Nowhere to hide. London, 1879. As winter grips the city, a group of African travellers seek sanctuary inside the walls of the Quaker Meeting House. They are being hunted by a ruthless showman, who is forcing them to perform in his ethnic exhibition in the London Aquarium.
Nowhere to turn. Private investigator William Arrowood and his assistant Barnett agree to help the travellers avoid capture. But when they arrive at the Meeting House, they find a scene of devastation. Two people have been murdered and the others have fled into the night.
Nowhere to run. The hunt for the real killer leads Arrowood into the dark heart of Victorian London. A shadowy world of freak shows, violence and betrayal, where there are no good choices and only the slimmest chance of survival…
My thoughts: I really enjoy this series – Arrowood is the anti-Sherlock (who he hates) and can sometimes barely stand but always gets his man, or men. The brutal murders in this book lead him all over London, following on the heels of showmen in the PT Barnum mould, as well as a group of South African performers trying to get out of a contract they never should have signed.
However there’s more to it – a deadly theft that traces all the way back to South Africa and a killer in search of gold. Mixing elements of real history with fictional figures, this is a dark and deadly crime story.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.
Brothers bound by blood but fated to be enemies. Can their Empire survive or will it crumble into myth?
Istanbul, 1903. Since his younger brother usurped the Imperial throne, Sultan Murad V has been imprisoned with his family for nearly thirty years. The new century heralds immense change. Anarchy and revolution threaten the established order. Powerful enemies plot the fall of the once mighty Ottoman Empire. Only death will bring freedom to the enlightened former sultan. But the waters of the Bosphorus run deep: assassins lurk in shadows, intrigue abounds, and scandal in the family threatens to bring destruction of all that he holds dear…
For over six hundred years the history of the Turks and their vast and powerful Empire has been inextricably linked to the Ottoman dynasty. Can this extraordinary family, and the Empire they built, survive into the new century?
Set against the magnificent backdrop of Imperial Istanbul,The Gilded Cage on the Bosphorus is a spellbinding tale of love, duty and sacrifice. Evocative and utterly beguiling,The Gilded Cage on the Bosphorus is perfect for fans of Colin Falconer, Kate Morton and Philippa Gregory.
Ayşe Osmanoğlu is a member of the Imperial Ottoman family, being descended from Sultan Murad V through her grandfather and from Sultan Mehmed V (Mehmed Reşad) through her grandmother. After reading History and Politics at the University of Exeter, she then obtained an M.A. in Turkish Studies at SOAS, University of London, specialising in Ottoman History. She lives in the UK with her husband and five children.
My thoughts: this was really fascinating, a partly fictionalised account of the lives of the deposed Sultan Murad V and his family, who lived under house arrest after his brother seized the throne.
Written by a descendant of the family, it obviously has a slight bias towards the real life figures in it, but that’s understandable and I think if I were to write about my ancestors, I’d probably do the same. Saladuddin in particular was a really interesting, intelligent man, the son of the former sultan, he had lots of ideas about reforming the Ottoman Empire and bringing it into the 20th Century, but his paranoid and mistrustful uncle would never have listened.
It is at times very sad, the whole family, four generations at one point, were trapped in an admittedly luxurious Palace, but unable to see any of their other relatives, of which there were many, or even know what was going on outside the walls, unless from the newspapers and loyal servants’ gossip. After Murad’s death, they are finally allowed on restricted outings and Prince Nurid doesn’t even realise that the four legged creatures on the streets are dogs, that’s how isolated and forgotten they were.
It’s an incredibly moving and deeply interesting read – seeing world history through their eyes, as opposed to the Western European one I learnt at school was especially intriguing.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.
