Tag: ReadersFirst

Blog Tour/Book Review: The Angel’s Mark by S. W. Perry

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The Angels Mark Blog Tour poster

I’m delighted to be hosting today’s stop on the blog tour for historical crime novel, The Angel’s Mark by S. W. Perry.  Many thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours for inviting me to participate in the tour.

The Angel's MarkAbout the Book

LONDON, 1590. Queen Elizabeth I’s control over her kingdom is wavering. Amidst a tumultuous backdrop of Spanish plotters, Catholic heretics and foreign wars threatening the country’s fragile stability, the body of a small boy is found in the City of London, with strange marks that no one can explain.

When idealistic physician Nicholas Shelby finds another body displaying the same marks only days later, he becomes convinced that a killer is at work, preying on the weak and destitute of London.

Determined to find out who is behind these terrible murders, Nicholas is joined in his investigations by Bianca, a spirited tavern keeper. But when their inquiries lead them to the fearsome attentions of the powerful Robert Cecil, Nicholas is forced into playing to Cecil’s agenda, and becoming a spy…

As more bodies are discovered, the pair find themselves caught in the middle of a sinister plot. With the killer still at large, and Bianca in terrible danger, Nicholas’s choice seems impossible – to save Bianca, or save himself…

Praise for The Angel’s Mark

‘A gorgeous book – rich, intelligent and dark in equal measure. It immerses you in the late 16th century and leaves you wrung out with terror. This is historical fiction at its most sumptuous.’ Rory Clements, author of Corpus, Nucleus and the John Shakespeare series

‘Wonderful! Beautiful writing, and Perry’s Elizabethan London is so skilfully evoked, so real that one can almost smell it.’ Giles Kristian, historical fiction author

‘The Angel’s Mark has the pace of a thriller… S.W. Perry is a welcome addition to the ranks of historical crime novelists.’ Simon Brett, crime novelist

Format: Hardcover, ebook (424 pp.)    Publisher: Corvus
Published: 6th September 2018            Genre: Historical Fiction, Historical Crime

Purchase Links*
Amazon.co.uk  ǀ  Amazon.com  ǀ Hive.co.uk (supporting UK bookshops)
*links provided for convenience, not as part of any affiliate programme

Find The Angel’s Mark on Goodreads

My Review

When a book comes with a glowing recommendation from a respected author of historical fiction like Rory Clements (whose ‘John Shakespeare’ series I absolutely love by the way), you have a real sense of expectation as you turn the first few pages.  I’m happy to say that in the case of The Angel’s Mark those first few pages – and all the pages after that, as it happens – didn’t disappoint.

As other writers of historical fiction have discovered, the latter part of the 16th century is a promising period in which to set a historical crime novel.  Fear of the plague, of plots to overthrow the Queen as well as concerns about the succession and the threat of possible invasion have created an atmosphere of suspicion in Elizabethan England.   It’s a time when information, in the form of intelligence gathered by a network of spies and informers, has become a valuable commodity.    It’s also a time when discoveries in science and medicine are coming into conflict with religious belief.

Personal tragedy, fueled by a sense of guilt at his inability to prevent it, has brought Nicholas Shelby to the point of despair when he chances upon a mystery that reawakens his physician’s curiosity; that, and a fortunate encounter with the independent-minded and resourceful Bianca Merton, owner of The Jackdaw tavern.  However, as the reader will discover, it’s not just her skills as an apothecary that Bianca must hide.  Together they embark on a search for a killer with a distinctive but gruesome calling card.  Soon that search brings them into contact with powerful men (it would be a surprise in a novel set in this period not to run into a member of the Cecil family at some point!) who may pose as much of a risk as does the ruthless killer they are seeking.

The Angel’s Mark has all the ingredients I look for in a great historical crime mystery: a wealth of period of detail that conjures up the sight, sounds and smells of the time; a host of colourful characters to provide possible suspects; and a plot full of twists and turns with a generous helping of red herrings and “I wasn’t expecting that” moments.  It kept me guessing right to the end.  I’m definitely hoping for more of the same from this author in the future.

I received a review copy courtesy of publishers, Corvus, NetGalley and Readers First in return for an honest and unbiased review.

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In three words: Gripping, atmospheric, mystery

Try something similar…Martyr (John Shakespeare#1) by Rory Clements or The Secret of Vesalius by Jordi Llobregat (read my spoiler free review of the latter here)

S W Perry Author PictureAbout the Author

S.W. Perry was a journalist and broadcaster before retraining as an airline pilot.

He lives in Worcestershire with his wife and two spaniels.

