious figure: suspicions about her husband spending late nights with associates or taking wary glances out the kitchen window.

Her more deep-seated feelings are for the most part left to the reader’s imagination. So when she acknowledges to a Federal marshal investigating her husband’s death that she is indeed Mrs. Jesse James, one wonders if she says it with pride or more than a little regret.

K. M. Sandrick

A REBEL HEART

Beth White, Revell, 2018, $15.99, pb, 384pp, 9780800726898

It’s been five years since the Civil War ended, and Selah Daughtry has been supporting her younger sisters and spinster cousin since the death of her mother at the hands of marauding soldiers. While traveling to request a bank loan to help save her floundering Mississippi plantation and keep her family fed, her train derails. She and the other passengers are saved by the heroics of Levi Riggins. Former

Union soldier turned Pinkerton agent, Levi is investigating a series of train robberies. When the trail of clues leads toward the Daughtry home, he finds a way to help the charming woman while also uncovering a much more sinister plot behind their train “accident.” Will he keep his true identity and motivation for being there a secret and risk damaging the budding relationship he has with Selah? And can strong-willed, independent Selah trust a “Yankee” with her home and her heart?

White knows this time period well. The setting and dialogue are extremely immersive.

White is sensitive to the prejudices of the time and presents the issues with a deft hand. The Daughtry House restoration, post-Civil War sensibilities, and the cast of characters all drew me in. I loved the varied turns of phrase uttered throughout the novel. My only minor gripe deals with the subplot involving Levi: his investigation isn’t really a mystery, as the perpetrator is also a narrator. Thus, early on, readers know the who and why. Levi working through his list of suspects is unnecessary narration, and I found myself skimming these sections since I already knew the answers.

However, there are other plot threads that kept my interest, and which are artfully woven together. The time period is beautifully realized, and the characters are captivating.

Recommended.

J. Lynn Else

THE CATTLE DRIVE

Ethan J. Wolfe, Five Star, 2018, $25.95, hb, 249pp, 9781432838638

Twelve-year-old twins Michael and Michele Dunn are bundled by their extremely wealthy but unmotherly Aunt Angela onto a Chicago train bound for San Francisco after their parents die. Angela contracts a reputable detective agency to escort the twins on the journey, but her money puts the twins in danger: the owner of the agency creates an elaborate kidnapping scheme in order to swindle millions from their millionaire aunt.

Escaping the train and prairie dangers, Michael and Michele stumble upon loner cowboy Matthew Quirk, who, with much grumbling, takes the city-bred twins on the remainder of his cattle drive to get them to Omaha, but trouble constantly follows.

With heavy leanings on dialogue, The Cattle Drive reads like a gritty young adult novel.

The character of Quirk is well-drawn, with dry humor, a clear voice, and an interesting personality. He is certainly the star of the novel by far. While The Cattle Drive has action and a good pace, the transitions between scenes are abruptly executed, and the lack of description of the characters and the surroundings leaves holes. Still, it’s difficult to show growth of twelve-year-olds in a little over 240 pages, and Wolfe does an apt job that should be commended.

Sara Dahmen

20TH CENTURY

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THE HONOURABLE THIEF

Meaghan Wilson Anastasios, Pan Macmillan Australia, 2018, A$29.99, pb, 430pp, 9781760552626

The Honourable Thief, Anastasios’ first solo novel, draws extensively on her personal experience as an art historian and archaeologist in the Mediterranean and Middle East. Set mostly in Turkey and Greece between 1939 and 1955, this action-packed historical novel follows the adventures of discredited archaeologist, Benedict Hitchens.

It’s a classic hero’s journey with a slightly unlikely hero. Hitchens is an emotionally and ethically dubious character whose life-long passion is to prove the existence of the mythical character, Achilles. This all-encompassing quest and his part in selling dodgy antiquities, taint Hitchens’ reputation as a respected academic. Along the way he encounters love and loss and finds himself in a life and death battle with several dramatic outcomes.

The Honourable Thief is at its best in the rich descriptions of the geography and local history of the region. Anastasios’ depth and breadth of knowledge of ancient classics, antiquities and this part of the world add real value to the narrative. However, there are a few areas that detract from this otherwise gripping novel. Ben is generally an intriguingly complex character, but at times appears clichéd and twodimensional. The graphic sex scenes in which he occasionally appears seem out of sync with the rest of the novel. The multiple switches back and forth in time and place impact on the flow of the story and build of tension.

Readers will decide for themselves how credible they find the bizarre denouement where fact merges with fiction, in an unexpected epilogue twist.

Christine Childs

THE LOST FAMILY

Jenna Blum, Harper, 2018, $27.99/C$34.99, hb, 432pp, 9780062742162

Peter Rashkin is the handsome owner and chef of Masha’s, the place to eat, and be seen eating, in 1965 New York City. Peter puts his heart into his cooking, because his true passion was lost, along with his family, in Auschwitz.

As a wartime immigrant, Peter struggled to fit into the United States, but found solace in cooking recipes created by his wife, Masha.

Trapped by memories, Peter is also under the thumb of his uncle Sol, who holds the deed to the restaurant and controls many of the food and labor contracts. When he meets the much younger, vivacious model June Bouquet, Peter thinks maybe he’s ready to try to love again.

What follows is two decades of contrasts, between Peter’s lost family and his new one, between his heart and his brain, and his wife and his daughter. The narrative is divided into thirds, with each of the main characters—Peter, June, and their daughter Elspeth—claiming a section. Those multiple perspectives create nuanced, fully developed protagonists 36

within the larger story. Blum is deft with both description and dialogue, creating a believable wartime Berlin and a swinging ´60s Westchester County, New York, as well as bringing out the personalities of characters both major and minor.

An unfortunate number of anachronisms mar what is otherwise a touching, delicatelywritten story. Readers will be jarred to read about Honeycrisp apples on Masha’s menu in 1965, when grafting and cultivation had barely begun; the same goes for voicemail on a chunky mobile phone in 1985, and so on.

More attention to the accuracy of the details of the time would make for even more realistic characters and a stronger narrative that covers multiple continents and generations.

Helene Williams

A SISTER’S BOND

attach him to herself, and then ditch him. But then she meets Max, a musician, and her plan starts unraveling faster than she falls in love with Max. The book’s a fun read, but Kitty’s a huge PITA, and the convoluted plot she concocts is ridiculous. But the book’s biggest problem is the unconvincing 1950s background, so the book feels rather shallow. One example: the book starts in November 1953, and Kitty’s favorite movie is supposedly How to Marry a Millionaire. She’s even named her dog after one of the characters. However, the dog’s fullgrown; it’s implied Kitty’s had her for some time—and Millionaire was released in November 1953. Still, I enjoyed the romp through 1950s New York, Miami, and Havana (back in those halcyon days when people jaunted to Cuba on a whim).

India Edghill

THE MOMENT BEFORE This book starts off with a bang and launches DROWNING

Kay Brellend, Piatkus, 2018, £6.99, pb, 388pp, 9780349415284

the reader into its world as violent father, Tommy Bone, attempts to catch his youngest child, Alfie, to punish him for a misdemeanour.

The main characters are quickly introduced and the scene is set as Olivia Bone, eldest daughter, arrives home and deflects Tommy’s anger from the young boy. The family lives in poor conditions in North London just prior to World War One in November 1913. Olivia is seventeen and pretty, and attracts two very different suitors. Her main task in life is to placate her angry and often drunk father, to prevent him from turning his temper on his family, especially Alfie. Olivia’s mother died whilst giving birth to Alfie, for which Tommy hates him. Tommy has worked at Barrett’s sweet factory for many years, and Olivia soon gets a job there too.

The story was inspired by the author’s own ancestors, who lived and worked in these places. The details of daily life are crisp and vividly rendered, as are the descriptions of the streets of Wood Green and working life in the sweet factory. The ending is not entirely predictable and, as this is a first novel in a series, I shall look forward to the next.

Julie Parker

LADY BE GOOD

Amber Brock, Crown, 2018, $26.00, hb, 320pp, 9781524760403

It’s 1953, and Kitty Tessler, daughter of a self-made hotel and night-club millionaire, has a problem. She’s in her twenties, single, and good at only one thing: spending money. Her father’s fed up, and wants her to get serious and marry his right-hand man. But Kitty isn’t interested; in fact, she’s more interested in saving her best friend, Henrietta, from Hen’s noxious fiancé. Compounding the problem is that Hen is very Old New York, and her snobby mother’s determined Hen will marry who she’s told to. So Kitty decides to detach Hen’s fiancé,

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James Brydon, Akashic, 2018, $25.95/C$33.99, hb, 243pp, 9781617756252

When Captain Jacques le Garrec returns to his native Brittany in December 1959, his arrival creates a stir, as a former Resistance hero and police detective, a local boy who made good.

But he’s been brought back to France to face accusations regarding his interrogations of suspected terrorists in the colonial war in Algeria. In the days preceding his legal hearing, an old friend, a teacher, has asked him to investigate the death and mutilation of a female student, which the police couldn’t solve.

Brydon handles the mystery cleverly, casting suspicion here, then there. But the greater pleasure of this fine debut novel derives from the parallel narratives of the torture cells in Algeria and the murder investigation, a juxtaposition that asks what purpose law and its enforcement actually serve. The local police inspector’s bilious contempt for the dead girl makes him sound much like le Garrec’s former superior in Algeria talking about Arabs; and, like him, the inspector wields violence as if it were a plaything. With his petty ego, barely repressed rage, and unsatisfied desire, the inspector is a good foil for le Garrec and would fit right in as a colonist.

The prose vividly re-creates the Breton coast as well as the torture chambers (be warned), though Brydon mostly lets social attitudes portray the era. Sometimes the characters expound rather than talk, especially at the beginning, which has “exposition” written all over it. More serious, I think, is how the author rushes through a few key emotional transitions, as if he were afraid to linger. Even so, these are faults of many first novels. I recommend The Moment Before Drowning, which should please readers of historical mysteries, especially those who like their stories character-driven.

Larry Zuckerman

THE SEAMSTRESS OF OURFA

Victoria Harwood Butler-Sloss, Armida, 2018, €17.50, pb, 298pp, 9789963255597

This beautiful book is the first of a trilogy focussing on four generations of Armenian women. The author has based the story on that of her own family, beginning in the Ottoman Empire of 1895. The eponymous seamstress, Khatoun, is married at 15 to Iskender, the match arranged by the families.

The frightened girl blossoms into the mainstay of the family, her skills with a needle providing more income than does Iskender, a dreamy, melancholic poet. His unmarried sister, Ferida, lives with them, cooking sumptuous feasts for the growing family and the girls they adopt.

Armenians throughout the Empire live with the threat of massacre, although some co-exist peacefully with Turkish neighbours.

In 1915, ostensibly for Armenians’ safety yet no doubt fearful of their collaboration with fellow-Christian Russians, the Ottoman authorities force all Armenians in the northern cities: Sivas, Erzinjan, Kharpert, Trebizond, to walk south. Robbed of the few belongings they are allowed to take, they are pushed as far as the desert of present-day Syria and Iraq. Ourfa is in the south. Khatoun takes her four children to witness the remnants – naked, sick, bleeding - straggling through the town, a life lesson for them, she insists, to family disapproval. She and a friend are able to rescue several girls from a holding camp and offer them a home and work in the sewing room. Her family survive WW1, but growing Turkish nationalism forces a new move.

The author has hand-drawn chapter heading motifs and a map of Ourfa, infusing the book with love and the importance of family and community. Home is wherever they settle.

Janet Hancock

THE SACCO GANG

Andrea Camilleri (trans. Stephen Sartarelli), Europa, 2018, $14.00/C$18.00, pb, 128pp, 9781609454234

Camilleri is one of Italy’s most prominent writers, with books in his Montalbano crime series frequently listed as New York Times bestsellers. This latest historical novel, translated from the Italian by Stephen Sartarelli, recounts the trials and tribulations of the Sacco family in 1920s Sicily.

Luigi Sacco is an honest, hardworking young man who succeeds in making a prosperous life for himself and his growing family in impoverished Sicily. When Luigi refuses to bow before the mafia’s extortion demands, he finds himself and his family, especially his three sons, in mortal danger.

Despite increasing acts of violence against them, the Saccos remain true to the rule of law and order until the moment they find the authorities are in league with the mafia.

With legal recourse denied them, the family takes matters into its own hands—attempting to protect themselves, their property and

business—and are soon pitted against both the civil authorities and the mafia.

Camilleri based his novel on stories and documents he obtained from Giovanni Sacco, one of Luigi’s grandsons. The facts are tragic and heartbreaking since it seems that evil and injustice triumph over goodness and honesty.

This “Italian western” is a short read, and the author treats the history lightly, sometimes with a bit of humor. It’s a worthwhile read for the simple fact of learning about the many miscarriages of justice the family suffers, but it sheds little light on the psychological, physical, and financial sufferings of the Saccos.

John Kachuba

THE LACE WEAVER

Lauren Chater, Simon & Schuster, 2018, A$29.99, pb, 424pp, 9781925596335

Just as the gossamer threads of Estonian shawls are woven into intricate symbolic patterns, so too is this story of two young women trapped in the turbulence of World War II. Kati is the farmer’s daughter devoted to partisan fighter Oskar. Both are already witness to the cruelties of Russian domination as individuals are murdered or forcibly rounded up and sent to prison camps. Oskar tries in vain to convince Kati’s family that only by welcoming German occupation will they gain independence.

Lydia is born into privilege yet remains under the control of a domineering uncle in Moscow, while her father is distant in both manner and place. Desperate for freedom, she escapes and seeks to discover why her Estonian mother died the way she did. With the help of Kati’s brother, Jakob, and through unravelling the threads of her mother’s shawl, she finally realises her destiny.

Individually and as a group, all must face the horrors and challenges of being trapped between Russian tyranny on the one hand and that of Nazi Germany on the other. As Kati observes: “It felt as if our country was a child’s boat caught in a riptide. Whichever way the currents turned, that was where we must go.”

The parallel first-person narratives work well in the early chapters, but when Kati and Lydia come together, their respective voices do tend to lose their individuality a little.

That doesn’t deter from this being a most rewarding World War II novel. Thoroughly researched and crafted as delicately as the lacework at the heart of the story, it has all the hallmarks of top-notch historical fiction: exciting, romantic, shocking, and thoughtprovoking. Ultimately it inspires the reader to learn more of this lesser-known history (and perhaps Estonian knitting as well). You simply can’t ask for more.

Marina Maxwell

BEAUTIFUL EXILES

Meg Waite Clayton, Lake Union, 2018, $24.95, hb, 405pp, 9781503900837 / £8.99, pb, 405pp, 9781503949270

Although other stories of Ernest Hemingway

abound, this tale told in firstperson narrative by wife number three, Martha Gellhorn, explores her life as she struggles to become a female war correspondent.

Throughout her soul-searching years, Clayton weaves her torrid love affair and then tumultuous marriage to Ernest Hemingway.

In Hemingway’s own words, “love and war are two of the greatest themes in literature.”

This holds true for their relationship as well.

Early in the story, they are both in Spain covering the Spanish Civil War when their affair begins. They move to Cuba, which at first sounds idyllic: write in the morning, swim or fish in the afternoon, and drink at night.

But this lifestyle does not sustain Martha, who longs to have an important journalistic career of her own. And, to do that, she needs to be on the war front, not swimming with Ernest in the placid waters of Cuba. Eventually, Hemingway’s ego forces her to make the decision to either be his wife first and writer second, or the other way around.

The book is so well written that at times I forgot I was reading a novel, and instead found myself immersed in the roar of battle, either on the front lines or in their living room.

This is highly recommended reading because the plot is well paced, the characters ring true, and the story reveals the difficulties of two strong-willed people at odds with one another.

Linda Harris Sittig

THE SONGS WE HIDE

Connie Hampton Connally, Coffeetown, 2018, $16.95, pb, 256pp, 9781603816311

Budapest, 1951.

Katalin Varga is an unwed mother with a beautiful singing voice, but she hasn’t sung publicly since Róbert, the father of her young daughter, disappeared two years earlier.

A follower of controversial communist leader László Rajk, Róbert was likely taken by the secret police.

Péter Benedek has moved to Budapest to find work after his family’s land is seized.

The only bright spot in his drab life is Katalin, who sees his potential as a singer and offers

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to give him voice lessons. The harsh realities of the post-war Stalinist era are depicted through the details of crushing poverty, furtive glances, a fear-soaked atmosphere, and heavy silences. The juxtaposition of those silences with the beautiful voices of Péter and Katalin is powerful and poignant. When Katalin wonders whether she should sing a song less beautifully and more fearfully, her companion answers, “You can do both. Fear and beauty . . . We’re Hungarian musicians. We do both all the time.”

I loved Péter from the first scene when he sings to his stubborn plow horse on his family’s farm, and I found Katalin just as engaging.

This is a haunting, character-driven novel with a simple plot, despite the dramatic events occurring in the background.

My father grew up in Hungary during the era depicted in this novel, and I was impressed with the depth and scope of Connally’s research.

She has captured not only the turbulent political climate of post-WWII Hungary but also the essence of Hungarian culture. Highly recommended.

Clarissa Harwood

HIS MAJESTY’S THEATRE: NOT FROM THE STARS (Book 1), BUT FROM THINE EYES (Book 2), TRUTH AND BEAUTY (Book 3), BEAUTY’S DOOM (Book 4)

Christina Britton Conroy, Endeavour, 2017, $6.99, pb, 176/170/156/161pp, 9781549884979 (Book 1), 9781549823916 (Book 2), 9781973193272 (Book 3), 9781973346661 (Book 4)

1903-1904. This series of four novellas follows the fortunes of young Ellie Roundtree from her unhappy childhood in the home of her dastardly uncle, to her meteoric success in the Edwardian world of the London theatre, followed shortly by her trial for the murder of her fiancé. The majority of the action takes place after Ellie runs away from her finishing school to join the theatre. Along the way we meet a plethora of other characters and subplots that somehow relate to Ellie’s story.

Book 1 consists mostly of Ellie’s childhood and backstory about other characters in the novels, while the other books cover a much shorter span of time, about three months total. Each of the short books has a cliffhanger ending.

The author convincingly describes the world of Edwardian theatre, and I found that the strongest point of these books. Conroy writes effective descriptions of early 20thcentury London, involving all the senses. Her descriptions give a good sense of the theatre and city life at that time. Despite this, I found the characterizations of all the characters to be shallow and lacking emotional depth. Poor Ellie loses her virginity, aborts a child, is practically raped by another actor, and goes on to have several other misadventures within the span of about one month, without any discernable 38

internal agony or introspection. That timeline moved far too rapidly to be believable to me, and Ellie’s lack of any deep reaction to the events in her tumultuous life seems extremely unrealistic. The various subplots are all given equal precedence, which made for a chaotic read. Although somewhat reminiscent in tone of far, far better Gothic novels, I found this read confusing and unsatisfying. Lovers of the theatre world might enjoy the accurate and thorough descriptions of Edwardian drama within these novels.

Susan McDuffie

DODGING AND BURNING

John Copenhaver, Pegasus Crime, 2018, $25.95, hb, 365pp, 9781681776590

Copenhaver’s debut novel gives readers a gorgeous, critical look at the LGBTQ community in post-WWII society, revolving around a murder.

In Royal Oak, Virginia, three friends—Jay Greenwood, Bunny Prescott, and Ceola Bliss—spend the summer of 1945 trying to solve the apparent murder of a young woman who Jay photographed. As they investigate, it becomes clear that there is layer upon layer of deceit involving Jay, the woman in the photo, and Ceola’s brother, who had gone missing in action in the Pacific theater two years earlier. As events unfold, Jay’s wartime traumas surface, Ceola struggles to understand the beloved brother she thought she knew, and Bunny sets into motion a chain of reactions that will have ramifications for them all for decades.

Dodging and Burning has some absolutely lovely writing, filled with deep imagery and complex, living characters. The society is richly depicted, from the salt-of-the-earth working poor, to the upper middle-class people of the town, to the gay and lesbian people in the DC underground. The way the LGBTQ community is portrayed in the novel mirrors social mores of the time, which makes for some really intense and upsetting scenes. There is a lot of excellent, much-needed social commentary woven throughout. One character speaks for the LGBTQ community when he says, “If you’re afraid for long enough, you grow numb to it.”

Another character, later on, sums up much of mainstream society when he says, “You’ve been blind from the beginning. When you look at Cee or me or anyone, all you see is what you want.” The final few pages are an absolute gut punch, one which is vital. This is a book

REVIEWS | ISSUE 85, August 2018

that must be read and discussed with as many people as possible. Very highly recommended.

Kristen McQuinn

THE MASTERPIECE

Fiona Davis, Dutton, 2018, $26.00, hb, 368pp, 9781524742959

In her previous two novels (The Dollhouse and The Address), Fiona Davis centered her story around a landmark building in New York City. She continues to do so with her third book, The Masterpiece, with Grand Central Terminal serving as its backdrop. Within this setting, Davis tells the story of two women: Clara Darden in 1928, and Virginia Clay in 1974. Clara is an illustrator and the lone female instructor at the Grand Central School of Art. Desperate to make her own way in the world, Clara eventually becomes the highest paid female artist, though she also secretly wants to be a world-renowned painter. Almost fifty years later, Virginia Clay is a newly divorced single mother struggling to make ends meet. She begrudgingly accepts a job at the information booth in Grand Central Terminal, an event that will change her life. Surrounded by an eclectic group of co-workers, Virginia learns about the history of the terminal, the abandoned Grand Central School of Art, and the plans to demolish the building. As she investigates the school, she learns about Clara Darden and is drawn into the mystery of the artist, who disappeared in 1931.

Fiona Davis expertly weaves the stories of Clara and Virginia together, making one wonder how the two will ultimately connect.

Within these two timeframes, Davis vividly captures the glittering heyday of Grand Central Terminal in the 1920s and its decay by the 1970s.

Davis also brings to light the building’s history, especially the fight to save it from demolition.

Ultimately, the theme of Davis’ book is powerful: two strong, independent women, each trying to change their circumstances, all within the backdrop of one of New York City’s most beautiful buildings.

Julia C. Fischer

THE RESTLESS SEA

Vanessa de Haan, HarperCollins, 2018, C$21.99, pb, 496pp, 9780008240448 / HarperCollins, 2018, £14.99, hb, 496pp, 9780008245764

At the outbreak of WW2, Olivia, the spoilt and immature daughter of aristocratic English parents, is sent to her aunt in Scotland for safety. There she finds her own strength in the rough hills and silent lochs. Charlie, her cousin, is a young officer flying planes from an aircraft carrier, chasing U-boats that are picking off merchant ships. Initially his ship is based on the loch near his godmother’s house in Scotland, but before he can visit her, the ship is ordered to Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands. Jack is a child of the London slums, stealing and picking pockets to try to keep food on the family table.

