Category Archives: Historical Mystery

BLOG TOUR – The Wickham Market Murder by Iain Maitland

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Today is my turn on the blog tour for The Wickham Market Murder by Iain Maitland, Book 1 in the Bloomfield & Palmer series.

Here’s the blurb

Suffolk, 1907.

Wickham Market’s local constable William Palmer spends his days yearning to solve a significant case so he can earn his detective’s badge.

But Palmer is torn, because he is also in love with the school mistress Alice Kemp who doesn’t want to leave the village.

One night, the night of a dramatic storm, there is a murder. A housemaid – Evelyn Maud Roberts – is found stabbed to death at the local vicarage.

Palmer has his chance to make a name for himself.

The local doctor declares that Evelyn was six months pregnant.

And the vicar’s daughter, Charlotte Mellor, names three men who may have reason to commit murder; Walter Fisk, soon-to-be-master at the workhouse; Albert Nunn, the postman; Frederick Hawes, the slow-witted village boy in love with Evelyn.

Palmer investigates. But he only has so much time before Inspector Bloomfield – the veteran detective from Suffolk Police – arrives from Ipswich to take over the case.

And before the killer strikes again.

Review.

On a cold and horrible night, Evelyn Maud Roberts rushes for the safety of shelter from weather.. not knowing her life is soon to end.

When her body is discovered, local constable William Palmer decides he wants to solve this himself before reinforcements arrive. Palmer is quite a no nonsense guy and speaks without thinking sometimes..unfortunately this means the investigation doesn’t go as planned.

Soon reinforcements arrive in the form of Inspector Bloomfield. When you put these two together you get a kind of Sherlock Holmes type vibe, the inspector showing Palmer the way, tricks of the trade, the tools to help him as the investigation continues. Bloomfield is flawed though, he can have a blinkers on, which to me seems quite logical as without the tools to investigate you’d be left to rely on your gut and would go with it.. but will he get the right man form the crime? And before another body hits the floor?

The case isn’t clear cut though, there’s multiple suspects all with motives and questionable alibis…all these men could be the father to Evelyn’s unborn child…they have a lot to loose, given the tools available in 1907 it seems like this case will go nowhere.. until things kind of take a drastic turn of events.

I really enjoyed the plot and the pace, it was easy to follow and I was fascinated to see how they might solve this case without clear cut evidence. What was even better is that the story really highlighted justice, or rather injustice at times and how difficult it would be to solve some cases.

The Wickham Market Murder isn’t an overly long book either, which I really enjoyed… towards the end I was utterly focused so would have been highly annoyed if I had to put the book down ha ha. I loved escaping into this world, this case, and I was left wanting more. I’d loved to see this team return, this duo have more tales I’m sure 😊

It’s a cracking 4/5 stars from me!

To find out more head to Amazon or Goodreads

My thanks go to the author, the publisher and ZooloosBookTours for having me on the tour. I had a copy of the book so was my pleasure to jump onboard! 😊

Why not follow along?

Author Bio

Iain Maitland is the author of three previous psych thrillers, The Scribbler (2020), Mr Todd’s Reckoning (2019) and Sweet William (2017), all published by Contraband, an imprint of Saraband. Mr Todd’s Reckoning is coming to the big screen in 2023.

Iain is also the author of two memoirs, Dear Michael, Love Dad (Hodder, 2016), a book of letters written to his eldest son who experienced depression and anorexia, and (co-authored with Michael) Out Of The Madhouse (Jessica Kingsley, 2018).

He is also an Ambassador for Stem4, the teenage mental health charity. He talks regularly about mental health issues in schools and colleges and workplaces.

Find out more about Iain at http://www.iainmaitland.net and twitter.com/iainmaitland


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Twitter: https://twitter.com/iainmaitland

Website: www.iainmaitland.net

The House in the Marsh by Steven A McKay – Review

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Today I’m reviewing The House in the Marsh by Steven A Mckay, The House In the Marsh is a medieval Christmas mystery with a ghostly twist and is a novella in The Forest Lord series.

