strange and random happenstance

The Serpent Dance by Sofia Slater
Published by: Swift Press
Publication Date: June 6th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 214 Pages
Rating: ★★★★
To Buy

Audrey and Noah are coming up on their one year anniversary. The only problem is that it happens to coincide with a big launch at Noah's art gallery. So instead of waiting they decide to celebrate on their ten month anniversary. In retrospect, this could have been inviting bad luck. Audrey is convinced that Noah has taken her copious hints and that they are going to Paris. Instead of working on the illustrations to the followup of her children's compendium of extinct animals which The Times called "equal parts urgency and enchantment" she has spent the last few weeks creating itineraries for Paris while obsessively checking that her passport is still valid and ignoring her looming deadline. The day of their getaway arrives and they head west to Paddignton, not north to St. Pancras. They are going to Cornwall. And maybe things would have worked out had she not thought they were going to Paris, but it's like Noah doesn't even know her and has some notion of recapturing the memories of a favorite childhood vacation of his instead of celebrating their relationship. Audrey spends the train journey to Trevennick for the midsummer festival mentally cataloging how her life has gone wrong. She wanted to be an artist, but was pushed by her parents to take the more sensible route and study graphic design. Her relationship with Noah was meant to open the door for her into the art world, instead he's constantly closing it. And now he's taking her to the country. She hates the country. She hates the dark. Does she secretly hate Noah? When they arrive they are taken up to the big house through the village with disturbing statues made of withies in the shape of amorphous animals being assembled on the green. Luckily their hostess is able to fill them in on these obby osses because she is none other than Stella Penrose, a tellie historian, who will be staying in her home with them. A home that is completely made of glass. They can literally see everything. This isn't the romantic weekend Audrey planned as she spends dinner getting drunk while Stella shamelessly flirts with Noah. Audrey goes to bed early and is wakened by Noah. He thinks something bad has happened. And he's right. Stella is dead. In a locked room in a completely glass house. But suicide doesn't sit right with the police or Audrey. And when Noah is arrested, perhaps this is the sign she needed that they are officially over. But the killer isn't. The town is backwards in more ways than one and the river will have its due.

The Wicker Man is one of the movies that will forever be a classic. It's camp, it's creepy, and it taps into our communal love of folk horror that we as viewers, and readers, can't get enough of. I love me some folk horror. But not Midsommar. Never that. Having discovered Sofia Slater when I read Auld Acquaintance I couldn't wait for this book being touted as folk horror with wicker man vibes to be released stateside and ordered it from England. It would be the book to usher in summer 2025. And, while yes, the obby osses bring a nice Summerisle vibe to Trevennick, that isn't what makes the book work. In fact I wouldn't even label it as folk horror, it's just a good old fashioned murder mystery with the trappings you might see on an episode of Midsomer Murders. In fact I'm thinking of the one where Nicholas Rowe is killed by an arrow while attempting a rite that would allow him to sleep with his sister/wife. But enough about my love for Nicholas Rowe, what makes this book work is that Sofia Slater is a writer that just makes her people and locations come alive. They are fully three-dimensional. I can picture myself going to Trevennick and walking into the Sacacren's Head and being served by the Kingcups. I am there. I am a part of this ill-fated getaway. But most importantly, it's the journey of Audrey that draws you in. She's on a legit heroine's journey. She is confronting the dark abuses of her past in a similar milieu which she has been forced into. This is full immersion therapy and I am here for it. She's figuring out who she is and what she wants and confronting how her expectations don't meet reality and it's a struggle so many of us have to face, thankfully without usually having to endure a trial by literal fire. When she tells Morwenna Kingcup things she hasn't even told Noah, you know this place is literally healing her. It also allows her to open up artistically. What starts at first as a way to make sense of the crime as well as appease her editor, she draws the crime scene and her surroundings in detail. Just remove a dead body here and add a cute bunny there, and her sequel about vanishing Britain is almost done! But the fact that what she uses for therapy helps to reveal the truth is delicious. Her artist's eye catches something that the normal person wouldn't notice and this thrills me as an artist. I am always looking at things differently, and when I go on walks with my Dad I'm pointing out all the ways to look at the world and this artistic sensibility is what saves the day. To me, as an artist, I can't explain my glee. But also, the fact that she releases her inhibitions and Noah finally see's in her art something worth exhibiting proves that our demons, our outlets, our deliverance, brings us to our true selves and only then can we achieve our goals.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Artist, Auld Acquaintance, Cornwall, Graphic Designer, Locked Room, Midsomer Murders, Midsommar, Murder, Murder Most Foul, Nicholas Rowe, Paris, Sofia Slater, The Serpent Dance, The Wicker Man, Vacation

