Phil Rickman - The Heresy of Dr. Dee

81. The Heresy of Dr. Dee by Phil Rickman (2012)
The John Dee Papers Series Book 2
Length: 446 pages
Genre: Historical Mystery
Started: 26 August 2014
Finished: 29 August 2014
Where did it come from? From a Library Book Sale
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 16 August 2014
Why do I have it? I like historical mysteries and Phil Rickman is a new author for me.

In this second book of the acclaimed historical series featuring Dr. John Dee - Queen Elizabeth's personal astrologer, and esteemed expert on matters of the occult - Tudor court intrigue, murder and the practice of the dark arts abound. England during the sixteenth century is rife with talk of the end-times...and the dead are rising. And John Dee must discover if one of his closest friends may have had sufficient motive to commit murder. However, devious politics and small-town corruption; as much as distorted religion and a sense of brooding superstition, leave Dr. Dee and his traveling companions isolated in the land of his father. 

At the end of the sunless summer of 1560, dark rumor and base innuendo shrouds the death of the one woman who stands between Lord Robert Dudley and marriage to the young Queen Elizabeth. Did Lord Dudley's wife, Amy, die from an accidental fall in a deserted house, or was it actually an act of calculated murder? Even Dr. John Dee, royal astrologer and adviser on the Hidden, as well as one of Lord Dudley's oldest friends, is uncertain. Then a rash promise to the Queen sends him to his family's old home on the Welsh border on a quest to find the Wigmore Shewstone, a crystal credited with supernatural properties.

Traveling with Dr. Dee is Robert Dudley, perhaps the most hated man in England. They travel with a judge sent from London to try a sinister Welsh brigand with a legacy dating back to the time of the Battle of Bryn Glas. This was a battle in which close to one thousand Englishmen died at the hands of the Welsh. According to legend, after the battle many of the bodies were obscenely mutilated. Now, on this same haunted hill, another dead man has been found, similarly slashed. 

In my opinion, this plot was certainly very intriguing; the story was well-written and strongly researched, and I'm pleased to have read it for that reason. This book is very historically accurate, and the age-old enmity between the Welsh and the English is obvious. If you are interested in learning more about Wales, then this is definitely the book to read.

I found that this book was definitely heavy reading - there were just so many characters to keep straight, and so many parts that those characters played in the mystery - that I had trouble remembering everything. This is definitely not a 'two-minute' reading style mystery - it is intricate and involved - and I found that I had to concentrate inordinately hard on it as I read this book. I think I've read some books by this author in the past, although I can't remember which ones. I would give The Heresy of Dr. Dee a B+! In my opinion, while this was certainly not my favorite book, it was still well worth reading.

B+! - (89-94%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Laura Wilson - My Best Friend

30. My Best Friend by Laura Wilson (2001)
Length: 320 pages
Genre: Historical Mystery
Started: 12 April 2013
Finished: 15 April 2013
Where did it come from? From Paperback Swap
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 11 April 2013
Why do I have it? I like historical mysteries and had read and enjoyed A Little Death by the same author in the past.

England, 1944: In a time of unparalleled fear, youngsters everywhere sought sanctuary in the magical books of author M. M. Haldane. No danger was ever too great to prevent her hero - Tom Tyler, Boy Detective - from returning safely home for tea. Inside such an idyllic storybook world, the danger was always overcome and good always vanquished evil.

Playing in the woods of a quiet Suffolk village one day, fourteen-year-old Gerald Haxton - the disturbed and unpopular son of the famous children's author - discovers the body of his elder sister Vera buried in a shallow grave. She had been beaten to death with a wooden stake and her boyfriend, a young GI, is hanged for the crime. The discovery of Vera's body is so horrifying for Gerald, that his innocence is lost forever...

England, 1995: As a new generation prepares to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of VE Day, Gerald, who still remains a loner, is terrorized by his memories. Gerald is nearing retirement, desperately lonely and living something of a hermit's life. Obsessed with routine, he still talks to his dead twin brother, Jack. Surrounded by the nostalgic artifacts at the television prop-hire business where he works, he is constantly reminded of the past, and with it, his sister Vera's death.

Gerald eventually finds solace in following twelve-year-old Mel, the daughter of his colleague, home from school every day. To protect her, he says. But when Mel - who bears a striking resemblance to Vera - goes missing one day, all eyes turn accusingly to Gerald.

I really enjoyed reading this book. This was the second book by Laura Wilson that I've read, but it is actually the third book that she has written. I felt so sorry for Gerald - in my opinion, Gerald received rather a raw deal. He was targeted because he was different, but in my opinion, Gerald couldn't or wouldn't have harmed a fly. I give My Best Friend by Laura Wilson an A! 

