Murder in the Queen's Armes - Aaron Elkins

   1985; 260 pages.  Book 3 (out of 18) in the “Gideon Oliver Mysteries” series.  New Author? : No.  Genres : International Mystery & Crime; England; Whodunit; Forensic Anthropology.  Overall Rating : 8*/10.

 

    Hooray!  Gideon and Julie are newlyweds!  It’s time for their honeymoon!

 

    And a mighty fine honeymoon it’s going to be for the American couple.  They’re heading for a beautiful part of Great Britain called Dorset.  Right on the scenic coast of the English Channel.  How delightfully romantic!

 

    There will be two little side-trips for Gideon.   First, a trip to the Greater Dorchester Museum of History to see a skull fragment affectionately called “Pummy”.  Then to a nearby archaeological site, where a former classmate of Gideon’s, Dr. Nate Marcus, is supervising an excavation.  Both visits will be short; neither one is anything major.

 

    Well actually, Nate claims he is onto something major.  He says he’s uncovered proof that the ancient Mycenaeans visited early Britain and ushered the locals into the Bronze Age!

 

    Ho hum.  I guess you’d have to be a fellow archaeologist to get excited about that, and Gideon’s an anthropologist.  I certainly can't see that any of this is worth killing somebody over, right?

 

What’s To Like...

    Murder in the Queen’s Armes is the third book in this 18-volume series, and the second one I’ve read and which is reviewed here.  The title references the inn where Gideon and Julie are staying.  As expected, complications quickly arise that intrude into the couple’s honeymoon, including several mysteries that have need of Gideon’s technical expertise as the renowned “skeleton detective”.

 

    I thought the mysteries in the storyline were well-crafted.  To give details would entail spoilers, but let’s just say that neither Gideon nor the reader should discard any discovery, no matter how minor it may seem at the time.

 

    I loved the setting: a picturesque area along the southern coast of England.  I have a Facebook friend who lives nearby, and she’s posted pictures of Dorset in bloom.  I want to go there!

 

    The technical aspect of the story also fascinated me.  Gideon is called upon twice to do a skeletal analysis, and I was amazed at how much can be deduced from an ancient bone, no matter whether “ancient” means a couple millennia or a couple million years.  I was delighted that my favorite indigenous paleo-British group, the “Beaker People”, figure into the plotline, and enjoyed learning a number of Yiddish phrases, since one of the main characters was Jewish, such as doppes, nu, ungepotchket, farpotchket, and tzimiss.

 

    The ending is good, although the key break in the investigation doesn't happen until late in the story.  So even though this is a whodunit, and even though there are clues aplenty along the way, don’t be upset if you can’t solve the crime before Gideon does.  The fun comes with “connecting the dots” from a series of clues.

 

Kewlest New Word ...

Oleaginously (adv.) : obsequiously; in an exaggerated and distastefully complimentary manner.

 

Ratings…
    Amazon: 4.4*/5, based on 1,134 ratings and 102 reviews.

    Goodreads: 3.98*/5, based on 1,842 ratings and 112 reviews.

 

Excerpts...

    “I can’t say I find the Bronze Age all that fascinating myself.  Too recent.”

    “Seventeen hundred b.c. is recent?”

    “Sure, to an anthropologist.  Didn’t you ever hear what Agatha Christie said about being married to one?”

    “I didn’t know she was.”

    “Yes, a famous one: Max Mallowan.  She said it was wonderful—the older she got, the more interesting he found her.”  (loc. 272)

 

    “He was pretty well soused when I left him an hour ago.”

    “Nate?”

    “Yes, indeed.  He’s sleeping it off, I think.”

    Abe made a decisive little nod.  “When we’re finished here, I’ll go down and fix him up.  I’ll make him take a guggle-muggle.”

    “Come again?”

    “An old remedy.  You mix whiskey, hot tea, molasses, and raw eggs, and swallow it in one gulp.”

    Gideon made a face.  “It sounds terrible.”

