It's Always Sherlock Season

It's (Always) Sherlock Season!
I have many favourite Sherlocks: literary, media, old and new, not the least being Cumberbatch, who I sincerely hope plays Mr Holmes, husband of Mary Russell, as written by Laurie King. The original Sherlock Holmes, the fictional English detective extraordinaire, was created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in 1887 (A Study in Scarlet) and has never died. This legendary figure lives on in current literature, television and movies. I have especially liked many of the modern takes, including the short stories of King and Klinger. Each collection has had spectacular tales by some of the best writers of our time: (King, Klinger, Connolly, Bradley, Gaiman, ...) Indeed, each volume I couldn't wait to see who wrote another installment! Every volume has a fascinating, charming, unsettling story for everyone, so don't miss them.

Title: Echoes of Sherlock eds Laurie R. King and Leslie S. Klinger
Publisher:
Genre: mystery, thriller fiction, series, short stories,
5+ stars
Authors:
Laurie R King is a best selling author of the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series, SanFran homicide inspector Kate Martinelli mysteries, as well as highly recommended stand alone suspense novels. She has been nominated for and won many awards for her writing, (including a Nero for A Monstrous Regiment of Women, (Russell/Sherlock) and a MacCavity for Touchstone, one of my favourite mysteries). Recently, she was awarded an Agatha for best historical 2015 Dreaming Spies! The first Russell/Sherlock is The Beekeeper's Apprentice (1994).
Leslie Klinger is an American attorney and writer AND an eminent literary editor and annotator, particularly of the Sherlock Holmes Canon. His New Annotated Sherlock Holmes won an Edgar (the annual Edgar Allan Poe awards). Both King and Klinger are Baker Street Irregulars. They have edited three collections of stories inspired by the canon. The previous book in this series  In the Company of Sherlock Holmes: Tales Inspired by the Holmes Canon, won both the Anthony and the Silver Falchion awards for “Best Anthology”.
Story line:
This is the third editorial collaboration of Laurie R. King and Leslie S. Klinger of newly commissioned tales from somewhere in the Sherlock Holmes tradition or canon. Like the previous collections, A Study in Sherlock: Stories Inspired by the Holmes Canon and In the Company of Sherlock Holmes: Stories Inspired by the Holmes Canon, this edition has 18 short stories, memorable, wonderful, intriguing and suspenseful. There are two that didn't appeal to me but most have widely different takes, so I would recommend reading one or two an evening, savouring each gem. Too many at once dims the appreciation of these unique stories. Enjoy the different takes in Victorian life, fresh imagination, reflections of current Holmes/Watson (PSTD) with complex cases and nasty villains.  They all pale in comparison to John Connolly's (soon to be award winning!) contribution. I have absolute favourites in each of these three volumes and would love to have them in a best of volume! My top three would be Connolly, Alexander, Perry, followed closely by David Morrell, Dana Cameron. Indeed I will be reading more of some of these authors. Several left me wanting to turn the page for continued story. Continue the anthology please! Keep the new stories and varied authors coming. I had no idea so many people would like to try their hand at Holmes.
Read on
A Study in Sherlock: Stories Inspired by the Holmes Canon and In the Company of Sherlock Holmes: Stories Inspired by the Holmes Canon.
Caleb Carr The Italian Secretary
Anthony Horowitz The House of Silk, Moriarity
Laurie R King Mary Russell series
Alan Bradley Flavia deLuce series
Jasper Fforyde Eyre Affair Tuesday Next series
Quotes:
All of which only goes to prove that when one is dealing with Sherlock Holmes, a man “who never lived and so can never die,” physics goes out the window.
