Tag: blogtour

Blog Tour/Book Review: The Golden Hour (The Lady Evelyn Mysteries #4) by Malia Zaidi

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The Golden Hour Blog Tour

I’m delighted to be hosting today’s stop on the blog tour for the latest book in ‘The Lady Evelyn Mysteries’ series by Malia Zaidi, The Golden Hour.

Thanks to Emma at damppebbles blog tours for inviting me to participate in the tour and for my review copy.

The Golden HourAbout the Book

London, 1927. Lady Evelyn Carlisle has barely arrived in London when familial duty calls her away again. Her cousin Gemma is desperate for help with her ailing mother before her imminent wedding, which Evelyn knew nothing about! Aunt Agnes in tow, she journeys to Scotland, expecting to find Malmo Manor in turmoil.

To her surprise, her Scottish family has been keeping far more secrets than the troubled state of their matriarch. Adding to the tension in the house a neighbour has opened his home, Elderbrooke Park, as a retreat for artistic veterans of the Great War. This development does not sit well with everyone in the community. Is the suspicion towards the residents a catalyst for murder?

A tragedy at Elderbrooke Park’s May Day celebration awakens Evelyn’s sleuthing instinct, which is strengthened when the story of another unsolved death emerges, connected to her own family. What she uncovers on her quest to expose the truth will change several lives forever, including her own.

With the shadow of history looming over her, Evelyn must trust in her instinct and ability to comb through the past to understand the present, before the murderer can stop her and tragedy strikes again.

Format: Paperback, ebook (pp.)    Publisher:
Published: 26th March 2019 Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery, Crime

Purchase Links*
Amazon.co.uk  ǀ  Amazon.com
*links provided for convenience, not as part of any affiliate programme

Find The Golden Hour (The Lady Evelyn Mysteries #4) on Goodreads

My Review

I can reassure readers who, like me, have not read any of the previous books in the series that The Golden Hour works perfectly well as a standalone read although there are a few references to events (some significant) in earlier books. However, there are some surprises of a personal nature awaiting even Lady Evelyn in The Golden Hour.

Evelyn makes a spirited heroine with instincts naturally attuned to detection. She’s observant, perceptive, and inquisitive, not to mention determined, independent-minded and fearless. It turns out she’s going to need all those qualities when a murder takes place in the grounds of a country house, Elderbrooke Park, near to Malmo Manor where members of Evelyn’s extended family have gathered ahead of the wedding of her cousin, Gemma.

Like all good mysteries, there is an extensive cast of possible suspects including the residents of Elderbrooke Park (many of whom bear the physical and psychological scars of war), the inhabitants of the nearby village of Falkland (not all of whom are keen on their new neighbours), servants and even members of Evelyn’s own family. There are a range of potential motives as well: blackmail, unrequited love, jealousy and family feuds, to name but a few.

The story moves along at fairly leisurely speed with plenty of time for philosophical musings, lush descriptions of landscape and weather, and for Evelyn to share the results of her investigations with other characters. The pace of the book is therefore best suited to those who enjoy a gentle country stroll rather than a headlong gallop.

Personally, I could have done with more of the delicious Daniel, Evelyn’s romantic interest, who frankly sounds like quite a catch. Her concern that the future of their relationship might mean giving up her cherished independence reminded me a little of the courtship between Dorothy L Sayers’ Harriet Vane and Lord Peter Wimsey in Gaudy Night.

The Golden Hour is an engaging historical mystery which doesn’t however shy away from tackling more serious subjects such as the legacy of war – in this case, the First World War – on those involved even nearly twenty years later.

I received a review copy courtesy of damppebbles Blog Tours and the author.

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In three words: Engaging, gentle, mystery

Try something similar…Lady Helena Investigates (Scott-De Quincy Mysteries #1) by Jane Steen (read my review here)

Version 2About the Author

Malia Zaidi is the author of the ‘Lady Evelyn Mysteries’. She studied at the University of Pittsburgh and at the University of Oxford. Having grown up in Germany, she currently lives in Washington DC, though through her love of reading, she resides vicariously (if temporarily) in countries around the world.