    “That’s why you got to drink it one gulp.  You call it a guggle-muggle because that’s what it sounds like when it goes down: Guggle, muggle.  Believe me, by seven o’clock he’ll be fine.”  (loc. 2760)

 

Kindle Details…

    Murder in the Queen’s Armes sells for $7.99 right now at Amazon.  The other books in the series cost anywhere from $1.99 to $8.99.  There are also two "bundles", both priced at $16.99, one with Books 1-4, the other with Books 5-7.

 

“He’s glick and he’s slib, that’s all he is.”  (loc. 2576)

    There’s not much in Murder in the Queen’s Armes to whine about.  The cussing is moderate, 17 instances in the first 20%, but I didn’t feel that it was overused, and I don’t recall any f-bombs.  There is some romantic banter between our newlyweds, but nothing salacious.

 

    There were a couple of typos: be/he, chinthursting/chinthrusting, farfetched/far-fetched, and one (out of six) “house-keeping” variant of the correct “housekeeping”, but overall the editing was pretty clean.  There were also several instances unintended breaks in paragraphs, but I blame the Amazon conversion program for that, since I’ve seen that in other e-books.   More annoying were a couple of scene switches without any signal, although this too could be the Amazon program’s fault.

 

    Overall, I enjoyed Murder in the Queen’s Armes.  It was a fast-paced, quick, easy read.  I loved the setting, and all the genre components—mystery, archaeology, anthropology, intrigue, and even romance—were nicely blended.  I’ve got a couple more e-books from this series sitting on my Kindle, and I have a feeling I’m going to enjoy getting better acquainted with Gideon Oliver.

 

    8 Stars.  One last “Kewlest New Word” for your vocabulary enhancement: the aforementioned hangover cure called guggle-muggle.  I’d never heard of it, and thought at first it was something Aaron Elkins made up.  But Wikipedia has a post about a milder variation of it, a dessert, and with several variant spellings including gogle-mogle, gogol-mogol, and kogel mogel.  Wiki it.  It is not likely to be added to my dessert list anytime soon.

The Secret Diary of Alice in Wonderland - Barbara Silkstone

   2010; 250 pages.  Full Title: The Secret Diary of Alice in Wonderland, Age 42 and Three-Quarters.  Book 3 (out of 4)  in the “Silkstone Standalone Comedic Mystery” series.  New Author? : Yes.  Genre : Florida Noir; Romance; Comedic Mystery; Epistolary; Not-So-Cozy Mystery.  Overall Rating : 7*/10.

    Alice Harte has a bad case of AIWS.  That stands for “Alice In Wonderland Syndrome”.  It's possible that the fact that Alice has the same name as the title character in Lewis Carroll’s novel reinforces her syndrome.

    Bouts of AIWS can hit her at any time.  There’s a cat with a toothy grin who keeps appearing out of nowhere, smiling at her, then disappearing just as suddenly.  There’s an attorney in her life who’s a dead ringer for the Walrus.  She meets Nigel, a charming English bloke on an internet dating site, whom she's sure looks like and acts like the White Rabbit.

    Those are all kind of pleasantly loopy experiences, but other AIWS instances are somewhat darker.  She’s been harassed by two big thugs, who she dubs Tweedle-dee and Tweedle-dum.  Then there's Elizabeth, a crazy lady who sometimes claims to be Nigel’s wife, and other times claims to be his ex-wife.  She’s must be an incarnation of the Mad Hatter.

    Alice is being blackmailed by not one, but two separate slimeballs.  One is her boss, Leslie Archer; the other is is guy who thinks Leslie killed his brother and wants Alice to provide the incriminating evidence.  The latter guy’s name is Marc Hare, so it’s obvious that he’s supposed to be the “March Hare”.

    But be extremely careful around your boss, Alice.  He’s already threatened to have you killed if you leave his company, and he fits the role of the Red Queen.  And we all know what her favorite line in the book is.

    “Off with her head!!”

What’s To Like...

