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…
Category: Historical
‘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,…
‘Story of a Murder’ by Hallie Rubenhold
My Review (5 stars out of 5) (Audiobook) The story of legendary wife-murderer Dr Crippen, told with an emphasis on his victim and the women who knew and worked with her. When music hall artiste Belle Elmore disappears from her north London home, the Music Hall Ladies’ Guild want to know why. Pestering the police…
‘Men of Iron’ by MJ Porter
My Review (4 stars out of 5) This is the first book in a new series titled The Dark Age Chronicles. With little historical documentation to fall back on, the story is instead inspired by archaeological evidence, though the author’s knowledge of the period (real or imagined) does shine through. The plot revolves around several…
‘The Woven Lie’ by Liz Harris
My Review (4 stars out of 5) This is the first book I’ve read by this author, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I lived in Suffolk for several years, so it was interesting to come across places I’m familiar with, such as The Angel, in Bury St Edmunds, where Charles Dickens stayed while…
‘The Mirror and the Light’ by Hilary Mantel
My Review (5 stars out of 5) England, May 1536. Following the execution of Anne Boleyn, Thomas Cromwell continues his climb to power and wealth, while Henry VIII settles into a brief marriage with Jane Seymour. Cromwell strives to keep his head unparted from his body, dealing with threats of invasion, plots against himself and…
‘The Wicked of the Earth’ by AD Bergin
My Review (5 stars out of 5) Newcastle, 1650. Parliamentarian spy James Archer travels back to the city of his birth in search of his sister Meg, missing in the aftermath of Newcastle’s witch trials. Amid an atmosphere of treachery, deceit and lies, Archer strives to find someone he can trust who might lead him…
‘Something Wicked’ by Carol Ann Lee
My Review (5 stars out of 5) (Audiobook) In 1612, ten people from Pendle were executed as witches. Most of the information known comes from Thomas Potts’ Wonderfull Discoverie of Witches, but now true-crime author Carol Ann Lee takes an in-depth view of the case, exploring the lives of the people involved, their backgrounds and…
‘A Boundary of Stones’ by Millie Thom
My Review (5 stars out of 5) In the 1660s, bubonic plague sweeps through the Derbyshire village of Eyam. New rector, William Mompesson and his family, must try to work with the community to combat the disease but his faith is at odds with that of the people and their Puritan rector Thomas Stanley. Eventually,…
‘Mary Ann Cotton – Dark Angel’ by Martin Connolly
My Review (5 stars out of 5) In West Auckland, County Durham, in 1872, Mary Ann Cotton was arrested and charged with the murder of her stepson. Married four times and supposedly having borne twelve children, she was found guilty and hanged in Durham Goal. Charting the details of the trials and claims she may…
Colin Garrow 