In 1935, six-year-old Emily Evans vanishes from her family’s vacation home on a remote Minnesota lake. Her disappearance destroys the family – her father commits suicide, and her mother and two older sisters spend the rest of their lives at the lake house, keeping a decades-long vigil for the lost child. Sixty years later, Lucy, the quiet and watchful middle sister, lives in the lake house alone. Before her death, she writes the story of that devastating summer in a notebook that she leaves, along with the house, to the only person who might care: her grandniece, Justine. For Justine, the lake house offers freedom and stability – a way to escape her manipulative boyfriend and give her daughters the home she never had. But the long Minnesota winter is just beginning. The house is cold and dilapidated. The dark, silent lake is isolated and eerie. Her only neighbor is a strange old man who seems to know more about the summer of 1935 than he’s telling. Soon Justine’s troubled oldest daughter becomes obsessed with Emily’s disappearance, her mother arrives to steal her inheritance, and the man she left launches a dangerous plan to get her back. In a house haunted by the sorrows of the women who came before her, Justine must overcome their tragic legacy if she hopes to save herself and her children.
HEATHER YOUNG is the author of two novels. Her debut, The Lost Girls, won the Strand Award for Best First Novel and was nominated for an Edgar Award. The Distant Dead has also been nominated for the 2021 Edgar Award for Best Novel. A former antitrust and intellectual property litigator, she traded the legal world for the literary one and earned her MFA from the Bennington Writing Seminars in 2011. She lives in Mill Valley, California, where she writes, bikes, hikes, and reads books by other people that she wishes she’d written. WebsiteTwitter
My thoughts: this was really enjoyable, combining a family murder mystery with later generations attempting to move on. Justine returns to her great-aunt’s house, left to her in the will, with her two daughters. She’s running from a life she no longer wants and hopes to begin again in this small town. But the town is full of people who know her family, and know about her missing great-aunt, who never got to grow up.
As she sorts through the remnants of her aunt’s life, and her mother comes to stay, she finds herself drawn into the mystery and secrets of the past.
Alternating between Justine’s present and Lucy’s past, slowly the truth is revealed. It’s very artfully done and very enjoyable too. I felt for Justine – sleepwalking through your own life is no fun, and I understood her worries. She was trying to do the best for her children but stuck due to things like money. Her mother was a bit of a nightmare and Justine’s determination to be different meant she couldn’t be happy.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.
Time is no barrier for a love that is destined to be. She couldn’t be sure that she had travelled through time … but deep down she just knew. And her only way back had just disappeared. When jewellery designer Sara Mattsson is propelled back to the ninth century, after cutting herself on a Viking knife she uncovers at an archaeological dig, she is quick to accept what has happened to her. For this is not the first Sara has heard of time travel. Although acutely aware of the danger she faces when she loses the knife – and with it her way to return to her own time – this is also the opportunity of a lifetime. What better way to add authenticity to the Viking and Anglo-Saxon motifs used in her designs? As luck has it, the first person Sara encounters is Rurik Eskilsson, a fellow silversmith, who is also no stranger to the concept of time travel. Agreeing that Sara can accompany him to Jorvik, they embark on a journey even more perilous than one through time. But Fate has brought these two kindred spirits together across the ages for a reason…
Christina Courtenay writes historical romance, time slip and time travel stories, and lives in Herefordshire (near the Welsh border) in the UK. Although born in England, she has a Swedish mother and was brought up in Sweden – hence her abiding interest in the Vikings. Christina is a former chairman of the UK’s Romantic Novelists’ Association and has won several awards, including the RoNA for Best Historical Romantic Novel twice with Highland Storms (2012) and The Gilded Fan (2014). Whispers of the Runes (time travel published by Headline 24th June 2021) is her latest novel. Christina is a keen amateur genealogist and loves history and archaeology (the armchair variety).
Giveaway to Win a signed copy of Whispers of the Runes plus a pair of silver Viking style earrings (Open INT)
My thoughts: this was really enjoyable, Sara was friends with Linnea, the protagonist of The Whisper of the Runes, so she isn’t too frightened when she finds herself in the past with a hunky Norseman. They travel to Jorvik, modern day York, with a bunch of raiders, not that they’re given much choice. Together they plan to return to Sara’s time but in the meantime they begin to build a life.
