England

Thistlemarsh

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Thistlemarsh by Moorea Corrigan

Most of the fantasy novels I read are cozy or traditional epic fantasy. This absorbing first novel is a little darker, set in England after the first World War and one of the main characters is High Fae. Mouse (a nickname) was a nurse in France during the war. She lost a cousin and her brother Roger has not yet recovered. Mouse’s uncle has died, and she is to inherit Thistlemarsh manor house and gardens if some conditions are met. She has a short time to restore the dilapidated interior of the house, or she could marry. Otherwise, she receives no inheritance. Thornwood, the faerie, bargains with her and is willing to help, although older, dangerous magic is resisting his work. Thornwood and Mouse must search together for the root of the old magic in order to free the house.

Very imaginative storytelling, set in a house and gardens that used to be lush and opulent; the time period works well with the faerie story. Romantic without going the steamy tragic romantasy route, it’s more like The Secret Garden was written for adults and with real magic. I enjoyed this more than Emily Wilde’s Encylopaedia of Fairies series by Heather Fawcett. The secondary characters are well drawn and adds appeal, as does a most unusual pet named Smudge.

Brenda

The Murder at World’s End

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The Murder at World’s End: A Stockingham & Pike Mystery by Ross Montgomery

The setting for this locked room mystery is Tithe Hall off the coast of Cornwall in 1910, featuring the dramatic return of Halley’s Comet.

Viscount Conrad Stockingham-Welt, along with five relatives, a German scientist, and household staff, await the return of Halley’s Comet. At high tide, the manor house is cut off from the mainland. A worldwide panic has begun as the comet nears. According to the Viscount, the comet’s tail is full of poisonous gas. He predicts floods, hailstones, and electrical storms.

The house and each bedroom, including the servants’ rooms, will be hermetically sealed, with oxygen tanks placed in each room. The brand-new second footman, Stephen Pike, finds himself assigned to a foul-mouthed old lady, Miss Decima Stockingham, the Viscount’s aunt. She uses a Bath chair to be wheeled around. After the comet passes and the world hasn’t ended, someone is found murdered in a locked and sealed room. Stephen and Temperance, a maid, assist Miss Decima in investigating, when not busy with their other duties.

Besides careful detecting, much adventure and mayhem occur, and old secrets are revealed. None of the Stockingham family members are likeable, although Miss Decima is fascinating. A will reading is entertaining, and there’s never a dull moment.

Suggested for fans of historical British mysteries, readers of locked room mysteries, and those fascinated by phenomena like Halley’s Comet. A sequel, The Shadows of Kensington Gore, will be published in January, 2027.

Brenda

Guilty by Definition

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Guilty by Definition by Susie Dent

This contemporary mystery has a lovely setting in Oxford, with the focus on three women who work on the Clarendon English Dictionary, in their mid-20s, 30s, and 40s. Martha Thornhill has just moved back to Oxford to live with her father after working in Berlin for 10 years. Safiya is the youngest, while Alex has grown children and is always elegantly dressed.

Martha’s older sister Charlie vanished over a decade ago. Charlie also worked for the Dictionary, was writing her PhD dissertation, and worked part-time for a book dealer. The three women and their colleague Simon receive disturbing postcards at home, and their department at the Dictionary is sent cryptic letters with puzzles and Shakespearean references. Will the clues lead to information on Charlie, or possibly her research? The reader can try to solve the puzzles along with the three women, though I didn’t have any luck.

I enjoyed this clever mystery, with definitions of unusual words heading each chapter. The author is a well-known linguist, and this is an accomplished and compelling debut. More, please.

Brenda

The Vintage Shop

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The Vintage Shop by Libby Page

Have you ever gone into a vintage clothing store and found a fabulous dress or belt, or a blue sweater with wood buttons that reminds you of one your mom used to wear? No? Me, neither. But if we had, it would be just like Lou’s new shop on a cobblestone street in Frome, Somerset. Lou soon finds a connection in America, thanks to the yellow dress embroidered with flowers displayed in the shop window.

Donna, 60, has just found out she was adopted, and is looking for her birth mother. They both meet Maggy, who is rather lonely when not caring for her three grandchildren after school. This is a lovely story of love, loss, grief, friendship, and starting over. Sometimes starting over yet again, plus a little romance. There are tears, but also smiles. This book was published in Great Britain in 2023, and perhaps will be released in the U.S. in the near future, like her books This Made Me Think of You (which I really enjoyed) and The Lido (which I haven’t read). Little Bear kitty might be willing to lend out his copy.

