Tag: Read

WWW Wednesday – 24th January ’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 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?

TheCoffinPathThe Coffin Path by Katherine Clements (eARC, NetGalley)

Maybe you’ve heard tales about Scarcross Hall, the house on the old coffin path that winds from village to moor top. They say there’s something up here, something evil.

Mercy Booth isn’t afraid. The moors and Scarcross are her home and lifeblood. But, beneath her certainty, small things are beginning to trouble her. Three ancient coins missing from her father’s study, the shadowy figure out by the gatepost, an unshakeable sense that someone is watching.  When a stranger appears seeking work, Mercy reluctantly takes him in. As their stories entwine, this man will change everything. She just can’t see it yet.

Recently finished (click on title for review)

NucleusNucleus (Tom Wilde #2) by Rory Clements (ARC, courtesy of Bonnier Zaffre)

The eve of war: a secret so deadly, nothing and no one is safe.

June 1939. England is partying like there is no tomorrow, gas masks at the ready. In Cambridge the May Balls are played out with a frantic intensity – but the good times won’t last… In Europe, the Nazis have invaded Czechoslovakia, and in Germany he persecution of the Jews is now so widespread that desperate Jewish parents send their children to safety in Britain aboard the Kindertransport. Closer to home, the IRA’s S-Plan bombing campaign has resulted in more than 100 terrorist outrages around England.

But perhaps the most far-reaching event of all goes largely unreported: in Germany, Otto Hahn has produced the first man-made fission and an atomic device is now a very real possibility. The Nazis set up the Uranverein group of physicists: its task is to build a superbomb. The German High Command is aware that British and US scientists are working on similar line. Cambridge’s Cavendish Laboratory is where the atom was split in 1932. Might the Cambridge men now win the race for a nuclear bomb? Hitler’s generals need to be sure they know all the Cavendish’s secrets. Only then will it be safe for Germany to wage war.

When one of the Cavendish’s finest brains is murdered, Professor Tom Wilde is once more drawn into an intrigue from which there seems no escape. In a conspiracy that stretches from Cambridge to Berlin and from Washington DC to the west coast of Ireland, he faces deadly forces that threaten the fate of the world.

The Moral CompassThe Moral Compass (Shaking the Tree #1) by K A Servian (ebook, review copy courtesy of Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours)

Florence has a charmed life. The filth and poverty of Victorian London are beyond her notice as she attends dinners, balls and parties. But when her father suffers a spectacular fall from grace, Florence’s world comes crashing down around her. She must abandon her life of luxury and sail to the far side of the world where compromise and suffering beyond anything she can imagine await her.  When she is offered the opportunity to regain some of what she has lost, she takes it, but soon discovers that the offer is not all it seems. The choice she made has a high price attached and she must live with the heart-breaking consequences of her decision.

traitor coverTraitor (Mercia Blakewood #3) by David Hingley (hardcover, review copy courtesy of Allison & Busby)

May 1665. With winter passed, Mercia Blakewood is at last headed back to England from America, hoping to leave behind the shadow cast by death and heartache. She expects a welcome from the King considering her earlier mission at his behalf, but the reception she receives after her long voyage home could hardly be called warm.

With the country now at war with the Dutch, the Crown has decided that Mercia is an asset to be used once again. More manipulation lies ahead as Mercia must accept a clandestine role at the heart of the glittering and debauched royal court to unmask a spy and traitor.

Olive KitteridgeOlive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout (ebook)

Olive Kitteridge might be described by some as a battle axe or as brilliantly pushy, by others as the kindest person they had ever met. Olive herself has always been certain that she is 100% correct about everything – although, lately, her certitude has been shaken. This indomitable character appears at the centre of these narratives that comprise Olive Kitteridge. In each of them, we watch Olive, a retired schoolteacher, as she struggles to make sense of the changes in her life and the lives of those around her – always with brutal honesty, if sometimes painfully. Olive will make you laugh, nod in recognition, as well as wince in pain or shed a tear or two. We meet her stoic husband, bound to her in a marriage both broken and strong, and her own son, tyrannised by Olive’s overbearing sensitivities. The reader comes away, amazed by this author’s ability to conjure this formidable heroine and her deep humanity that infiltrates every page. (Review to follow 25/1/18)

What Cathy (will) Read Next

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…

JohnBuchanThrillersThe Power-House by John Buchan (hardcover)

When his friend Charles Pitt-Heron vanishes mysteriously, Sir Edward Leithen is at first only mildly concerned. But a series of strange events that follow Pitt-Heron’s disappearance convinces Leithen that he is dealing with a sinister secret society. Their codename is ‘The Power-House’. The authorities are unable to act without evidence. As he gets deeper involved with the underworld, Leithen finds himself facing the enemy alone and in terrible danger.

Blog Tour/Review: Traitor (Mercia Blakewood #3) by David Hingley

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Traitor blog tour banner

I’m delighted to be hosting the final stop on the blog tour for Traitor by David Hingley. Traitor is the third book in David’s Mercia Blakewood series of historical mysteries.  You can read my review below.  I’d like to thank Ailsa at Allison & Busby for inviting me to take part in the tour and for introducing me to David’s books.  The previous books in the series have already been added to my wishlist.