A! - (90-95%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Laura Wilson - A Little Death

28. A Little Death by Laura Wilson (1999)
Length: 293 pages
Genre: Historical Mystery
Started: 7 April 2013
Finished: 9 April 2013
Where did it come from? From a Library Book Sale
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 2 February 2013
Why do I have it? I like historical mysteries and Laura Wilson is a new author for me.

The police find the bodies of three elderly recluses amid the musty, hoarded belongings in a 1950's London town house. The victims - one man and two women - have all been shot to death. However, when the death scene yields no clues as to what might have occurred, the police conclude that one of the victims shot the others before committing suicide. But which one? And why?

The story is told from the view points of the three main characters, the three elderly recluses themselves, whose bodies were recently discovered by the police. Georgina Gresham - maverick and manipulative - a former society beauty, had been a prime suspect in her husband's notorious murder thirty years before, but was ultimately acquitted.  Georgina's brother, Edmund - her lifelong confidante and companion - loves his sister dearly and will do anything she asks him to do. Ada - their long-suffering housekeeper - is salty, shrewd, and slowly, silently witnessing her life pass her by, until...

Buried in the trio's youth is the fatal seed whose dark tendrils overlaid Victorian country summers, the Great War, the Roaring Twenties...and all the cravings, fantasies, and twists of fate that would chain them together in life...and in one explosive moment of violent death.

I really enjoyed this book! The characters were all rather quirky and got up to all kinds of shenanigans throughout the story. I did find it slightly difficult getting into the pace of the story, but that might just be because of a lack of concentration on my part. I ultimately picked up the threads of the mystery very quickly during my reading and gave A Little Death by Laura Wilson an A+! In my opinion, this was an excellent debut, and I have put Laura Wilson's next two books on my Wish List.

A+! - (96-100%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Martin Cruz Smith - Rose

5. Rose by Martin Cruz Smith (1996)
Length: 364 pages
Genre: Historical Mystery
Started: 18 January 2013
Finished: 22 January 2013
Where did it come from? From a Library Book Sale
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 23 January 2008
Why do I have it? I like historical mysteries and Martin Cruz Smith is a new author for me.

The year is 1872. The place is Wigan, England - a nineteenth-century town in the coal-mining district of Lancashire. Into this dark, complicated world where wealthy mine owners live like royalty alongside miners who are treated no better than slaves, comes Jonathan Blair, a mining engineer who has accepted a commission to find a missing man. Recently returned from Africa's Gold Coast, Jonathan finds his native England utterly depressing and soon falls into melancholy and alcoholism.

Desperate to return to Africa, Jonathan agrees to investigate the disappearance of a local curate who was engaged to marry the daughter of Jonathan's patron. As he begins his search, every road leads back to one woman - a haughty, vixenish pit girl named Rose. With her fiery hair and skirts pinned up over trousers, she cares nothing for a society that call her unnatural, scandalous and a 'loose' woman.   

As Rose and Jonathan circle one another, first warily, then with the heat of mutual desire, Blair loses his balance. And the lull induced by Rose's sensual touch leaves Jonathan totally unprepared for the bizarre, soul-scorching truth. 

I found that this book was very interesting, although the ending was extremely convoluted. I had to find out what happened in the book, even though I couldn't really understand the mining practices of 19th-century England that were written about in such detail. I give this book an A!   

A! - (90-95%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

P. C. Doherty - The Devil's Hunt

61. The Devil's Hunt by P. C. Doherty (1996)
Hugh Corbett Medieval Mysteries Book 10
Length: 249 pages
Genre: Historical Mystery
Started: 24 July 2012
Finished: 28 July 2012
Where did it come from? From a Library Book Sale
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 20 July 2012
Why do I have it? I like historical mysteries and P. C. Doherty is a new author for me.

In the summer of 1303, murder has made itself known in the King's university city of Oxford. The illustrious Regent of Sparrow Hall, John Copsale, is found dead in his bed. Some claim he died in his sleep, while still others whisper that Regent Copsale was murdered by the mysterious "Bell Man" - who posts treasonous notes on the doors of the churches.

Then the college librarian and archivist, Robert Ascham is discovered inside the college library with a crossbow bolt in his chest. Definitely an act of cold-blooded murder, but who could have done it? After all, the library was sealed, the doors and windows securely locked. And just what was Ascham trying to write on the piece of manuscript found lying beside him?

