I am a regular tour hostess for blog tours via Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours whereupon I am thankful to have been able to host such a diverse breadth of stories, authors and wonderful guest features since I became a hostess! HFVBTs is one of the very first touring companies I started working with as a 1st Year Book Blogger – uniting my love and passion with Historical Fiction and the lovely sub-genres inside which I love devouring.
It has been a wicked fantastical journey into the heart of the historic past, wherein I’ve been blessed truly by discovering new timescapes, new living realities of the persons who once lived (ie. Biographical Historical Fiction) inasmuch as itched my healthy appetite for Cosy Historical Mysteries! If there is a #HistRom out there it is generally a beloved favourite and I love soaking into a wicked wonderful work of Historical Fiction where you feel the beauty of the historic world, the depth of the characters and the joyfulness in which the historical novelists brought everything to light in such a lovingly diverse palette of portraiture of the eras we become time travellers through their stories.
I received a complimentary of “Sign of the White Foal” direct from the author Chris Thorndycroft, in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
On why this story appealled to me & how I arrived inside the chapters:
You might remember how consumed I was by the story-telling and historical narrative arc within the Guinevere Tales trilogy by Nicole Evelina? This was the first chance I had to pull myself into the folds of a well-thought out exploration of the Arthurian myth & canon – wherein, I found a wicked intense focus on Guinevere herself, the foundations of Avalon’s history and the curious ways a writer can pull you through a Historical Fantasy series wherein you’re not just captivated by their research for these fabled characters and heroes of the ancient times in our timeline but you feel more anchoured to a part of history which isn’t oft discussed or explored.
As I had such an emotional connection to Evelina’s trilogy, I waited until after I had concluded reading it before I began to read more stories set in, round or next door to her time periods. There is another Historical trilogy I am re-reading late Summer, early Autumn this year – as the first novel released last year; “The Lost Queen” runs parallel to my interests in this timescape. Thus, when I saw “Sign of the White Foal” was touring, I was equally delighted and excited to see how this author would treat the subject and the persons he’s populated within his story.
It is lovely how for each author who stimulates a historical portal to the past, there are others who can pick up from whence we left off with one author and continue our quest to move in and out of periods of history which fascinate our imaginations.
I had planned to read two Non-Fiction releases before sharing my review for “Sign of the White Foal” – Wisdom of the Middle Ages & Wisdom of the Renaissance – whilst I wanted to dig back into “The Lost Queen” as well – to have this lovely immersion experience in cross-relating stories and subjects of interest. *However!* – instead my week was wrecked by plumbers, a migraine & more life woes than a girl can shake a stick at in apt frustration! Thereby, my review which I had thought was due on Friday, was in effect, meant to arrive on Thursday but it wasn’t til Thursday night I honestly could curl back inside “Sign of the White Foal” and bring this review to my readers!
When you haven’t a way of reaching your books & your blog, you just have to hope and pray the hours you have after the chaos recedes allows you enough serenity to ‘catch up’ and find the blissitude you had before the chaos overtook your readerly hours! At least, this is how I re-directed my heart and mind as I dipped back into reading this late Thursday night and early Friday morning!
A generation after Hengest and Horsa carved out a kingdom in the east, a hero of the Britons rises in the west…
480 A.D. The sons of Cunedag have ruled Venedotia for fifty years but the chief of them – the Pendraig – is now dying. His sons Cadwallon and Owain must fight to retain their birthright from their envious cousins. As civil war consumes Venedotia, Arthur – a young warrior and bastard son of the Pendraig – is sent on a perilous quest that will determine the fate of the kingdom.
The Morgens; nine priestesses of the Mother Goddess have found the cauldron of rebirth – a symbol of otherworldly power – and have allied themselves with the enemy. Arthur and six companions are dispatched to the mysterious island of Ynys Mon to steal the cauldron and break the power of the Morgens. Along the way they run into the formidable Guenhuifar whose family have been stewards of Ynys Mon for generations. They need her help. The trouble is, Guenhuifar despises Arthur’s family and all they stand for…
Based on the earliest Arthurian legends, Sign of the White Foal is a rip-roaring adventure of Celtic myth and real history set in the ruins of post-Roman Britain.
