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A History of Britain in 10 enemies
A History of Britain in 10 enemies
5
5.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Terry Deary.

Perhaps best known for his 'Horrible Histories' series of books, mainly aimed at kids (although, as an adult, I like them too!)

This is aimed more at the adult market than those, with Deary's thesis being - essentially - that it is the island of Britain's enemies through the ages that has forged the national identity. I'm not entirely sold on that, or on who he has chosen - as someone who lived through the tail end of 'The Troubles' in Northern Ireland, I found that chapter especially jarring - with some of his 'dad jokes' getting old pretty quick.

Still, if you take it for what it is (and not entirely rely upon this as a single gospel source of truth), it's a pleasant enough overview of the history of Britain
  
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The Mountains Wild
The Mountains Wild
Sarah Stewart Taylor | 2020 | Mystery
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Mystery from the Past; Race Against Time in the Present
In 1993, Maggie D’Arcy’s cousin Erin vanished while living in Ireland. Maggie went over for a couple of months trying to figure out what happened, but the mystery was never solved. It did have a profound impact on her life since after returning home, Maggie become a cop herself on Long Island. Now, another young woman has vanished. In the search for her, a skeleton has been found, and buried with the skeleton is Erin’s scarf. Has Erin been found after all these years? Where is the new woman who has vanished? Are the cases connected?

It’s been years since Sarah Stewart Taylor released a book, but I was thrilled to pick up something from her again. I’d forgotten just how atmospheric her writing is, but I was soon back under her spell. The pacing was off near the beginning since Maggie doesn’t have any jurisdiction in Ireland, but eventually she found a way into the case and we started getting the twists that lead us to the climax. The book takes place in 1993, the present, and even further in the past as Maggie and Erin are growing up. All of these time periods are easy to follow. They also allow us to see how characters have matured over the years, which I enjoyed. This is Maggie’s story, and I couldn’t help but feel for her as the book progressed and the story unfolded. The story also switches from past to present tense depending on which time period we are reading about. It took my brain a bit of time to adjust to this, but I did rather quickly. This is more serious than the cozies I often read, but if you keep that in mind, you’ll enjoy this book as well.