Holmes on The Range by John Connolly is both my favourite and the best of this collection. It extends his Edgar award winning novella The Caxton Private Lending Library 2014 in Night Music. Don't forget to read his first set of unsettling supernatural short stories Nocturne.
The history of the Caxton Private Lending Library & Book Depository has not been entirely without incident, as befits an institution of seemingly infinite space inhabited largely by fictional characters who have found their way into the physical realm.
Caxton Private Lending Library & Book Depository was established as a kind of rest home for the great, the good and, occasionally, the not-so-good-but-definitely-memorable, of literature, all supported by rounding up the prices on books by a ha’penny a time.
“I don’t profess to be an expert in every field,” he replied. “I have little interest in literature, philosophy, or astronomy, and a negligible regard for the political sphere. I remain confident in the fields of chemistry and the anatomical sciences, and, as you have pointed out, can hold my own in geology and botany, with particular reference to poisons.”
“It’s not the way I was written. I’m written as a criminal mastermind who comes up with baroque, fiendish plots. It’s against my nature even to walk down the street in a straight line.
Believe me, I’ve tried. I have to duck and dive so much that I get dizzy.”
“By the way, is my archnemesis here?” asked Holmes. “I’m not expecting him,” said Mr. Headley. “You know, he never seemed entirely real.”
He then returned to the bowels—or attic—of the library, and found that it had begun to create suitable living quarters for Holmes and Watson based on Paget’s illustrations, and Watson’s descriptions, of the rooms at 221B Baker Street.
The Spiritualist by David Morrell (where Conan Doyle gets a ghostly visit from Holmes full of family history)
“But the great actor, William Gillette, used it as a prop when he portrayed me on stage. It looks more dramatic than an ordinary straight pipe.
Raffa by Anne Perry is a lovely, charming tale of a 9 year old who needs Sherlock.
He drew in his breath to try to explain to her that he was Marcus St. Giles, playing Sherlock Holmes on television.
Her wide blue eyes did not waver from his. The trust in them was terrifying. Was the real Sherlock Holmes ever faced with . . . but now he was being idiotic.
There was no ‘real’ Sherlock Holmes! “That sounds about right,”
“The things we love matter, whatever they are,”
“I think you are a lot nicer for real than you are in the stories that Dr Watson writes about you.”
The Crown Jewel Affair by Michael Scott
This once-elegant street was now the cancer at the heart of Dublin, the second city of the British Empire. Crime, perversion and disease were rampant and it was ruled by a series of terrifying women:...
“Mr. Corcoran, there are more whores in this city than in London and Manchester combined. That is because we are a garrison city, a port city. We have English regiments training in the Royal Barracks and on the Curragh, and the quays are busy with British warships and merchantmen from around the world. All those soldiers and sailors are looking for relief.
The Case of The Speckled Trout by Deborah Crombie
I’d never been north of the Border, so as the train gathered speed out of Edinburgh’s Waverly Station I looked out the window with interest.
While I was trying to decide whether I had sold myself into Dickensian slavery—or was destined to be a Scottish Jane Eyre, stuck on the moor with a dour master and a mad wife—the road ran downhill and we were again in the land of green glens and burbling streams
Cooking, it turned out, was only chemistry.
The Adventure of The Empty Grave by Jonathan Maberry (Watson meets Dupin, the first fictional detective of EA Poe)
Dupin was clearly possessed some of the same intellectual qualities as my late friend, but he also had a fair few of the less appealing habits that apparently are part and parcel. Superiority and condescension, not the least.

