Book Review: Mrs. Hudson and the Spirits' Curse by Martin Davies

Mrs. Hudson and the Spirits' Curse
Author: Martin Davies
Series: A Holmes & Hudson Mystery (Book 1)
Publication: Canelo; Digital original edition (July 13, 2015)

Description: What if Baker Street’s most gifted resident wasn’t called Sherlock Holmes?

An evil stalks London, blown in from the tropics. Stories of cursed giant rats and malign spirits haunt the garrets of Limehouse. A group of merchants are, one by one, dying. The elementary choice to investigate these mysterious deaths is, of course, Holmes and Dr Watson.

Yet the unique gifts of their housekeeper, Mrs Hudson, and her orphaned assistant Flotsam, will be needed to solve the case. Can she do it all under the nose of Sherlock himself?

From the coal fire at Baker Street to the smog of Whitechapel and the jungles of Sumatra, from snake bites in grand hotels to midnight carriage chases at the docks, it’s time for Mrs Hudson to step out of the shadows. Playfully breaking with convention, Martin Davies brings a fresh twist to classic Victorian mystery.

My Thoughts: This version of the Sherlock Holmes stories casts housekeeper Mrs. Hudson in a much more prominent role than stories in the canon. It is told by Flotsam, a poor young orphan girl, who is brought in as Mrs. Hudson's apprentice both in housekeeping and detective work.

The case begins when a man comes to Baker Street to try to hire Holmes. He tells a complex tale including a curse laid on him in Sumatra which has followed him home. He is in great fear and begs Holmes' help. 

Mrs. Hudson has some doubts about the man's story and begins her own investigation among her wide variety of acquaintances in London who range from a solicitor to a boy sells vegetables in the market. While Holmes is using his brain and deductive skills, Mrs. Hudson is finding out what is really going on (and giving Holmes hints to guide him to a proper solution.)

Throughout the story are hints that Mrs. Hudson has had a long career solving problems and collecting a lot of favors. She even has a long history with a man named Fogarty who is the reason Flotsam found herself on the street, fleeing villains, before she met Mrs. Hudson. Fogarty has quite a role in this mystery which moves it from curses in Sumatra to murders in London.

I really liked the setting and the historical detail. I enjoyed this new take which gives Mrs. Hudson an enhanced role and an apprentice. It was a fun story.

Favorite Quote:

"You're right, Flottie, it is wrong. But there's all sorts of wrongs in this world and, for all our efforts, you and I won't be able to root up all of it."

I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.

Friday Memes: Mrs. Hudson and the Spirits' Curse by Martin Davies

 Happy Friday everybody!

Book Beginnings on Friday is hosted by Rose City Reader. The Friday 56 is hosted at Freda's Voice. Check out the links above for the rules and for the posts of the participants each week. Don’t dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

Beginning:

It was Scraggs the grocer's boy, taking pity on my impoverished circumstances and the collapse of my spirits, who made the introduction that was to change my life. 

Friday 56:

'Now, less of that,' he urged. 'What's to be so scared of? I ain't goin' to eat yer. Too skinny, you see.' He laughed, but I was beyond comfort.

This week I am spotlighting Mrs. Hudson and the Spirits' Curse by Martin Davies. This was a Kindle Deal last November. Here is the description from Amazon:

What if Baker Street’s most gifted resident wasn’t called Sherlock Holmes?

An evil stalks London, blown in from the tropics. Stories of cursed giant rats and malign spirits haunt the garrets of Limehouse. A group of merchants are, one by one, dying. The elementary choice to investigate these mysterious deaths is, of course, Holmes and Dr Watson.

Yet the unique gifts of their housekeeper, Mrs Hudson, and her orphaned assistant Flotsam, will be needed to solve the case. Can she do it all under the nose of Sherlock himself?

From the coal fire at Baker Street to the smog of Whitechapel and the jungles of Sumatra, from snake bites in grand hotels to midnight carriage chases at the docks, it’s time for Mrs Hudson to step out of the shadows. Playfully breaking with convention, Martin Davies brings a fresh twist to classic Victorian mystery.

