Tag Archives: historical mysteries

#BookReview ‘The Indigo Ghosts’ by Alys Clare #historical #mystery

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This series keeps getting better and better, The Indigo Ghosts by Alys Clare is so captivating I read it in twenty-four hours, picking it up at every opportunity. Third in the Gabriel Tavernier historical mystery series, former ship’s surgeon and now Devon doctor Gabriel faces an inexplicable case that challenges all he believes in, and all he knows to be scientifically true. Alys ClareOctober 1604. Called urgently by his old captain, Zeke Colt, to visit his former ship the Falco, now docked in Plymouth, Gabe walks into an atmosphere of fear, panic and superstition. The ship, everyone on board says, is haunted by a bad spirit, malevolent, making everyone ill. There have been deaths, visions, blue-skinned ghosts, a disgusting miasma that has overwhelmed the air.
Firmly disbelieving the ghost theory, Gabe is confident there will be a factual, scientific answer. But exploring the darkest, tiniest space in the hold – three paces by two – he discovers the source of the stink, finds a dead body, and sees a crocodile. Gabe returns to the Falco the next day with local coroner, his friend Theophilus Davey, and the body is removed for examination. Meanwhile the ship’s crew empty the barrel of waste and clean the area. More discoveries are made, nothing makes sense.
A trail of discoveries unveils an explanation both rational and wild. There is talk of spirits, possession, dark magic and cruelty impossible to imagine. In search of facts, Gabe traces the Falco’s final journey around the Caribbean and back home to Devon, and then re-reads the journals he kept when he was a young seafaring doctor sailing the Caribbean Sea. A solution suggests itself but seems too far-fetched to be possible. Assisted by the silent detection of Theo’s assistant, spiritual support and guidance from the local minister, and suggestions from his sister Celia, Gabe edges towards an answer.
A smashing book. The Indigo Ghosts is a tale of slavery, torture, fear and the worst that man can do to man. It’s about faith and what it can make a man do. And its about the goodness of Gaberiel Taverner, searching for the truth while defending his family and loved ones. This is a very readable series, a bit different from anything else out there that I’ve found.

Here are my reviews of the first two novels in this series:-
A RUSTLE OF SILK BY ALYS CLARE #1GABRIELTAVERNER
THE ANGEL IN THE GLASS #2GABRIELTAVERNER

If you like this, try:-
‘A Good Deliverance’ by Toby Clements
‘The Last Runaway’ by Tracy Chevalier
‘The Armour of Light’ by Ken Follett #4KINGSBRIDGE

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COMING SOON… THE NEXT BOOK I REVIEW WILL BE:- Eva Glyn

#BookReview ‘The Heretic’s Mark’ by SW Perry @swperry_history #historical #crime

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The Jackdaw Mysteries by SW Perry are fantastic stories and The Heretic’s Mark, fourth in the series, is a twisty unpredictable story full of suspense. When the Queen’s physician is executed for treason, Nicholas Shelby is accused anonymously of being part of the plot. Nicholas and new wife Bianca flee abroad, unsure if they can ever return to England. SW PerryTheir first destination is Den Bosch in the Low Countries where, helped by Jan van der Molen, skipper of the herring boat which is their means of escape from England, they have time to draw breath. But it seems nowhere is far enough from forces wanting to lock them up. While Bianca says confession to a priest in the cathedral, Nicholas wanders into a side chapel he comes across a triptych, a three-panelled painting which presents a scene of horror. This is ‘The Last Judgement’ by Hieronymus Bosch. Though a practical man of science, the religious horror portrayed in the painting turns Nicholas to ice. Then a woman screams and two men are dead.
This is the trigger for Nicholas and Bianca to flee from Den Bosch, south along the Via Francigena, a pilgrim trail which ends in Rome. They take with them the young woman who screamed in the cathedral, a serious, proselytizing Hella Maas. Nicholas feels sympathy for her, her hard life, the death of her family. Bianca is impatient with her doom-laden words, her prophecies of doom, and questions her motivations. And so the odd trio make the road trip south, across the Alps. Once in Italy they part ways, Hella Maas to continue to Rome, the Shelbys to Padua, Bianca’s birthplace. The road journey takes up a lot of the story and, for my taste, could be more concise but it includes important foreshadowing of the eventual mystery; who is pursuing Nicholas and why. The answer is something I suspected but was unable to explain why.
Arriving in Padua, Bianca is reunited with her cousin Bruno Barrani, so introducing the sub-plot featuring Bruno and his attempts to make an armillary sphere for the city of Venice. He has raised the money and found the craftsmen, but scorns the accusations of heresy. At first this storyline seems so disconnected from the main plot to be superfluous, but in the last chapters the stories entwine. I found the third sub-plot, of Bianca’s servants Rose and Ned Monkton who stay in London to run the Jackdaw inn, riveting. Ned, determined to discover who wrongly condemned his master of treason, investigates a vague lead which brings him to the College of Physicians. Rose, pregnant with their first baby, wills him to be peaceful. Unfortunately the gentle giant is arrested for murder and sent to the Marshalsea prison.
Another good book from SW Perry who has quickly become a favourite. The next Jackdaw mystery is The Rebel’s Mark.
Note: I enjoyed the passing references to Giordano Bruno, the former Italian monk turned heretic and philosopher who features in the historical series by SJ Parris. If you haven’t read it yet, the first book is Heresy [there’s a link to my review below].

