Tag: historical fiction

The Secret Sauce, the third book in the Erdington Mysteries

Birmingham, England, November 1944.
Chief Inspector Mason of Erdington Police Station is summoned to a suspicious death at the BB Sauce factory in Aston on a wet Monday morning in late November 1944.

Greeted by his enthusiastic sergeant, O’Rourke, Sam Mason finds himself plunged into a challenging investigation to discover how Harry Armstrong met his death in a vat containing BB Sauce – a scene that threatens to put him off BB Sauce on his bacon sandwiches for the rest of his life.

Together with Sergeant O’Rourke, Mason follows a trail of seemingly unrelated events until something becomes very clear. The death of Harry Armstrong was certainly murder, and might well be connected to the tragedy unfolding at nearby RAF Fauld.

While the uncertainty of war continues, Mason and O’Rourke find themselves seeking answers from the War Office and the Admiralty, as they track down the person who murdered their victim in such an unlikely way.

Join Mason and O’Rourke for the third book in the quirky, historical mystery series, as they once more attempt to solve the impossible in 1940s Erdington.

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I’m an author of historical fiction and non-fiction (Early English (Saxon), Vikings and the British Isles as a whole before the Norman Conquest, as well as five twentieth-century mysteries), born in the old Mercian kingdom at some point since the end of 1066.

Historical mysteries allow me to use such modern inventions as the telephone and the car, which is very exciting when I spend so much of my time worrying about feeding the horses my warriors usually ride.

I was raised in the shadow of a strange little building and told from a very young age it housed the bones of long-dead kings of Mercia, it’s little wonder my curiosity in the early English ran riot. I can only blame my parents!
I like to write. You’ve been warned!

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A quick note for non-British readers; BB Sauce isn’t real but is inspired by HP Sauce, which is. As far as I know, no one has ever drowned in a vat of it. Sometimes referred to as brown sauce (as opposed to tomato ketchup aka red sauce), some people enjoy it on their bacon sandwiches, chips and other savoury dishes. I am not a fan.

My thoughts: A rather strange death, a man drowned in a vat in a sauce factory near Birmingham. He was the delivery driver for the factory and shouldn’t have been inside after they closed half day on Saturday, so why was he there and who killed him?

There don’t appear to be many clues, most of the workers had been heading off to the football after finishing up for the weekend. The few clerical staff had gone too, and the owner had locked up. There was no reason for Harry to even be inside that part of the factory, as the driver he only needed access to the yard and loading dock.

The police are stumped. But as they investigate the BB Sauce factory, its staff and Harry’s own history, it becomes clear that plenty of people have something to hide. There are secrets galore. 

There’s also a terrible explosion at the nearest RAF base, and as the case goes on, there’s a worry that it might be connected. Could someone working at the factory in fact be some sort of enemy agent? With the war still raging on, people are supposed to be on the lookout for anyone suspicious, and several of the employees certainly are. 

In the end this is a much more complex case than the accident it has been made to look like, Harry didn’t put himself in the vat, he certainly didn’t trip and fall from the gangway above, and the stench of vinegar is overwhelming. A bit like guilt.

Clever, complex and occasionally quite funny, this was a very enjoyable outing for Mason and the excellent O’Rourke (who will probably end up running the place one day!)

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.

1594, Bishopsgate Ward, London. Within the walls and without, unease and uncertainty lurk beneath the noise and bustle of a smoky, teeming city.

Matthew Cutler, newly widowed and caring for two spirited daughters, takes his position as constable for the parish of Spitalfields very seriously. So when Paulo Brisco, a quiet Venetian perfumer is found brutally murdered in his own shop, Cutler throws himself into his first major crime, and one which threatens to set all Bishopsgate alight. 🔥

Being a humble parish constable, Matthew Cutler’s powers are slight – and yet he possesses a skill which most others do not. As a former actor, he can employ disguise, to considerable effect and to his
unique advantage…

Plunged into a treacherous world of notorious rakes, angry tradesmen and a community seething with anti-foreigner sentiment and suspicion, Cutler must decipher shattered clues and confront a
killer whose motive remains a baffling mystery – until the very last.

Step into the dangerous world of Elizabethan London with this cracking murder mystery!🩸🔍

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A writer for over forty years, John Pilkington was born in Lancashire and worked at many jobs including laboratory assistant, farm worker, weaver, shipping clerk, picture frame-maker and cabaret
musician before taking a degree in Drama and English and finding his true vocation.

He has since written plays for radio and theatre, television scripts for a BBC soap, a short-lived children’s series and numerous works of historical fiction, concentrating now on the Tudor and Stuart eras. He also
ventured into speculative fiction with his biography of Shakespeare’s famous jester, Yorick.

He now lives in a village on a tidal estuary in Devon with his long-term partner Elisabeth; they have a son who is a psychologist and musician. When not at the desk he walks, swims, listens to music, and tinkers with DIY. projects, and is enjoying being a grandfather.