Brenda

Daughter of Egypt

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Daughter of Egypt by Marie Benedict

The daughter of an Egyptian pharaoh and the daughter of an English earl are the narrators of this dual timeline historical novel. I have read quite a few dual timeline novels, and I usually prefer the earlier timeline. In this case, I found the 1920s story of Eve, Lady Evelyn Herbert, more enthralling. It’s clear that author Marie Benedict has long been fascinated by ancient Egypt, and specifically Hatshepsut. Hatshepsut, a regent and co-pharaoh whose tomb was well hidden, had her name erased from many places in Egypt. Eve, the daughter of Lord Carnarvon of Highclere Castle, loves spending time at excavations in the Valley of the Kings with her father and Howard Carter in the early 1920s, though her mother just wants her to find a suitable Englishman and get married.

Hatshepsut’s life in the 15th century B.C., is full of ritual and ceremony, as she must praise the rising sun each day. Unexpectedly, she becomes the eldest living child of her father, Pharaoh Thutmose, and he prepares her to help lead Egypt after him, as regent for a young pharaoh. The Egyptian settings are vividly drawn in both time periods, and both young women have considerable challenges, expectations, and limitations. Carter makes an amazing discovery, and Eve and her father are there to enter what will become a world-famous tomb. The Stolen Queen by Fiona Davis is a readalike, and The Collector’s Daughter by Gill Paul also tells Eve’s story. The Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters may also appeal, along with Murder Among the Pyramids by Sara Rosett.  

Brenda

A Case of Life and Limb

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A Case of Life and Limb by Sally Smith (The Trials of Gabriel Ward #2)

Gabriel, a barrister, is turning 55. He is a King’s Counsel who lives and works in London’s Inner Temple. This is the sequel to Of Mice and Murder, and begins on Christmas Eve, 1901. Topsy Tillotson, 19, a music hall star, asks for Gabriel’s help in suing a tabloid for libel after they printed a salacious story about her and a gentleman. Constable Wright of the City of London Police assists Gabriel by making inquiries, as does a curious cat named Delphinium.

A missing body may be connected to three young people who left London several years earlier. Then a death upsets the orderly and usually calm world in which Gabriel lives, and other crimes occur, slightly gruesome, making this only a cozy adjacent mystery. I am reminded of the Brother Cadfael mysteries by Ellis Peters. On the surface, reclusive Gabriel and Brother Cadfael don’t seem to have much in common, as Cadfael is a former man-at-arms who is a monk and herbalist in 12th century Shrewsbury, on the Welsh border. But they both share a deep knowledge and enjoyment of their work, and are often kind, especially to young people. The author is also a barrister and King’s Counsel, now retired to write full time, and her husband is a doctor. Happily, more books are planned.

Brenda

All Consuming

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All Consuming: Why We Eat the Way We Eat Now by Ruby Tandoh

Have you ever thought about how certain foods become popular? Cookbook author, journalist, and former contestant on the Great British Bake Off, Ruby Tandoh looks at the history and current state of British food. Well-researched and also entertaining with the viewpoint of a younger Brit. She covers bubble or boba tea, supermarkets, wellness drinks, the Automat, food writing, cooking, entertaining, and more. The website Allrecipes.com is featured, hyped restaurants, and also British chain restaurants serving American-style fast casual food, along with an actual pot of tea.

Dubai chocolate isn’t discussed, but is the sort of trendy food covered. I learned about frozen ice cream treats I’ve never seen, such as Cornetto and Viennetta, along with the more familiar Magnum Minis. Gourmet Magazine makes Ruby wonder if anyone really made the elaborate feasts described, or those in Martha Stewart’s Entertaining. Videos on social media of perfectly average strawberries covered in warm chocolate led to long queues in London recently. Ruby found them very messy and nothing special, especially when eaten standing up, but felt compelled to research them for this book; a funny scene.

