eyes.2c Reviews

Some Murders in Berlin  by Karen Robards     ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Heartstopping thriller set in Berlin in 1943. Denmark had just surrendered to the Nazis when Professor Elin Lund, a forensic psychiatrist, from Copenhagen is directed by Nazi command to go to Berlin to investigate a serial killer. Blonde women have been found murdered in identical situations. Elin can’t disobey. She’s hiding a secret, or two. She takes two fellow academics with her as consultants, members of the Danish Resistance, who need to get out of Denmark. Pia is a photographer and Jens is a brilliant mathematician. They are members of the Danish Resistance. She is to work the stern CID detective, Kriminalinspektor Kurt Schneider. It turns out Kurt’s a man with his own set of secrets. I really came to appreciate the man Kurt is. Convinced the killer has some attachment to the police, Elin methodically follow all the evidence to build a picture of their man.  Elin has always hated being in Berlin. Her mothe...

An Art Lover's Guide to Paris and Murder  (Countess of Harleigh Mystery #7)   by Dianne Freeman  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Well this was a most enjoyable read! Paris of the 1900 with the Exposition Universelle and artists in Montmarre! How exciting! It just so happens that George Hazelton’s  aunt Julie who’s apparently been living in Paris for years, painting and making perfumes gets in touch with him. She wants to make provision for her daughter whom none of the family knew about. Then George receives a letter from Julie thinking someone murdered her dead lover (of years ago). George’s wife, the Countess Frances, has been wanting to visit Paris, taking their daughter Rose. A perfect opportunity until they’re all embroiled in murderous undertakings. I really enjoyed the metaphorical walk around Paris of these times pursuing lines of inquiry that lead to deception and intrigue. A Kensington Press ARC via NetGalley.                   ...

An Officer and a Gentleman's Daughte r  by Douglas Day Stewart   ⭐️⭐️ So I wanted to love this but it really stretched my sympathy. Mind you I’m not sure what my expectations were but this was not it. Zack Mayo and his daughter Shannon have had a yawning void between them for years. Eons ago Zack, hero fighter pilot, was asked by the President to resume his role with his fighter squadron in the Middle East, leaving his daughter mourning the death of her mother, floundering with her own and her father’s substance abuse. This just doesn’t cut it. Neither does referring to her father as royalty. Nope I’m not buying it. That’s the background. Fast forward a few years and that daughter is accepted into Officer Candidate School like her dad before her. Shannon is an overachiever on steroids (figure of speech!) All to buy her father’s approval and bolster her own feeling of self worth. The angst and emotions are palpable but I just felt deliberately squeezed. This wasn’t for me. Too ...

A Daughter of Fair Verona  (Daughter of Montague #1) by Christina Dodd  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Sensational, bold, daring and witty!  Superlatives aside I loved the premise of the novel— Romeo and Juliet didn’t die!  They lived to raise seven children. (Their long suffering children are constantly having to close their ears to noises emanating from their parent’s bedroom!) The oldest is Rosalind (Rosie) who keeps evading the wedded state by finding suitable spouses for her suitors, thus avoiding the trap of marriage. Only this time she’s engaged to a duke whose three previous wives had died in suspicious circumstances. The last being her friend Titania. How is Rosie going to get out of this new challenge? This time she’ll need a fail proof strategy. Never having been in love she’s struck by Cupid’s bow when she meets the fair Lysander of the House of the Marckettis of Venice, traditional foes of the Montagues. Aha! Lysander has crashed Rosalind’s betrothal party. Rosie is a knif...

Murder at Traitors' Gate  (Tate and Bell Mystery #2) by Irina Shapiro    ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The plot was intriguing. A journalist, Jacob Harrow, has been brutally killed and hung up by a meat hook at Traitor’s Gate at the Tower of London. Inspector Sebastian Bell is once again involved. As it turns out, the journalist had been in the Crimean War. Naturally Bell consults with Nurse Gemma Tate. Gemma had nursed at Scutari hospital. It had been in Gemma’s words, “hell on earth.” From here things become quite convoluted.  Bell is concerned for Gemma’s safety. As he should be because Gemma is making enquires that might be dangerous for her.  I find it interesting that society’s regard for the nurses who went to the Crimea. These women braved unspeakable conditions, forged on whilst struggling to survive themselves, and dedicated themselves to their patients. Yet when they return from the war they are greeted with harshness and judgment, regarded as little more than prostitute...

Shanghai : A Novel by Joseph Kanon      ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Wonderful expose of Jews trying to leave Europe prior to Hitler taking complete control. Shanghai is the only port not requiring entry visas.   Daniel Lohr, a Jew, leaves Germany bound for Shanghai, to join his uncle. Uncle Nathan  has  been running a nightclub with a sideline in gambling. The relationship between Daniel’s father Eli and his brother Nathan is intriguing. We are given fascinating snippets of their lives, pictures from which we must deduce what’s happening. That’s the tone of this biting thriller. Bits and pieces are leaked to us. We infer much. Like real life we don’t see all the factors at first glance. Daniel had been an unregistered member of the communist party. His cell had been compromised, fortunately he wasn’t. He barely escapes Germany. On the ship he meets a cross section of people he’ll run into again in Shanghai. Leah whom he has a voyage only relationship with, Florence a membe...