The White Priory Murders by Carter Dickson
Published by: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication Date: November 7th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 320 Pages
Rating: ★★★
To Buy

Mr. James Boynton Bennett has heard tales of his uncle, the great Sir Henry Merrivale. And on first meeting him he is surprised he meets his expectations exactly. The description was to a T. Bennett has arrived in London to escort a newspaper mogul, Lord Canifest and his daughter Louise Carewe, and stopped in to meet his uncle as he's a renowned sleuth and Bennett has a conundrum on his hands. The actress Marcia Tait is a huge Hollywood star who started her career in a flop in the West End. Tim Emery, her publicist, and Carl Rainger, her director, made her who she is and are aghast that she has broken her contract to once again tread the boards. She's set to star opposite Jervis Willard as a Restoration doxie in The Private Life of Charles the Second by Maurice Bohun, presented by Maurice's brother, John, who is in love with The Tait. Lord Canifest is backing the play and he and Bennett have been invited down to the Bohuns' place near Epsom, the White Priory, for Christmas. But for the last three weeks the situtation has been tense as Emery and Rainger try to get her to return to the studio while the Bohuns and Canifest are rooting for the play. Things took a turn though the day before when someone sent The Tait a poisoned box of chocolates, of which John Bohun suggested they ALL take a piece, because whomever refuses is obviously the culprit. Bohun, Emery, Willard, Rainer, and Bennett all took a piece, Emery collapsed two hours later with strychnine poisoning. And it's this toxic group of fellows who plan to decamp to Epson for the holidays, and Bennett is tagging along, but is curious what his uncle's take on the situation is. Could it escalate? Indeed it will, though they were powerless to stop it. The Bohuns have had the White Priory in their family since the time of Charles the Second when they built a "merry house." The "merry house" is called the Queen's Mirror and is off limits to tourists. The structure looks like an imitation temple on an ornamental sheet of water as it stands in the middle of an artificial lake. It was built in 1664 for Lady Castlemaine, perhaps Charles the Second's most notorious mistress. There's a scene in the play set in the pavilion and The Tait insisted on spending her nights at the White Priory in the Queen's Mirror. It was so like Marcia. And this decision would be her last. Because as Bennett arrives on the scene John Bohun has found Marcia dead. It had snowed overnight and there's only one set of prints that go towards the merry house, those of John's. It is a true mystery. A mystery that Bennett thinks only his uncle can solve.

One of the things I plan most assiduously for the holidays is my reading. I want just the right level of classic to modern murder mysteries. Because that is what the holidays are about, murder. Because you're trapped with your family and there's snow and by all that is holy, someone is going to die. So when Poisoned Pen Press reprinted Carter Dickson's 1934 Christmas mystery, The White Priory Murders, back in 2023 I knew it had to be on my holiday reading list. And then I learned it was the second Sir Henry Merrivale book. Which meant I couldn't just skip to the second volume, oh no, I had to first read The Plague Court Murders. But seeing as I learned this when it was still the Halloween season and the first book involves a séance, I felt like fate was throwing me a win. What was more interesting though is reading these two books back to back I couldn't help but wonder why he basically used the same locked-room contrivance. Now there are a million ways to do locked-room mysteries, I should know, I've read enough of them, but what's odd here is the similarities. In both books we have a freestanding structure, one is a stone hut, the other is a marble pavilion. Then we have the structure surrounded by a substance that would leave an impression if anyone had approached it, one is mud, the other is snow. Then we have the body found inside the structure, oh no! And it's not death, it's murder! How was this impossible crime committed!?! Now Carter Dickson was the king of the locked-room mystery, so while others might think this is sloppy to repeat yourself in such a way, I think it was a major flex. He created two entirely different books with basically the same setup. Like he wanted to give the reader another answer to his first book. Almost as if he was writing a Choose Your Own Adventure. Not satisfied with how Roger Darworth died? Try option two with Marcia Tait! It took balls, and I admire it. As for the Sir Henry Merrivale's detection skills? I have issues. Because Sir Henry has no fucks to give about the victims. He honestly doesn't care about them. They are nothing more than a riddle to be solved. And, if possible, solved without stepping outside his cloistered little bubble. I take umbrage that a person is nothing more than an object to him. The criminal and the howdunit are all that matters to him. The background of the victim? Why should that matter? It's like he doesn't believe the past informs how they died, which is ludicrous. It's not about timelines and who could have done what and when but why this person? Why did they have to die? And the answer isn't to provide Sir Henry with a diversion. But maybe that's me? Maybe I want depth, I want more, I don't want tab A going into slot B. That's too clinical a crime.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Carter Dickson, Charles II, Choose Your Own Adventure, Christmas, Locked Room, Marcia Tait, Murder Most Foul, Restoration, Sir Henry Merrivale, The Plague Court Murders, The White Priory Murders, West End