Connect with Malia

Website  ǀ  Facebook  ǀ  Twitter  ǀ  Blog ǀ Goodreads

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Blog Tour/Guest Post: The Spitfire Girl in the Skies by Fenella J Miller

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I’m delighted to be hosting today’s stop on the blog tour for The Spitfire Girl in the Skies by Fenella J Miller, the second book in her ‘The Spitfire Girls’ series.  You can read Fenella’s fascinating guest post about why she became a writer below.

Thanks to Vicky at Aria for inviting me to take part in the tour.  Do check out the tour banner at the bottom of this post to see the other great book bloggers taking part.

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The Spitfire Girl in the SkiesAbout the Book

The ATA training base, Hampshire, 1940.

Ellie Simpson is attached to an Air Transport Auxiliary base in Hampshire. Life as an ATA pilot is tough, but despite the long hours and danger, Ellie can think of nowhere she’d rather be. Not only does she love flying, but doing important war work, alongside new-found friends, provides a welcome distraction from worrying about loved ones fighting on the front line.

Being an ATA girl is definitely exciting, but as Ellie soon finds out wearing the distinctive blue uniform also means putting her life on the line every time she takes to the skies. It will take friendship and a strength she didn’t know she possessed to help her county – and those she loves – to survive.

An inspiring story of an incredible girl going above and beyond during World War II.

Format: Paperback, ebook (334 pp.)    Publisher: Aria
Published: 2nd April 2019  Genre: Historical Fiction

Purchase Links*
Amazon.co.uk  ǀ  Amazon.com
*links provided for convenience, not as part of any affiliate programme

Find The Spitfire Girl in the Skies on Goodreads

Guest Post: ‘Why I Am A Writer’ by Fenella J. Miller

I was always an avid reader. By the time I was ten years old I’d read every book in the children’s section of the library and was allowed to borrow from the adult section. Leslie Charteris, Georgette Heyer, Margery Allingham – I read everything they wrote. I was also addicted to school stories and pony books. Lorna Hill was the writer I wanted to emulate. When I was about twelve, I wrote a 30,000-word book in her style. It would be called fan fiction now. This was when I decided I wanted to be writer.

I didn’t write anything else apart from essays and dissertations until I wrote a contemporary romance whilst trapped at home with a four-year-old in a remote country cottage and not able to drive. I was in my twenties then and knew one day I would be a published writer.

Decades passed and my goal was still to write, but life got in the way. I wrote five modern romances which are languishing somewhere in a box in the loft, before realising I should be a historical writer, not a contemporary one.  I was offered early retirement from teaching and finally achieved my dream of being published by the time I was sixty.

Thirteen years later I have around sixty books out. I write because I have to – I am a writer first and a wife/mother/sister/friend second.  If I couldn’t lose myself in my writing, I would not be able to cope with my home life. I have been my husband’s carer for years and after breaking first one and then the other hip he is now in permanent care. This is so hard for both of us. He has vascular dementia and no speech but is still aware of his surrounding and the people around him.

As long as I can write everyday life doesn’t seem to bad. Writing can be a lonely business but over the years I’ve been lucky to build up a large circle of both online and actual friends who are a constant support. I would advise anyone who dreams of being a writer one day to follow that dream and never give up.      © Fenella J Miller

Fenella MillerAbout the Author

Fenella J Miller was born in the Isle of Man. Her father was a Yorkshire man and her mother the daughter of a Rajah. She has worked as a nanny, cleaner, field worker, hotelier, chef, secondary and primary teacher and is now a full time writer. She has over thirty eight Regency romantic adventures published plus four Jane Austen variations, three Victorian sagas and seven WW2 family sagas. She lives in a pretty, riverside village in Essex with her husband and British Shorthair cat. She has two adult children and three grandchildren.

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Website  ǀ  Twitter  ǀ  Goodreads

The Spitfire Girl in the Skies blog tour poster