Friday Memes: Still Life by Louise Penny

Happy Friday everybody!

Book Beginnings on Friday is now hosted by Rose City Reader. The Friday 56 is hosted at Freda's Voice. Check out the links above for the rules and for the posts of the participants each week. Don’t dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

Beginning:

Miss Jane Neal met her maker in the early morning mist of Thanksgiving Sunday. It was pretty much a surprise all around. Miss Neal's was not a natural death, unless you're of the belief everything happens as it's supposed to. If so, for her seventy-six years Jane Neal had been walking toward this final moment when death met her in the brilliant maple woods on the verge of the village of Three Pines. She'd fallen spread-eagled, as though making angels in the bright and brittle leaves.

Friday 56:

Gamache wondered how low the bar was set when all a man had to do to attract a woman was not smell of decomposing bears.

This week I am spotlighting Still Life by Louise Penny. This is a recent Kindle Daily Deal and the first book in the Inspector Gamache mysteries. Here is the description from Amazon:

Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Surêté du Québec and his team of investigators are called in to the scene of a suspicious death in a rural village south of Montreal. Jane Neal, a local fixture in the tiny hamlet of Three Pines, just north of the U.S. border, has been found dead in the woods. The locals are certain it's a tragic hunting accident and nothing more, but Gamache smells something foul in these remote woods, and is soon certain that Jane Neal died at the hands of someone much more sinister than a careless bowhunter.

Still Life introduces not only an engaging series hero in Inspector Gamache, who commands his forces---and this series---with integrity and quiet courage, but also a winning and talented new writer of traditional mysteries in the person of Louise Penny.

Book Review: A Quiet Life in the Country by T. E. Kinsey

A Quiet Life in the Country
Author: T. E. Kinsey
Series: A Lady Hardcastle Mystery Book 1
Publication: Thomas & Mercer (October 4, 2016)

Description: Lady Emily Hardcastle is an eccentric widow with a secret past. Florence Armstrong, her maid and confidante, is an expert in martial arts. The year is 1908 and they’ve just moved from London to the country, hoping for a quiet life.

But it is not long before Lady Hardcastle is forced out of her self-imposed retirement. There’s a dead body in the woods, and the police are on the wrong scent. Lady Hardcastle makes some enquiries of her own, and it seems she knows a surprising amount about crime investigation…

As Lady Hardcastle and Flo delve deeper into rural rivalries and resentment, they uncover a web of intrigue that extends far beyond the village. With almost no one free from suspicion, they can be certain of only one fact: there is no such thing as a quiet life in the country.

My Thoughts: Lady Emily Hardcastle and her lady's maid/best friend Florence Armstrong have moved to what they hope is a quiet village in rural England. They have had many adventures from China to India to London and would prefer some quiet time.

But when Lady Hardcastle and Flo come upon a body in the woods, their quiet retirement is put to the test. Feeling that the police were too quick to choose and arrest a suspect, Lady Harcastle and Flo begin their own investigation. Luckily, Lady Hardcastle knows a couple of the gentry who were old India hands and friends with her parents. While she investigates above stairs, Flo is able to conduct her part of the investigation "below stairs" and with the shopkeepers in town.

When one victim becomes two and a valuable emerald is stolen, their case gets much more complex. They need to investigate the local cricket club, the ragtime band hired to play at an engagement party, and people both above and below stairs before they can solve the crime.

I liked that the story was narrated by Flo who is a practical, down-to-earth sort and who provides balance for her more flighty but intelligent employer. The 1908 setting allowed for a variety of technology from the occasional telephone to fingerprint experts. It also showed a changing social landscape where the gentry were losing their grip on their privilege and the newly wealthy were gaining a foothold. I enjoyed the relationship between Lady Hardcastle and Flo. I really want more information about the adventures they had before this first book in a series.

Favorite Quote:

"Oh, oh, we can be detectives. You can be Watson to my Holmes."

"But without the violin and the dangerous drug addiction, my lady," I said.