The Plague Court Murders by John Dickson Carr
Published by: American Mystery Classics
Publication Date: 1934
Format: Kindle, 305 Pages
Rating: ★★
To Buy (different edition than one reviewed)

One night in his club Ken Blake sees fellow member Dean Halliday in extremis. He offers his help and Halliday gladly accepts, provided that Blake keeps an open mind. Halliday's life is falling apart because of a psychical researcher and his medium. Dean's brother died recently and his Aunt, Lady Anne Benning, turned to Roger Darworth to connect to James beyond the veil. Darworth claims that James will not rest until the ghosts of Plague Court are put to rest. Plague Court is a grim property long reputed to be haunted. The Halliday's acquired it in the 18th century but it's name comes from a disgraced hangman, Louis Playge, who was the brother of the steward under the previous owner and died of the black death after viciously attacking the family with a unique knife he used to cut the hanged men down and is rumored to be buried on the property. It is his ghost that supposedly haunts it's halls. Halliday wants to prove that Darworth is a fake. Which is extra hard seeing as Darworth claims to have no abilities of his own and that those lie in his assistant, Joseph. Blake suggests bringing in his friend Chief-Inspector Humphrey Masters who happens to dabble in a bit of ghost hunting in his spare time and loves nothing more than exposing fake mediums and Halliday acquiesces. Masters is particularly pleased given the fact that the Playge Dagger was just stolen from a London museum and he's had his eye on Darworth for years and he's sure the two must be connected when he hears Halliday's tale of woe. When the trio arrives at Plague Court they are surprised to find people in residence. Halliday's Aunt Anne, his fiance Marion Latimer, Marion's brother Ted, and Major Featheron are all sitting in the bleak house holding some sort of vigil. It appears that tonight is the night that Darworth has decided to lay the ghost of Louise Playge to rest. He has sequestered himself in a little stone hut in the back. He's locked in the room from both the inside and the outside. So naturally, when he turns up dead with Louis Playge's dagger in his back everyone is flummoxed. There was no way to enter the structure and what's more, given the expanse of mud surrounding the building without a single footprint the crime is impossible. Which means it's time to call in the experts. It's time to call in Sir Henry Merrivale.

Original published under John Dickson Carr's "impenetrable" pseudonym Carter Dickson one can't say that the author didn't believe in fair play, even in choosing his nom de plume. Which, really, is a relief. I don't like mysteries where the reader can't figure out the killer, and yes, I'm glaring at you Josephine Tey! You can't introduce characters who have never even been introduced or mentioned in the entire book in your solution! That's not fair! Hence, fair play. And I don't want to brag, but I almost had the whole solution, I didn't realize that one person was disguised and I was wrong about which police officer was corrupt, but other than that, I was right there with Sir Henry Merrivale. And Sir Henry Merrivale is the reason I read this book. I was compiling my Christmas reading and I had added the newly reissued Carter Dickson book, The White Priory Murders, to my list when I realized it was the second in the series. Which, because of how I'm built, meant I had to read the first book in the series, The Plague Court Murders. Thankfully my library had a copy and it sounded suitably spooky to pair with my Halloween reading before I moved on to my Christmas reading. So I dove in. And honestly, it's hard to pinpoint what exactly about this book doesn't work. Seances, psychics, locked rooms, all of it is things that I just love. Plus with the bleak history of Plague Court oozing House of Usher vibes, I really wanted to like it, but I just didn't. The narrator, Ken Blake, is problematic. He just wasn't good. He was too bland. Too much a cipher. I just couldn't get a read on him. He was unable to carry the narrative until Sir Henry Merrivale finally arrived over halfway through the book. By that point I wasn't really invested in the story. My interest could not be reinvigorated by Sir Henry's interest. And then there's my main gripe, it is really annoying and every blurb of this book gets it wrong. Plague Court is named after Louis Playge, the disgraced hangman who died of the plague and was supposedly buried on the property. Louis Playge was the brother of George Playge, who was steward to Lord Seagrave, who was the owner of the property that became known was Plague Court. And Thomas Frederick Halliday bought it from Lord Seagrave in 1711. There was never a Playge owner! So why is it called Plague Court? Because of the ghost stories surrounding Louis Playge? Some enduring urban legend? Now THIS is the mystery that I want answered.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Carter Dickson, Fair Play, John Dickson Carr, Josephine Tey, Locked Room, Louis Playge, Murder Most Foul, Plague Court, Psychic, Seance, Sir Henry Merrivale, The Plague Court Murders, The White Priory Murders

A Good House for Children by Kate Collins
Published by: Mariner Books
Publication Date: July 4th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The dazzling debut novel from Kate Collins - a feminist Gothic mystery spanning decades, in the vein of Mexican Gothic and The Essex Serpent.

