Newest Crime (Historical) Reviews
The Taxidermist's Daughter by Kate Mosse
Connie is the daughter of once renowned taxidermist Crowley Gifford. Times have changed though. Crowley may once have been famous with his own museum proudly exhibiting intricately prepared bird and animal tableaux but he's now addled by alcohol and deep melancholy, leaving Connie to continue the art in much reduced circumstances. A decade before Connie (then aged 10) had an accident that robbed her of her memory. The past refuses to stay hidden though, returning with a vengeance and explaining the shell that Crowley has become. 'A vengeance' isn't a throwaway choice of words either – its return will upturn all that Connie has believed and even threaten her life and the lives of all those whom she holds dear. Full review...
Sherlock Holmes - The Spirit Box by George Mann
In the London of World War One there is a man amongst the masses cowering from the nightly Zeppelin raids who knows death a lot more than many. He is grieving for his nephew, lost to the killing fields of France; he is pining for his wife, evacuated to the country; and he is both grieving and pining for a past where he was more active, more demonstrably brave and verifiably useful – a past whose main constituent part has also gone to the countryside, to be a beekeeper near Brighton. That man is Dr Watson, and the other, of course, is Sherlock Holmes. Here they're reunited at the behest of Mycroft, for three individual deaths provide a thorn in the side of his secret operations, and only Holmes can pluck it out with his singular talents. But when the evidence in the case so often revolves around mysterious photographs claiming to be of people's souls, there is a hint that this new modern age is a step too far for the once-retired sleuthing friends. Full review...
The First Horseman by DK Wilson
British author Derek Wilson is one with a tremendously long bibliography as a Historian, and as an author of fiction. He brings all of that to The First Horseman, a resounding success that blends fact and fiction to create a gripping, fast moving Tudor crime story that educates as well as fascinates, moving from the merchants of Cheapside to the whores of Southwark, and mixing with figures such as Thomas Cromwell and Henry VIII. Full review...
Plague by CC Humphreys
Highwayman Captain William Coke stops a carriage in the line of his chosen career and soon discovers he's not the first to have assailed it. The driver is dead and all those within have been brutally skewered. He flees the scene but unfortunately leaves a pistol behind. This is all thief-taker Pitman needs to arouse his interest and attempt to track the Captain down with a noose in mind. Meanwhile nature has an equally random mode of death that's soon to be let loose on London. This is 1665 and the Great Plague is about to begin. Full review...
Stalemate by Alan Hamilton
In the summer of 1930 Walter Bruce was told that he had an incurable illness. With nursing care and an easier job he might have a few more years to live - but without them he had a matter of months. The solution would seem straightforward but Bruce had a wife - and she demanded to be kept and was far too selfish to be his nurse. Life might have continued much as it was, but Bruce discovered that his wife had been deceiving him about her age and background - and with two of his business colleagues. The solution was obvious: he would devise the perfect murder and then live out his final years in comfort. Bruce was a chess player and he approached the problem much as he would a game of chess - but even the best plans rarely survive contact with reality. Full review...
The Marathon Conspiracy by Gary Corby
Nicolaos has a lot on his mind. His wedding is only a few weeks away and he still has no real means of supporting a wife and family. The investigating game, it seems, doesn't pay too well. So when his patron Pericles asks him to investigate the murder of a young child, Nico is a little reticent, especially since he is still waiting to be paid for his previous assignment. Deciding that he can't afford to be picky, Nico accepts a case which will see him, amongst other things, fending off street thugs, diving for treasure in a sacred spring, going on a bear hunt, rescuing a pair of fighting cocks and consulting a strange priestess who has a habit of running around the woods naked...At least he can't complain that his work is boring. Full review...
Friend and Foe (A Hew Cullan Mystery) by Shirley McKay
1583 and King James VI of Scotland is paranoid and, after the events of the Ruthven raid the year before, who can blame him? Surely this won't affect humble academic lawyer Hew Cullen? Oh but it will, eventually causing more turmoil than even he is used to. Back at the beginning though, while Hew continues, unaware of what's to come, he has more pressing domestic worries that, for once, don't affect his herbalist sister Meg or his doctor brother-in-law Giles. Indeed, this time the concern is the love of Hew's own heart. Full review...
