Tag: historical fiction

#BookReview Hell Gate (Ingo Finch Mystery #3) by Jeff Dawson @canelo_co

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Hell GateAbout the Book

To solve this case, only an outsider will do… Ingo Finch faces his biggest challenge yet.

New York, 1904. Over a thousand are dead after the sinking of the General Slocum, a pleasure steamer full of German immigrants out for a day on the East River. The community is devastated, broken, in uproar. With a populist senator preying on their grievances, a new political force is unleashed, pushing America to ally with Germany in any coming war.

Nine months later, Ingo Finch arrives in Manhattan, now an official British agent. Tasked with exposing this new movement, he is caught in a deadly game between Whitehall, Washington, Berlin… and the Mob.

Not everything in the Big Apple is as it seems. For Finch, completing the mission is one thing; surviving it quite another…

Format: ebook (255 pages)                      Publisher: Canelo
Publication date: 5th November 2020 Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery, Thriller

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Purchase links*
Amazon UK
*link provided for convenience not as part of an affiliate programme

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My Review

I’ve been a fan of Jeff Dawson’s Ingo Finch series since reading the first book, No Ordinary Killing, in 2017. And I absolutely loved the 2018 follow-up, The Cold North Sea. Although there are brief references to events in the previous two books, Hell Gate can definitely be enjoyed as a standalone. However I’m betting that, having read it, you’ll want to go back to where it all began and find out just why Ingo Finch finds himself at the beck and call of the British secret service.

I recall describing The Cold North Sea as “Buchanesque” and, as regular followers of this blog will know, there is no higher compliment as far as I’m concerned. I’ll happily award the same accolade to Hell Gate. Although there’s a terrific scene on a train that could come straight out of a James Bond movie, the episode in which Finch infiltrates an anarchist group reminded me of the exploits of John Buchan’s hero, Richard Hannay, in Mr. Standfast and a pursuit across open country recalled Hannay’s adventures in the The Thirty-Nine Steps.

Ingo Finch’s latest mission sees him sent to New York, a city that in 1904 is a “growing metropolis in all its living, steaming, cacophonous glory”. I enjoyed seeing him experiencing landmarks such as the Statue of Liberty and Brooklyn Bridge, and his exploits take him to many well-known parts of the city including Central Park, Broadway, the Meatpacking District and Little Italy. I also loved his wide-eyed reaction to American innovations such as traffic lights and toothpaste you squeeze from a tube. Finch also has his first taste of pizza and hot dogs.

Early on in the book, there are walk-on parts for some famous historical figures such as financier J.P. Morgan, chairman of the White Star Line Bruce Ismay, and Edward Smith, captain of the Baltic (the ocean liner on which Finch travels to America) later to become infamous as the captain of another ship. There’s even a mention of a Trump!

As in the earlier books, there are fascinating nuggets of historical fact around which the author has cleverly wrapped a gripping historical thriller. For instance, I hadn’t appreciated how much of the population of New York at the time was made up of people of German extraction and to what extent this influenced political and economic power within the city. As one character says, “German labour built this city. German labour built the Brooklyn Bridge and the Williamsburg…”.

As Finch reflects at one point, “The United States was a nation forged in blood” and it’s not long before he’s experiencing the reality of this in the melting pot that is New York with its rival gangs and political factions fighting for control. As one insider explain, “All I can tell you is that it’s getting worse – far worse. The Irish, the Italians, the Jews… We got Russian gangs, Chinese gangs, too… We got Black gangs, Hispanic gangs. And now…the Germans.”

In the dedication to The Thirty-Nine Steps, addressed to his friend Tommy Nelson, John Buchan recalls their mutual fondness for ‘that elementary type of tale…which we know as the “shocker” – the romance where the incidents defy the probabilities, and march just inside the borders of the possible’.  It’s an apt description of Hell Gate in which Ingo Finch lurches from one narrow escape to another and is constantly trying to work out – as is the reader – who he can trust. The short answer is pretty much no-one.