    The Secret Diary of Alice in Wonderland is an ambitious mix of several genres, including comedy, romance, and first and foremost, a mystery.  It is overlaid with the characters and plotline from Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, which is no small literary feat.  I gather the book's original title included the phrase “Age 42 and Three-Quarters”, but that has since been dropped, probably for good reason, since the protagonist’s age has nothing to do with the story.

    Amazon classifies this as a “cozy mystery”, but it that's one genre it isn't.  There’s a bunch of cussing, a mention of “the clap”, a fair amount of pill-popping, and one on-stage decapitation scene.  I’m okay with all that, but mystery lovers who limit themselves to cozies may be in for a shock.

   The book’s structure is a bit weird: We start off with two chapters (a mere 4% Kindle), then the rest of the book is Alice’s entries in her diary, plus some e-mails and text messages.  I’m not sure why those first two chapters weren’t also incorporated into the diary, but overall this qualifies as an epistolary novel, and I’ve always liked those.  Both chapters, and each new day in the diary start off with quotes from Lewis Carroll’s novel, which I thought was a nice touch, and served as teasers for what you were about to read.

    The book is written in the first-person POV (Alice’s), and recounts her adventures as she wades through the mystery of strange behaviors by psychotic crooks, a whirlwind love-affair, and a bunch of crazies as supporting characters.  Curiouser and curiouser.

    I liked the settings: London and Paris are places I’ve been to, so there were some nice tie-ins, including the Gatwick and Charles de Gaulle airports.  Miami, Prague, and the Cotswolds were new places for me, and I enjoyed "visiting" them.  I also admired some of the ways Barbara Silkstone contrived to mimic portions of Alice in Wonderland in the storyline.  The handling of the Lewis Carroll Alice growing larger and/or smaller by eating/drinking various substances is quite clever.

    The ending ties all the mysteries together nicely, and is highlighted by a farcical rendition of the Alice-in-Wonderland trial scene, over which the maniacal Red Queen presides.  Once again, given that this book isn't really presented as a fantasy (with the exception of a Cheshire cat cameos), the manner in which Barbara Silkstone works the Lewis Carroll courtroom antics into the plotline was impressive.

Excerpts...

    “Nuts.”  Maris banged into the door and leaned over my desk, her skinny frame bent in two like a croquet hoop.

    “What are you doing here?” I asked.

    “I wanted to show you this photograph.”

    I was about to bite her head off, but thought better of it.  I had more to gain by humoring her.  I was the ever-available audience for Maris Archer’s search for validation.  Left alone, Leslie’s wife would probably disappear in an overdose of laxatives, folding in on herself like a black hole.  (loc. 203)

   “We all know you are a premature articulator,” I said.

    “How?” he stammered, growing redder by the moment.

    I had no idea what that meant, but it had a strong effect on the little guy.

    “This court is going to find you guilty of fraud,” he said.

    “Objection.”  I banged my hand on the rail and looked at the judge.

    “Ms. Harte, you are on the witness stand.  You can’t object.”

    “This man is falsely accusing me.”

    “That’s his job.”  (loc. 3185)

Kindle Details...

    The Secret Diary of Alice in Wonderland currently sells for $3.99 at Amazon.  Barbara Silkstone has about 50 e-books available at Amazon, ranging in price from $0.99 to $7.99, most of which appear to be structured similar to this one: mysteries with a one of the classics  (usually a romance) woven into it.

 “When you start drinking, things have a way of falling out of your mouth.”  (loc. 2353)

    There are some quibbles, but nothing major. Some of the events are a bit over the top, especially a couple of the romance escapades Nigel contrives.  But then again, I think the action in any Clive Cussler novel is over the top, and you could say that about Lewis Carroll’s stories as well.  The book could’ve used one more round of editing, and for some unknown reason my e-book highlights/notes from about 25% to 75% got wiped out.

