eyes.2c Reviews

Vengeance is Mine by Marie NDiaye       ⭐️⭐️ I kept dreading  Maître Susane‘s  exposure of self as she took on the defence case for  Marlyne Principaux . Three children murdered by their mother. Why does their father,  Gilles Principaux,  step back into the past and select an inexperienced lawyer who might or might not have had contact with him as a child, a long lost love even. Am I reading too much into the sinister vibe I’m sensing? I found this quite disturbing in its disjointedness and memories that may not be. The ending is unclear. The whole novel grapples with clarity, or maybe it’s me that grapples for reality. In the end, whilst intellectually sympathetic with  Maître Susane , emotionally I found I didn’t really care. I just keep thinking about the three hours I won’t get back again! A  Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor  ARC via NetGalley.                                               Many thanks to the author and publisher.

Defiance  (Foreigner #22) by C. J. Cherryh & Jane S. Fancher        ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Last time we saw Bren Cameron, paidhi-aiji,  human translator to Tabini-aiji, he  was on the Red Train fleeing from, or racing towards, an undisclosed location with the Atevi aiji-dowager Ilisidi, various Guild members, including Bren’s own staff, important lords. All vital to the canny dowager’s plans—as we can best guess, to  rid the realm of the Shadow Guild before it rebuilds. The long, long train journey, only stopping for fuel seems to be heading towards Bren and Lord Geigi lands, on the coast. During the journey the Dowager is not seen for days. There’s been no communication with Bren, and Bren can’t communicate with Tabini, as Cenedi (ilisidi’s body guard) hasn’t passed on to him the secure com as ordered by Tabini ( head of the atevi aishidi’tat). Meanwhile overhead the space station is sending some 5000 humans down to the surface. Who’s to meet them? How to handle this? Lord  Reijiri of Dur  a

Menewood  (The Hild Sequence #2)   by Nicola Griffith     ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Early Middle Ages, Northumbria. The Romans have mostly left Britain. This is no cohesive country, but rather kingdoms or tribes that are constantly at war. The roman priests are gaining some influence. Importantly they bring the written word. Communication is enhanced. It is a record of accord, especially if all parties have a signed and witnessed statement. Hild uses this to ensure her conditions of agreement are not set aside later in the novel.  I also noted that later Hild warned King Oswald about letting the bishop speak to his people for him. Hild Yffing, “light of the world and godmouth; hægtes and freemartin; Butcherbird and king’s fist ... [and] new-made Lady of Elmet.”  Hild is niece to Edwin Yffing, Overking of the people north of the Humbre.  A woman surrounded by mystique, legend and song.  Hild has seen what kings can do to the common people and to the land. (After winning a battle kings have a war-host

Murdering The Messenger  (Bloody Mary Tudor Mystery #8) by Michael Jecks         ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Jack, Jack, Jack! In between playing the gallant (in his own eyes more likely than not), escaping various complications he’s unwittingly set in motion, being a self confessed man of great appeal to the ladies, and the assassin for John Blount, (who works for Elizabeth) … well, there’s never a dull moment! Jack more falls into situations than by any shrewd planning, and then has the devil’s own luck when pulling his irons out of the fire. He’s moved into a new neighbourhood to escape the dunning of the tavern keeper Pudge who had provided food and drink for a party Jack didn’t throw. More complications! Attending church (as one did in those days of Mary Tudor’s reign) Jack spies a lovely lady, Rachael Nailor, and fortuitously she arranges to meet with him. Only it’s not his charm she’s drawn to, oh no! She works for Elizabeth and Jack has been ordered to accompany her on a trip to France. Now we

The Deadliest Legacy  (David Vogel Mystery #5) by Hilary Bonner     ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ David Vogel’s latest murder investigation is a web of past deceits, present truths and complicated twists. Vogel is called away from a family dinner to attend the death of a prominent screen writer , James Harding, at the annual book writers festival at Appledore in NorthDevon. Nothing to see here! It appears to be more a heart attack, but Vogel goes through the appropriate procedures. It’s more that the dead person is a high profile Netflix writer that’s had him called out. Vogel needs to get back to his wife and daughter, Rosamund. She’s about to go to a residential school but is upset about her missing cat. When another successful Romance author, Delia Day, who’d been on the same panel as Harding, is injured in an ‘accident’, Vogel is suspicious, which becomes a certainty when Delia is attacked in the hospital. This was a convoluted yet exciting tale that kept me swiping the digital page so fast that I a

The Last Exchange by Charles Martin        ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A charming, broken Hollywood star who needs understanding and protection. A taciturn ex Scots guardsman just off his who says yes when Joe Sue asks him to be her security guard The line between guard and employer is a fine one and not to be crossed. When Kelly MacThomas Pockets takes on Joe’s protection, part of it will be protecting her from herself. As it turns out there’s also her drug addiction, her husband, and her overwhelming desire to have children. So much is squeezed into this story I was at once both exhausted and exhilarated. There’s nary a beat between the unfolding plots told in a Before and After exposè.  Is there an HEA? Possibly, but not quite in the way I thought. The courtroom drama was a little insane but hey! so the whole read. High drama, likeable characters and high octane story telling made this a winner for me. A Thomas Nelson ARC via NetGalley.                                               Many thanks to t