Once upon a time Orla was: a woman, a painter, a lover. Now she is a mother and a wife, and when her husband Nick suggests that their city apartment has grown too small for their lives, she agrees, in part because she does agree, and in part because she is too tired to think about what she really does want. She agrees again when Nick announces with pride that he has found an antiquated Georgian house on the Dorset cliffs - a good house for children, he says, tons of space and gorgeous grounds. But as the family settles into the mansion - Nick absent all week, commuting to the city for work - Orla finds herself unsettled. She hears voices when no one is around; doors open and close on their own; and her son Sam, who has not spoken in six months, seems to have made an imaginary friend whose motives Orla does not trust.

Four decades earlier, Lydia moves into the same house as a live-in nanny to a grieving family. Lydia, too, becomes aware of intangible presences in the large house, and she, like Orla four decades later, becomes increasingly fearful for the safety of the children in her care. But no one in either woman's life believes her: the stories seem fanciful, the stuff of magic and mayhem, sprung from the imaginations of hysterical women who spend too much time in the company of children.

Are both families careening towards tragedy? Are Orla and Lydia seeing things that aren't there? What secrets is the house hiding? A feminist Gothic tale perfectly suited for the current moment, A Good House for Children combines an atmospheric mystery with resonant themes of motherhood, madness, and the value of a woman's work."

Sometimes people forget that the Gothic is all about the woman's POV.

The House Keepers by Alex Hay
Published by: Graydon House
Publication Date: July 4th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The night of London's grandest ball, a bold group of women downstairs launch a daring revenge heist against Mayfair society in this dazzling historical novel about power, gender, and class

Mrs. King is no ordinary housekeeper. Born into a world of con artists and thieves, she's made herself respectable, running the grandest home in Mayfair. The place is packed with treasures, a glittering symbol of wealth and power, but dark secrets lurk in the shadows.

When Mrs. King is suddenly dismissed from her position, she recruits an eclectic group of women to join her in revenge: A black market queen out to settle her scores. An actress desperate for a magnificent part. A seamstress dreaming of a better life. And Mrs. King's predecessor, with her own desire for vengeance.

Their plan? On the night of the house's highly anticipated costume ball - set to be the most illustrious of the year - they will rob it of its every possession, right under the noses of the distinguished guests and their elusive heiress host. But there's one thing Mrs. King wants even more than money: the truth. And she'll run any risk to get it...

After all, one should never underestimate the women downstairs."

Downton Abbey meets Ocean's Eight!

The Devil's Flute Murders by Seishi Yokomizo
Published by: Pushkin Vertigo
Publication Date: July 4th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"An ingenious classic locked-room murder mystery about the feuding family of a composer that's perfect for fans of Lucy Foley, Ruth Ware, and Anthony Horowitz.

Featuring the scruffy sleuth Kosuke Kindaichi - the most famous Japanese detective - created by one of Japan's greatest crime writers: Seishi Yokomizo, the "Japanese Agatha Christie"

Locked room mysteries are hot again, and this classic from the golden age of crime presents a mind-bending Japanese mystery from the great Seishi Yokomizo, whose fictional detective Kosuke Kindaichi is a pop culture phenomenon akin to Sherlock Holmes.

This time the beloved scruffy sleuth Kosuke Kindaichi investigates a series of gruesome murders within the feuding family of a brooding, troubled composer, whose most famous work chills the blood of all who hear it. Readers will be totally engrossed by one of Yokomizo's most clever guessing games, in which everyone has something to hide..."

Have locked room mysteries ever not been hot? Asking because I seriously always love them.

Into the Pines by Ryan Lill-Washington
Published by: Ryan Lill-Washington
Publication Date: July 4th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 208 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Up-and-coming podcast host Eyvette has spent the last few years of her life trying to put her rural Southern upbringing behind her. And she's just about managed it - she's got a snazzy Los Angeles apartment, a talented actress girlfriend, and a growing online following of her own.