Received as an ARC ebook from Netgalley, as well as purchased hardcover.

Cozy reads!

Title: Judgment of Murder by CS Challinor

Publisher: Midnight Ink Nov 2016

Genre: cozy, mystery, English historical, British mystery, Scottish barrister, 

4+ stars

Author:

Challinor was born in the US, educated in Scotland and England (joint Hons in Latin, French) and currently lives in Florida. She also holds a diploma in Russian from the Pushkin Institute in Moscow. Challinor is a member of the Authors Guild, New York, and writes the critically acclaimed Rex Graves mystery series featuring the Scottish barrister-sleuth.  The cozy series begins with: Christmas is Murder (September 2008, Midnight Ink Books, a Kindle best seller), and continues with Murder in the Raw (2009), Phi Beta Murder (2010), Murder on the Moor (2011), Murder of the Bride (2012, a Mystery Guild book club pick), Murder at the Dolphin Inn (2013) Murder at Midnight (2014) and Murder comes Calling (2015). I particularly appreciate the understated humour and banter between Rex and and his fiancé Helen d'Arcy (schoolteacher) and have enjoyed the series more with each new book. Challinor keeps most readers guessing as she cleverly spreads suspicion and clues and red herrings. Cozy fans will enjoy this traditional series featuring a witty, charming and engaging sleuth. Her light touch makes them entertaining reads, perfect for cold winter nights. JoM will make a lovely Christmas gift.

Story Line:

An old colleague Lord Gordon Murgatroyd, the infamous Judge Murder, dies in England, but his daughter Phoebe, newly widowed, suspects foul play. Rex Graves QC develops his prosecutorial expertise to sleuth his way through possible method and probable motive and near death.  His trusty likable colleague Alistair helps investigate and even saves Rex at one point. Both are caught up in another regional case with abducted girl(s), linking cold cases, murderers and suspects. Rex does like to announce the murderer in a denouement, continuing the Golden Age style. Challinor's mysteries are a welcome and charming modern take on Agatha Christie. I felt this one was more multilayered although they remain descriptive stories. Reading enjoyment may benefit from knowledge of previous cases and character development. 

Read On:

Anne Cleeland (Shetland), Deborah Crombie, Agatha Christie, Ellery Queen, MC Beaton (Hamish McBeth), Rhys Bowen (Royal Spyness), Anna Lee Huber (Lady Darby), Alexander McCall Smith (Sunday Philosophy Club), Paige Shelto  (Scottish bookshop)

Quotes

The golf could wait. Murder could not.

In the event he was on a wild goose chase, he thought he might as well do some sightseeing and make the most of his sabotaged weekend.

Miss Bird had been their housekeeper since he was a boy, and she and his mother persisted in calling him by his given name, instead of its derivative “Rex,” which he preferred. Now that they were well into their eighties he had lost all hope of their changing the habit.

She spoke in the genteel tones of Morningside ladies, which Rex often thought belied a razor sharp mind that had lost none of its acuity in her advancing age.

“Well, I wish you’d just hurry up and marry the woman. You know how I love weddings.” Rex gazed at his friend in mild frustration.

I’m aboot as lethal as one of these chips.” 

Rex commended his friend’s foresight, without fully comprehending how he had been able to run with a crowbar secreted in his coat, but now wasn’t the time to ask."

“Your mother must be so proud of you, as am I. I suppose you could go about incognito but you’re a hard person to disguise.”

Received as an ARC ebook from Netgalley.

Perfect summer read

Title: Jane and the Waterloo Map by Stephanie Barron
5 Stars *****
Publisher: Soho Crime        320pp
Genre: regency mystery, historical fiction, Jane Austen, mystery series
Author: Francine Stephanie Barron Mathews (b 1953)  is a mystery writer and has written several series. As Francine Mathews,  Merry Folger is a police officer in Nantucket while the Caroline Carmichael series are spy thrillers based on Mathews CIA analyst career. Her descriptive writing was influenced by one of her Princeton professors, John McPhee (one of my favourite non fiction writers!). As Stephanie Barron she writes the Jane Austen mysteries, presented as lost diaries edited by Barron. They are extremely well researched, witty, charming and a lovely homage to Jane Austen. I cannot believe it has been 20 years since the first novel. Worse, this novel takes place in November 1815 and Jane died in 1816. Barron writes for the thinking reader. These are gentle, entertaining mysteries with careful staging and intricate characters. You will enjoy the wit, charm and satire of Jane Austen in this beautiful homage. There are many Austen spin offs: Barron is my personal favourite.
Story line:
Being the 13th novel in the series.
The battle of Waterloo has left the British economy in shreds, and Henry Austen is nearly bankrupt. Jane is editing her proofs of Emma while nursing her beloved brother in London. There are wonderful quotes from Emma throughout.  Jane hears the two words Waterloo Map from the young, dying Calvary officer Col McFarland and sets out to unmask the poisoner. Jane's keen observations and wit provide interesting details of social conventions, daily life, and personal reflection that make this a wonderful period piece. Misdirection gives a nice twist at the end.