At the insistence of a friend, he joins the Merchant Navy and is sent to a training ship to

learn the ropes. He joins the cargo ship Aurora as an apprentice.

The lives of these three are intertwined throughout this novel as Olivia finds that she cares for Charlie but loves Jack. The difference in their backgrounds will become an issue, she knows that, but in wartime she faces more immediate problems. First, she must find Jack’s younger sister, who seems to have vanished after being evacuated from London.

While the complexities of the relationships— and the struggle to maintain them during the uncertainties of warfare—form the essence of this novel, its richness lies in the vivid descriptions of battles fought in the sky and on the ocean. The dreadful injuries, the loss of life, and the losses of loved ones and deep friends are graphically illustrated. The stories of Jack, Charlie and Olivia illustrate raw human tragedies created by the blunders of military and naval strategies. These are laid bare as the author makes us feel the pain of these vast losses. A beautifully layered, expressive novel. Recommended.

Valerie Adolph

THE WHITE CRUCIFIXION

Michael Dean, Holland Park, 2018, £10.99/$16.00, pb, 256pp, 9781907320736

The cover describes this book as “a novel about Marc Chagall”. The title refers to a painting Chagall did in Paris following a vision which revealed to him the Nazi massacre of Jews from his hometown of Vitebsk in Byelorussia, and its destruction. This is described only at the end of the book and could therefore be puzzling to readers. I would not call this a novel, more a memoir, with a series of anecdotes heavy on name-dropping and description but with little characterisation or narrative drive.

Chagall, born Moyshe Shagal in 1887, recounts his birth and early years of poverty.

Enrolled in art school, he gains a reputation and the opportunity, thanks to a benefactor, to study in Paris in 1913. In 1914, he and his wife Bella return to Vitebsk only to be trapped there by the outbreak of the First World War, then by the Russian Revolution and the establishment of the Soviet regime. Facing increasing hostility from the authorities, they return to Paris in 1922.

The book will be of interest to anyone wishing to learn about Chagall and what inspired some of his greatest work. The scenes in Paris in 1913-14 evoke particularly well the poverty and squalor endured by brilliant Yiddish-speaking artists in Paris. A difficult, dissatisfying read overall, however. But then this mirrors its subject: hypersensitive, emotional, fearful – he wore make-up in Paris – and only at ease when painting.

Janet Hancock

THE TOYMAKERS

Robert Dinsdale, Del Rey, 2018, £12.99, hb, 478pp, 9781785036347

“The most terrible things can happen to a man,

but he’ll never lose himself if he remembers he was once a child.”

England in the winter of 1906.

Young Cathy Wray has found herself pregnant, much to the shame of her family.

She escapes from both their constant disapproval and her imminent incarceration in a maternity home, where her baby will be given up for immediate adoption – leaving her seaside resort home of Leigh-on-Sea, for London. She is attracted by a strange newspaper advertisement seeking staff to work in toyshop in the approach to Christmas.

The shop is located off Regent Street, and is a magical childhood kingdom, filled with wonderful toys that have a life of their own.

She gets a position in Papa Jack’s Emporium, whilst concealing her maternal condition. She is an attractive and engaging young woman, and establishes a rapport with the two sons of the mysterious owner of the Emporium – Kaspar and Emil Godman. Their father, Jekabs, fled Latvia while the boys were young to establish his magical business that is only open to the public when the winter frosts arrive in London before Christmas.

Despite the subject matter, the novel has a profound depth. It touches upon the nature of family, memory, rivalry and the devastating impact of war and the turbulence upon life as we follow the lives of three main protagonists.

Although the novel is set in early-to-mid years of the 20th century, there is not always a particularly strong historical association with the times, and the characters could just as easily be living in contemporary London.

Nonetheless, this is a most delightful novel, one that I became wholly absorbed in and was reluctant to relinquish at its close.

Douglas Kemp

MERLIN AT WAR

Mark Ellis, London Wall/Trafalgar Square, 2018 (c2017), $12.99/£7.99, pb, 496pp, 9780995566712

Detective Chief Inspector Frank Merlin is on the job again in wartime London in the third novel in the series. This time he faces a triple mystery. Wealthy businessman turned soldier Simon Arbuthnot has been killed in action on the island of Crete, leaving a cryptic message concerning the disposition of his estate—an estate for which his Greek business partner, a crooked London casino owner, and other associates and relatives might be willing to commit murder. At the same time, a young Irish girl dies in a cheap hotel, apparently during a botched abortion. Third, someone at the Free French headquarters in London

is passing secret information to the Vichy government and the Nazis. DCI Merlin and his team, plus an on-loan Jewish detective from the New York force, hit every angle of the three cases in an effort that requires all of the team’s skills. Keeping the home fires burning for widower Merlin in all this is his attractive, undemanding Polish refugee girlfriend, Sonia.

Author Ellis has crafted a complex plot with a multitude of characters, and he manages to bring everything together in a satisfying conclusion. The sheer number of characters may bring confusion at times. His characters ring true, but he doesn’t delve very deeply into them. That is not a particularly significant shortcoming, though, in a plot-driven novel like this. The author handles the setting very well, making the reader comfortable in 1941 London while not giving an overdose of historical details. The story as a whole, in fact, could be described as comfortable, a good book to settle in with in one’s favorite easy chair.

Loyd Uglow

SABOTAGE IN THE SECRET CITY

Diane Fanning, Severn House, 2018, $28.99/£20.99, hb, 224pp, 9780727887825

Third in Fanning’s Libby Clark series, Sabotage in the Secret City takes place in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, in May 1945. Libby is one of the few female civilian scientists contributing to the Manhattan Project, and she’s forbidden to discuss her work with anyone outside the facility. Her lab, the Betas, is subject to acts of sabotage, including fire, a flood, and rats, which all sounds somewhat Biblical, no? Libby and her fellow scientists, who call themselves the Walking Molecules, had rubbed up against authority before in their two previous outings, so they are the first to fall under suspicion.

Since election day in 2016, I have had a challenging time reading historical fiction set in the World War II era, as so many themes have present-day parallels. This one pushes all my buttons. Libby’s colleagues are arrested

by MPs, and although they were taken away in front of her own eyes, the military denies they are being held. When they are eventually released, her friends all tell the same tale (quite stiltedly) of interrogation and accusations of treason.

I’m usually able to jump into a series midway without having read previous books. This one, however, relies too heavily on the reader being familiar with the first two. Libby alludes quite frequently to the events of the first two books being responsible for the relationships the scientists and the military have now. The relationships between scientists are equally tough to suss out. Gary is the cowardly, obstinate one. Teddy is Libby’s boyfriend.

Dennis would like to be her boyfriend. I have no idea what roles Gregg, Joe, and Rudy play.

Dialogue is overly mannered. “I stammered when I answered” is not how people talk. The mystery itself is ambiguous. An interesting

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time in our nation’s history, but one not illuminated by this book.

Ellen Keith

PROMISED LAND: A Novel of Israel

Martin Fletcher, St Martin’s, 2018, $28.99, hb, 400pp, 9781250118820.

In Munich, Germany, in 1937, we meet Peter and Arie. Peter will escape Germany before the Holocaust tragedy begins; Arie will be forced to engage in unspeakable scenarios in a German concentration camp. Peter will leave America for Israel, and Arie will eventually be sent to Israel as well. Peter will become a senior officer in Israel’s defense agency, Mossad, and Arie will become a rich, famous but haunted and driven entrepreneur.

In 1950, young Tamara and her family are forced to leave Egypt because they are Jewish.

Tamara and Peter meet and spend one night together that will overshadow the rest of their lives. Peter becomes a Mossad agent in Europe and later marries a woman named Diana, and Arie meets and marries Tamara.

The remainder of the novel depicts the jealousies and fears that develop between their families. The fears increase as Israel gains independence but must spend most of its time watching its economy flourish over the years and then decline as their international neighbors prepare to go to war against the Jews. The plot thickens with a family tragedy and years of realistically depicted warfare between Israel, Egypt, Jordan, and Syria.

During this time, these families will show amazing determination and dedication to their new homeland and relatives. The novel also contains some interesting facts about former German Nazis now working for Arabs, designing weapons for a new war against the Jews.

Promised Land is a sweeping novel of personal and national evolution within Israel as it attempts to forge its respectable, permanent place in the local, national and international communities. Readers will immediately become engaged in this memorable, wellcrafted work of historical fiction.

Viviane Crystal

THE GAMEKEEPER’S WIFE

Clare Flynn, Cranbrook, 2018, £9.99, pb, 316pp, 9780993332470

The Gamekeeper’s Wife is a romantic drama set just after the First World War – and it is one of the best novels of its type I have reviewed for the HNS. Pace. Plot. Emotion. An unusually good book for a self-published writer.

Christopher Shipley is a rich industrialist’s son who comes back damaged from war with the expectation of running the estate and marrying the bride chosen by his socialclimbing mother. What does he want of life?

How can he make it worth living again? His mother asks him to evict the gamekeeper’s wife, the elusive and seductive Martha. Martha is also damaged – she had an abusive marriage, 40

was beaten but not floored and admits she is glad her husband died.

So a relationship turns to romance, and it is believable despite the class differences. So many hurdles have to be jumped and seem that they can be overcome – until Christopher’s mother reveals a terrible secret to stop any hope of an unsuitable marriage.

This is good, old-fashioned romance, and the pages fly because the two characters draw us in; they are engaging and believable, as is the snobbish mother. I read it in two days.

The hint of criticism – and that is all it is – is that there are perhaps just too many hurdles, to the point of disbelief. Ms Flynn does need to do a little more research on social customs: women of that class did not summon servants by bell; servants were always in the dining room. It also seems the titles are incorrect, but this is minor. It’s a good book.

Jeffrey Manton

THE TIME IN BETWEEN

Marcello Fois, Maclehose, 2018, £16.99, hb, 285pp, 9780857056726

On the island of Sardinia, in 1943, a year of famine, malaria and a plague of locusts, Vincenso Chironi returns to his ancestral home, ‘plucked like Moses from the waters when the Chironi bloodline had seemingly run dry.’ Thus begins the tale of one man’s life and how he both saves and is saved by an island culture struggling to survive change. It is a tale of refugees finding home in one another and of the cycles of destiny and nature. Vincenso finds his grandfather and aunt in the tiny town of Núoro and is welcomed with open arms as the long-lost family member who, they believe, will bring new life to a dying bloodline. When he meets Cecilia ‘nothing could have prevented them falling in love for life.’ Vincenso finds work on the island with his friend Mimmíu, fighting the biblical swarms of locusts and malaria with flamethrowers and DDT. When he marries Cecilia he also brings prosperity back to his family. Some things stay the same: his grandfather gets older, his aunt still has regular conversations with her dead relatives, but other things start to change as the wheel of fortune turns again.

This is a novel about storytelling itself, with a marvellous voice that seems to carry the wisdom, pathos and humour of an epic human tale. The history is presented seamlessly. The characters are vivid, and the descriptive prose is impressive, helping to show the character of Vincenso and his conflicts. There are a few places where it can feel overdone, but there are many where it is sublime. The Time in Between is a thoughtful and entertaining story of the tenacity of one Italian family’s love and continuity in a time when such things could easily disappear.

REVIEWS | ISSUE 85, August 2018

Axel Forrester

THE DUTTON GIRL

Stan Freeman, Coffeetown, 2018, $16.95, pb, 304pp, 97816003817660

Sarah Dutton is no beauty, even by 1915 standards, but she’s worth a fortune in jewels.

When someone abducts Sarah and the jewels, half the New York police force and the whole Tierney Investigation Agency (Sean and his cousin John) start combing the city. This is the first case for John Nolan, but there’s no pleasure in it. He just needs money to bring his fiancée to New York; their letters tell his love story. John’s a clever lad and a hard worker so, while the police go their own way, he investigates everyone associated with Sarah Dutton, her fiancé, and her family, eliminating likely suspects one by one. The plot is complicated by the way John thinks—one logical step at a time—sometimes brilliant, sometimes way off track. The author shadows John’s every step as he learns to shoot a gun, follows false leads, hires an airplane for spying, and, apparently, hits a dead end, before he gets close to Sarah Dutton.

Strong characters are necessary to turn a kidnapped heiress and missing jewels into an original plot, and unfortunately John and his girlfriend in Ireland are the only ones who are not 1915 stereotypes. Freeman (Ninety Million in Change, 2017) has talent; if only he were more succinct. He can create tension while a man examines a jewel, an important plot point, but he gives too much space to one-scene characters and actions without consequences.

Nevertheless, The Dutton Girl is a strong effort, which may lead readers to Freeman’s free novellas online.

Jeanne Greene

POCKETFUL OF DREAMS

Jean Fullerton, Corvus, 2017, £7.99, pb, 416pp, 9781786491381

From an Irish East London wedding to the Battle of Britain, this book shows the Brogan family in love, tragedy and joy in exceptional detail. It explains the workings of the ARP, the Fire Service, the police, and other civilian protection groups, showing the sensible preparations by government.

When a mysterious young man arrives at the Brogans’ parish church, he provides a dazzling distraction for eldest daughter, Mattie. The pair fall deeply in love and are drawn into secret dangers on the streets they call home as Nazi support groups within the British working and governing classes are revealed. A strong and vibrant love story progresses while the young couple strive to protect the East End as they know it. But complications arise when Mattie discovers her lover is more than a priest and engaged in espionage against the Nazi infiltration.

Here is a brilliant author who is not afraid of the truth and has spent her life as a District and Queen’s Nurse and a vicar’s wife. She has lived in and known the East End all her life. But the book has a few anachronisms. I doubt a young lady in 1940 would request a G&T in a bar, nor wear a plastic rain cap or remark about cream emulsion paint. There are occasional

misspellings, but overall this is a fine book, if a little too long for the story it tells. And it is a rare one that tells such detail of lovemaking, making it a book for adults.

Geoffrey Harfield

DEATH AT THE DURBAR

Arjun Raj Gaind, Poisoned Pen Press, 2018, $15.95, pb, 318pp, 9781464209208

In December 1911, the British are preparing to host a grand Durbar while awaiting the arrival of King George V in India. A tent city has been set up outside Mughal Delhi as the location for the coronation. A beautiful young girl is discovered dead in one of the tents. Maharaja Sikander Singh of Rajpore is called in to investigate the matter and is sworn to secrecy. He has only a few days to discover if the girl was murdered and then who committed the crime. They don’t want the death to ruin the celebration of the coronation.

As the investigation moves forward, the list of suspects grows as time continues to run out.

Because of the number of characters and the Indian names among those identified as suspects, it became confusing at times matching the suspects with their reasons for attempting the murder. This is a minor problem, because as Maharaja Singh closed in on the murderer, I was able to bring it together.

This is the second Maharaja mystery. The author is familiar with the culture and politics of the era, and he paints a rich, thorough picture of India during the Raj period. It’s enjoyable as an historical novel as well as a well-written mystery.

Jeff Westerhoff

THE BLUES WALKED IN

Kathleen George, Univ. of Pittsburgh Press, 2018, $24.95, hb, 294pp, 9780822945246

In 1936, Lena Horne, aged 19, returns home after singing in New York City and touring with jazz bands. Lena lives with her stepmother and father, who encourage her to consider marriage, children, and a “normal” life. Lena makes friends with Josiah, the son of her father’s plumber, who dreams of Hollywood and who, according to Lena’s father, is beneath her.

Lebanese-American Marie Elias, a schoolmate of Josiah, is star-struck when she meets Lena Horne and does some mending for her.

The novel follows Lena Horne and Marie Elias over the next ten years: their marriages, children, and the development of their careers.

Readers see Lena Horne up close, as well as how the public viewed the singer/actress, which could be why this novel is structured thus. I found the combination of plots awkward.

Josiah and a crime feature prominently in Marie’s story and only a bit in Lena’s. Marie’s story is full of historical detail and character development which are sorely missing from Lena’s story. Lena’s music is described but not brought to life. In behavior, Lena is shown as meek, yet she is described as angry. Race in America, and what it means to be white, black, to “pass,” and the discrimination of the time,

are well handled. Pittsburgh is not named as the setting until almost 50 pages in. When Lena returns home, clues are given: “The Hill” and “Fullerton,” but the city is not named—a costly error. In the conclusion, readers learn that the novel was told by Marie’s daughter, Helena Elias, grounding the parallel stories—except the author is Kathleen George. Are Marie, Helena and Josiah pure fiction? Author notes would have greatly helped. There is much that is engaging, educational, and entertaining in this novel, but much that is missing, too.

Elizabeth Caulfield Felt

A STUDY IN TREASON

Leonard Goldberg, Minotaur, 2018, $25.99/ C$33.99, hb, 320pp, 9781250101068

This is the second book in the Daughter of Sherlock Holmes mystery series, this time set in 1914. A top-secret document is stolen from a guarded, secured library, where it is being copied. Joanna Blalock Watson, her husband Dr. John Watson Jr., along with the late Sherlock Holmes’s investigative partner, Dr. John Watson Sr, and members of the Baker Street Irregulars, are called in to assist Scotland Yard’s Inspector Lestrade, Jr. Two murders, on top of the stolen documents, baffle all but Joanna. She solves the case, and the document is recovered. But then, what else can be expected of Holmes’s offspring?

Joanna’s genetic ability to know every answer is off-putting. She has no flaws, other than her constant smoking. Her husband, a pathologist, needs to be reminded of simple facts, and his father is ready to jump into action, but is often ill, a result of his age.

Goldberg has a wealth of knowledge of the Conan Doyle mysteries, but this story and the characters are too dependent on familiar names and former stories. Perhaps it would more greatly interest young adults or readers who have not discovered the originals. In a phrase: I was disappointed.

Monica E. Spence

NOTHING IS FORGOTTEN

Peter Golden, Atria, 2018, $26.00/C$35.00, hb, 339pp, 9781501146800

In 1962 Orange, New Jersey, Michael Daniels is a 19-year-old at loose ends following the tragic deaths of his parents. Emma Dainov, Michael’s grandmother and a Russian-Jewish immigrant who fled the Soviet Union following World War II, tries to help Michael find his way while she runs the town’s popular sweetshop.

With Emma’s help, Michael hosts a radio show in which he is the “Mad Russian,” playing American rock and roll music while criticizing the politics of the USSR. The radio show becomes a hit, and is even broadcast in Russia, but Michael’s growing success is marred by the violent murder of his grandmother.

Following her death, Michael embarks on a quest to discover why his grandmother, Emma, was killed. As he travels to Munich, the Soviet Union, Paris, Nice, and California, Michael slowly unravels Emma’s secret history. As the truth of Emma’s past draws nearer, Michael

finds himself in increasing danger. Someone does not want the truth to be uncovered. At the same time, Michael finds love with Yulianna, a Ukrainian orphan who, like Emma, has witnessed the horrors of war firsthand.

Peter Golden’s Nothing is Forgotten is a globetrotting historical mystery perfect for readers interested in the Cold War, World War II, and espionage. Golden perfectly captures the ennui of an American teenager of the 1960s and his transformation into someone with a purpose. The only criticism, for this reader, was that I would have liked two different narratives: Michael’s story and Emma’s own perspective.

Instead, there was a lot of telling the reader about Emma’s past, as Michael uncovers these facts, versus revealing it through her own experiences.

Julia C. Fischer

THE DYING OF THE LIGHT

Robert Goolrick, Harper, 2018, $26.99, hb, 288pp, 9780062678225

The only way to save Saratoga, the grand Virginia estate that has been in the Cooke family for five generations, is for Diana to marry a rich husband. With most of the eligible men off fighting in WWI, the odds are not in her favor. Fortunately, her intoxicating beauty catches the eye of Captain Copperton, who lacks pedigree but makes up for it with his enormous wealth. Their union is loveless and violent but does produce the one thing Diana adores: her son, Ashton.

After her husband’s death, Saratoga falls into ruin, and Diana, though still young, has turned into a ghost of her former vivacious self.

When Ashton returns home from college with his handsome roommate, Gibby, the two begin plans to restore the estate to its former glory.

They invite Lucius, a shy, reclusive librarian, and an eccentric interior designer, Rose, to join them. The renovations and guests bring a new life to the home and Diana, who begins to imagine the possibility of finding love. As the summer progresses relationships form and secrets abound, culminating in an explosive showdown.

Certainly atmospheric, Goolrick’s descriptions of Saratoga’s interiors and the Virginia landscape are cinematic and captivating. He rushes through the first half of the novel, though, leaving much unexplored.

The reader is left wanting to know more about the characters, particularly Diana and what lurks behind her perfect exterior. This novel feels like it should be a sprawling Southern epic, but unfortunately, the one-dimensional characters and predictable ending hold it back.

Janice Derr

THE ROMANOV EMPRESS

C. W. Gortner, Ballantine, 2018, $28.00/ C$37.00, hb, 429pp, 9780425286166

This gorgeous, glorious, haunting book vividly imagines the inner life of Dagmar of Denmark, wife to the Russian tsar Alexander

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III and mother of the ill-fated Nicholas II. The novel opens with a teenaged Minnie, as she is called, grumbling about her father’s sudden elevation among the ruling families of Europe and the consequent marriage of her sister Alix to Bertie, heir to Queen Victoria of Britain, only the first trial in a dramatic life that brings Minnie unrivaled wealth, power, fame, and heartbreak.

Though the book spans decades, the historic tumults of imperial Russia, including revolutions, poverty, and occasional war, are the backdrop to Minnie’s domestic joys and squabbles: competing with the grand duchesses to be the toast of the fashionable world, bearing children, and, after the shocking assassination of her father-in-law, Alexander II, supporting her husband in his role as Russia’s Little Father. The details of gowns, jewels, parties, and palaces get more attention than her charity work or public functions, but Gortner’s Minnie is a captivating and believable character: courageous, flawed, committed to the public good, and concerned for Russia’s prosperity as it supports the health and safety of her ruling family.

Minnie’s doom, and Russia’s, begins when her son Nicholas marries the poisonous Alexandra of Hesse, who in this version of events is largely responsible for Nicky’s impotent reign, the influence of the hated Rasputin, and the slaughter of the Romanovs

by Bolsheviks during the Revolution of 1918.

