Wrap Up of Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

2020 was a banner year for reading.  With the coronavirus shutdown I had three months off from work and I jam packed those months with reading.  I read 129 books during the calendar year and I overshot my personal challenge of 15 historical fiction novels by reading 46 books.  I read the following:

The Queen's Vow by C. W. Gortner

The Pilgrim Conspiracy by Jeroen Windermere

The Land Beyond the Sea by Sharon Kay Penman

Forbidden by C. DeMelo

Ruthless by C. DeMelo

Allegra by C. DeMelo 

Sabina by C. DeMelo 

Betrayed by C. DeMelo

Lilith by C. DeMelo

The Witch from Delft by C. DeMelo

The Violinist of Venice by Alyssa Palumbo

The Stolen Girl by Zia Wesley

Firefly by India Millar

The King's Justice by E. M. Powell

Last Train to Istanbul by Ayse Kulin

Song of the Siren by C. P. Leslie

Let Slip the Dogs by Anna Castle

The Spymaster's Brother by Anna Castle

The Library of Legends by Janie Chang

The Bone Fire by S. D. Sykes

The Lover's Portrait by Jennifer Alderson

The Draper's Daughter by Ellin Carsta

The Cup by Melissa Addey

Dreamland by Nancy Bilyeau

Blackberry and Wild Rose by Sonia Velton

The Book of Colours by Robyn Cadwell

The Lady's Ambition by Anne Bailey

The Secret Messenger by Mandy Robotham

The Girl From Lisbon by Guiora Barak

The Bridled Tongue by Catherine Merrick

The Lost Diary of Venice by Margaux DeRoux

The Companion by Kim Taylor Blakemore

The Giant by Laura Morelli

The Night Portrait by Laura Morelli

The Mountains Sing by Phan Que Mai Nguyen 

Singapore Sapphire by A. M. Stuart

Revenge in Rubies by A. M. Stuart

The Night Tiger by Yangtze Choo

Opium & Absinthe by Lydia Kang

A Bend in the Stars by Rachel Barenbaum

The Stone Doors by Brendan Baker

The Queen of Paris by Pamela Binning Ewen

Viking: Plains of Althing by Katie Aiken Ritter

The Evening and the Morning by Ken Follett

The Cold Millions by Jess Walters

Favorite Book:  The Evening and the Morning

This book is a prequel to Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth.  I think it is his best book in the Kingsbridge series.  

Second Favorite Book: Revenge in Rubies

This is the second Harriet Gordon mystery and it was even better than the first, Singapore Sapphire.  

Least Favorite Book: Firefly

I did not finish this novel because it was too steamy for me.  

Honorable Mentions go to Opium & Absinthe, Dreamland, Singapore Sapphire, The Bone Fire, The Giant, The Book of Colours and Sabina. 

The Cold Millions

Jess Walter's newest novel follows the adventures of two brothers, Gig and Rye Dolan. Their story is set in Spokane, Washington during the free speech protests that occurred in 1909 and 1910.  The Dolans live by their wits, jumping freight trains to apply for day jobs at crooked employment agencies.  These agencies demand money from workers up front for the possibility of obtaining a job.  Rye wants a permanent job and a home but Gig is more interested in doing work for the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW).  Gig's fight for better pay and working conditions gets him into a lot of trouble with the company owners and the politicians.  Dubious of Gig's idealism, Rye is drawn to19-year-old activist Elizabeth Gurley Flynn.  However, Gig has a relationship with a vaudeville actress Ursula the Great.  Ursula introduces both brothers to mining magnate Lem Brand who uses both Ursula and Rye in order to maintain control over the success of his company.  After Gig winds up in jail, facing a six month jail sentence for union activity, Rye becomes a willing spy for Brand.  He reports back to Brand on union activity in exchange for his brother's release from jail.  The story continues with the fight between the company owners and the IWW.  The book was published in October 2020.  

What struck me most about this book was that the dialogue sounded like a John Wayne movie.  It was a little off-putting to me in the beginning but I did begin to enjoy the book as the action increased.  However, this historical fiction novel read more to me like a western which is not a genre that I like.  When I selected this book to read, I thought that the author was female. I expected more of a traditional historical novel.  That said, I believe that reading the book would be beneficial to a younger audience who might not be familiar with stories of the Gilded Age or the founding of the unions in America.

3 out of 5 stars.

The Evening and the Morning

This is the fourth book in Ken Follett's Kingsbridge series.  It is a prequel to The Pillars of the Earth and concerns the founding of the town of Kingsbridge.  At 916 pages it is definitely a chunkster but I love chunky books.  It was a fast read though.  I read it in two days. The Evening and the Morning was published last month on September 15, 2020.  

The story begins in the year 997 CE with the family of Edgar, his brothers Erman and Eadbald, and his parents living in Combe, Shiring Parish, in the west of England. Edgar's father is a well respected boat builder and Edgar hopes to inherit the business one day.  However, after a Viking raid, fire destroyed the entire town of Combe, including the boatyard. Edgar's father is also killed in the raid, leaving the family destitute.  Relying on the good graces of the Dean of Shiring, the family is given swamp land to cultivate and they start over as farmers in Dreng's Ferry. The farm is a mess and they can barely grow crops but they are able to eke out an existence during the rest of the year. Edgar plans to get his family settled and then leave two or three years later to find a job as a boat builder. The book is Edgar's story.