The Axeman's Jazz by Ray Celestin
Based on a true story, The Axeman's Jazz is scriptwriter Ray Celestin's debut novel. It tells of a serial killer in New Orleans in 1919 - the Axeman - who torments the city and has everyone talking; it seems that everyone has their theories and yet no meaningful leads are presenting themselves, as the police and citizens of New Orleans begin to despair of ever catching the killer. Full review...
Sherlock Holmes: Gods of War by James Lovegrove
The year is 1913 and the storm clouds of war are gathering ominously on the horizon. Most people dread the inevitable, but there are individuals who stand to gain from the oncoming conflict and will stop at nothing to facilitate their plans, even if that means murder. However, it would take a very brave (or naïve) criminal to commit such an atrocity in the neighbourhood of Mr Sherlock Holmes, even if he is supposed to be enjoying his retirement. When it comes to investigating mysterious activity, Holmes can't resist the lure of the chase and soon the game is afoot! Full review...
The Art of Killing Well by Marco Malvaldi and Howard Curtis (translator)
Pellegrino Artusi has travelled the length and breadth of Italy researching his masterpiece The Science of Cooking and the Art of Eating Well and the chance to visit the home - or rather the castle - of the seventh Barone di Roccapendente was a double bonus. He'd have the opportunity to discover the secrets of the Barone's kitchen and the chance of a few days rest and possibly a boar hunt in the Tuscan hills. What could be better? Well, his stay would have been improved had a body not been discovered in the locked cellar of the castle. The cast of aristocratic suspects baffles the local police inspector and Artusi realises that he will have to become involved. Full review...
The Curse Of The House Of Foskett (The Gower Street Detective Series) by MRC Kasasian
Personal (not private!) detective Sidney Grice is still smarting because he's thought to have sent an innocent man to the gallows. It's also hit him in the pocket as work has dried up as a result. He's therefore pleased and intrigued when he's visited by a potential client who wants him to look into the Last Death Club, a group of people who have each put £2,000 in the kitty, the sum of which will go to the last person surviving. Unfortunately they seem to be dying quicker than planned and rather unnaturally. Sidney is about to accept the case when his client drops dead in Grice's study in front of him and his ward and assistant March Middleton. It may not improve his reputation any, but his attention has been piqued; he'll take the case anyway. Full review...
An Appetite for Violets by Martine Bailey
Biddy 'Obedience' Leigh is the under-cook at Mawton Hall, but although she is passionate about cooking, her dearest wish is to marry her young man. The date is set for her to leave the Hall for married life and she is looking forward to it. But the master of the house surprises everyone when he gets himself a very young wife – and Biddy’s world is rapidly changed. Lady Carinna takes a shine to Biddy, and when Biddy proves herself to be resourceful and entrepreneurial, her fate is sealed. Full review...
Prince of Darkness by Sharon Penman
1193: Justin de Quincy, bastard son of the Bishop of Chester and loyal to Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, steers clear of Eleanor's youngest son John at all costs. After all, John's henchman did try to murder him. However there's a plot afoot to frame John for a crime he didn’t commit (for a change), bringing with it somewhat of a dilemma for Justin. As much as he hates John, de Quincy realises that getting to the bottom of the plot is in the interests of the Queen and England. So Justin's course is set, no matter what it costs and no matter which hornets' nests it disturbs. Full review...
Harlem Nocturne by Bruce Crowther
Just before the beginning of the Second World War and half a world away from Europe the World's Fair is taking place in New York. The British king and queen are expected and there's a Joe Louis title fight on the horizon. Daniel Leland lives in Harlem. He used to be with the NYPD but was retired after he was shot by robbers: the bullet is still in his body and perilously close to his spine. Right now he makes his living as a small-time private detective, but business seems to be looking up when he's offered an investigation - and a very large retainer - by a manufacturer who might be suffering espionage. Before long there's a murder to add into the equation too. Full review...