    Finally, for whatever reason I was expecting some sort of mystery set in the world of Alice in Wonderland.  Something like the Knave of Hearts getting murdered, and Alice and the Cheshire cat investigating.  Instead, The Secret Diary of Alice in Wonderland is set in our world, with a bunch of literary nods to Lewis Carroll added for fun.  But to be fair, there’s nothing misleading about the book’s title or cover art, and Barbara Silkstone isn't responsible for any presumptions I jump to.

    Overall, I enjoyed TSDoAiW, even though I’m not in the target audience.  If you’re looking for lighthearted mystery story, coupled with a charming and humorous romance, plus an occasional severed head or grinning cat crossing your path, this book is for you.

    7 Stars.  In the “About the Author” section at the end of the book, Barbara Silkstone mentions someone describing her writing as “shades of Janet Evanovich and Carl Hiaasen”.  I think that’s both concise and accurate.  If you like those two authors, you’ll enjoy this book.

A Raucous Time - Julia Hughes

    2013; 246 pages.  Book 1 (out of four) in the Celtic Cousins’ Adventures series.   New Author? : Yes.  Genre : YA Mystery, with a smidgen of Fantasy thrown in.  Overall Rating : 5½*/10.

    Right now, life could be better for Rhyllan “Annie” Jones.  Just 15 years old, he has to fend for himself, as his mum, Tricia, is “away on business”; his “Gran” has been attacked and is in the hospital; and Aunt Sarah is unavailable as well.  Even worse, his cousin and best chum, Wren Prenderson (Aunt Sarah’s son), is in the hospital as well, a victim in the same attack that felled Gran.

    Now the police are coming around, asking all sorts of questions, and there is a very keen possibility that child services will be called in.  After all, it certainly appears that Rhyllan and Wren have both been abandoned.

     One policeman in particular, Detective Inspector Crombie, has become a major thorn in Rhyllan’s life.  He’s canny and perceptive, and seems to see right through Annie’s lies about his mum’s whereabouts.  But does Crombie really want to help?

    Or is he part of the gang of thugs that assaulted Gran and Wren?

  

What’s To Like...

    A Raucous Time follows Wren and Rhyllan as they endeavor to find some sort of hidden treasure that Wren claims to know about from an old Welsh manuscript that he was asked to translate.  Naturally, there are also a bunch of bad guys who want to find the treasure as well, and a team of cops, headed by DI Crombie, who seem to always be a step slow due to one or more turncoats in their midst.

    It’s fun to try and figure out alongside Rhyllan where Crombie’s allegiance lies.  It's also a challenge to the reader and Rhyllan to determine whether there’s any treasure at all.  Wren swears there is, but is he psychic, conniving, possessed, or just plain crazy?  In any event, the Wren/Rhyllan relationship takes on a  sort of “Frodo/Samwise” feel, and I like stories where we follow the #2 guy more than The Chosen One.

    The majority of the book is set in Wales, and that’s a plus.  And instead of sunshine and butterflies, we trudge around in torrential downpours and treacherous moors.  I enjoyed getting soaked to the skin with our adventurers.  And even the final setting, the ruins of Tintagel Castle, are more creepy than spectacular.  Utter kewlness.

    This is a YA mystery tale, bordering on Juvenile.  So there’s no romance, booze, sex, drugs, or adult situations.  There's a smattering of mild cussing, but mostly by our two teenagers.  Finally, the book is written in “English”, as opposed to “American”, and that’s always a delight for me.

Kewlest New Word ...

ASBO (n., Acronym) : stands for Anti-Social Behaviour Order, a civil order made in the United Kingdom against a person who had been shown, on the balance of evidence, to have engaged in anti-social behaviour.

Others : Frowsty (adj.); Toerag (n.); Manky (adj.); Bolshy (adj.); Splodge (v.); Sarky (adj.).  These are all Britishisms.

Excerpts...

    Crombie decided he’d visit the hospital after lunch, although again he doubted if Mike Stern’s “grandson” had anything to add, but it would look as though he’d been thorough in his report, which would recommend surveillance.

    Shorthand for “I haven’t a bloody clue what to do next.”  (loc. 799)

    “Hey Annie.  You and me are special.  We’re having private lessons.”

