Sentimental Murder: Love and Madness in the Eighteenth Century
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On an April evening in 1779, a woman is shot on the steps of Covent Garden. Her murderer is a young...
Al Dente: Madness, Beauty and the Food of Rome
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Imagine the River Tiber as an alimentary tract. Picture a hungry saint. Think of erotic Renaissance...
Beyond the Northlands: Viking Voyages and the Old Norse Sagas
7.0
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In the dying days of the eighth century, the Vikings erupted onto the international stage with...
The Evolution of the Juvenile Court: Race, Politics, and the Criminalizing of Juvenile Justice
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A major statement on the juvenile justice system by one of America's leading experts The juvenile...
The Struggle for European Private Law: A Critique of Codification
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The European codification project has rapidly gathered pace since the turn of the century. This...
Pecan: America's Native Nut Tree
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Written in a manner suitable for a popular audience and including color photographs and recipes for...
The Bronx: The Ultimate Gude to New York City's Beautiful Borough
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Often overlooked by most tourists and locals alike, the Bronx - one of five boroughs that comprise...
In Search of Criminal Responsibility: Ideas, Interests, and Institutions
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What makes someone responsible for a crime and therefore liable to punishment under the criminal...
TravelersWife4Life (31 KP) rated Pearl in the Sand in Books
Feb 24, 2021
Rahab is a character that I think lots of women can associate with (although not for the obvious reason of Rahab’s profession). I think most women are plagued by guilt, trauma, or some type of sorrow and we are always looking for reassurance that we are walking the path that God wants us to be on. Tessa Afshar took this thought process and brought it to life in the story of Rahab. I thought Rahab was very well developed from beginning to end and I enjoyed getting to read this story from a perspective that I had not previously thought of before.
I was so intrigued by the storyline of this book as I had never read anything like it before. It certainly lived up to what I had hoped for. Tessa Afshar did a great job explaining Rahab’s time period and the historical time she lived in that I felt like I was there. Combine that with a unique plot and I thoroughly enjoyed this story.
I will say that I also appreciated how Tessa Afshar covered Rahab's profession without going into to much detail. It's something I am sure we can all imagine the horrors of without having to put words to the thoughts and/or feelings.
I highly recommend this story if you like historically accurate, well written, moving stories that cause you to feel and think. 5 out of 5 stars.
*I volunteered to read this book in return for my honest feedback. The thoughts and opinions expressed within are my own.
ClareR (5884 KP) rated The Haunting of Alma Fielding: A True Ghost Story in Books
Oct 5, 2020 (Updated Oct 5, 2020)
There does seem to be a theme of obsession running through this with regards to Fodor. I was never quite sure if his obsession was with Alma’s haunting, or with Alma herself. She was an attractive woman, after all. He would certainly have been stopped a lot sooner if this had happened today (but I do wonder whether this would have happened at all).
The historical background and the build up to the Second World War was very interesting, and I enjoyed the historical detail throughout. I also liked that there was an ending. Summerscale researched up to the deaths of those involved - I appreciated that closure. But what interesting lives these people had!
This was a great story for a sceptic like me. Ghost stories fascinate me. I don’t believe that there are ghosts, but I still like that they have the ability to unnerve and scare me! And this was certainly unnerving!
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising this book. I probably would have gone on the waiting list at the library because of the (well-deserved) buzz around it, but I really do much prefer not having to wait and reading along with my fellow pigeons!