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Book #2 in the WISE Enquiries Agency series
When Henry, a Welsh Duke, decides to be married, there are a myriad of traditions that he is expected to uphold. One such tradition involves Morris Dancers leading the happy couple through town from the church back to the familys estate. After one of the dancers vanishes, the WISE Enquiry Agency is hired to look into the matter.
I really enjoyed the team of women doing the investigating in this story. Their distinct personalities work well together, as each has her own strengths to bring to the group. That and the Welsh countryside as the setting made this a very enjoyable read for me.
Visit <a href="https://booksthething.com/2016/11/02/the-case-of-the-missing-morris-dancer-guest-post-and-giveaway/">my blog</a> for a guest post from Cathy Ace explaining just what Morris Dancing is!
<i>I voluntarily reviewed an advanced copy.</i>
When Henry, a Welsh Duke, decides to be married, there are a myriad of traditions that he is expected to uphold. One such tradition involves Morris Dancers leading the happy couple through town from the church back to the familys estate. After one of the dancers vanishes, the WISE Enquiry Agency is hired to look into the matter.
I really enjoyed the team of women doing the investigating in this story. Their distinct personalities work well together, as each has her own strengths to bring to the group. That and the Welsh countryside as the setting made this a very enjoyable read for me.
Visit <a href="https://booksthething.com/2016/11/02/the-case-of-the-missing-morris-dancer-guest-post-and-giveaway/">my blog</a> for a guest post from Cathy Ace explaining just what Morris Dancing is!
<i>I voluntarily reviewed an advanced copy.</i>
David McK (3425 KP) rated A Morbid Taste for Bones (Chronicles of Brother Cadfael, #1) in Books
Jan 28, 2019
The first of Ellis Peters Cadfael Chronicles mystery novels, which it is no next to impossible to read without imagining Derek Jacobi in the lead role.
For those not in the know, Cadfael is a medieval Welsh Benedictine Monk, who has come late to the Order in life, and who proves rather adept at solving various mysteries, as well as looking after his garden. In this one, the mystery to be solved is just who murdered the leader of the opposition to his Orders plans to relocate the bones of a local saint from the sleepy Welsh village in which she is buried to the confines of his own Order of St Peter and St Paul.
If I'm honest, I actually found this quite hard going: it never really gripped me all that much, nor made me want to read on. Perhaps this kind of novel is just not my cup of tea!
For those not in the know, Cadfael is a medieval Welsh Benedictine Monk, who has come late to the Order in life, and who proves rather adept at solving various mysteries, as well as looking after his garden. In this one, the mystery to be solved is just who murdered the leader of the opposition to his Orders plans to relocate the bones of a local saint from the sleepy Welsh village in which she is buried to the confines of his own Order of St Peter and St Paul.
If I'm honest, I actually found this quite hard going: it never really gripped me all that much, nor made me want to read on. Perhaps this kind of novel is just not my cup of tea!
Ross (3284 KP) rated The Boys Volume 8: Highland Laddie in Books
Oct 29, 2019
If Irvine Welsh wrote Oor Wullie
Highland Laddie sees Hughie leave The Boys and head home to his Maw and Paw for some peace and quiet. He soon finds that his home town has barely changed and the nostalgia wears off quite quickly.
It turns out Hughie was something of an amateur detective in his youth, and stopped a minor smuggling ring. He starts to uncover something again in this story, while also being unknowingly mentored over his troubles by a mysterious gentleman.
This story is hilarious, and like a cross between an Irvine Welsh/Chris Brookmyre book and an issue of Oor Wullie/The Beano. The old Scots angle (wee dugs, mince and tatties, everything being braw), combined with more modern Scottish ideas (inventive swearing and heroin) makes for a laugh-out-loud tale. We also see Hughie start to come to terms with the revelation from the previous volume, and consider rejoining The Boys.
It turns out Hughie was something of an amateur detective in his youth, and stopped a minor smuggling ring. He starts to uncover something again in this story, while also being unknowingly mentored over his troubles by a mysterious gentleman.
This story is hilarious, and like a cross between an Irvine Welsh/Chris Brookmyre book and an issue of Oor Wullie/The Beano. The old Scots angle (wee dugs, mince and tatties, everything being braw), combined with more modern Scottish ideas (inventive swearing and heroin) makes for a laugh-out-loud tale. We also see Hughie start to come to terms with the revelation from the previous volume, and consider rejoining The Boys.
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ClareR (5726 KP) rated The Shadow Key in Books
Oct 9, 2024
The Shadow Key is an enjoyable, unnerving read, set in a quiet, secluded Welsh village in the late 1700’s.
Henry has been disgraced in his London medical practice, and takes a job as a doctor in a small Welsh mining village. A lucky break, perhaps? Except, no. The inhabitants of the village don’t like him at all, because he’s English, his employer, the local Lord, is decidedly odd and menacing, and Lord Julian’s sister is clearly suffering from some sort of mental illness.
Henry does start to like the village, and the villagers learn that he will help them with no conditions.
There’s an underlying menace throughout the book, and if I were Henry I wouldn’t have stayed to tough it out!
The descriptions of the village and the family seat, swing between beauty (particularly the landscape) and dread. I felt as a reader I was constantly being wrong-footed, played with. It really is a good read - the tension!!
Most definitely recommended!
Henry has been disgraced in his London medical practice, and takes a job as a doctor in a small Welsh mining village. A lucky break, perhaps? Except, no. The inhabitants of the village don’t like him at all, because he’s English, his employer, the local Lord, is decidedly odd and menacing, and Lord Julian’s sister is clearly suffering from some sort of mental illness.
Henry does start to like the village, and the villagers learn that he will help them with no conditions.
There’s an underlying menace throughout the book, and if I were Henry I wouldn’t have stayed to tough it out!
The descriptions of the village and the family seat, swing between beauty (particularly the landscape) and dread. I felt as a reader I was constantly being wrong-footed, played with. It really is a good read - the tension!!
Most definitely recommended!
