Today I’m delighted to be sharing an excerpt from Carolyn Hughes’s recently released audiobook of her novel Fortune’s Wheel as part of a blog tour hosted by The Coffee Pot Book Club. Fortune’s Wheel is the first book in The Meonbridge Chronicles series which follows a year in the life of the Hampshire village of … Continue reading Audiobook Excerpt – Fortune’s Wheel by Carolyn Hughes
Mystery
Book Review – AnaRose and the Templar’s Quest by Mary Ann Bernal
AnaRose Preston is a respected museum curator and antiquities expert. When she travels to France to authenticate a ring believed to have belonged to Balian of Ibelin, the knight who surrendered Jerusalem to Saladin, she embarks on what quickly becomes a quest to locate a legendary relic, the Holy Nail, possibly hidden in a dagger … Continue reading Book Review – AnaRose and the Templar’s Quest by Mary Ann Bernal
Book Review – Tombland by C.J. Sansom
1549. Edward VI, the eleven-year-old son of Henry VIII has been on the throne two years. The country is effectively run by the Lord Protector, Edward Seymour. The preceding decade has seen war with Scotland, inflation, unemployment, rising rents and declining wages. A sense of grievance is swelling among the common people against the imposition … Continue reading Book Review – Tombland by C.J. Sansom
Book Review – The Western Wind by Samantha Harvey
Set in the fictional village of Oakham, Somerset, The Western Wind starts on Shrove Tuesday 1491. This is Day 4 of the story as this novel is told backwards over four days from Shrove Tuesday to the previous Saturday. It is the first person narrative of the parish priest, John Reve, a gentle and compassionate man … Continue reading Book Review – The Western Wind by Samantha Harvey
Book Review – The Innocents by C A Asbrey
The Innocents is set in the American West in 1868. 'The Innocents' are Nat Quinn and Jake Conroy, a nephew and uncle team, who rob only banks and railways and are courteous to the ordinary people they may discommode during the course of a robbery. Abigail McKay, a Scottish woman, has spent weeks travelling by … Continue reading Book Review – The Innocents by C A Asbrey
Book Review – Call of the Curlew by Elizabeth Brooks
Call of the Curlew begins on 30 December 2015. 86-year-old Virginia Wrathmell has known for years that one New Year’s Eve she will walk onto the marsh and meet her end there. She has been waiting for a sign. The sign has now appeared on her doorstep in the form of a fragile curlew’s skull. … Continue reading Book Review – Call of the Curlew by Elizabeth Brooks
Book Review – A Dangerous Crossing by Rachel Rhys
A Dangerous Crossing, set in mid-1939, begins with a well-dressed woman removed by police from a passenger ship after it has docked in Sydney. The novel then steps back to the beginning of the voyage where we are introduced to Lily Shepherd who is bidding farewell to her family on board the Orentes, a migrant … Continue reading Book Review – A Dangerous Crossing by Rachel Rhys
Book Review – Fortune’s Wheel by Carolyn Hughes
When discussing the aftermath of the Black Death, many general history books mention that it was an historical turning point which ultimately brought about the demise of the feudal system. With possibly up to 60% of the population of Europe dead from plague, labourers were in short supply and despite laws intended to freeze wages … Continue reading Book Review – Fortune’s Wheel by Carolyn Hughes
Book Review – Into the Water by Paula Hawkins
Into the Water opens with a disturbing scene – a young woman is bound by two or more men and drowned in icy water. There is no sense given of when this happened or who she is other than her name, Libby. So, from the very beginning there is an undercurrent of danger. The novel … Continue reading Book Review – Into the Water by Paula Hawkins
Book Review – Sumerford’s Autumn by Barbara Gaskell Denvil
Sumerford’s Autumn begins in 1497, twelve years after Henry VII won the crown of England by defeating Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth. The Earl of Sumerford, who fought on the wrong side, has been doing his best ever since to rehabilitate the family name and keep his family below notice of the king. … Continue reading Book Review – Sumerford’s Autumn by Barbara Gaskell Denvil
Catherine Meyrick 