As with his previous historical novels, Gortner provides a completely absorbing immersion in this vanished world, transforming the historic footnote of the last tsar’s mother into the compelling tale of a fascinating, principled, and dauntless woman whose courage has a power all its own. An exciting, illuminating read.

Misty Urban

BETWEEN THE LIES

Cynthia Graham, Blank Slate, 2018, $15.95, pb, 220pp, 9781943075447

Hick Blackburn is back in this tense, wellwritten mystery, set in 1954, that finds him trying to prove the innocence of young black boy being held by a corrupt county sheriff for a murder he could never have committed. Sheriff Earl Brewster of Broken Creek has a history with Hick, sheriff of Cherokee Crossing, and none of it is any good. So, when Hick is called to help out in Broken Creek, he reluctantly agrees. But, the more he learns about the corruption, racism, and blackmail going on in the town, he can’t help but get drawn in and right a wrong. Helping Hick is Brewster’s 42

deputy, Royal Adkins, who helps unravel longheld secrets in Broken Creek. Carol Quinn is a young, up-and-coming civil rights lawyer from New York City who believes that Hick is helping Blackburn cover up a crime and railroad a young black boy into years in jail and finds everyone in the South to be stupid hillbillies. However, while working with Hick, Carol slowly comes around to see him for the man he really is, and together, they are able to bring about justice.

Graham (Behind Every Door) keeps up a blistering pace and the twists turning. Her characters are well-developed; Brewster is more than a mere caricature of a backwoods, corrupt sheriff and Hick is deeply drawn. Carol’s change of heart and views are believable, and Royal is a fun, good-hearted young man. My one issue came with the ending, which I won’t reveal, but it felt abrupt, and Hick’s reaction to it didn’t have the emotional charge I wanted. In all, a fine homage to Southern Gothic themes and a mystery that will keep you guessing until the end.

Bryan Dumas

COME FROM AWAY

Genevieve Graham, Simon & Schuster, 2018, $16.99/C$22.00, pb, 352pp, 9781501142895

The phrase ‘come from away’ is used in the east coast of Canada to indicate someone who has arrived from a distance. This might be 100 miles or half a world away. When Grace Baker meets Rudy, she knows he has ‘come from away,’ but does not at first realize that he is the enemy. This is 1942, and he is German, the only survivor of a U-boat sunk near Grace’s home.

Rudy struggles to a cabin, trapping and trading pelts for supplies at the general store where Grace works. Gradually she falls in love with him but is shocked to discover that he is not only German, but also part of the U-boat crew. Influenced by news media of the time, by rumours emphasizing the cruelty of the enemy, and also by the fact that two of her brothers have been injured in the war, Grace turns her back on Rudy.

Yet Rudy risks his own life to save the life of Tommy, one of Grace’s relatives who also sees him as the enemy. All three young people slowly come to realize that goodness can exist in all people – even those thought to be ‘the enemy.’ When Rudy is forced to leave the safety of the trapper’s cabin to bring Tommy to a doctor, he knows he could be giving up his freedom and facing a long incarceration, as well as revealing himself as German to the woman he loves.

This novel presents a warm and understanding look at the attitudes of an earlier time. The young people espouse the views of the day wholeheartedly and are ready to stand up and even sacrifice for their beliefs.

Can older heads, with more life experience, help them to greater understanding? Perhaps this is a novel for our time.

REVIEWS | ISSUE 85, August 2018

Valerie Adolph

AN ORPHAN’S WAR

Molly Green, Avon, 2018, £7.99, pb, 424pp, 9780008238971

Maxine Taylor never wanted to be a nurse.

That was her mother’s ambition, which Maxine felt obliged to fulfil because her ne’erdo-well brother had broken their parents’ hearts. But after her medic husband dies in the aftermath of the evacuation of Dunkirk and Maxine makes some disastrous decisions in her personal life during an ill-fated stint working in St Thomas’s Hospital in London, she returns to her native Liverpool and finds work at a local Dr Barnardo’s Orphanage, which might just fulfil her dream of working with children – as long as her past does not catch up with her…

This is typical saga fare. The characterisation is fairly superficial, and the characters all fall easily into stereotyped, black-and-white categories of goodies and baddies. It’s hard to empathise with Maxine’s grief for her husband Johnny, supposedly her best friend from childhood, when all the scenes of their marriage show him in rather an unsympathetic light.

Molly Green shows that she has not yet mastered the art of vignettes – creating minor characters in just a few telling details. Most of the orphans at the orphanage are just a list of indistinguishable names – Alan, Bobby, Betsy, Daisy, Doris – rather than possessing individual quirks and personalities, though perhaps they are individualised more in Green’s previous novel set in the same orphanage, which I haven’t read. On the plus side, the historical background seems sound enough, with no glaring anachronisms (apart from possibly the modern, liberal values all the “good” characters seem to possess). Saga fans will no doubt enjoy it, but this is not a novel that will win over anyone with reservations about the genre.

Jasmina Svenne

BUTTON MAN

Andrew Gross, St. Martin’s, 2018, $27.99, hb, 368pp, 9781250179982

The garment industry of the 1920s and 1930s in New York City is the setting for this suspenseful family story of three brothers working their way out of the tragedies and poverty of their Jewish Lower East Side boyhoods. The story centers around Morris, the scrappiest of the three, whose confrontations with bullying boys of his neighborhood grows into more deadly encounters with them as notorious members of Murder Incorporated.

Brother Sol goes into business with Morris, but Harry flounders and becomes a mob hangeron, then driver. Morris finds love uptown and grows a family of his own and a business in ladies’ coats and furs. With success comes mob-controlled union pressure. When Morris stands up to threats, he finds his life and business in danger. The law, in the person of Thomas Dewey himself, comes calling to enlist Morris’s help in bringing down the mob.

The strength of this suspenseful novel lies in its dark humor and characterizations of

the brothers. Unfortunately, their mother, Morris’s wife Ruthie, and his sisters are not as well drawn and serve the story more as archetypical objects of affection. The dialogue is spot-on, if overwritten. The sometimes gritty, sometimes swanky settings of Button Man bring a tumultuous time and place to brimming life.

Eileen Charbonneau

LOVE AND DEATH IN SHANGHAI

Elizabeth J. Hall, Elizabeth J. Hall, 2018, £9.99, pb, 388pp, 9781999784270

Eager for adventure and good pay, Sam Shuttleworth joins the Shanghai Municipal Police in 1924. Hard-working, he is quickly promoted. Then he meets Lulu, a beautiful if volatile White Russian, and his troubles start.

They marry and have a daughter, but the marriage cannot survive Lulu’s infidelities and the growing chaos in Shanghai: crime, civil war and possible Japanese invasion. Sam must do his demanding job, cope with his jealousy, and take care of his beloved daughter.

Essentially plotless, the novel follows Sam’s police work and turbulent love life from 1924 to his murder in 1942—a spoiler given in the prologue. These fascinating, complicated years in Chinese history are mainly described in conversations or police instructions; actual incidents are rarely described. The International Settlement was a sophisticated European city teeming with various nationalities and set in an exotic, changing China which is left to our imagination. When Sam returns to Lancashire on leave, his town and family’s life are presented in meticulous detail, which unfortunately points up how flat and colourless the Chinese background seems. To Hall’s credit, Sam is perfectly portrayed for the period and his roots. His interests are sport, drink and sex. There is no attempt to make a 21st-century metrosexual feminist out of Sam, but if his lack of interest in China is convincing, it is also regrettable for the interested reader. The novel’s bibliography is mouth-watering. The ghastly Russian Lulu is fun, though.

Lynn Guest

THE ROOM ON RUE AMÉLIE

Kristin Harmel, Gallery, 2018, C$35.00, hb, 400pp, 9781501171406

$26.00/

After American Ruby Henderson marries Frenchman Marcel Benoit, they settle in Paris in 1939. Instead of newlywed bliss, they face Nazi invasion and occupation. Their neighbors on Rue Amélie are a Jewish family, the Dachers, whose daughter Charlotte befriends Ruby. Marcel, active in the French Resistance, rescues downed British fighter pilots and helps them escape through Spain.

When Marcel is killed, Ruby takes his place on the line, sheltering downed pilots in a closet in their apartment. The Nazis become more

merciless in their quest to find such resistors, and the threat of Jewish roundups frightens Charlotte and her family. Amid such tension, Ruby shelters British pilot Thomas Clarke, tending his wounds as they wait for news of his escape route. Ruby and Thomas begin to fall for one another, despite the hopelessness of wartime. Charlotte starts to suspect that Ruby is working with the resistance, which could jeopardize them all.

This novel grew on me with its probing examination of human behavior in the face of the Nazi occupation. The author’s sprinkling of historical detail throughout reflects her devotion to historical research. As each episode unfolds, the reader faces everyday people willing to risk their lives to help others.

Indeed, as Ruby hides Charlotte after her parents are deported, we fear the Nazis could find out and shoot her. When Ruby delivers the news to Charlotte that her parents have been arrested by the Germans, she says, “But there is no French anymore. There are just Jews, those who hate us, and people who are too scared for their own lives to fight back.

But there are also people like you and me, Charlotte, people who are doing what they can to help. We’ll win in the end.” Highly recommended.

Gini Grossenbacher

DEATH OF A NOVICE

Cora Harrison, Severn House, 2018, $28.99/£20.99, hb, 240pp, 9780727887831

Young Sister Gertrude is a welcome addition to the convent; she’s quick with numbers and funny. But when she is found dead by the Reverend Mother one morning, Gertrude’s death becomes an internal issue. Did she die from alcohol poisoning or something else?

Who would want her dead?

As the Reverend Mother starts putting together the pieces, they are puzzling and disturbing. Why did Gertrude delay her entry into the convent until after her sister’s marriage? When the Reverend Mother discovers that her father died of a similar illness shortly before Gertrude’s death, her suspicions become aroused. Was there a romantic relationship between Gertrude’s brother-in-law, overly upset by Gertrude’s death, and Gertrude? Was her sister involved in removing Gertrude from the triangle?

But perhaps more troubling to the Reverend Mother is the possibility that two other young nuns, involved in what appears to be an Irish Republican group, are somehow involved in Gertrude’s death. They certainly had access to poison and could mask it. Everyone in the convent knew about Gertrude’s sweet tooth, and the two nuns had all the access they would have needed to rid themselves of a potential informant.

Replete with fascinating details about the Republican underbelly of 1920s Cork, this installment of the Reverend Mother Mysteries is one of my favorites. Mother Aquinas is at her most resolved, most focused and most nervy, confronting a dangerous Republican

enemy. I enjoyed it immensely, and it’s a great summer read!

Ilysa Magnus

THE DESERT NURSE

Pamela Hart, Hachette Australia, A$29.95, pb, 368pp, 9780733637568

2018,

Although Evelyn Northey desperately wants to be a doctor, her father will not allow it, holding back her inheritance–which would enable her to attend university–until she is thirty years of age. In defiance, Evelyn trains to be a nurse and, when World War One breaks out, she enlists as an army nurse headed for Egypt. In the dust, heat and horror of nursing men injured at Gallipoli, she begins to develop feelings for Dr William Brent: feelings that threaten her eventual plans to study medicine.

She vows never to let a man have power over her decisions again.

The Desert Nurse is a compelling read that has all the elements of a satisfying romance.

Evelyn Northey is a sympathetic character, and William Brent, the tortured hero, is equally appealing, the growing connection between them tender and well-realised.

At times, I wanted to slap them both, as they simultaneously resisted their growing attraction. This was no doubt the writer’s intention.

The historical detail in The Desert Nurse is tactile and realistic. Pamela Hart clearly knows her stuff. The reader is given a sense of the challenges faced by medical staff working in these conditions without the story becoming too grim. Hart ticks all the boxes of ANZAC legend, too – the larrikinism, the humour, the disrespect for authority and the eschewing of the class system. This could have been cliché, if she had not also given us an intelligent women’s perspective of those events—a sense of the challenges faced by women who wanted to pursue a career in this era. This lifted the book above a typical Aussie World War One romance and gave it an unexpected depth.

I look forward to reading more from this author.

Elizabeth Jane Corbett

MY MOTHER’S SON

David Hirshberg, Fig Tree, 2018, $23.95, hb, 368pp, 9781941493229

My Mother’s Son is narrated by Joel, a retiring radio raconteur, as he reflects on his family’s past as Jewish immigrants in search of the American Dream, as well as his own childhood in Boston. In a sweet coming-ofage story, he reminisces about his first pet dog, his first kiss, and his relationship with his brother, Steven, as they naively get wrapped up in corrupt politics and the questionable antics of local businessmen.

The narrative moves easily from Joel’s childhood in 1952 Boston to 1938 Hamburg, Germany and his family’s narrow escape from Nazi persecution, and then back to his retirement from radio in 2011 after a 47-year-

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long career. We are taken on a tour through Joel’s memories and his aunt’s diary entries. Bit by bit the family secrets unfold. Each experience that is revealed gradually leads to Joel’s loss of innocence and entrance into adulthood.

Hirshberg provides a rich backdrop for his story by weaving in historical events such as the Boston Braves’ move to Milwaukee, the Korean War, John F. Kennedy’s Senate win in Massachusetts, and the ravages of the polio epidemic. In a vivid and memorable novel, Hirshberg successfully asks us to consider the fluidity of truth and the impact of shifting perspectives. Is it the real events or the way we choose to tell the stories afterward that matter more? He also provides us with a poignant look at the development of Jewish-American culture and significant moments in history that have helped shape our country.

Jenna Pavleck

CHASING THE WIND

C. C. Humphreys, Doubleday Canada, 2018, C$24.00/£9.99, hb, 320pp, 9780385690485 / Two Hats, 2018, $16.00, pb, 296pp, 9781775302506

Roxy Loewen, an appealing, Derringerpacking protégée of Amelia Earhart, gets back up no matter how many times she’s knocked down. She bluffs her way through the pages of C.C. Humphreys’ newest novel, daring you to give up on her and get some sleep. The story begins in Curtiss Field Aerodrome, Long Island, in 1929, with Roxy on the run from the heartless businessman who has just harried her bankrupt father to his death. She barely escapes, crosswind, in her beloved, bright red aircraft. The action then goes to British Somaliland, where she and her communist lover, Jocco, are again on the run, this time from the Italian fascists—and then it’s on to Madrid and then the Berlin Olympics, where the couple intend to steal a masterpiece out from under the nose of Hermann Göring and the rest of Hitler’s Nazi thugs.

Humphreys continually turns up the suspense, with this reader frantically turning pages, all the while thinking how there was just no way the action could turn out well. The author has done his homework: The aviation rings as vividly true as does 1936 Berlin, with lovely details like how the release of 5,000 doves over the crowds, synchronized with a cannon shot, led to the frightened birds letting loose on the masses below.

Obviously, I’m not going to give the plot away, but it’s fair to reveal that the last few paragraphs are some of the best in the book.

They hint at a bang-up sequel. Long live Roxy!

A great escapist read, for the summer or any other time when you need to fly away.

Kristen Hannum

ESTOCADA

Graham Hurley, Head of Zeus, 2018, £18.99/$27.95, hb, 479pp, 9781784977894

1937. Dieter Merz, the most decorated fighter ace in the Third Reich, is part of the infamous Condor Legion fighting in the 44

Spanish Civil War. His skills bring him fame and to the notice of the top echelons of the Nazi hierarchy. Sent to Japan, he becomes involved with Keiko, a young Japanese woman who returns with him to Germany. Scotsman and ex-marine Tam Moncrieff is recruited by a nameless intelligence agency in London to investigate Hitler’s intentions regarding Czechoslovakia. His travels take him first to Czechoslovakia, where his inexperience puts both himself and his contacts in harm’s way, then on to Germany. What will Hitler do?

Will the Generals support him? Moncrieff finds himself in a potential plot to kill Hitler.

In Germany the two men finally meet. Duty collides with conscience, but in this time of suspicion, intrigue and murderous intent, will anyone make the killing strike: la estocada?

With a strong plot, the author brings alive this period of intense political and social drama. The main characters are well-written, with the use of actual historical characters – Ribbentrop, Hitler, Churchill, etc., giving structure and support. Graham Hurley’s many fans will love this. New readers start here.

Recommended.

Mike Ashworth

THE SHADOW KILLER

Arnaldur Indridason (trans. Victoria Cribb), Harvill Secker, 2018, £14.99, hb, 356pp, 9781911215073 / Minotaur, 2018, $26.99, hb, 368pp, 9781250124043

This is the sequel to last year’s The Shadow District, with both books set in Reykjavík, Iceland, during the Second World War. Indridason brings together a transnational duo – the city’s only detective, the humane Flóvent, and Thorson, an empathetic Canadian military policeman with Icelandic heritage, who is exploring his own sexual identity. Their lack of experience in investigating murders shifts the reader’s position into one of co-investigator, in a quest for justice. The case turns on the death of a salesman, executed with a Colt .45, with a swastika painted on his forehead. A hunt for his missing colleague, Felix Lunden, who is revealed to have been a schoolmate of the victim and the son of a local Nazi sympathiser and eugenicist, Rudolph, ensues. The search soon focuses around the family, which has been involved in eugenics research on local children.

It is an unusual setting and one that Indridason paints beautifully – an island in a state of disturbance and flux, as Americans replace British forces. The island’s strategic significance at the time is not only a backdrop – it informs the plot. The troops vie with each other for women on the island and are resented by local men, as traditional interdependent human relationships are tainted by transactions due to the desperate need to survive. Indridason has chosen fertile ground in which to explore themes of cruelty, eugenics and occupation. The period detail is immersive, with the visit to the Icelandic countryside to uncover the life of one suspect, Vera, particularly well observed. Norse

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thrillers are much translated now, a boon for English speaking readers, with many expertly demonstrating how political shifts create turmoil in intimate lives. This absorbing tale is beautifully written, my only caveat being that the plot slightly drags in the middle section.

Katharine Quarmby

COMING HOME TO ISLAND HOUSE

Erica James, Orion, 2018, £16.99, hb, 428pp, 9781409159599

It is summer 1939, and Jack Deveraux’s death is less a matter of grief than of challenge to his estranged children: his will stipulates that they may only inherit his wealth if they spend a week together in their former family home.

Each of them has reason to resent not only Jack but each other, and none of them trust Romily, the young stepmother who has inherited the house and the tricky task of holding the family together.

Erica James is a skillful narrator, neatly weaving together the stories of a household and a village on the brink of war as everyone is tested and changed in some way by both domestic and national events. It’s the kind of novel that’s often described as “heartwarming”: an ultimately positive family saga of the sort that’s hugely popular with readers of the genre, and deservedly so.

Ruth Downie

THE SAPPHIRE WIDOW

Dinah Jefferies, Crown, 2018, $26.00, hb, 385pp, 9780525576327 / Viking, 2018, £7.99, pb, 400pp, 9780241303771

The breathtaking scenery of Ceylon is the true hero of this novel, as the descriptions of its verdant hills, turquoise seas, ancient estates, and vibrant markets enchant the reader with their lushness. Against this sensuous backdrop, men and women fall in love passionately and fatally—as Louisa Reeve, heroine of The Sapphire Widow, discovers on the anniversary of her wedding, when she is told that her husband Elliot has perished in a car accident.

As she investigates the circumstances of his death, she finds out that he has led a double life, gambling away her money, and cheating on her with another woman—discoveries that hurt Louisa more, because she has barely survived several miscarriages and the death of an infant daughter. Will she learn to trust again? Her savior could turn out be the cousin of her husband’s lover and the owner of the Cinnamon Hills plantation, Leo McKern, who seems attracted to Louisa from the beginning. But while Leo pays her court, gently persuading her to care for her dead husband’s bastard son, Elliot’s old sins threaten to catch up with his widow, threatening her with the loss of everything she has come to hold dear since venturing a new start.

Jefferies’ love for the southeast Asian landscape shines through her every word, and she draws a vibrant portrait of colonial-era Ceylon in the 1930s: its planters, businessmen,

and pioneering women, as well as the international criminals who prey on them.

Although the reader might wish for greater complexity in the depictions of racial relations, The Sapphire Widow is a thoroughly enjoyable read and comes highly recommended.

Elisabeth Lenckos

THE BLACK SILK PURSE

Margaret Kaine, Allison & Busby, 2018, £19.99, hb, 320pp, 9780749023102

I thoroughly enjoyed The Black Silk Purse.

Set in Edwardian England on the brink of suffrage, the novel follows the lives of three people from different walks of life. The protagonist Ella Hathaway, a scullery maid rescued from a workhouse, is unsure of her identity because she is haunted by the words “Your ma was killed deliberate”... Ella’s black silk purse seems the only answer to her question. With the help of spinster Letitia Fairchild and Irishman Rory Adare, Ella slowly finds out what happened.

Kaine’s talented storytelling drives the plot along at a breathtaking pace, and you begin to care for all the characters involved. The attention to historical detail is effortless, and it is easy to understand the mindset of the people of the time: the degradation and shame of the workhouse, the importance of wealth and the allure of America. Similarly, Kaine skillfully includes the prejudices that were around at the time, for example, resentment towards the Irish and the resistance and apprehension towards the prospect of women beginning to fight for the vote. Throughout the novel the author takes you on a journey full of twists, turns and surprises – it is a real page-turner which you will never forget.

Clare Lehovsky

LIEUTENANT KUROSAWA’S ERRAND BOY

Warran Kalasegaran, Epigram, 2017, $24.90, pb, 336pp, 9789814785068

This story of the lives of Nanban, Kurosawa, Papatti and her family, and the Japanese who took over Singapore during WWII focuses on victors and victims. Think there’s nothing new here? Wrong! Nanban is a 12-year-old Tamil child who attracts Lieutenant Kurosawa’s interest. At first, his is a horrific tale of constant fear of doing the wrong thing and being subjected to cane beatings. Then, in an enigmatic fashion, it becomes much worse as his mentor insists on teaching Nanban to read and do martial arts exercises, and then he is forced to mete out brutal punishments on errant Japanese soldiers. The death of Nanban’s father turns the young boy into a feral hater.

Twenty years after the war we meet Papatti, a young girl who hungers to be loved, accepted and even admired. Failing to succeed in school, she instead becomes one of the best seamstresses in her town and eventually becomes duped into working with and eventually marrying the upcoming town assemblyman. In that time, Papatti becomes

smarter and more dignified as she realizes the tool she has become; however, her trusting nature is a moving element of the reader’s desire for her to succeed.

Years and years later, the former Lieutenant Kurosawa is haunted by guilt for his acts during the war and seeks repentance and reconciliation. The end of the war in Nagasaki and Kurosawa’s hometown Hiroshima propels his unremitting shame. This story is written as if the two plotlines are occurring concurrently, deliberately paced to force the reader to question the timeline of history and the movements of victor and vanquished over a 60-year period. Remarkable historical fiction!