Here are my reviews of the first three books in the series:-
THE ANGEL’S MARK #1JACKDAWMYSTERIES
THE SERPENT’S MARK #2JACKDAWMYSTERIES
THE SARACEN’S MARK #3JACKDAWMYSTERIES 

If you like this, try:-
‘Heresy’ by SJ Parris #1GIORDANOBRUNO
‘Dark Aemilia’ by Sally O’Reilly
‘The Whispering Muse’ by Laura Purcell

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COMING SOON… THE NEXT BOOK I REVIEW WILL BE:- Lucy Foley

#BookReview ‘The Angel in the Glass’ by Alys Clare #historical #mystery

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Stained glass. Shameful secrets. Rumours of wolves and shadows. Dissolution. The Angel in the Glass is second in the Gabriel Tavernier historical mystery series by Alys Clare. I really enjoyed the first, A Rustle of Silk, and was looking forward to reading more about Gabe, rural doctor and amateur investigator. I wasn’t disappointed. Alys Clare
Three disconnected events occur early in the story. Two young brothers go exploring and find jewels hidden in a tangled copse on a farmer’s land; the resulting fight between the farmer and the boy’s father causes uproar. The body of a vagrant is found on the edge of the moors. And Jonathan Carew, vicar of St Luke’s church, has a strange episode in the middle of his Sunday sermon; he goes pale and stares at something that isn’t there.
Coroner Theophilius Davey calls on local doctor Gabriel Taverner to examine the corpse. Slender, fair-haired, skeletal, diseased, Gabe says the man likely died of natural causes. The body is locked in the cellar of an empty house near Theo’s house while he and his assistant Jarman Hodge investigate his identity. They make little progress apart from accumulating a collection of strange stories; a black shadow seen here, a wolf there, and servants gossip about a loiterer seen at Wrenbeare, once a fine large house but now dirty and unkempt. When Theo and Gabe ride out to Wrenbeare to interview the widow, Lady Clemence Fairlight denies there was an intruder. But her youngest daughter Denyse screams and says she saw a dead body. And she continues screaming. Who is telling the truth? What secrets lurk at Wrenbeare?
The story starts in 1604. After decades of religious change, persecution and crisis, England has settled into a fragile calm under King James I. In The Angel in the Glass, Clare explores the continuing impact of Henry VII’s Act of Legacy, foundation of the Church of England and the dissolution of the monasteries, via a return to Protestantism under Edward VI and Catholicism with Queen Mary Tudor, returning to Protestantism again with Queen Elizabeth I. The turmoil of the preceding years lies shallow beneath the soil of the village Tavy St Luke’s and at Rosewyke, the warm country house which is home to Gabe and his widowed sister Celia.
I enjoy historical mysteries but some are long and wide-ranging. In future when I need a shorter read, I will turn to Alys Clare whose books are concise but still detailed and intriguing. At 240 pages, The Angel in the Glass is a puzzling, quick read. The plot moves forward on every page, there are no wasted words, with rounded characters, twisty plot and a returning cast of villagers.
Quickly becoming a favourite series of mine. The next Gabriel Taverner book is The Indigo Ghosts.

Here are my reviews of other novels in this series:-
A RUSTLE OF SILK BY ALYS CLARE #1GABRIELTAVERNER
THE INDIGO GHOSTS #3GABRIELTAVERNER

If you like this, try:-
‘The Fair Fight’ by Anna Freeman
‘Three Sisters, Three Queens’ by Philippa Gregory
‘Broken Faith’ by Toby Clements #2Kingmaker

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#BookReview THE ANGEL IN THE GLASS by Alys Clare https://wp.me/p2ZHJe-8d6 via @SandraDanby