Then, Eyvette's comfortable new world comes crashing down around her. She learns that her childhood friend and first love, Charlene, has been named the second woman to go missing in the woods surrounding her tiny hometown. Eyvette can't help herself - she packs her things and heads back home to the foothills of South Carolina in search of answers.

It's not long before Eyvette realizes she may have bitten off more than she can chew. There are no leads into Charlene's disappearance, and the once-familiar woods now seem wild and menacing. As she ventures farther and farther into the pines in search of answers, Eyvette begins to realize that she's not alone in the woods - and she may be running out of time to find her friend before someone, or something finds her first.

What lies within the pines that surround Traveler's Rest? Where do all the missing girls go? Who can you trust in the woods? Do people truly disappear without a trace?"

Oh, where do all the missing girls go!

Wolfsong by T.J. Klune
Published by: Tor Books
Publication Date: July 4th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 528 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The Bennett family has a secret:
They're not just a family, they're a pack.
Wolfsong is Ox Matheson's story.

Oxnard Matheson was twelve when his father taught him a lesson: Ox wasn't worth anything and people would never understand him. Then his father left.

Ox was sixteen when the energetic Bennett family moved in next door, harboring a secret that would change him forever. The Bennetts are shapeshifters. They can transform into wolves at will. Drawn to their magic, loyalty, and enduring friendships, Ox feels a gulf between this extraordinary new world and the quiet life he's known, but he finds an ally in Joe, the youngest Bennett boy.

Ox was twenty-three when murder came to town and tore a hole in his heart. Violence flared, tragedy split the pack, and Joe left town, leaving Ox behind. Three years later, the boy is back. Except now he's a man - charming, handsome, but haunted - and Ox can no longer ignore the song that howls between them.

The beloved fantasy romance sensation by New York Times bestselling author TJ Klune, about love, loyalty, betrayal, and family."

And shapeshifters, don't forget the shapeshifters!

Business or Pleasure by Rachel Lynn Solomon
Published by: Berkley Books
Publication Date: July 4th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A ghostwriter and a struggling actor help each other on the page and in the bedroom in this steamy romantic comedy from the New York Times bestselling author of The Ex Talk.

Chandler Cohen has never felt more like the ghost in "ghostwriter" until she attends a signing for a book she wrote - and the author doesn't even recognize her. The evening turns more promising when she meets a charming man at the bar and immediately connects with him. But when all their sexual tension culminates in a spectacularly awkward hookup, she decides this is one night better off forgotten.

Unfortunately, that's easier said than done. Her next project is ghostwriting a memoir for Finn Walsh, a C-list actor best known for playing a lovable nerd on a cult classic werewolf show who now makes a living appearing at fan conventions across the country. Chandler knows him better from their one-night stand of hilarious mishaps.

Chandler's determined to keep their partnership as professional as possible, but when she admits to Finn their night together wasn't as mind-blowing as he thought it was, he's distraught. He intrigues her enough that they strike a deal: when they're not working on his book, Chandler will school Finn in the art of satisfaction. As they grow closer both in and out of the bedroom, they must figure out which is more important, business or pleasure - or if there's a way for them to have both."

I am really drawn to this because of the whole culture of C-list actors at conventions who have so much bravado and the fact that one would be bad in the sack is hilarious. At least he's willing to learn...

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Alex Hay, Conventions, Downton Abbey, Ghostwriting, Gothic, Kate Collins, Locked Room, Ocean's Eleven, Podcast, Rachel Lynn Solomon, Ryan Lill-Washington, Seishi Yokomizo, Shapeshifter, T.J. Klune

The Christmas Murder Game by Alexandra Benedict
Published by: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication Date: September 30th, 2021
Format: Kindle, 322 Pages
Rating: ★★
To Buy (different edition than one reviewed)

When Lily Armitage was growing up the whole family would gather at Endgame House for Christmas and the annual Christmas Game. She and her cousins would solve elaborate riddles and clues to find their cache of Christmas presents. But since her mother died on the grounds twenty-one years ago Lily hasn't returned. She was raised by her Aunt Liliana so of course it's because of Liliana that she's returning. Liliana's dying wish was that Lily would return for the final Christmas Game. Over the twelve days of Christmas Lily and her cousins will vie with or against each other to find twelve keys with the prize being the deeds to Endgame House. Lily doesn't want Endgame House, what she wants is answers, and that's the reason she agrees to return. Liliana has promised that the clues will reveal who killed Lily's mother. Wearing her own designer couture that is concealing a secret Lily returns to Yorkshire. There she is reunited with relatives and retainers. Liliana's children, Sara and Gray are there, as are Uncle Edward's, Tom, Rachel, and Ronnie, with Rachel's spouse Holly, and Ronnie's spouse Phillipa. Housekeeper Mrs. Castle is on hand to take care of them and provide the daily clues while Liliana's solicitor and Lily's former crush, Isabelle Sterling, is on hand to dot the i's and cross the t's. While Lily is shocked how happy she is to see all these people the warning from her aunt is clear in her mind, don't trust anyone. Because it's all fun and games until someone loses an eye, or as happens here, Ronnie ends up dead. He might be the first but he won't be the last. Because when the first corpse appears they realize that they are trapped in Endgame House with a killer. The snow is piled high and there's a tree down across the drive. And then the car batteries go missing. Someone wants them to stay and play the game and Lily is ready to play. She came to find out who killed her mother and she is not about to die like she did.