Viviane Crystal

IF YOU LEAVE ME

Crystal Hana Kim, Morrow, 2018, $26.99/£20.00, hb, 432pp, 9780062645173

Five narrators tell the story of Korea in the 1950s and 1960s in a quiet but dramatic tone. Everyone has been affected by the Korean War, from those who were called to serve in the ROK military to citizens suffering from physically painful starvation. Haemi is a sixteen-year-old young woman when this story begins and best friends with Kyunghwan.

They sneak out at night, ride to town on one bicycle, and get drunk at a cheap club whose staff neglect to question their age. Soon Kyunghwan introduces Haemi to his friend, Jisoo. The next quarter of the novel dwells on whether Haemi truly loves one of these young men. Do love and having fun make for a good marriage, or are kindness, compassion, and financial stability the grounds for a successful union? Jisoo is also kind to Hyunki, Haemi’s brother, who suffers from consumption.

Eventually, Jisoo marries Haemi, but the remainder of the story is far from predictable.

Two aspects focus this novel, keeping it from being simplistic. One is the weight of choices during a time of war. Day-to-day living carries the reality of intimacy but is overlaid by the responsibility of providing food for children and working a secure job. Jisoo is proud of his success but knows his weaknesses (not just physical) affect everyone around him.

Haemi’s evolution as a person and character is the other theme that compels us to continue reading and caring. Her mindless love for play eventually changes to concern for her future but gets all mixed up when eventually she questions her so-called “wise” choices. What happens develops into an unexpected climax and resolution. Fine historical fiction.

Viviane Crystal

ISLAND OF THE MAD

Laurie R. King, Bantam, 2018, $28.00/ C$37.00, hb, 306pp, 9780804177962

Island of the Mad is the latest installment in Laurie R. King’s popular mystery series set in the 1920s, featuring Sherlock Holmes and his wife, Mary Russell. Mary receives a call from her Oxford friend, Veronica Beaconsfield,

asking her to investigate the disappearance of Veronica’s aunt Vivian, who has spent most of her adult life in various insane asylums.

Vivian has gone missing from Bedlam, along with her nurse and some family jewels. Mary gets herself temporarily committed to Bedlam to look for Vivian’s medical records, which tell her that Vivian had been staying there voluntarily, at least until her disappearance.

The trail of clues leads Mary to Venice, and to Elsa Maxwell and her elaborate parties on the Lido. Vivian had been an avid partygoer before her commitment to Bedlam, and Mary thinks she may be mingling with the rich and famous.

Meanwhile, Holmes’s brother, Mycroft, asks him to investigate the rise of Fascism in Italy. Holmes and Mary witness an attack by Mussolini’s Blackshirts on their first night in Venice, and they soon discover that Vivian’s older brother, who has expressed sympathy for Fascism, has followed her. He was responsible for her committal, and she has always been terrified of him. Once they discover where Vivian is, will they be able to protect her from her brother?

King conveys the atmosphere of Venice in the Roaring Twenties wonderfully well. The book held special interest for me, because I have recently been to Venice and stayed on the Lido. Even though it is no longer the playground for the rich that it was in the 1920s, I could picture all the locations. In spite of heavy themes such as mental illness and Fascism, this book has a lighter tone than its immediate predecessor. I highly recommend it.

Vicki Kondelik

THE BODY IN THE BALLROOM

R. J. Koreto, Crooked Lane, 2018, $26.99/ C$38.95, hb, 304pp, 9781683315773

Philadelphia Rutledge’s coming-of-age ball at her uptown New York mansion ends in disaster when one of the most universally hated guests dies. Philly had invited her friend, Alice Roosevelt, who summons her Secret Service agent, Joseph St. Clair, to run interference between the wealthy and the police. Since Alice was on the other side of the punch bowl when the deceased drank the deadly potion, she fully expects to solve the crime herself.

Alice and Joe’s first challenge comes when the police arrest the mechanic who services cars for the Roosevelts and the Rutledges. But Joe vouches for Peter’s character and gets him released from the Tombs; he remains a key to the case to the end. Alice’s access to the highsociety guests allows her to procure more clues than the police, and she and Joe soon uncover adulterous relationships galore as well as the existence of an elite secret organization intent on preserving New York from the influx of immigrants. Alice even persuades a member of the Fourth Estate to aid her in flushing out the perpetrator.

This is Koreto’s second Alice Roosevelt

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mystery, and the snappy dialogue and cameo appearances by the President keep the narrative flowing. He brings the threads of this complex plot to a satisfying conclusion and teases with several romantic liaisons. Throw in international intrigue and thugs protecting a West Side brownstone, and mystery fans should enjoy how he brings turn-of-the-lastcentury America and the irrepressible Alice Roosevelt to life and look forward to her next adventure.

Tom Vallar

RIP THE ANGELS FROM HEAVEN

David Krugler, Pegasus, 2018, $25.95, hb, 320pp, 9781681777788

By age 25, Ellis Voigt has achieved a lot. He has risen to Lieutenant in the US Navy and works for the Office of Naval Intelligence. He has wormed his way into a Communist spy cell in Washington, DC. But he’s also under suspicion of having murdered a Soviet mole and is hounded by both the FBI and Soviet spy managers operating in the US. Then he’s assigned to track down a Soviet spy suddenly missing and a US scientist who passed A-bomb secrets to that missing spy.

During a frantic eleven days in July 1945, Voigt must convince his Soviet spy-masters, his superiors in the Office of Naval Intelligence, his other spy contacts, and an FBI agent hounding him that his loyalties are only to each of them.

A frenetic journey takes him from his ordinary government office desk to the slums and empty warehouses of DC and to the first A-bomb test in the New Mexico desert.

Through Voigt’s first-person narrative, Krugler nicely manages the many complexities of the story and Voigt’s often teetering balancing act. One wrong word, one misstep will land him in jail charged with treason by US authorities or get him tortured and shot

by Soviet thugs. An intense romance and interactions with the geniuses who developed nuclear bombs liven up the story even more.

The details and dialogue fit the characters and the times. For readers who want a fast-paced, complex spy thriller (and are willing to accept improbable twists and overlook some plot holes), this is a satisfying read.

G. J. Berger

THE FIRST DANCE

Catherine Law, Zaffre, 2018, £7.99, pb, 440 pp, 9781785760518

Why should Alexandra (Alexa) Rosewarne flee her 18th birthday ball on Midsummer’s Eve, 1930?

The narrative then spools back to 1924.

Alexa enjoys an idyllic childhood at Porthdeen in Cornwall, exploring the cliffs and coves with her closest friend, Harvey Ferris, their neighbours’ son. Alexa and her Venetian-born mother, Carlotta, travel to London to visit Carlotta’s estranged mother and stepfather, but Alexa’s innocent questions precipitate a crisis that indirectly leads to Carlotta’s death 46

– something for which Alexa will now blame herself. Porthdeen can never be the same again, and she longs for escape, and to be reconciled with her grandmother.

After her flight from the ball, she becomes a lady’s companion in London. Her employment throws her first into the society of the suave Guy Moreland, and then takes her to Venice.

Catherine Law’s novel drew me in with its opening hook. Her beautiful descriptions of Cornwall brought back many memories of my own childhood summer holidays, and she later captures perfectly the glitter of high-society London and Venice, taking us from the chic Lido to the network of alleys and waterways of the old City. Alexa is a very believable character – the adored child, eager to be thought “grown up” but still given to flashes of immaturity, who becomes an insecure and naïve young woman whose desire to be loved leads to a disastrous mistake. Harvey is steadfast, dependable and loyal, ready to stand by Alexa when crisis engulfs her.

However, I thought the resolution to Alexa’s search for her grandmother was too contrived, and personally, I would have preferred a somewhat different denouement.

The shift to rather Gothic melodrama seemed to unbalance the narrative. Perhaps this was because I had come to empathise with the lead characters and wanted an alternative future for them to what the author delivered!

Mary Fisk

GRAFFITI PALACE

A. G. Lombardo, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2018, $27.00, hb, 322pp, 9780374165918 / Serpent’s Tail, 2018, £14.99, hb, 336pp, 9781781258576

This visceral, often hallucinatory debut novel unfolds in August 1965, as Americo Monk, a seeker of codes and secret wisdom hidden in graffiti, makes his way through the inferno of the Watts riots. He’s bound for the Los Angeles port, where his heavily pregnant wife is holding a wild rent party in the maze of storage containers where she lives. In his struggle to get home through the secret grids of Los Angeles, Monk encounters a vast cast of bizarre characters from the city’s underworlds: war lords of fortune cookie empires, poet gangsters, a gorgeous temptress from the Nation of Islam, witches, voodoo priestesses, El Tirili, a centuryold graffiti artist in a silver sombrero, and a lonely coroner tending children’s corpses in an overflow mortuary. Lured into traps, hunted on every side, befriended by unlikely guides, and brutally beaten, Monk becomes a modern Ulysses, desperate to protect his Holy Grail— the battered notebook holding his precious collection of recorded graffiti.

A. G. Lombardo’s scorching voice is a new millennium evolution of Kurt Vonnegut, William Burroughs, Jack Kerouac and Hunter S. Thompson. However, the fascination of Monk’s journey and fellow-travelers comes with a narrative price. As with many “road novels,” the vividly drawn characters he encounters remain largely unchanged by his passage, and the plot sometimes feels like a chain

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of increasingly surreal vignettes. However, readers prepared for a wild ride will find in Graffiti Palace an utterly unique, unforgettable take on an iconic moment in American history when racial violence exploded in unspeakable violence and under the “burning vault of night,” one man overcomes monstrous odds to return to the woman he loves.

Pamela Schoenewaldt

APRIL IN PARIS, 1921

Tessa Lunney, Pegasus Crime, 2018, $25.95, hb, 304pp, 9781681777757

Katherine King Button, an Australian debutante escaping the marriage market, has reinvented herself in Paris as Kiki Button, socialite and gossip columnist for a London paper. It’s three years after the Great War, and Kiki’s nursing days are behind her. She’s looking forward to parties, coffee shops, and mingling with kindred spirits. Her elation doesn’t last long, as she is tracked down by a wartime nemesis by the name of Fox, with whom she apparently has an unsavory history, and is blackmailed into doing a bit of spying.

A Picasso painting has gone missing, and it seems to be related to a mysterious and sinister German figure who has been stirring up political events in Europe. Owing to her professional ability to move transparently in all the party circles, she is asked to keep a lookout for the artwork while working out clues on her mission. Communists, Brown Shirts, and fallen Russian aristocrats collide in this fastpaced and rather detail-laden mystery that has an emphasis on the era’s food, clothing and bohemian lifestyle.

This story reads like a continuation of a series, which may be problematic for readers, as the main characters refer continuously to previous events. While the well-acquainted characters are capable of witty banter, it can be off-putting to readers, who may feel lost in the mix. It seems the story would be better served to start at the war, which seems central to Kiki’s current personality and frame of mind. It is, however, a character-driven novel and charming in its way. For readers who love 1920s fashion and style, this book is a treat.

However, anyone looking for in-depth intrigue may be left wanting.

Arleigh Ordoyne

TAPESTRY OF WAR

Jane MacKenzie, Allison & Busby, 2018, £12.99, hb, 414pp, 9780749022990

June 1941, Alexandria. World War II is dragging on, and the British and their allies seem to be incapable of stopping Rommel’s advance. Fran has lived all her life in cosmopolitan Alexandria, where she works for the independent weekly, The Alexander Journal, which is trying to hold the different communities of Egyptians, Copts, Jews, British and French together – and to report the news impartially and accurately. Fran meets a young, badly wounded naval officer, Jim MacNeill, a Highlander from the Isle of Islay, and they gradually become close. But

the war, which throws people together, can equally separate them, sometimes forever.

Back on Islay, in the Hebrides, the war is also turning people’s lives upside down. Things are hotting up; the Americans have arrived, together with Poles working with the Free French. The focus of the war has begun to shift to North Africa. Jim’s sister, Catriona, has just finished her nurse’s training, where she specialized in physiotherapy – an area of expertise increasingly needed when severe war wounds requiring possible amputation can be life-changing for the victims. Braving her father’s disapproval, she applies to work in the big hospital on the Clyde.

I enjoyed this book; it captures both the idyllic pre-war expatriates’ lives in Egypt – though thoughtful people were well aware that the British days in Egypt were numbered – but doesn’t flinch from facing the horrors of war.

The different communities are fragmenting and, where there was once friendship and easy social intercourse, this is giving way to mistrust and hardened attitudes. It is a time of increasing tension, both personally and nationally. The war will be a testing time for everyone, young and old. Tapestry of War is a well-researched, emotionally involving book which gets across that difficult thing, the zeitgeist of the times, and grips the reader until the very last page.

Elizabeth Hawksley

THE PRISONER IN THE CASTLE

Susan Elia MacNeal, Bantam, $26.00, hb, 300pp, 9780399593826

Set during 1942 on the Isle of Scarra off the coast of Scotland, The Prisoner in the Castle is the eighth book in the Maggie Hope Mystery Series. In this novel, Maggie has been sent to the island with other SOE (Special Operations Executive) agents. None of these British spies know why but surmise it is because they know too much and may pose a threat to British intelligence and the German spies who have infiltrated it. All are highly trained, especially to kill, but they start dying off in quick succession. It isn’t long before Maggie realizes that they are being killed, and she may be next if she doesn’t find the murderer or a way off the isolated island.

The mystery reads and is paced like a classic Agatha Christie novel, but with the addition of meticulous attention to details and settings and well-crafted characters with their own stories, who are very much a part of their era. I felt I was in that gloomy castle that screamed with grotesque animal decorations, at the dinner table with the characters, and in the social milieu of the time. The Scottish legends the author weaves through the book add interest.

Although the plot has some twists and turns, it is a given that one among the group is the killer. The Prisoner in the Castle is an enjoyable read.

Francesca Pelaccia

PECULIAR SAVAGE BEAUTY

Jessica McCann, Perspective Books, 2018, $24.00, hb, 413pp, 9780999460207

Rosa Jean Evans – she prefers “RJ” – was a reluctant eyewitness to one of America’s great disasters when her parents died in 1918 of influenza. In 1934, a brand-new masters’ degree in geology in hand, RJ experiences another national calamity even before she takes up her post for the federal Soil Conservation Service. On her way to Vanham, Kansas, she is forced to take shelter under her Model AA as a storm-borne cloud of powdery topsoil buries the region under dunes of black dust.

RJ tries to persuade farmers to use different ways of tilling their fields to combat drought, and to plant cover crops so windstorms won’t blow their soil away, but as a young woman in a “man’s” profession, she has a real uphill battle with Vanham’s farmers. Most are amused or contemptuous, but a few begin to listen. RJ finds an ally in Woody Parker, an autistic young man who proves a valuable assistant and friend.

Jessica McCann has done a terrific job of portraying life in the Dust Bowl in Peculiar Savage Beauty, especially the billowing dust clouds which turn day to choking night, and the stubborn, inventive farmers who sometimes have trouble believing that a woman can do a man’s job. Lastly, Peculiar Savage Beauty is a love story with a tender twist. I really enjoyed this story end to end, and you will, too.

Jo Ann Butler

THE FAIRFAX INCIDENT

Terrence McCauley, Polis, 2018, $16.00/ C$22.95, pb, 280pp, 9781947993051

Charlie Doherty, bumped off the New York City Police Department after his investigation of a girl’s death led to The Grand Central Massacre in Terrence McCauley’s 2013 Slow Burn, is a private detective whose clients are selected—and his services financially supported—by the prominent Harry Van Dorn.

Contacted by a wealthy widow to prove her husband did not commit suicide (despite clear evidence to the contrary), Doherty at first believes his job is to give the woman a satisfactory explanation of why, not how, Walter Fairfax ended his life with a gunshot in the mouth. He soon learns that Fairfax’s death as well as the last months of his life are linked not only to his mistress, an Austrian countess displaced from her country and wealth soon after the First World War, but also to tenets of Aryan philosophy.

The Fairfax Incident describes an unsettled Depression-era Manhattan, where motives and fealties are muddy: where an enemy protects a rival rather than accede to nationalistic pride, a benefactor is responsible for more than a dozen deaths, and a streetsmart private detective must challenge his

assumptions about the differences between white and black and gray.

A fast-paced thriller on the surface, the novel plumbs beliefs and attitudes that make us squirm. What is justified in furthering a higher cause, and who decides?

K. M. Sandrick

SOLD ON A MONDAY

Kristina McMorris, Sourcebooks Landmark, 2018, $15.99/C$22.99, pb, 352pp, 9781492663997

The scope of this intimate story is quite modest. Two young writers who want to make their careers as journalists in Philadelphia, 1931, struggle to balance success and their principles in the hard-driving world of newspapers, rum-running gangs, and the Depression-era economic desperation that leads them both to the heartbreaking humaninterest story that gives the novel its title. The moral and social implications, however, are impressive.

Ambitious Ellis Reed, a cub reporter, snaps a photo of two rural boys standing beside a hand-lettered sign reading “2 children for Sale.” As he attempts to sell the story to his editor, he is forced to re-stage the scene for a new photo with two different children, setting in motion a series of unintended consequences that bring him success, but spell disaster for the children. His attempts to put things right are aided by a quiet, determined secretary at the paper, Lillian Palmer, who is moved by the children’s plight but dismayed by the ways in which Ellis compromises his values in his quest for success.

To say more about the complications that ensue would spoil the delicate clockwork of this finely told, emotionally satisfying gem of a novel. McMorris handles the dual points of view confidently, and each decision made by the main characters is completely believable even as the secrets they share and uncover become more and more shocking. This is a fast, focused read, but grounded in a keen sense of the rhythms and style of the speakeasy era. Although this is not a religious novel, its uplifting focus on values and choices would make it an ideal book club read for church as well as secular groups.

Kristen McDermott

DEATH AT THE SELIG STUDIOS

Frances McNamara, Allium, 2018, $17.99, pb, 248pp, 9780996755894

University of Chicago sociologist and amateur sleuth Emily Cabot finds herself in the midst of a mystery that hits a bit too close to home. In the summer of 1909, Emily is looking forward to leaving hot Chicago for cool and calm Woods Hole, Massachusetts, where her husband and sister-in-law do research. Those plans may be suspended when her friend and colleague Detective Whitbread takes her to Selig Studios on the northwest side of the

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city. A man has been shot, and Emily’s brother Alden was discovered standing over the body.

Scholar Emily makes it quite clear from the beginning that she doesn’t think much of the world of movies. She’s even more appalled when she learns that Alden has left reporting and is now writing scenarios for Selig. And, it’s suspected he’s having an affair with one of Selig’s leading ladies.

I’m a fan of McNamara’s Emily Cabot series, but this outing strained my fondness. Perhaps the city’s heat has made Emily cranky, but she is an unsympathetic protagonist here. She’s dismissive of both the movies and those who find them entertaining, and she’s even more critical of her brother for taking part. Making matters worse, she loses the trust of Whitbread when she keeps information from him and isolates herself. Her husband barely appears, and she squabbles with her brother and with her daughter over their infatuation with the movies.

I’m not usually one to guess whodunit, but I did in this case because that character’s behavior made them the logical choice. Still, McNamara, a retired academic librarian, expertly captures a hot summer in Chicago in the early 20th century. Description rather than characterization is the strength in this book.

Ellen Keith

ONE HOUSE OVER

Mary Monroe, Kensington, 2018, $26.00/ C$28.95, hb, 289pp, 9781496716118

Tall, ungainly, thirty-one-year-old African American Joyce MacPherson lives in her parents’ home, works as a teacher’s aide, and pines for a hot romance. Joyce’s parents own a grocery store, where Odell Watson is the new stock-boy. Joyce and Odell meet, fall in love, and are soon wed. Joyce has been frugal, and the new couple finds their own house.

Despite deprivation brought on by the Great Depression, Joyce and Odell head down the road to a good future.

Their idyllic life soon turns uncomfortable.

Odell is not the trustworthy husband and employee he appears, though Joyce refuses to see the mounting signs of Odell’s misdeeds.

Bootleggers Milton and Yvonne move in “one house over.” They always seem short of cash and feast on Joyce and Odell’s food offerings.

Their evening drinking crowds irritate the neighborhood.

Monroe tells the story in first person. Joyce’s and Odell’s contrasting views of what’s going on around them add intensity. Monroe treats the pain and hardships of African Americans trying to survive in the brutal Alabama of the 1930s with matter-of-factness—it’s just the way things are. The main characters sometimes lament their unfair treatment but never wallow. For the most part, the dialogue and prose fit the characters, though Odell’s storytelling lapses into language that’s too modern and proper for his background and education.

The last words of this novel (“To Be Continued”) will disappoint some readers.

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Odell’s treachery remains unresolved. Joyce’s awakening to jolting truths is yet to come, as is the fate of Milton and Yvonne. Despite that, this is a very believable portrayal of the African American experience in a hard place at a hard time.

G. J. Berger

THE SECRET OF THE IRISH CASTLE (US) / THE LAST SECRET OF THE DEVERILLS (UK)

Santa Montefiore, William Morrow, 2018, $15.99, pb, 480pp, 9780062456908 / Simon & Schuster UK, 2018, £7.99, pb, 480pp, 9781471135941

Ballinakelly is a beautiful village in Ireland, one where the Deverill and O’Leary families are victims of a curse that Maggie O’Leary had flung at the Count Deverill in the mid1600s. Their own poor choices add to their miseries. Beginning in 1939, the action all takes place in the 20th century. Martha Wallace, an orphan, had returned to Ireland from America, determined to find her natural mother. What she discovered is devastating but is almost immediately eased by her falling in love at first sight with JP Deverill.

Birdie Doyle, a native of Ballinakelly, had married the Count di Marcantonio, a scoundrel who was undeserving of her unconditional love. Birdie and the Count now live in a home that has up to now always been known as the Deverill residence. The Deverill loss magnifies the hatred between the families. Jack O’Leary, a former rebel during the time of “the Troubles,” returns from prison and falls in love with Kitty Deverill, although both are married. Secrets and revelations add to the ever-changing conflicts. Then the first shattering discovery arises about JP, also an orphan. Martha returns to America in despair. All of these complicated relationships and more slowly unravel. Hearts are broken repeatedly, and the nature of “forgiveness” is tested but eventually holds true.