    Mr. Robinson sniffed.  “You certainly are special.  Follow me please,” he flicked at Rhyllan’s hair and frowned.  “I thought I told you to get this cut?”

    Wren snapped.  “He can’t.  It’s his religion.”

    Robinson’s eyebrows rose, wrinkling his bald scalp.  “Pray do tell.  And what religion would that be?”

    “Pantheism.”  (loc. 2345)

Kindle Details...

    A Raucous Time is free at Amazon, which, ANAICT, is standard for this book.  The other three books in the series are all $0.99 each.  Julia Hughes has about 8 other e-books available, and they are all in the free-to-$0.99 range.

 “Some of us actually like kids.  Couldn’t eat a whole one though.”  (loc. 1650)

    I had some problems with A Raucous Time.  First and foremost, the storytelling often had me in a daze.  The plotline seemed to assume the reader knows things like: Rhyllan’s mum is MIA and undercover; Wren’s mum is in prison; Rhyllan is Old Man Stern’s grandson (or at least he claims to be), and Wren and Gran had been attacked for reasons unknown just prior to the start of the book.  We gradually glean all these important details, but hey, it would’ve been nice to have a coherent backstory early on, especially since I wasn't looking for one, given that this is the first book in the series.

    The other problem were the protagonists themselves – simply put, they’re neither nice nor believable.  They steal airplanes (WTF?  Teenagers steal airplanes?!), bikes, and food; and break into houses via rocks thrown through the front window.  Are they hooligans or heroes?

    In the end, my favorite character turned out to be DI Crombie, despite his questionable loyalties.  And FWIW, it may be that the author feels the same way, since in researching the rest of the series, it appears that DI Crombie is going to become a recurring major character.

    5½ Stars.  If you can make it through the confusing storytelling that plagues the first half of the book, things eventually straighten out and you're treated to a fast-paced second half “quest” with lots of thrills and spills.  The book’s sequel, A Ripple in Time, is on my Kindle, and I vaguely recall reading that it was actually published before A Raucous Time.  So maybe the elusive backstory resides there.  Or perhaps there was an earlier series that I should’ve read first.  Who knows.  We shall see.  In time.

Finding Clarity - Laura Novak

    2011; 242 pages.  Full Title : Finding Clarity: A Mom, A Dwarf, and a Posh Private School in the People’s Republic of Berkeley.  New Author? : Yes.  Genre : Contemporary Humor; Mystery.  Overall Rating : 5½*/10.

    Clarissa “Clari” Drake’s career as a cute television reporter is pretty much over, thanks to two kids, eighty pounds, and an embarrassing video that went viral.  But she has a loving husband and two adorable kids, Zachary and Zeppo, so life in Berkeley, California – or, as some natives call it, Berzerkeley - is good.

    Zach has a rare condition called achondroplasia, which is a fancy word for dwarfism, and kids in school can be kinda mean.  So Clari enrolls him in a posh private school in Berkeley called Bidwell-Coggin, where, surprisingly, he's accepted among his fellow students and thrives .

    But something is fishy in the school board at B-C, and when the kindly old headmaster gets unceremoniously booted out, Clari’s investigative reporting instincts come out of hibernation, itching for some exercise.  Now if she can just find a couple of allies to help her with her snooping.

What’s To Like...

    The book’s subtitle lets you know that there is humor inside, and I personally found it to be a kind of “mild Erma Bombeck” variety – warm, wacky, family-oriented, and witty.  The POV is first-person, which is also in the Bombeck style.  The protagonist, Clari, is overweight, “sagging” (her word, not mine), with way too much cellulite.  I like it when the hero isn’t picture-perfect.

    Clari’s three co-conspirators (they call themselves the Ice Pick 4) are an eclectic blend of social and racial political correctness.  There’s the aging Earth Mother (Elspeth), the gay Hispanic (Carlos), and the angry black woman (Sydney), plus a Goth “fringe member” (Julian).  You’re treated to a couple more minorities via the bad guys, but it would be a spoiler to give details.  OTOH, every other character seems to get lumped into a single, stereotyped category – spoiled, rich, pretentious, Northern California snobs.

