Search
Search results
The Traitor Beside Her
Book
The Traitor Beside Her is an intricately plotted WWII espionage novel weaving together mystery,...
Historical Mystery WWII
ClareR (6167 KP) rated The Lamplighters in Books
Mar 14, 2022
The Lamplighters is a locked room (lighthouse!) mystery, which had me gripped up to the last page. How could three men go missing from a tower lighthouse, with no way off back to land. There’s no boat, no-one visited them - and what’s more, the lighthouse is locked from the inside when the investigation team arrive.
This is a mystery that affects their wives and partners even 20 years later. A writer contacts the three women and asks them to cooperate with him as he writes a book about the mystery. It seems that all three women held back secrets during the original investigation - but will the uncovering of these secrets make any difference?
The Lamplighters is told in flashbacks, alternating between the present day with the women, and the lead up to the disappearance with the men in the lighthouse. The lighthouse chapters in particular are seriously atmospheric, threatening, even. I had so many ideas as to what could have happened, my opinion changing constantly as more information was revealed. I didn’t guess the actual ending though, even after I’d described the basic storyline of the book to my husband, and he got it in one (note to self: do not discuss mystery books with the husband, AKA “Dr” Poirot…)
Highly recommended.
This is a mystery that affects their wives and partners even 20 years later. A writer contacts the three women and asks them to cooperate with him as he writes a book about the mystery. It seems that all three women held back secrets during the original investigation - but will the uncovering of these secrets make any difference?
The Lamplighters is told in flashbacks, alternating between the present day with the women, and the lead up to the disappearance with the men in the lighthouse. The lighthouse chapters in particular are seriously atmospheric, threatening, even. I had so many ideas as to what could have happened, my opinion changing constantly as more information was revealed. I didn’t guess the actual ending though, even after I’d described the basic storyline of the book to my husband, and he got it in one (note to self: do not discuss mystery books with the husband, AKA “Dr” Poirot…)
Highly recommended.
Tour: The Trial Show: The Resistance Rises
Book
Forced into the shadows while waging war on an oppressive regime intent on controlling those born...
Speculative Fiction Spy Thriller
Merissa (13961 KP) rated Amethyst Flame (Butterfly Witch #2) in Books
Mar 7, 2022 (Updated Jul 3, 2023)
AMETHYST FLAME is the second book in The Butterfly Witch series. We return to Mo as she heads out for a weekend in Vegas. She is still living with her mum and Manager at the Desert Freeze shop. Both she and her mum are still reeling from what happened at the end of the first book.
If I had to say what this book is about - in a nutshell - I would say trust. Or lack of it. Whatever. Basically, this whole book is a mindf*ck of who Mo can trust and rely on. There are secrets within secrets with all of them, but it is Mo on the frontline.
This book expands on what started in the first part, including a revelation about Mo's moths, and will absolutely leave you wanting more. My Kindle nearly hit the wall with the ending and I can't wait for the next book!!!
An Urban Fantasy where the heroine doesn't have all sorted within five minutes. Highly recommended by me.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Mar 4, 2022
If I had to say what this book is about - in a nutshell - I would say trust. Or lack of it. Whatever. Basically, this whole book is a mindf*ck of who Mo can trust and rely on. There are secrets within secrets with all of them, but it is Mo on the frontline.
This book expands on what started in the first part, including a revelation about Mo's moths, and will absolutely leave you wanting more. My Kindle nearly hit the wall with the ending and I can't wait for the next book!!!
An Urban Fantasy where the heroine doesn't have all sorted within five minutes. Highly recommended by me.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Mar 4, 2022
Broadcast Blues (Clare Carlson Mystery #6)
Book
Wendy Kyle took secrets to her grave—now, Clare Carlson is digging them up New York City has no...
Mystery Murder Vigilante Crime
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated A House of Bells in Books
Jan 9, 2024
7 of 220
Kindle
A House of Bells
By J.T. Croft
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A woman haunted by fate, a child silenced by fear, and a house full of secrets and bells.
1918. Stripped of her reputation and haunted by a spirit she failed to protect, the young governess Grace Meadows finds herself out of time and growing more and more desperate. But when she’s offered a strange job from an eccentric medium, she never could have imagined what she was signing up for.
Tasked with caring for a troubled young girl who has lost the ability to speak, Grace must unravel the dangerous secrets at the heart of a run-down country mansion and find the source of the horrors which now threaten both of their lives.
As she’s forced to confront her own demons and reconcile the ghosts of past and present, can Grace protect the child from the living and dead? And what is waiting for her beyond the mysterious silk and bells which protect them from forces unseen?