Santa Montefiore is a gifted writer who smoothly narrates a multifaceted story that is part mystery, part romance and part inspirational fiction, with a dash of Irish history. This highly recommended novel, third in the Deverill Chronicles series, will make the reader want to read other works by this talented author.

Viviane Crystal

THE GHOST KEEPER

Natalie Morrill, Patrick Crean Editions, 2018, $22.99, pb, 368pp, 9781443450454

You would think that a story about taking care of the dead would be creepy, but nothing could be further from the truth in this dazzling gem of a novel.

In the years leading up to World War II, Josef Tobak’s grandmother told him a fable about a fish buried in a Jewish cemetery in his home country of Austria. From that point on,

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he takes it upon himself to honor and remember the dead by b e c o m i n g the unofficial caretaker of the Jewish cemetery.

As the book progresses and Austria is annexed to Germany, the readers follow Josef’s journey as he and his wife and family are separated during the war, and they learn about his complicated friendship with a boyhood companion who later joined the Nazi party. Later, Josef must face uncomfortable truths about his friend, even as he helps Josef survive the war.

The author employs an unusual literary technique throughout the book by telling Josef’s story in both the third person and the first person, as it represented the man he was and the man he is. Rather than distract from the narrative, this only serves to enhance it as the reader gets to know the many facets of Josef. In fact, Josef is one of the most noteworthy characters I’ve come across in modern literature.

This book is captivating from start to finish. It asks the questions: How do we wish to be remembered? How does one maintain a sense of normalcy when nothing will ever be the same again? What choices might one make under unprecedented, unfathomable circumstances?

I cannot recommend this book enough for its poignant, lyrical prose, as well as its insightful and profound observations about the human condition, life and death, love and hope, survival, and forgiveness.

Hilary Daninhirsch

THE RED HAND OF FURY

R. N. Morris, Severn House, 2018, $28.99/£20.99, hb, 240pp, 9780727887856

Detective Silas Quinn finds himself facing off with the demons of his past as he investigates a series of apparent suicides that seem to connect with the presence of a simple card in each man’s pocket—a card with the same red hand sketched upon it.

This fourth book in the Silas Quinn mysteries wastes no time, immediately plunging us right into the action in such a way that we begin to wonder at the sanity of the main character. Silas Quinn is a complicated man with a cache of personal secrets he hides from his police team, and his nosy landlady, and the odd nature of the suicides troubles him deeply. I was a bit confused by his behavior at times, and though aspects of his conduct are incorporated into the story later, a few moments seem quite random and out of character. We are taken into mental asylums, superbly written to make me cringe at nearly every word, and into the

organizations forming before the onset of the Great War, where everyone is a suspect.

The writing is succinct and descriptive, moving fluidly from scene to scene and at times alternating perspectives between Silas and other characters. This thriller definitely keeps your heart racing, and quite a lot of historical research has been done into some of the bizarre notions on the cause of mental illness, and the methods once thought acceptable in treating patients. I would read another Silas Quinn novel, as long as he stays far away from the asylums.

Holly Faur

BEAUTIFUL ILLUSION

Christie Nelson, She Writes, 2018, $16.95, pb, 304pp, 9781631523342

San Francisco, 1939. Young reporter Lily Norby jumps at an opportunity to cover Treasure Island, the upcoming site of the Golden Gate International Exposition. This assignment leads her to a diverse cast of characters, including Tokido Okamura, the head of the Japanese delegation on the Island, and Woodrow Packard, a Mayan art expert and dwarf recruited by the exposition for his expertise. Friendships form, and intrigue ensues. The political tensions of the time loom large over life at Treasure Island, and Lily wonders if Tokido is more than just a Japanese diplomat. As both she and Woodrow question Tokido’s possible military motives, Woodrow also finds himself digging deeper into Lily’s mysterious past.

There’s much to draw you into the world of Treasure Island: the mystery and vivid setting kept the pages turning quickly. The three main characters, Lily, Woodrow, and Tokido, are unique and nuanced, and I found myself invested in their lives, desires, and mysteries.

However, facts and historical detail feel forced at times and weigh down the story. A quick description of a grocery store during Lily’s investigation into her family notes that “shelves were lined with tins of Hill Bros. coffee and Carnation canned milk, boxes of Bisquick, Quaker Oats, Jell-O, and jars of BeechNut baby food.” Such asides detract from understanding Lily’s own feelings about her colleagues, friends, family, and even her love life. Perhaps as a result, the final chapter to Lily’s family secret feels rushed and unearned.

Regardless, the mystery and setting promise to keep you engaged, and Beautiful Illusion is a whirlwind escape to the Golden City on the eve of the Second World War. Ellen Jaquette

THE LONG SILENCE

Gerard O’Donovan, Severn House, 2018, $28.99/£20.99, hb, 240pp, 9780727887740

This is my kind of mystery. Set in Hollywood in 1922, it begins with “As soon as he wrestled Swann’s lifeless form into the roadster…” No, protagonist Tom Collins isn’t a murderer. He’s a fixer for famous producer Mack Sennett, and Swann, one of Sennett’s stars is doped

up, not dead. Swann’s condition is the least of Sennett’s problems, however. Director William Desmond Taylor has just been murdered, and suspicion falls on Taylor’s girlfriend (or is she?) and Sennett’s ex, actress Mabel Normand.

Sennett would do anything to save Normand both professionally (he’s released her latest movie) and personally (he still carries a torch for her). He’s subsidized Collins after he was fired from his security position at the Famous Players-Lasky Studio, so Collins owes him.

The book moves at a breakneck pace as every rock Collins turns over leads to something even more unsavory. Normand is also a dope fiend, and Taylor wants her off the stuff. When Collins witnesses the murder of her dealer, both the police and the mob are after him. O’Donovan populates his fictional tale with real-life Hollywood personalities of the 1920s, including Douglas Fairbanks, Mickey Neilan, and Gloria Swanson, but wisely doesn’t let them take center stage.

They appear just enough to make the setting credible, and indeed O’Donovan effortlessly evokes a certain time and place. Crooked cops, the Volstead Act, and the first glimmer of the Hays Code all add to the atmosphere. I didn’t want this tale to end, and as it looks like the first in a series, maybe it won’t.

Ellen Keith

WARLIGHT

Michael Ondaatje, Knopf, 2018, $26.95, hb, 287pp, 9780525521198 / Jonathan Cape, 2018, £16.99, hb, 304pp, 9781787330719

The title of this dreamlike novel refers to the tiny, discreet points of London street illumination used during the WWII blackouts, which were designed to guide, not illuminate. This principle shapes the efforts of Ondaatje’s main character as he struggles with the relationship between memory and truth.

Trying to piece together the contexts for his adolescent experiences, he first recalls the years in which his parents disappeared without explanation, leaving him in the care of a pair of kindly but cryptic “secretives.”

Obsessed with understanding the reason for his mother’s abandonment of him and his sister, Nathaniel realizes “I loved the truth that strangers told,” and painstakingly assembles the stories of the men who care for him, their friends, his sister, his first love, and finally his mother, through his own and others’ recollection and evidence, eventually forming an understanding of his mother’s life and heroism as an intelligence officer.

The novel itself is a kind of forensic narrative, formed of fragments of dialogue

and bright points of description, requiring patient attention as Nathaniel comes to realize the truth of the present by way of the shadowy lies and concealments of the past.

Ondaatje is a master of the lyrical episode and of natural detail; his characters seem frustratingly opaque at first, but as the web of connections between them deepens and spins, they spring into sharp relief. This is an exceptionally well-crafted story that builds slowly and inexorably to its devastating final revelations. The poignant final chapter will haunt my imagination for a long time.

Kristen McDermott

WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING

Delia Owens, Putnam, 2018, $26.00/£21.99, hb, 384pp, 9780735219090

In 1952, 10-year-old Kya Clark is growing up in the coastal marshes of North Carolina, alone and abandoned. Her Ma walked out of her life. Her brothers and sisters drifted away to their own lives. Finally, her drunken Pa leaves. In 1969, the body of Chase Andrews, the town’s golden boy, is discovered in the marsh. Was it an accident or murder?

The story alternates between Kya’s life growing up in the marsh and the death investigation until the two storylines merge in 1969 and a murder trial in 1970. Young Kya is learning to survive on her own in the old family shack and in the wilds of the marshes.

She hides amongst the trees and observes others who come to fish or play and picnic on the beach. She avoids the town because she is an object of ridicule for her strange ways, but outside town, Jumpin’ and Mabel from the black community befriend and help her. Her spirit thrives in the marsh, with the seagulls as her closest companions, and she spends her days studying the wildlife, collecting feathers and shells, and becoming an expert of the natural world around her. She watches a young boy, Tate, fishing. He sees her, and when she gains the courage to approach, he gives her friendship, teaches her to read, and brings her books.

Kya’s loneliness and heartbreak each time someone abandons her is palpable and heart-wrenching. We feel her yearning to connect with others and to be loved. Owens adeptly alternates plotlines, which creates the anticipation of what is to come. Both Kya and the marsh are the main characters of this immersive and moving story of love and belonging mixed with mystery and suspense.

This is a deeply affecting novel, lyrical and unforgettable.

Janice Ottersberg

THE AIR YOU BREATHE

Frances de Pontes Peebles, Riverhead, 2018, $26.00/C$35.00, hb, 449pp, 9780753210998

A soaring fusion of emotion, intense drama, and the compelling rhythms of Brazilian music, The Air You Breathe belongs to the special category of historical novels that

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chronicle entire lives – and it does so in enthralling fashion. Its focus is the close, volatile friendship between Dores, a kitchen maid born on the Riacho Doce sugar plantation in northeastern Brazil in 1920, and Graça Pimentel, the

owner’s only child.

The two first meet as girls, when Graça and her parents move into the plantation’s Great House. Graça is strong-willed, selfish, and unmistakably charismatic. They share an education (at Graça’s insistence) and adventures, and an excursion to a big-city concert kindles their musical interest and ambitions for greater achievements. This was a time when LPs and phonographs seemed like magic, and the era is conjured up brilliantly. The girls dream of becoming radio stars together, Graça’s mellifluous voice complementing Dores’ raspier tones. Their path takes them from the diverse nightlife scene of Lapa in Rio to the movie studios of Los Angeles, where Graça, as “Brazilian Bombshell” Sofia Salvador, performs her unique brand of South American entertainment. Alongside Graça’s upward trajectory, Dores partners with a guitarist to write songs the others make famous.

The women’s relationship vacillates between symbiosis and rivalry, all the while shaped by outside forces and unreciprocated desire. Looking back from old age, Dores narrates in a voice as lyrical and achingly passionate as the sambas she writes. She reveals early on that Graça died young, but not how, and the mystery suffuses her tale with longing. Through her wise observations, readers experience their music at every stage: its intimate creation, the showy on-stage performances, and the informal rodas, where their group plays just for themselves. The novel is an intoxicating performance itself, not to be missed by anyone wanting to be wrapped up in a well-told story.

Sarah Johnson

OUT OF THE ASHES

Tracie Peterson and Kimberley Woodhouse, Bethany House, 2018, $15.99, pb, 331pp, 9780764219245

The title refers to the main characters’ difficult pasts: Frenchman and ex-soldier Jean-Michel Langelier suffers from PTSD after fighting against a revolt in 1920s Syria, where he was unable to prevent the deaths of women and children trapped in a burning building.

Jean-Michel’s former sweetheart, Katherine Demarchis, suffered physical and mental abuse from the senator her father forced her to marry. Now widowed, she embarks on a lengthy tour with her grandmother, stopping 50

in Curry, Alaska. Katherine’s grandmother secretly writes Jean-Michel and invites him to Curry, an attempt to help Katherine heal. But both are so haunted by their pasts that they believe they aren’t fit for a relationship.

Crotchety hotel cook Mrs. Johnson, JeanMichel’s flighty sister Collette, and the couple from the first book in the Heart of Alaska series, Cassidy and Allan, are all interesting secondary characters. I enjoyed the complexity of their relationships, and that the book didn’t focus on one couple alone. The only drawback is a man from Jean-Michel’s past turning up in Alaska too conveniently to solve one of his problems. The denouement could have been stronger without that. Recommended for inspirational fiction fans who like heavy religious content.

B. J. Sedlock

OVERLAND

Graham Rawle, Chatto & Windus, 2018, £14.99, pb, 366pp, 9781784741488

Considering one of Graham Rawle’s previous novels was composed entirely of text cut from vintage women’s magazines, it should come as no surprise that his latest offering is just as quirky. Overland is read horizontally, in landscape format, with parallel narratives running above and below the spine. Initially, I found this gimmicky and vaguely annoying, not least because it’s awkward holding a book sideways. But I persevered and it was worth it, because this novel is innovative, thoughtprovoking – and fun.

Set in Los Angeles in 1942, the story is based on true events. Hollywood set designer George Godfrey is hired by the US army to hide Burbank’s vast aircraft plant from Japanese reconnaissance planes. In the text above the book’s spine, we follow George as he lovingly creates a pleasant utopia of fields, streets and houses on the roof, but when he builds a fake ‘lake’ so he can go fishing, his superiors begin to doubt his sanity. Below the spine is the dark, hellish world of the factory floor where Queenie, and her Japanese-American friend, Kay, weld aircraft parts. Rawle is a masterful storyteller, and I found myself genuinely caring about the four main characters as their lives slowly begin to unravel. The author cleverly, and at times playfully, intertwines the ‘over’ and ‘under’ narratives – whilst fishing in his ‘lake’ in Overland, George’s line slips through a hole in the roof and drops to the factory floor below. Bemused, Queenie and Kay attach a tin of sardines to the hook which George promptly reels in.

Overland is amusing, surreal and whimsical, yet it is also unsettling and moving, particularly in its depictions of Hollywood’s sordid ‘casting couch’; the indignities of US internment camps for Japanese-Americans, and the psychological impact of war. Highly recommended.

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Penny Ingham

EAGLE & CRANE

Suzanne Rindell, Putnam, 2018, $27.00, hb, 448pp, 448pp, 9780399184291

A complicated love triangle set against the backdrop of World War II, Japanese internment camps, and a flying traveling circus show is the setting for this riveting novel. The Yamadas and Thorns have had a long-standing family feud rivaling that of the Hatfields and McCoys—the current generation, Harry Yamada and Louis Thorn, do not know why they are supposed to be enemies, but they know it has something to do with land that one family allegedly stole from the other.

The two form a begrudging friendship when they join a traveling daredevil show as stunt flyers, constantly trying to outdo each other in the air and on the ground, as they both vie for the affections of Ava, whose stepfather owns the show. Later, when Harry’s family is interned at a Japanese camp following the bombing at Pearl Harbor, friendships and loyalties are tested. Several years later, the FBI comes to investigate when one of the flyers crashes on one of the family’s properties in an apparent suicide—but things do not add up.

The author drew on her own family stories when writing this novel. The characters are solidly authentic and complex. The book pulls the reader in from the beginning with an intriguing plot and fascinating historical context derived from a distressing piece of American history. It is part mystery and part love story, and the author does a superb job of blending those elements. The story is not told in a linear fashion; rather, the author allows the story to unfold smoothly and eloquently.

Although the book does not delve too deeply into politics, it shines a light on issues that have become relevant in today’s political climate.

Hilary Daninhirsch

THE STRANGER

Kate Riordan, Michael Joseph, 2018, £12.99, hb, 301pp, 9780718188061

Everyone living in Penhallow Hall in the summer of 1940 has a secret. There is the autocratic invalid Mrs Fox; her anxious, downtrodden daughter Eleanor, who has not set foot beyond the garden gate for years; and the three newly arrived Land Girls. To middle class, unhappily married Rose, being back in Cornwall brings back vivid memories of her first love and the last carefree summer holiday of her youth. Meanwhile Jane, Mrs Fox’s self-contained granddaughter, seems to be cautiously relishing her return after a long, unexplained exile. But it is charismatic, damaged, self-destructive Diana who acts as

a catalyst on the other characters, bringing long-buried secrets to light as the summer heats up and the war looms closer…

This is a delightfully Gothic novel, set in the heart of du Maurier country (one scene is even set in Fowey), where the sea in all its moods is an ever-present character in its own right. The central characters are complex, each a product of her own past, and are deftly sketched in with telling details. I love the fact that many key elements of the plot are left for the reader to infer, and it doesn’t even matter that Eleanor’s secret is relatively easy to guess (though there is a twist to that too).

In the style of Ruth Rendell, we know right from the start that a death has occurred, but not who the dead woman is, or whether her death was murder, accident or suicide. Clever plotting and the use of time-shifts mean that the reader is left guessing until almost the very last page.

Highly recommended to anyone who loves Ruth Rendell, Kate Morton or Daphne du Maurier.

Jasmina Svenne

THE HOLY GHOST SPEAKEASY AND REVIVAL

Terry Roberts, Turner, 2018, $16.99, pb, 336pp, 9781684421633

Set in rural North Carolina amidst the swing of Prohibition, this story follows the perilous adventures of the passionate traveling preacher Jedidiah Robbins. Robbins may be spreading the Word of God, but that isn’t the only happiness and cheer his mission is spreading. The preacher is a bootlegger, multi-tasking as he saves souls. Throughout the story Robbins faces many challenges, from the KKK to an angry sheriff whose daughter wooed Jedidiah. While the crusade gets up to some trouble, they also find time to make a positive difference. These acts of kindness and charity span from feeding the poor to saving several people in a daring and heroic act. Overall, the preacher certainly gets around and is always up to something which keeps the story moving.

While the novel is fast-paced, it is sometimes too rushed. This breakneck speed makes it easy for the reader to fall behind and for smaller, but important, events to fall by the wayside. As a result, births, marriages, and budding romances get lost in the haste to communicate all the wild events. The story has a lot of exciting points, but there may just be too much for the 300 pages.

Jedidiah Robbins is a complex and troubled character, but Roberts’s writing effectively captures the complexities of the man. With trauma in his past, the novel reveals a remarkable transformation of the character.

Jedidiah moves from self-serving and scared, to thoughtful and hopeful. In so many books, this character development is rushed and sudden, but in this case, it is one thing that was just the right speed.

Overall, if you’re looking for a book with a story that doesn’t slow, an older man who

doesn’t quit, and a plot religiously focused on the main character, then this is the book for you.

Alice Cochran

LILLIAN BOXFISH TAKES A WALK

Kathleen Rooney, Picador, 2018, $16.00, pb, 302pp, 9781250151162 / Daunt, 2017, £9.99, pb, 288pp, 9781911547013

In the style of a first-person memoir, this is actually a fictionalized riff by the author upon the eventful life of an actual person— Margaret Fishback, who was in the ´30s and ´40s “a poet, a protofeminist,” a successful advertising woman and a mother. From the author’s end notes, I learned that Ms. Fishback’s papers, now housed at Duke University, were the inspiration. In this irresistible novel which spans six decades, the Lillian of the title arrives in New York City in the 1920s fresh out of college, uniquely determined to find a career instead of a husband. Her talent for verse, coupled with a lively wit, lands her a job as a copywriter at R. H. Macy. Hard work, creativity, and an instinctive understanding of human nature do the rest, although she can’t persuade her boss to pay her the same as her less-talented male fellow workers.

As the story begins, however, we are in the final hours of 1984. Now living alone, Lillian’s thoughts travel restlessly back and forth between present and past. She sets out on a marathon New Year’s Eve walk around her beloved city. Everyone she meets— whether kind, rude, generous, or downright menacing—encounters her unfailing civility and savvy. Language is not only Lillian’s bread and butter, but it is her sword and buckler, too, in this paean to the value of human connections. I unreservedly loved this book.

Juliet Waldron

TIFFANY BLUES

M.J. Rose, Atria, 2018, $26.00/C$35.00, hb, 314pp, 9781501173592

M. J. Rose’s luscious new book, Tiffany Blues, follows artists Jenny Bell and Minx Deering as they take advantage of the opportunity of a lifetime – studying at Louis Comfort Tiffany’s artist colony for the summer of 1924. But even amid the breathtaking beauty and creative inspiration, Jenny’s past still haunts her, and she lives in fear that Mr. Tiffany or one of her fellow residents will find out her shameful secret. As her time at the colony draws to close, so does her ability to run from that day

she would rather forget.

M. J. Rose has built a reputation as a writer of strong female characters, page-turning suspense and evocative settings, and this novel does not disappoint.

In fact, I was sad when it was over because I wanted to live in the world she created, the serene artist’s retreat that dazzles the senses through Rose’s skillful description.

The mystery at the heart of the story, while playing on a familiar trope, kept me up at night, though I did feel like the resolution was a bit rushed. But her characters make up for any minor flaw in pacing, drawing you in and making you really care about them. Jenny and Minx are both multi-faceted, complex women, Edward gave me chills, Mr. Tiffany was a kind grandfather figure, and I was so in love with Oliver that the inevitable conclusion was heart-rending. Rose outdoes herself with each book she produces and this one is destined to be a reader favorite. Very highly recommended.

Nicole Evelina

THE PEAR TREE

K. M. Sandrick, Karen M. Sandrick, 2017, £10.50, pb, 324pp, 9781947605015

This indie gem is a gripping and historically authentic recounting of the 1942 assassination of Nazi leader Reinhardt Heydrich in Czechoslovakia, the hunting and ruthless destruction of the commandos responsible for the operation, and the bloody aftermath inflicted upon the innocent civilian population of Lidice.

While a number of recent books and movies deal with the events, The Pear Tree is unique in its follow-through. The lives of family members of the Lidice victims are depicted with wrenching emotional relatability as they seek to sift through the remnant evidence of the massacre, and retain what hope they can that some, especially children, may have survived.

The book goes well beyond other accounts in covering the aftermath of the assassination and genocide, giving life to the very personal and human perspectives of such characters as firefighter turned resistance fighter Juri Fischer

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and German policeman Wolfgang Weber.

Milan Tichy, a rare young survivor of the Lidice massacre living on the edge of starvation, joins the resistance and uses his newfound power and courage to search for his missing mother.

Even the character of Karl Frank, the Nazi officer responsible for the German retaliation, is given a modicum of human conflict as he carries out his hideous acts, reminding us of the uncomfortable fact that these crimes were perhaps most monstrous in that they were not committed by actual monsters.

The novel illustrates that moral ambiguity exists even in the midst of great and unmistakable evil, and that the seeds of societal recovery often lie in small acts of humanity and quiet courage. The best of historical fiction survives fact-checking while bringing to life little-known events and individual human experience. This novel succeeds at all levels.

The style is crisp, fast-paced and very readable as it navigates a complex set of events and characters. Highly recommended.

