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A Very English Murder–good mystery with sophisticated humor
A Very English Murder
By Verity Bright
When Ellie’s uncle dies, she leaves her life of adventure and world travel and returns to Henley Hall in the little town of Chipstone in the 1920’s. Even though she did not know her uncle well and had not been to Chipstone in many years, everyone in town recognizes her as Lady Swift. She is somewhat overcome by her life changes and that is complicated by her witnessing what appears to be a murder, but it is hard to convince the police of that because there is no body.
Clifford is her butler and she soon recognizes that he had a special relationship with her uncle and the townspeople and will be just as helpful to her in her investigation. She is not quite sure what the pair did, but as the story develops, the scope of their “work” starts to come into focus.
The mystery is fascinating and was quite a puzzle. The staff at Henley Hall are supportive of her and were clearly a trusted part of the projects her uncle and Clifford pursued. Clifford is a favorite character but takes some getting used to. Ellie is not sure if she can trust him. She can definitely trust Gladstone, her uncle’s bulldog. He adds humor to the book along with Ellie’s musings and misadventures. Danger comes her way as someone tries to impede their investigation. There is definite closure to the mystery, but it certainly leaves readers wanting to read more of Ellie’s adventures. If you like “Britishisms,” a strong and impulsive female lead, and a 1920’s setting, you’ll enjoy A Very English Murder, a stellar start to this extensive cozy mystery series.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: #1 in the Lady Eleanor Swift Mystery Series. The author is actually a husband and wife team and the series has 25 books so far.
Publication: April 7, 2020—Bookouture
Memorable Lines:
“Give a man a badge and an official title and he thinks he’s the sole decider of right and wrong. Which would be fine if power didn’t corrupt.”
“Clifford, how did my uncle ever swallow your unwavering advice on his every daily action?” “With Darjeeling and lemon, my lady.”
Eleanor laughed, her bad mood broken. “You are very perceptive, Mrs. Butters. Clifford has a fabulously analytical mind, but it drives me to absolute distraction! But you know, you always bring me a basket full of feel-good each morning.”
Beneath His Silence–guilt and forgiveness
Beneath His Silence
by Hannah Linder
“Gothic-Style Regency Romance” encapsulates Hannah Linder’s new historical fiction novel Beneath His Silence. The beginning of this romance did not appeal to me at all with its mishmash of characters, settings, and mysterious motives. The first part of the book is confusing but gradually straightens itself out into a reasonable plot that continues to tease the reader with questions of who did what to whom and why. With the main male character, Lord Henry Sedgewick, consumed by guilt and admitting his crime, the reader must persevere along with the female protagonist, Ella Pemberton, who struggles to find the truth and control her emotions.
My favorite character is Lord Sedgewick’s son Peter, a loved and lovable lad. Ella assumes a new name and identity and becomes his governess to get into the household and avenge the deaths of her sister and her father.
The ending of the book is packed with action, danger, and heroics. Mysteries and love are revealed, but not without a cost. There are several romantic overtures to Lord Sedgewick who is a widower. The characters’ actions conform to the requirements of the times for the various classes and genders and stand out in stark contrast to expectations for the twenty-first century. The themes of the book revolve around a relationship with God, guilt, and forgiveness. Despite my initial misgivings, I did stay up late to finish what became a page turner.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 3/5
Category: Christian, Historical Fiction, Romance
Publication: November 1, 2022—Barbour Publishing
Memorable Lines:
There’d been no laughter for a long time…But maybe now things would be better. If Miss Woodhart could offer the boy love, if her presence could bring him laughter, if truth of his own mother could forever be kept from his ears…Maybe Peter could escape the punishment. The punishment Henry had brought on them both.
Was this how all inferiors felt? How demeaning to be treated as if one’s presence was not noticed. Had she ever treated anyone thus at Abbingston? Ah, yes. She most certainly had. Not out of meanness, of course, but rather from a lack of thought or consciousness. She resolved to do better in the future.
“I can believe that God created the world,” she whispered, “but how can I believe He is the author of such dreadful circumstances?” “I cannot convince you, Miss Woodhart, nor can I make you believe.” The evening shadows deepened around them. “I can only testify of Him. I am afraid the rest is something you must discover yourself.”
Pride and Prejudice–courtship in the early 1800’s
Pride and Prejudice
by Jane Austen
In preparation for reading Pride, a modern day version of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, with my book club, I decided to reread the original. I knew I could watch a video of the story, but I decided to aim for authenticity and read the actual book. I was glad I did as there is so much to be appreciated in Austen’s words, style, and depiction of characters. In retrospect, I believe my younger self had seen one of the several videos, but had never actually read the novel. I would still like to view one of the movies for an opportunity to better envision the costumes and settings of this period piece, but there is much value to be gained from the reading experience.
Pride and Prejudice is a romance particularly focusing on Jane and Elizabeth Bennet as they navigate the difficult waters of courtship in the early 1800’s in England. Their courses are made more murky by the family’s financial and social status. They are not part of the old monied class that is full of prejudice, but they have standards and they and their suitors are driven at least in part by pride. From a twenty-first century viewpoint, the courtship and rules of engagement seem stilted, but the reader can see in a younger sister’s impetuous disregard for the rules and assumptions of the time, that there are real societal and personal consequences for ignoring the standards of any time period.
I enjoyed the book which is as much about social issues as it is a romance. Pride and prejudice are, of course, themes throughout the book. Most of the characters of the novel grow and develop through the events of the story. Some remain stuck in their ways of thinking, and those continue to be persons the reader won’t like. You may find yourself rereading Pride and Prejudice for love of the characters, the joy of the language, or the journey towards a known ending—happy for some, less so for others.
Rating: 5/5
Notes: Edited by R. W. Chapman. Distributed by Gutenberg Press
Category: General Fiction, Romance
Publication: 1813—T. Egerton Military Library, Whitehall
Memorable Lines:
“Affectation of candor is common enough;—one meets it every where. But to be candid without ostentation or design—to take the good of every body’s character and make it still better, and say nothing of the bad—belongs to you alone.”
Without thinking highly either of men or of matrimony, marriage had always been her object; it was the only honorable provision for well-educated young women of small fortune, and however uncertain of giving happiness, must be their pleasantest preservative from want. This preservative she had now obtained; and at the age of twenty-seven, without having ever been handsome, she felt all the good luck of it.
“You mean to frighten me, Mr. Darcy, by coming in all this state to hear me? But I will not be alarmed though your sister does play so well. There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises with every attempt to intimidate me.”
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