eyes.2c Reviews

The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau : A Novel by Kristin Harmel      ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Told in time frames between   1942 Paris   and 2018 Washington, the story of Colette Marceau, her life, her sorrows and her causes, unveils dramatically. Now nearly ninety, a sprightly woman, she beholds the photo of a bracelet that’s part of an upcoming exhibition in Washington D.C. Studded with diamonds it’s one of a pair that linked together to form the whole, “a constellation of flawless diamonds.” It was lost during the war along with Colette’s four year old sister Liliane. Colette has the matching bracelet. Colette comes from a long line of jewel thieves where the tradition is to rob from the unjust and give to the poor and needy. That’s just what Colette and her mother did. Took valuable stolen jewellery from the Nazis, collaborators, and traitors, to fund the underground. Now Liliane’s bracelet has reappeared and our octogenarian will let nothing get in her way of truth. What...

Courier of Death ( Spencer & Reid Mystery #3) by Cara Devlin   ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Oh my! Life is going from dangerous to critical for Leonora Spencer. Leonora has not seen much of Detective Inspector Jasper Reid since her shocking discovery of his past, who he really is. A metaphorical bomb thrown into her hard won equilibrium!   In her distancing from Jasper, Leonora’s become interested in a suffragette group and is attending their meetings. However on the morning of her visit to Scotland Yard she’s involved in a bomb attack on the Yard. Further attacks hit London. She’s stunned when the police arrest the leader of the Women’s Equality Alliance, Mrs. Geraldine Stewart, as the culprit. When Leonora is arrested she’s angry and stunned. Jasper is furious. Meanwhile Jasper has two bodies with similar injuries on his hands . His enquiries cut across the Bomb investigation, something Detective Inspector Tomlin of the Special Irish Branch has warned Jasper to leave alone. The Irish Bra...

Death at a Highland Wedding  (Rip Through Time #4) by Kelley Armstrong      ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Catriona Mitchel (really Detective Mallory Atkinson 150 years from the future) is now an assistant to Dr. Duncan Gray of Edinburgh.  Let’s just say this has been quite the journey for Mallory. A different more well rounded body does get in the way sometimes as does the clothing of Victorian Edinburgh. To the outside world Catriona is a rather untrustworthy maid. Inside her small circle her friends (sort of) know Mallory chafes at the restrictions. However the household including Detective Hugh McCreadie are off to the wedding of Hugh’s niece to Archie Cranston. A mess of folks, of poachers, of an ugly gamekeeper, and of village folk denied entrance to Cranston’s newly purchased property, topped off by a murder has everyone on their toes, including me. Just love this series! A St Martin’s Press ARC via NetGalley.                   ...

A Botanist's Guide to Rituals and Revenge  (Saffron Everleigh Mystery #4) by Kare Khavari ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Research botanist Saffron Everleigh has been called back to Ellington. Her grandfather, Lord Easting is ill. Alexander Ashton her beau accompanies her, as does Elizabeth Hale her childhood friend and brother to her dead sweetheart Wesley. What greets her is Bill Wyatt masquerading as a cardiologist caring for her grandfather. Bill wants something from Saffron, some research of her father’s.  Meanwhile staying on the adjoining Hale Estate  is a medium, Madame Martin and her assistant, Bernard Fischer, conning Elizabeth’s parents, friends and the villagers. Both Elizabeth and Saffron are furious. Heightened tensions, danger, a kidnapping, and a killer willing to do anything to obtain his goals is just part of this intriguing, gut wrenching, latest tale of Saffron’s life. A Crooked Lane ARC via NetGalley.                     ...

A Most Unlikely Lady  (The Queen's Deadly Damsels #4) by Darcy McGuire     ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️     Once more we follow the antics of one of the Duchess of Dorset’s wallflowers, spies for the Queen. Ivy Cavendale is the daughter of a s candalous Duke who committed suicide with his son and Ivy’s brother, both members of the sadistic organisation, the Devil’s Sons. Ivy is left with a small income from her father. Frugal Ivy has taken on the role of headmistress of the All Soul’s Orphanage. Ivy, may look a slight, pale pushover. She proves she’s not. On her first night at the orphanage she confronts a man trying to kidnap one of the girls. I loved the Ivy’s soliloquy at this moment. “Wonderful.  A girl with a poker, a boy with delusions of  grandeur, and a lady quaking in her half-boots. I’m sure the three of us will strike fear into this blackguard’s heart.” A great start to a tale that involves the unmasking of leaders of the Devil’s Sons Then there’s the absolu...

Nightshade  by Michael Connelly       ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Set on Catalina Island off the Californian coast, an hour by ferry from Los Angeles, the slaughter of a protected buffalo and a drowned body trussed up in a sail bag held down by an anchor and chain don’t seem to have anything in common—until they do. Detective Sergeant Stilwell  who’s  been sent here as punishment for opening up a case supposedly solved, actually finds island life soothing to his soul. Also an ex police diver, Stilwell finds himself coming up against the same LA detective who is the cause of his banishment. Stilwell takes on the rich and powerful members of the exclusive yacht club, gangsters, and local politics, mixing to make an interesting read. A somewhat different mystery and police procedural that opened up vistas I hadn’t explored before. A Little, Brown & Co. ARC via NetGalley.                               ...

One Final Turn  (Electra MacDonnell #5 ) by Ashley Weaver       ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Word is that’s Electra’s cousin Toby may have escaped from a German prison via an unknown route through the Pyrenees to Lisbon. The British Government wants to help maintain that trail but need to find out who’s running it. Ellie is off to Lisbon to investigate along with an unknown handler Captain Archie Blandings who’s based in Lisbon. Major Gabriel Ramsey the intelligence officer whom she’d become close to, both personally and work wise is apparently going too, but fortunately Ellie is not under his command. Difficult! The last Ellie saw of the Major was when he’d rejected, then dismissed her.  Portugal is neutral and as such Lisbon is a hotbed of spies, officers and opportunists from all sides of the war. Each time Ellie and Archie have a lead someone is one step ahead and they find themselves tripping over the bodies of those who might’ve helped! I found myself chocking up at times, ...