Book Review: The Broken Girls by Simone St. James
The Broken Girls from Simone St. James is part mystery, part ghost story, with a little historical fiction thrown into the mix. It’s creepy but not terrifying. And it’s got enough twists to surprise you a time or three. Fiona Sheridan is a sympathetic main character,...Book Review: Warlight by Michael Ondaatje
Michael Ondaatje does it again with his new novel, Warlight. He creates an oddly uncomfortable and somewhat satisfying story in an ambivalent historical time. I need to explain that. Warlight was oddly uncomfortable because I loved the writing style but not the story...Book Review: The Thief Taker by C.S. Quinn
In the acknowledgements for The Thief Taker, C.S. Quinn tells how hard it was to convince agents and editors that women could write historical fiction thrillers. Imagine that. They wanted her to write more like historical fiction divas like Philippa Gregory. I’m glad...Book Review: A Quiet Genocide by Glenn Bryant
A Quiet Genocide from new author Glenn Bryant is a quiet book. Right up until it punches you in the gut. It’s historical fiction with a topic I’ve never seen broached. And I’ve read WW2 stories for decades now. It opens in post-WW2 Munich with the Diederichs. They’re...Book Review: His Bloody Project by Graeme Macrae Burnet
His Bloody Project is historical fiction from author Graham Macrae Burnet that reads like true crime. But the crime was committed in 1869 in Culduie, Scotland. It’s a tiny burg between the poetically-named Toscaig and Camusterrach. Yes, I indulged my habit of checking...Book Review: The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
Way way backlist book The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett is an stirring historical fiction novel. It evokes a variety of emotion from the reader, as its characters go through many decades of life in Middle Ages England. But I’ll admit some of my emotions were...Book Review: I Was Anastasia by Ariel Lawhon
Reading I Was Anastasia by Ariel Lawhon is a bit like putting a jigsaw puzzle together. You start with the edges and work your way back towards the middle. Lawhon tells the first-person narrative of Grand Duchess Anastasia Romanov, but mixes it in with a third-person...Book Review: Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts
Shantaram is the novelization of author Gregory David Roberts’ experiences in late 1980s Bombay, India. It was a city on the cusp of many things, including the official state-sponsored name change to Mumbai. Roberts’ character is Lin Ford, an Australian expatriate...Book Review: Carnegie’s Maid by Marie Benedict
As the great-granddaughter of Welsh immigrants to the Pittsburgh area, I enjoyed Carnegie’s Maid by Marie Benedict, about a young Irish immigrant working for a highly successful Pittsburgh family of Scottish immigrants. Benedict’s heroine, Clara Kelly, is a...Book Review: The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
Just as my local weather became springlike, I dove back into winter with The Snow Child from Eowyn Ivey. Actually, the chilly images are so strong I felt transported. I’d highly recommend reading it during the hottest part of summer, just for the sense of cold and...Book Review: Affinity by Sarah Waters
Sarah Waters’ historical novel, Affinity, is about two women imprisoned in very different circumstances. Selina Dawes is in a literal prison, put there because of her own actions. (Of course, it’s never quite that simple.) On the other hand, Margaret Prior is...Book Review: Lady Cop Makes Trouble by Amy Stewart (Kopp Sisters, Book 2)
Amy Stewart does it again with Lady Cop Makes Trouble! Constance Kopp, a real-life NewJersey deputy sheriff in the 1910s is both fierce and curmudgeonly. Stewart takes many plot threads from real newspaper accounts and weaves them together with fiction to make a...Book Review: Girl Waits With Gun by Amy Stewart (Kopp Sisters, Book 1)
Amy Stewart’s Girl Waits With Gun seemed like the perfect choice for me after some intense epic fantasy and current events books. It’s historical fiction, and a whole lot lighter. But make no mistake, Stewart effortlessly blends an uplifting story about independent...Book Review: Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear
Maisie Dobbs is a joy to read, and author Jacqueline Winspear is an expert storyteller. Set in England just following World War I, it’s a captivating historical cozy mystery. However, some people would perhaps take issue with its inclusion on cozy mystery lists...Book Review: Dust and Shadow: An Account of the Ripper Killings by Dr. John H. Watson by Lyndsay Faye
Lyndsay Faye braves the legendary waters of both Ripper and Holmes with her imaginative novel, Dust and Shadow: An Account of the Ripper Killings by Dr. John H. Watson. Let me say right up front that I’m not an aficionado of either genre. However, I enjoy a good...
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