Connect with S. W. Perry

Twitter  ǀ  Goodreads

 

Book Review: The Secrets of Primrose Square by Claudia Carroll

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The Secrets of Primrose SquareAbout the Book

There are so many stories hidden behind closed doors . . .

It’s late at night and the rain is pouring down on the Dublin city streets. A mother is grieving for her dead child. She stands silently outside the home of the teenage boy she believes responsible. She watches…

In a kitchen on the same square, a girl waits anxiously for her mum to come home. She knows exactly where she is, but she knows she cannot reach her.

A few doors down, and a widow sits alone in her room. She has just delivered a bombshell to her family during dinner and her life is about to change forever.

And an aspiring theatre director has just moved in to a flat across the street. Her landlord is absent, but there are already things about him that don’t quite add up…

Welcome to Primrose Square.

Format: Hardcover (416 pp.)    Publisher: Zaffre
Published: 26th July 2018   Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Purchase Links*
Amazon.co.uk ǀ  Amazon.com  ǀ Hive.co.uk (supporting UK bookshops)
*links provided for convenience, not as part of any affiliate programme

Find The Secrets of Primrose Square on Goodreads

My Review

I’ll let you into a secret.  The Secrets of Primrose Square is not the sort of book to which I’d normally be attracted.  I assumed it would be ‘chick lit’ (although I really don’t like that term) which is not a genre I generally read.   I know, a prejudice on my part potentially preventing me from reading some great books.  However, luckily, I read an extract from the opening chapters of The Secrets of Primrose Square on the Readers First website and found myself immediately drawn to the stories of Susan and Melissa.  In return for providing my ‘first impressions’, I was entered into their weekly prize draw and was fortunate enough to win a copy of the book.

Now let me tell you some secrets about the book itself…

You’re going to find Melissa tugging at your heart strings, both because of the situation in which she finds herself and the way she responds to it.  You’re going to wish you had a neighbour just like Jayne and that when you get to her age you have the courage to do what she does.  You’re also going to sympathise with her intensely once you meet her son, Jason, and daughter-in-law, Irene.   You’re going to hope you or anyone close to you never has to go through what Susan is going through.  You’re going to make some assumptions about some of the other characters that will probably turn out to be wrong.  Most of all, by the end of the book, you’re more than likely going to feel like you know Primrose Square as if you lived there yourself.

Some of the many things I enjoyed about the book are the way the author creates a distinctive narrative voice for each character, complete with Irish colloquialisms in many cases.   I also loved some of the humour.  For example, Jason’s initial encounter with Jayne’s new friend or the catty comments that fly to and fro between the actresses playing Lady Catherine de Bourgh and Mrs Bennett in the theatre production of Pride and Prejudice that aspiring theatre director, Nancy, is working on.  (It reminded me of the great scene in The Importance of Being Earnest where Cecily Cardew and Gwendolen Fairfax swap insults disguised as polite chitchat and Cecily deliberately gives Gwendolen sugar in her tea when she didn’t want sugar, and cake when she expressly asked for bread and butter.)

I’ll confess that I didn’t engage quite as much with the character of Nancy, although the behind the scenes detail of the work involved in a theatre production were fascinating and clearly informed by the author’s own experience.  The secret that Nancy is trying to leave behind in London by moving to Dublin I found a little underwhelming when finally revealed.  However, I loved the relationship she forms with Melissa.  If you’re anything like me though, it is the central story of Susan and the life-changing event her family have experienced that will keep you turning the pages.

The Secrets of Primrose Square is a story of finding a way through grief, the importance of a sense of community, having the courage to make a new start and the precious gift of female solidarity.  By turns it is heartbreaking and heart-warming.  I would say it’s the perfect feel-good read.

I received a review copy courtesy of publishers, Zaffre, and Readers First, in return for an honest and unbiased review.

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In three words: Heart-warming, emotional, hopeful

Try something similar…These Dividing Walls by Fran Cooper (read my review here)

Claudia CarrollAbout the Author

Claudia was born in Dublin, where she still lives and works as an author and actress.  She is a graduate of UCD, the College of Music and of the Gaiety School of Acting. Since then she has worked extensively as an actress on the Irish stage, but is probably best known for her role as TV’s Nicola Prendergast in the long running Dublin soap opera, ‘Fair City.’

She’s a Sunday Times top ten bestselling author in the UK and a number one bestselling author in Ireland, selling more than a half a million copies in paperback alone.  To date Claudia has published fourteen novels, four of which have been optioned, two for movies and two for TV.  She’s currently hassling producers for a walk-on role, and is hoping they might even let her keep the costumes for free.

Connect with Claudia

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