I am not up to date on food trends or hot new restaurants, but it was fun to visit a candy store’s grand opening recently and sense the excitement it generated in downtown Elmhurst. Candycopia has another location in Oak Park, which I haven’t visited. Bursting with color and flavor, I can imagine spending most of my allowance there if I was a tween or teen living nearby. I’m no longer into sour candy, gummies, or licorice, but I can vouch for their gorgeous and tasty bonbons, and nice assortment of single origin chocolate bars. I also like to try cooking or baking new recipes, so I’m still a bit susceptible to food trends. I enjoyed this entertaining and informative book from a talented writer.

Brenda

Winston and the Windsors

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Winston and the Windsors: How Churchill Shaped a Royal Dynasty by Andrew Morton

This book was a great way to look at British history from 1985 to 1964 from the view point of Winston Churchill, his experiences, and his interaction with the Windsors. A bit lengthy, but that seems appropriate given his long life and large impact on Great Britain and its allies.

Young Winston was one of the last cavalry officers, and had quite an adventure during the Boer War in South Africa, which is covered in depth in Hero of the Empire: The Boer War, a Daring Escape, and the Making of Winston Churchill by Candice Millard. He wrote a book of military history while stationed in India, and had a very uneven political career before the second World War, and was known for being both arrogant and charming. During and after World War II, Winston served the Windsors as Prime Minister, through Edward VII and the abdication crisis over Wallis Simpson, World War II with George VI, and postwar Great Britain with the young Queen Elizabeth II. I found it especially interesting to read about Churchill’s work during World War II during this very unsettled time. Other than Winston’s experience in South Africa, I was mainly familiar with the Churchills from two historical novels: That Churchill Woman by Stephanie Barron about his mother, American Jennie Jerome Churchill and Lady Clementine by Marie Benedict about Winston Churchill’s wife and their children. Morton has clearly been fascinated by several generations of the Windsors, but this was less gossipy than most, including Elizabeth & Margaret: The Intimate World of the Windsor Sisters, and he has clearly done his research on Churchill’s life and the four British rulers who preceded King Charles III. Suggested for fans of 20th century British history or the Windsors.

Brenda

This Book Made Me Think of You

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This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page

This was a special and memorable book for me. Love and loss, starting over, bookstores and reading, re-connecting and making new memories, learning to live and love again; full of adventure, travel, and self-reflection.

Set mostly in London, in a small, cluttered flat and in a charming bookstore; Tilly Nightingale has spent the last six months grieving for her late husband, Joe. She hasn’t tidied his desk or even put away his running shoes. Especially sad for a book editor, Tilly hasn’t been reading, other than the celebrity memoirs she works on.

Then Tilly gets a phone call from Alfie at Book Lane. Joe had met with Alfie last year and arranged for the gift of one book a month for a year. Alfie isn’t allowed to give Tilly all the books at once. It’s almost February before Tilly gets around to reading the first title, a children’s book. She discovers that each book, a variety of fiction and non-fiction, includes a letter from Joe, which are shared with the reader.

Tilly’s heart slowly thaws and starts to heal. She goes to Paris and at a bookstore there, connects with a group of others struggling with loss. There are other trips, including to New York City. Tilly re-connects with a few people, has a falling-out with another, takes up new hobbies, and becomes friends with bookseller Alfie.

While the plot is slightly predictable, Tilly’s journey makes for wonderful, feel-good reading. That much of the story is set in a bookstore is an extra bonus. A list of book recommendations for each month adds to the appeal.

Brenda

The Stolen Queen

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The Stolen Queen by Fiona Davis

The Stolen Queen

I enjoyed this compelling pageturner, set in 1978 and 1936. In 1978, Charlotte Cross works as an associate curator for the Metropolitan Museum’s Department of Egyptian Art. Her main research focus is the (fictional) female pharaoh Hathorkare. Her time in Egypt in the 1930s ended in tragedy and she hasn’t been back.

When Charlotte recognizes an artifact from her time in Egypt and another Egyptian artifact is stolen, she heads back to Egypt. Annie, 19, loves the Met and lucks into a job assisting Diana Vreeland set up a costume exhibit. Annie and Charlotte keep crossing paths and travel to Egypt together for a very adventurous visit. I found this dual timeline novel to be an enthralling read. It’s a bit dramatic, but the drama fits in here. I especially liked the descriptions of the Met as they’re preparing for the Treasures of Tutankhamen exhibition. I remember being thrilled by visiting the exhibit in Chicago as a girl, and named my Abyssinian kitten Little Tut.

Brenda