The author keeps the pace moving and the tension building as Finch seeks to achieve his mission. As with any good action hero, he gets rather battered and bruised along the way. I’ll admit to having developed a slight crush on Finch making me think it might almost be worth being held captive by a mysterious cult in order to be rescued by him. However, I also suspect I might have some quite formidable rivals for his affections!

If you’re a fan of historical crime thrillers that feature an intrepid hero, are set in interesting locations, that exude the atmosphere of the period and have a plot that cleverly combines fact and fiction, then this is the series for you. I loved Hell Gate and I can’t wait for the next outing for Ingo Finch, not least because he has unfinished business…

I received an advance review copy courtesy of Canelo via NetGalley.

In three words: Fast-paced, gripping, action-packed

Try something similar: Hudson’s Kill by Paddy Hirsch

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Jeff Dawson CaneloAbout the Author

Jeff Dawson is a journalist and author. He has been a long-standing contributor to The Sunday Times Culture section, writing regular A-list interview-led arts features (interviewees including the likes of Robert De Niro, George Clooney, Dustin Hoffman, Hugh Grant, Angelina Jolie, Jerry Seinfeld and Nicole Kidman). He is also a former US Editor of Empire magazine.
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Jeff is the author of three non-fiction books — Tarantino/Quentin Tarantino: The Cinema of Cool, Back Home: England And The 1970 World Cup, which The Times rated “Truly outstanding”, and Dead Reckoning: The Dunedin Star Disaster, nominated for the Mountbatten Maritime Prize.

Historical thriller, No Ordinary Killing (2017) – an Amazon/Kindle bestseller – was Jeff’s debut novel. His follow-up, The Cold North Sea (2018), continued the adventures of Captain Ingo Finch. The third book in the series, Hell Gate (2020), comes out on November 5th.

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#BookReview Immortal by Jessica Duchen @unbounders

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Immortal BT Poster

Welcome to today’s stop on the blog tour for Immortal by Jessica Duchen. My thanks to Anne at Random Things Tours for inviting me to take part in the tour and to Unbound for my digital review copy.

ImmortalAbout the Book

Who was Beethoven’s ‘Immortal Beloved’?

After Ludwig van Beethoven’s death, a love letter in his writing was discovered, addressed only to his ‘Immortal Beloved’. Decades later, Countess Therese Brunsvik claims to have been the composer’s lost love. Yet is she concealing a tragic secret? Who is the one person who deserves to know the truth?

Becoming Beethoven’s pupils in 1799, Therese and her sister Josephine followed his struggles against the onset of deafness, Viennese society’s flamboyance, privilege and hypocrisy and the upheavals of the Napoleonic wars. While Therese sought liberation, Josephine found the odds stacked against even the most unquenchable of passions…

Format: Paperback (352 pages)           Publisher: Unbound
Publication date: 29th October 2020 Genre: Historical Fiction

Find Immortal on Goodreads

Purchase links*
Amazon UK | Hive (supporting UK bookshops)
*link provided for convenience not as part of an affiliate programme

My Review

Immortal is described by the author as “a novel inspired by real events”. Woven into the story is Jessica Duchen’s favoured theory (supported by many other scholars) as to the identity of the woman addressed as ‘Immortal Beloved’ in Beethoven’s letter. In fact, it becomes clear pretty quickly who that woman is and, later, why her identity might need to be protected.

The book is narrated by Countess Therese Brunsvik (known as ‘Tesi’ to her family) in a series of letters to an unidentified niece. I have to say I’m not really a fan of this narrative device. Even taking into account that people of the time in which the novel is set were more prolific and dedicated correspondents, I find it unrealistic that events and conversations can be recalled in such detail.

Given the size of Therese’s extended family – thanks to her sisters’ large number of offspring –  there are a range of possible candidates for the ‘My dear niece’ to whom her letters are addressed.   The niece’s identity is not confirmed until the end of the book, although readers may have their own suspicions earlier than that.

