Lil

Sherlock Holmes is dead.  Days after Holmes and his arch-enemy Moriarty fall to their doom at the Reichenbach Falls, Pinkerton agent Frederick Chase arrives in Europe from New York. The death of Moriarty has created a poisonous vacuum which has been swiftly filled by a fiendish new criminal mastermind who has risen to take his place. Ably assisted by Inspector Athelney Jones of Scotland Yard, a devoted student of Holmes's methods of investigation and deduction, Frederick Chase must forge a path through the darkest corners of the capital to shine light on this shadowy figure, a man much feared but seldom seen, a man determined to engulf London in a tide of murder and menace. I absolutely loved Horowitz's first Sherlock Holmes novel The House of Silk , and so was very excited when I finally got my hands on this. I was initially disappointed to discover how little Holmes appeared in the book - and what kind of Holmes novel is narrated by someone other than Watson!? But Frederick C...

Hercule Poirot's quiet supper in a London coffee house is interrupted when a young woman confides to him that she is about to be murdered. She is terrified, but begs Poirot not to find and punish her killer. Once she is dead, she insists, justice will have been done. Later that night, Poirot learns that three guests at the fashionable Bloxham Hotel have been murdered, a cufflink placed in each one’s mouth. Could there be a connection with the frightened woman? While Poirot struggles to put together the bizarre pieces of the puzzle, the murderer prepares another hotel bedroom for a fourth victim… I'm ashamed to admit that I have read very little Agatha Christie, although I am a big fan of the TV adaptations, especially Poirot. I've been eager to read this since I first heard about it last year - it's a very brave move taking on such an iconic character written by such a beloved author and I was interested to see what Sophie Hannah had achieved. The character of the great...

As regular readers of my blog may have noticed, every once in a while a book comes along that I can't stop raving about. Last year it was  The Illusionists by Rosie Thomas. This year it's all about Kit. Dublin 1702. Irish beauty Kit Kavanagh leads a comfortable life running a tavern with her beloved husband Richard. But everything changes one night when Richard is taken for a solider. Not content to sit at home and wait for news Kit disguises herself as a man, and, taking her late father's sword with her, enlists in the Duke of Marlborough's regiment and follows Richard to war-torn Italy. As Kit risks her life in battle she soon forms a bond with her regiment, the Scots Greys Dragoons, particularly with her handsome commander Captain Ross. When a duel lands her in prison she escapes by dressing once more as a woman, soon catching the eye of the scheming Duke of Ormonde who recruits her to masquerade as a French countess and spy upon the enemy. Torn between Captain Ross...

*Thanks to Bookbridgr for my beautiful signed edition of this book!* Penelope longs to be grown-up and to fall in love; but various rather inconvenient things keep getting in her way. Like her mother, a stunning but petulant beauty widowed at a tragically early age, her younger brother Inigo, currently incapable of concentrating on anything that isn't Elvis Presley, a vast but crumbling ancestral home, a severe shortage of cash, and her best friend Charlotte's sardonic cousin Harry... Oh I just adored this book! There's no emotional rollercoaster, no shocking plot twists, simply an enchanting coming of age story that in every way deserves the title of 'modern vintage classic'. It is truly captivating, beautifully written, and I became so attached to the characters that I was loathed to leave them at the end. I'm told that there are echoes of Dodie Smith's I Capture the Castle here, which I have to admit I've never read, but if it's anything like th...

Phoebe’s new role at work is keeping her busier than ever. Just as she’s finding her feet, however, new boss, Dixon, lands a bombshell: Hendry’s toy store is in dire financial straits and it’s up to him and Phoebe to save it. This isn’t exactly what she signed up for and she’s going to need all the help she can get. So it’s a pity that the only help she has comes in the form of Midnight, her purple-haired colleague who wouldn’t know an employee rule-book if it slapped her in the face… At home, Jack’s brother, Archie, and their mum, Carol, seem determined to make Phoebe’s life hell, however hard she tries. And now Jack seems to have a new rival too: Adam Hendry, slick heir to the Hendry’s empire, who is making it very clear he’d like to involve Phoebe in a hostile takeover. Just how far will he go to get what he wants? Buy Links: Amazon UK     Amazon.com Review I loved the first installment of this series, Little Acts of Love, and this follow up doesn't disappoint! The Mishaps ...

To Tame the Wind by Regan Walker Publication Date: May 9, 2015 Series: Agents of the Crown (Prequel) Genre: Historical Romance    Paris 1782…AN INNOCENT IS TAKEN All Claire Donet knew was the world inside the convent walls in Saint-Denis. She had no idea her beloved papa was a pirate. But when he seized Simon Powell's schooner, the English privateer decided to take the one thing his enemy held most dear... her. A BATTLE IS JOINED The waters between France and England roil with the clashes of Claire's father and her captor as the last year of the American Revolution rages on the sea, spies lurk in Paris and Claire’s passion for the English captain rises. Buy links:  AMAZON Praise “A sea adventure like no other, a riveting romance!” -NY Times bestselling author Shirlee Busbee “Another exciting historical romance from Regan Walker” –NY Times Bestselling Author Virginia Henley “I was hooked from the first page! Political intrigue, a bit of mystery and a beautifully de...