Among the four Kingsbridge novels I like this one is the best.  The Pillars of the Earth is my second favorite. While I loved Pillars, there were lengthy passages on construction that did not interest me. Given how much I liked Pillars, it just goes to show how well The Evening and The Morning was written. Also, the plot moved more smoothly with this novel than with Pillars. The period of time covered is only ten years and the lives of the characters are more entangled together. 

There were two other characters who were prominent to the novel. Brother Aldred is an English monk at Shiring Abbey. He joins the story while on his way home to England, after purchasing books on the continent for the scriptorium at his abbey. Ragna comes from a noble family in Cherbourg. After accepting a marriage proposal from the Ealdorman Wilwulf she travels to England to marry and live with her soon-to-be husband. Aldred and Ragna's lives intersect frequently as they share a common enemy with Edgar:  Bishop Wynstan, the main but not only villain and Wilwulf's brother.

The Evening and the Morning is a must read. 5 out of 5 stars!

Revenge in Rubies

Revenge in Rubies is the perfect whodunit. This second Harriet Gordon Mystery, following 2019's Singapore Sapphire, is a superbly plotted mystery. The fact that it takes place during a historical period, 1910s Singapore, is secondary.  I love that the murdered body of Sylvie Nolan was found on page three so that the remainder of the story can be about finding the killer.  Sylvie is the very young wife of  middle aged Lieutenant Colonel John Nolan, an army officer in the South Sussex Regiment. When Inspector Robert Curran of the Straits Settlements Police Force Detective Division begins to investigate, the military families stationed in Singapore come together to thwart his investigation.  They prefer to keep their truths in-house.  Amateur sleuth Harriet Gordon works as a typist for Inspector Curran. He has come to rely on her for advice and assistance with his investigations as she has proven herself adept at finding clues in the past.  Her friendship with the victim's sister-in-law, Priscilla Nolan, proves to be useful and she is able to learn many family secrets from Pris. Harriet lives with her brother Julian Edwards, an Anglican priest stationed in Singapore. Together they run a school for young boys, the St. Thomas School.

I love the names of the characters, names which can only belong to the British. Lavinia Pemberthey-Smythe is perennially British and I had to laugh when I saw her name in the book.  How did the author create this one? Some of the names of the Asian characters are true to life such as Huo Jin, Sergeant Gursharan Singh, constable Tan Jian Ju and constable Musa Bin Ahmed.  One interesting thing that I like about this series is that all of the characters are strong.  They have interesting backgrounds too, which could come into play in future books in the series.  

Author A. M. Stuart has created a Pinterest board for Revenge in Rubies that is worth checking out. Here she has pinned photos of grand mansions, churches, vehicles, maps, clubhouses, fashions and famous military men who were stationed in Singapore. It is pretty cool for an author to have created this type of advertising for a novel. Now I have to wonder if other authors whom I have read are doing the same thing.

The third book in the series, Evil in Emerald, is scheduled to be published some time in Spring, 2022.  I cannot wait!  I love this new series.  5 out of 5 stars.

The Night Portrait

Laura Morelli has changed her usual historical period from the Renaissance to 1930s and 1940s Germany with The Last Portrait. It includes an account of the Butcher of Poland Hans Frank's acquisitions of stolen art from Polish families and museums. He is an historical figure who was executed at Nuremberg in 1946 for his war crimes.  Frank is known for killing six million Poles during WWII. Morelli's fictional characters were not likable but, of course, they worked for the Nazis.  The story alternates between the WWII era and 1490s Milan.

The blurb summary reads:  

"Milan, 1492:  When a 16-year-old beauty becomes the mistress of the Duke of Milan, she must fight for her place in the palace - and against those who want her out.  Soon, she finds herself sitting before Leonardo da Vinci, who wants to ensure his own place in the ducal palace by painting his most ambitious portrait to date.

Munich, World War II:  After a modest conservator unwittingly places a priceless Italian Renaissance portrait into the hands of a high-ranking Nazi leader, she risks her life to recover it, working with an American soldier, part of the famed Monuments Men team, to get it back.

Two women, separated by 500 years, are swept up in the tide of history as one painting stands at the center of their quests for their own destinies."

I am not sure how I feel about the Edith Becker character who was a conservator at an art museum.  I believe the author tried to portray her in a positive light. I just don't buy it. While I understand that it is hard to go against the political tide, especially when that puts your life in danger, she did in fact participate in stealing artworks in Poland for the Nazis.  She got off easy.  Edith was never tried for war crimes.  She was retained as an adviser to the Allies when the war ended.  I don't know if this is plausible or not. Likewise, I don't know if it is plausible for a German citizen to have felt sympathy for those whom the Nazi's targeted as Edith did.  My history education showed that the Germans were enthusiastically behind Hitler. They were crushed when he died and the war ended.  I wish that I could find out what the author intended for her characters and her plot.  Did she just want her readers to think? I would love to interview her to find out.

I am always suspicious when WWII stories are told by characters who were German but never felt the love for Hitler. If this many people opposed Hitler in real life would he have been successful? When am I going to see a WWII story about a German who loved working and killing for Hitler? I guess this protagonist would not be sympathetic to readers but neither are the white washed characters in current historical fiction. With 68% of American youths disbelieving that the Holocaust happened, these stories are not helpful. 