I still miss Lord Harold Trowbridge, her previous romantic interest and fellow sleuth (5 books ago) but delighted to see her reacquainted with the fascinating artist Raphael West. This is a rather fast paced two weeks in her life.  Persuasion is next!
Read on:
Laurie King's Mary Russell mysteries as period diaries
For period mysteries : Nicola Upson, Jacqueline Winspear, Deanna Raybourn, Barbara Cleverly, or Anne Perry.
For intricate historical novels, Diana Gabaldon, Susanna Kearsley,
Quotes:
Opening line: There can be few things more lowering to the female sensibility than to be caught in a shower of rain at exactly the moment one desires to appear to advantage.
Closing line: But as I watched West's equipage pull away from Hans Place,mi felt a blank pit of loneliness just below my heart. And hoped, for all of us, in the promise of spring.

Received as an ARC ebook from Netgalley, as well as purchased hardcover

Chilling summer thriller

Title: Pop Goes the Weasel by MJ Arlidge
Publisher:  Berkley 426 pp (2014/2015)
Genre: mystery, thriller, Helen Grace, psychological thriller, series, serial killer
4.5 stars
Author:
Arlidge (b 1974) has spent 15 year's writing high drama, prime time crime series for ITV, British television. He recently started the Det Helen Grace series, now into 6 books. Pop goes the Weasel is the 2nd, and I confess I couldn't wait and read right through five, (Doll's House, Liar, Liar, Little Boy Blue) eagerly awaiting the publication this autumn of Hide and Seek. His writing is terse, spare  in these dark, fast paced, gritty thrillers. The character development improves with each novel and secondary characters play wider varied roles. I find these addictive, in a most unpleasant way. These are not cosy mysteries as realistic events happen that will cause nightmares. They are all psychological thrillers that provide fresh angles to some truly horrible serial killers and their gruesome crimes. Although I think the first book was the most original.
Story line:
In Pop goes the Weasel, as in all, Det Helen Grace is committed to her job, still largely dysfunctional in society, keeps secrets, remains respected but not liked in the Southhampton Force, and can be trusted to never quit.  These mysteries must be read in order for the personal history, character development and escalating tension. As it's a series, I know she will survive, but each book represents a challenge as to what happens next. There are great narrative twists. Read collectively they are a roller coaster! It's always a race against time to find the killer before there is a next victim. They are very fast paced, short chapters, with vivid descriptions of time and place. I will continue to read them to see Det Grace grapple with her life.
Read on:
Ruth Rendell, PDJames, Peter Robinson, John Connolly, Stuart McBride, Peter May
Watch Luther, Dexter, MI5, Broadchurch, The Tunnel
Quotes:
Opening line The fog crept in from the sea, suffocating the city.


Received as an ARC ebook from Netgalley.

Mrs Sherlock!