A book claiming to be Clue at Christmas that happens to be loosely a golden age locked room mystery is a must read for me. The problem is that's not what this book is, this book is more Game of Thrones murder mystery though with even more animosity, hate, and incest. I truthfully can say not only did I dislike every single character in this book I hated them. They are all horrible horrible people who I would not like to spend one single second in the presence of. And that's not the main problem of this book! The main problem is there is no motive for the deaths. We are supposed to buy into the fact that obviously anyone would want to inherit a Manor House in Yorkshire. Yet Manor Houses aren't cash cows, this one was run as a business center for years that seemed to just barely be in the black, and everyone has horrible memories of the place, yet they want it? Even if their future plans are solid the horrible memories should make them rethink their plans. But then again, they are all either sociopaths or psychopaths, throw a dart and it's one or the other. So maybe the bad memories don't bother them? Whatever way you look at it the truth is that all these relatives go to Yorkshire to slaughter each other. And Liliana had to know what she was doing. After all her own brother killed her sister! This isn't generational trauma, this is generational homicide. The only answer I have is that they are evil. Evil evil evil. Yes, I love a Christmas murder mystery, I don't want Christmas slaughter. This book has literally one and only one thing going for it, it flips the script on the bury your gays trope. The whole idea that gay characters are expendable or deserve to die is so outdated it's shocking how many people still use it. The Christmas Murder Game was the exact opposite, and for that it should be cheered. Any character who was alive at the start of the book who identifies as queer, gay or bisexual, is alive at the end. And only they are alive at the end. All the straight characters are cleared from the board. So at least that was refreshing. About as refreshing as a snowball in your face, but you take what wins you can sometimes.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Alexandra Benedict, Bury Your Gays, Clue, Endgame House, Game of Thrones, Incest, Inheritance, LGBTQ, Lily Armitage, Locked Room, Manor House, Motive, Murder, Pride, The Christmas Murder Game, Tropes, Yorkshire

Snowspelled by Stephanie Burgis
Published by: Five Fathoms Press
Publication Date: September 4th, 2017
Format: Paperback, 168 Pages
Rating: ★★★
To Buy

Cassandra Harwood had everything. She was the only female magician in Angland. She was betrothed to Rajaram Wrexham, the best magician in Angland, after herself that is. But things weren't going to plan. Letting her have an education was all well and good, but giving her a job? No, that wasn't the done thing. What was all that work for if she's not allowed to do something? So she felt the need to prove herself as she'd been forced to time and time again and things did not go well. She over-extended herself. Her old life is no more. No magic and no Wrexham. Two months ago she felt she had to drive him away to save them both. Though she's the only one who believes this. Her sister-in-law Amy is convinced that Cassandra and Wrexham just need a chance to reconnect and what better opportunity than at a week-long house party in the elven dales? Cosgrave Manor will be filled to bursting with bickering magicians and ruthless lady politicians as the Boudiccate prepares for their Winter Solstice Ceremony to reaffirm the human's peace treaty with the elves. There will be more than enough alcoves to compromise Wrexham in if Cassandra would just admit how much she misses him. What could be more romantic than being snowbound with the love of your life? More importantly it will get Cassandra out of the house where she's become a recluse and out of the rut she's worked herself into that's half pity half self flagellation. But things don't go according to plan. The weather is abysmal, snow so thick it's almost unnatural, and when they arrive at their destination their hostess, Lady Honoria Cosgrave, is worried about her young cousin's party. Miss Fennell and Miss Banks should have arrived by now but are missing. Cassandra agrees to help in the search, which was her first mistake. Her second was walking on a troll. Her third was accidentally making a binding promise to an elf-lord. So now she has to figure out who is behind the unnatural weather or forfeit her future to the elves. And all this just when she'd finally found something to live for again, and Wrexham is only part of that future.

