eyes.2c Reviews

Them Without Pain  (Simon Westow Mystery #7) by Chris Nickson    ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Leeds Thief-taker Simon Westow takes on a strange case from Sir Robert Foley. It’s 1825 and Foley wants Simon to find some stolen silver cups made by the very talented silversmith Arthur Mangey who’d been hung for treason a century before. Imagine Simon’s shock when Foley’s servant is found dead in a secret  workshop in of a row of buildings being demolished in the name of progress. This case will test Simon. He finds himself slowing down. He needs to be in top form. Jane comes back to assist. Sally their protege is part of the investigation. She and Jane feel the need to hone their knife skills.  A startling and shocking situation emerges. Death hides and stalks Simon, his family and friends. Another fantastic Westow mystery from the indomitable Chris Nickson. A Severn House ARC via NetGalley.                           ...

What to Wear and Why : Your Guilt-Free Guide to Sustainable Fashion   by Tiffanie Darke       ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Darke has nailed it with this look at overconsumption of fashion, the ginormous amount of waste, greenhouse gas emissions, products made from materials that won’t disappear for years, slave labor in places like China and Bangladesh, and us as consumers mindlessly buying more and more with little thought to the impact on the world. Time to fess up. I’m a hoarder. I have vintage clothes collected in the 70’s, clothing I adore that I can’t use and find hard to give away. I did find a home for a 50’s dress I loved, but that’s just one piece. How to repurpose clothing I don’t want to see dumped in Africa. That wonderful slashed to the waist velvet ball gown, and bolero jacket cut on the bias that had been a friend’s grandmother’s worn at a mayoral ball in the early 1900’s. I can’t let that go to someone who won’t love it. Yes, in the 70’s I wore it and felt fabulous. I...

Death at the Sign of the Rook  (Jackson Brodie #6) by Kate Atkinson      ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I found this title hard to follow in the beginning. It was a complete mystery as to where it was going. It slowly wound around to a being a complicated, well populated novel, with some great lines. “Hugh Grant has a lot to answer for.” The dwindling upper class is benignly pillaged.  Brodie Jackson ex cop turned Private Investigator is unusual and marches to the beat of his own drum. Reggie Chase, policewoman, obviously gets sucked in by Brodie, constantly. Brodie has roped Reggie into some investigative work around two stolen paintings.  The thief’s modus operandi seems to have similarities. Their investigation reads like a play that melds into a real murder mystery play. Strong secondary characters Simon Cate the unbelieving vicar, Sophie the carer, Ben Jennings ex army who’d lost a leg in Afghanistan (him I really liked), are a great support and well rounded adding to the ...

Death at Dead Man's Stake  (Jessica Raker Thriller #1) by Nick Oldham      ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Wow! A new series from Nick Oldman. Sergeant Jessica Raker, a member of the armed response team shoots dead a jewel thief a split second before he opens up on her. There’s an immediate grilling and inquiry from the Independent Office for Police Conduct. Her identity is protected during the court case. Jessica is cleared. However word on the street is Jessica has had a hit taken out on her. Costigan, the Detective Chief Inspector who gives her the news is gunned down as they’re both returning from coffee. Was he the target or was Jessica? Jessica refuses witness protection but takes a position at Clitheroe Police station, Lancashire, where she came from. It’s a promotion. The constable who’s temporarily filled the position nose is out of joint. Jessica hopes he won’t be awkward but she’s not going to take any grief from him. Her misogynist governor is not pleased and despite calling...

Two Spinsters and a Corpse  (Two Spinsters and a Murder Mystery #1) by Eve Tarrington      ⭐️⭐️ A wealthy family, the Haddingtons,  have moved to Wycliffe Castle in Derbyshire county to avert the scandal of the daughter of the house, Louisa-Margaretta, falling in love with someone entirely unsuitable.  The eldest daughter of the local vicar, Judith St. Clair, becomes friends Louisa-Margaret’s with after several false starts. They witness a murder and now have to alert their families to the facts except that the families pay them no attention. I wanted to like this. I kept reading to find out what happened. In the end I found I didn’t care enough. The reading hurt my head A Victory Edington ARC via NetGalley.                                               Many thanks to the author and publisher.

A Sorceress Comes to Call  by T. Kingfisher    ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Cordelia is trapped in her mother’s world. Her mother is a sorceress . Cordelia moves to her mother’s whim.  Evangeline takes over her body and Cordelia has no will of her own. Her obedience is required above all else. Sonya evident by Cordelia’s behavior in church. When her mother decides to find a rich husband Cordelia discovers the truth of the horse she thought was her friend. Falada is her mother’s familiar. Cordelia is devastated. All those thoughts she’d murmured to her friend were immediately passed on to her mother. Cordelia has no secrets, no thoughts she owned. Find a potential husband Evangeline does. However the Squire Samuel's sister Hester has her measure as a woman on the hunt (not that she knew Evangeline was sorceress) but she fully understands Evangeline is after Samuel. Then what become of Hester? Hester plans a house party to introduce Evangeline. She draws on her friends to help. Tragedy ...