Are the Regent's death and Ascham's murder the result of a terrible curse of ghosts who still walk the earth, seeking vengeance? Or are the deaths somehow related to the ritualistic murders of beggars, the severed heads of whom are found tied by their hair to the trees in the forest. King Edward hears of the seething unrest in Oxford and arrives unannounced at the Leighton estate of Sir Hugh Corbett - Keeper of the King's Seal and clerk of the King's Bench. The King charges Sir Hugh to travel to Oxford to resolve the murderous mysteries that threaten to plunge the city and university into chaos.

I did enjoy this book, although it was slightly hard to follow. I was definitely interested to discover who the murderer was, though. I give this book an A!

A! - (90-95%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

J. D. Christilian - Scarlet Women

69. Scarlet Women by J. D. Christilian (1996)
Length: 304 pages
Genre: Historical Mystery
Started: 19 December 2011
Finished: 24 December 2011
Where did it come from? From a Library Book Sale
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 11 February 2011
Why do I have it? I enjoy historical mysteries and J. D. Christilian is a new author for me.


When the young wife of a prominent attorney goes missing in 19th-century New York, he hires the police's best investigator Harp to find her. Found in a warehouse sometime later dressed in the missing woman's velvet ball gown is a prostitute who has had her throat cut. Harp must discover who the prostitute is, why she is dressed in a ball gown and where the attorney's wife has gone. Along the way, Harp must talk to the demi-monde of society, criminals and must deal with the police themselves who don't want the case solved.


I really enjoyed this book. It had a very good plot and I give it an A! 


A! - (90-95%)


Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Robert Goddard - Painting the Darkness

35. Painting the Darkness by Robert Goddard (1989)
Length: 446 pages
Genre: Historical Mystery
Started: 15 December 2009
Finished: 22 December 2009
Where did it come from? From a Library Book Sale
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 20 November 2009
Why do I have it? I like historical mysteries and Robert Goddard is a new author for me

I just finished reading Painting the Darkness by Robert Goddard. It's bit of an involved plot, but I'll try to explain it. One mild autumn day in 1882, William Trenchard sits smoking his pipe in his family home. When a stranger approaches him, he is puzzled but not overly worried. Trenchard cannot know what havoc will be wrought on his life and all he holds dear.

The stranger announces he is James Norton - but is, in reality Sir James Davenell - former fiance of Trenchard's wife, Constance. He disappeared 11 years ago and was declared a suicide. Now he's back to claim his inheritance and Constance. Sir Hugo, James' brother, and his mother Lady Catherine, are convinced that James Norton is an imposter and force Trenchard - who fears the loss of his wife - into an uneasy alliance against him. But Trenchard must plumb the depths of his despair before he can uncover the shocking secrets of the Davenell family.

I thought this book was really well-written, although the plot was very convoluted it was very good. I give this story an A!

A! - (90-95%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Margaret James - The Haunting of Sara Lessingham

34. The Haunting of Sara Lessingham by Margaret James (1978)
Length: 337 pages
Genre: Historical Mystery
Started/Finished: 14 December 2009
Where did it come from? From a Library Book Sale
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 20 November 2009
Why do I have it? I like historical mysteries and Margaret James is a new author to me


Someone is out to drive 17-year-old Sara Lessingham mad. Sara is now living with her relatives in Victorian England after she lost her parents in a fire that she might have set. I read this in one day and it was very good if a little silly in parts. I give this story a B+!

B+! - (89-94%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Daphne du Maurier - My Cousin Rachel

22. My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier (1951)
Length: 288 pages
Genre: Historical Mystery
Started: 10 September 2009
Finished: 12 September 2009
Where did it come from? From Paperback Swap
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 18 August 2009
Why do I have it? I like Daphne du Maurier as an author and several books by this author on my TBR pile.

Orphaned from an early age, Phillip Ashley is raised by his benevolent older cousin, Ambrose. A confirmed bachelor, Ambrose delights instead in having Phillip as his heir, a man in whom Ambrose shares a kindred spirit - someone who will love his grand home just as much as Ambrose does himself. However, the cozy world the cousins have constructed together is shattered, when Ambrose sets off on a trip to Florence. There he falls in love and marries - and it is there he dies suddenly.

In almost no time at all, the new widow - Phillip's distant cousin Rachel - turns up in England. In spite of himself, Phillip is entranced by her beauty, drawn to this mysterious and sophisticated woman like a moth to a flame. And yet...might she be hiding a deadly secret of her own?

I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Daphne du Maurier weaves a superbly Gothic mystery - one that is intriguing and suspenseful, and kept me guessing until the very end. I give My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier an A+!

A+! - (96-100%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight