My Review (5 stars out of 5) A body found buried in a peat bog in a remote spot in the Highlands, sends cold-case investigator DCI Karen Pirie to the scene. Buried along with the body are a pair of pre-war motorcycles, but the condition of the body suggests the murder is more recent. As…
Category: Historical
‘Poole of Light’ by RJ Verity
My Review (4 stars out of 5) This is book 1 in the Poole Legacy, with book 2 due out in 2026, and Bright Light, an already-published short story prequel also available. Beginning in Spennymoor in the North of England during the first half of the 20th century, we follow Jeremiah Poole from his poverty-stricken…
‘The Secret Sauce’ by MJ Porter
Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for The Secret Sauce, via Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources Blurb Birmingham, England, November 1944. Chief Inspector Mason of Erdington Police Station is summoned to a suspicious death at the BB Sauce factory in Aston on a wet Monday morning in late November 1944. Greeted by his…
‘Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage’ by Alfred Lansing
My Review (5 stars out of 5) In 1915 arctic explorer Ernest Shackleton recruited 27 men and set sail for the ice-bound Antarctic seas in a bid to cross Antarctica via the pole. But their ship became wedged in the ice and Shackleton was faced with keeping his men alive until they could be rescued.…
‘A Sparrow Falls’ by Vicki Olsen
My Review (4 stars out of 5) Set in a changing America, the story centres on Sarah, who is haunted by a difficult upbringing. Growing up in the rural town of Tolerance, Arkansas, and having endured a traumatic childhood, she now struggles to alter the course of her life and overcome the traumas of the…
‘They Have Their Exits’ by Airey Neave
My Review (5 stars out of 5) Long before he became a senior member of Thatcher’s Government and his subsequent assassination by the IRA, Airey Neave had a distinguished war record. Taken prisoner in 1940, he made several escape attempts and was one of the few British prisoners to successfully make a ‘home-run’ from Colditz…
‘Salt and Honey’ by Candi Miller
My Review (5 stars out of 5) In 1950s South Africa, Koba’s tribe are hunter-gatherers, following the traditional ways of life of an ancient culture. But when her family clashes with a group of white people, the outcome is tragic, leaving her orphaned. Taken to their home, the girl grudgingly learns to speak their language…
‘Arrow of Alba’ by Allan Webster
My Review (5 stars out of 5) Young warrior Odo escapes Paris (where his father is accused of plotting against the king) and joins a barbarian ruler’s army in northern Britannia. A Saxon slave girl takes his fancy, but another woman—the wife of his new boss—also has her eye on Odo. Caught in a difficult…
‘A Pact with the Devil’ by Anna Legat
My Review (4 stars out of 5) 1491, Cracow, Kingdom of Poland. University students Nicolaus Copernicus and his brother Andreas find themselves enmeshed in a devilish mystery when alchemist Doctor Faustus is found hanging over a crucible of boiling tar with a pentagon carved into his chest. A man is arrested on suspicion of murder…
‘Troubled Times for Tilly’ by Kay Seeley
My Review (4 stars out of 5) This is book 2 in the Water Gypsy series, though you don’t have to have read the first one to understand what’s already happened. Tilly and Sam strive to make a safe home for themselves and their children, though Tilly’s older son—Joey—is the offspring of a wealthy father,…
Colin Garrow 