Review ~ Shadow on the Crown by Patricia Bracewell

Penguin Group Viking
7 February 2013

A rich tale of power and forbidden love revolving around a young medieval queen

Medieval England in 1001 is disrupted not just by the power and might of the marauding Danes who seek to invade this prosperous country, but also by the volatile and unpredictable nature of its ruling King. When the Danish leader, Swein Forkbeard attempts to negotiate a truce with the ruling powers across the narrow sea in Normandy, the English king, Æthelred, in desperation, agrees to marry Richard of Normandy’s fifteen year old sister Emma, in return for Richard’s sporadic protection against the Danes. However, Æthelred is a King with a notorious reputation, and Emma’s marriage to this volatile and troubled king is unhappy and fraught with danger, but Emma is a strong and courageous Queen who is determined to fight for what is rightfully hers as an anointed Queen of England.

Shadow on the Crown is the first book in a proposed trilogy about Emma of Normandy, and is a well written and easily readable account of this troubled period in England’s history. The author has used accurate historical evidence to support her story from the Anglo-Saxon chronicles, and it is this authenticity which adds a blend of realism to a story of political intrigue and sexual skulduggery. There is immense sympathy throughout the novel for the plight of this young and inexperienced Queen and with great insight the author has combined this largely forgotten period of England’s history with a fascinating account of the vagaries of life in a medieval court.

Quite rightly, the conclusion of the book lends itself perfectly to the continuation of the story and I am sure that this series will go from strength to strength as the story progresses.

My thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Viking for an early reading copy of this book to review.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: PATRICIA BRACEWELL grew up in California where she taught literature and composition before embarking upon her writing career. She has always been fascinated by English history, which led to her studying Anglo-Saxon history at Downing College, Cambridge University. She has two grown sons and lives with her husband in Oakland, California

Friday Recommends...

Berkley Publishing Group (6 Nov 2012)

The Perfect Hope

by

Nora Roberts

This is book three in the Boonsboro Trilogy which has seen the construction and opening of the Inn at Boonsboro, in Maryland. As always, the book focuses on a love story - this time between the last remaining Montgomery Brother, the enigmatic and taciturn Ryder, and the deliciously perfect innkeeper, Hope Beaumont.
 Filled with family life, children, dogs,and assorted members of the Montgomery family,  this story of Ryder and Hope evolves just the way you hoped it would.


Nora Roberts has a gift for story telling, The Perfect Hope is delicious, frothy and unashamedly romantic ~ I loved every word.

As this is book three in the trilogy , I would advise anyone interested in this series to start at the beginning.

Book 1 The Next Always
Book 2 The Last Boyfriend
Book 3 The Perfect Hope

Review ~ Cover of Snow by Jenny Milchman

Ballantine Books
15 January 2013

Cover of Snow

by

Jenny Milchman

Nora Hamilton wakes one morning to find her police officer husband gone from the bed they shared, and their old farmhouse in the Adirondack Mountains of New York seemingly deserted. Whilst the coffee pot splutters, Nora makes a fearsome discovery and unleashes a story that is as powerful, as it is frighteningly accurate. Suspenseful from the very beginning, Cover of Snow describes perfectly the controlling atmosphere of a small town, where all newcomers are viewed with suspicion. Where, even in the aftermath of sorrow, and as Nora yearns to depend on her husband’s brotherhood of police officers; there are sinister forces at work within the town community who are equally as powerful in forcing Nora away.

Without doubt, Jenny Milchman has written a very good debut novel. It is evident throughout Cover of Snow that she has an undeniable talent, and as the story leaps of the page, it is obvious that she has a wonderful descriptive ability. She paints such a picture with words that this reader thousands of miles from the Adirondack Mountains can still feel the cold, cold breath of snow, and as the chill settles over the mountains, you realise that there are shadows creeping into the darkest crevices.

Cover of Snow is one of those books that you easily lose sleep over, not just because you want to continue reading long into the night, but also because you want to believe that good will triumph in the end.

My thanks to NetGalley and Random House / Ballantine Books for a digital copy of Cover of Snow to read and review.

4****

Wishlist Wednesday..

I am delighted to be part of wishlist Wednesday which is hosted by Dani at pen to paper

The idea is to post about one book each week that has been on your wishlist for some time, or maybe just added.

So what do you need to do to join in?

Follow Pen to Paper as host of the meme.

Pick a book from your wishlist that you are dying to get to put on your shelves.

Do a post telling your readers about the book and why it's on your wishlist.

Add your blog to the linky at the bottom of her post.

Put a link back to pen to paper (http://vogue-pentopaper.blogspot.com) somewhere in your post.

My Wishlist Wednesday Book 

is

Never Saw It Coming

by 

Linwood Barclay

Orion
Expected date of Publication
31 January 2013

Keisha Ceylon is a psychic. At least, that's what she passes herself off as. The truth is, Keisha's real powers have more to do with separating troubled families from their money than actually seeing into the netherworld. Keisha watches the news for stories of missing family members. She gives it a few days, then moves in, tells these families she's had a vision, that she may have some clue to where these missing people are. And by the way, she charges for this service, and likes to see the money up front.