Title: The Murder of Mary Russell by Laurie R. King
Publisher: Bantam Press, Random House 384 pp (April 2016)
Genre: mystery, Sherlock Holmes, adventure, series, crime, historical thriller
5 Stars ****
Author: Laurie R King is a best selling author of the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series, SanFran homicide inspector Kate Martinelli series, as well as stand alone suspense novels. She has been nominated for and won many awards for her writing, (including a Nero for A Monstrous Regiment of Women, (Russell/Sherlock) and a MacCavity for Touchstone, one of my favourite mysteries). Last week she was awarded an Agatha for best historical 2015 Dreaming Spies! The first Russell/Sherlock is The Beekeeper's Apprentice (1994). But don't miss Beekeeping for Beginners (2011), a novella written from Sherlock's perspective. King has also written a number of short stories, which are all worth collecting. She recently released The Marriage of Mary Russell, again, don't miss it! She is co-editor with Leslie Klinger (master Sherlock authority!) of A Study in Sherlock and In the Company of Sherlock Holmes (3rd volume later this year!). She is a strong supporter of libraries and much of her recent book tour helped raise funds. There were also spectacular events (see fashion show on her website http://laurierking.com:  enjoy her blog posts and facebook!)
Story line:
This is the 15th Mary Russell (aka Mrs Sherlock Holmes) mystery, narrated by Mary and   this time with Mrs Hudson. Everyone has a backstory, and this is Mrs Hudson's. Knowing Holmes and Russell, could you have expected less of Hudson? She was a beauty who overcame heartbreaking challenges, lived on the edge and risked everything. A completely new twist on her relationship with Holmes.
They are very much historical novels, period pieces with intriguing mysteries.   Mary is a strong female protagonist, intellectually formidable, equal with Holmes with a subtle personal relationship that I find tantalizing and perceptive. She remains one of my favourite bluestockings. Doyle should be impressed. Would that Cumberbatch gets interested.
It is an interesting puzzle, an intricate plot, a fascinating view of the 1860-1880s (as well as 'current' 1925), with intriguing layered characters and detailed backgrounds, all making for another  very satisfying read. I'm going to reread the series in light of these revelations to see if I really missed the clues about Billy or Mrs Hudson. I can't wait for the next adventure. Don't miss King's recent short story on the Marriage of Mary Russell either!
I will no doubt buy a hard copy, and continue to recommend her earlier novels. You can read this independent of the others but why? Start with the first: The Beekeeper's Apprentice and enjoy the character development and progression (and adventures!) They often follow directly on from the previous book.
Read on:
If you like Sherlock Holmes you will enjoy this series. Make note of the authors with membership in The Irregulars, or books sanctioned by the Conan Doyle Estate. Read the short stories by various authors in A Study in Sherlock and In the Company of Sherlock Holmes. Edited by Laurie Kind and Leslie Klinger
Arthur Conan Doyle The Adventure of the Gloria Scott
Caleb Carr The Italian Secretary
Alan Bradley Flavia DeLuce novels
Leslie Klinger The Annotated Sherlock Holmes
Larry Millett Sherlock Holmes and the Red Demon (for Sherlock in Minnesota)
Anthony Horowitz The House of Silk, Moriarity, and short story The Three Monarchs
Quotes:
I was married to Sherlock Holmes, had known him only a few hours longer than I had known Mrs Hudson, and the basic fact of life with Holmes was:  the world is filled with enemies.
I see what you are up to, it said, but I love you anyway.
I stifled my arm's automatic impulse to catch the outstretched hand and whirl him against the wall-
...my bereft heart had claimed Mrs Hudson for its own. I had known her for ten years now, lived with her for more than four, and she was as close to a mother as I would ever have again.
The embrace was as brief as it was emphatic, and left Billy open-mouthed as Holmes stepped away from me - one hand lingering on my shoulder. I felt a bit open-mouthed myself at this unprecedented public display.
Clara Hudson's dark hair had gone mostly grey before she realised that childhood was not intended to be a continuous stream of catastrophe and turmoil. At the time, while she was living it, the constancy of hunger, discomfort, dirt and uncertainty with the occasional punctuation of death and fists, was simply the price of existence...

