Angel Posted April 24, 2012 Author Share Posted April 24, 2012 I had forgotten just how good Elizabeth Chadwick is! To Defy a King was a very good read PD James - Death Comes to Pemberley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 I'll be interested to see what you think of Death Comes To Pemberley - it's on the list for my year with Jane Austen plan, so I'll be looking to read it in the next few months I would imagine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted April 25, 2012 Author Share Posted April 25, 2012 Clair - I was very hesitant about trying Death Comes to Pemberley on 2 accounts. First Pride and Prejudice is one of my all time favourites and I didn't want that image spoiled. Secondly, I couldn't get the thought out of my head is that PD James is such a well respected crime writer. I know this sound weird but I couldn't imagine the two together for it to work. I have only read 2 chapters so far and PD James and so ar so good- she has tried to write in the same style as Jane Austen. Will let you know my thoughts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sofia Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 Ditto on Lone Wolf...I was debating it....this sealed it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted April 27, 2012 Share Posted April 27, 2012 I also can't wait to hear your thoughts on Death Comes to Pemberley, I read it some weeks ago and let's just say I have some very strong opinions about the book Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted April 29, 2012 Author Share Posted April 29, 2012 Death Comes to Pemberley was a pleasant read. I didn't know what I would think of it as I said in my previous post. However it is obvious that PD James has given it great deal of thought about how she would tackle it. I like the way she developed the role of the dastardly Wickham in the same vein that Jane Austen introduced him in her novel. There was the twist at the end but Wickham is still the bad boy and I'm glad he stayed that way. I think that PD James did a commendable job in tying the two novels together and stayed faithfully to the original plot to develop hers. However, I seriously hope that other authors do not try the same as in my humble opinion she is the only one who is capable of doing so. Yes the plot was predictable but I think it lent itself to it Moving onto Karen Maitland - The Gallows Curse 1210 and a black force is sweeping England. For a vengeful King John has seized control of the Church, leaving corpses to lie in unconsecrated ground, babies unbaptized in their cradles and the people terrified of dying in sin. And in the village of Gastmere, the consequences grow darker still when Elena, a servant girl, is dragged into a conspiracy to absolve the sins of the lord of the manor. As the terrors that soon begin to plague Elena's sleep grow darker, in desperation she visits the cunning woman, who has been waiting for just such an opportunity to fulfil an ancient curse conjured at the gallows. Elena, haunted by this curse and threatened with death for a crime she didn't commit, flees the village ... only to find her nightmare has barely begun. For treachery lurks in every shadow as King John's brutal reign makes enemies of brothers, murderers of virgins and sinners of us all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted April 29, 2012 Share Posted April 29, 2012 Having read your review on Death Comes to Pemberley, I see I still stand alone in ... how shall I put it... not quite liking it But I'm happy other people have enjoyed it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted May 5, 2012 Author Share Posted May 5, 2012 I really could not get into The Gallows Curse. So,in a move totally out of character - I abandoned it! Now reading The first instalment of a captivating trilogy set against the backdrop of the English Civil War. September 1625: Plague cart driver, Matthew Kneave, is sent to pick up the corpse of a baby. Yet, on the way to the plague pit, he hears a cry – the baby is alive. A plague child himself, and now immune from the disease, Matthew decides to raise it as his own. Fifteen years on, Matthew’s son Tom is apprenticed to a printer in the City. Somebody is interested in him and is keen to turn him into a gentleman. He is even given an education. But Tom is unaware that he has a benefactor and soon he discovers that someone else is determined to kill him. The civil war divides families, yet Tom is divided in himself. Devil or saint? Royalist or radicalist? He is at the bottom of the social ladder, yet soon finds himself within reach of a great estate – one which he must give up to be with the girl he loves. Set against the fervent political climate of the period, 'Plague Child' is a remarkable story of discovery, identity and an England of the past.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roland Butter Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 Hope you're enjoying Plague Child, Angel. They sent me an advance copy a while ago, and I thought it was a good read. The English Civil War is a period of history that fascinates me anyway - I love a bit of social turbulence(!) - and I thought it made an excellent backdrop to the story. I just hope they took my suggestion and gave it a good edit before publication, 'cos it was a bit of a mess, even for an uncorrected proof .