Murder at the White Palace  (Sparks & Bainbridge Mystery #6) by Allison Montclair      ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Well this series is taking an interesting direction. Post war London, and  Gwendolyn Bainbridge and Iris Sparks, proprietors of the very successful Right Sort Marriage Bureau decide to hold a  New Year’s Eve party for their clients. Gwen has just been declared no longer in need of supervision according to the Court of Lunacy (if you haven’t read previous titles in the series you must to catch up on Gwen’s heartbreaking story). It’s more than time to celebrate! Archie Spelling (head of the Spelling gang and Iris’s boyfriend) provides the venue, The White Palace, a place he’s recently bought and that he’s restoring.  Archie has big plans. The Palace  used to belong to Frank Reese another gangster. Archie bought it from his widow, Vanessa. Of course there’s history—of the gangland robbery and violence type. However, no-one was prepared for a body to...

The Dark Wives  (Vera Stanhope #11) by Ann Cleeves    ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ There’s a mountain of circumstances on Vera’s plate and it’s not adding up. A body has turned up linked to a children’s home that’s part of a paying conglomerate across the country. A home for troubled teenagers very much at a cost to taxpayers. A young girl, an inmate is  missing. She’s not “troubled” but when her mother was committed to a psychiatric ward there was no where else to go.  It seems the home/school has quite draconian rules. Vera’s not impressed. Then a second body appears. It’s the time of the Gillstead Witch Hunt.  A  event that traditionally takes place near to the standing stone formation called the Dark Wives, the three crones. Dark happenings are looming. Vera finds herself swept up in a case close to home. Two dead bodies, a missing girl, and a new team member are just the beginning. A St Martin’s Press ARC via NetGalley.             ...

How to Fall for a Scoundrel  (Her Majesty’s Rebels #2) by Kate Bateman  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ An investigative wallflower, a thief and con man, a stolen bejeweled Book of Hours belonging to Bonaparte. Napoleon saw the book as his lucky charm. Someone wants Bonaparte’s luck to return! Eleanor Law, daughter of the Lord Chief Justice, and co-founder of King & Company, London’s most discreet Investigative Agency, meets her match when firstly a tall dark stranger with interesting eyes kisses her under the mistletoe and then hustles her into making an appointment with him and one of her partners, Lady Dorothea Hamilton the next morning. The other partner is the Duchess of Wansford. Who is this man who’s already made her heart beat faster, and who knows Charles King is a fictional invention, a cover for the three intrepid investigators. Now he’s proposed that he be Charles King! A mystery! He’s given Ellie the name  Henri Bonheur, Comte de Carabas, straight from Puss in Boots. Known as ...

The Art of Deception  (Lucy Lawrence Mysteries #3) by Pam Lecky          ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Lucy has returned to London and bought a lovely house in Kensington. It needs furnishing and Lucy buys a couple of Miller seascapes to lend interest. As it happens she’s casing an art dealers gallery for Phineas. Phineas is consulting with an Insurance Company tracking down an art thief who’s been operating for the past couple of years in England and Ireland. It’s off to a house party at the Stone’s country residence. Phin’s brother Andrew gives Lucy short shrift but his brother Seb is delightful. Alice Vaughan’s husband Edward is murdered, Phineas is blamed and Lucy finds herself fighting for his good name. When he’s shot her anger and determination knows no bounds. The surprise of who is involved is awful. Quite a good storyline and I’m in sympatico with the characters. I continue with their journey and am anxious for their continued relationships and adventures. A racey ...

Footprints in the Sand  (Lucy Lawrence Mysteries #2) by Pam Lecky             ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Ah Egypt! It’s 1887, Lucy Lawrence, now a woman of means travels to Paris and by chance meets renowned charismatic French Egyptologist Armand Moreau. From that meeting it’s a small step to funding his dig at  Sakkâra, Egypt , and sailing on to Cairo. Of course Mary is consumed by dark forebodings. Cairo is everything Lucy dreamt of and more. Unexplained deaths, uncovering a new tomb, stolen antiques and more greet Lucy. Meanwhile Phineas has disappeared, which unhappily coincides with his ex fiancé Alice Vaughan disappearance. What is Lucy to think? Ok, the adventures of Lucy Lawrence have sucked me in and I can but continue! A Storm ARC via NetGalley.                                               Many thanks to the author and publisher.

No Stone Unturned  (Lucy Lawrence Mysteries #1) by Pam Lecky           ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A dead husband, shocking revelations of fraud and deception, Lucy Lawrence fled back to her family who she’d been cut off from, only to be accused of theft. Lucy is no shrinking violet and is determined to clear her name with the help of insurance investigator Phineas Stone When things turn ugly who will Lucy  turn to, or can she pull herself out of this mess? This first in the series sets up our sympathies for Lucy, and outrage at her family. I loved her fiercely loyal Irish maid and companion in arms, Mary. A Storm ARC via NetGalley.                                               Many thanks to the author and publisher.