Here’s the blurb,

For generations, stories have been told about the ruined old house in the marsh outside Wakefield. Stories of hidden treasure, sinister night-time cries, and ghostly figures doomed to haunt the lonely estate for all eternity as punishment for some terrible crime.
This Christmas, it seems the old tales might just turn out to be true…

England, AD 1330
John Little, a bailiff living in Yorkshire, has little interest in ghost stories, having seen enough horrors among the living to bother much about the dead. The strange accounts from his fellow villagers have everyone talking though, and it’s not long before he’s asked to accompany a group of curious locals on nocturnal visits to the house in the marsh.
There are more worrying concerns in northern England however, as autumn gives way to winter and rumours of rogue bailiffs attacking, and even murdering people in their own homes, begin to circulate.
Along with his friends – ill-tempered Will Scaflock and the renowned friar, Robert Stafford – John is drawn inexorably into a dangerous adventure that will leave yet more people dead and only add to the eerie legends which will pass into English folklore for centuries to come.
Can John and his companions uncover the truth about the house in the marsh and its terrible secrets? And will they be able to forever exorcise the ghost haunting Wakefield, or will this Christmas be anything but merry?

Reviews

We are back with Tuck, Will Scarlet and Little John for another gripping mystery.

The tale starts with a bailiff out to collect fines in the name of the king, the issue is this isn’t a real bailiff and his form of justice goes a step too far.

The news of the fake bailiff takes a while to circulate so before it reaches our heroes we find John, Tuck and Will intrigued with a reported haunting in an old Manor in the Marshes close to Wakefield. There’s even stories of treasure about. But is there any truth in the legend?

As the fake Bailiff edges closer to Wakefield Little John and the gang take notice. They are a little older but no less deadly. If the fake bailiff wants to dole out some harsh justice they are in for a nasty shock… to make matters worse there’s reports of this fake bailiff in numerous placed which wouldn’t be humanly possible..

Development wise I think Will stole the show, he’s still as sharp as ever but has a new family to watch over… he’s not going to let anyone harm his family.. not after last time!

The plot develops at a steady pace and both mysteries come to some surprising ends.

I love these Novellas and they are fast becoming a Christmas tradition for me to cosy up with a nice bottle of ale.

After being with these characters for so long I feel like I know them..I’m comfortable with them.. the relationships are naturally built and the flow and writing style is effortless brilliant you can’t help but get cosy and demolish this one.. it would be impossible not to.  When I pick up a book by Steven A. McKay I just know I’m going to love it and once again we’ve been given a cracking read perfect for Christmas Eve night!

5/5 Stars

To find out more head to Amazon or Goodreads.

The Architect of Murder by Rafe McGregor – Review

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Today I’m reviewing The Architect of Murder by Rafe McGregor.

Here’s the blurb –

Gerne – Historical Thriller

Major Alec Marshall VC, newly back in London, is enlisted to make inquiries into the will of the late Cecil John Rhodes, the wealthiest man in the British Empire. That same night one of the witnesses to the will, Eric Lowenstein, is found beaten to death in a seedy boarding house, where he was lodging under a false name. As London prepares for King Edward VII’s coronation, Marshall discovers that Lowenstein harboured a deadly secret concerning not only the vast fortune Rhodes amassed, but the very future of the Empire. Marshall’s investigation takes him into the dark heart of a flawed genius, and sets him on a personal journey that will change his life forever.

Review

Major Alec Marshall, an ex-policeman has returned to England to sad tidings. His sister Ellen has died in an unfortunate accident.

While back he is enlisted to help Supt. Melville of Scotland Yard. There’s a case and things don’t add up.

The body has been found of Eric Lowenstein, one of only two witnesses to the will of  Cecil Rhodes, a very rich man.. is there anything to the murder related to the will? Or just wrong place wrong time?

