Murder on the Christmas Express has all the tropes that I enjoy in a locked room (train in this case) mystery. A holiday, a birth, an abusive marriage, snow, etc. are all here. So why was it such a struggle to read? Too many characters and almost all were moreContinue Reading
“Nosey” Jodie Parker is now officially a (part-time) detective in the tiny English village of Penstowan on the Cornish coast. This puts her in the awkward position of working directly for her boyfriend, Nathan. Soon, a man found drowned in a water trough along with a missing mermaid statue beginContinue Reading
Sex and Sexuality in Medieval England commits a common sin in histories of culture. It is overloaded with names and dates. Perhaps if I was related to the people mentioned, I would find that revelatory. Unfortunately, I just found it boring. However, the conclusions were interesting. One in six childrenContinue Reading
In The Binding Room, even the most upstanding people may have a secret or two hiding in their closets. Pastor Caleb is the leader of the popular church he named after himself. One day, the church cleaning lady is surprised to find him stabbed to death on the church floor.Continue Reading
Peek behind the bedroom door at Sex and Sexuality in Tudor England. England’s King Henry the VIII is known for his voracious appetites—both for food and women. He created an entirely new religion just so he could dump his first wife! Later, he realized it was easier to just executeContinue Reading
Puzzled by words used by Britons? Want to understand more while watching Love Island UK or Australia? Blimey, I’m Knackered! has you covered. As a lover of mysteries, I watch a lot of British TV on streaming services. It would have been helpful to have this guide when I firstContinue Reading
The Crown in Crisis is a well-researched and detailed study of the abdication of British King Edward VIII on the brink of World War II. However, non-Anglophiles may find all the characters and what their jobs entail rather confusing. Though I can envision future university students citing this book inContinue Reading
From questioning a band’s name (based on the age of its members that includes Phil Collins, shouldn’t Genesis be renamed Exodus?) to negotiating with the Grim Reaper for an extra year (because “2020 will be a write-off”), there is something in You Couldn’t Make It Up…! for every taste. HereContinue Reading
The Medieval Knight was popular from 1200-1500 throughout Europe. English kings and nobles originally required forty days of knightly service, either fighting or standing guard, in exchange for bequeathing land to the knight. However, they were soon forced to pay the knights too. It was getting increasingly expensive to beContinue Reading
In The Darkest Evening, Inspector Vera Stanhope of the Northumbria Police is driving home in a blinding snowstorm when she finds a car abandoned by the side of the road. The driver’s door is wide open. There is a sleeping baby in a car seat in the back. Failing toContinue Reading
Village spinster Miss Penelope Blow travels to London to see Inspector Littlejohn of Scotland Yard. Before the Inspector returns, Penelope’s nephew Harold forces her to return home. By the time Littlejohn visits, the town is playing a Dead March for Penelope Blow at her funeral. Despite Penelope’s death being ruledContinue Reading
The true tale of The Imprisoned Princess proves that the rich have always been different even in the late 1600s. Indeed the poorer royals, born on both sides of the blanket, were as prone to affairs as the royals at the Court of Versailles. Some like Clara were even havingContinue Reading
The Stolen Letter is the fifth book in the Scottish Bookshop Mystery series. The book successfully blends a cozy mystery plot, British royalty, and many paranormal elements like reincarnation and book characters that give advice. And it has more plot than a bushel of other cozy mysteries. Yet the authorContinue Reading
A sharpened pickax, a full water butt (barrel), a marline-spike, an obscure poison are all used (or maybe not used) for murder with A Measure of Malice in this new collection of British golden and silver-aged mysteries. Fourteen more intriguing, but unfortunately forgotten, tales from famous (Arthur Conan Doyle) andContinue Reading
DCI Matilda Darke has her work cut out for her at The Murder House. Sometime after their daughter’s wedding reception, Clive and Serena were violently murdered. In addition, their son Jeremy was stabbed to death. However, Jeremy’s seven-year-old daughter, Rachel was inexplicitly unharmed and left tied to a chair withContinue Reading
Agatha Raisin is back in fine style literally (or in a book would it be literarily?) Beating about the Bush and finding a severed leg. Or is it severed? Or is it even a leg? Raisin Investigations is hired by an electric car battery company to determine who is perpetratingContinue Reading