Cozy summer read

Title: Murder Comes Calling (#7) by C.S. Challinor
Publisher: Midnight Ink, 216 p
Genre: Cozy, English mystery, mystery, golden age classic,
4 stars
Author:
Challinor was born in the US but educated in Scotland and England (joint Hons in Latin and French). She currently lives in SW Florida. The cozy mystery series featuring Scottish barrister Rex Graves begins with: Christmas is Murder (September 2008, Midnight Ink Books, a Kindle best seller), Murder in the Raw (2009), Phi Beta Murder (2010), Murder on the Moor (2011), Murder of the Bride (2012, a Mystery Guild book club pick), Murder at the Dolphin Inn (2013, PPLM, Inc.) I particularly enjoy the understated humour and banter between Rex and Helen.
Story Line:
Four unexpected and seemingly unconnected murders occur in the quiet English village of Notting Hamlet, each body discovered by a neighbor Malcolm Patterson (retired pathologist). He calls on his old school friend barrister and amateur sleuth Rex Graves to investigate the crimes as he fears he is being framed. As Rex's disapproving fiancée is away on a cruise, Rex decides to help. With his photographic memory and penchant for the smallest detail, Rex has developed a reputation as a credible sleuth/detective.
These are classic English cozies in the style of the Golden Age of mysteries. They can be read alone, although there is logical progression of personal development. They are all fun quick reads, perfect for a summer day, train travel, bedtime or beach read. I look forward to more entertaining cases with delicious red herrings.
Read On:
Anne Cleeland, Deborah Crombie, Agatha Christie, Ellery Queen, MC Beaton
Quotes:
I love Rex Graves' Curriculum Vitae from her website:
Reginald "Rex" Graves QC
Year of Call: 1985
Year of Silk: 2003 
Rex Graves graduated with a first in law from Edinburgh University in 1981, trained as a solicitor with the international firm of Browne, Quiggley and Squire from 1982 to 1984, devilled for the Hon. Lord Ferguson and W. Iain Reid QC from 1984-1985, and became an advocate in 1985 and Queen's Counsel in 2003. He specializes in criminal litigation and prosecutes at the High Court of Justiciary in Edinburgh.
Personal Biography:
1959, born in Edinburgh to Mr. Colin Graves (deceased) and Mrs. Moira Ann Graves, née Thorpe, currently residing in Morningside, Edinburgh. Rex attended Fettes College, where he was president of the Debating Society and proved an absolute flop at polo. 
1987, married his beloved Fiona May Gillespie, whom he ultimately loses to breast cancer.
1988, son Campbell born, presently attending Hilliard University in Florida where he is studying marine science and pursuing an independent study in birds of the non-feather variety.
2006, meets Helen d'Arcy, a student counselor in Derby, England and solves his first private case, the Swanmere Manor Murders. 
Hobbies include Sudoku and crossword puzzles; reading Latin—the dustier the volume, the better; hiking; whisky tastings; and American food. He has a morbid fear of horses and going nude on public beaches, and is allergic to cats and snobs. 
Physical Description:
6' 4", stocky build, red hair, ginger beard, green eyes. He is often found with pipe in hand (though trying to quit) and a skeptical look on his face. When not wearing court wig and gown, he prefers a tweed jacket, corduroys, and Hush Puppies.


Read as an ARC from Netgalley. Thank you!