Marshall, with the aid of Inspector Truegood find links that could shake the British Empire at it’s highest level!

While cracking this case Alec become close to his sister’s best friend,  Miss Roberta Paterson. Roberta is struggling to come to terms with the death of Ellen and believes there could be more too it that meets the eye… Alec promises to find out the truth.

When reviewing my notes what I’ve mainly highlighted is the characters and their development…and just how good it was. There’s plenty of detail added to the plot to set the scene but the characters alone shine for me. Believable, interesting, and fun.

Truegood, my favourite, a big brute of a man but he’s as straight as they come. You know he will get the job done. I loved every scene with him in even though he’s a man of few words.

I found myself easily sucked into this one, the plot is expertly woven and the flow perfect, chapter length just how I like it. At not much over 200 pages there’s a lot packed in, and damn.. it’s pretty good.

4/5 Stars!

To find out more head to Goodreads or Amazon.

 

 

 

 

No Stone Unturned (The Lucy Lawrence Mysteries Book 1) by Pam Lecky – Review

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Next up on David’s Book Blurg I’m reviewing No Stone Unturned (The Lucy Lawrence Mysteries Book 1) by Pam Lecky.

Here’s the blurb:-

Genre – Historical Mystery.

A suspicious death, stolen gems and an unclaimed reward: who will be the victor in a deadly game of cat and mouse?

London October 1886: Trapped in a troubled marriage, Lucy Lawrence is ripe for an adventure. But when she meets the enigmatic Phineas Stone, over the body of her husband in the mortuary, her world begins to fall apart.

When her late husband’s secrets spill from the grave, and her life is threatened by the leader of London’s most notorious gang, Lucy must find the strength to rise to the challenge. But who can she trust and how is she to stay out of the murderous clutches of London’s most dangerous criminal?

Review.

I’m a big fan of Pam Lecky’s work and have been following her progress since 2015 when I read The Bowes Inheritance. When I got wind of the latest release I couldn’t wait to grab a copy.

The tale follows Lucy, whose life has just been shattered by the death of her husband.. but nothing makes sense.. he shouldn’t have been there..what was he doing and why didn’t he tell her where he was really going?

Soon Lucy learns her husband was in league with some very bad men and her life could even be in danger.. but what are they looking for?.. to top it off her finances are a mess since her husband kept these affairs from her.

To escape the stress and the building pressure she heads to her childhood home..but things aren’t going to easy there either and while she’s trying to find out what to do with her life she ends up in more hot water… this time she gets to see the inside of a prison cell.

Lucy gets a helping hand by Phineas Stone.. they have briefly met before.. but why is he here? What is he after? Can he be trusted? Can anyone?

Soon a dark web of deceit is uncovered that goes further than either of them could have imagined.

When the pieces start to fall into place we see Lucy, who is determined to be independent, head out to solve the mystery and the revelations will have lasting repercussions for Lucy and her family.

So down to the nitty-gritty. I loved the plot and it played out at a perfect pace. The characters were fun and developed well but what Pam Lecky got spot on once again is her writing style..quite literally for me it was the perfect mix of plot progression, descriptors & character development.. nothing was forced in there.. it was a natural progression.

I also really enjoy Pam’s style of female leads.. they a flawed (like all the great characters are!), they are independent, head strong and can be ruled by emotions at times.. it’s not anything against men certainly but Pam shows female driven stories work just as well and as male driven stories.. better even. Like with all good characters there worth moments I loved her and moments she had me screaming inside to see what’s right in front of her… I wasn’t frustrated with her.. more I was invested and wanted her to succeed.

Overall a fun little historical mystery tale which ticked the all the boxes. It’s mystery, thriller and suspense all thrown into one and I do hope it’s not the last we see of Lucy and Phineas!

5/5 stars!

To find out more head to Amazon or Goodreads.