Sign up
Search
Advanced search settings

Search only in certain items:

Search results
All (4384)
Content
People
Apps
Books
Orbs
Movies
Music
Podcasts
Shows
Tabletop Games
Tech
TV
Video Games
YouTube Channels
Videos
40x40

Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2589 KP) rated Murder at Marble House in Books

Nov 6, 2024  
Murder at Marble House
Murder at Marble House
Alyssa Maxwell | 2014 | Mystery
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Unfortunate Fortune Teller Murdered
We are once again in August 1895 in Newport, Rhode Island. Emma Cross, society reporter for the local paper, has her morning interrupted when her distance cousin, Consuelo Vanderbilt calls begging for Emma to come over to Marble House. While Emma finds herself caught up in some family drama, the last thing she expects is that her visit will end in murder. But that’s just what happens when the fortune teller that Alva Vanderbilt has hired is found dead behind the estate. When a family member vanishes, Emma starts to investigate. Can she find out what happened?

This book picks up right after the last one ends. While it doesn’t spoil the murder itself, it does give away some ongoing storylines. The story presents an interesting mystery, but the pacing does get off at times. We get some developments in Emma’s personal life, and I’m not sure I’m on her side as much after some of what happened here. If I’m this opinionated, clearly, I’m finding the characters real, and that includes real people and fictional characters. Speaking of which, the author includes a bit about what is true and what she twisted to make her plot work, which I always appreciate. I read this book right after getting to visit Newport, which made it easier to picture some of the locations. I’m already wishing I’d had time to really explore the locations more when I was there. Overall, this is a good second entry, and I’m looking forward to the next in the series.
  
40x40

Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2589 KP) rated Murder on the Home Front in Books

May 4, 2023  
Murder on the Home Front
Murder on the Home Front
Jessica Ellicott | 2023 | Mystery
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Body in the Air Raid Shelter
Billie Harkness has been on the job as one of only two female constables in the Hull police force for a few weeks now. In that time, neither her co-workers nor the public have come to accept her any more then when she first started. One of her true allies has been Peter Upton, a fellow constable who has been training her. When the two of them find a dead body in an air raid shelter, Billie discovers some details that don’t make any sense. Can they use those to figure out what happened to the victim?

It was great to be back in summer 1940 with Billie and Peter. While most of the book is written from Billie’s third person point of view, we get some scenes from Peter’s, and they help flesh out the characters and plot wonderfully. I was hooked the entire way through the story, although I did wonder where it was going a bit at first. Once the body turned up, things were full speed ahead until we reached the end. There is a strong sub-plot that is unfortunately too real and should not have been acceptable then or now. I appreciated how it was handled. The overall mystery is something that could only be told in England during World War II, and it helped bring details of that time in history to life for me. If you enjoy historical mysteries, you need to pick it up.