Snowspelled wasn't the book I was expecting. When I read "trapped in a snowbound house party" I got certain ideas in my head. Ideas that are much more common in locked-room mysteries. So I'm not here damning with faint praise, I'm here going, this will be a book I will be glad to re-read with my expectations in check. Expectations that aren't typical of my usual holiday fare. I seriously read too many murder mysteries around the holidays. I wanted more country house party less protective heat bubbles with people wandering about in bespelled snow. Seriously, they were outside way too much for being "snowbound." But once I got past my own expectations I found myself falling in love with a wonderful story about finding your path after your old path was taken away from you forever. Oh and evil elves. I seriously love evil elves. Haven't we all had dreams that have come shattering down? We've worked and worked for years and then, just like Cassandra, there's that over-extension and the horrible burst of pain and disbelief and crushing reality. This heroine's journey is atypical and therefore actually made it all the more relatable. Because not everyone gets all their dreams. We have to settle, we have to search, we have to find a new path. One that works with what we are capable of doing. This book is so much more hopeful than traditional fairy tale stories because there it's all laid out until the HEA. Here there's no guarantees. And I have to admit, a fully powered and cocky Cassandra would not have been a good look. I don't think I would have liked her. A humbled Cassandra is relatable. She's able to find a HEA with how her life has turned out. It might not have been how she expected it in the least, but the managing of expectations is a powerful lesson. Find your HEA in your own way. In a way that you can handle. Don't let anyone tell you you aren't worth it no matter how many setbacks you've faced. Everyone deserves happiness.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Angland, Cassandra Harwood, Elven Dales, Elves, Harwood Spellbook, HEA, Heroine's Journey, Locked Room, Magician, Mystery, Rajaram Wrexham, Regency Magic, Snow, Snowspelled, Stephanie Burgis, Winter Solstice

Envious Casca by Georgette Heyer
Published by: Arrow
Publication Date: 1941
Format: Paperback, 384 Pages
Rating: ★★★★
To Buy (different edition than one reviewed)

Joseph Herriard wants a real English Christmas. With family, friends, and figgy pudding. After years abroad treading the boards he's returned home to Lexham Manor and his older brother Nat. While Joseph embodies the spirit of Christmas his brother embodies that of Ebenezer Scrooge. Needless to say, Nathaniel is not thrilled with having people descend on his home for the holidays. The holidays are just an excuse to force people whose only connection is blood to get together and argue. But Joseph has high hopes, even if his guest list might be a bit problematic being heavy on the relatives. First there's Joseph's wife, Maud, then there's their deceased brother's children, Stephen Herriard and his gold-digging fiance Valerie Dean, Paula Herriard, who brings a young playwright, Willoughby Roydon, in tow hoping her uncle will fund his new play which she will star in, Mathilda Clare, a distant cousin, and Edgar Mottisfont, Nat's old business partner. All these people don't get along at the best of times and they all want something from Nat. In particular, they all want what he's worked hard for; money. But why should he fund the bad play of a nobody? Why should he give his nephew funds against his expectations? Mathilda is the only one who can see what's coming, "[t]here'll be murder before we're through." Nat misses dinner. This isn't like Nat at all. His bedroom door is locked. Stephen and Joseph break it down to find that Nat is dead, stabbed in the back, though the murder weapon is missing. And all six guests, not to mention the inhabitants and servants of Lexham Manor, all have a motive. Inspector Hemingway of Scotland Yard isn't pleased to be called in on Christmas Day during a snowstorm. But murder is murder no matter when it happens and he has one to solve. A locked room whodunit with way too many suspects.

I don't completely know why it is that murder fits the bill around the holidays. I bookmarked an article to read the other day talking about this phenomena and then I promptly forgot to go back and read it. Probably because I know why they are comforting to me. It's not just the vicarious thrill of watching relatives be murdered, though perhaps this is a nice release of the pressure valve that has stopped you from committing familicide. They just make it feel like everything is right in the world. It's a small little world we can inhabit for a short while where everything makes sense and everything is under control. Sure there's death, but it's a death that makes sense. They were murdered for a certain reason, it's not the capricious nature of fate but someone with a score to settle. Murder mysteries literally are like comfort food to me and during the holidays is when we all turn to comfort food and cookies. Like how Midsomer Murders is cozy while still having the highest body count of any murder mystery out there. Seriously, I think in one episode we didn't just hit double digits, but somewhere around twenty people died if you took into account a historical tunnel collapse. Here's the thing, give me a country house, a murder, and something that forces everyone to stay put and I'm a happy camper. Therefore Envious Casca fit the bill perfectly. And it had the added bonus of being a locked room mystery taking place during a snowstorm. It ticked all the boxes. Sure, the cast of characters aren't the nicest lot. In fact any one of them could have been killed and I would have been fine with it. But I just loved the puzzle of it all. Who was where when. All the different rooms, all the preposterous alibis, this was a very cleverly engineered piece of malice and murder. And unlike the previous book involving Inspector Hemingway that I read the atmosphere and the environment added so much that I couldn't help but enjoy it. Savor it this holiday season!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Christmas, English, Envious Casca, Familicide, Georgette Heyer, Lexham Manor, Locked Room, Midsomer Murders, Murder, Murder Most Foul, Mystery, Nathaniel Herriard, No Wind of Blame, Scotland Yard, Scrooge