Converse via: #HistoricalFiction, #HistFic or #HistNov
as well as #Avalon and #Arthurian
Available Formats: Trade paperback and Ebook
About Chris Thorndycroft
Chris Thorndycroft is a British writer of historical fiction, horror and fantasy. His early short stories appeared in magazines and anthologies such as Dark Moon Digest and American Nightmare. His first novel under his own name was A Brother’s Oath; the first book in the Hengest and Horsa Trilogy. He also writes under the pseudonym P. J. Thorndyke.
I have a special treat for you today! Earlier in February, of this year – I had the joyful pleasure of interacting with Ms Lane during her #HistFicChat! As you might know if you’re following me via Twitter – #HistFicChat is hosted by Vivian Conroy (@VivWrites) which gives readers and authors of Historical Fiction a chance to interact! Aside from my beloved #HistoricalFix chat hosted by Erin Lindsay McCabe (of which has been on hiatus for a year or so now) – this is my next favourite due to the conversations it encourages between everyone who participates!
Sadly due to different reasons which arose through the Spring and Summer months, I haven’t had the chance to pop back round into #HistFicChat. I think the chat might be on hiatus as when I tried to pull up the recent scheduled guess, I was not finding one.
You can read an archive of our chat discussing “The Spitfire Girls” wherein I was delighted about not just discovering more about her writing style but more about the stories which she is passionate about writing! I have a special niche of love in my heart for war dramas – always have – yet, it has been through recent years where I’ve had to amend my search for the war dramas I desire to be reading. Sometimes as a reader, my bookish heart breaks and my soul feels crushed due to how authentically accurate some war dramas are being written. This is a credit to the novelists, yes, but as a reader, I have to be cautious about how I proceed forward.
When it came to Ms Lane’s war dramas – I still remember awaiting her chat and being happily consumed by how her narrator was pulling me into her narratives! I love listening to audiobooks for the full-on immersion experience of how I can feel transported directly into the heart of a novel in a different layer of insight than I can as I read stories in print. I am a traditional reader in that regard, as I only read books in print or audio, but what I love most about audio is how transformative the stories become as there is this pure fusion of an experience as the narrators evoke such a stirringly realistic connection to the characters and the world in which they are building us through their narrations.
Into late Summer, early Autumn, I’ll be listening to my first novel by Ms Lane (“Hearts of Resistance”) and I hope to be listening to more of her releases thereafter, as I am looking forward to getting back my Scribd membership to listen to audiobooks as I had to take a brief hiatus due the last bout of migraines I had in May. Right now in July, I’m six weeks migraine-free and I feel blessed for the reprieve.
Today, however, I wanted to highlight her latest release “The Girls of Pearl Harbour” as I felt it was an incredible premise and a story which I felt was a dramatic one to be told.
From the bestselling author of Wives of War comes a harrowing tale of four brave young nurses whose lives change forever in the wake of the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.
When Grace, April, and Poppy join the US Army Nurse Corps, they see it as little more than an adventure, one made all the better by their first station: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Joined at the hip, idealistic Grace, exuberant Poppy, and brave but haunted April frolic in the sun, attending parties, flirting with the handsome soldiers, and becoming fast friends with seasoned nurse Eva. Like the Hawaiian sun, their future seems warm and bright—until the infamous morning of December 7.
Within just a few horrifying hours, their sparkling hopes turn to black rubble and ash. Now embroiled in a war they never could have imagined, they must decide what truly matters to them and face grief as they never have before. Death may await them—but so do hope and purpose. In the midst of the carnage, can they find happiness and learn to fight not just for their country’s honor but for themselves?