I have really enjoyed reading the great reviews from other participants on the tour (who happen to include some of my favourite bloggers).  Do check them out – the links are below.

‘A well paced romp, with plenty of twists and turns’ @_the_book_bug_ on Instagram

‘I loved catching up with Mercia again. She’s such a brilliant character…’ The Overflowing Library

‘The portrayal of Charles II’s court is full of colour. It also reeks with sin.’ For Winter Nights

‘An intriguing journey into the political arena of the mid-seventeenth century’ Jaffa Reads Too 

‘The stench of the Southampton docks, the London streets and the smell of fear were evident from the first page’ The Book Trail

‘A very readable historical yarn’ @thehalcyondaysofsummer on Instagram

‘Along the way there’s plenty of suspense’ She Reads Novels 

‘Hingley’s blend of real and imagined people and events brings the Restoration vividly to life’ Ramblingmads

traitor coverAbout the Book

May 1665. With winter passed, Mercia Blakewood is at last headed back to England from America, hoping to leave behind the shadow cast by death and heartache. She expects a welcome from the King considering her earlier mission at his behalf, but the reception she receives after her long voyage home could hardly be called warm.

With the country now at war with the Dutch, the Crown has decided that Mercia is an asset to be used once again. More manipulation lies ahead as Mercia must accept a clandestine role at the heart of the glittering and debauched royal court to unmask a spy and traitor.

Format: Hardback, eBook  (384 pp.)         Publisher: Allison & Busby
Published in UK: 18th January 2018         Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery

Purchase Links* Book 1, Birthright, is currently just £5.99 on the Allison & Busby website
Amazon.co.uk  ǀ  Amazon.com  ǀ Publisher
*links provided for convenience, not as part of any affiliate programme

Find Traitor on Goodreads

My Review

Traitor is my first experience of a book by David Hingley but put me down as hooked!  Although I haven’t read the previous two books in the Mercia Blakewood series –  Birthright and Puritan – it certainly didn’t affect my enjoyment of this book.  In fact, I thought the author did a great job of providing the right amount of background information for readers new to the series without boring those who have read the previous books.  It’s a fine balance to strike but I thought the author nailed it and actually there were some enticing nuggets of information about events in the earlier books that have definitely made me want to go back and read them.

The setting for Traitor is the court of Charles II.  It’s a place of intrigue, scandal, gossip, clandestine affairs and power play around the succession since Charles is without a legitimate heir.  It’s also a place of artifice, where people are adept at playing parts.  The war with the Dutch not only endangers the security of the realm but has implications for important commercial interests, including those who trade in goods, including in human form.  There is also a need to maintain the delicate balance of other powers and potential allies in Europe.  “One day, perhaps, we shall cease our arguments with Europe, but that day is not yet come.” (Yes, I laughed at that bit too!).

When it is discovered that vital information is being leaked to the enemy, it becomes essential to track down the spy, code name Virgo.  Enter Mercia Blakewood, recently returned from America where she performed a valuable service for the King.  With the prospect of regaining ownership of the family estate (falsely claimed by her uncle) dangled in front of her, Mercia is persuaded to take on the task of uncovering the spy’s identity.  Mercia makes a terrifically likeable leading character – as well as a caring mother, she’s determined, plucky, independent-minded, resourceful albeit a little rash about her own safety at times.   As her servant and ally, Nicholas, observes, “Because you can’t resist a puzzle.”  Widowed, she’s also a little lonely.  “You are strong, Mercia.  The bravest woman I’ve known.  But there’s no shame in admitting it’s hard to live alone.”  Mercia’s beauty means she’s not short of suitors but is their interest in getting close to her merely personal?

The plot is full of twists and turns as various individuals come under suspicion and Mercia tries to unravel the complex web of alliances and loyalties. I really welcomed the Dramatis Personae at the beginning of the book to help keep track of the different characters and inter-relationships.  Along the way, Mercia finds she has powerful enemies but also potential allies – if she could only work out which was which!  In addition, a figure from her past emerges to claim repayment of a debt that will involve difficult decisions for Mercia.

Traitor is a cracking historical mystery, full of colourful characters, with an intriguing story line and an evocative sense of the period in which it is set. A woman involved in espionage in the 17th century?  Well, why not? There is the real life example of Aphra Behn, after all.  I really enjoyed Traitor and would enthusiastically recommend it for fans of historical mysteries.

I received an advance reader copy courtesy of publishers Allison & Busby in return for an honest and unbiased review.

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In three words: Lively, engaging, mystery

Try something similar…The Midwife’s Revolt by Jodi Daynard

David HingleyAbout the Author

Originally from the Midlands, David Hingley worked in the Civil Service for eleven years before leaving to fulfil his long-term ambition to write. He spent three years living in New York, close to the action in Birthright and Puritan, before returning to the UK in 2016.

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Traitor by David Hingley