The Cecelia Gallerani character was more believable. She had no choice in life other than to enter a convent or become a kept woman. I respect her decision. This is the type of character Morelli is good at writing about. She excels in writing Renaissance novels.  In addition, I had a slight problem concerning the promotion of the book. It is advertised as a novel of DaVinci's Italy. However, DaVinci was not central to the plot. Also, the WWII subplot overshadowed the Renaissance era subplot. The WWII story covered 70% of the book and I did not feel that I was reading a DaVinci plot as advertised. The horrors of the second world War made me feel overwhelming sadness as I read the book.  For example, Morelli explicitly details Allied soldier's thoughts as they liberated one concentration camp after another.  One striking fact that I never thought of before is that someone (soldiers) had to clean up the emptied camps; such a gruesome thought.

I usually love a Laura Morelli book but this one left me with many questions.  As I contemplated Edith more and more I realize that I just did not like her. I did enjoy following the plot even though half of it left a bad taste in my mouth. I hoped that Edith would get her act together but she never did.  An unlikable protagonist is death to a novel.

I don't know how to rate this book.  It was an emotional journey.  It certainly made me think and my misgivings affected how I feel about the book.  My personal biases concerning the actions of the German people during WWII  were challenged, which made writing this review difficult.  If the author intended to create such a flawed and unlikable character, she just wrote the book of the year. 

The Lover's Portrait

 

The Lover's Portrait:  An Art Mystery is the second book in Jennifer Alderson's Zelda Richardson Mysteries. Three additional books have been published and all of them are art mysteries.  The author also writes the Travel Can be Murder cozy mystery series.

The Lover's Portrait alternates between the WWII era and the present day. The story opens with Philip Verbeet and Arjan van Heemsvliet storing artworks in a secret location to keep the Nazis from finding them.  The scene then flips to the present day Germany with Konrad Heider perusing his computer for sightings of paintings from his late father's lost art collection. The scene changes one more time to Amsterdam in the current year. Zelda Richardson has just been hired as an intern at The Amsterdam Museum and tasked with revising the website for an exhibition of over 3,000 stolen artworks that have gone unclaimed since WWII. When the exhibition opens one month later, Zelda is invited to attend with her boss. There she meets Rita Brouwer, an American who is claiming that her father owned one of the lesser known paintings that she calls Irises. Zelda falls in love with Rita's family story and wants to help her prove that she is the owner of the painting. When a photo of Rita and the painting appear in the newspaper the next day, another claimant comes forward. Who is the owner? The Museum meets with the claimants as an investigation into the ownership of the painting begins. 

I loved this art mystery. Zelda's extensive investigation into a stolen artwork was fascinating. Before reading the book I did not know the process that museums follow to determine the history of a painting. Alot of research has to be done concerning the artist's business and personal life. Business records, mortgages, leases, letters, birth and death records, new articles, exhibition catalogs, and government documents are reviewed to become familiar with the artist. Likewise, a claimant's background is similarly reviewed to see if it matches up with the artist's background. 

Zelda is a great amateur sleuth. With an art history baccalaureate degree, she is seeking to be admitted to a master's program in museum studies. Zelda is ambitious enough to defy her superiors at the museum. She wants to come up with new facts to impress her bosses and has to take risks to find them, even if that puts her in danger.

The other two books in the series are now on my tbr list. This mystery was that good.  5 out of 5 stars.

The Draper's Daughter

The Draper's Daughter is the first book by Ellin Carsta that I have read and I was pleased to find a new author that I like. Carsta is the pen name of German writer Petra Mattfeldt who writes a variety of genres. She has published thrillers, true crime, young adult and historical fiction. 

The story takes place in Cologne in 1351 with twins Elizabeth and Stephen Hardenstein working in their father's textile business. Stephen has no interest in pursuing the cloth trade, preferring idle joys to hard work. Elizabeth, on the other hand, desperately wants a career in the trade and hopes to continue working with and learning from her father.  When their father suddenly dies, Stephen abruptly changes his mind about the business. He takes over the ownership while trying to find a husband for Elizabeth to get her out of the way. However, Stephen makes poor decisions and the business loses money and gains significant debts. Elizabeth works in the background to try to save the family business.

The plot is typical for historical fiction. We have an intelligent female protagonist who is trying to begin a career and she has the usual male family member trying to subvert her efforts and marry her off.  I never get tired of these types of stories though. I loved the Elizabeth character.  She was focused on her ultimate goal and did not get sidelined by the problems her brother threw her way.  All women would do well to follow her path to success.  The brother, however, was the perfect villain.  He was lazy, drunk most of the time, and obnoxious.  His power over the family was only due to him being the only son who would inherit his father's business.  Elizabeth's mother Ellin was always sick and spent years in bed.  The physicians could not find anything wrong with her.  Ellin eventually gets better after Elizabeth hounds her to get up and help her save the business.  The work Ellin did helped her recover.  There is another message here: you cannot fix your problems by ignoring them. 

This was a perfect story in every way. The characters were compelling and the pace fast.  I highly recommend this one to historical fiction fans.  5 out of 5 stars.