Follow Lake Union Authors (@LUAuthors) for updates on their releases!
Converse via: #GirlsOfPearlHarbor, #HistNov and #HistFic
as well as #LakeUnionAuthors
This is a Digital First release → print and audiobook releases are forthcoming!
→ Audiobook & Print cross-release scheduled for 10th September, 2019!
About Soraya M. Lane
Soraya M. Lane graduated with a law degree before realizing that law wasn't the career for her and that her future was in writing. She is the author of historical and contemporary women's fiction, and her novel Wives of War was an Amazon Charts bestseller.
Soraya lives on a small farm in her native New Zealand with her husband, their two young sons and a collection of four legged friends. When she's not writing, she loves to be outside playing make-believe with her children or snuggled up inside reading.
I had a delightful time reading the Lady Guide’s series of Cosy Mysteries recently to where I was overjoyed I would be able to bring an interview with the author to my readers. What I hadn’t foreseen of course was feeling under the weather for a week & having that week end on a tornado scare on a major highway – as journalled on my Twitter feeds almost immediately after I returnt home. To say I had delayed shock and was quite ill overnight would be putting it mildly – I will never forget that experience with my parents and I was never more grateful to be *home* with my cats as those are the moments where your tested in life if you can handle the crises and emergencies you never see coming. At the same time, it wasn’t just owr own well being I was thankful for – it was the entire *gridlocked traffic botttlenecked* on that highway…
Thereby, I apologise to my readers and to the lovely Ms Bruno & Ms Freeman for the delays in being able to bring this conversation to Jorie Loves A Story. I simply haven’t been myself lately and with this experience last night, I’ve spent the last twelve to eighteen hours trying to re-settle my nerves whilst living through prayer. It was definitely one of those defining moments where you lean hard on your faith.
Now – the joyful news is how lovely Ms Freeman was in giving me such a hearty conversation about her writing process & how she’s crafted these Cosy Historical Mysteries! I hope if you haven’t yet had the pleasure of reading the stories, this conversation might nudge your interest towards seeking them out – they are such a treat for the Cosy reader who is seeking something a bit more unique & different in their Historical Cosies.
Be sure to brew yourself a cuppa & settle in for some fun!
What I personally *loved!* about reading this series:
Part of the joy of reading this series are the layers of etiquette permeating into the fabric of the story-line – fitting for this debut of the series itself as it lends a certain view of the absurdity of tradition these lords and ladies were put through when their era was in its heyday! All the confining points of societal regulations and the fact, you couldn’t just remove yourself from the obligations as that would be lent to scandal and gossip; Freeman takes you through the motions of how frivolous the ton can be and how determined you must become to outwit them all the same! Frances shows this by her unwavering belief that if you lead with strength and a resolve to overcome whatever befalls you, society will either a) move on to the next lead story or b) forget you completely; which I felt was her preference. Frances wasn’t the kind who welcomed notoriety – quite the opposite, I believed she wanted to live a more ordinary life without all the pops and poms of the elevated class.
I was endeared to the plot long before I caught-on to the mysterious events happening in the background – for me, this series is wickedly driven by its characters – specifically everyone related into the personal orbit and sphere of Frances! You can’t help but feel caught inside her life – seeing how even the most ordinary of lives can suddenly become a feast of trouble yet with a sturdy circle of friends and family; any obstacle can surely become defeated! I must admit, by the time I unearthed the actual crime and the person behind it – I was quite somber! I hadn’t expected the villain in the story to be whom they were as I was expecting it be someone else completely! The way in which Freeman related those finer details of the whys and hows lead me to believe the rest of this series is going to be as charmingly cosy to read as its debut!