I really like these books, they’re a fun blend of romance and history, the writing draws you in to the story and the characters keep you engaged. The plot was interesting and I like the way the characters have to adapt to living in different centuries – I’m not sure I could do it with such ease.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book book exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.
**Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome. Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below. The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.**
218 BC. Hannibal’s exhausted army staggers down from the last Alpine pass like a rabble of half- starved savages, the remnants of a once magnificent army that had set out from the Rhodanus with such hope. Now there is no way back. With the legions of Consul Publius Scipio closing fast, Carthage needs its Gaulish allies like never before. But where are the Insubres? Where are the Boii? Where are the thousands of warriors pledged by solemn oath? In the maelstrom of battle, Sphax, nephew of Hannibal, forges a reputation as the scourge of Rome. But will his ingrained recklessness and quest for honour set him at odds with the forbidding genius of his uncle? Only one thing is certain in this winter of winters, a great battle is coming that will decide the fates of Rome and Carthage.
When Cato the Censor demanded that ‘Carthage must be destroyed,’ Rome did just that. In 146 BC, after a three year siege, Carthage was raised to the ground, its surviving citizens sold into slavery and the fields where this once magnificent city had stood, ploughed by oxen. Carthage was erased from history. That’s why I’m a novelist on a mission! I want to set the historical record straight. Our entire history of Hannibal’s wars with Rome is nothing short of propaganda, written by Greeks and Romans for their Roman clients. It intrigues me that Hannibal took two Greek scholars and historians with him on campaign, yet their histories of Rome’s deadliest war have never seen the light of day. My hero, Sphax the Numidian, tells a different story! When I’m not waging war with my pen, I like to indulge my passion for travel and hill walking, and like my hero, I too love horses. I live in Pembrokeshire, West Wales. WebsiteTwitterFacebook
Giveaway to Win Book 4 in The Histories of Sphax series to be dedicated to the winner, & a signed dedicated copy too (Open INT)
My thoughts: this was really enjoyable and I felt like I learnt a bit too. I knew that Hannibal took elephants over the Alps (fun fact: I used to work in Hannibal House above the Elephant & Castle shopping centre and routinely had to explain the name) but not a huge amount more about him or his war with the Roman Empire.
I liked Sphax and his men, their love for their horses and their determination to do a good job fighting the Romans was humanising and at times a little sad, especially towards the end. No war ends without casualties and sadness unfortunately. The battlefield tactics were smart and if true, meant Hannibal and his allies were a formidable foe. It was refreshing to read about things from the other side – all those years ago studying the Romans you’re told they were unstoppable and invincible, nice to see that isn’t true.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.
**Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome. Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below. The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.**
For nine-year-old Wendy, the summer of 1969 will never be forgotten. Local kids have always told stories about the eerie wood on the outskirts of the village, and Wendy knows for sure that some of them are true. Now the school holidays have started and she’s going to the wood again with Anna and Sam, but they soon become convinced that someone is trying to frighten them off. When a terrible event rocks the coastal community, the young friends can’t help thinking there must be a connection between the incident, the tales they’ve heard, and the strange happenings they’ve begun to witness. As glimpses of a darker world threaten their carefree existence, they feel compelled to search out the underlying truth.
My thoughts: this is a sweet and sad story about childhood and the death of a young boy. Wendy narrates the events of the summer of 1974, when her friend’s younger brother went missing. It shatters a lot of the innocence of simple summer pleasures and forces the children to grow up quickly – darkness forcing its way into their lives.
As she grows up, what happened to Tommy stays with her, as do The Five Things – the key points she and her friends felt were not fully investigated and could explain what led to Tommy’s death. Their beliefs may ultimately be wrong, but they attempt to find answers anyway.
A bittersweet tale of childhood’s end, when summer becomes darker and the real world intrudes.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.