The Bone Fire

I have been anxiously awaiting S. D. Sykes' latest installment of her Oswald de Lacy historical mystery series, not being aware that it was published almost one year ago.  This series takes place in the mid 1300s England with this installment taking place in 1361 when the plague was making its second round through England.

Our protagonist Oswald de Lacy is taking his family to a castle on the remote Isle of Eden where his friend Godfrey, Lord Eden, resides. Godfrey is sympathetic to the reformers and is housing several same thinking friends for the next six months to prevent them from being exposed to the plague.  Once the portcullis to the castle is raised up,  no one can leave the castle until the six months is up. Food has been hoarded and stored in a warehouse on site so they won't starve. The day after the de Lacys arrive, Lord Eden asks Oswald to visit him in his library to discuss a confidential matter. Upon meeting, Godfrey hands Oswald 2 sealed envelopes that Oswald should deliver if Godfrey dies. One letter is addressed to a reverend and the other is addressed to the Archbishop of Canterbury. He tells Oswald that he will be leaving the castle early the next day to pick up 2 more people but won't tell him where he is going or how he will get outside without lowering the portcullis. The next morning Godfrey is found dead. Godfrey's lazy, alcoholic brother Edwin becomes the new Lord of Eden and promises to find his brother's killer.  Knowing that Edwin is not capable of investigating, Oswald offers to help. He begins by interviewing all the occupants including a court Fool, an old priest who is Godfrey's uncle, a couple and their mute daughter, Edwin, two Dutchmen who are building an astronomical clock for Godfrey and a former soldier who is protecting the castle. 

This 4th installment of the series was an exciting read. It is a stand-alone novel but it would be helpful to read the series in order as there are some events from the past that are referred to here. It is a locked room mystery with a medieval twist. The  title comes comes from the history of plague survivors burning the bodies of those who died from the plague. The smell of burning bones had a distinct smell that everyone could identify. It is also where the word "bonfire" comes from.

5 out of 5 stars.

The Queen's Vow

I thought that I had read every book written by C. W. Gortner but I missed this one.  It did not disappoint.  I was engaged from the first page until the last and enjoyed every bit of the story.  

The publisher's summary:  

"Isabella is barely a teenager when she becomes an unwitting pawn in a plot to dethrone her half brother, King Enrique. Suspected of treason and held captive, she treads a perilous path, torn between loyalties, until at age seventeen she suddenly finds herself heiress of Castile, the largest kingdom in Spain.  Plunged into a deadly conflict to secure her crown, she is determined to wed the one man she loves yet who is forbidden to her - Fernando, prince of Aragon.  As they unite their two realms under "one crown, one country, one faith," Isabella and Fernando face an impoverished Spain beset by enemies.  With the future of her throne at stake, Isabella resists the zealous demands of the Inquisitor Torquemada even as she is seduced by the dreams of an enigmatic navigator named Columbus.  But when the Moors of the southern domain of Granada declare war, a violent, treacherous battle against an ancient adversary erupts, one that will test all of Isabella's resolve, her courage, and her tenacious belief in her destiny."

I did not know much about Isabella before reading this novel.  In the beginning she seemed to be a sympathetic character but her decisions later in life were guided by something other than what was good for Spain. Perhaps it was the pursuit of power, perhaps she did not know herself.  The author shows that her ultimate decision to allow the Inquisition to go forward was based on her desire to be faithful to her Catholic religion.  In my opinion, she did it to maintain personal power.  This is not exactly a glowing attribute.  Her earlier decisions were based on what was good for Spain. She and Fernando had just succeeded in uniting all of the Spanish realms into one country. With such a fantastic accomplishment one might think that they could settle in for awhile. Allowing the Inquisition was not good for Spain. It ruined an already ruined economy by expelling the money makers who had loaned her the money to fight the wars that united Spain. I can't imagine why she decided to expel them when she owed her success to them. It shows Isabella to be an unscrupulous woman.

The writing was smooth making the book a joy to read. I naturally expect this from C. W. Gortner as every book of his is written in a first person narrative. I think that's what makes the pace of a novel quick.  If there is any criticism of the book it would be that the mention of Christopher Columbus at the end of the story has nothing to do with the part of Isabella's life that Gortner has chosen to tell us. Columbus is a footnote.  Why is he in the book?

5 out of 5 stars.

The Pilgrim Conspiracy

The Pilgrim Conspiracy is a tantalizing story about the lives of the Mayflower Pilgrims while they were still living in exile in Leiden, Netherlands. What made me excited about this novel is the author's use within the story of historians' methods for reconstructing and interpreting the past.   In addition, the question of what makes historical fiction is part of the plot.  A historical fiction writer's job is to deceive the reader into believing that the false world created in the novel is a real world while also showing a chronological history, culture and people.  The novel is also part epistolary as the plot is slowly revealed by characters reading a newly discovered set of letters written by one of the Leiden Pilgrims.  This newly discovered set of letters are real and they were newly discovered as well.

The publisher's summary of the book: 

"The normally quiet Dutch town of Leiden is horrified when the chairman of the local Masonic lodge is brutally killed.  Almost simultaneously, an old manuscript is discovered in which an anonymous author tells the hidden story of the Pilgrims - the Founding Fathers of the United States.  From 1609 to 1620 they lived in exile in Leiden, after which some of them left for America.