A Traitor in Whitehall  (Parisian Orphan #1) by Julia Kelly       ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Fantastic. A great new series set in World War II with a strong female lead. I know there’s been a plethora of these cropping up but let me tell you I read this into the wee hours of the morning. Evelyne Redfern is a brilliant character. A character with a past established early on. The ‘Paris Orphan’ the newspapers called her as a child. She was part of a high profile custody battle that raged across the Chanel divide for two years, until her mother died supposedly by suicide. As a child Evelyne always felt something was wrong, but who listens to a thirteen year old child? Maman was French. (And yes, Evelyne is fluent in French) Her father was Sir Reginald Redfern, a high society adventurer and womanizer, who didn’t change his spots once he was married. After her mothers death Sir Reginald gathered up Evelyne and dropped her at an exclusive Boarding School. Evelyne maybe saw her father twice after that. He’s

A Cold Highland Wind  (Lady Emily Mysteries #17)   by Tasha Alexander       ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ It’s 1905, Lady Emily and Colin Hargreaves are holidaying at Castle Cairnfarn in the Scottish Highlands along with their gorgeous and wickedly precocious sons, twins Henry and Richard, and their beloved adopted son Tom. They’re guests of Emily’s childhood friend, Jeremy Sheffield, the Duke of Bainbridge. Jeremy is a bumbling delight with two madcap great aunties who keeps every one on their toes. The boys particularly enjoy the aunties, for reasons that become quite clear. Mind you the boys do insist on walking Cedric the crocodile. I would not be so blasé. Crocodiles as pets! Hmmm! Recipe for disaster! As always there’s another story running in tandem, set in Cairnfarn in 1676. The tale of Tansy, a young moorish girl sold into slavery and eventually passed on to Rossalyn, Lady MacAllister, mistress of Castle Cairnfarn. Rosalyn frees her, but as Tansy often soliloquises, what good will that do her if

The Duke's Defender  (The Duke’s Guard #6) by C.H. Admirand      ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A sudden death that looks very much like murder has the Duke of Wyndmere honoring his close friend Lord Montrose’s request to become the guardian of his daughter Emily. Miss Emily Montrose is not the most accommodating of people, particularly as at 21 she feels she doesn’t need to be anyone’s ward. How’s Aiden Garahan going to handle the situation? The lass makes his heart beat faster, but trying to curtail her foolhardiness is almost too much. Emily refuses to believe she’s in danger, but she is. That refusal puts her guards’ lives at risk (We know the Dukes Guard, those wonderful Irish rogues will always win through.) Does Emily modify her behaviour? No! Believe me, halfway through I was well and truly over her. Of course she’s finally rescued from a fate worse than death The two reluctant lovers are joined but not without a lot of trouble and strife surrounding them both in London and en route to the Duke

Wandering through Life by Donna Leon      ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ How could one not be tempted by a look at Donna Leon’s life, the author of my favorite Venetian detective. A man who’s philosophical journeying must have something of his creator instilled in home. ‘Wandering Through Life’ is more a meander, with Leon’s journeys and reflections on things making for interesting a Window into her background. However, back to Commissario Brunetti and my fascination, and can I say disbelief, that tourists have been plaguing the Questera of Venice  looking for the fictional detective at the  Polizia di Stato.  Leon was called on to help. Which she did with her signature aplomb. Leon’s life, her travels, and her disgruntlement with tourists all make for ready reading. Short and descriptive chapters of life according to Leon, this memoir is a must for all fans. A Grove Atlantic ARC via NetGalley.                                               Many thanks to the author and publisher.

A Scrap of Silk  (Tiggy Jones Mystery #1) by Virginia King     ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ New series with Australian mystery author Tiggy (Antigone) as the reluctant investigator. Tiggy inherits a boathouse turned cottage from a grandmother she never knew. It was right on the waterfront of Exe Estuary in the English village of Topsham. Just having come off a research expedition involving camels in Central Australia, where she’d gathering information for her next book, Tiggy immediately took herself off to England to claim her inheritance, very much against her mother Delilah’s wishes. What follows is a spine tingling situation where Tiggy is subjected to bullying, threats, riots, fire bombing and more in an attempt to drive her away. Where is this coming from? Then there’s Tiggys search to find out what happened to her grandmother Letitia, who it turns out, was a psychic. She could sense information from objects if she held them. She had psychometric abilities. Add to this a horrifying find in a seal

Lies and Other Love Languages  by Sonali Dev     ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The story switches between three people, and between the past and now. Vandy Guru loves her daughter Mallika so much it’s terrifying. Vandy is a successful advice columnist. She’s been married to the love of her life Vir, who died a year ago. On the surface Vandy is coping, inside she’s dying from grief. Rani Parekh had been twelve when her mother died and she was sent from Bombay to her aunt in Los Angeles. Her mother had been a classical kathak dancer. Alcohol had been her nemesis. Rani and Vandy become best friends through quite heart breaking circumstances. The picture of Rani trying to find a safe space in the concrete jungle of LA, unlike the markets of Bombay is vivid. Mallika is a choreographer. She currently is trying to organize the Aunties in dances for two weddings on the same weekend. Very trying! Mallika’s also waiting to hear from a Bollywood movie director about her presentation of dances for an up and coming m