How far will some go to safeguard a secret? In the latest novel in Dianne Freeman’s witty and delightful historical mystery series, the adventurous Countess Harleigh finds out…
Though American by birth, Frances Wynn, the now-widowed Countess of Harleigh, has adapted admirably to the quirks and traditions of the British aristocracy. On August twelfth each year, otherwise known as the Glorious Twelfth, most members of the upper class retire to their country estates for grouse-shooting season. Frances has little interest in hunting—for birds or a second husband—and is expecting to spend a quiet few months in London with her almost-engaged sister, Lily, until the throng returns.
Instead, she’s immersed in a shocking mystery when a friend, Mary Archer, is found murdered. Frances had hoped Mary might make a suitable bride for her cousin, Charles, but their courtship recently fizzled out. Unfortunately, this puts Charles in the spotlight—along with dozens of others. It seems Mary had countless notes hidden in her home, detailing the private indiscretions of society’s elite. Frances can hardly believe that the genteel and genial Mary was a blackmailer, yet why else would she horde such juicy tidbits?
Aided by her gallant friend and neighbor, George Hazelton, Frances begins assisting the police in this highly sensitive case, learning more about her peers than she ever wished to know. Too many suspects may be worse than none at all—but even more worrying is that the number of victims is increasing too. And unless Frances takes care, she’ll soon find herself among them…
I’ve launched a new weekly featured concentration of book reviews on Jorie Loves A Story which celebrates my love and passion for the historical past! For those of whom are regular readers and visitors to my blog, you’ll denote a dedicated passion for reading Historical Fiction (and all the lovely segues of thematic therein) – I am a time traveller of the historical past every chance I get to disappear into a new era and/or century of exploration. There isn’t a time period I haven’t enjoyed ruminating over since [2013] and there are a heap of lovely timescapes I’ve yet to encounter.
This feature was inspired by the stories I’ve read, the stories I’ve yet to experience and the beauty of feeling interconnected to History through the representation of the past through the narratives being writ by today’s Historical Fiction authors. It is to those authors I owe a debt of gratitude for enlightening my bookish mind and my readerly heart with realistic characters, illuminating portals of living history and a purposeful intent on giving each of us a strong representation of ‘life’ which should never become dismissed, forgotten or erased.
I am began this feature with the sequel to a beloved historical novel I first read in [2013] – it was one of the first ARCs I received and it was the first year I was a book blogger though it was through a connection outside my life as a blogger. I celebrated K.B. Laugheed’s literature to kick-off this feature and hopefully will inspire my followers to take this new weekly journey with me into the stories which are beckoning to read their narrative depths and find the words in which to express the thoughts I experienced as I read.
Acquired Book(s) By:I have been hosting blog tours and reviews for Simon & Schuster off and on for nearly a year now. I’ve had the joy of discovering their stories through Contemporary and Historical narratives whilst happily finding a lot of their authors are writing the kinds of stories which keep me engaged and rooted in their narratives.
This time round – it was a Historical Suspense novel and series which whet a thirst of interest to be reading as it is rooted in my love of Agatha Christie – this series puts Dame Christie in the driving seat of the sleuth rather than one of her characters and I have a propensity for seeking out these kinds of mysteries. Previously, I gave the Jane Austen mysteries my attention and there have been a few others over the years where living persons are the ‘sleuths’ who tuck us into their worlds. I find it a bit fascinating how living history is now a foundation for Mysteries, Suspense & Thrillers – as it extends my love of Biographical Historical Fiction.
I received a complimentary copy of “Death in a Desert Land” from the publisher Atria Books (an imprint of Simon & Schuster) in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
Ahead of reading “Death in a Desert Land” I also borrowed copies of the first two novels in this series: “A Talent for Murder” and “A Different Kind of Evil” from my local library which I happily shared ruminations about on this post for my personal edification and for continuing to share my bookish life with my readers. I was not obligated to do so in other words and felt it was beneficial to sharing my joy of the series.