University teacher Peter de Haan is drawn into the mystery.  Why did so many of the Pilgrims stay behind in Leiden?  What involvement do the Freemason's have?  And what relationship did Peter's girlfriend have with the murdered chairman?

At breakneck speed, this story sweeps you away to the narrow alleys of Leiden to the vast waters of Cape Cod to the scorching hot Sinai desert in Egypt.  And every step of the way, you'll discover that history is never the way the books want us to believe."

An engrossing plot is just one of the factors that set this book apart from others.  The characters are interesting and given that there is a an unusually flamboyant villain, I couldn't wait to read the chapters where he appeared.  The story is told alternately between the past, written in letter format, and the present, written as fiction.  

While the book is not a treasure hunt, fans of Dan Brown will love this book.  In fact, Robert Langdon would have been helpful to the characters who are trying to figure out what a particular symbol means.  Also, fans of religious fiction will likewise love the book.  The religious controversies of the era are discussed in detail.  In addition, the current political atmosphere in the U. S. to question our past by offering alternative facts can be seen to be something that has been on-going in our history.  I was rather uncomfortable with some of these alternatives while believing others.  I must admit, however, that changing history to suit the author's beliefs annoyed me.  

5 out of 5 stars.

The Queen of Paris

This Coco Chanel historical novel covers her life in Paris during the Nazi occupation.  I thought that I knew a lot about her life but I was wrong.  I was shocked to read about her collaboration with the Nazis as well as how her company was run.

The blurb:

"Legendary fashion designer Coco Chanel is revered for her sophisticated style - the iconic little black dress - and famed for her intoxicating perfume Chanel No. 5.  Yet behind the public persona is a complicated woman of intrigue, shadowed by mysterious rumors.  The Queen of Paris, the new novel from award winning author Pamela Binnings Ewen, vividly imagines the hidden life of Chanel during the four years of Nazi occupation in Paris in the midst of WWII - as discovered in recently unearthed wartime files. 

Coco Chanel could be cheerful, lighthearted, manipulative, even cruel.  Against the winds of war, with the Wehrmacht marching down the Champs-Elysees, Chanel finds herself residing alongside the Reich's High Command in the Hotel Ritz.  Surrounded by the enemy, Chanel wages a private war of her own to wrestle full control of her perfume company from the hands of her Jewish business partner, Pierre Wertheimer.  With anti-semitism on the rise, he has escaped to the United States with the confidential formula for Chanel No. 5. Distrustful of his intentions to set up production on the outskirts of New York City, Chanel fights to seize ownership.  The House of Chanel shall not fall. 

While Chanel struggles to keep her livelihood intact, Paris sinks under the iron fist of German rule.  Chanel - a woman made of sparking granite - will do anything to survive.  She will even agree to collaborate with the Nazis in order to protect her darkest secrets.  When she is covertly recruited by Germany to spy for the Reich, she becomes Agent F-7124, code name:  Westminster. But why?  And to what lengths will she go to keep her stormy past from haunting her future?"

The is an engrossing novel with plenty of political intrigue.  While I was reading I wondered what part of the book was true.  The Note From the Author at the end of the book explained all of that. Chanel's life was much more interesting than I could have ever imagined.  From her lowly beginning in life she always had to fight in order to survive.  I believe that this sense of needing to always fight made her make decisions that she shouldn't have made.

I have always been encouraged to look to her  for inspiration because she was a successful woman. However, after finding out about her involvement with the Nazis I don't know why anyone could ever believe that she was an inspiration to women.  After a lifetime of needing men for a place to live, she naturally fell into an affair with a Nazi soldier for four years.  The soldier resided with her at the Ritz where the Germans had taken up occupancy.  She did it for a place to live.  I find her decisions to be repugnant.  A woman should be able to stand on her own.

I do not want anyone to feel that the book was bad because the primary character was bad.  The writing was crisp and the chapters ended with suspense, which resulted in my reading the novel in one sitting.  Chanel's life was fascinating to say the least.  It is unfortunate that she made such bad choices in life.

5 out of 5 stars.

Viking: The Plains of Althing

I enjoyed reading this historical novel of tenth century Iceland. It is the first book in a norse adventure trilogy.  However, there were a few problems that affected my enjoyment of the book. The blurb:

"A corrupt chieftain plots to rule all of Iceland and his steward Kel Coessen may be the only man who can stop him. But there's a catch: if Kel dares to defy his leader, Kel's love Aldis will be killed. A fearless slave called "The Black Mountain" starts Kel down the treacherous path of treason-and when the chieftain commits a loathsome crime, Kel snaps.  An unforeseen force draws Aldis to a place she vowed never to return, forcing her to confront her past-and a long buried secret threatens her future.  As strife grows, others meddle: a bishop eager to convert pagans, and a foreign jarl's furtive agent with her own designs on the country's young democracy."

The first third of the book was enchanting. I loved the characters and looked forward to reading more about them. However, the middle of the book was about additional characters instead and I quickly lost interest. I finished the book to find out what happened with Kel, Aldis and Tor, the "black mountain" slave. I am curious about their future stories, which makes me want to read book 2. Tor's story in particular is compelling but I am not yet sure whether I will take the plunge.

