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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2664 KP) rated Murder in Rose Hill in Books

Jul 5, 2024 (Updated Jul 5, 2024)  
Murder in Rose Hill
Murder in Rose Hill
Victoria Thompson | 2024 | Mystery
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Death of a Muckraker
This book opens on September 6, 1901, when Sarah meets a young woman named Louisa who is researching an article she is writing for a magazine on patent medicine. A few days later, Louisa’s father hires Frank. Someone has killed Louisa, and he wants to know who did it. As Frank and Sarah begin their investigation, they learn that little of what Louisa told Sarah was true. But did those lies lead to her death?

Since I caught up on the series last year, it’s been a longer wait than I was used to before I got to return to these characters. It was fabulous spending time with them again. The series regulars all get appearances and are their usual charming selves. We even got advancement on a plotline that had gone backwards in recent books. The mystery itself could have been a little stronger; same with the suspects. I still enjoyed it, but it’s not the best of the series. I was expecting a certain historical event to show up in the series at some point, so I was happy seeing how the characters reacted to that. Fans of this long running series will be glad they got to spend more time with characters they love. I know I was.
  
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Morgan Sheppard (1037 KP) created a post

May 29, 2026  
Happy Folklore Friday for the 29th! 🌿

Today I want to talk about the Cyhyraeth, one of the quieter, stranger figures in Welsh folklore and one that has always fascinated me.

At first glance, a Cyhyraeth is like the Irish Banshee. It’s a wailing female spirit that acts as a death omen, heralding an impending loss. But unlike the Banshee, the Cyhyraeth is never seen, only ever heard, particularly along the Welsh coast and near water.

The cry was understood as a portent of death, arriving before illness, before disaster, before shipwrecks claimed their dead. Sometimes she was said to wail three times, each cry growing fainter, and those who heard her knew that something irrevocable was already in motion.

What makes the Cyhyraeth so compelling is how much she does with so little. There's no figure to describe, no face to imagine, only a sound moving through the darkness and the particular dread of knowing that a warning has already come too late to change anything. 🌊

She belongs to a rich tradition of Welsh omens and heralds, sitting alongside the Gwrach y Rhibyn and the corpse candle as one of the ways Welsh folklore gave shape to the unspeakable. Some things, it seems, need a voice even when there's no one left to hear them.

#FolkloreFriday #TalesFromWales #WelshFolklore #FolkloreFantasy #MythAndMoonlight
      
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Morgan Sheppard (1037 KP) May 29, 2026

And for those of you wondering... it's pronounced Kuh-HUR-aith 💙
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Merissa (14198 KP) rated The Unknown Sun (Destiny #1) in Books

Apr 14, 2023  
The Unknown Sun (Destiny #1)
The Unknown Sun (Destiny #1)
Cheryl S. Mackey | 2014 | Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This book starts off with a contemporary feel - Moira is a teenage girl trying to get through High School after having two near-death experiences. Everyone else who was with her at the time died, but for some reason, she survived. All that changes one night when someone breaks into her home and attacks her. Thinking that third time lucky for death to come and collect her, instead, she is saved by two winged people, twins who seem to know about her.

This is where the Fantasy part of the novel kicks in as you have good vs. evil, betrayal, the old Gods and new powers and abilities.

There are crossovers between this book and The Immortals which made it interesting. However, I personally found it a tad distracting as my mind would flit back to the other book when a reference was made, but that's just me.

This was well-written and enjoyable. The 'fun' hasn't ended here though, for all that Moira has some of her answers. There is more to come from her, Bel, and Airi and I, for one, am looking forward to reading more about them.

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Jul 11, 2015
  
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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2664 KP) rated Stitched in Crime in Books

Dec 10, 2021  
Stitched in Crime
Stitched in Crime
Emmie Caldwell | 2021 | Mystery
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Accidental Fall? Or Murder?
Life is beginning to settle down again for Lia Geiger, and the crowds are returning to the craft fair where she sells her knitting projects, thanks in part to Cori Littlefield and her wonderful crochet projects. Sadly, Cori is found dead one day near the bottom of a waterfall. While the police rule it a tragic accident, Lia thinks there might be a connection to a similar death from two decades ago – a death that Cori claimed to witness as a little girl. But can Lia find any evidence to back up her claim?

I enjoyed the first book in this series, and this was just as much fun. We get a puzzling mystery with several strong suspects. Every time I thought I knew who done it, another suspect would do something to put them at the top of my list. The ending answered all my questions, including one the characters never asked. I do feel like the characters could be a little stronger, but maybe that’s just me, and maybe it’s because of all the background characters. I had no trouble keeping all the characters straight, and a character that rubbed me a bit the wrong way in the first book has definitely softened here. If you are looking for a fun cozy, this is the book you need to pick up.