The Convictions of John Delahunt by Andrew Hughes
As John Delahunt sits in a cell for the condemned writing an account of his life, we go through it with him. It all begins as he witnesses a fracas between his fellow students and the police after a visit to one of the fine hostelries Victorian Dublin has to offer. In this way John's brought to the attention of 'The Department', a pro-British intelligence unit based in the notorious Dublin Castle. John agrees to help them not realising this is never going to be an agreement he can back away from, no matter how hard he tries and no matter how much it costs him. Full review...
One Night in Winter by Simon Sebag Montefiore
In June 1945 two school students are shot dead in Moscow. These aren't just any school students; they attended Josef Stalin School 801, the academy that taught Stalin's own children and the current educational establishment of choice for the offspring of many government and army grandees. Why did they die? Did the seemingly innocent Fatal Romantics Club have anything to do with it? For the children the club is a way of living their love of Pushkin's literature but to others it seems a little different. Stalin himself is determined to have it investigated and what Stalin wants, Stalin gets no matter how wide the ultimate spider's web of suspicion is cast and no matter whom it catches. Full review...
The Riot by Laura Wilson
DI Stratton has moved to a new posting and Notting Hill is fresh territory to him, but he’s going to have to get to know it fast when a rent collector is stabbed. There’s a sense of loss from the people who knew the man - he was inclined to help if he could and with landlords wanting to oust rent-controlled tenants so that they could put ‘coloured’ people or prostitutes in their place (higher rents, you see) any help was welcome. Added to this there are increasing numbers of street fights involving teddy boys. It’s 1958 - and there’s a heatwave. Full review...
The Kept by James Scott
Elspeth and her 12 year old son Caleb have been beset by one of the worst types of tragedy. As a result, fuelled by Caleb's need for revenge and Elspeth's motherly love, they set out on a journey that brings them to the small Lake Erie town of Watersbridge. With their new setting comes a greater understanding of their past which is a mixed blessing that must be met head on before they have to face their future. Full review...
A Commonplace Killing by Sian Busby
In July 1946 two schoolboys found the body of a woman on a bombsite in north London. It's a while before she's identified as Lillian Frobisher, but that produces more problems. Lillian was - apparently - a respectably married woman but the encounter on the bomb site had been sexual and almost certainly consensual. And why was her husband not aware that his wife was missing? His position looks even worse when it emerges that the body was lying on an expensive mackintosh sold in the store where he's a doorman. But was Lillian quite as respectable as she would have had everyone think? Full review...
The Tournament by Matthew Reilly
Michael Reilly is somewhat of a guilty pleasure of mine; his novels are hi-octane adventures that are often as ludicrous as they are sublime. ‘The Tournament’ is a departure from his action packed Scarecrow and Jack West thrillers; instead creating an alternative history for our own Queen Elizabeth I. Why was she such a formidable leader whose reluctance to marry and dislike of the Catholics were only part of her make-up? Reilly poses a hypothetical tale about a 13 year old Bess going to Constantinople to watch a tournament of the world’s greatest chess players. Here she will be embroiled in a murder mystery alongside her tutor Roger Ascham. Full review...
The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
I'm still not sure which is cheekier of the BBC – either riffing on the Conan Doyle originals for their own modern takes on Sherlock Holmes, or producing new editions of the original stories and novels with their young stars on the front, purely to tie a few sales down of what is now out of copyright. Certainly I think the latter is the greater crime, given the results on screen, for the number of young people picking up these classics for the first time on the basis of the TV and finding something quite against the grain of what they've ever read outside of school must be quite large. Still, anything to forcefeed classics to a new audience… Full review...
The City of Strangers by Michael Russell
In the spring of 1939 The Irish Times reported that Mrs Letitia Harris, aged 53 had gone missing from her home in Dublin. Her car was found the following morning on a cliff top near Shankill. There were bloodstains in the car, and a blood-stained hatchet in the shed back in Dublin, blood too in the flowerbed. Full review...