Keisha's latest mark is a man whose wife disappeared a week ago. She's seen him on TV, pleading for his wife to come home, or, if she's been abducted, pleading with whoever took her to let her go. Keisha knows a payoff when she sees one. So she pays a visit to our troubled husband and tells him her vision.

The trouble is, her vision just happens to be close enough to the truth that it leaves this man rattled. And it may very well leave Keisha dead.

Linwood Barclay is fast becoming one of my favourite crime writers and thankfully I don't have to wait too long between books.

Never Saw It Coming is due to be published in the UK  31 January 2013

Review ~ Closure by Gillian E. Hamer

Triskele Books
November 2012

There is an undeniable confidence in Gillian Hamer’s writing and even as the opening chapter of Closure gets underway there is a definite sense that this story is darker and dirtier than her previous book, The Charter. As always the rugged beauty of the North Wales coastline forms a stunning backdrop to a story of murder, mystery and the uncovering of long buried secrets.

In Closure, a serial killer is striking at the very heart of the university town of Bangor in North Wales, where young women are being randomly selected, and with no obvious clues left behind, the North Wales CID department have huge problems in tracking down the perpetrator. By coincidence, and seemingly unrelated, six year old Jake West experiences surges of memory from a past life which at first appear to have no connection with the main body of the story.

However, with great skill, the author intertwines two very different story strands and creates a plausible and totally believable story about irrefutable evil and the overwhelming belief that good will overcome wickedness. There are twists and turns galore and as the story gets under way there is a definite heightening of tension, with some truly dark moments which add a certain frisson of excitement.

As a reader it’s always reassuring when an author comes up with a second book which is every bit as good, if not better than the first book. There is huge potential for this crime series to continue and I really hope that Ms. Hamer has more stories to share with her readers.

5*****

Review ~The Bones of Avalon

In order to get my "to be read" shelf lighter this year, I am part of the Just For Fun Goodreads Group which encourages you to read books that have been sitting on a book shelf for a while. As an active book reviewer, I am constantly approached to read and review new books, which is of course, an absolute delight and a dream come true for me, but I do neglect the books on my ever expanding bookshelves to accommodate review requests.

My Just for Fun challenge this year is to read twelve historically themed books, which I was interested enough in to buy for myself, but which have languished on my book shelf for more than a year....

Here is my first Just for Fun read of the year, and it's an historical whodunnit from Phil Rickman who writes the superbly successful Merrily Watkins series of books, as well as some very good stand alone historical chillers...

Corvus 2010

In this new series the author introduces the Elizabethan astrologer Dr John Dee, and has woven a series of historical mystery stories which find the acclaimed doctor in some tricky situations. Written with Rickman's customary skill, the  John Dee Papers combines the stark reality of life in Elizabethan England , alongside some convoluted and mysterious situations.

The Bones of Avalon (2010) ~ starts the series with John Dee and Elizabeth's favourite courtier Robert Dudley sent to the town of Glastonbury to seek the truth behind the legend of King Arthur, who is believed to lie buried within the grounds of the ancient abbey. However, the abbey has been left derelict since Henry VIII's plunderers tore it to shreds, and the town of Glastonbury still harbours a grudge towards those who seek to disturb its peace.

The story is a well written mystery which combines history with undeniable malice and is a real page turner that had me enthralled from beginning to end. The strands of the story are never over simplified and the many twists and turns reveal a convoluted plot that keeps you guessing until the very end.
5*****

The Heresy of Dr Dee is the second book in the series

Friday recommends...

Published 8 Jaunuary 2013
Soho Press

Little Wolves 

by

Thomas Maltman

When a seemingly senseless act of violence shatters the isolated town in the Minnesota hills, it uncovers small town prejudices which reverberate throughout the whole community and draws together two unlikely protagonists. Grizz, the embittered old farmer who is coping with unutterable grief and loss, and Clara, the pastor’s wife, who whilst searching for her own answers, finds comfort in the myths and legends of her beloved ancient literature. On the surface, these two people have nothing in common, and yet shared tragedy will let loose emotions and secrets which have been long buried.

Beautifully written, and filled with snippets of mysterious mythological analogies, the story starts with a seemingly unrelated piece of folk legend, but it pays to take notice of this beginning, as it is far from superfluous to the story. As the novel progresses, there is a lyricism to the narrative which keeps you turning the pages, and yet, it is far from an easy book to enjoy as there are some dark and dirty moments, particularly towards the end of the book that had me on the edge of my seat.

Combining murder, mystery and mysticism Little Wolves is a difficult novel to categorise as it falls into several genres, but fundamentally it is the story of how lives are influenced by past events and the realisation that the passage of time does not lessen the effect of either grief or fate.

I enjoyed it.

4****

My thanks to NetGalley and Soho Press for a digital copy of this book to review.