Jackie Drohan

HOUSE OF GOLD Natasha Solomons, Hutchinson, 2018, £14.99, hb, 434pp, 9781786330086 / Putnam, 2018, $26.00, hb, 448pp, 9780735212978

The Goldbaums are a wealthy Jewish family with considerable political and economic influence throughout Europe. It is 1911, and the world has little inkling of the chaos and destruction that is to be inflicted upon the European civilisation by the Great War. For the Goldbaums it is a disaster in that the extended family are on opposing sides in the conflict, torn apart by the fighting. Greta Goldbaum is part of the Austrian side of the dynasty, but the family needs her to marry for strategic purposes. She is cajoled into a marriage with her cousin Albert Goldbaum, who is the eligible family bachelor in England. Greta is a spirited and engaging young lady, but finds life in the new country difficult to adapt to. Matters are made much worse in 1914 with the start of the War and the subsequent division of the family.

In England, there is anti-Semitism and the rise of the women’s suffrage movement, as Natasha Solomons maps expertly the fortunes of Greta and the wider family.

This is an absorbing family saga, located firmly in the turbulent years around the First World War. The Goldbaum family is clearly based upon the Rothschilds – the great panEuropean banking and finance dynasty. The characters are rounded and well-developed, and Greta Goldbaum is a spirited and appealing creation. There is definite scope for a sequel, for the reader is indeed left wanting to know more about the fate and future of these people and the wider family.

Douglas Kemp

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THE MADONNA OF THE MOUNTAINS

Elise Valmorbida, Faber & Faber, 2018, £14.99, hb, 374pp, 9780571336326 / Spiegel & Grau, 2018, $28.00, hb, 368pp, 9780399592430

This is the story of one woman’s struggles to maintain her marriage and particularly to protect her children during the Fascist Era and its immediate aftermath in 20th-century Italy. By 1923, at the age of 25, Maria Vittoria is considered almost too old to marry. It was her misfortune to be young during World War I, and her father refuses to let her marry anyone obviously scarred by the war against the Austrians. When her father finds an apparently strong, ambitious suitor for her, however, it is only the beginning of her trials.

But no matter where she goes or what happens to her, her mother’s statue of the Madonna of the Mountains goes with her as her mentor and her conscience.

This is a sumptuously written book, even when it is portraying manual labour or the hardships of war. The author’s ItalianAustralian background suggests that she has drawn upon family history to help her create the atmosphere of the time and the day-today life of an ordinary family in the Veneto region, whether farming in the mountains or shop-keeping in the plains below. Tiny details – about food, traditions, primitive methods of doing the laundry, or working with silkworms – come across as convincing in their precision.

Anyone seeking a high-octane, break-neck rollercoaster of a novel should look elsewhere – this book is far too subtle and nuanced for that, even when dealing with potentially life-threatening situations as the Montanari family tries not to antagonise Fascists, Nazis, Partisans and those seeking post-war reprisals.

The characters are complex and often at war with themselves, but also in many ways unknowable, in the way real people are. A novel to savour.

Jasmina Svenne

SIDE BY SIDE

Jenni L. Walsh, Forge, 2018, $25.99/C$33.99, hb, 320pp, 9780765398451

In the early 1930s, Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow’s quest for their own Holy Grail is their need to find “the farm” – a mythical refuge of solace and safety for the notorious young criminal couple.

Clyde attains early release from a Texas prison but sadly fails to make an honest living during the ongoing Depression. Most of this riveting book consists of hundreds-of-miles long, circulating road trips punctuated by robberies, shootings and overnight camps. There are also many

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short interludes of sweet familial bliss ironically interrupted by frenetic bursts of gunfire and pursuit.

Definitely written from a woman’s perspective, the novel is told in the first person, present tense in Bonnie’s words. Still, this decidedly male reviewer found Walsh’s book magnetically appealing. The author captures the time period, the prose and the nostalgia superbly. The criminal protagonists are portrayed sympathetically, despite their horrendous crimes. It’s as if they’re caught in a hideous vortex notwithstanding their good intentions. Some may find the many colloquialisms annoying, but I suspect most will be charmed. History, romance, crime and action – a great book.

Thomas J. Howley

AN ACT OF VILLAINY

Ashley Weaver, Minotaur, 2018, $27.99, hb, 309pp, 9781250159755

“You’ve stumbled upon another body,” Inspector Jones says to the wife-and-husband sleuth team Amory and Milo Ames. It’s in fact the fifth (body that is) that the Ames pair has come across and sussed out the murderer thereof in the latest mystery from Edgarnominated author Ashley Weaver.

The body in question in An Act of Villainy is that of actress Flora Bell, mistress of socialite and play director Gerard Holloway.

Capitalizing on their upper-crust ties to Gerard and his wife Georgina, the Ameses seek out and interview the most likely suspects, including Flora’s larcenous brother and fellow cast members of the play.

Replete with the trappings of 1930s whodunits (with the equivalent of a drawing room confrontation and jaw-dropping red herring), An Act of Villainy is a delightful romp.

With a resolution that is surprising not only in revealing the identity of the murderer but also in the reason for the crime, Weaver’s novel is a worthy throwback to the classic murder mysteries of what many call the Golden Age of Detective Fiction.

K. M. Sandrick

SINS OF THE FATHER

Stephen Weeks, Poisoned Pen Press, 2018, $26.95, hb, 252pp, 9781464209949

Prague socialite Beatrix (Trixie) von Falklenburg is called in by the police to assist in the murder investigation of a headless man found on a funicular railway. He also happens to have her phone number on him, which adds to the mystery. Soon, Trixie is caught up in the world of magicians in order to solve the murder. But then she is surprisingly summoned by the Hapsburg Emperor Franz Josef I. He asks her to quietly investigate whether his son, the Crown Prince Rudolph, tried to kill him during a hunting exercise before taking his own life and that of his mistress nineteen years before in 1889. What appear to be two separate investigations slowly come together. Along the way, however, magicians and other characters

are murdered, to hide their involvement or knowledge of the Crown Prince’s suicide, or to gain from it.

Sins of the Father, a Countess of Prague Mystery, is complex, with an overload of characters that are often difficult to keep straight. Settings are also varied but intricately detailed, bringing to life the era as the characters and their interactions illustrate the social mores and statuses of the time. The novel, however, is a delight to read mainly because of Trixie’s wit and sense of humor and fun.

Francesca Pelaccia

IT BEGINS IN BETRAYAL Iona Whishaw, Touchwood, 2018, $14.95/ C$16.95, pb, 352pp, 9781771512619

In this fourth tale in Whishaw’s Lane Winslow series, readers are treated to not one, but two, intricately plotted—make that cross-plotted—mysteries. Inspector Frederick Darling and former Special Branch agent Lane Winslow are quite busy falling in love in postWorld War II King’s Cove, British Columbia when enemies from the past interrupt. It seems that there is some irregularity with Darling’s report from four years earlier when his bomber went down behind enemy lines in Germany, and he has been summoned to London to set the record straight. At the same time, elderly recluse Agatha Browning has been stabbed outside her cabin on the edge of the forest. Darling delegates the murder investigation to Constable Ames, who methodically, and with quite a bit of help from Lane, traces Agatha’s history back to her upper-class roots in Dorset. Lane, troubled by the circumstances under which Darling has been called away, heads to London herself, to check on him. What she finds is a jailed Inspector, non-cooperative bomber crew members, and a sneaking suspicion that she’s being followed. Her investigation leads her places she thought she’d never have to go to again.

Whishaw’s ability to intertwine two complex plot lines is admirable, as is her skill at imbuing even minor characters with well-drawn backstories. She excels at period details, and the contrast between late 1940s British Columbia and postwar London is striking: one is sunny, wide open, and, in spite of a murder, hopeful, whereas the other is a series of cramped, dingy rooms filled with fear and anxiety. We get to see both Darling and Lane at their most vulnerable as they come under attack from adversaries known and unknown; it’s a talented writer who can package all this together and nicely tie up every detail as well.

Helene Williams

INTO THE DARKNESS (US) / THE HOUSE OF SHADOWS (UK)

Kate Williams, Pegasus, 2018, $25.95, hb, 432pp, 9781681777627 / Orion, 2018, £18.99, hb, 432pp, 9781409139959

The third volume of the Storms of War trilogy is set in the1920s through the brink of World War II in both New York and the protagonist Celia Witt’s crumbling English family manse, Stoneythorpe. In the New World, Celia and her brother Arthur try to mend the family fortunes with a scheme to sell jarred meals to young working women (Flapper Foods) and mend Celia’s broken heart at the loss of the infant son, Michael, taken from her many years before. Once the Depression sets in, Celia loses a brother to despair, but gains her son from his adoptive parents though the generosity of an old flame, Jonathan. Jonathan becomes a long-distance and long-suffering fiancé when Celia returns to England and her son is sucked into her very dysfunctional family. Michael disappears into a cult with his cousin Lily, to whom he is devoted. Celia and Michael’s birth father Tom spend years seeking them out.

With its nods to Wuthering Heights, Rebecca, and A Woman of Substance, I was hoping for a better novel. Into the Darkness presents a heroine that some readers might find exasperating. Both her incredibly undeserving family and Stoneythorpe have a Manderleylike hold on her. Her mother-love is engaging, but as the keeper of her family’s secrets, Celia is dim, passive, and constantly being swayed towards the will of others.

Eileen Charbonneau

THE MERCY SEAT

Elizabeth H. Winthrop, Grove, 2018, $26.00, hb, 240pp, 9780802128188

Louisiana, 1943. An 18-year-old African American man sits alone in his cell awaiting his execution. His crime is the alleged rape of a white woman. The story of Willie Jones is told through multiple perspectives, all within the course of the eve before his death.

Everyone is affected in one way or another by the impending execution, and together the reader learns what events transpired to lead Willie to where he is. Along the way, we learn the motives, the biases, the feelings of other people who are touched by Willie’s sentence.

Their lives come together in sometimes surprising ways because of Willie, lives which might not otherwise ever intersect.

The chapters, all told from a different character’s perspective, are short, which allows for a quick read of this novel, though the backdrop of Willie’s story is enough to slow most readers down for the difficulty of the topic. Winthrop takes readers to a small town in the Deep South in the early 1940s, careful to use a variety of voices and backgrounds to show the conflict surrounding Willie’s incarceration and scheduled execution. This might be the most realistic part of the novel,

in fact, as no one’s story is ever entirely black or white. There are never simple answers, especially when it comes to the frailty of human lives, and most especially when race plays such a role. Winthrop investigates the polarities through her characters in a manner that feels fluid and not manipulative, as stories of this nature often can feel.

This is not always an easy read, but it’s important to note that due to the subject matter, it should not be easy to read throughout. Winthrop writes beautifully and manages to capture the complexities of life and the penal system while giving the reader plenty of food for thought in their own life.

Recommended.

Elicia Parkinson

NOT OUR KIND

Kitty Zeldis, Harper, 2018, $26.99, hb, 352pp, 9780062844231

A fun, absorbing read, Kitty Zeldis’ Not Our Kind takes place in post-WWII New York City. Two women of opposite social and religious upbringings—Eleanor Moskowitz and Patricia Bellamy—meet through a car accident. Out of curiosity about the Jewish girl and guilt about the accident, Patricia invites Eleanor into her world. When she sees how Eleanor brings her brooding and unhappy daughter Margaux (who is recovering from polio) out of her shell, Patricia hires her on the spot. Eleanor, however, becomes a bit too close to the family for Patricia’s liking.

Eleanor’s developing relationship with Tom, Patricia’s bohemian and irritatingly irresponsible brother, as well as her hiding the story of an encounter with another family member, makes her too uncomfortable, and the congenial relationship she has fostered with Eleanor suffers.

In its storyline, the novel touches on religious and class prejudices as well as misogyny, a topic especially poignant in the #MeToo era we’re currently experiencing.

This isn’t a literary novel, delving deeply into these issues, though—the issues set the stage for a personality- and drama-driven story. It is entertaining and captures the flavor of the city and class differences well.

My gripe with the book, however, is its ending. The storyline hangs in the air, incomplete, which left me frustrated. Overall, Not Our Kind is an enjoyable read. I was absorbed and caught up in the plot until the abrupt ending.

Andrea Connell

A STONE’S THROW

James W. Ziskin, Seventh Street, 2018, $15.95/ C$17.00, pb, 288pp, 9781633884199

Ellie Stone, the heroine of this engaging, clever mystery, is a reporter for an upstate New York newspaper. It’s August 1962, the height of the racing season in nearby Saratoga Springs, when Ellie happens on a fire at an abandoned stud farm. She finds remains of two bodies in the ashes, a man and a woman, and a bit of racing silk, which

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suggests the male victim was a jockey. His head has a bullet hole.

What a scoop for Ellie, who, no matter how many successes she has, must continually prove herself as a woman in a profession dominated by men. So when the police draw hasty conclusions about the crime and brush off contrary evidence she unearths, she pursues the case. Ellie crosses paths with pimps, fixers, racetrack swells, criminals of unspecified profession, and ex-cons, all of which put a target on her back.

But the most interesting part of A Stone’s Throw isn’t the mystery, tense, plausible, and surprising as it is, or the wit and courage that make its protagonist a winning literary companion. It’s how Ellie maneuvers around the sobriquet of “girl reporter” and the harassment that comes with it, subtle or overt, yet never-ending either way. Also, as a Jew, Ellie faces different shades of anti-Semitism, whether from the underworld types or the racing blue-bloods, and though that prejudice is less predictable than the sexism, it’s seldom far away.

I might have wished for more historical grounding than the occasional song title or headline, devices that feel informational. But I think Ziskin’s portrayal of the social issues lurking on the mainstream horizon of that time more than make up for this fault, and you’d have to look hard to find a better mystery.

Larry Zuckerman

MULTI-PERIOD

THE STORYTELLER’S SECRET

Sejal Badani, Lake Union, 2018, $24.95, hb, 411pp, 9781503949089

In 2000, Jaya, a thirty-something New York journalist, boards a plane for India. She has recently miscarried for the third time, and her husband subsequently left her for another woman. Heartbroken, Jaya, the only child of immigrants from India, is on a mission of soulsearching and discovery of her family’s roots.

While her well-off parents love her very much, she knows little about their past life in India.

Jaya’s mother learns of her own father’s terminal illness, and although he has something to give her, she refuses to go to India. Jaya is perplexed to hear that her mother was made to promise never to return home after her marriage, and she decides to investigate.

Jaya arrives too late at her grandfather’s empty village house. However, she is welcomed

by Ravi who, although of the Dalit caste, was hired by the high-caste family and has become a trusted servant. He tells Jaya her grandmother’s fascinating and heart-rending life story during the days of the British Raj in the 1930s-1940s.

This stimulating novel reads like a true-tolife story, and no wonder, for in an interview, Sejal Badani has disclosed that the narrative is based on her grandmother’s life in British India.

The descriptions of the lives of both common villagers and the well-off are informative. The 54

insights into the local customs and traditions might be an eye-opener even for those familiar with Indians’ time-honored ways. The novel covers the intriguing aspect of a young girl moving away to live in her husband’s home upon her marriage, rarely to return. Furthermore, the young bride is subject to her mother-inlaw’s whims and treated much like a servant.

The mistreatment of the Dalit caste and the tumultuous relationships between the British rulers and the Indians are well presented.

Waheed Rabbani

THE BALCONY

Jane Delury, Little, Brown, 2018, $26.00/ C$29.90, hb, 248pp, 9780316554671

Set in a village near Paris, The Balcony is a collection of short stories about a manor house and the people who have lived there from 1890 to the present time. While the framework is a narrative of place, it is the range of characters who give it life. The author portrays her characters with masterful understatement.

She almost makes us read between the lines to understand the emotions driving their movements and reactions. We see her people failing to understand each other: willfully, casually, neglectfully, and purposefully. And we see the results, sometimes understated, but often devastating. These results play out instantly or incrementally across the years.

This book also takes a very individual look at recent French history, each story demonstrating the effects of changing times on people busy trying to live their lives. Newlyminted attitudes and sensitivities illustrate and illuminate the differences marking life in France over the years. However, the stories do not seem to come together as a novel. The author appears most comfortable within her genre of short fiction. While we observe some of the characters in more than one story, there seems little meaningful connection from one story to another. Each of these individual stories is complete in itself, each looking at the problems facing the changing generations in France.

The most vivid stories are those detailing the suspicions and hatreds of wartime.

Valerie Adolph

THE DAISY CHILDREN

Sofia Grant, Morrow, 2018, $15.99, pb, 432pp, 9780062693440

Cousins Katie Garrett and Scarlett Ragsdale cannot be more different even though they were born just miles apart in East Texas.

Katie is settled in Boston as a designer, and Scarlett is still the wild child in New London.

What unites them is the death of their mutual grandmother – in Katie’s case, her estranged grandmother, because she only met her once due to a rift between her own mother and her grandmother years earlier. Katie and Scarlett learn, once the will is read, that they will both inherit something but only after spending a week going through the old house; Margaret remains secretive even after her death.

Margaret’s story is told in flashbacks alternating with the current events. It is the

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poignant story of a girl born nine months after the horrific explosion that took nearly 300 lives at the New London Elementary School in 1937. She is among the spate of pregnancies that produced replacements for those lost in the tragedy, termed “daisy children.” As Margaret’s narrative discloses clues to the reader, Katie and Scarlett must uncover the bits and pieces of her secrets as best they can.

As a Texan I know the story of the school explosion as the incident that required natural gas to have an odor so that its buildup would no longer surprise the unwary. As a mystery buff I followed this story to its conclusion, and the characters both past and present are welldrawn by a skilled writer. This is not historical fiction in the traditional sense: the chapters in the present show her former persona as “Sophie Littlefield” and border on “chick lit.”

Nevertheless, the research into the past and the illustration of fashion and other trends through the decades make the book relevant to fans of 20th-century historical mysteries.

Tom Vallar

THE GRAZIER’S WIFE

Barbara Hannay, Penguin Australia/Trafalgar Square, 2018 (c2016), $15.95/A$19.99, pb, 409pp, 9780143785255

Barbara Hannay, an Australian author, has recently come to the US market with the publication of The Grazier’s Wife. Set in WWII Singapore and a present-day homestead in rural Queensland, Australia, Hannay weaves together the stories of Stella, Jackie, and Alice.

Stella Drummond, a young Australian nurse in Singapore, falls in love with Tom, a British soldier, but obstacles will force them apart.

Jackie Drummond, Stella’s daughter-in-law, is the wife of a rancher, and she discovers a devastating secret that will have consequences for their family. Alice Miller, a furniture restorer, is new to the area and falls for Seth, Jackie’s son, but Alice has problems from her past that she must deal with if she is ever to find happiness.

The Grazier’s Wife is the perfect summer book, and while it is a bit predictable in places, it is still compulsively readable. With her three main characters, Hannay brings several issues to the forefront, touching upon domestic violence, alcoholism, PTSD, and what to do with a skeleton in a closet. In the middle of this, Stella, Jackie, and Alice must each grapple with the decision to either live with the choices they have made or find the courage to change, despite the consequences that might have on their loved ones.

Ultimately, the reader is drawn into the stories of these women, two of whom are graziers’ wives and the third is a potential grazier’s wife. My only criticism is I would have loved to have more of Stella’s experiences in WWII-era Singapore. Hannay brings cosmopolitan Singapore alive with the love story of Stella and Tom, and she captures the carefree attitude the city had before the Japanese began bombing it. I wanted more!

Julia C. Fischer

THE KEY

Kathryn Hughes, Headline Review, 2018, £7.99, pb, 439pp, 9781472248855

1956 may not seem like history to many of our readers, but happily the big Victorian lunatic asylums which were still the main provision for the mentally ill and handicapped in Britain in the 1950s have now passed into history. The system was already being questioned in the 1950s, and after the Mental Health Act of 1959 these huge buildings were gradually emptied of their inmates to stand as decaying memorials to a disgraced form of care.

The Key begins in 2006 when a young librarian decides to research the history of the derelict local asylum where her father once worked. Although the story is narrated in two time streams, most of the action and all the power and drama takes place from 1956 to 1958. The 21st- century story is pallid by comparison, and the happy ending (lovers reunited after 50 years) is not very convincing.

The 1950s story is told from the perspective of a student nurse and a teenage patient who both join the asylum near Manchester in the same week. It is a moving tale of ruined lives and frustrated hopes and a system which was tolerated until so recently, and now seems so alien.

Edward James

BOARDWALK SUMMER

Meredith Jaeger, William Morrow, 2018, $15.99/C$19.99, pb, 384pp, 9780062748065

Violet yearns to be a Hollywood actress in 1940. Even though she is married, she enters and wins the Miss California pageant in Santa Cruz, her home town on California’s northern coast. When her husband, Charles, finds out, he orders her to quit. Afraid of his brutality, she agrees. Weeks later, she can no longer take his abuse and sneaks off to Hollywood with the help of friends, including Ricky Cruz— but Charles drags her home. In 2007, Mari Cruz toils as a waitress but wants more. She has a history degree and knows all of Santa Cruz’s past, especially the amusement park on the boardwalk. Her beloved grandfather worked there as a stunt diver. A college onenight stand left her pregnant and derailed her aspirations. Her daughter’s father, Travis, the son of the town’s mayor, wants nothing to do with either of them.

Sorting through her grandfather’s keepsakes, she finds a picture of him with his arm around a beautiful woman. Listed as “Violet,” she is reported to have committed suicide. Mari volunteers for the local museum and is incensed to learn that the gazebo where her grandparents held their wedding reception is to be torn down to make room for modern condos funded by Travis; she decides to fight back.

Jaeger weaves an interesting story as Mari tries to solve the mystery of Violet’s death.

Violet could have fled Charles by staying with the pageant, which offered a screen test. And “paparazzi” wasn’t a term in 1940. The novel

showcases the contributions of the Latino population and the few resources available to a battered woman decades ago. The story appeals to me since I spent many summers in Santa Cruz. Except for the abuse scenes, it’s a light read with endearing characters.

Diane Scott Lewis

HAG

Kathleen Kaufman, Turner, 2018, $16.99, pb, 336pp, 9781684421671

In the years after WWII, a little girl grows up in Glasgow and later moves with her mother to Colorado. Alice Grace is aware at times of seeing things others do not. But she is unaware that she, and later her own daughter, have inherited a legacy—the magic of the Cailleach. The ancient goddess has slumbered, neglected, for years while she waits for her long-lost daughters to return to her. As Alice’s tale unfolds we also learn the stories of this long lineage of women endowed with the forceful power of the Cailleach. The stories infuse and influence each other, like a drop of blue ink soaking through layers of fine white cloth—the example that the Cailleach uses to teach her daughters of the multiple realities comprising our existence.