COMING SOON… THE NEXT BOOK I REVIEW WILL BE:- Josie Ferguson

#BookReview ‘The Book of Secrets’ by Anna Mazzola #historical #mystery

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The Book of Secrets by Anna Mazzola is a dark tale of abuse, poison and the moral rights and wrongs of self-defensive murder in a male-dominated society. Anna MazzolaIt is Rome 1659 and there are rumours of funerals for men whose corpses have not decayed as expected. Young prosecutor Stefano Bracchi is commissioned by the Papal authorities to head an investigation. He has been recommended for the job by his father, who thinks Stefano is a weakling, and is egged on by his brothers who are bullies. Only his sister Lucia is a cautious, supportive voice. The journey made by Stefano in the course of his investigation is fascinating.
The story is told in two alternating strands; Stefano’s investigation, and the community of women headed by apothecary and midwife Girolama Spana whose band of women tell fortunes, sell face treatments, deliver babies, offer medical advice. And when occasionally confronted with a woman being abused, they sell bottles of ‘Aqua.’ Made from an ancient recipe passed through Girolama’s female relations, Aqua offers an escape for women trapped in a violent marriage, where they and their children are at risk, but for whom there is no protection under Roman law. Perhaps, though, Girolama has been selling rather more bottles than she used to.
It is a compelling cat-and-mouse story where I found myself rooting for one side and then the other, as Stefano edges closer to the truth I was willing Girolama on as she tied him in knots. The violence against women is shocking, especially in the extraction of confessions at the notorious Tor di Nona prison. But the law of murder in 17th century Rome makes no allowances in support of possible justification of the abused; it is a legal and philosophical argument that powers the story. Can murder every be right? Isn’t murder always murder? And of course because the suspected villains are women, the corpses look unnatural, and poison is suspected, they are also rumoured to be witches.
I would like to have read more from Marcello, the doctor attached to the inquisition who clearly is uncomfortable with the torture of witnesses, and also from some of the other women involved.
It’s a thought-provoking, dark and powerful novel. I was still thinking about it days after finishing it. A fictional telling of the true poisoning inquisition in Rome in 1656.

If you like this, try:-
‘Disobedient’ by Elizabeth Fremantle
‘Glorious Exploits’ by Ferdia Lennon
‘Shadows in the Ashes’ by Christina Courtenay

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COMING SOON… THE NEXT BOOK I REVIEW WILL BE:- Annie Garthwaite

#BookReview ‘The Saracen’s Mark’ by SW Perry @swperry_history #historical #crime

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It’s a treat to read The Saracen’s Mark by SW Perry and follow the ongoing story of Bankside doctor Nicholas Shelton and apothecary Bianca Merton. This is the third of the Jackdaw Mysteries and the action moves to Morocco in a complicated tale of politics, slavery, money and medicine. It is a dramatic and daring adventure. SW Perry London 1593. Dr Shelton is requested, or rather ordered, by Queen Elizabeth’s spymaster Robert Cecil to go to Marrakesh and strengthen the diplomatic ties between the two nations. His primary, secret task however is find a missing informer. But Nicholas leaves Bianca behind at the Jackdaw tavern after exchanging harsh words, not knowing that the plague will soon reach the south bank of the city. The story races along, alternating between Nicholas sailing south and Bianca dealing with the plague and the disappearance of the Jackdaw’s cook, Farzad. Both storylines are fast-moving and seem totally unlinked. Nicholas didn’t tell Bianca the real reason for his journey; Cecil threated to revoke Bianca’s licence as an apothecary if he refused. She knows there is more to it than he is telling her. They part on bad terms and when both face danger – Bianca from the plague, Nicholas from pirates and slavers – they regret their angry words. Determined to find the real reason for his voyage, Bianca investigates in London and discovers more than is safe for her to know. Both expecting to die, they imagine what they will say if they should ever meet again.
The medical strand is fascinating. Cecil agrees that while in Morocco Shelton should study Moorish medicine. Amazed by the Bimaristan-al-Mansur hospital he visits in Marrakesh, Nicholas witnesses a tracheotomy performed by a female surgeon. However he is less successful at spying, struggling with the language and the customs. He doesn’t trust Cathal Connell, captain of the ship on which he sailed south; an efficient man aboard ship, a brutal one on shore. When Nicholas discovers that Adolfo Sykes, the English informer he has been sent to find, is dead, he doesn’t know who to trust. What secrets did Sykes discover, was his death really an accident, and what happened to the letters he is thought to have sent to England but which never arrived.
The characters of Nicholas and Bianca are so engaging, the plotting is complicated and curious, the danger and double-dealing is on every page. How will Nicholas and Bianca know who to trust, should they believe their instincts or investigate for themselves. Of course they choose the latter, leading to dangerous adventures. The Morocco setting is inspired; very different from other Elizabethan fiction, at once fragrant and scented with blood.
I’m loving this series. Next is The Heretic’s Mark.

Here are my reviews of the first two books in the series:-
THE ANGEL’S MARK #1JACKDAWMYSTERIES
THE SERPENT’S MARK #2JACKDAWMYSTERIES

If you like this, try:-
‘Revelation’ by SJ Sansom #4Shardlake
‘The Drowned City’ by KJ Maitland #1DanielPursglove
‘The Vanished Bride’ by Bella Ellis #1BronteMysteries

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#BookReview THE SERPENT’S MARK by SW Perry @swperry_history https://wp.me/p2ZHJe-87C via @SandraDanby

COMING SOON… THE NEXT BOOK I REVIEW WILL BE:- Anna Mazzola