Cozy Auld Reekie
Summer is all about fun reads. I have a stack to read when it is too hot to do much else, have travel (planes, trains or automobiles) or just want to relax. Cozy mysteries often fit the bill as they have an uncomplicated mystery, a little romance and are generally fast reads (short or simple).
Title: Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Marty Wingate
Publisher: Random House/Alibi.  276 pp
Genre: cozy, mystery, english mystery, British mystery, Scotland. 3.5 stars
Author:
Marty Wingate is the author of The Potting Shed mysteries: The Garden Plot, The Red Book of Primrose House, and Between a Rock and a Hard Place. Her new mystery series, Birds of a Feather: The Rhyme of the Magpie was published June 2015. Marty writes about gardening in the PNW and travel (she also gives European garden tours). She can be heard on A Dry Rain (adryrain.net), a free podcast available on iTunes. Wingate is a member of the Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime, as well as the Royal Horticultural Society and the Garden Writers Association. Her enthusiasm for flowers and gardening has created a lovely, entertaining series. Be careful downloading titles, as there are a dozen books with this title; kindle price is quite reasonable.
Story line: The Potting Shed Mysteries take place in Britain (England and now Scotland), where master gardener Pru Parke has transplanted herself. In the first book, Pru (short for Prunella) of course finds a body in her odd job but is introduced to DCI Christopher Pearse. There is a developing romantic relationship throughout the three books with both characters in their 50s. In the second book on Primrose house, they have a long distance relationship as she has found her dream job at an 18th century Manor house in Sussex. In this delightful installment Between a Rock and a Hard Place, once again the couple part, but this time to be married in three months, just after she finishes her next job. Pru is off to the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh to determine if a newly discovered document is indeed a lost journal of an 18th century plant collector (Archibald Menzies). There are of course bodies, politics, sinister characters but hysterical wedding plans. And memorable secondary characters (especially Tamsin Duncan, Mrs Murchie, and Murdo) which make for a charming read. Pru is an interesting protagonist, becoming more confident and at home in her newly adopted country. These books are the definition of cosy: fast easy reads, delightful secondary characters, solvable mystery and fun. There  is a nice blend of history, gardening and romance.  I was glad it wasn't a long wait until the third book.  If you haven't read them, read in order as one summer beach read.
Of course I must leave you with a few details on Archibald Menzies (please remember there are few if any "z" sounds in scottish and this surname sounds more like "Ming ess"
(Which also explains why many tourists can't find the stationers shop when the locals, plus accent, direct them.)) Menzies is often overlooked as a plant collector as there have been so many other great scottish botanists (especially David Douglas, further reading). Menzies (from Perthshire) trained as a surgeon at the University of Edinburgh, but was descended from a long line of botanists and gardeners (all four brothers, father, grandfather). He was also an explorer, part of many ship expeditions (China, Hawaii, PNW, West Indies) as surgeon, naturalist and or botanist. His later voyage with Cpt Vancouver on the HMS Discovery are recorded in fantastic, detailed journals documenting an explorers life. These are held by the British Museum. (Some interesting excerpts online). He introduced to Europe a real dinosaur tree: the monkey puzzle tree (Auracaria sp). To say nothing of rhododendrons. RBGE has fantastic collections of these plants. I visit annually.
Read on:
If you like Rosemary and Thyme, Murder She Wrote or Agatha Christie
Wingate is recommended for readers of  Laura Childs, Ellery Adams, Laura McKinlay or Mary Daheim.
For historical  plant collectors:
Carolyn Fry The Plant Hunters (2013)
Toby Musgrave, Chris Gardner, Will Musgrave The Plant Hunters (1998)
Tyler Whittle The Plant Hunters (1997)

Read as an ARC from Netgalley. Thank you!

great summer reads!

Title:  The Sussex Down Murder by John Bude (1936, 2015) 4stars****
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
288 pp
Genre: English mysteries, cozy, British mystery, Poisoned Pen Press, traditional mystery, British Library, historical, John Bude
Note:
The British Library is republishing many of their Classic Crime and Spy novels, with the Poisoned Pen Press responsible for the U.S. editions. There will be twelve published this year (two per month, with one per month slated for 2016.) Many of these books have been out of print or difficult to find. Some of these Golden Age Crime writers are perhaps unknown to the American audience. Each book features stunning cover art pertinent to the era (20/30s Britain). They will be available in paperback and Ebook. Of note, Martin Edwards provided guidance for this project as the archivist for CWA (and for Detection Club). Two books will feature short fiction edited by Edwards. I have always valued the Poisoned Pen's collection of mysteries for providing excellent reading experiences (there are over 700 titles).
Author:
The May selection for the Poisoned Pen Press was The Sussex Downs Murder by John Bude who was the cofounder of the Crime Writers' Association. Ernest Elmore wrote 30 mysteries between 1935-1957 under the pseudonym of Bude, most featuring Inspector William Meredith (Sussex is the second in his respected series; the first was The Lake District Murder).  Meredith is modeled after Freeman Wills Croft's Inspector French (fortunately his books are also due to be reprinted!) Bude's accomplished writing style is detailed, informative and engaging. Locations are well researched and locals are accurately portrayed. This is classic England. Bude/Elmore was also a producer, director in theatre.  His early death cut short a promising writing career (routine operation).