During the demolition of a factory, a shocking discovery is made: a mummified corpse encased in a carapace of hardened dust – phosphate rock – surrounded by ten objects that provide tantalising clues as to its identity…
A professional engineer with forty years of international manufacturing experience, Fiona Erskine’s first graduate job was in the factory described in Phosphate Rocks. Born in Edinburgh, Fiona grew up riding motorbikes and jumping into cold water. After studying chemical engineering at university, she learned to weld, cast and machine with apprentices in Paisley. As a professional engineer she has worked and travelled internationally and is now based in the North East of England. Her first novel, The Chemical Detective, which was shortlisted for the Specsavers Debut Crime Novel Award 2020, was followed by The Chemical Reaction.
My thoughts: this was really interesting in several different ways. As well as solving the death and putting a name to the body found beneath the old chemical factory, each object becomes the story of the men and women who worked there, of the chemicals they processed and the machines they used. It was utterly fascinating and so well written that even the science bits were absorbing (I’m not always very good with chemistry).
Inspired by the factory the author started her career in, and the real working men and women of Leith, this is an ode to a different time and the people who lived in it. Bits are very sad and shocking, but I found it utterly engaging and wanted to hear more stories of the various characters who could be found inside the factory gates.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.
The fight for vengeance has no victors… AD 936 The great warrior, Einar Unnsson, wants revenge. His mother’s assassin has stolen her severed head and Einar is hungry for his blood. Only one thing holds him back. He is a newly sworn in Wolf Coat, and must accompany them on their latest quest. The Wolf Coats are a band of fearsome bloodthirsty warriors, who roam the seas, killing any enemies who get in their way. Now they’re determined to destroy their biggest enemy, King Eirik, as he attempts to take the throne of Norway. Yet, for Einar, the urge to return to Iceland is growing every day. Only there, in his homeland, can he avenge his mother and salve his grief. But what Einar doesn’t know is that this is where an old enemy lurks, and his thirst for vengeance equals Einar’s… Read Tim Hodkinson’s newest epic Viking adventure.
Tim Hodkinson was born in 1971 in Northern Ireland. He studied Medieval English and Old Norse Literature at University with a subsidiary in Medieval European History. He has been writing all his life and has a strong interest in the historical, the mystical and the mysterious. After spending several happy years living in New Hampshire, USA, he has now returned to life in Northern Ireland with his wife Trudy and three lovely daughters in a village called Moira. Tim is currently working on a series of viking novels for Ares Fiction, an imprint of Head of Zeus.
My thoughts: I always forget how complicated Middle Ages politics was. The Wolf Coats fight for one king, but would happily swap to another ruler, should their original king do something that negatively effects them. Or interferes with their own plans. In this Einar almost falls out with his fellows when his need for revenge doesn’t match up with the rest of the plans. Luckily they find a way round this and move ahead to unseat Einar’s ghastly father and rescue one of their own from an unwanted marriage too.
I hadn’t read the previous books in the series and I think this works well as a standalone – there’s enough back story given for you to understand what the Wolf Coats are doing and why. The terrible murder of Einar’s mother fuels him and his sworn brothers want to help him, and cause a little mayhem too.
The author has a degree in Norse history and understands the difference between going viking and being a Viking. I think that might be something useful for fans of this strand of historical fiction to learn! He also knows and weaves into the plot, the geography and various kingdoms of Northern Europe, giving a real sense of time and place to the story, which can be missing sometimes. An enjoyable and interesting read all round.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.
Fontainebleau in 1825 is a glittering international court, rich with intrigue, passion and simmering violence. Lieutenant Colonel Kit Helford must navigate these treacherous waters to deliver the beautiful, self-destructive Princess Royal to her prospective husband. Kit’s childhood friend, Clemency Arwenack, is tasked with safeguarding her royal mistress’s reputation as the princess awaits a marriage she is dreading.