The Stone Doors

Brendan Baker's Stoneborn trilogy begins with this novel in the year 1013. It is an Icelandic tale of love, loyalty and law.  After finishing this fantastic tale I tried to find the next two books in the series. With The Stone Doors publication date of 2016 I expected to find them. Sadly, there are none.

The story begins with Kvelduf Thorbjornsson and his young son Tryggvi working on their Brauoavatn horse farm. Tryggvi's horse Orri was beloved by him so when 2 men approached the farm and were seen stabbing Orri, Kvelduf ran to the horse to try to save him. Unfortunately, Orri was dead and in an angry fit Kvelduf killed the man who stabbed Orri. The other man ran away in order to save himself. The dead man was buried on the farm and Kvelduf met with his gooi, Gunnar Ingolfson, to discuss whether he broke the island's law. Gunnar said that technically the law was broken but promised to help him if an accusation was made against him at the next annual Althing. Althing was the young country's Parliament where every citizen was required to attend. Keeping a low profile at Althing, Kvelduf felt that he was safe from prosecution. However, after Tryggvi got involved in a fight he and his father became noticed and an accusation was made against Kvelduf. Gunnar represented him. If found guilty he could be banished from Iceland and lose all of his possessions.

I loved this story. It was so engaging that I could not put it down and read it in one sitting. The pace was fast. The characters were strong. In fact, the secondary characters were just as compelling as the primary characters. Of course, the beauty of the Iceland setting was wonderful to read about.
While the dialogue was written in contemporary language, there were a few words that I had to look up in the dictionary as I was reading. They were mostly used in setting descriptions. This story has remained in my mind after reading it. It was difficult to begin another book. I tried 4 new books but abandoned them quickly and worked on art projects instead.

5 out of 5 stars.

A Bend in the Stars

A Bend in the Stars is the story of female doctor Miri Abramov and her scientist brother Vanya.  It takes place in Russia in 1914, the year a solar eclipse occurred over Kiev.  At this time, Albert Einstein was attempting to prove his theory of relativity, that gravity bends light.  Vanya Abramov wanted to beat Einstein by proving the theory before him.  In order to do that Vanya needed to photograph the solar eclipse.

The publisher's summary:

"In Russia, in the summer of 1914, as war with Germany looms and the Czar's army tightens its grip on the local Jewish community, Miri Abramov and her brilliant physicist brother, Vanya, are facing an impossible decision.  Since their parents drowned fleeing to America, Miri and Vanya have been raised by their babushka, a famous matchmaker who has taught them to protect themselves at all costs:  to fight, to kill if necessary, and always to have an escape plan.  But now, with fierce, headstrong Miri on the verge of becoming one of Russia's only female surgeons, and Vanya hoping to solve the final puzzles of Einstein's elusive theory of relativity, can they bear to leave the homeland that has given them so much? 

Before they have time to make their choice, war is declared and Vanya goes missing, along with Miri's fiancé. Miri braves the firing squad to go looking for them both.  As the eclipse that will change history darkens skies across Russia, not only the safety of Miri's own family but the future of science itself hangs in the balance."

I enjoyed the book but at the halfway point feared that the Abramovs' scattered flight across Russia was not going to help them escape.  They started out traveling together but quickly split up as each one of them had a different agenda to complete before they could consider leaving Russia.  They did not learn their babushka's teaching that they should always be prepared for disaster.  Neither brother nor sister cared enough about the family as a whole but rather their own interests.  While their haphazard flight seemed suspenseful, I could not stop thinking about how they handled their earlier lives by always being prepared for the enemy and then when it counted, neither Miri nor Vanya acted in any planned way.  In fact, they both changed their plans several times while they were traveling across Russia.

1. A Bend in the Stars was a fast and relaxing read.  I rate it 4 out of 5 stars.

The Night Tiger

Yangse Choo's book The Night Tiger takes place in 1930s Malaysia. It is the story of Ji Lin, a girl who is an apprentice dressmaker. She moonlights as a dancer in order to earn money to pay off her mother's Mahjong debts.  One of Ji Lin's dance partners has a finger inside a jar in the pocket of his jacket. She can feel the jar while they are dancing and takes it from him. Later she finds that a finger is in the container.  The book is also the story of Ren, a houseboy, who promised his master that he would find the finger his master lost years ago and bury it with him before 49 days after his death. If the finger is not buried within that time frame then his master's soul will wander the earth forever.

I love Chinese fiction but I was bored with this book. Chinese mythology seemed to take over the plot and the action was slow. There were two different points of view telling the story. It took me awhile to figure that out because the legends, oral storytelling, and myths that were discussed by both of the main characters were more prominent than any plot action. I feel that it was overkill. Eventually the lives of Ren and Ji Lin overlap but this slow boat to China dragged on and on.

Since I believe that the plot premise was a good one, I will rate the book 1 star out of 5. Unfortunately, the idea for the plot did not pan out in the writing.