Why I didn’t cosy into A Talent for Murder:
I do appreciate following the vision of a series from the beginning of how an author pens the stories – however, in this particular case, I didn’t find an easy entrance into A Talent for Murder – in effect, I found it hard to adjust to the writing style and find a compelling reason to read it. It was written in a rather brisk fashion and although the premise was a curious one – how Agatha Christie would go from writing to sleuthing was a strong component of why I wanted to read the story as a precursor to reading the second volume of the series and then, the recently released third Death in a Desert Land – I mused, perhaps this series might follow suit of a previously read Historical Romance series.
I am finding recently there are certain series which benefit from skipping over the first few volumes in exchange for the latest release. This did not used to be the case for me – I would generally find myself smitten by the first novel of a series in-progress and have a lot of good folly to follow through with the installments leading into the newest one being released – until, I’ve found that sometimes series grow more appealling with age than they do with their first entries into the rhythm of their stories.
Two series prior to this one worked this way for me recently – as soon as I picked up Death in a Desert Land, I found a different voice within it. A different method of delivery in the narrative and because of that – I found myself about to cosy into this story far easier than my first attempts within A Talent for Murder. Thereby, despite my personal preferences to read series in sequential order, there are apparently a few series out there which benefit me to skip round and find the installments which suit me best to be reading. You might have noted I borrowed the second novel in this series but opted instead to read the third.
This suited me as what initially had drawn my interest into reading the Agatha Christie series is by having a life-long pursuit of the author’s collective works. My favourite stories are those of Miss Marple even if in recent years I’ve had a glimpse of Poirot and have taken a firm liking to his quirky ways of sleuthing – there is still a stronghold of appreciation on my behalf for Marple. I dearly had hoped to find entrance into this series as I was most keen to discover how Christie would be presented as an independent sleuth and how that would counter to the image and impression I had of her previously.
Fresh from solving the gruesome murder of a British agent in the Canary Islands, mystery writer Agatha Christie receives a letter from a family who believes their late daughter met with foul play. Before Gertrude Bell overdosed on sleeping medication, she was a prominent archaeologist, recovering ancient treasures in the Middle East. Found near her body was a letter claiming that Bell was being followed and to complicate things further, Bell was competing with another archeologist, Mrs. Woolley, for the rights to artifacts of immense value.
Christie travels to far-off Persia, where she meets the enigmatic Mrs. Woolley as she is working on a big and potentially valuable discovery. Temperamental but brilliant, Mrs. Woolley quickly charms Christie but when she does not hide her disdain for the recently deceased Miss Bell, Christie doesn’t know whether to trust her—or if Bell’s killer is just clever enough to hide in plain sight.
as well as #HistoricalMystery + #HistFic #Mysteries
About Andrew Wilson
Andrew Wilson is an award-winning journalist and author. His work has appeared in a wide variety of publications including the Guardian, the Washington Post, the Sunday Times, and the Smithsonian Magazine. He is the author of four acclaimed biographies, a book about the survivors of the Titanic, and the novels, The Lying Tongue, A Talent for Murder, A Different Kind of Evil, Death in a Desert Land.
Photo Credit: Johnny Ring
Location Courtesy of Royal Institute of British Architecture
After launching this lovely new feature of mine during [Autumn, 2018] it is a pleasure of joy to continue to bring #SaturdaysAreBookish as a compliment focus of my Twitter chat @SatBookChat. If you see the chat icon at the top of my blog (header bar) you can click over to visit with us. The complimentary showcases on my blog will reflect the diversity of stories, authors and publishers I would be featuring on the chat itself. As at the root and heart of the chat are the stories I am reading which compliment the conversations.
#SaturdaysAreBookish throughout [2019] will be featuring the Romance & Women’s Fiction authors I am discovering to read across genre and point of interest. Every Saturday will feature a different author who writes either Romance or Women’s Fiction – the stories I am reading might simply inspire the topics in the forthcoming chats or they might be directly connected to the current guest author.
I am excited about where new guests and new stories will lay down the foundation of inspiring the topics, the conversations and the bookish recommendations towards promoting Romance & Women’s Fiction. Here’s a lovely New Year full of new authors and their stories to celebrate!
