Two short reviews

I had family staying for most of last week and into this, it being half-term here in the UK, so as usual I'm a bit behind with everything blogging connected. Trying to catch up but 'bear with' as they say: I will get there.

My last book for October was A Case of Mice and Murder by Sally Smith, which Constance at Staircase Wit reviewed a few weeks ago. It sounded fun so I thought I'd try it. 

The setting for this is London in 1901, Lincoln's Inn and the so called Inner Temple (I found all the details about the various courts a trifle confusing). Gabriel Ward is a KC... King's Counsel as opposed to QC - Queen's Counsel - which is what I'm used to, me being a child of the reign of Elizabeth II. Anyway. He lives alone in Lincoln's Inn, keeps himself to himself, is obsessively regular in his day to day habits and likes it that way... until he trips over the dead body of the Lord Chief Justice one morning and is told to investigate or be at risk of losing the chambers where he lives. The Lord Chief Justice has a knife sticking out of his chest and no shoes or socks on... this latter fact being what seems to scandalise people the most. Along with a young police constable, a reluctant Gabriel sets about finding out what happened. Naturally, a can of worms is revealed as regards the dead man's family, associates and all of their goings on. This book was such a breath of fresh air. I loved Gabriel and his love of a quiet, orderly life. Yes, these days we would probably give him some kind of diagnosis, but back then he was just a very clever, reclusive sort and no one batted an eyelid. Pairing him up with a bright young constable who is out in the world a lot more and from a humble background (Gabriel's background is the complete opposite) is a stroke of genius and works beautifully. 1901 London is a very real presence in the book and is a time period I love. And all through the book there's a delightful vein of humour as Gabriel's eyes are well and truly opened as regards how people behave and the lies they tell. The only negative, the author's over use of the word 'snuffle'... are there no editors these days? Regardless, a delightful story, book 2, A Case of Life and Limb, is already on my Kindle. 

So, my first book for November was Inheritance by Nora Roberts. This is book 1 in the author's 'Lost Bride' trilogy, recommended by my daughter. 

Coming home unexpectedly early one afternoon, Sonya finds her fiance in bed with her cousin. Naturally she ditches him, pronto, but he turns nasty at work and she ends up resigning from her web design job in Boston. Which is when there's a knock at the door and a lawyer type tells her an uncle she didn't know she had has left her a mansion in Maine. (I do wish someone would leave me a mansion in Maine... Italy or Greece would do at a pinch but 'Maine'... wow.) With few ties, off she trots, leaving Boston and her ratbag ex-fiance behind. What Sonya discovers when she arrives at Lost Bride Manor is basically a house possessed by ghosts and a witch. The house has been in the Poole family for centuries and for a couple of them, seven new brides have died by various means. It's clear that the ghosts of these brides want Sonya to rid the house of the curse and as she's a Poole too, it seems she needs to do this for the sake of her own future. So, I gave this 5 stars on Goodreads because, as with all of Nora Roberts books, it's quite compelling. A lot of it is concerned with Sonya's new small business and some might find that a bit tedious. But the setting is to die for, coastal Maine, what's not to love. I enjoyed the characters and loved the dogs and cats. I was watching a YT vid last night where someone, who loves the author's books, was reading some of her older output from the 1980s and 90s and described her male characters as 'high-handed'. I realised she'd changed that as the two men in this trilogy are not that way at all. Interesting. The spooky goings on are well done and clever as Sonya is taken back in time to witness each of the brides' deaths. All that said, I'm not sure there's enough meat on the bones of this to warrant a trilogy, there's quite a bit of padding... I don't mind it too much, your mileage may vary. I'm almost halfway through book 2, The Mirror, it's good, but I will probably wait until the new year to read book 3. 

I can't believe it's already November, we're having a real, blustery, at times stormy, wet autumn here in the UK. Perfect for spooky books and comfy chairs. I hope you're keeping well and finding plenty of excellent books to read.