A mix of magical realism and historical fiction, this story swept me away. Kaufman’s writing flows effortlessly, carrying the reader along on this magical journey. I read the book in one sitting. Kaufman states in her acknowledgments that this story was greatly inspired by stories of her own foremothers, and she has honored them well with this book.

Recommended—a lovely read!

Susan McDuffie

BELLEWETHER

Susanna Kearsley, Sourcebooks Landmark, 2018, $16.99/£12.99, pb, 448pp, 9781492637134 / Simon & Schuster Canada, C$22.99, pb, 432pp, 9781501116544

Charlotte (“Charley”) Van Hoek takes up residence in her late brother’s home on Long Island and begins a position as curator of the Wilde House, a historic home on Snug Cove and the childhood home of 18thcentury privateer Benjamin Wilde. Charley is overseeing renovations when she first hears the house’s ghost story: during the Seven Years’ War an illicit love affair between a captured French officer and Benjamin’s sister turned tragic when a family member shot the enemy soldier dead before the lovers could escape. As phantom lights, overhead footsteps, and strong breezes trail her steps,

Charley becomes determined to find out what really happened in the house centuries ago.

Lydia Wilde recoils when her father brings home two captured French officers he has been forced to billet. The war has already taken a toll on the family after Lydia’s oldest brother Joseph returned from Oswego forever altered and her fiancé, Moses, never returned at all. Her deep dislike softens, however, as she observes the quiet intensity of the FrenchCanadian lieutenant Jean-Philippe de Sabran.

As they work together on the farm and she learns of his mother and sister trapped in Québec, a city recently taken by the English, he no longer seems like the enemy.

No one can weave past and present timelines quite so well as Ms. Kearsley, whose characters often mirror each other across the centuries. Here, we experience the tale through the eyes of Charley, Lydia, and JeanPhilippe. With deftly overlapping scenes, Charley follows the artifact trail while readers experience the budding romance first hand.

Charley’s modern-day storyline lacks the emotional nuances of the historical plot, but readers can easily imagine themselves in the role of the ghost, gently nudging Charley towards the truth.

Rebecca Henderson Palmer

WOMEN OF THE DUNES

Sarah Maine, Atria, 2018, $16.00/C$22.00, pb, 384pp, 9781501189593 / Hodder & Stoughton, 2018, £20.99, hb, 384pp, 9781473684898

In three interwoven storylines, the legend of a Viking woman and a solitary monk on a remote Scottish island comes to life.

Archaeologist Libby Snow comes to the windswept island of Ullaness in pursuit of both science and confirmation of a myth that her Scottish ancestress passed down through the family. On Ullaness, Libby has more to contend with than her arrogant professor, the grasping lady of the manor, and Rodri, the brooding and handsome brother of the baronet and caretaker of the estate; she’s confronted with two crimes. A gold cross that has been in her family for generations looks to be from the ninth century burial mound they plan to excavate over the summer, suggesting a long-ago theft. Along with the expected ancient remains, the mound also conceals the bones of a 19th-century man... and the bullet that killed him. In alternating chapters, we hear the story of Libby and her discoveries; her great-great-grandmother Ellen, a maid who fled Ullaness in 1890; and Ulla, the Viking woman who found refuge on the island in the 9th century. Separated by centuries, these three are the women of Ullaness’s dunes.

Women of the Dunes is both mystery and love story, taking us through time to explore conflicts of faith and of trust in different eras.

Though the relationships are straightforward and unsurprising, the multiple crimes within the book are more layered and allow for surprises and satisfying resolutions. Sarah Maine excels at creating a rich and authentic setting; the reader is transported to the lush,

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windswept, and poetic landscape of the Scottish Isles. Libby’s present-day storyline is the fullest, but Maine takes us between the eras effortlessly. Evocative of place and time, Women of the Dunes is an enjoyable read.

Jessica Brockmole

THE JADE LILY

Kirsty Manning, Allen & Unwin, 2018, A$29.99, pb, 456pp, 9781760294793

The Jade Lily is a multi-period, intergenerational novel set in the World War Two era and the present day. In her second novel, Australian author Manning draws on her own travel experience to bring to life settings in Vienna, Shanghai, London, Hong Kong and Melbourne, Australia.

The earlier subplot depicts a Jewish family fleeing Hitler’s Europe to find themselves trapped in Japanese-occupied Shanghai. In addition to the descriptions of war-induced cruelty and persecution, it’s also a comingof-age story about daughter, Romy, as she navigates an increasingly complex and hazardous environment.

In the contemporary subplot, Romy is an elderly woman in Melbourne, nursing her dying husband, Wilhelm. Their granddaughter, Alexandra, a successful stockbroker, arrives from London to share Wilhelm’s last days.

Alexandra was raised by Romy and Wilhelm, as her parents died in a car crash when she was a child. Mystery surrounds her mother’s origins, an Asian orphan adopted by Romy and Wilhelm. After Wilhelm’s death, Alexandra goes to Shanghai with new determination to discover her Asian roots. She unveils a web of secrets, tragedy and unexpected outcomes.

Manning expertly transitions between past and present, and back again, without impacting the flow of either story. Both The Jade Lily and Manning’s first novel, The Midsummer Garden, grapple with themes of passion, grief, family and sacrifice. Her photographic, culinary and botanical interests are beautifully woven into both multi-period novels, creating visually evocative and sensual narratives. This second novel is destined to be as popular as the first, as it will appeal to contemporary and historical fiction readers and those who enjoy a genealogical quest.

Christine Childs

THE MARTIAN GIRL

Andrew Martin, Corsair, 2018, £14.99, hb, 334pp, 9781472152466

Jean Beckett is researching the life of the late 19th-century London musical hall artiste Kate French. She plans to put on a stage play about her life, but her work transmogrifies into something more like a novel as she uses her imagination to understand this enigmatic woman. Kate French is the eponymous Martian Girl, and had a successful mindreading music hall act with her staid and unattractive partner, Joseph Draper. This (as even such acts today still are) is based upon on an elaborate system of verbal cues that Draper 56

provides to the blindfolded Kate on the stage.

In her contemporary life, Jean’s life is made more complicated by her having a murderous psychopathic retired barrister as a lover named Coates – we never learn his first name. The author skilfully avoids making him as ludicrous or unfeasible as it appears. While Jean’s relationship with Coates deteriorates and the reader perceives the danger she (and Coates’ wife) is facing with her increasingly unstable lover, back in 1898 Kate French also faces a degree of danger as her partnership with the unpleasant Draper takes off and she becomes a successful performer with their mind-reading act. Draper is concerned that she may be able to read his mind, and all that lies therein!

This is an absorbing and well-written story, with rounded and engaging characters. Life in the late 19th-century English music hall is portrayed capably and believably. My only criticism is that the conclusion is a little lame and rather rushed, and the introduction of a metafictional device does not add greatly to the outcome.

Douglas Kemp

THE BOTANIST’S DAUGHTER

Kayte Nunn, Hachette Australia, 2018, A$29.99, pb, 387pp, 9780733639388

This is Australian author Kayte Nunn’s first historical novel. A love of botany inspired Nunn to write this multi-period novel set in Australia, England, and Chile.

The Botanist’s Daughter is written in third person with two strong female protagonists living 130 years apart. There are parallels between the two women despite being born in vastly different times and places. We meet both after they have suffered a family bereavement that sets their lives on an unusual course of action. Both women are single, with married sisters. Finally, both have a strong connection with botany.

Anna is a landscape gardener in Sydney, Australia who has just inherited her deceased grandmother’s house. A box is found during renovations containing mysterious objects from the 19th century. How it came to be there and what the link is to her grandmother sets Anna on a journey across the globe to Cornwall in England.

Elizabeth is a botanist’s daughter with a gift for illustrating plants. Her father travelled the world in search of rare botanical specimens. On his deathbed in 1886, he forces his previously sheltered daughter to agree to go to Chile in search of a rare and deadly plant, before his archrival finds it. Elizabeth sets out on the secret mission with her lady’s maid, under the guise of wanting to paint exotic plants. She unleashes an unexpected and dramatic series of events that reverberate all the way to Anna in modern-day Australia.

The Botanist’s Daughter is a great example of a historical novel that transports us in time via specific objects from the past. It has several quests, dramatic twists and a little bit of romance. The botanical descriptions

REVIEWS | ISSUE 85, August 2018

add a pleasant sensory dimension without distracting from the storyline.

Christine Childs

THE LOST DAUGHTER

Gill Paul, Headline Review, 2018, £7.99, pb, 456pp, 9781472249142

The idea that at least one of the children of Tsar Nicholas II might have survived the murder of the Romanov royal family at Ekaterinburg in July 1918 has fascinated writers of both fiction and purported fact for the last 100 years. Gill Paul’s book does not claim to be more than a novel, although it’s grounded in impressive research.

The surviving child in Paul’s book is 18-yearold Grand Duchess Maria, not Anastasia or Alexei, who are the usual candidates. The story is told in two time streams. The historic one follows Maria from her escape from Ekaterinburg to her death in Leningrad in 1979, with an epilogue in 2007. It thus covers a 60-year sweep of Russian history, including the Famine of 1921, the Great Terror of the 1930s and the Siege of Leningrad in 1942. The modern stream is set in the 1970s and follows a woman in Australia who is researching the mysterious past of her late father, a Russian emigre, while at the same time handling the breakdown of her marriage.

Although twin time streams are a common device in historical novels, it is difficult to make them equally compelling. So often the drama of the historic stream trivialises the events of the modern one. This is an obvious danger here, but Paul succeeds in keeping our interest in both these very different stories until she finally brings them neatly together.

Edward James

SHADOW CHILD

Rahna Reiko Rizzuto, Grand Central, 2018, $26.00, hb, 343pp, 9781538711453

Lillie and her daughters Hana and Kei have spent their entire lives trying to rise above disaster. Their story begins in the early 1970s, when Hana travels to New York, to find Kei unconscious in a bathtub, the marks on her body indicating a severe assault. Here the reader becomes aware that the novel is written in the style of magical realism. Hana allows the hospital staff to think the comatose Kei is really Hana. For days, Hana wonders whether her twin will recover and how their relationship will evolve, as it has always been incredibly close and distant at the same time.

The real Hana remains near her sister and tells her stories of their past in the 1950s and 1960s, including the time when Kei was almost drowned in a terrible tsunami. Hints of another traumatic event are constantly mentioned but never specified. The twins believe their mother’s constantly strange behavior made them depend on each other, while at the same time they try to be independent and unique.

The novel transitions to Lillie’s account of WWII with its anti-Japanese treatment in the internment camps, exile to Japan, and the unbelievably horrific descriptions of the

aftermath of the atom bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Despite the agonizing experiences these three women endure, this is a novel about true love, with its cyclical severing and reconnection of familial and historical bonds.

The twins’ coming of age meant escaping into fantasy and mysticism to survive, rejecting it just when it seemed potentially destructive.

Shadow Child is an unforgettable, often wandering, story of forgiveness and renewal, a journey paralleling Japanese and American history over thirty years.

Viviane Crystal

ALTERNATE HISTORY

KINGDOM OF THE WICKED BOOK ONE: Rules

Helen Dale, Wilkinson, 2018, $19.95/ C$26.95/£14.95, pb, 458pp, 9781925642247

Helen Dale’s first novel, The Hand that Signed the Paper, won Australia’s Miles Franklin Award; she was the youngest recipient ever.

The book also caused a storm of controversy for portraying historic anti-Semitic characters as, yes, the anti-Semites they were. Dale has since moved to the UK, become a lawyer, and now turned all this personal history into a brilliant alternate history about the trial of Yeshua Ben Yusuf in 31 AD. Anti-Semitic?

Most of its point of view characters are like Pontius Pilate, trying to maintain a civilized hold on Palestine when the locals don’t want the corrupting gifts of gender equality and abortions and electricity, and are willing to resort to terrorism to get their way.

After Ben Yusuf causes a riot to the world trade center of the Temple’s moneychanger’s court, the Romans feel justified in resorting to waterboarding to get life-saving information out of captured zealots whose names we know from New Testament studies. And defense lawyers with the best intentions in the world, characters to whom we are instantly drawn, can hardly defend a man connected to a hostage situation told in a scene as pageturning as any modern bestselling thriller. All the while, characters order pizza delivered and battle combat drones so we never forget to look for modern parallels that make us think, question and take our breath away. The Author’s Note on facets of the most famous trial in history is worth rereading two or three times.

Ann Chamberlin

BLACK CHAMBER

S. M. Stirling, Ace, 2018, $16.00/C$22.00, pb, 400pp, 9780399586231

World War I was a globally seismic and infinitely complicated event. The author rises to the challenge of creating an alternate history novel based on the premise that America’s most interesting president, Theodore Roosevelt, wins another term after President Taft dies in 1912. Russia has just withdrawn from the war, and the Germans are preparing for a massive offensive, using new and terrifying weapons.

Before announcing a decision to enter on the side of the British and their allies, Roosevelt deploys his godchild, Luz O’Malley Arostegui, on a covert operation into hostile territory as an undercover double agent.

Luz’s organization, the mysterious U.S. super spy agency, Black Chamber, inserts her onto a transatlantic bound dirigible in the role of a Mexican revolutionary who is aiding the Germans. Luz quickly becomes close with a German military officer who is also in an intelligence role. After a series of chases and battles, they make their way to Germany, where Luz is horrified to learn the plan to keep the U.S. out of the war. With a young Boston Irish-American girl as an ally, she recrosses the ocean and only barely manages to save most of the American east coast from devastation.

The novel’s overarching story line is fascinating and, given the horrors of extensive chemical weapons use on the front lines, frighteningly believable. The author’s mastery of intricate technical, historical, linguistic and military detail is incredibly impressive. There are some attractive characters, especially Ciara Whelan, an Irish independence sympathizer and, ironically, Hauptmann Horst von Dückler, a German aristocrat. A likeable and dominating character, even in the background, is, of course, Teddy Roosevelt.

Seemingly omniscient and omnipotent, the protagonist Luz O’Malley, however, is more of a non-credible and cartoonish superhero than a “master spy.” So, paradoxically, except for the annoying main character, Black Chamber is a well-written and action-packed adventure novel.

Thomas J. Howley

TIMESLIP

A SHAPE ON THE AIR

Julia Ibbotson, Endeavour, 2017, £6.99/$7.99, pb, 218pp, 9781521987391

“She heard the chime of the church clock in the village. Midnight. The hour of witches and ghosts. The hour of magic.” Thus begins a fast-paced time-slip adventure. University lecturer Viv DuLac lives with her partner, Pete, in a flat she loves and is very happy with her life. But her perfect world collapses when Pete tells her he is leaving her for Viv’s best friend, and that he has leveraged the flat for his business. Utterly distraught, Viv takes a walk at midnight and falls into the local pond known as Cooney’s Mere. It is a time portal, and Viv finds herself in the year 499 AD, in the body of Lady Vivianne, orphaned and betrothed to a man she despises, the uncouth, devious Sir Pelleas.

The novel is, at its heart, a touching romance; “a love that lasts for lifetimes”, to quote the catch-line on the cover. But it is also an intriguing detective story, and Julia Ibbotson skilfully interweaves the past and present worlds, with a mystery to be solved, and wrongs to be righted, in both time periods. Viv’s present-day troubles are well drawn, whilst Lady Vivianne’s world equally

comes alive with its sights, sounds and smells – from the purple thyme added to the pine logs burning in the hearth, to the stinking chamber buckets and midden pits. For the most part, the characters are convincing, with the exception of Sir Pelleas, who is a somewhat one-dimensional villain.

For all those who enjoy romances, and timeslip tales in the best Barbara Erskine tradition, I would highly recommend this novel.

Penny Ingham

HISTORICAL FANTASY WHAT SHOULD BE WILD

Julia Fine, Harper, 2018, $26.99/C$33.50, hb, 351pp, 9780062684134

What Should Be Wild intertwines stories of several women, spanning millennia, all part of the Blakeley family—women connected by tragic lives in which they were mysteriously “rescued” into a decidedly animate woods which, in the modern day, is near an English village. The contemporary main character, Maisie, latest in this line, kills or resurrects with the touch of her skin, a peculiar curse. Her anthropologist father hides her and teaches her not to touch anything living or once living, plant, animal or human. Touching a door causes the boards to sprout leaves. She killed her mother while in the womb—quite a psychic wound. Rules and proper behavior control her world. The ease with which she melds herself to these strictures is a central theme. We get to know Maisie when a death and her father’s disappearance shatter this routine.

Alternating chapters introduce the other women whose stories bring them to a deathless state in the woods. There’s a bloodthirsty, grim undercurrent to this haven that increases in menace as the book progresses. Embedded in this mystical, fairytale story, which has ironic, dark, humorous moments, are themes involving the dual-sided make-up of women, wild and civilized, the hunger and inner drives of both humans and nature, the layers of reality that lie in parallel existence with each other, and the need for human touch and normalcy.

Fine’s style is vivid, veering from humor to horror to lyric. Maisie’s rearing, for example, is deftly laid in here, “I could live on a ‘Well done’ from my father for weeks, siphoning the fatty bits of it like a camel drawing food from its hump.” The story unfolds slowly, but the combination of creepiness, humor and humanity keeps the reader going.

Judith Starkston

CHILDREN & YOUNG ADULT THE RED RIBBON

Lucy Adlington, Hot Key, 2017, £10.99, hb, 293pp, 9781471406287

Set during the Holocaust, the book begins with Ellie, a teenager going for a job as a pattern cutter in a small dress-making factory. We soon find out this job is based in

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a concentration camp called Birchwood (in actuality, Auschwitz) and that Ellie is a Jewish girl helping to make clothing for the members of the regime that oversees her internment.

The vivid descriptions of colours and fabrics are immensely detailed, making the reader feel as though they are really experiencing the beauty and excitement that Ellie feels when she is in the sewing room.

This is a book about friendship, love and finding strength in the darkest of times.

However, there are sections of the book where the characters do not feel fully rounded. The extreme conditions against which the book is set needs a delicate balance of respect and rebellion. The main protagonist, Ellie, is a strong-willed girl with a great deal of spirit but it sometimes feels like her determination is not presented in the most authentic way. It is at these times that the dialogue can feel a little creaky and unbelievable.

Overall, I enjoyed the premise of the story.

The descriptions of the clothes are detailed and beautiful, and the portrayal of the growing friendship between the girls is believable and touching. Suitable for girls aged ten and upwards.

Nicole Hilton

FATAL THRONE: The Wives of Henry VIII Tell All

M. T. Anderson, Jennifer Donnelly, Candace Fleming, Stephanie Hemphill, Deborah Hopkinson, Linda Sue Park, and Lisa Ann Sandell, Schwartz & Wade, 2018, $18.99/ C$24.99, hb, 388pp, 9781524716196

Henry VIII is King of England and desperate for a male heir. The extent to which he goes to attain his goal—severing ties with the Roman Catholic Church, as well as the heads of advisors who stand in his way, and wives who do not reproduce as required—is infamous.

Fatal Throne presents vignettes from each of Henry’s wives, written by six accomplished YA authors: The long suffering Katherine of Aragon (Candace Fleming), married to Henry for twenty-four years before his head is turned by the vibrant and passionate Anne Boleyn (Stephanie Hemphill), perhaps the most famous of all the wives—given her end; loyal, demure Jane Seymour (Lisa Ann Sandell) who gave Henry his heart’s desire and then promptly died; Anna of Cleves (Jennifer Donnelly), wise enough to survive a brief marriage; teenaged Catherine Howard (Linda Sue Park), unfortunately nowhere near wise and beheaded for adultery after less than two years of wedded bliss; and Kateryn Parr (Deborah Hopkinson), who is clever enough to persevere. Each queen presents her story— her passions, fears, and the machinations of Henry and his advisors to be rid of her. In between each of the queens’ stories are short contemplations from Henry (M.T. Anderson).

Though the story of Henry VIII and his wives is not new, the heartbreaking stories these queens tell are—additionally giving historical perspective to the #MeToo movement.

Anderson’s take on Henry feels genuine. His 58

narcissism and need to lay blame at anyone’s feet—even God—rather than his own is eerily relevant. It is a delightful book for readers ages 12 and up, including adults and anyone smitten with the Tudors.

Meg Wiviott

HARDSCRABBLE

Sandra Dallas, Sleeping Bear, 2018, $15.95/ C$19.95/£11.99, hb, 264pp, 9781585363759

In 1910, the close-knit Martin family moves to Mingo, Colorado as homesteaders. All they have to do is live on the parcel of 320 acres and farm it for five years, and it will be theirs—for free. But dry farming in Colorado is a lot different from farming in Iowa. Twelveyear-old Belle, along with her six siblings and mother and father, face unexpected hardships, adversity, and sorrows. The Martins are helped by their neighbors, the closest of whom is a woman on her own, all of whom understand how hard it is to scratch a life from dry land.

Along with the hard work do come moments of joy—parties, holidays, and plans for college and the future.

Dallas does an excellent job of describing what life was like for the early homesteaders.

The reader is there with them, living in their “soddy” and feeling the bitter wind as it sweeps across the land. The story, however, is fairly predictable, and the characters are one-dimensional; happy, kind, and generous.

None of the usual squabbles or jealousies exist within even the closest of families. The characters struggle to survive against the elements, but without any character growth.

The main character is just as sweet and caring at the end as she was at the beginning. Still, the account of the hardscrabble life on the frontier will interest middle-grade readers who are fans of the Little House on the Prairie series.

Meg Wiviott

THE GAME OF HOPE

Sandra Gulland, Viking, 2018, $18.99/C$22.00, hb, 384pp, 9780425291016

At the close of the French Revolution, fifteen-year-old Hortense de Beauharnais— step-daughter of Napoleon Bonaparte—is attending Madame Campan’s Institute for Girls, where she excels in music. Although her life there seems charming—she has roommates who are her best friends and she is the teacher’s pet—she and the other girls are still haunted by sounds in the night: horses in the courtyard, men’s raised voices, a hard knock upon the door. Eliza Monroe, daughter of the American ambassador, and Caroline, sister of Napoleon, two students who did not live through the Reign of Terror, illustrate an outsider’s view of the survivors’ reality.

Hortense begins lessons with a young composer, Hyacinthe Jadin, but she is continually called home for various reasons, and never truly puts her heart into her passion.