Leaving my earlier reservation aside, Therese’s account provides a detailed, often lively, insight into the lives of a certain section of Hungarian society at the beginning of the 19th century, a period which takes in the Napoleonic Wars and significant geopolitical changes to the countries of Europe.  In particular, the book charts the transformation of Vienna from a place of parties, palaces and musical soirees to a city under occupation in a nation bankrupted by war.

The children of the Brunsvik family are blessed with linguistic and musical ability. Therese and her sisters are talented pianists with remarkable sight-reading ability and their brother, Franz, plays the cello. The family are fluent in French and German; like other members of the aristocracy they eschew the native tongue, Hungarian, which is spoken only by their servants.

However, with the privileges of nobility come constraints, especially for the women of the family. As Therese’s mother explains, “A woman’s status, as you know, is determined by that of her husband”. Hence the unedifying spectacle of Therese’s beautiful sister Josephine (known as ‘Pepi’ within the family) being, in Therese’s words, marketed “to the first be-titled bidder”, with the unhappy consequences that follow.  And, as it turns out, an aristocratic title does not necessarily ensure financial stability or moral probity.

One of the key strengths of Immortal is the fascinating insight it gives into the character of Beethoven. This description of his appearance brings to life the figure depicted on the cover of the book:

“…dark as a Spaniard…not tall, but broad, imposing, confident, hair swept back above his collar. His eyes were eager and curious, under low-set brows that threatened to meet in the middle. His neck was wide and short, his jawline squared, with a cleft chin that made him more determined in aspect; high cheekbones brought refinement to this unusual visage.”

The book vividly conveys Beethoven’s musical prowess and amazing ability to improvise – “I find it within myself, and it must out”. The author calls upon her own musical knowledge to comment in scholarly fashion on the structure of and themes behind some of Beethoven’s compositions, such as the piano sonatas which the two Brunsvik sisters learn to play under his tuition.

Described by Therese at one point as a ‘walking firework’, it is sad to see the first signs of Beethoven’s deafness and the impact it has on him. As Therese laments, “He, a sociable and generous soul, now preferred to avoid company rather than allow his disability to be seen”. The ups and downs of his musical career don’t help. Forced to rely on financial support from patrons, Beethoven’s ground-breaking compositions are not met with universal acclaim.

For me the pace of the book was more andante than vivace.  However, the Coda revealed an unexpected new angle and the historical notes provided a fascinating insight into the afterlives of many of the characters featured in the book.  This includes Therese herself whose interest in and championing of progressive education, especially for girls, was her lasting legacy.

Less a mystery than a painstaking historical biography, Immortal will appeal to lovers of Beethoven’s works who wish to find out more about the man behind the music and to those with an interest in the social history of Europe during a period of upheaval.

In three words: Detailed, assured, well-researched

Try something similar: Ecstasy by Mary Sharratt

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Jessica Duchen Author PicAbout the Author

Jessica Duchen writes for and about music. She was a journalist and critic for the Independent from 2004 to 2016, and her work has appeared in the Guardian, the Sunday Times and BBC Music Magazine, among others. Her output includes fiction, biographies (Faure and Korngold), stage works and librettos. Among her recent novels is Ghost Variations (Unbound, 2016), based on the true story of the Schumann Violin Concerto’s rediscovery in the 1930s. It was chosen by John Suchet as his Best Read of 2016 for the Daily Mail‘s Christmas Books selection and was Book of the Month in BBC Music Magazine. Jessica often narrates concert versions of her novels, which have been heard at the Wigmore Hall, The Sage Gateshead, Kings Place and numerous music societies and festivals.

Her librettos include Silver Birch for composer Roxanna Panufnik, commissioned by Garsington Opera and shortlisted for a 2018 International Opera Award.

Jessica was born within the sound of Bow Bells, read music at Cambridge and lives in London with her violinist husband and two cats.

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