Acquired Book By:
I am a regular tour hostess for blog tours via Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours whereupon I am thankful to have been able to host such a diverse breadth of stories, authors and wonderful guest features since I became a hostess! HFVBTs is one of the very first touring companies I started working with as a 1st Year Book Blogger – uniting my love and passion with Historical Fiction and the lovely sub-genres inside which I love devouring.
It has been a wicked fantastical journey into the heart of the historic past, wherein I’ve been blessed truly by discovering new timescapes, new living realities of the persons who once lived (ie. Biographical Historical Fiction) inasmuch as itched my healthy appetite for Cosy Historical Mysteries! If there is a #HistRom out there it is generally a beloved favourite and I love soaking into a wicked wonderful work of Historical Fiction where you feel the beauty of the historic world, the depth of the characters and the joyfulness in which the historical novelists brought everything to light in such a lovingly diverse palette of portraiture of the eras we become time travellers through their stories.
As this blog tour features a new Cosy Historical Mystery author I hadn’t yet read, I requested the first novel in the series to read in tandem with the latest release. I was blessed by the publisher to receive both novels in order to understand the continuity and sequencing of the Countess of Harleigh Mysteries series. Thereby I received a complimentary ARC copy of “A Lady’s Guide to Gossip and Murder” and a complimentary copy of “A Lady’s Guide to Etiquette and Murder” direct from the publisher St. Martin’s Press, in exchange for honest reviews. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
On why this series appealled to me:
There are two things I truly enjoy: Historical stories & Cosy Mysteries – when you find a serial which combines these two loves of my mine – you find yourself in the happy niche of *Cosy Historical Mysteries!* A discovery I made as a book blogger – wherein, authors are anchouring their Cosies into the historic past – moving us through different centuries of interest and giving us a wicked brilliant Historical Mystery to boot!
The main reason I wanted to read this series is because I liked the charm of it – a woman who was being encouraged to fit within high society & yet find herself not willing nor ready to take-on the duties that come with widowhood. She is quite the remarkable character – independent by nature & elevated to a certain seat of formality by the death of her husband, Frances has to re-invent herself & still be in a position of honour to raise her young daughter, Rose.
What I love most about Cosy Historical Mysteries though is the truer sense of how we can move through time but still find a happy place to reside whilst the amateur sleuths tackle their most curious cases and how each of us as readers find new authors to follow & lovely new series to capture our attention. These truly are my favourites to find and I am thankful that they haven’t yet gone out of style with the novelists who are endeavouring to write them!
I decided to play honour to the cover art – purple for the colour itself and a cheeky nod to how addictive Cosy Historical Mysteries are to me as a reader – you just can’t eat one of these French cookies without feeling the desire to grab more – and that is how Cosies are for me in this branch of the genre – once I settle myself into one installment, I can’t remove myself until I fetch after more and feel truly rooted in the author’s vision for her series!
my review of a lady’s guide to etiquette & murder:
Rather immediately, I found myself drawn into the life of Frances – not just because her husband was a cad and a louse of a husband but because of how Ms Freeman endeared us to champion her cause as a woman exiting her mourning period and getting on with her life! It was quite horrid for women in the 19th Century – still attached to that tradition of wearing dearly depressing hues of black and grey (in different increments which were rather strictly enforced!) for at least a year after becoming widowed. It was only then, where she could ‘re-emerge’ into her colours and start to make her presence more widely known in society. How those women managed it, I’ll never know not – as in the case of Frances, it most have truly become a chore knowing her her husband departed his life! Oyy, vie such a rat!