The Brides of High Hill  (Singing Hills Cycle #5) by Nghi Vo     ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The story beckons, nay entices you to follow Cleric Chih’s journey to Doi Cao. A chance meeting on the road has Chih accompanying the merchant family Pham to the walled estate of Doi Cao for their daughter Pham Nhung’s wedding to Lord Gho. Chih (they) innocently investigate Nhung’s new home and uncover some places left to rot. “They” become concerned for Nhung. Even more so when Chih discovers that Nhung is not the first bride here. What happened to the previous wives of Lord Gho? They meet the Lord Gho’s son Zhuhai. Nhung declares him beautiful. Zhuhai is a troubled young lord who appears ill, possibly cursed Chih decides. “The first time they had met him, he had been full of scorn, and the second time, he had been furious. This time, he moved with a faltering step, his arms hanging woodenly down by his sides and his head jerked up towards the sky as if there was a string running from his chin t...

A Vicious Machination  (Beatrice Hyde-Clare Mystery #13) by Lynn Messina       ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Verity Lark (the Duke of Kesgrave’s half-sister) is being held in Newgate Prison charged with the murder of Agnes Wraithe, dreadful ghoul and former headmistress of the orphanage Verity and her friends were mistreated in. It’s up to the Beatrice, the “Murder Duchess” or rather “Her Outrageousness” (monikers given Bea by the popular press) to prove her innocence. (Probably in exchange for shooting lessons!) The solving of this murder is important because Verity is family, although the acknowledgment is tentative on Verity’s side, and will be a distraction for the Duchess. Bea’s lately spent much of her time wondering how she’s going to cope overseeing the Duke’s grand residence at Haverhill Hill, where she and the Duke are due to stay shortly.  The Dowager Duchess becomes involved, as does of course Kesgrave. I love the relationship between the Duke and Duchess. How he real...

The Duke's Mercenary  (The Duke’s Guard #6) by C.H. Admirand       ⭐️⭐️⭐️ This time it’s Dermott O’Malley story. O’Malley with his perfectly chiseled lips, emerald eyes and blonde windswept hair. A six foot, well packed package. Or at least that’s what the lovely Georgina Eggerton sees when she regains consciousness after falling off a stone wall on the edge of the Earl of Lipponcott’s property. Georgina is fleeing London on her father’s orders to escape the wicked Viscount Trenchert who won Georgina’s hand in a doubtful card game. O’Malley thinks he’s died and gone to heaven when he sees this veritable angel. He all but beats his chest. He does declare to the cousins she his! All very Tarzan! The injured girl, whom Dermott names Amber (because of the color of her eyes naturally!) has concussion. Her memories in tatters. She’s alarmed.! Who is she? Is she fleeing from or running towards something? Whatever it is she feels  it’s something dastardly! So for a sop...

Sun Ascendant  (Tarnished Crown #2 ) by C.F. Dunn     ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The fight for who will be King of England continues. Isabel, now ensconced in the Earl’s Keep is surrounded by enemies, including the Countess Felice, and has few friends, no one to protect her. The Earl is off fighting with King Edward, arraigned against the Earl of Warwick, the Duke of Clarence, and their allies. She’s still mistress to the man who took her. Unknown to all, she’s pregnant to the Earl’s brother, Robert Langdon. Her son is her life and she’s desperate to keep him safe.  She learns a terrible secret, flees back to her lands, and fights to death’s door for all she loves. War is bloody, brutal and unforgiving. To the winner goes the spoils. Women and children are as always caught in the middle, powerless and dependent upon their wits. When that fails? The War of the Roses story continues despite the pain, deceit and brutality that is unlocked. After all a crown is the prize. I recommend...

Wheel of Fortune  (Tarnished Crown #1) by C.F. Dunn   ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ It’s a time when British King’s are uncertain, gathering together loyal troops. King Edward IV of York is besieged on all sides. The War of the Roses is nigh. The story is a veritable who’s who. Lady Isabel Fenton is the daughter of Geoffrey Fenton. She’s  promised to Thomas Lacey. The Lacey family is a whirlpool of misdirection and underhandedness. Fenton owes his allegiance to the Langton Earl who in turn serves Edward, and the Lacey’s?? An independent young woman Isobel has been tutored in French and Latin. She can read and write. She’s sent by her father to the Earl to be in his guardianship until Thomas Lacey returns from France. There’s a secret surrounding Isobel’s mother. The Earl sees her and it seems remembers someone. Basically he rapes her and takes her for his mistress.  Isabel through no fault of hers earns the Earl’s wife and Countess Felice’s enmity. Isobel has feelings for the Earl’s bro...

The Persephone Code  by Julia Golding    ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Heady story introduces us to Dora Fitz-Pennington, the illegitimate daughter of a rich despicable merchant. Dora fled his home and took to the stage. She keeps in touch with her half brother Anthony, who’s escaped his father’s overbearing ways. When Anthony is murdered Dora is notified by the enigmatic Dr. Jacob Sandys, an ex-officer and son of a powerful family. Dora is very far from what Jacob expects. She joins him, or rather he joins her in the search for Anthony’s killer. That quest involves members of the notorious Hell Fire Club and the Illuminati! Soon Dora and Jacob have trouble deciding who’s an enemy and who’s a friend. (BTW The Bridgerton reference seems to be no more than a nod to the Regency era and possibly Dora being born in the West Indies to her father’s mistress.  The only resemblance to the Da Vinci Code is the antiquated clues and the Illuminati. I happened to dislike the Da Vinci Code, so I’d r...