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kidsmum Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 Plague Child sounds really good Angel, looking forward to hearing what you think of it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted May 7, 2012 Author Share Posted May 7, 2012 I'm almost half way through and I love it! It certainly promises to develop for further books. I like the time of the English Civil War Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roland Butter Posted May 8, 2012 Share Posted May 8, 2012 Yes, as I said, I enjoyed it, too. I thought he managed to weave real-life historical figures into the narrative quite convincingly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kidsmum Posted May 8, 2012 Share Posted May 8, 2012 Added to my wishlist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted May 11, 2012 Share Posted May 11, 2012 The Child Who was very thought provoking - I guess I had never considered the legal team who defended the 2 kids in the Jamie Bulger situation. (One good reason not to become a solicitor having to defend murderers.) However whilst reading this book, I found myself feeling slightly sorry for the kid who committed the murder as every one in his very short life let him down. A very good book which I would recommend Chrissy I remember the Jamie Bulger case, I was just a teen myself when it happened, and it was just horrible. It's one of those cases which will never stop haunting me, for some reason. And it's not like it happened anywhere near where I live, either, but some cases just stick to your mind. You've raised an interesting point, about what the legal team behind the two young murderers must've gone through. The book sounds like something I'd like to read, thanks for the review! but I'll have to see if it would only make me think of Jamie, something I couldn't bear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted May 12, 2012 Author Share Posted May 12, 2012 Frankie - I think that is one crime none of us will ever forget - it was just so horrific and upsetting Plague Child was a great read and sets the foundation for the next 2 books in the trilogy Now read Richard Montanari - Don't Look Now Andrea Heller has been married for seven years, but still likes to pretend she's single. She enjoys sitting on her own in bars, and watching what happens. But there's another couple watching too. They call themselves Saila and Pharaoh, but only after sundown. And it is after sundown that some terrible things are happening in the singles clubs in Cleveland. In six months, three women in their twenties have been brutally murdered. And each step that Homicide Detective Jack Paris takes to find their killer draws him closer to the heart of his own forbidden impulses. As the stakes become increasingly personal, Jack knows only one thing for certain. To enter the minds of Saila and Pharaoh is to enter a world from which no one ever fully returns... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted May 16, 2012 Author Share Posted May 16, 2012 Don't Look Now was classic Richard Montanari - plenty of murder and horror. Quite an enjoyable read Now reading Fiona Mountain - Lady of the Butterflies On the ancient marshlands of Somerset - a place of mists and magic - a girl grows up in the shadow of the English Civil War, knowing that one day she will inherit the rich estate which belonged to her late mother. Her father, a stern but loving Puritan, once a distinguished soldier in Cromwell's army, fears for his daughter in the poisonous aftermath of the war,and for her vulnerability as an heiress. But above all he fears and misunderstands her scientific passion for butterflies. Eleanor Glanville was in fact destined to become one of the most famous entomologists in history, bequeathing her name to the rare butterfly which she discovered, the Glanville Fritillary. But not before she had endured a life of quite extraordinary vicissitude. Two marriages and an all-consuming love, which proved her undoing, a deep friendship with one of the great scientists of the day and finally, a trial for lunacy (on the grounds that no sane person would pursue butterflies) are all played out against the violent events of the Monmouth Rebellion and the vicious controversy over whether or not to drain the Somerset marshes. Now, if you drive down the M5, you will cross Kings Sedgemoor Drain - one of the first great ditches which reclaimed the land for farming and destroyed the precious habitat of the Glanville Fritillary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted May 25, 2012 Author Share Posted May 25, 2012 Lady of Butterflies was a great read- very ubual ideafor a novel but based on real life. Now reading Stacia Brown - The Glovemaker The Glovemaker of the title is Rachel Lockyer, a bright and resourceful woman who is forced to live a restricted life under Cromewell's Puritan regime. It was a turbulent time, with the bright hopes of those who fought for Cromwell in the Civil War being dashed by his draconian policies, resulting in breakaway factions and underground rebellion. Rachel becomes involved with the Levellers, a political group which espoused equality and religious tolerance, and in particular one of their key members, William Walwyn, a married father of 14. Walwyn's marriage is cold and stale (his wife refers to their children by number rather than name) and inevitably the two like minds find solace and more in each other's company. Though they try to keep their affair a secret they become the subject of gossip and speculation, so when the body of a stillborn baby is found, Rachel becomes the prime suspect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted June 2, 2012 Author Share Posted June 2, 2012 The Glovemaker was okay - not the best of reads. It just didn't seem to be that well written Polly Williams - How to be Married Sadie Drew thinks she must be the world’s worst wife. She only needs to walk into a room to make it untidy. She wears flannel pyjamas in bed. Furry things breed in her fridge. But she’s a busy working mother not a wifebot and husband Tom loves her as she is. Until he gets a hot new job and things change. There are alpha-wives to entertain. Nuclear rows. Unsettling secrets. And the smell of another woman’s perfume on his suit. Sadie risks losing everything if she can’t transform herself into the perfect wife... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted June 6, 2012 Author Share Posted June 6, 2012 Now reading Ann Perry - Execution Dock It's 1864, and after a game of cat and mouse, Monk has captured Jericho Phillips, the man he suspects of brutally killing a young mudlark and running an evil child prostitution ring. In bringing Phillips to justice, Monk hopes to close down the ring and avenge the memory of Durban, his old commander, who was determined to capture Philips. However at trial justice does not prevail. Oliver Rathbone, Monk’s friend, is hired anonymously to represent the accused and when he proves that vital evidence is missing, Phillips is freed. As Monk begins the investigation again, venturing deeper into London’s murky underworld, he realises that Durban may have had his own reasons for pursuing Phillips, and shockingly, that secret support for Phillips may reach further into civilised society than anyone could ever have imagined... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted June 11, 2012 Author Share Posted June 11, 2012 Execution Dock was an excellent read. I love the murky world of Victorian Britain - who would have believed that pornography started as soon as the camera was invented. Much of the book's topic left me feeling quite shocked and disgusted but Perry deals withthe subject so well Now reading Rory Clements -Prince John Shakespeare has his most challenging investigation. It’s the spring of 1595, and plague stalks the land, along with massive political unrest. Bomb attacks on the Dutch immigrant community will have a seismic effect on John’s turbulent life. England is a powder keg of rumour and fear and once again John Shakespear investigations take him from the Royal horse races to the opulent chambers of Black Luce`s brothel.The in-depth research and passion for the period takes the reader from the theatrical underworld of Marlowe and Kyd to the pain-wracked torture cells of priest-hunter Richard Topcliffe and into a explosive encounter at sea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted July 11, 2012 Author Share Posted July 11, 2012 I've been off line recently due to computer repairs so I hae managed to read a lot recently! At the moment I am reading Karin Slaughter - Fallen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted July 19, 2012 Author Share Posted July 19, 2012 Tempe travels to the Guatemalan village of Chupan Ya tracking the bodies of 23 women and children dumped in a mass grave. But while digging in the pit of death, Tempe finds the present contains further horrors: four girls have gone missing from Guatemala city--and one of them is the daughter of an ambassador. Soon Tempe is up against both a recalcitrant district attorney and municipal corruption, grimly aware that there are those who want the deaths in both the past and the present to remain a mystery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 Hi Angel your review of How To Be Married didn't say whether you liked it or not? I like the word wifebot that's funny. Unless you happen to be one of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted July 20, 2012 Author Share Posted July 20, 2012 Vodkafan - my apologies . How to be married was a good read - great for a light hearted read for when you are tired. I suppose it covers that age old question - am I a good wife? Would recommend it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted July 25, 2012 Author Share Posted July 25, 2012 Grave Secrets was a great read - some shocking discoveries in this one that made ven my stomach turn Amanda Addison - a very light read ad it's too hot to think much! Laura Lovegrove is leaving behind her seamless life in London. Architect husband Adi has been relocated to rural Norfolk, a far cry from ultra-urban Ealing. Though Laura knew village life would be different, she didn't foresee a pokey cottage, nosey neighbours, errant poodles, and even an ex turning up. Chris had been her big love at art college and seeing him again is utterly confusing. Is she really so different from the impulsive student who once trawled charity shops for vintage treasures? When a fire all but destroys Laura's collection of vintage clothes, she's heartbroken. And seriously lacking in outfits. But, salvaging what she can, Laura makes do and mends - sewing purses, bags, even dog leads (which should solve the poodle problem). Soon, she's inundated with orders. But Adi is becoming more and more distant; it's like there's something he's not telling her. Can Laura make a stitch in time and pull her family back together again? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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