This was a haughtily beautiful gothic horror. It was so well written. The characters were endearing and dislikeable when needed. I’m glad to have found this author and looking forward to reading more.
Kindle
A House of Bells
By J.T. Croft
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A woman haunted by fate, a child silenced by fear, and a house full of secrets and bells.
1918. Stripped of her reputation and haunted by a spirit she failed to protect, the young governess Grace Meadows finds herself out of time and growing more and more desperate. But when she’s offered a strange job from an eccentric medium, she never could have imagined what she was signing up for.
Tasked with caring for a troubled young girl who has lost the ability to speak, Grace must unravel the dangerous secrets at the heart of a run-down country mansion and find the source of the horrors which now threaten both of their lives.
As she’s forced to confront her own demons and reconcile the ghosts of past and present, can Grace protect the child from the living and dead? And what is waiting for her beyond the mysterious silk and bells which protect them from forces unseen?
This was a haughtily beautiful gothic horror. It was so well written. The characters were endearing and dislikeable when needed. I’m glad to have found this author and looking forward to reading more.
Between the Living and the Dead
Book
The dead won’t leave her alone. For Cavilla, it's one case after another… Cavilla Ramirez is...
Young Adult Paranormal Mystery
The Tryst List (Spicy Standalone #3)
6.0
Rate It
Book
When a man, haunted by secrets, reunites with the only woman who's ever ignited his soul, he'll do...
Adult Contemporary Romance
ClareR (6167 KP) rated The Briar Club in Books
Oct 14, 2025
The Kate Quinn books I’ve read so far have been set during WW2, so I was intrigued to see how the Briar Club would go. It’s set in 1950, a time of gangsters, women knowing their place (but wanting more), and McCarthyism.
The house, Briarwood House, is at the centre of this book, and even has its own voice. It helps to tell the story of its inhabitants and enjoys the weekly dinner parties that one of the women, Grace, sets up.
All of the women have secrets that they’d rather other people didn’t know about, and as the book goes on we find out just what those secrets are.
I don’t read many books set I the 1950’s, and it was fascinating to see how single women lived at this time. What also surprised me, was how Washington D. C. was considered to be almost a small town! I didn’t get the impression of a buzzing metropolis at all.
This is a puzzling mystery with strong female leads (I’m a fan) and gave me the opportunity to read about a time I was unfamiliar with. I liked that some of the politicians had actually existed - which was a really nice touch.
The house, Briarwood House, is at the centre of this book, and even has its own voice. It helps to tell the story of its inhabitants and enjoys the weekly dinner parties that one of the women, Grace, sets up.
All of the women have secrets that they’d rather other people didn’t know about, and as the book goes on we find out just what those secrets are.
I don’t read many books set I the 1950’s, and it was fascinating to see how single women lived at this time. What also surprised me, was how Washington D. C. was considered to be almost a small town! I didn’t get the impression of a buzzing metropolis at all.
This is a puzzling mystery with strong female leads (I’m a fan) and gave me the opportunity to read about a time I was unfamiliar with. I liked that some of the politicians had actually existed - which was a really nice touch.
ClareR (6167 KP) rated The Persians in Books
Feb 3, 2025
On the face of it, The Persians is filled with vacuous, materialistic women, but as I read further, these women had been either torn from their homes in order to escape the new religious government in Iran, or were having to live there, having remained. Trauma has a large part to play in the make up of these women.
Both the women in Iran and those in the US are non-conformists, rule breakers - and some more than others. There’s the obvious Shirin, who’s arrested on prostitution charges at the beginning of the book, and Bita, who decides to break away from her family history and wealth, and make her own way. Then there’s the matriarch, Elizabeth, who remains in Iran and uses her age and family name to get away with not following the rules of Islamic law (to some degree), and her granddaughter Niaz, who is arrested and put in a Tehran jail.
A lot of secrets are revealed (there are some big secrets to be revealed!), and when mothers and daughters are honest and truthful with one another, relationships can be repaired. But will they?
A very enjoyable, somewhat escapist read - I mean, the wealth of these people is startling!
Both the women in Iran and those in the US are non-conformists, rule breakers - and some more than others. There’s the obvious Shirin, who’s arrested on prostitution charges at the beginning of the book, and Bita, who decides to break away from her family history and wealth, and make her own way. Then there’s the matriarch, Elizabeth, who remains in Iran and uses her age and family name to get away with not following the rules of Islamic law (to some degree), and her granddaughter Niaz, who is arrested and put in a Tehran jail.
A lot of secrets are revealed (there are some big secrets to be revealed!), and when mothers and daughters are honest and truthful with one another, relationships can be repaired. But will they?
A very enjoyable, somewhat escapist read - I mean, the wealth of these people is startling!