Sherlock: His Last Bow by Arthur Conan Doyle
The End. I got told off for writing those two simple words at the end of a short story I wrote at school, aged about eleven. If it is the end, I think the teacher was saying, it should be obvious. If it isn't, there's still no way the words are necessary. But at least I'm not alone. Conan Doyle, the south coast Doctor turned entertainer extraordinaire with all his output, was told off for the way he finished things. Holmes dead? Sorry, not allowed, Mr Doyle. Holmes retired to keep bees near Eastbourne? Beyond the pale, Sir – bring him back. You don't like the labour of proving your genius invention to be such a genius? Tough. And so we come to 'His Last Bow', which Watson tells us is the final, final, ending story with which to conclude, and a few others. He wasn't exactly correct about it being the last ones, though. Full review...
The Bones of Paris by Laurie R King
It is 1929 and Harris Stuyvesant has now left the Bureau of Investigation and England behind him and is working as a Private Investigator in Europe. An American, whom Stuyvesant had met, has gone missing and Stuyvesant is approached by her Uncle and her Mother to find her. The missing girl, Pip Crosby, was involved with a group of artists in the Montparnasse and Montmartre areas of the city. Many of them seem to have known her, but few have seen her in some time. Full review...
The Goddess and the Thief by Essie Fox
Alice Willoughby may only be a child but she feels at one with India, the country in which she was born and where her father works for the East India Company. The sights, the smells and the tales of the Indian gods told by Mini, her Indian ayah all contribute to it being home, despite the sub-continent having made her motherless. Therefore imagine her disgust when she's left in the hands of her Aunt Mercy (a counterfeit medium) in drab, dirty Victorian London. Life isn't easy anymore but it takes on a new turn when she meets the mysterious Mr Tilsbury. He has a plan for her that includes the theft of the Koh-I-Noor diamond, Her Majesty's pride and joy. Full review...
Touchstone by Laurie R King
Laurie R King may be best known for her Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes series, but she has also written a number of other novels, a couple of which feature detective Harris Stuyvesant. With the publication of the second in this series, the first Touchstone, originally published in 2008, has been republished, allowing those readers new to Stuyvesant, or even to King herself, to become properly acquainted. Full review...
The Lovegrove Hermit by Rosemary Craddock
Charlotte Tyler is delighted to receive an invitation to Lovegrove Priory, home of eccentric Gothic novelist Amelia Denby. The priory is surrounded by acres of picturesque parkland and Denby even has a hermit living in the grounds in his own private retreat. However, when the hermit, Brother Caspar, is found dead in an apparent suicide, it is up to Charlotte and her new friend Colonel Hartley to piece together the clues and unmask the murderer. Full review...
The Luck of the Vails by E F Benson
'The sequestered village of Vail lies in a wrinkle of the great Wiltshire downs, and is traversed by the Bath Road.' Of course the big inn is called 'The Vail Arms' and about a mile from the village is 'the big house'. Benson doesn't name the house – indeed it wouldn't have needed a name. Locally it would just be known as the big house, and any local delivery person would know where to deposit any attached to Lord Vail. Full review...
Nor Will He Sleep by David Ashton
Two opposing Edinburgh university student gangs are full of high jinks the night that Agnes Carnegie is found dead. Daniel Drummond, one of the merry-makers, is a prime suspect as he had an altercation with her and uses a silver cane that matches the murder weapon. Nothing is a foregone conclusion though and so dour, wily Inspector James McLevy of the Leith police is determined to uncover the truth. Meanwhile Robert Louis Stevenson is in town for his father's funeral and renews his acquaintance with McLevy which is rather fortuitous when we consider what lies ahead. Full review...
The Mangle Street Murders by MRC Kasasian
March Middleton's father dies, and she becomes a 20-something alone; not a good status for a Victorian woman. She therefore moves in with her guardian, Sidney Grice, personal (not private!) detective. Although, as Sidney has a case to solve, March may as well be invisible. Grice has been employed by shopkeeper William Ashby who has savagely murdered his own wife by stabbing her 40 times and leaving the Italian word for 'revenge' on the wall. Everyone says he did it apart from Ashby, of course. Therefore Grice teams up with Inspector Pound of the Yard to solve the conundrum and March is there to help, whether Sidney wants her to or not. Full review...
