Tag: #NetGalley

Book Review – Cabaret Macabre by Tom Mead @AriesFiction @TomMeadAuthor

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Blog tour banner Cabaret Macabre by Tom Mead

Welcome to the the final day of the blog tour for Cabaret Macabre by Tom Mead which was published on 1st August 2024. My thanks to Poppy at Ransom PR for inviting me to take part in the tour and to Head of Zeus for my review copy via NetGalley.

About the Book

Book cover of Cabaret Macabre by Tom Mead

Hampshire, 1938. When prominent judge Sir Giles Drury starts receiving sinister letters, his wife suspects Victor Silvius, a man confined to a sanatorium after attacking Sir Giles. Meanwhile, Silvius’ sister Caroline is convinced her brother is about to be murdered… by none other than his old nemesis Sir Giles Drury.

Caroline seeks the advice of Scotland Yard’s Inspector Flint, while the Drurys, eager to avoid a scandal, turn to Joseph Spector. Spector, renowned magician turned sleuth, has an uncanny knack for solving complicated crimes – but this case will test his powers of deduction to their limits.

At a snowbound English country house, a body is found is impossible circumstances. Spector and Flint’s investigations collide as they find themselves trapped by the snowstorm where anyone could be the next victim – or the killer…

Format: Hardcover (320 pages) Publisher: Head of Zeus
Publication date: 1st August 2024 Genre: Historical Fiction, Crime

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My Review

Cabaret Macabre is the third book in the author’s series of ‘locked room’ mysteries featuring illusionist and private detective Joseph Spector. Don’t worry if you haven’t read the two previous books – Death and the Conjuror or The Murder Wheel – because Cabaret Macabre can definitely be enjoyed as a standalone. Plus the good news is that although there are references to events in the earlier books, these are not spoilers so you could still go back and read them.

Marchbanks, the country home of Sir Giles Drury and his wife Lady Elspeth, makes the perfect location for a murder mystery. Set in large grounds, there’s a lake, a boathouse and a bedroom in which a previous (and unsolved) murder took place. There’s even a housekeeper who gave me Mrs Danvers (from Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca) vibes. As Spector remarks, ‘It was a place of secrets… Secrets, and death’.

Perhaps the best way to give you an idea of the complexity of the plot is this quote from Inspector Flint who for much of the time is just as baffled as the reader. ‘The whole thing feels like a jigsaw with all the wrong pieces. They should fit, but they don’t.’ But don’t worry, although even Spector acknowledges the challenge, you just know he’ll be able to unravel all the threads to reveal the full picture… eventually. ‘A puzzle. An enigma. A conundrum. But never impossible, Flint. Nothing is impossible.’

When it comes to inventive – and, yes, macabre – ways for people to meet their end, Cabaret Macabre absolutely delivers with scenarios worthy of an Agatha Christie or Dorothy L Sayers crime novel including, of course, the obligatory ‘locked room’ murder.

I’ll say it now, don’t even attempt to work out who did it, why they did it and how they did it because the effort will make your brain spin. Just sit back and enjoy the ride and wait for Spector to explain it all at the end. But give yourself a pat on the back if you spotted any of the clues (although helpfully the author does occasionally point you in their direction) but award yourself a ‘How clever am I?’ prize if you managed to work out their relevance. The barometer anyone?

Cabaret Macabre is another fiendishly intricate and skilfully plotted murder mystery that fans of Golden Age crime will absolutely love.

In three words: Clever, intricate, entertaining
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About the Author

Author Tom Mead

Born in Derbyshire, British author Tom Mead is the author of the critically acclaimed crime thriller novels Death and The Conjuror and The Murder Wheel. His debut novel was selected as one of Publishers Weekly’s Mystery/Thriller Books of the Year. Mead has been critically acclaimed by the Guardian, Sunday Times, New York Times, Kirkus, and Publishers Weekly amongst many others.

His Joseph Spector Locked-Room Mysteries have been critically acclaimed and longlisted for the Capital Crime and Historical Writers’ Association Awards. Tom’s fiction pays modern homages to the Golden Age and is filled with references for golden age crime thriller fans to pick up on in this 21st century take on classic crime fiction.

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#BookReview The Lost Girl in Paris by Jina Bacarr @BoldwoodBooks

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The Lost Girl in ParisAbout the Book

‘I will never forget what the Nazi did to me. Never’

Paris, 1940. As Nazis patrol the streets of the French capital, Tiena is alone, desperate and on the run. After defending herself against the force of an officer, she must find a new identity in order to survive.

An accidental meeting with members of the Resistance gives her a lifeline, as she is offered the chance to reinvent herself as perfumer Angéline De Cadieux. However Angéline will never forget what happened to her, and will do everything she can to seek revenge.

But vengeance can be a dangerous game, and Angeline can only hide her true identity for so long before her past catches up with her, with some devastating consequences…

Paris, 2003. When the opportunity arises for aspiring journalist Emma Keane to interview world renowned perfumer Madame De Cadieux about her life during World War Two, she is determined to take it. There are secrets from her own family history that she hopes Angéline may be able to help unlock.

But nothing can prepare Emma for Angéline’s story, and one thing is for certain – it will change her own life forever…

Format: Paperback (390 pages)              Publisher: Boldwood Books
Publication date: 30th November 2021 Genre: Historical Fiction

Find The Lost Girl in Paris on Goodreads

Purchase links
Hive | Amazon UK
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My Review

The book alternates between two timelines. The first, set in 2003, features ambitious journalist Emma Keane who manages to gain the agreement of famous parfumier Angéline De Cadieux to tell the story of her life and wartime experiences, a story Angéline has carefully guarded up to that point. As well as promising to be a career-enhancing scoop, Emma has reasons of her own for wanting to delve into the secrets of Angéline’s past and the secrets of the parfumier’s art.

In the second timeline, set in wartime France, the reader learns about the traumatic events Angéline experienced as a young woman, experiences that put her in fear of capture by the Nazis – and by one Nazi in particular – and that resulted in her transformation from Tiena Cordova to Angéline de Cadieux. We also learn about her time working as a parfumier and as a member of the nascent French Resistance, risking discovery at any moment.  As Angéline’s subsequent experiences show, the consequences of discovery are degradation, inhuman treatment and almost certain death.

I wasn’t completely won over by the dual timeline structure in which Angéline’s reminiscences are sometimes related to Emma and at other times direct to the reader in chapters contemporaneous with the events being described. I preferred the style of writing in the latter and I was always glad to immerse myself again in Angeline’s story. However, I appreciate the book’s structure enabled the author to draw interesting parallels between the two women. One thing the two women share is the presence of two handsome men in their lives. For Angéline this is a much-lamented past love whilst for Emma it is an enticing future prospect (although in true Pride & Prejudice style initially she intensely dislikes the man in question). Eventually the two women’s stories come together by which time the bond between them has grown deeper.

Although many of us will know about the persecution of Jewish people by the Nazis, the plight of the Roma people under the regime is probably less well-known, although what they suffered was equally horrific. Angéline’s first-hand experience of this, although difficult to read at times, was the most compelling part of the book for me, showing the courage of those who endured the worst that human beings can do to one another. As Emma observes at one point, it’s a story that needs to be told.

I received an advance review copy courtesy of Boldwood Books via NetGalley.

In three words: Emotional, dramatic, intense

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Jina_BacarrAbout the Author

Jina Bacarr is a US-based historical romance author of over 10 previous books. She has been a screenwriter, journalist and news reporter, but now writes full-time and lives in LA. Jina’s novels have been sold in 9 territories. Sign up for Jina’s newsletter letter here.

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