    There is some R-rated language.  While it didn’t offend me, it did feel clunky and unnecessary.  Erma didn’t need cusswords to be effective.  And while the humor and writing style were both good, the pacing was extremely slow.  At 50% (Kindle), I was still wondering whether a storyline existed, let alone whether it was going anywhere.

    Nevertheless, for the most part, the ending ties things up adequately.  Finding Clarity is a standalone novel and, while it is conceivable that a sequel or series could arise, I would be surprised if that happened.

Kewlest New Word...

Bilious (adj.) : affected by, or associated with nausea or vomiting.

Others : Walleye (n.); Gnocchi (adj., and used way too often)

Excerpts...

    “He didn’t say anything else?”

    “Clari, let it go,” Andy advised from the edge of the daybed, where he was now seated, holding Zeppo upside down in a headstand.

    “There were some platitudes,” Zach continued in his tiny adult manner.  “But nothing of substance.”  I pulled my head back an inch and pursed my mouth.

    “Platitudes, huh?”  Lord love a duck, I didn’t know where he came up with those phrases.

    “But not to be confused with plongitudes,” Zeppo shrieked through his giggles.  (loc. 640)

    It was common knowledge that Sonya had always wanted to be on the Board and that Dick DeNutti blocked her each time she tried.  So, I got that she was a bored, rich, roving cliché in need of some putty to fill her psychic holes.  And I got that she was rail thin and attractive and probably wore really nice underwear.  I got all that.  But eeeewwwww, John Thomas Mueskes?  What, was she kidding?  (loc. 1655)

Kindle Details...

    Finding Clarity sells for $3.99 at Amazon.  At present, it is the only full-length novel that Laura Novak has available there.

“What kind of four-year-old uses the word bilious?”  (loc. 927)

    Alas, Finding Clarity is also touted as a mystery novel, and it is here that the book really disappoints.  First of all, the crime – school board hijinks – is by nature boring.  No murders, no  kidnapping, no thefts; just underhanded business dealings.

    Second, there are too many WTF’s.  The suspected bad guy keeps incriminating papers lying around in his bathroom.  To boot, when Clari absconds with them, he apparently doesn’t miss them.  And Mrs. Bad Guy can’t seem to remember seeing Clari’s face, even though they keep bumping into each other in all sorts of important times and places.

    The resolution of the mystery is equally unsatisfying.  The suspicious business deal seems fraudulent at first, but when Clari perceives it will extend the time that Zachary doesn’t have to go to public school, she’s all for it.  As for the alleged sexual shenanigans and their cover-up, Clari concludes it is all a shakedown by the so-called victims.

    Okay fine.  In the end a couple careers are ruined, a couple secrets are aired, but nothing morally or criminally wrong is uncovered.  Frankly, Clari comes off to me as a meddling b*tch, or , in the words of her son, "a shit disturber".

    5½ Stars.  As a piece of humorous commentary, Finding Clarity is an okay read, and that’s what I picked it up for.  Subtract  1½ stars if you were looking for a Janet Evanovich-type mystery.

The Ludwig Conspiracy - Oliver Potzsch

   2011; 435 pages.  New Author? : Yes.  Genre : Historical Intrigue; Mystery.  Overall Rating : 7½*/10.

    King Ludwig II of Bavaria, best known for designing and commissioning his Neuschwanstein Castle (the prototype for the Disneyland castle), died under mysterious circumstances on the night of 13 June, 1886.  The official cause of death is listed as “suicide by drowning”, but there was no water in his lungs, he was found in waist-high water, and was known to be an excellent swimmer.  His companion also suffered the same fate.

    That’s all quite interesting, but it happened more than 125 years ago.  What Steven Lukas, owner of a small antiquarian bookstore in present-day Munich, wants to know is – why was one of his patrons murdered for reportedly having some sort of secret knowledge about Ludwig II’s demise?