Her in-laws were quite typical – only out for themselves, more concerned with the affairs relating to their estate and less enthused to even entertain a thought of concern over Frances. For her benefit, she was made of stronger stock than they would have believed and she took her daughter (Rose) and herself off to the city to carve out their future elsewhere from the throes of the Harleigh family and the responsibilities therein. Freeman gave you such a hearty and joyful introduction to her character – part of her antics reminded me of why I have such cheeky joy in reading the Anna Blanc series and part of the exchanges also reminded me of my recent over the Discreet Detective Agency – there is something to be said for well-timed satire and humour in the Cosy Historical Mysteries your reading! The appeal of course is being able to burst into giggles alongside the allure of moving deeper into the context of the building mystery!
Of course, not all is ill for Frances – she has enough resources within her means to purchase a least outright for a house which still has eighty years to be lived inside! Imagine? She might have sparse furnishings and staff but something told me her and Rose would thrive here rather than having stayed on with the relatives at the estate. One of my favourite moments is when she bribes one of the maids not to spoilt her news by giving her the chance to make haste and away with her once she moves out. It was a ploy to cover-up the fact she had a bit of a rebellious nature inside her to where she did not like to leave things to fate if there was a loophole round the unknown! Smartly written, Freeman keeps you entertained from one chapter to the next to where it is just a delight to overhear what Frances will say next and what her next actions might be which become the new concerns of the family she’s left behind!
If it weren’t such a serious moment for Frances, you could giggle a bit more about it – as she recounted her discovery of her late husband and the goings-on shortly thereafter, you could tell she had a strong reason for not wishing to be next of doors to Mr Hazelton! And, yet, as life would have it – the things one wants and the things which happen to live a blight on a path towards newfound happiness are not entirely equal. Though I must admit, what was charming about this part of the story is how willingly she was helped by Hazelton and how he hadn’t broached the subject of that night since it occurred! Made you wonder – was her need of his services that night just a cheeky clever way of placing them on each other’s paths to where they could interact more down the road rather than of the concerns she had if he would hold it over her for a reason not yet known?
When Fi enters into the scene, you start to see Frances in her own element – as would be the case when your round your best friend who knows you better than you know yourself! Fiona surprisingly is the sister to Mr Hazelton – which I felt was a good bit of drama ontop of the fact the investigation into the death of her husband was becoming re-examined! Felt fitting in one regard but also entirely terrifying on the other hand as what could they find a full twelvemonths later? It left a curious note in your mind as you watched Frances continuing to build her life in the city. Curiously her mother seems to have found herself in wont of her daughter’s assistance in attempting to have a second daughter of the family wed to the London aristocracy. I, was in full agreement with Frances – wasn’t one marriage good enough? I was just thankful she had Rose – of all the grief she’d been put through, having a daughter of her own seemed to be the only bright light in her life especially as she was constantly attempting to be a better mother to her child than her Mum was to her growing up.
As fate continued to give Frances more headaches than smiles, you had to give it to her – she chose to set her attitude on the positive and despite the arduous circumstances alighting towards her at an alarming speed of haste from her brother-in-law, Frances wouldn’t let her resolve falter. There was much more at stake than inconvenient delays in the normality of her life – no, she simply turnt her chin up with a strength she might not have entirely felt but one which would see her through with the kindness of her friends. This was another instance where you could see how lovely it was for her to have Fiona in her life – the kind of huckleberry friend everyone needs and is blessed to have found.
Part of the joy of reading this series are the layers of etiquette permeating into the fabric of the story-line – fitting for this debut of the series itself as it lends a certain view of the absurdity of tradition these lords and ladies were put through when their era was in its heyday! All the confining points of societal regulations and the fact, you couldn’t just remove yourself from the obligations as that would be lent to scandal and gossip; Freeman takes you through the motions of how frivolous the ton can be and how determined you must become to outwit them all the same! Frances shows this by her unwavering belief that if you lead with strength and a resolve to overcome whatever befalls you, society will either a) move on to the next lead story or b) forget you completely; which I felt was her preference. Frances wasn’t the kind who welcomed notoriety – quite the opposite, I believed she wanted to live a more ordinary life without all the pops and poms of the elevated class.