Worries over her brother’s safety—fighting in Egypt alongside Napoleon—and romantic thoughts of a certain soldier also vie for her attention. Notably, she frets over the details

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of her father’s untimely death by guillotine.

Her mother has a host of problems herself, including holding on to her heir-obsessed second husband and thwarting his powerhungry family. Hortense takes on the evershifting challenges while holding onto hope for her future—something that’s not within her control.

The Game of Hope, a card game popular during the era, highlights the heading of each chapter, and lends an appropriate theme to the narrative. This story is written much like the author’s Josephine B. trilogy, though simplified for a younger audience. There is conflict and loss, but also joy and accomplishments. It is a well-balanced and historically detailed story that will immerse readers in an era of uncertainty and change.

Arleigh Ordoyne

CUCKOO SONG

Frances Hardinge, Macmillan, 2018 (c2014), £7.99, pb, 409pp, 9781509868155 / Abrams, 2016, $9.95, pb, 432pp, 9781419719394

When Triss wakes up after an accident, she realises that something is very wrong, although she does not know what as she remembers very little about it. She doesn’t feel like herself.

She is constantly hungry, even to the point of climbing out of her bedroom window at night to eat rotting apples. Other times she wakes up with leaves in her hair and dirt on her nightclothes. Her sister, Pen, hates her and lies about her, and Triss doesn’t know why. Soon Triss suspects that what happened to her is more strange, terrible and sinister than she could ever imagine.

This book, set sometime in the 1920s, is quite frankly one of the best children’s books I have read for years. I could not put it down. There are mysteries, sinister activities and questions at every turn. Every character in the story seems suspicious and guilty. You are drawn into the web of mystery that is unfolding before Triss’s eyes, and as she cannot remember nor figure out what is going on, the reader is as confused as she is. There are also hints throughout the book of madness and whether Triss can really be believed because of the state of her mental health. You are kept wondering and questioning right up to the very last page.

Cuckoo Song was originally released in 2014 and shortlisted for the Cilip Carnegie Medal in 2015. It is dark and dangerous and truly scary in places. I cannot recommend it more highly.

Suitable for 12 years plus.

Linda Sever

SHE LOVES YOU: Yeah, Yeah, himself, but from magic and other forces of Nine women who guard the castle with its ever-shifting rooms, where Arthur is due to nature.

Yeah For those who grew up reading Robin reside and grow up, until it is time for him Ann Hood, Penguin Workshop, 2018, $16.99/ C$22.99, hb, 256pp, 9781524785116

Trudy Mixer is the founder of the Robert E. Quinn Junior High Beatles Fan Club in Rhode Island in 1966. It started out as the school’s largest club, but now kids have begun drifting away. In reaction to her best friend switching to the cheerleader club, she boasts that she is going to meet Paul McCartney. Trudy’s father gets her tickets for the Beatles’ upcoming performance in Boston, but circumstances intervene. He is sent to Japan on a business trip, and Trudy’s mother breaks her leg and can’t drive. Three of the remaining club members sneak off with Trudy on the bus to Boston to see the concert, in hopes that she will be able to make good on her promise that they will get to meet Paul.

Readers old enough to remember the era will enjoy reminiscing. Young readers will be introduced to life in the 1960s, with the book’s references to history and pop culture.

A friend’s mother has abandoned her family to become a hippie in San Francisco. Others have brothers serving in Vietnam. A classmate has ambitions to diet and cut her hair short to look more like the model Twiggy.

Trudy is going through the self-centered stage that many teenagers endure. She thinks her father is not paying enough attention to her and is thrilled when she realizes that they both like the Beatles. Her experiences pursuing her dream to meet Paul evoke a change in attitude by the end of the novel.

The main drawback, I thought, was that the ending was more fantasy than reality, judging by what I’ve read about the extreme security on the Beatles’ tours. It’s a fun, nostalgic wish-fulfillment story that will introduce young readers to the vibrant decade their grandparents experienced.

B. J. Sedlock

BEAST: A Tale of Love and Revenge Lisa Jensen, Candlewick, 2018, C$23.99, hb, 352pp, 9780763688806

$18.99/

Before the Beast becomes the Beast, there was the beautiful Jean-Loup, Chevalier de Beaumont. He hunts women and mismanages his household, which bustles with innumerable servants. Lucie is one such servant, who unfortunately crosses paths with Jean-Loup one too many times. When the local wise woman finally decides to put a stop to Jean-Loup’s cruelty, Lucie hopes to watch him suffer, and the magic turns her into a silver candelabra. Over time, the difference between Jean-Loup and the Beast is obvious, and Lucie forms a friendship with him, hoping the Beast will remain and Jean-Loup never return. But beautiful Rose arrives at the ruined chateau, threatening to unlock the spell. Rose is not what she seems, either, and Lucie must do all she can to save the Beast—not just from

McKinley’s versions of the ageless tale, Beast is a fresh look at the folklore. Awash with language slightly reminiscent of 19th-century literature, concise yet rich descriptions, and written with a unique point of view, Beast offers the reader a chance to peek into the world of the castle before the beauty arrives.

Jensen has woven a plausible and deeply intimate story while threading the old version through it, complete with snippets of history and yet timeless as well. The next generation of readers will grow up devouring “Beauty and the Beast,” and this version features twists and turns to offer another way to peer at a story that resonates without fail.

Sara Dahmen

THE PARKER INHERITANCE

Varian Johnson, Arthur A. Levine, 2018, $16.99/C$22.99, hb, 352pp, 9780545946179

Eleven-year-old Candice is spending the summer with her mother in her late grandmother’s house while waiting for her home in Atlanta to be renovated. She’s not happy in Lambert, South Carolina—she’s lonely for her friends back home and dealing with feelings, tension, and the awkwardness accompanying her recently separated parents. Upon meeting Brandon, the boy across the street, they discover a letter in the attic which sets them upon some mysteries of the consequences of the past, her family’s history, and a literal treasure of money for the person who solves the puzzle.

Told in the present day with flashbacks to the Fifties and Eighties, Johnson covers all aspects of those periods, capturing the essence of racism and its lingering effects into the new millennium, bullying, and sexuality in both an age-appropriate approach and one that is relevant and eye-opening. The story is smart and potent. The puzzle aspect grounds the story, completely involves the main characters’ quest for money and knowledge, and manages to make the supporting players shine. Candice and Brandon’s rush to solve the mystery forces them to think creatively, and to consider with intelligence and respect the outcome of their efforts.

The only flaw, in this charm of a novel, maybe in tackling too much; some heady issues are explored though not to the depth they warrant and that the reader deserves.

It sparkles, though, in its writing and main subject matter.

Wendy A. Zollo

THE SWORD OF ICE AND FIRE

John Matthews, Greystone Press, 2018, £8.99, pb, 262pp, 9781911122173

This novel opens with the Enchanter, Merlin, arriving in Avalon, carrying a baby, Arthur. Here he encounters the mysterious

to undergo a series of quests. Along the way he encounters monsters, shapeshifters, magicians, Druids and Mabon, the shining golden boy-god who must be rescued from an underground dungeon where he is held captive. He must also achieve the four Hallows of Albion, of which the first quest is to gain the Sword of Ice and Fire. Accompanying him are four magical, shapeshifting companions, the Salmon, Stag, Eagle and Blackbird.

John Matthews’ writing is stunning in its academic detail. Having devoted forty years to studying the Arthurian tradition, his work is meticulously researched, and the prose is reminiscent of the earliest stories of Arthur and Merlin, but faster-paced and filled with magic and mystery. At each twist and turn the reader encounters characters from Celtic mythology, such as the Green Knight, the Questing Beast, the Amangons and the hideous Fir Bolg.

The Sword of Ice and Fire is the first of a quartet of books under the title of Red Dragon Rising. I was captivated, drawn into the ancient mythologies of the British Isles, journeying alongside Arthur as he aims to capture the Sword. These are old and well-told tales, but seen through the eyes of someone devoted to retelling and reinvigorating them, they read like they are being told for the very first time.

Recommended for readers over the age of ten.

Linda Sever

WHERE THE WORLD ENDS

Geraldine McCaughrean, Usborne, 2018, £6.99, pb, 336pp, 9781474943437

Based on a real event, this is a story that sings to the soul.

It belongs—in shoals—in every school and library. By the glimmer of a fulmar lamp, it gives a rare insight into the hardship of ordinary lives in the early 1700s.

Off the coast of Scotland, a boatload of boys and three men are dropped on a remote sea stac. They are fowlers. Their job is to climb the sheer cliffs and hunt birds. The work is unimaginably risky and hard. For 15 hours a day, all are busy: netting, strangling, plucking, storing bird oil in the stomachs of gannets, mending horsehair ropes. The boys are so tired they sleep as they pause on ledges and have to be woken before they fall to their deaths. But it’s only for three weeks. Except… their boat does not return.

Geraldine MacCaughrean skilfully weaves many layers of story into one rustic plaid. There is the quite extraordinary adventure of children

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living through a Scottish winter on a sea-swept rock. There’s the ever-present mystery of the absent boat, and what is happening on the treeless island that is home? Powerful drama unfolds as men and youngsters are tested by their own limits and each other’s. Then there is Quill, a talented storyteller whose yarns play a crucial part in the heads and hearts of the castaways. And underpinning all is a very original story of young love, sought and lost, that threads through the pages from start to finish.

This is stark, beautiful story-making for over12s. If forced to find a gripe, it is that the title may evaporate from the mind like sea mist – so mark it well. It has just won the 2018 Carnegie Medal and is everything a magnificent read should be.

Marion Rose

FLYING THROUGH CLOUDS

Michelle Morgan, Michelle Morgan, 2018, $9.95, pb, 256pp, 9780995386532

Soon-to-be fourteen-year-old Joe wants to be an aviator. He dreams of flying through clouds like his hero Smithy, Australia’s great aviator, Charles Kingsford Smith. Achieving one’s dreams is difficult for a boy growing up in Glebe, a tough suburb of Sydney, during the 1930s. Joe’s parents forbid him to fly; Mum fears for his safety and Dad needs him to work in the family business—illegal bookmaking.

Parental disapproval is not Joe’s only obstacle, however. Flying lessons cost money, and during the Depression money is hard to come by.

School, and the school principal in particular (who happens to be Joe’s girlfriend’s father), offers more challenges. Still, Joe makes a plan and sticks to it. He does not give up.

Morgan deftly places the reader in the time and place of the story. Historical details read as authentic, though occasionally like an historical checklist. The plot is good; Joe knows what he wants and goes after it, facing many difficulties along the way. Unfortunately, there are threads in the story that do not carry all the way through, characters who appear and disappear conveniently. The ending, though inevitable, feels convenient; not so much the “what” of it but the “how,” given inconsistencies in some characters. While intended for young adult readers, the simple sentence structure and content might appeal to younger readers, nine to twelve years old, especially those interested in flying.

Meg Wiviott

THINGS A BRIGHT GIRL CAN DO

Sally Nicholls, Andersen Press, 2017, £7.99, pb, 418pp, 9781783446735

Sally Nicholls’ latest young adult novel is a detailed and vivid account of three young women in Edwardian England, connected by their interest in the woman’s suffrage movement. Evelyn is bright and studious and longs to go to Oxford; May is a Quaker who 60

doesn’t support the violent campaigns of the suffragettes, though she does fall head over heels for suffragette Nell, who dresses like a boy and hates the restrictions placed on her because of her gender and her class. The three characters’ lives intertwine as the campaigns grow in strength and the threat of war becomes a reality. Nell’s and May’s families are supportive of the suffragette struggle, but Evelyn’s is appalled and does all they can to dissuade her. The characters are brilliantly drawn and developed as each girl struggles with her identity and the restrictions of the world they live in.

Nicholls doesn’t stint on showing us the difficulty that women faced in their campaign for suffrage: the ridicule, the anger. Nor does she hold back on describing the difficulties women faced on the home front throughout the war: the shortage of food and money and how diligently they threw themselves into war-work, hoping that the vote would be their reward. While the characters in this novel are fictional, much of the detail of meetings, riots, etc. is not. Nicholls has researched and recreated the era impeccably, and despite the heaviness of the subject matter there is deftness and humour in the characters. Even if you already know the history it is Evelyn, May and Nell that will make you read on.

Suitable for older children and young adults.

Lisa Redmond

A WHALE IN PARIS

Daniel Presley & Claire Polders, Atheneum, 2018, $17.99, hb, 246pp, 9781534419155

It’s 1944, and Chantal Duprey lives in German-occupied Paris along the Seine. Her father, a fishmonger named Henri, has not had any luck catching the salmon they need to survive during the ever-increasing food shortages. One night, while Chantel is playing her ukulele by the water, she hears strange noises coming from the river. She discovers a young whale has lost its way, and it seems to connect with Chantal immediately. It’s not a secret she can keep quiet, and when the Parisians and later the German guards find “Franklin” the whale, a mixture of wonder and survival-bred madness sweeps through the city. Chantel must get Franklin and herself to safety before it’s too late.

This story includes many characters with different backgrounds and attitudes. It delves into the workings of human nature, and teaches young readers valuable life lessons, such as not judging people prematurely and the importance of keeping promises. Another theme is overcoming one’s fears—Chantal, whose mother drowned years before, must face the threat of the water to save Franklin. There are both French and German phrases, which are handily translated in parentheses. The cover art and illustrations give a good sense of Chantal’s world—especially the map in the front which shows the Seine and its islands and bridges. It is an excellent introduction to WWII

REVIEWS | ISSUE 85, August 2018

for elementary readers, being both an exciting and touching story.

Arleigh Ordoyne

RIDDLE OF THE RUNES

Janina Ramirez, Oxford Univ. Press, 2018, £6.99, pb, 242pp, 9780192766335

In the Viking town of Kilsgard, young investigator and shield maiden, Alva, along with her sniffer wolf, Fen, follow a series of clues to unravel the many mysteries that seem to occur there on a regular basis. Alva is desperate to be an investigator like her Uncle Magnus and so is determined to be the first at the crime scene, leading to no end of trouble.

Added to the mix, there is a kidnapper on the loose.

One of the exciting things about this book is that the reader also participates in the narrative, helping to figure out the clues alongside the protagonist. What do the runes mean? What were the scribblings of the monk?

A helpful guide to the runes and a glossary of terms are to be found at the back of the book too. It is like a murder mystery and treasure hunt, mixed in with historical fiction.

This is the first book for children by art historian, Janina Ramirez. She is already wellknown as an academic and BBC TV presenter, but this novel brings her passion to life for younger people. There are many books with Viking themes and female leads around at the moment, but what makes this stand head and shoulders above the rest is that the book is packed with information about this period in medieval history, including the important role women played within Viking society. It encourages present day readers to realise their own importance in today’s society. Alva and the other characters are fully formed and engaging, and the narrative is fast-paced and exciting, accompanied by some stunning black and white illustrations. I look forward to reading the rest in the series. Recommended for 9+.

Linda Sever

BONE MUSIC: The Legend of Genghis Khan

Katherine Roberts, Greystones Press, 2018, £9.99, pb, 392pp, 9781911122210

12th-century Mongolia. Guided by a prophecy that says the wolf will lie with the deer and create a new nation, a boy rides across the steppe seeking a bride. Thus begins a story of love, betrayal, murder, shamanic magic and bitter rivalry which will lead to the foundation of a great Empire. The story centres around Temujin, eldest son of Yesugei the Brave, the leader of the Mongol Alliance, his bride Borta, deer-whisperer, and the orphaned Jamukha, his blood brother. When Temujin’s father is poisoned on the way home, an ambitious chief takes control of the leaderless Alliance. Temujin and his family flee into exile, where they are joined by the orphaned Jamukha. In order to marry his betrothed, and gain leadership of the

Alliance, Temujin must first survive and raise an army.

This story of the early life of Genghis Khan is told through the eyes of the three main characters in three parts, which gives a unique insight into the unfolding story. Aimed at the very top age of YA readers, the book includes violence and sex as a natural consequence of the life and times. Adults as well as YA readers will enjoy this thrilling novel. Recommended.

Mike Ashworth

THE TURNKEY OF HIGHGATE CEMETERY Allison Rushby, Candlewick, 2018, $15.99/ C$21.99, hb, 256pp, 9780763696856

Early in WWII, facing increasingly devastating bombing, people in Britain were deeply concerned that Hitler was about to invade them and take over the UK just as he had taken over other European countries.

One very unlikely leader valiantly trying to head off this invasion is Flossie, the Turnkey of Highgate cemetery in London. Although she was only 12 years old when she died, it is Flossie’s job as Turnkey to ensure that everyone in the cemetery is at rest. This includes Amelia, a child unhappy because her dolls were not buried with her, and Mrs. Gough whose complaining has not decreased merely because she has died.

Highgate is one of the oldest and largest cemeteries in London and, worried about the effect of a severe bombing raid on the folk at rest there, Flossie goes to the high gallery of St. Paul’s Cathedral to assess the extent of the fires and devastation. There, high in the cathedral, she sees a man wearing the uniform of a Nazi SS officer. She tries to give chase, but the man disappears into thin air.

Puzzled and worried, Flossie approaches the Turnkeys of the other historic cemeteries for help. She ropes in her Advisor, Hazel the fox, and even gets advice from her dead father. But it is up to Flossie to delve into the problem and place herself at risk to save her country.

This delightful book, both touching and exciting, will appeal to young people. It carries a comforting dual message, first that death is not a transition to be feared, but also that life itself is worthwhile. The author has given us a highly imaginative book that has an exciting plot and some lively dead characters. More importantly, it has a deep spiritual message.

Valerie Adolph

THE WAR BELOW Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch, Scholastic, 2018, $17.99/C$23.99, hb, 256pp, 9781338233025

Hidden among corpses, Luka Barukovich anxiously waits for the truck to drive through the gates. It is his only chance for life and freedom, yet escaping the slave labor camp

means he must leave behind his closest friend, who urged him to flee. Someday, if he survives, he will find her, but now he embarks on the long journey home where he hopes to reunite with his father, whom the Soviets sent to Siberia. Getting to Kyiv is fraught with danger, especially for an eleven-year-old clad only in a hospital gown and with a thigh wound crudely stitched by a Nazi doctor after a bomb exploded at the metal-works factory.

Luka takes refuge in a barn, where he uses the knowledge of natural remedies that his father and grandfather taught him to tend his injury. In need of food and clothing to protect him from the wintry chill, he risks entering the farmhouse. The old couple living there catches him, but instead of turning him in, they share their food and home. After being so long deprived, their kindness seems a godsend, until they lock him in a bedroom with an SS officer’s uniform in the closet.

The War Below takes place during the last two years of World War II, and while written for children, even adults will find this a riveting novel. Skrypuch’s chilling portrayal of escape vividly captures life on the run amidst the savagery of war. Her characters are skillfully drawn and deftly show that sometimes we must do the unthinkable to survive. She also introduces a lesser-known aspect of this conflict—the Ukrainian Insurgent Army and their fight against the prejudices that drive others to enslave and kill. In spite of heartwrenching sorrow, vicious slaughter, and unexpected trickery, hope remains eternal.

Cindy Vallar

SPARKS OF LIGHT Janet B. Taylor, HMH, 2018, $9.99/C$13.99, pb, 448pp, 9781328915269

In this sequel to her acclaimed Into the Dim, Janet B. Taylor brings the cast of delightfully human and completely accessible characters to life once more. Set both in current-day Scotland and 1895 New York, teenaged Hope Walton’s story picks up a month after her first foray into time traveling with her newly found family and friends. Now part of the Viators, Hope has learned the ropes of zipping through the past thanks to Nikola Tesla’s inventions, but that doesn’t keep her sense of wonder from overcoming her each time she zooms backwards. Using information from her boyfriend, who belongs to a competing group of time travelers, Hope’s Viators must go back to save Tesla himself, as well as his dangerous inventions. However, 1895 has its own dangers, and Hope finds herself in the nearly impossible situation of an insane asylum and facing the demons of her past time traveling before she can contemplate the true nature of her mission.

Throughout the twists and turns of Sparks

of Light, Taylor does not lose the reader in the handful of flashbacks to the past or to the previous novel, making it completely possible for one to pick this book up without reading the first, which is a huge feat of accomplishment.

Each character is well-drawn, relatable, and flawed, and Taylor does not shy from truth, tragedy, or loss in this engrossing YA novel.

Offering choice bits of 1895 society and history interwoven with the coolness of time travel and the teenage angst remembered by all, this series promises humor, horror, and excellent pacing in one well-worded binding.

Sara Dahmen

ROSE RIVERS Jacqueline Wilson, Doubleday, 2018, £12.99, hb, 463pp, 9780857535160

Late Victorian London. 13-year-old Rose Rivers lives in a large house with her artist father, her self-centred mother, and her six siblings. Her much-loved twin brother has just started boarding school. When he comes home at half-term, he’s changed – and not for the better. He’s a Young Gentleman now.

Rose realizes she’s been left behind. What sort of life is she expected to have? She’s thin and unattractive, and she’s had a meagre education. She loves art, but who would be interested in her wickedly satirical drawings?

Then her father invites the handsome artist, Paris Walker, to paint her mother’s portrait, and Rose’s world changes. When sitting for Paris, Mrs Rivers becomes a simpering, flirty woman, which embarrasses Rose horribly. As Rose watches him, she realizes that he thinks in ways Rose herself scarcely dares admit; he doesn’t bow down to espectability, for a start.

And she finds him very attractive …

Rose is growing up, and she needs to learn new ways of thinking. When her father introduces a new nursery maid, the artistically-talented Clover Moon, Rose finds herself asking some awkward questions. Why can’t she be friends with Clover, who is her sort of person? Why are the servants treated like an underclass? And, is Paris stringing her mother along? Or herself?

I enjoyed this book. I liked the subtle way the author exposes the huge gap between what men are allowed to say, think and do, and the way women’s lives and thoughts are restricted. She also examines the pernicious effect of the rigid class system. Rose tries to treat the servants as fellow human beings but soon realizes that they find her tentative advances intrusive; she’s one of ‘them’. It’s cleverly done, and we feel Rose’s frustration.

Girls of ten plus should love this book. Highly recommended.

Elizabeth Hawksley

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CONFERENCES

The Society organizes biennial conferences in the UK, North America, and Australasia.

Contact Richard Lee <richard@historicalnovelsociety.org> (UK), Vanitha Sankaran <info@vanithasankaran.com> (North America), or Elisabeth Storrs <contact@hnsa.org.au> (Australasia).

Š 2018, the Historical Novel Society, ISSN: 1471-7492 | ISSUE 85, August 2018

A publication of the Historical Novel Society | www.historicalnovelsociety.org

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