Heartstone by C. J. Sansom (My Goodreads Review)

Heartstone by C.J. Sansom

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was so looking forward to this Matthew Shardlake story. C. J. Sansom always finds a way of entwining the hunchback lawyer into the historical events of King Henry VIII's time. 

In the last story, the clever and modest lawman earnt great favour by his help to Catherine Parr. In this new story, Catherine Parr is now queen. She once again calls upon Matthew's help. 

This time the trusted lawyer and his companion Barak go on a crime adventure that takes them to Portsmouth and the surrounding area. It is 1545 and the French are about to invade England. Amid the clamour and preparation for war, the steadfast lawyer and Barak seek to find answers to a young man's wardship. 

Also answers to a young ladies confinement in Bedlam. She was in the previous story.

I knew that the events of the Mary Rose and the Battle of the Solent were going to be the decisive backdrop for this 5th novel. I have always had a fascination for the ship and went to see the raised hull in Portsmouth navel museum a few years back. 

Therefore, the whole story came to a fabulous climax as Matthew pursues his quest against all odds with familiar dastardly scoundrels of court and new ones to boot. A rip-roaring tale of Tudor England.

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Revelation by C.J. Sansom (My Goodreads Review)

Revelation by C.J. Sansom

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Yet another splendid 'who done it' read from C. J. Sansom's number four story in the Matthew Shardlake series. It is 1543 and the ill and decrepit King Henry VIII is trying to woo Catherine Parr. The lady who will become his sixth and final wife.

This time Matthew Shardlake is recalled for a mission by Thomas Cramer. London is plagued by a serial killer who is devising deaths along the line of the Bible's book of Revelation. Victims are selected and given horrific deaths in accordance with these Biblical teachings. In a race against time, Matthew and his trusted accomplice Jack Barak are on the trail of the killer. However, the killer always seems to be one step ahead of them and knows a great deal about Matthew and Jack too.

The story takes the reader on a lot of twists and turns with dead ends etc. You, the reader, will be kept guessing all the way. As it draws closer to the dynamic climax the tension is nail-biting and compelling. You will not be able to put this down.

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Resurrectionist by James McGee (My Goodreads Review)

Resurrectionist by James McGee

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read the first Matthew Hawkwood story. Therefore, I decided to give the second Hawkwood a go too. I've managed to read it in two days. The plot is fast paced and there are some rather gruesome and nasty characters in this story. Our hero is Matthew Hawkwood. He is an ex-Green Jacket from the Napoleonic wars in Spain and Portugal. I think the year is about 1813. Hawkwood is now a Bow Street Runner in London. His new found employment is that of the early police militia. This Gothic Tale of grave robbing and wanted murderers borders on horror as well as historical crime.

The Napoleonic wars are still in progress and Hawkwwod has been invalided out of the army around 1808 or 1809, I think. He works for the magistrate who sends him out on an investigative role. This diabolical plot is very intriguing as Hawkwood is hunting grave robbers and a mad doctor who is conducting diabolical experiments. I can't say too much as to how this doctor comes about in, crime invested, London. It would spoil the story. Needless to say, I would recommend this historical/crime/horror tale to any reader of fiction. Great fun, great entertainment even though it is rather grizzly in parts.

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The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco (My Goodreads Review)

The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A clever murder mystery and suspense story set in Northern Italy during the year of 1327. I read it back in the eighties when the book first came out. I saw the film also but read the book first. The movie was good but the ending was distorted from the book.

If my memory serves me correctly, the monastery is run by Benedictine monks and two other monks come to the monastery. One is a Franciscan and another a fellow Benedictine monk. These visitors turn up as head of a delegation for a summit. One is English (Franciscan) and called Brother William of Baskerville. Obviously, paying homage to another historical super sleuth. The other is a younger apprentice monk.

He (Benedictine) is a young German apprentice who narrates the story as he recalls the tale many years later. It is written in first person singular, the way we read Sherlock Holmes via Doctor Watson's narrative.

Upon arrival at the grand monastery, high in the remote mountains of Italy, Brother William is approached about a mysterious death of a young monk prior to arrival. Then more strange murders begin to happen and Brother William is drawn into a complex and compelling mystery. There are also Dolciminain heretic monks living under the protection of holy sanctuary too.

The story is splendidly crafted and the monastery contains a great library of vast and classical knowledge - another compelling lure for the inquisitive mind of Brother William and his insatiable quest for knowledge.

The young monk who narrates the story gives the reader a side by side walk through this gripping medieval and extraordinary murder, mystery story. Well worth reading with lots of further developments and complications as the story comes to consequences of the Holy Inquisition and a climatic conclusion. Splendid stuff!

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The Shape of Snakes by Minette Walters (My Goodreads Review)

The Shape of Snakes by Minette Walters
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is my favourite Minette Walters story. I could not put the book down and liked the main character who decides to get to the bottom of a murder she witnessed many years ago. This story had it all. I was thinking I had worked out the murderer, but wow! I was wrong. Smashing story and would highly recommend.

The book had me hooked from the start. I kept turning the pages wanting to know what happens next - a compelling mystery. What I like about Minette Walters is that she hides the riddle in full view of the reader from start to finish. You think you know who the culprit is. You continue to work out your own theory and then wallop! You are thrown along a different course.

A Murderous Affair - Elizabethan Crime Story

A compelling period/crime/espionage story written first person singular. John Lovat is an illegitimate son of a titled man. His half-brother is legitimate and has all the trappings of inherited wealth including having his half-brother (John Lovat) at his beck and call. The illegitimate brother lives in a room on old London Bridge with a panoramic view of the bustling river Thames and both banks of the teeming metropolis. It is the time of Queen Elizabeth I. The year is 1588 and the winter is coming. The Spanish Armada has been defeated and England is brimming with new found confidence.

One morning John Lovat reluctantly goes upon a quest for his half-brother and benefactor, to find the culprit of a murdered Portuguese man washed upon the mud banks near Deptford at a place called Cuckold’s Point. The story moves from one setting to another as John Lovat tries to get to the bottom of the complex mystery that starts to unfold. He finds himself working for two masters. His titled brother and England’s first great spymaster; Lord Walsingham. There are a lot of historical events that get loosely tied in with this gripping story that makes it all the more enjoyable, including echoes from the Babington Plot and from the St Bartholomew massacre in France. We also get the taste of the great theatre too. All of this gives the reader a feel of Elizabethan England. A thoroughly enjoyable read. 

The Shape of Snakes - My Goodreads Review - Retro Brit

This is my favourite Minette Walters story. I could not put the book down and liked the main character who decides to get to the bottom of a murder she witnessed many years ago. This story had it all. I was thinking I had worked out the murderer, but wow! I was wrong. Smashing story and would highly recommend.

This page turner will have you gripped from the first page as we are offered all sorts of worthy and vile characters who made this murder victim's life terrible. Our victim is a black lady who suffers from tourettes syndrome. At the time of her murder, the crime is unsolved until over a decade later. A neighbour who discovered the dying woman decides to investigate the mystery herself. 

It is done in a way that is totally believable and not like an amateur sleuth story. Our lady has some insight and leads from the past that she decides to dig up. It is a sort of skeleton in her cupboard and she cannot let it lie any longer. We go on this journey with our champion character as she begins to unravel secrets of the past by visiting many who lived in the street where the crime took place.