Opium and Absinthe

Lydia Kang's Opium and Absinthe is a worthy entry in the historical mystery genre. It is an occult mystery because the presumed killer is a vampire. Not much is written into the plot about vampires other than that the presumed perp happens to be one of them. There is none of the usual astrology, alchemy, magic or spiritualism that a reader would normally find in an occult novel. The story is a straight murder mystery that centers on solving the crime.  There are two amateur sleuths that work together in this novel. Tillie Pembroke is an heiress who longs to be taken seriously instead of having to marry and host parties. As she tells Ian Metzger, her thirst for knowledge would not be met by going to college, an impossibility anyway in nineteenth-century New York. Metzger is a poor Jewish immigrant who sells newspapers for a living. When Ian sells Tillie a newspaper that covers the death of her sister Lucy, they both feel an attraction and begin to meet secretly.

Tillie Pembroke is the youngest girl in the Pembroke family. Her older sister Lucy has always gotten all of the attention. Lucy's engagement to James Cutter, which will unite two prominent American families, only increases her family's interest in her. While the Pembrokes have money, Cutter, a descendant of the illustrious Astor family, is cash poor. However, Cutter will give the Pembrokes the pedigree they have always sought. When Lucy is found dead with bite marks on her neck and an empty bottle of absinthe nearby, the Pembrokes are devastated but their thirst for acceptance into the upper echelons of society drives them to not show their feelings. Behaving in society is more dear than grief. Tillie is different, though. She cannot stop asking questions about her sister as well as about the status of the police investigation into her death. A random introduction to Ian Metzger while on an outing proves to be fortuitous. Tillie only hears the details about her sister's death from Ian while he is selling his newspapers because he shouts out loud the headlines. She buys one but a note written by Ian on the front page gives Tillie his contact information. She is intrigued by him as he seems to be the only person interested in solving her sister's murder. Tillie and Ian are able to write to each other even though the Pembrokes forbid it. Tillie uses her maid and the family's new security guard to mail letters for her and escape from her home after midnight in order to meet Ian. Together they discuss how Lucy may have been murdered and do research to try to solve her murder.

Tillie's introduction as a sleuth was quite natural. She has an interest in figuring out how and why her sister died. Ian tells her she would make a great journalist and would like her to help him in writing articles for his newspaper, the World. They come from completely different backgrounds but Tillie and Ian are a great crimesolving couple. Their differences actually help them think better. With many twists and turns to solve before they can find answers to their questions, the two of them work together to determine who killed Lucy.

5 out of 5 stars!

Singapore Sapphire

I loved Alison Stuart's Singapore Sapphire. It is the first book in a historical mystery series featuring amateur sleuth Harriet Gordon. Harriet teams up with Inspector Robert Curran of the Straits Settlement Police Force's Detective Unit to solve crimes on Singapore's island. Harriet's personal story is tragic. Her husband and son died of typhoid fever in India where her husband was stationed. Her return to England did not go smoothly. Harriet became involved in the suffragette movement and was jailed for several months. With her move to Singapore in 1910 to work beside her brother, Rev. Julian Edwards, at the religious school he runs, Harriet finds a place where she can use her smarts and still be a member in good standing of her elite place in society.

Harriet cannot be paid for her work at St. Thomas Church of England Prep School for Boys because she is a woman. In order to earn some money, Harriet places an ad in the local paper offering her services as a typist. Sir Oswald Newbold sees the ad and quickly contacts Harriet. With just one day of work for Sir Oswald completed, Harriet returns to his home to pick up her typewriter. What she finds is unsettling. Sir Oswald is dead with an antique knife stuck in his body. Inspector Curran arrives at the scene after being notified by Harriet's wallah, Aziz, that a crime has been committed at Sir Oswald's home. Soon thereafter a second person is found dead. Curran thinks the two crimes are connected but has no evidence to prove his theory.

The partnership between Harriet and Curran seemed realistic for the time period. Harriet's "sleuthing" consisted of asking Curran pointed questions about the crime that gave him insight on where the investigation should go. Her sleuthing may change form in future books in the series but for now, Harriet is able to help in the investigation in a way that maintains the traditional role of women in the early twentieth-century. Given Harriet's suffragette leanings, I would expect that she challenges society by taking a more active role in the future. For now, the reader has a first rate mystery to enjoy and savor.

The Mountains Sing

The Mountain Sings by Nguyen Phan Que Mai is a historical novel of the Vietnam War. It is told as a family saga from the point of view of a North Vietnamese family. Tran Dieu Lan is taking care of her granddaughter Huong, nicknamed Guava, while all of her children are away from home fighting for the Viet Ming. The story alternates between Dieu Lan's life as a child and the 1970s when she cares for her granddaughter by switching from an honorable small paying job as a teacher to a well paying but dishonorable job as a trader of food and sundries. It carries a risk though. Dieu Lan could be executed if she was caught. The story covers 100 years of Vietnamese history and is brutally honest in its telling. This is the author's first novel to be published in English. It has not been published in Vietnam because of censorship issues.

The author's life story is just as impressive as that of her heroines. Born in North Vietnam in 1973 she moved to the South when she was 6 in order to reunite her family. She lived there as a street seller and rice farmer until she obtained a scholarship to a university in Australia. Her research for the book included interviews with many Vietnamese citizens as well as her own family. She heard about the Land Reform Act which caused wealthy landowners to lose their property to their workers and resulted in Dieu Lan losing her ancestral home in the novel. The title refers to Dieu Lan telling her granddaughter that the challenges faced by the Vietnamese people throughout history are as tall as the tallest mountains. Dieu Lan's explanation to Huong that the government's refusal to allow discussion of past wrongs and events mirrors the current government's censorship of her book. Dieu Lan explains that such discussions can bring about the rewriting of history.