    More importantly, why are those same people trying to kill him?

What’s To Like...

    The Ludwig Conspiracy cleverly switches between two timelines by means of a fictional character’s diary to combine Historical Fiction, Action Intrigue, and Murder-Mystery.

    The historical fiction is a delight to read.  Oliver Potzsch obviously did a bunch of research on Ludwig II’s life, death, and eccentricities; especially the last year of the King’s life.  There is particular focus on the castles he built (or planned to build) and the political plots against him.  It was a pivotal time in the region.  Germany was coalescing into a unified European power, and the assimilation of the Kingdom of Bavaria into the nation was both a crucial and delicate process.

    There is Action and Intrigue in both timelines, plus a little bit of Romance that doesn’t get in the way of the main story.  The Murder-Mystery, along with all the other threads, gets tied up nicely at the end.  This is a standalone novel.

    Oliver Potzsch gives a ‘Cast of Characters’ at the front of the book, which comes in handy at the beginning, when you are trying to keep track of all the historical figures.  He also includes a glossary at the back; you really should read it after you’ve finished the book.  The writing and character development are okay, although I didn't really "connect" with the two protagonists.  But the book is a translation, and I'll therefore cut it some slack.  For all I know, in the original German, it may be quite powerful.

Kewlest New Word. . .

Tendentious (adj.) : expressing or intending to promote a particular cause or point of view, especially a controversial one.

Excerpts...

    “It was a Derringer,” the woman said.

    Steven gave a start and looked up from the newspaper.  “What?”

    “The murder weapon.  I’ve kept my ears pricked.  Two .44 caliber rimfire cartridge cases were found at the scene.  That kind of cartridge is out of use these days.  However, ammunition like that was very common in the nineteenth century, in small ornamental pistols but most of all in the American Derringer.  A pretty toy.  But Abraham Lincoln was shot with a Derringer just like that.”

    Steven frowned.  “You mean the murder victim was killed by a weapon that doesn’t exist today?”

    “Or by someone who shouldn’t be alive today.”  (pg. 33)

    Steven was different.  He was clever, well-read, and obviously didn’t feel it was a problem if she took the lead now and then.  But she felt as if he came from another planet.  Even more: if women were from Venus and men were from Mars, then Steven came from Pluto, if not from the faraway Horsehead Nebula.

    Which made him very interesting.  (pg. 147)

 “If you have graffiti and dog turds on your doorstep, a painting by Caravaggio is like a warm, refreshing shower.”  (pg. 203)

    There were some weaknesses.  First, there was a wisp of “is it paranormal or isn’t it” in the storyline, particularly at the beginning of the book.  But it wasn't developed to any appreciable extent, and by the end it had fizzled out without ever being completely resolved.  I felt like Potzsch just sort of decided to abandon that angle.

    There was also a riddle-solving thread that frankly was never believable.  Protecting a secret is fine, but turning it into a scavenger hunt is implausible.  I recognize it was a literary device so each of Ludwig’s castles could come into play in the plotline.  But still.  And the ease with which our plucky heroes decipher it is dumbfounding.

    Finally, there was Lancelot.  For the biggest, baddest, black-heartedest thug, he is surprisingly, and repeatedly, inept.

    9 Stars for the Historical Fiction.  8½ Stars for the Action Intrigue.  5 Stars for the Puzzle-Solving.  Which averages out to:

    7½ Stars.  The Ludwig Conspiracy is a decent enough read, but not an exceptional one.  Oliver Potzsch is apparently better-known for his 4-book Hangman’s Daughter series, and my local library has a couple of these.  I will probably be checking at least one of them out soon.

Semper Fidelis - Ruth Downie

    2013; 348 pages.  New Author? : No.  Book #5 (out of 6) of the Medicus series.  Genre : Historical Fiction; Mystery.  Overall Rating : 8*/10.

    Something is amiss in the Twentieth Legion, and it’s not just that they’re stationed in the backwater town of Eboracum in Britannia.  Or that they’re stuck with the unenviable job of recruiting and training the local Britons to be loyal Roman legionaries.

