Bishop brings Cesare Aldo back to Florence and the Otto di Guardia e Balia, the most feared criminal court. They are feared for their authority to detain and torture. All the main characters from the previous three books struggle with their conscience, life goals, dedication, beliefs, and faith. Cesare Aldo, demoted to constable and on […]
Book Reviews
Postmortem by Courtney Lund O’Neil
Postmortem by Courtney Lund O’Neil presents an interesting question: how does pain, trauma, and grief pass from one person to their children? The author’s mother, Kim Byers, was instrumental in putting John Wayne Gacy on trial. Her actions gave the authorities the physical evidence to place Rob Priest in Gacy’s house. There is a lot […]
Homecoming by Kate Morton
If you wish to read a book that leaves you with conflicting emotions about characters, crime, intentions, motives, and complicity, this is it. The book by Kate Morton is a novel and as such strong on character development, settings, and storytelling. The crime is brutal and immediately draws you in the story. The how initially […]
Ritual of Fire by D.V. Bishop
Ritual of Fire by D.V. Bishop is the third book in the Cesare Aldo series. We are once again in Florence, 1538. It is hot and there is a persistent drought. If the area does not get some substantial rain soon, crops will be lost. But there’s more at stake, people’s health and sanity matter […]
The Redemption of Alexander Seaton by S.G. MacLean
Our main character, Alexander Seaton, has led a life with many difficulties. Author S.G. MacLean describes how Alexander wanted to be a minister, wanted his best friend’s sister for his wife, then fell from grace, lost it all, and after ending up with a serious mental health crisis, he settled to become an embittered teacher. […]
The Mystery of Treefall Manor by J.S. Savage
Thanks to this this blog I found J.S. Savage‘s debut and it is a gem. The Mystery of Treefall Manor is the first Inspector Graves mystery and I hope that many will follow. We are in 1926, in the UK. The prologue starts strong. A maid, Jayne Brown, demands to see wealthy, successful business man, landowner, and […]
The Cesare Aldo Series by D.V. Bishop
I am excited about this new Historical Fiction series by D.V. Bishop. It is set in the sixteenth century in Florence, Italy. The ruler at that time was Duke Alessandro de Medici. The first book, City of Vengeance, came out in 2021. The cover caught my eye in the bookstore. Having been to Florence, the […]
Clay and Bones by Lisa Bailey
The photograph on the dustcover and the book blurbs on the back give the reader the impression that this book is completely dedicated to forensic sciences, in particular forensic sculpting. It looks like a book that will take us through several unsolved cases where the skills of the author, Lisa Bailey, helped bring them to […]
Women Who Murder by Mitzi Szereto
“Women Who Murder: An International Collection of Deadly True Crime Tales” is the latest book by Mitzi Szereto. Women who kill. We all know a few either from true crime or fiction. Myra Hindley, Mary Ann Cotton, Bellatrix Lestrange, and Annie Wilkes. In this book, we have globe-covering stories and authors. We go from the […]
The Winter List by S. G. MacLean
The next installment in one of my favorite historical fiction series did not disappoint. In fact, it made me love the series more. I always wanted to know more about Lady Anne Winter, a Royalist spy from the Damian Seeker series, and in this book, we see more of her personality. But let us start […]