eyes.2c Reviews

The Lady Sees a Ghost (The Lady Sees…Mysteries #1) by Valentine Foster ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️           …the words of the Dowager Viscountess Duchess Carrow to Lady Cordelia about her son’s death. Lady Cordelia Vane is in her third season. The younger daughter of the impoverished Earl of Pendle, Cordelia endures the seasons activities by disappearing into the background. She always stands against a column from where she can silently observe the room, and to all intents and purposes be invisible. Which is why when the wealthy Felix Carrow dies from apparent apoplexy Cordelia is nearby—and she wonders. Cordelia observes Felix in death. His vanity, the enamel box he always carries on the floor, spilling it’s contents. Cordelia hears and sees things that will later on be incorporated into the scaffolding of her investigations. When Felix’s ghost appears to her she is both shocked and fascinated. Felix’s mother wants Cordelia to solve the cause of his death. Was it Felix’s cash...

Blood Enemy  (Warsaw Quartet #4) by Douglas Jackson          ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The quartet of novels depicting a police detective in occupied Warsaw during WWII is concluded with Blood Enemy. Jackson has once again delved into archives and lost places of the era to bring the story of the many parties acting in Poland. We have the Polish resistance (the Armia Krajowa), Jews from the ghettos of Europe brought to Poland, the Jewish resistance inside the death camps, the brutality of the Nazis, the Polish youth resistance trying for when their day to rise up comes, the general populace, and the advancing Russians. It’s dangerous, confusing and terrible. Investigator Jan Kalisz goes undercover into Auschwitz-Birkenau and the gruesomeness of that place is fully on display. Karl is actually a resistance spy and works to maintain his cover, and that of his beloved wife Maria, who is a nurse with the resistance, and his son Stefan who is caught up in secret Youth movement...

The Spy and the Snake  (Mrs. Spy #2) by M. J. Robotham        ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed this. So much so I read the previous title.  It’s post WWII and MI5 personnel Maggie Flynn seizes the opportunity to head back into the field with both hands. It’s the beginning of the Cold War and Maggie is sent to Budapest to extract a  British defector, Fitzroy Carver, and bring him safely back into his country’s arms.  Fitzroy has demanded a woman agent be used. Cue Maggie! Only Maggie finds herself up against the AVH, Fitz’s demands, KGB, and MI6. The experts expected Maggie to fall at the first fence. When she doesn't their plans are blown out of the water. Maggie has explored her own contacts and gets in touch with an older agent, Dottie Hands. An unexpected turn of events has Maggie looking at alternative plans to sew confusion and doubt. Exciting read!  A Bloomsbury ARC via NetGalley.                  ...

Wisdom Corner : A Novel by David Heska Wanbli Weiden          ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Life on the Lakota Rosebud Reservation, South Dakota, can be tough and uncompromising. Not much work, the loss of spirituality, culture, and the ghosts of the past. Virgil Wounded Horse has been trying to reform himself. He has been acting as a local punisher.  When medicine man Jerome Iron Shell is killed, a much admired leader, who has been helping Virgil to reform, and then Virgil’s house is burnt down, Virgil knows he must investigate. A local construction company is going to tear down the old Native Boarding School and build an apartment and shopping  complex. It appears the land was illegally sold to developers. Jerome was part of a Lakota group moving to have the sale overturned. Now unmarked graves from the past, of stolen children, including Virgil’s aunt have been discovered.  Is the death of Jerome connected or is something else afoot? A solid read that makes one ...

Last of the First  (Saga of Recluse #26) by L. E. Modesitt, Jr.  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ What is it about the Recluse books that I enjoy so much? “Last of the First” is set in Cyador in the beginning days of Recluse, after the fall from the Rational Stars. Alyiakal’s is a figure mentioned slightly in early Recluse novels. Weapons and transport that are charged by the Magi are failing. The Great Forest is impinging on the Wall. Alyiakal, promoted to Subcommander is at Mirror Lance Headquarters, but now it seems he must reluctantly take control for the good of all. Alyiakal is a Modesitt hero whose antecedents are somewhat lost in the morass of his upbringing. He’s the outsider. He perceives situations with a fresh outlook. He doesn’t like to waste lives and seeks to bring balance into whatever he does. His appointments so far have been challenging and he’s often has to act in a decisive manner and in roles beyond what his rank calls for. He trained as a healer and developed strong mental s...

Lady Ashley Never Behaves  (Season of Secrets #4) by Bronwen Evans        ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The tale of the Duke of Blackstone and Lady Ashley Ware’s sudden marriage of convenience transforming into a love match has lots of wrinkles and surprises. Who knew pain could bring two people together? Raven is torn up by the murder of his beloved mistress, Ashley’s been the unwarranted epitome of scandal for three years. Consolation shared in a public place! Well!! Loved it! A Dragonblade ARC via NetGalley.                                               Many thanks to the author and publisher.