    No, it’s the fact that people are saying that the Twentieth Legion is cursed.  And there’s some merit to the claim.  Two recruits are dead, another’s in critical condition due to a training accident, and still another’s gone missing.  Oh yeah, there’s also a recruit up on the roof, threatening to jump to his death.

    But there’s no such thing as a curse, is there?  That’s what Ruso wants to find out.

What’s To Like...

    Semper Fidelis takes place in 2^nd-century Roman-ruled Britain, during the reign of Hadrian.  The book is fast-paced, with Action, Romance, Humor, and a couple of Mysteries all worked into a nice piece of Historical Fiction.  Overall, this is a pleasant, light read, but some serious topics are touched upon; among them slavery, the role of women, torture, and homosexuality.

    I thought the character development was top-notch.  Ruso and his wife Tilla combine to make an effective, if somewhat reluctant (at least on Ruso’s part) sleuthing team that reminds me of Anne Perry’s Thomas and Charlotte Pitt.  The secondary characters stand out as well, even the one-and-dones.  I especially liked the non-stereotypical treatment of the Emperor Hadrian and Empress Sabina.  It is refreshing to meet Roman rulers who aren’t typecast as despots.  All the characters have both noble traits and flaws.  Ruso and Tilla both have a tendency to be whistle-blowers, and suffer the usual punishments for their high-principled but ill-advised disclosures.

    Semper Fidelis is Book 5 in the series.  I read the first book, Medicus, a couple months ago (reviewed here), but skipped the three intervening books.  I’m sure the usual caveat applies – you’ll get more out of the series if you read the books in order – but SemperFi does just fine as a standalone novel.  Tilla and Ruso got married somewhere along the way, and Tilla is investigating a johnny-come-lately deity called Christos.  ANAICT that’s about it for important events that I missed.

Kewlest New Word. . .

Fug (n.) : A warm, stuffy, or smoky atmosphere in a confined space.

Excerpts...

    “Sir, I apologize for that excuse about the man falling off the stretcher.”

    “It wasn’t very convincing.”

    “I’m usually much better at lying, sir.”

    “Perhaps you’d like to tell me the truth now?”

    “I’d rather try for a more convincing lie, sir.”  (loc. 1576)

    “Shall we have her fetched?”

    Tranquillus looked appalled.  A midwife, madam?”

    Clarus said, “A housecleaner?”

    Sabina smiled.  “And an officer’s wife.  I think I should like to meet her.”

    “She’ll have to be checked first,” insisted Clarus.  “I’ll need a name.”

    Sabina sighed.  “Clarus, you have a very large sword.  We are surrounded by the servants and you can call your guards.  If none of those can deal with her, Tranquillus will stab her with his stylus.  I think I shall be safe from one woman, don’t you?”  (loc. 2626)

Kindle Details...

    Semper Fidelis sells for $9.39 at Amazon, as do two others in the series.  The just-issued Book 6, Tabula Rasa, goes for $9.99,  and the remaining two sell for $7.39 and $7.99.

“I hear one of our officers has married you.”  “I have married him also, mistress.”  (loc. 2655)

    Frankly, as a Mystery novel Semper Fidelis is a bit meh.  The main murder doesn’t occur until Chapter 48 (Kindle 56%), so I spent the first half of the book wondering where the main storyline was going.  The solution of the Murder-Mystery seemed arbitrary and hazy, and trying to solve it alongside Tilla/Ruso was a frustrating exercise.

    The Historical Fiction portion was better, although an anachronistic candle still shows up (sorry, there weren't any in the Roman Empire), and Valens still uses ‘modern’ terms like “bollocks” and “old chap”.

    But this is a case where the sum of the book is greater than its parts, probably because Ruth Downie infuses such a vibrant literary color into the world of ancient Britain.  Semper Fidelis in particular, and the Medicus series as a whole, are both a fun and enlightening read. 

    8 Stars.