But both have secrets they will hide at all costs. Kit is on the run – from a man shot and left for dead back in London and a lifetime of scandal that includes a liaison with the princess herself. He will do anything to salvage his family’s reputation. Clemency, meanwhile, conducts a perilous trade in lies and blackmail as she seeks to destroy the princess, not protect her. With the princess’s life under threat, Kit and Clemency are pitted against each other, even as a dangerous attraction grows between them. The past hunts them both, remorselessly, relentlessly, and neither can escape it for long.
KATY MORAN is the author of Wicked by Design and False Lights, published by Head of Zeus. False Lights was originally published under the pseudonym KJ Whittaker.
Katy has taught creative writing in schools, at the Arvon Foundation, and for the charity Waterloo Uncovered, an archaeology project with a support program for veterans which aims to understand war and its impact on people. She visited the battlefield of Waterloo at their invitation, which led to her exploration of combat stress in False Lights. Katy’s research melds the testimony of present-day soldiers with the records of their historical counter-parts, to examine common ground and shared experiences across the centuries.
She is co-project manager for Waterloo Uncovered’s forthcoming educational project looking at the lives of camp followers, women who accompanied soldiers to the Peninsular War and the Battle of Waterloo. The project offers a rare insight into the lives of military spouses in a conflict on the cusp of modern history, seeking to broaden our understanding of history by removing the filter of prejudice.
Katy lives with her husband and three children in a ramshackle Georgian house in the Welsh borders. She is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association. WebsiteTwitter
My thoughts: this was a gorgeous book and the story inside was a treat too. I love when writers clearly do their research and bring the past to life, drawing you into the world of dazzling wealth and intrigue in this case. The French Court is not a safe place to be, everyone is ambitious and scheming. You have to rely on your wits and be very careful who you trust, especially if you have secrets you need to keep. Kit and Clemency must do their jobs and keep themselves from being found out at all costs, which sets up a complex and clever plot.
I liked these characters, they were struggling against, at times, great odds, fighting to stay one step ahead of their enemies and survive the extravagant but deadly world around them. A highly enjoyable read.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.
1661, North Berwick One stormy night, healer Honor Seton and her daughter Alice are summoned to save the town lord’s wife – but they’re too late. A vengeful crusade against the Seton women leads to whispers of witchcraft all over town. Honor hopes her connections can protect them from unproven rumours and dangerous accusations – but is the truth finally catching up with them?
Present day, North Berwick After an explosive scandal lands her husband in prison, Tess Blyth flees Edinburgh to start afresh in Thistle Cottage. As she hides from the media’s unforgiving glare, Tess is intrigued by the shadowy stories of witchcraft surrounding the women who lived in the cottage centuries ago. But she quickly discovers modern-day witch hunts can be just as vicious: someone in town knows her secret – and they won’t let Tess forget it…
My thoughts: Drawing on historical records of witch hunts in Scotland during the 1600s, moving between the former and current residents of a small cottage, and exploring the idea of the modern witch hunt as well as the historical ones, this is a clever and compelling story.
In the 1660s Honor and Alice live quiet lives, offering tinctures and basic medical aid to their neighbours, supported by the financial decisions Honor’s late husband made and the land he purchased. They don’t cause trouble but it comes anyway, in the form of a hothead laird, whose wife Honor cannot save from a fever.
In the 2020s Tess and Jem have moved to the same small cottage to escape from press attention over Tess’ ex-husband’s terrible crimes. But someone knows who they are and is harassing them with disturbing graffiti and weird threats left outside their door.
Both plotlines are interesting and thought provoking, there’s a project in Scotland seeking official exonorations for the women and men accused and killed for being witches, and it’s simple, ordinary people like Honor and Alice who suffered but in their case there’s hope for redemption.
Similarly Tess and Jem are targeted for something they didn’t do, something they’ve moved away from their home and friends to try to avoid the limelight. Neither of them is guilty of the crimes they’re accused of but someone wants them to pay a price.
I thought this was really well written and drew parallels in a smart and precise way, it left me with plenty to chew over when it was finished as well as being enjoyable and satisfying a read.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.
ramblingmads 