Tag: Read

Throwback Thursday: The Somme Legacy by M J Lee

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ThrowbackThursday

Throwback Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by Renee at It’s Book Talk.  It’s designed as an opportunity to share old favourites as well as books that we’ve finally got around to reading that were published over a year ago.  If you decide to take part, please link back to It’s Book Talk.

Today I’m revisiting a book that I reviewed in the early days of my blog: The Somme Legacy by M J Lee, an intriguing genealogical mystery published in January 2017.  In fact, I believe the book’s blog tour was the first I ever took part in when I started blogging.

the-somme-legacy-cover-large-ebookAbout the Book

July 1, 1916. The Somme, France. A British Officer prepares to go over the top on the first day of the Battle of the Somme.

March 28, 2016. Manchester. England. Genealogical investigator Jayne Sinclair, a former police detective, is commissioned by a young teacher to look into the history of his family. The only clues are a medallion with purple, white and green ribbons, and an old drawing of a young woman.  Her quest leads to a secret buried in the trenches of World War One for over 100 years. Who was the real heir to the Lappiter millions? From the author of the best selling, The Irish Inheritance, comes a gripping new book revealing family secrets hidden in the fog of war.

Format: ebook (297 pp.)                       Publisher: 4th Estate
Published: 12th January 2017              Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery

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

Find The Somme Legacy on Goodreads

My Review

The Somme Legacy is the second book in the Jayne Sinclair genealogical mystery series (the first being The Irish Inheritance) but it definitely works well as a stand-alone story.

Jayne takes on what seems an impossible case – not only finding the proof that will allow her client, Mark Russell, to submit a claim on the Lappiter estate but doing so in only seven days. After this, if unclaimed, the estate will pass to the Crown. The key to her client’s case is finding evidence of the marriage between Mark’s great grandfather, Captain David Russell, the eldest son of Lord Lappiter, and Rose Clarke – a marriage that all the records say never took place.  Despite the difficulties and in the face of opposition from Mark’s father, Jayne decides to take on the case.

Jayne is an engaging protagonist with an interesting back story. I particularly liked the relationship between Jayne and her father. You get the sense that she embraces the case as much to give her a sense of purpose again as for financial reward. In fact, Jayne begins to feel a real connection and, perhaps sense of female solidarity, with Rose Clarke.  ‘She was going to find out what happened to Rose Clarke, with or without the help of the Russells. She owed this woman something for all she had suffered in her fight for other women. Even now, over 100 years later, Jayne felt she could still right the wrongs of the past. It was why she did what she did.’

The book alternates between the present day search for evidence and the story of David and Rose from the time of their first meeting in 1913. I thought David and Rose were incredibly well-drawn, believable characters and there was a real sense of authenticity about the scenes set in the past, particularly the details of Rose’s involvement in the suffragette movement. In fact, David and Rose’s story would have made a good book in its own right!   I did feel that the characters (both in the past and present) trying to thwart the Russells’ claim tended a little bit towards the ‘pantomime villain’. Personally, I felt there was sufficient jeopardy created by the looming deadline.

The descriptions of the genealogical sources available and the mechanics of searching historical records had a real sense of authenticity. This story would be perfect for fans of Heir Hunters, Who Do You Think You Are or anyone who has either researched their family history or thought about doing so. Equally, it will appeal to lovers of historical fiction set during the First World War.

This was a very satisfying, entertaining story which resisted the temptation to provide a saccharine ending.  I received an advance reader copy courtesy of the author and Neverland Blog Tours in return for an honest review.

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In three words: Entertaining, well-researched, mystery

Try something similar… The Dream Shelf by Jeff  Russell (click here to read my review)

leeAbout the Author

Martin has spent most of his adult life writing in one form or another. As a University researcher in history, he wrote pages of notes on reams of obscure topics. As a social worker with Vietnamese refugees, he wrote memoranda. And, as the creative director of an advertising agency, he has written print and press ads, TV commercials, short films and innumerable backs of cornflake packets and hotel websites. He has spent 25 years of his life working outside the North of England – in London, Hong Kong, Taipei, Singapore, Bangkok and Shanghai, winning awards from Cannes, One Show, D&AD, New York and London Festivals, and the United Nations. Whilst working in Shanghai, he loved walking through the old quarter of that amazing city, developing the idea behind a series of crime novels featuring Inspector Pyotr Danilov, set in the 1920s and 30s. When he’s not writing, he splits his time between the UK and Asia, taking pleasure in playing with his daughter, practicing downhill ironing, single-handedly solving the problem of the French wine lake and wishing he were George Clooney.

Connect with Martin

Website ǀ  Twitter  ǀ  Goodreads

 

WWW Wednesdays – 7th February ’18

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WWWWednesdays

Hosted by Taking on a World of Words, this meme is all about the three Ws:

  • What are you currently reading?
  • What did you recently finish reading?
  • What do you think you’ll read next?

Why not join in too?  Leave a comment with your link at Taking on a World of Words and then go blog hopping!

Currently reading

The Wicked ComethThe Wicked Cometh by Laura Carlin (eARC, NetGalley)

The year is 1831. Down the murky alleyways of London, acts of unspeakable wickedness are taking place and no one is willing to speak out on behalf of the city’s vulnerable poor as they disappear from the streets.  Out of these shadows comes Hester White, a bright young woman who is desperate to escape the slums by any means possible.