I learned alot about Vietnam from this book and highly recommend it. 5 out of 5 stars!

The Giant

I have been patiently waiting for Laura Morelli to publish another book since The Painter's Apprentice came out. Last week The Giant was published. It takes place in the early 1500s Florence and is about the lives of struggling fresco painter Jacopo Torni and his childhood friend Michelangelo Buonarotti. They are competing to be awarded a commission to create a sculpture out of a huge block of marble that has been lying in the courtyard of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore for a generation.

The publisher's summary:

"As a colossal statue takes shape in Renaissance Florence, the lives of a master sculptor and a struggling painter become stunningly intertwined. Fresco painter Jacopo Torni longs to make his mark in the world. But while his peers enjoy prestigious commissions, his meager painting jobs are all earmarked to pay down gambling debts. When Jacopo hears of a competition to create Florence's greatest sculpture, he pins all his hopes on a collaboration with boyhood companion, Michelangelo Buonarroti. But will the frustrated artist ever emerge from the shadow of his singularly gifted friend? Based on a true story."

Renaissance Florence is my favorite type of historical novel. I don't think that I have ever read one that I did not like.  The Giant is no exception. Author Morelli has written a novel rich in the artistry and architecture of Florence. As an artist myself, I am drawn to arty books. Morelli's take on the story is more realistic than that of other authors whom I have read given her descriptions of the setting, including the clothing, food, artisan guilds, and politics of the era that drove which artist was going to be favored by whoever was in power at the time.  I am certain that the author's Ph.D in art history helped her create a plot about the creation of Michelangelo's David. A statement from the author shows how her thought process about the sculpture moved her to ask questions that she could only answer with an intricate plot. She was fascinated with how it was made and unveiled to the public. After coming across a historical reference to Florentine fresco painter Jacopo Torni, Morelli decided to tell the story through his eyes. Torni, also known as L'Indaco, assisted Michelangelo with painting the Sistine Chapel.

The story is told through compelling characters. Jacopo's long-suffering sister Lucia and younger brother Francesco are loyal to him no matter what he does to not deserve it. His gambling buddies' ways to entangle him in card games seems authentic to the methods used today by those who ensnare others in addictions. Jacopo himself is shown as someone who gambles his life savings away almost daily in an effort to prove to himself that he is not a worthy artist nor a worthy person.

I absolutely loved The Giant and relished each page as I read through it.  5 out of 5 stars!

The Lost Diary of Venice

I received an advanced reader's edition of The Lost Diary of Venice through Librarything in exchange for an honest review. To be honest, the premise for this novel was a good one. However, the author's writing did not equal her ambitious plan for her first novel.

The publisher's summary:

"In the wake of her father's death, Rose Newlin finds solace in her work as a book restorer. Then, one rainy Connecticut afternoon, a struggling painter appears at her door. William Lomazzo brings with him a sixteenth-century treatise on art, which Rose quickly identifies as a palimpsest: a document written over a hidden diary that had purposely been scraped away. Yet the restoration sparks an unforseen challenge: William-a married man-and Rose experience an instant, unspoken attraction. 

Five centuries earlier, Renaissance-era Venetians find themselves at the mercy of an encroaching Ottoman fleet, preparing for a bloody war. Giovanni Lomazzo, a portrait artist grappling with tragedy, discovers that his vision is fading with each passing day. Facing the possibility of a completely dark world, Gio begins to document his every encounter, including what might be his final artistic feat: a commission to paint the enchanting courtesan of one of Venice's most powerful military commanders. Soon, however, Gio finds himself enraptured by a magnificent forbidden love. 

Spellbound by Gino's revelations, Rose and William are soon forced to confront the reality of their ownmystifying connection."

Let me start my review with some comments on the publisher's summary.  The summary gives the impression that there is a lot of action in the novel.  There isn't. Author Margaux DeRoux used too many character internal thoughts in her writing than actual action or character development.  As an example, when Rose Newlin entered a library to do research, eight pages were used to get her to the area of the library where she needed to be.  During these eight pages Rose had a lot of thoughts. Too many thoughts. Then it took Rose three pages to sit in a chair, musing to herself about the setting of the library.  Rose finished this visit with 2 more pages speaking to a librarian. The novel then left this scene for another scene. The reader does not know what was in the book that Rose wanted to read in the library.

The novel was written with alternating stories between the present time and 500 years ago.  DeRoux wrote the historical story well. It was the only aspect of the book that kept me reading. Unfortunately, the style of writing was different than how she wrote the present day story.  The present day story was boring because the author used character thoughts 90% of the time.  Character thoughts should be used along with action, character development and narration.  DeRoux did not use character development, action or narration.  This is the book's fatal flaw.

It took me 10 days to read this 311 page book.  Normally I might read 10 books in this time period. I feel that I wasted the last 2 weeks of my time off from work due to the coronavirus shutdown. I begin working remotely next week.

I cannot give this book any rating.  It's a zero for me.