"As soon as the piano arrives from London that will make an admirable substitute for the violin. And I'm sure we could both have a tot of brandy from time to time to grease the old wheels."

I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.

Friday Memes: A Quiet Life in the Country by T. E. Kinsey

Happy Friday everybody!

Book Beginnings on Friday is now hosted by Rose City Reader. The Friday 56 is hosted at Freda's Voice. Check out the links above for the rules and for the posts of the participants each week. Don’t dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

Beginning:

"Good heavens!" said Lady Hardcastle as we stepped down from the dog cart. "This is rather larger than I had expected."

Friday 56:

I was about to try to press him for more details when the bell rang from the dining room again.

"I expect that'll be for me," he said, getting up. "Please leave me a piece of trifle if you can spare it. I"m rather partial to trifle."

This week I am spotlighting A Quiet Life in the Country by T. E. Kinsey. This historical mystery is a recent Kindle Daily Deal purchase. Here is the description from Amazon:

Lady Emily Hardcastle is an eccentric widow with a secret past. Florence Armstrong, her maid and confidante, is an expert in martial arts. The year is 1908 and they’ve just moved from London to the country, hoping for a quiet life.

But it is not long before Lady Hardcastle is forced out of her self-imposed retirement. There’s a dead body in the woods, and the police are on the wrong scent. Lady Hardcastle makes some enquiries of her own, and it seems she knows a surprising amount about crime investigation…

As Lady Hardcastle and Flo delve deeper into rural rivalries and resentment, they uncover a web of intrigue that extends far beyond the village. With almost no one free from suspicion, they can be certain of only one fact: there is no such thing as a quiet life in the country.

Book Review: Reflex by Dick Francis

Reflex
Author: Dick Francis
Publication: G.P. Putnam's Sons (October 4, 2005)

Description: A jockey unravels nasty secrets of corruption, blackmail, and murder in this mystery from grand master of crime fiction Dick Francis.

Longtime jockey Philip Nore is no hero. But when he begins to suspect that a racetrack photographer’s fatal accident was really murder, he sets out to discover the truth and trap the killer. Slowly, he unravels some nasty secrets of corruption, blackmail and murder—and unwittingly sets himself up as the killer’s next target...

My Thoughts: Main character Philip Nore is a steeplechase jockey nearing the end of his career. He does have a possible new career as a photographer but lacks the confidence to give up his present for a potential future. He is a very intriguing character who is the product of a very unusual childhood. Philip's seventeen-year-old mother would frequently leave him with friends for various lengths of time. His few times with his mother were spent in a drug culture. He was exposed to marijuana and LSD as a preschooler. He saw his mother infrequently and never after the age of fifteen. He received birthday and Christmas gifts until his eighteenth birthday when he assumed she died - probably of a heroin overdose.

Two of the homes where he was left have influenced his present. He spent a couple of years with a gay couple named Charlie and Duncan who developed his interest in photography. He was with them for a couple of years until Duncan left and his mother swept him away to friends at a racing stable who developed his interest in being a jockey.

Now 30, he's more or less drifting in his life. Then a few things happen that change him. The trainer and owner he works for most often have asked him to throw a race. He had done this for them in the past but not for the last three years. And famous racing photographer George Millace died in a single car accident. Millage was an excellent photographer but not much liked because he had an unerring eye for photos that most didn't want to see. He was filled with ill will. His son Steve is a fellow jockey with Philip.

When Steve has a fall and breaks his collarbone, Philip offers him a ride home. Steve's mother's house had been burgled while they were at the funeral and again a couple of days later. The second time Mrs. Millace was beaten up by the burglars who were looking for a safe. Steve gives Philip a box of his father's mistakes that he had carefully kept and Philip was intrigued to find out why he had saved them. His common interest in photography and love of puzzles drew him in - and led him into danger.

Another change is also coming to Philip's life. The grandmother who threw her daughter out when she was a teen wants to see him. She's sent a lawyer from the firm who does her business to bring him to her. The lawyer guilts Philip into visiting the grandmother he hates for her treatment of his mother. She drops a bombshell and wants him to find his sister Amanda - a sister he didn't know he had.