When Hester is thrust into the world of the aristocratic Brock family, she leaps at the chance to improve her station in life under the tutelage of the fiercely intelligent and mysterious Rebekah Brock. But whispers from her past slowly begin to poison her new life and both she and Rebekah are lured into the most sinister of investigations.  Hester and Rebekah find themselves crossing every boundary they’ve ever known in pursuit of truth, redemption and passion. But their trust in each other will be tested as a web of deceit begins to unspool, dragging them into the blackest heart of a city where something more depraved than either of them could ever imagine is lurking…

In Strangers' HousesIn Strangers’ Houses by Elizabeth Mundy (eARC, NetGalley)

There are some crimes you can’t sweep under the carpet . . .

Lena Szarka, a Hungarian cleaner working in London, knows all too well about cleaning up other people’s messes. When her friend Timea disappears, she suspects one of her clients is to blame. However, the police don’t share her suspicions and it is left to Lena to turn sleuth and find her friend. Searching through their houses as she scrubs their floors, Lena desperately tries to find out what has happened. Only Cartwright, a police constable new to the job, believes that this will lead to the truth – and together they begin to uncover more of Islington’s seedy underbelly than they bargained for.

But Lena soon discovers it’s not just her clients who have secrets. And as she begins to unravel Timea’s past she starts to wonder if she really knew her friend at all.

Recently finished (click on title for review)

The Renaissance ClubThe Renaissance Club by Rachel Dacus (eARC, courtesy of Fiery Seas Publishing)

Would you give up everything, even the time in which you live, to be with your soul mate?

May Gold, a college adjunct teacher, often dreams about the subject of her master’s thesis – Gianlorenzo Bernini. In her fantasies, she’s in his arms, the wildly adored partner of the man who invented the Baroque.  But in reality, May has just landed in Rome with her teaching colleagues and older boyfriend. She considers herself a precocious failure and yearns to unleash her passion and creative spirit. Over the course of the tour, she realizes she has to choose: stay in a safe but stagnant existence or take a risk.

Will May’s adventure in time ruin her life or lead to a magical new one?

The Mermaid & Mrs HancockThe Mermaid and Mrs Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar (eARC, NetGalley)

This voyage is special. It will change everything…

One September evening in 1785, the merchant Jonah Hancock hears urgent knocking on his front door. One of his captains is waiting eagerly on the step. He has sold Jonah’s ship for what appears to be a mermaid.  As gossip spreads through the docks, coffee shops, parlours and brothels, everyone wants to see Mr Hancock’s marvel. Its arrival spins him out of his ordinary existence and through the doors of high society. At an opulent party, he makes the acquaintance of Angelica Neal, the most desirable woman he has ever laid eyes on… and a courtesan of great accomplishment. This meeting will steer both their lives onto a dangerous new course, on which they will learn that priceless things come at the greatest cost.

Where will their ambitions lead? And will they be able to escape the destructive power mermaids are said to possess?

The Optickal IllusionThe Optickal Illusion by Rachel Halliburton (ARC, courtesy of Duckworth)

It is 1797 and in Georgian London, nothing is certain anymore: the future of the monarchy is in question, the city is aflame with conspiracies, and the French could invade any day. Amidst this feverish atmosphere, the American painter Benjamin West is visited by a dubious duo comprised of a blundering father and vibrant daughter, the Provises, who claim they have a secret that has obsessed painters for centuries: the Venetian techniques of master painter Titian.

West was once the most celebrated painter in London, but he hasn’t produced anything of note in years, so against his better judgment he agrees to let the intriguing Ann Jemima Provis visit his studio and demonstrate the techniques from the document. What unravels reveals more than West has ever understood – about himself, the treachery of the art world, and the seductive promise of greatness. Rich in period detail of a meticulously crafted Georgian society, The Optickal Illusion demonstrates the lengths women must go to make their mark on a society that seeks to underplay their abilities. (Review to follow)

What Cathy (will) Read Next

TheFragileThreadofHopeThe Fragile Thread of Hope by Pankaj Giri (ebook, review copy courtesy of the author)

In the autumn of 2012, destiny wreaks havoc on two unsuspecting people – Soham and Fiona.

Although his devastating past involving his brother still haunted him, Soham had established a promising career for himself in Bangalore.  After a difficult childhood, Fiona’s fortunes had finally taken a turn for the better. She had married her beloved, and her life was as perfect as she had ever imagined it to be.  But when tragedy strikes them yet again, their fundamentally fragile lives threaten to fall apart.

Can Fiona and Soham overcome their grief? Will the overwhelming pain destroy their lives?

TheRainNeverCameThe Rain Never Came by Lachlan Walter (ebook, review copy courtesy of the author)

In a thirsty, drought-stricken Australia, the country is well and truly sunburnt. As the Eastern states are evacuated to more appealing climates, a stubborn few resist the forced removal. They hide out in small country towns – where no one would ever bother looking.

Bill Cook and Tobe Cousins are united in their disregard of the law. Aussie larrikins, they pass their hot, monotonous existence drinking at the barely standing pub. When strange lights appear across the Western sky, it seems that those embittered by the drought are seeking revenge. And Bill and Tobe are in their path. In the heat of the moment secrets will be revealed, and survival can’t be guaranteed.