Tag: historical crime

#BlogTour #BookReview Twelve Nights by Penny Ingham

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Twelve Nights Full Tour BannerWelcome to today’s stop on the blog tour for Twelve Nights by Penny Ingham. My thanks to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me to take part in the tour and for my digital review copy. Do check out the posts by my tour buddies for today, Joanne at Pickled Thoughts and Pinot, Jasmine at Jazzy Book Reviews and Jo at Over The Rainbow Book Blog.

WinThere’s also a (UK only) giveaway with a chance to win a paperback copy of Twelve Nights. Enter via Rafflecopter here. 

Terms and Conditions:

  1. Open to entrants aged 18 or over.
  2. The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner.
  3. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data.
  4. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

Twelve NightsAbout the Book

The Theatre, London 1592. When a player is murdered, suspicion falls on the wardrobe mistress, Magdalen Bisset, because everyone knows poison is a woman’s weapon. The scandal-pamphlets vilify her. The coroner is convinced of her guilt.

Magdalen is innocent, although few are willing to help her prove it. Her much-loved grandmother is too old and sick. Will Shakespeare is benignly detached and her friend Christopher Marlowe is wholly unreliable. Only one man offers his assistance, but dare she trust him when nothing about him rings true?

With just two weeks until the inquest, Magdalen ignores anonymous threats to ‘leave it be’ and delves into the dangerous underworld of a city seething with religious and racial tension. As time runs out, she must risk everything in her search for the true killer – for all other roads lead to the gallows.

Format: Paperback (368 pages) Publisher: Nerthus
Publication date: 1st June 2022 Genre: Historical Fiction

Find Twelve Nights on Goodreads

Purchase links
Amazon UK
Links provided for convenience only, not as part of an affiliate programme

My Review

The story unfolds at a pace that means there’s plenty of time to immerse yourself in the sights and smells of Elizabethan London and its theatres. The latter was an aspect of the book I really enjoyed and which I thought the author brought brilliantly to life, from the audience of one-penny groundlings and ‘bum-cushions’ (those who could afford seats) to the behind-the-scenes preparation for performances involving, amongst other things, a stuffed dog and Richard III’s hump. The story takes the reader to the grimy streets and alleyways of London, the squalor of Bridewell and the rumbustious goings on at the Mermaid tavern, as well as the homes of the nobility attired in their outrageously opulent garb. Amongst the latter there are goings-on that would definitely not meet with the approval of Puritans.

Magdalen makes a plucky and resourceful heroine – and she needs to be. Not only has she been accused of a murder she did not commit but she finds herself caught up in the political intrigue and religious turmoil of the period. Forced to turn detective in order to save her own skin, her investigation throws up a plethora of suspects and possible motives including revenge, jealousy, blackmail, corruption and bigotry. There’s a neat summary of the main suspects and why they might have committed the crime towards the end of the book. Alongside all this Magdalen has to repel the unwanted advances of her employer (also her landlord) and support herself and her ailing grandmother who is slowly losing her grip on reality, a dangerous situation when one loose word could spell disaster. It’s not surprising Magdalen feels very alone and vulnerable. ‘Once, the Theatre had been her sanctuary from the troubles of the world, and then death had crept inside and it no longer felt a safe haven.’ 

Woven into the story of Magdalen’s quest to clear her name are real historical figures including the playwrights William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe and Thomas Kyd – all competing for noble patronage and the demands of bloodthirsty theatregoers – and actor and theatre owner, Richard Burbage. And of course no novel set in the Elizabethan period would be complete without a reference to one of the Cecil family.

The book ends with some surprising revelations. Not just the identity of the person responsible for the murder but about Magdalen herself, leaving plenty of possible storylines to be explored in future books.

In three words: Atmospheric, intriguing, lively

Try something similar: A Murderous Affair by Jonathan Digby

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Twelve Nights Author IMG_5152About the Author

Penny writes: I was born and raised in Yorkshire where my father inspired my love of history from an early age. He is a born story teller and would take us to the top of Iron Age hill forts, often as dusk was falling, and regale us with stirring tales of battles lost and won. Not surprisingly, I went on to study Classics at university, and still love spending my summers on archaeological digs. For me, there is nothing more thrilling than finding an artefact that has not seen the light of day for thousands of years. I find so much inspiration for my novels from archaeology.

I have had a variety of jobs over the years, including working for the British Forces newspaper in Germany, and at the BBC. When our family was little, the only available space for me to write was a small walk-in wardrobe. The children used to say, ‘Oh, Mum’s in the cupboard again’.

I have written four historical novels: The King’s Daughter explores the story of Aethelflaed, the Lady of the Mercians. The Saxon Wolves and The Saxon Plague are both set in fifth century AD, a time of enormous upheaval and uncertainty in Britain as the Romans departed and the Saxon era began. My latest is something a bit different. Twelve Nights is a crime thriller set in sixteenth century London, and features William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe.