Philip works with the lawyer to look for his sister while trying to solve George Millace's puzzles. The puzzles lead to Millace's possible side job as a blackmailer and put Philip in great danger from those Millace had blackmailed when they learn that he has the photographic files.

This was an excellent story with an intriguing main character and very interesting photographic puzzles. I really liked the descriptions of the characters which illuminated them in a few short sentences. I liked Philip learning more about his family and his past. I also liked that it led him to a new future and a woman to love.

Favorite Quote:

Most people's lives, I thought, weren't a matter of world affairs, but of the problems right beside them. Not concerned portentously with saving mankind, but with creating local order: in small checks and balances.

I bought this one recently for my Kindle to supplement the paperback I've had for many years. You can buy your copy here.

Book Review: House of the Rising Sun by Kristen Painter

House of the Rising Sun
Author: Kristen Painter
Series: Crescent City, Book 1
Publication: Orbit (May 13, 2014)

Description: Augustine lives the perfect life in the Haven city of New Orleans. He rarely works a real job, spends most of his nights with a different human woman, and resides in a spectacular Garden District mansion paid for by retired movie star Olivia Goodwin, who has come to think of him as an adopted son, providing him room and board and whatever else he needs.

But when Augustine returns home to find Olivia's been attacked by vampires, he knows his idyllic life has comes to an end. It's time for revenge -- and to take up the mantle of the city's Guardian.

Then Olivia's estranged daughter, Harlow, arrives. She hates being fae, but her powers are exactly what Augustine needs to catch the vampires. Can he convince her to help him in time? Or will the sparks between them send her running again?

My Thoughts: This new urban fantasy series takes place in New Orleans. There are a variety of different supernatural creatures living there. Augustine is a fae who becomes the city Guardian after his friend and foster mother Olivia is killed by vampires. Augustine had been successfully dodging responsibility until that happened. Now, he is determined to rid the city of vampires.

Another main character in this story is Harlow who is Olivia's estranged daughter. Their estrangement stems from Olivia's refusal to tell Harlow who her father is. Harlow is trying to deny that she is fae but her affinity with computers and her inability to touch anything or anyone with her bare hands without being overwhelmed with sensations clearly make her fae. She comes home to New Orleans to ask her mother for a large amount of money to pay a fine or else she will have to spend two years in prison for hacking into a company computer.

Since Olivia left half of her mansion to Augustine and half to Harlow, a natural rivalry is set up. However, both of them want to bring the vampires who killed Olivia to justice which means they need to work together.

It might be Harlow's mysterious father who is causing many of the problems in New Orleans and Harlow begins to understand why her mother might have kept his identity secret from her.

This was an engaging urban fantasy with lots of interesting characters. It will be interesting to follow along with the series and find out what happens next.

Favorite Quote:

Augustine nodded, but he was done being safe. Since, Livie, he'd cleaned up his act and changed the way he lived, careful not to get involved, not to take on too much responsibility, not to upset his cleverly crafted life. Fat lot of good that had done him. The time to return to dangerous living had arrived. 

I bought this one for my Kindle. You can buy your copy here.

Teaser Tuesday: House of the Rising Sun by Kristen Painter

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Teaser:

He headed inside and jogged up the stairs to get ready, the anticipation of the night already dancing over his skin. Nokturnos was the start of the fae New Year, the chance to begin fresh. To wish for better things. He grinned.

Something told him tonight was going to be all kinds of interesting.

This week my teaser comes from House of the Rising Sun by Kristen Painter. I bought this urban fantasy title when it was a Kindle Daily Deal. Here is the description from Amazon:

Augustine lives the perfect life in the Haven city of New Orleans. He rarely works a real job, spends most of his nights with a different human woman, and resides in a spectacular Garden District mansion paid for by retired movie star Olivia Goodwin, who has come to think of him as an adopted son, providing him room and board and whatever else he needs.

But when Augustine returns home to find Olivia's been attacked by vampires, he knows his idyllic life has comes to an end. It's time for revenge -- and to take up the mantle of the city's Guardian.

