Tag: Review

Book Review: City of Masks by S. D. Sykes

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Engaging historical mystery set in 14th century Venice

CityofMasksAbout the Book

Description (courtesy of Goodreads): It’s 1358, and young Oswald de Lacy, Lord Somershill, is delayed in Venice as he awaits a pilgrim ship to the Holy Land. While the city is besieged by the King of Hungary, Oswald stays at the house of an English merchant, and soon comes under the spell of this decadent and dazzling island state that sits on the edge of Europe—where East meets West.

But Oswald has secrets. He is running away from something in England—a shadow that still haunts him, no matter how much he consoles himself with the delights of Venice. When he finds a dead man at the carnival, he is dragged into a murder investigation that draws him deep into the intrigues of this paranoid, mysterious city.

From the dungeons of the Doge’s Palace to the convent-brothel of Santa Lucia, Oswald must search for a murderer in this bewildering maze of alleys and canals. When he comes up against the feared Signori di Notte, the secret police, Oswald learns that he is not the only one with something to hide. Everyone is watching (or trailing) someone else; and nobody in Venice is who they appear to be. Masks, it seems, are not only for the carnival…

Book Facts

  • Format: Hardcover
  • Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
  • No. of pages: 336
  • Publication date: 13th July 2017
  • Genre: Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery

To pre-order/purchase City of Masks from Amazon.co.uk click here (link provided for convenience, not as part of any affiliate programme)

Find it on Goodreads

 

My Review

This is the third book in S. D. Sykes’ Somershill Manor series. I felt it worked fine as a standalone book and I didn’t consider not having read the earlier books affected my enjoyment. If anything, it made me curious to read the previous books in the series.

In fact, the reader is given some insights into the past of our hero, Oswald de Lacy, Lord Somershill, which may or may not be part of previous books.   In a very inventive way, the author gives us clues about the reason for Oswald’s tendency to lapse into periods of troubled melancholy.  However, most of the time, he is a sprightly hero with an eye for a beautiful lady, a love of wine and not averse to a spree at the gambling tables.

Alongside Oswald is a cast of colourful characters who may or may not be involved in the murder he sets out to investigate. You will probably suspect just about everyone before the true culprit is revealed.  My favourite character was Oswald’s domineering mother (who I suspect in reality would have been dead for many years, life expectancy then being much less). Fourteenth century Venice makes the ideal setting for a mystery with its narrow streets, spies, canals, political intrigue, masks and its situation as a melting pot of different nationalities on the pilgrimage trail to Jerusalem. There are plenty of twists and unexpected reveals that make City of Masks a thoroughly entertaining read for fans of historical mysteries.

I received an advance reader copy courtesy of NetGalley and publishers, Hodder & Stoughton, in return for an honest review.

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In three words: Lively, engaging, mystery

Try something similar…The Venetian Contract by Marina Fiorato

SDSykesAbout the Author

S. D. (Sarah) Sykes lives in Kent, but grew up in Somerset and then South London. She is a graduate from Manchester University and was inspired to finish her first novel, Plague Land, after attending the novel writing course at literary agents, Curtis Brown. She has also written for radio and has developed screenplays with Arts Council funding. She has a passion for medieval history, and her books in the Somershill Manor series, are set in 14th Century England.

Connect with Sarah

Website http://www.sdsykes.co.uk/
Twitter https://twitter.com/SD_Sykes
Goodreads

 

Book Review: The Floating Theatre by Martha Conway

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In a nation divided by prejudice, everyone must take a side.

TheFloatingTheatreAbout the Book

Publisher’s description: When young seamstress May Bedloe is left alone and penniless on the shore of the Ohio, she finds work on the famous floating theatre that plies its trade along the river.  Her creativity and needlework skills quickly become invaluable and she settles in to life among the colourful troupe of actors. She finds friends, and possibly the promise of more… But cruising the border between the Confederate South and the ‘free’ North is fraught with danger. For the sake of a debt that must be repaid, May is compelled to transport secret passengers, under cover of darkness, across the river and on, along the underground railroad.  But as May’s secrets become harder to keep, she learns she must endanger those now dear to her. And to save the lives of others, she must risk her own…

Book Facts

  • Format: Hardcover
  • Publisher: Bonnier Zaffre
  • No. of pages: 352
  • Publication date: 15th June 2017
  • Genre: Historical Fiction

To purchase The Floating Theatre from Amazon.co.uk, click here (link provided for convenience, not as part of any affiliate programme)

Find The Floating Theatre on Goodreads

My Review

I was drawn to this book by the description and, I have to admit, the gorgeous cover but for me the content did not live up to my expectation. What I did enjoy was the story of May and the colourful characters who make up the members of the floating theatre as they travel down the Ohio River stopping at small towns to give performances to the local people. However, I found the aspect of the book detailing May’s involvement with the ‘underground railway’ unconvincing and a rather lightweight treatment of the issues.

The author has chosen to make her protagonist, May, rather naive, uncomfortable in social situations and someone who takes everything very literally.   I was unsure if this was to help explain why May responds as she does to certain events in the narrative or to introduce into the novel a character on the autistic spectrum.  However, I did like when May finally learned to suspend her disbelief and become immersed in what she was seeing on the stage in the way Hugo, the theatre owner, hoped she would.

‘But then, rather quickly if the actors are any good, something happens and somehow you drop into the fiction of the Italian countryside, and there you are. You forget all about the people around you because the only people that exist are the actors on stage, and the only world is the world they are playing out for you. You’ve lost yourself in the fiction.’

Clearly, the same thing should happen with a book but I’m afraid, for me, it did not on this occasion because I was frequently coming across things I found implausible or issues I felt were treated too lightly. If you want an entertaining story set on a floating theatre in 19th century America then this is a book to enjoy. The story is well told and there is a lot to like about it.  However, if you want to understand the realities of slavery, the abolition movement and the underground railway, then I think you need to look elsewhere.  To be fair to the author, maybe this was not the intention of this book.

I received an advance reader copy courtesy of NetGalley and publishers, Bonnier Zaffre, in return for an honest review. [The book is published under the title The Underground River in the US.]

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In three words: Enjoyable, light, unconvincing

Try something similar…The Last Runaway by Tracy Chevalier

MarthaConwayAbout the Author

Martha Conway is the author of Thieving Forest, Sugarland, and 12 Bliss Street, which was nominated for an Edgar Award for Best First Novel. She’s received several awards for historical fiction, including the North American Book Award. Her short fiction has been published in the Iowa Review, the Carolina Quarterly, The Quarterly, Folio, and other journals.  Martha teaches creative writing for Stanford University’s Continuing Studies Program and UC Berkeley Extension.  Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Martha is one of seven sisters. She currently lives in San Francisco.

Connect with Martha

Website http://www.marthaconway.com
Twitter marthamconway
Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/23092.Martha_Conway