I now live with my husband in the Hampshire countryside. Like many others during the pandemic, we decided to try growing our own fruit and vegetables – with mixed results! We can only get better!

Connect with Penny
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Twelve Nights

#BlogBlitz #PublicationDay A Taste for Killing by Sarah Hawkswood @AllisonandBusby

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Today is publication day of A Taste for Killing, the latest book in Sarah Hawkswood’s Bradecote and Catchpoll historical crime series. To celebrate I’m joining other book bloggers in sharing my review of this the tenth book in the series. My thanks to Christina at Allison & Busby for inviting me to take part in today’s blitz and for my digital review copy via NetGalley.

A Taste for KillingAbout the Book

Godfrey Bowyer, the best but least likeable bow maker in Worcester, dies of poisoning, though his wife Blanche survives.

The number of people who could have administered the poison should mean a very short investigation for Bradecote and Catchpoll, but perhaps some was pulling the strings, and that widens the net considerably.

Could it be the cast-out younger brother or perhaps Orderic the Bailiff, whose wife has been pressured into a relationship with Godfrey?

Could it even be the wife herself? With Bradecote eager to return to his manor and worried about his wife’s impending confinement, and Walkelin trying to get his mother to accept his choice of bride, there are distractions aplenty, though Serjeant Catchpoll will not let them get in the way of solving this case.

Format: Hardback (320 pages)     Publisher: Allison & Busby
Publication date: 12th May 2022 Genre: Historical Fiction, Crime

Find A Taste for Killing on Goodreads

Purchase links
Bookshop.org
Disclosure: If you buy a book via the above link, I may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops

Hive | Amazon UK
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My Review

I first came across Bradcote and Catchpoll when I read River of Sins, the seventh book in the author’s historical crime series set in 12th century Worcester. That was back in December 2020 and since then I’ve devoured both the subsequent books in the series – Blood Runs Thicker and Wolf at the Door.

A Taste for Killing takes up directly from events at the end of the previous book with Undersheriff Hugh Bradecote and his wife anxiously awaiting the birth of their second child.  Mindful of Bradecote’s situation, Serjeant Catchpoll initially takes on the investigation into the murder of wealthy burgess, Godfrey Bowyer, with only the assistance of recently promoted Underserjeant Walkelin. Although it appears there are only a few individuals who would have had the opportunity to administer the poison, the murdered man had no shortage of enemies in the city.

The author gives us a real taste of what it must have been like to live in 12th century Worcester, conjuring up the sights, sounds and smells, as well as a sense of the local dialect (although Bradecote being a lord of the manor speaks Norman to his peers, or ‘Foreign’ as the locals call it).

Over the course of the series, the duo of Bradecote and Catchpoll has evolved into a trio with the addition of Walkelin who has grown from eager apprentice to becoming an integral part of the team, honing his ‘serjeanting senses’ along the way. He’s observant, has a good sense of intuition and can mingle with servants and traders. Even after all this time, Catchpoll still casts a proprietorial, sometimes approving, eye over Bradecote’s interrogation techniques whilst recognising that Bradecote’s rank can open doors that would otherwise be closed to him. Not so much good cop, bad cop as toff cop, common cop. What all three share is tenacity. As Walkelin observes, ‘Oft times we are called the lord Sheriff’s law hounds, and like a hound, we cannot leave a scent uninvestigated, a warm trail to go cold without us sniffin’ at it.’

The domestic side is not ignored either. Bradcote’s concern for his wife is endearing and Catchpoll has a caring wife always ready with a cup of warmed cider or advice to wrap up warm. Walkelin’s hopes of matrimony rest on his persuasive skills but it’s surprising what a way with preparing the ever-present pottage can do to change minds.

The unravelling of the mystery is nicely managed with a few red herrings along the way and a plethora of possible motives. As is often the case, Catchpoll’s local knowledge of family relationships and past grievances, as well as his ability to have his ear to the ground for gossip, are important in solving the mystery. His reputation as ‘a wily old bastard’ helps too. But young Walkelin plays his part as well, uncovering the nugget of information that proves someone is not what they profess to be.

If you’re looking for a enjoyable mystery with a well-constructed plot, colourful characters and interesting  historical detail then I can heartily recommend A Taste of Killing.  Or if you really want to indulge yourself, why not go back and read the whole series from the beginning (as I hope to do one day).

In three words: Engaging, intriguing, absorbing

Try something similar: The Monastery Murders by E. M. Powell

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Sarah HawkswoodAbout the Author

Sarah Hawkswood describes herself as a ‘wordsmith’ who is only really happy when writing. She read Modern History at Oxford and first published a non-fiction book on the Royal Marines in the First World War before moving on to medieval mysteries set in Worcestershire.

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