eyes.2c Reviews

A Season for Justice  (Justice Belstrang Mysteries #3) by John Pilkington         ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The Great Comet appeared in   September 6th, 1618. Said to be an omen by many, ex Justice Belstrang just might agree. Disturbing news is coming out of Bohemia. (King James’ daughter is married to the ruler of Bohemia) At home, a simple request to visit an old sick friend turns into a tale of theft, graft, corruption, and treason. A side burden for Belstrang, is the rumored likelihood of King James requesting his property Thirldon to gift to a favorite. Shocking! Being an ex magistrate has given Belstrang time to wander off in other directions of enquiry, which always seems to end in danger. After all this is the time of the great comet! This last in the series, sees Belstrang confront danger, hardship and more with his usual impulsiveness.   A fitting conclusion to these last few years of Belstrang’s life that began in 1616 with his chronicling of his Year of ...

A Hunt for Justice  (Justice Belstrang Mysteries #2) by John Pilkington        ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ It’s a sorry time in Worcester. The young daughter of a powerful landowner has been found drowned in the local witching pool, and a midwife, Agnes Mason has been imprisoned, charged with witchcraft. Former magistrate Belstrang is implored by Agnes’ family to intervene, even as the local preacher rails against the servants of satan. We do wonder if Agnes is more than she seems. Once again Pilkington brings together the age and times,  its  superstitions and practices, and woven all into a twisted mystery. I’m loving Pilkington’s writing! A Boldwood Books ARC via NetGalley.                                               Many thanks to the author and publisher. Please note: Quotes taken from an advanced reading copy maybe subject to change.

A Dangerous Justice  (Justice Belstrang Mysteries #1) by John Pilkington          ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1616, King James is on the throne. Times might be more relaxed but men must be vigilant.  Plots and counter plots attend an innocent inquiry made by Belstrang’s neighbor in Worcester. He’s  been asked by a papist neighbor to journey to London to discover what has happened to his son Thomas. Reluctant to do so, nevertheless he departs and goes to London. He will make enquires, visit his daughter and son-in-law (a man he has little time for) and return. That was his thought! By the time he’s halfway through he has discovered plots that throw innocents to the wolves, justice sorely lacking, himself thrown into Debtor’s prison, and so much more. It’s the ten year anniversary of the gunpowder plot. The population is nervous. Pilkington’s writing is accessible, describes the times accurately, whilst weaving a deft and accessible mystery I found myself unable to...

A Lark's Gambit  (Verity Lark’s Mysteries #6) by Lynn Messina         ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Verity Lark finds herself in something of a conundrum about many things. There’s her relationship with Lord Hardwicke Coulson, the Marquis of Ware’s son, varied household personality arrangements and innovations, keeping together her aliases and disguises (which I adore), and her unspoken need to continue her way of doing things. Then there’s the Marquis himself! Double Hmm! The Ton has left London for the summer and her personae Mr. Twaddle-Thum is somewhat bereft of gossip for his column. “ One could not detail the aristocracy’s many quirks and foibles when the aristocrats were not in London to quirk and foible. Twaddle found it vexing indeed.” Freddie, owner of the London Daily Gazette, comes to the rescue with a list that included Verity’s former employer, an all out leacherous sleaze, and repellent person, the Earl of Stetchford. It’s Verity’s investigations at a Venetian Brea...

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...