As Lily becomes more convinced of her mother’s reasoning for sending her off to London (to fetch a husband!) the more protective Frances feels to guide her off that goal. For Frances learnt the hard way about what hard choices mean to a young woman whose caught up in the innocence of wanting to wed a man but without the proportional insight into what can go wrong if you act too impulsively and do not research a man’s character the level of knowing exactly what might be in your future if you were to wed. You felt for Frances in that scene – of wanting to be the sister who could spare another the same kind of misery she had faced herself but with the knowledge that despite her earnest hopes of doing that, it was truly left to Lily to take her counsel to heart and adhere to it.
What an incredible find in Mr Hazelton! Not only can this bloke handle himself under pressure but he continues to amaze me how much he will go to lengths to help Frances! Of course, in the back of mind, I was quite aware of the fact he could be smitten with her – as whom else would do all the tasks asked of him and on such short notice? It isn’t even the most typical of duties to be asked and yet, here his Hazelton – willing, able and happily lending his hand to Frances whenever she needs him, no qualms or questions asked! If anything, he is also her guiding sound board of advice – as sometimes she struggles to balance her own thoughts with the logic needed to re-assess things that are happening just outside her own control. He never fails to make me smile in other words because he’s such an easy-going bloke!
I was endeared to the plot long before I caught-on to the mysterious events happening in the background – for me, this series is wickedly driven by its characters – specifically everyone related into the personal orbit and sphere of Frances! You can’t help but feel caught inside her life – seeing how even the most ordinary of lives can suddenly become a feast of trouble yet with a sturdy circle of friends and family; any obstacle can surely become defeated! I must admit, by the time I unearthed the actual crime and the person behind it – I was quite somber! I hadn’t expected the villain in the story to be whom they were as I was expecting it be someone else completely! The way in which Freeman related those finer details of the whys and hows lead me to believe the rest of this series is going to be as charmingly cosy to read as its debut!
How far will some go to safeguard a secret? In the latest novel in Dianne Freeman’s witty and delightful historical mystery series, the adventurous Countess Harleigh finds out…
Though American by birth, Frances Wynn, the now-widowed Countess of Harleigh, has adapted admirably to the quirks and traditions of the British aristocracy. On August twelfth each year, otherwise known as the Glorious Twelfth, most members of the upper class retire to their country estates for grouse-shooting season. Frances has little interest in hunting—for birds or a second husband—and is expecting to spend a quiet few months in London with her almost-engaged sister, Lily, until the throng returns.
Instead, she’s immersed in a shocking mystery when a friend, Mary Archer, is found murdered. Frances had hoped Mary might make a suitable bride for her cousin, Charles, but their courtship recently fizzled out. Unfortunately, this puts Charles in the spotlight—along with dozens of others. It seems Mary had countless notes hidden in her home, detailing the private indiscretions of society’s elite. Frances can hardly believe that the genteel and genial Mary was a blackmailer, yet why else would she horde such juicy tidbits?
Aided by her gallant friend and neighbor, George Hazelton, Frances begins assisting the police in this highly sensitive case, learning more about her peers than she ever wished to know. Too many suspects may be worse than none at all—but even more worrying is that the number of victims is increasing too. And unless Frances takes care, she’ll soon find herself among them…
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Available Formats: Paperback and Ebook
About Dianne Freeman
Dianne Freeman is a life-long book lover who left the world of corporate finance to pursue her passion for writing. After co-authoring the non-fiction book, Haunted Highway, The Spirits of Route 66, she realized her true love was fiction, historical mystery in particular. She also realized she didn’t like winter very much so now she and her husband pursue the endless summer by splitting their time between Michigan and Arizona. She’s been nominated for an Agatha and the prestigious Mary Higgins Clark Award, and won the 2019 Lefty Award for Best Debut Mystery.
Sign of the White Foal
The Girls of Pearl Harbor
A Lady's Guide to Gossip and Murder (Author Interview)
Death in Desert Land