Then Olivia's estranged daughter, Harlow, arrives. She hates being fae, but her powers are exactly what Augustine needs to catch the vampires. Can he convince her to help him in time? Or will the sparks between them send her running again?

Book Review: Written in Red by Anne Bishop

Written in Red
Author: Anne Bishop
Series: Others (Book 1)
Publication: Roc; Reissue edition (March 5, 2013)

Description: As a cassandra sangue, or blood prophet, Meg Corbyn can see the future when her skin is cut—a gift that feels more like a curse. Meg’s Controller keeps her enslaved so he can have full access to her visions. But when she escapes, the only safe place Meg can hide is at the Lakeside Courtyard—a business district operated by the Others.

Shape-shifter Simon Wolfgard is reluctant to hire the stranger who inquires about the Human Liaison job. First, he senses she’s keeping a secret, and second, she doesn’t smell like human prey. Yet a stronger instinct propels him to give Meg the job. And when he learns the truth about Meg and that she’s wanted by the government, he’ll have to decide if she’s worth the fight between humans and the Others that will surely follow.

My Thoughts: I am really, really sorry that it has taken me so long to discover Anne Bishop's Others series. The world building is amazing. This is the first urban fantasy I recall where the humans are in the minority and live at the sufferance of the Others.

Meg Corbyn is on the run from the compound where she has been held captive and used to supply prophecies for her owners. She is a blood prophet - cassandra sangre - who has very little real world experience. She runs to the Lakeside Courtyard - the domain of the Others - where human law does not apply and gets the job as the Human Liaison. She becomes the interface between the humans and the Others.

Meg's boss is wolf-shifter Simon Wolfgard who is the leader of the Courtyard. He knows she is keeping a secret and she doesn't smell like prey which makes him curious about her. Meg quickly finds a place in the Courtyard making friends among the Others.

However, Meg is a very valuable piece of property and her owner wants her back. We see the story from lots of points of view. Human Asia Crane has been sent by her employer to get information about the Courtyard and she is doing everything, including trying to befriend Meg, to try to find an in. She is really self-centered and has her eye on a television career which she has been promised if she gets the information her employer wants.

There are so many kinds of Others in this story - wolfgard, crowgard, hawkgard, vampires, elementals - and each one is unique and well-developed. And the Others are not humans in disguise. They think differently than humans do. None of the humans in the courtyard, with the possible exception of Meg, forgets that to the Others they are just meat.

I loved Meg's relationship with Sam who is a cub who was traumatized by watching his mother killed before his eyes. Meg's techniques may anger the other wolves but they can't deny that those techniques are bringing Sam out of his grief.

I am so glad that I don't have to wait to read the next two books in this series.

Favorite Quote:

"Whether you're beaten or pampered, fed the best foods or starved, kept in filth or kept clean, a cage is still a cage," Meg said with fierce passion. 

I bought this one when it was a Kindle Daily Deal. You can buy your copy here.

Teaser Tuesday: Written in Red by Anne Bishop

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Teaser:

"They have learned a human shape, but there is no humanity in them, nothing that recognizes us as more than meat. More clever than deer or cattle, but still meat. And yet, when they couldn't find the men who killed one of their own, they understood how to punish everyone in the city by tacking on a tax to the water rates. Which means they do have feelings about their own kind."

My teaser this week comes from Written in Read by Anne Bishop. I added this one to my TBR mountain when it was a Kindle Daily Deal. Here is the description:

As a cassandra sangue, or blood prophet, Meg Corbyn can see the future when her skin is cut—a gift that feels more like a curse. Meg’s Controller keeps her enslaved so he can have full access to her visions. But when she escapes, the only safe place Meg can hide is at the Lakeside Courtyard—a business district operated by the Others.

Shape-shifter Simon Wolfgard is reluctant to hire the stranger who inquires about the Human Liaison job. First, he senses she’s keeping a secret, and second, she doesn’t smell like human prey. Yet a stronger instinct propels him to give Meg the job. And when he learns the truth about Meg and that she’s wanted by the government, he’ll have to decide if she’s worth the fight between humans and the Others that will surely follow.