Bookbub profile: @jpscript

My thoughts: Elizabethan London was full of danger, although murder was rarely one of them, you were far more likely to fall into the Thames or die of plague. However, it’s murder that concerns Matthew Cutler, constable of Bishopsgate in the City of London. A perfumier, an Italian (people from other countries were known as strangers, hence the title) has been killed in his shop.

While Matthew’s powers are limited, it is up to him to find the killer. No proper police force exists, and there’s an obvious political angle as the victim was not only foreign, but Catholic, religion being the current main issue in England. Could one of his customers have killed him? He certainly seems to have popular.

As Matthew and his friend Margaret investigate, Matthew uses his player’s skills to gain access to some of Brisco’s higher-class clients and discovers that far from merely supplying scent, the Italian was also involved with some of the ladies he sold to. Perhaps an angry husband might be the killer. Until they discover that the pillow talk Brisco engaged in could have compromised England’s defences.

There’s a lot of intrigue and the more Matthew investigates the more suspects he finds, Brisco was clearly more than just a good salesman and the suspicion of strangers that Matthew has tried to avoid, may in this case, be justified. Can he find a way through the many strands of Brisco’s life and actually find a killer or will the threats to his family make him stop?

Full of historical details brought vividly to life, thankfully without the odours of 16th Century London, this is a clever, engaging read with a really interesting plot and characters.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.

Hannah Merrill is about to marry the love of her life…

The couple are determined that their low-key celebration will go without a hitch, but there can’t be an ‘I do’ while the vicar is missing. And when he’s found dead – a victim of a poisoning – in the crypt behind the church, Hannah knows only she and Aunt Violet can find out who did it.

Hannah’s beloved thinks she shouldn’t interfere. But if he fails to remember that an independent woman in 1916 doesn’t do what she’s told to by a man, the dead vicar may be the least of his worries…

Then the vicar’s own fiancé appears on the scene, even though nobody knew he was engaged. And suddenly it becomes clear someone has a secret, one shocking enough to kill for.

Will the intrepid pair of amateur sleuths catch the murderer before they kill again? Or will it be til death parts them all?

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Anita Davison is the author of the successful Flora Maguire historical mystery series.

Twitter: @AnitaSDavison
Instagram: @anitadavison3740
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Bookbub profile: @AnitaDavison

My thoughts: Hannah is about to get married in her local parish church, the only problem is the vicar is missing. Thankfully they find another who can fill in, but there’s still the question of where the original one went.

When the newlyweds find his body in the crypt, it initially looks like an accident – did he trip and fall down the stairs? The police reveal that the vicar was poisoned. And there’s so many secrets he was keeping  – including a fiancé who arrives the following day.

Hannah and Aunt Violet (I love Aunt Violet so much) investigate – they have access that the police don’t, and uncover secrets that someone has killed for in the vicar’s past.

Hannah might now be married, but with her husband involved in war work and crime still happening, she’s going to investigate, with or without his approval.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.

Now you see a murder, now you don’t…

The Golden Age of Hollywood, 1938.

It’s the annual Awards Banquet at the Cocoanut Grove nightclub, and Vivian Steele can’t wait for the star-studded event. She’s attending with her best friend, Carole Lombard, and several acclaimed actresses will be wearing her fashion
designs. What she doesn’t expect is for the night to turn deadly.

During the awards ceremony, Carole finds an actress stabbed to death in the restroom. She quickly alerts the staff, but when they return, they can’t find a body. An hour later, another guest screams bloody murder that an actor drowned in the pool outside. Again, the body
disappears.

While the guests have a good laugh, Vivian is convinced the murders took place and
reluctantly asks Preston Stone, Hollywood’s notorious playboy, for his help in proving her suspicions.

Together, they uncover a sinister killer who has mastered the art of illusion and set his sights on two Oscar-winning stars. Can Vivian and Preston stop the killer in time…and without revealing their well-kept secrets?

A Bloody Banquet is the second book in this exciting new 1930s Stone & Steele mystery series starring a great cast of characters ranging from the rich and famous to Bella and Boris, the canine costars, and a few other endearing folks. (A pretty clean read – series
or standalone)

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Award-winning author Gail Meath writes historical romance novels that will whisk you away to another time and place in history where you will meet fascinating characters, both fictional and real, who will capture your heart and soul. Meath loves writing about little or unknown
people, places and events in history, rather than relying on the typical stories and settings.

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My thoughts: Someone is staging murders and no one knows if they’re pranks or something else. Preston Stone and Vivian Steele join forces again to investigate what’s going on. How are a magician and his assistant connected to the strange disappearing bodies?

As three actors meet their tragic deaths, who is killing them or are they really accidents?

Preston and Vivian bicker their way around Hollywood as they investigate, it seems they still can’t be friends like their canine companions are.

The crimes are twisted and the killer is targeting Hollywood’s biggest stars like Clark Gable and Bette Davis next, if Preston and Vivian can’t solve it fast and hand the killer over to the police.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.