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
Published by: Black Dog and Leventhal Publishers
Publication Date: June, 1926
Format: Hardcover, 288 Pages
Rating: ★★★★
To Buy

Dr. James Sheppard has just been attending to the suicide of one of his patients, a Mrs. Ferrars. This tragedy effects another patient, and friend, Roger Ackroyd, who invites Dr. Sheppard to dinner with his family and other house guests at Fernly Park that night. The dinner isn't the most congenial of affairs, the other guests include Roger's sister-in-law and her daughter Flora, who announces her engagement to Roger's stepson Ralph Patton, Major Blunt, a big game hunter, and Geoffrey Raymond, Roger's personal secretary. The guests wouldn't be that important if it wasn't for what happened after. Roger reveals to Dr. Sheppard that his fiance, the widow Mrs. Ferrars, killed herself because she was being blackmailed! She apparently killed her first husband and the blackmailer knew it! Before the two get into too great a discussion about what all this could mean a letter from the late Mrs. Ferrars arrives and Roger asks the good doctor to leave. Dr. Sheppard though is soon called back to Fernly Park as Roger Ackroyd has been found murdered! The police suspect Ralph Patton, but nothing adds up. The room was locked, the letter from Mrs. Ferrars is missing, the call Dr. Sheppard received telling him of the death can't be traced, a chair has been moved at the scene of the crime, what does it all mean? It means Poirot is needed and Flora calls him in. As luck would have it he has retired to King's Abbot to grow vegetable marrows and is now living next door to Dr. Sheppard. Poirot is glad to come out of retirement because Roger Ackroyd was his friend. Dr. Sheppard, being such an important witness to the crime, becomes Poirot's Watson; leading him through the events as they happened and writing down the case for posterity. What an honor to work with the great Poirot! What an honor to see if the great detective's little grey cells are still up to the task of catching a criminal or are only good for cultivating vegetable marrows.

Sometimes you just need a really good whodunit. I was reading a list of the greatest locked room mysteries and The Murder of Roger Ackroyd topped the list. Now I loved a good locked room mystery, and while I still think that technically A.A. Milne's The Red House Mystery might be the more locked of the rooms due to a window that the generators of this list seem to have overlooked, I will say that this Poirot outing was fun and unexpected in many ways. What I found most fascinating about The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is that this is only Poirot's third book, his forth if you count the short story collection, and Agatha Christie already has him retired to the countryside to raise marrows! If you're wondering what a marrow is it's a vegetable similar to zucchini, and yes, leave it to Poirot to grow something that the majority of modern readers have to look up because they are no longer fashionable. Though I think even contemporary American readers would probably have had to look it up as well... or at least that's my hope in a desperate plea to not feel totally ignorant about vegetables. Given that Poirot is the star of 50 short stories, 33 novels, and 2 plays, I was thrown that we see Poirot pleasantly ensconced in retirement. Of course it doesn't last, but the fact that Christie was willing to toy with the idea of retiring her greatest detective so early as a sort of red herring goes to show how she revolutionized the detective genre by continually playing with the medium and not hesitating to take a risk. And in another unexpected twist we aren't seeing Poirot through the hero-worshiping eyes of Hastings! We get an entirely new view of Poirot through the eyes of our unreliable narrator Dr. Sheppard. Which then makes one think if we can even trust Hastings' narration in his stories. There are just so many implications to everything here that it makes one dizzy. In fact I'd say Christie subverting the detective genre's and her own most common tropes versus solving the murder brings more joy to the reader; but that just might be me.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: A. A. Milne, Agatha Christie, Hastings, Locked Room, Marrows, Mystery, Poirot, Roaring Back to Reading, Subverting, Suicide, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, The Red House Mystery, Unreliable Narrator, Watson