Friday Memes: The Paper Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg

Happy Friday everybody!

Book Beginnings on Friday is now hosted by Rose City Reader. The Friday 56 is hosted at Freda's Voice. Check out the links above for the rules and for the posts of the participants each week. Don’t dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

This week I am spotlighting The Paper Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg. This book has been on my Kindle since September 25, 2014. I recently bought the sequel when it was a Kindle Daily Deal and decided that I had to read the first book. Here is the description from Amazon:

Ceony Twill arrives at the cottage of Magician Emery Thane with a broken heart. Having graduated at the top of her class from the Tagis Praff School for the Magically Inclined, Ceony is assigned an apprenticeship in paper magic despite her dreams of bespelling metal. And once she’s bonded to paper, that will be her only magic…forever.

Yet the spells Ceony learns under the strange yet kind Thane turn out to be more marvelous than she could have ever imagined—animating paper creatures, bringing stories to life via ghostly images, even reading fortunes. But as she discovers these wonders, Ceony also learns of the extraordinary dangers of forbidden magic.

An Excisioner—a practitioner of dark, flesh magic—invades the cottage and rips Thane’s heart from his chest. To save her teacher’s life, Ceony must face the evil magician and embark on an unbelievable adventure that will take her into the chambers of Thane’s still-beating heart—and reveal the very soul of the man.

From the imaginative mind of debut author Charlie N. Holmberg, The Paper Magician is an extraordinary adventure both dark and whimsical that will delight readers of all ages.

Beginning:

For the past five years, Ceony had wanted to be a Smelter.

Friday 56: 

Would Mg. Thane return today? She didn't have even a tenth of her latest homework stack completed if he did. Surely he wouldn't penalize her for that, but Ceony had come to learn that the paper magician only sometimes did what she expected. 

Book Review: Trace of Magic by Diana Pharaoh Francis

Trace of Magic
Author: Diana Pharaoh Francis
Series: The Diamond City Magic Novels Book 1
Publication: Bell Bridge Books (August 29, 2014)

Description: Even the most powerful tracers can't track you if the magical trace you leave behind is too old. But I can track almost anything, even dead trace. That makes me a unicorn, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, and the Loch Ness Monster all rolled into one. In a word, I am unique. A very special snowflake. And if anyone ever finds out, I'll be dead or a slave to one of the Tyet criminal factions.

Riley Hollis has quietly traced kidnapped children and quietly tipped the cops to their whereabouts one too many times. Now she's on the radar of Detective Clay Price, a cop in the pocket of a powerful magic Tyet faction. When he blackmails her into doing a dangerous trace for him, Riley will have to break every rule that keeps her safe. Or become a Tyet pawn in a deadly, magical war.

My Thoughts: TRACE OF MAGIC was an entertaining new entry into the crowded urban fantasy genre. Riley Hollis is used to staying below the radar of most. She has an unusual talent that would draw attention from the wrong crowd if anyone knew about it. However, Detective Clay Price has noticed her and is forcing her to help him find a missing person. Riley especially wants to stay away from Price since he is both a member of the police force and an enforcer for the magical mafia who runs the city. But Price is also hot and she is attracted to him despite knowing this is a really, really bad idea.

When her almost brother-in-law disappears, Riley starts looking for him too. Clay offers his assistance but Riley had a lot of trouble trusting him. It turns out that Clay's case and Riley's case are part of one bigger case.

I enjoyed the magical world that was created in this story. I liked the plot. I liked Riley despite her unwillingness to trust. I liked the relationship that was growing between Clay and Riley.

Fans of urban fantasy will want to give this story a try. A sequel is coming out in April.

Favorite Quote:

Twenty-four hours ago Tyet-enforcer and Detective Clay Price had barely known who I was. Now he'd tabbed me and seen me naked. Could the day get any worse?

Famous last words. Of course it could.

I pulled this from my TBR mountain. You can buy your copy here.