Story Line:
Trouble is brewing between the two Rother brothers, farmers and lime kiln burners of Chalkland Farm. Foul play begins with a missing body, murder,  and mysterious figures in the village of Washington, Sussex. Superintendent Meredith (just promoted after his last case) struggles with the myriad clues, making painstakingly, painfully slow progress.   His in-depth discussions with his superior are engaging and provide the reader with both thought process and witness to events.
The Sussex Down landscape is a central character in this book and Bude provides glorious descriptions and minute detail in this readable, intricate puzzle. Much will be discussed and discarded as clues are found, deadends are sidestepped, red herrings are finally ignored, a mysterious man is uncloaked, timetables are created  and the relevant clues reveal the killer.
I can remember reading his books and enjoyed reacquainted with the characters. It felt quaint and old fashioned (very little in the way of female input); I recognized the outcome and still enjoyed the read.  These are early police procedurals, no DNA, but fingerprints and hard work over the two month investigation.  This had a satisfying real life feel complete with humour and local insights which will have you looking for more of his stories as the characters develop.
This is a perfect beach read, rainy day read or anytime for PBS fans. I purchased my own copy, partly because I just loved the cover. Isn't it East Sussex?

Read On:
If you are a fan of Downtown Abbey, these between the war novels will be especially enjoyed.
If you are a fan of the classical whodunnit, read on! As well as anyone interested in English history/ local culture.
If you like Agatha Christie, Georges Simenon(Insp Maigret) or WJ Burley(Wycliffe).
Don't forget to follow the rest of these reprints as they are released.

Quotes:
Opening scene: Dominating that part of the Sussex Downs with which this story is concerned is Chanctonbury Ring. This oval cap of gigantic beeches may be seen, on fine days, from almost any point in the little parish of Washington. It is a typical village of two streets, two pubs, a couple of chandlers, a forge, an Olde Tea Shoppe, and a bus service.
Don't do a beggar no 'arm in 'ere to do a bit o' skypiloting on 'is own account (reading the Bible in jail).
There's nothing queerer than reality. Your one trouble will be to make your readers believe in your yarn.
Witnesses are an unreliable race. They're like some cricket teams- all right on paper!

Read as an ARC from Netgalley

Think Spring: Gardening!

Title: The Red Book of Primrose House by Marty Wingate
Publisher: Random House/alibi.  pp
Genre: cosy, mystery, English historical mystery,
3.5/4 Stars ****
Author:
Marty Wingate is the author of The Potting Shed mysteries: The Garden Plot, The Red Book of Primrose House, and Between a Rock and a Hard Place. Her new mystery series, Birds of a Feather: The Rhyme of the Magpie will be published June 2, 2015.
Marty writes about gardening in the PNW and travel (she also gives European garden tours). She can be heard on A Dry Rain (adryrain.net), a free podcast available on iTunes. Wingate is a member of the Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime, as well as the Royal Horticultural Society and the Garden Writers Association.
Story line:
The Potting Shed Mysteries take place in England, where Pru Parke has transplanted herself to find herself and become a head gardener. In the first book, Pru (short for Prunella, a lovely garden weed in my yard) of course finds a body in her odd job but is introduced to DCI Christopher Pearse. There is a charming developing romantic relationship as both characters are in their 50s. In the second book on Primrose house, they have a long distance relationship as she has found her dream job at an 18th century Manor house in Sussex, near the spa town of Royal Tunbridge Wells. She is to restore the 1806 garden design by Humphrey Repton, for opening day in 6 months time. Some comic moments occur with ghastly gardening ideas from the owner (emails, postits) who want to add personal contemporary ideas to complement the original plan. But then another body mars the landscape after vandals seriously delay the project. Murder and mayhem don't help deadlines either. There is a side plot involving locating her mother's family.
Pru is a curious and interesting protagonist. Her relationship with Christopher is also a plus. These books are the definition of cosy: fast easy reads, delightful secondary characters, solvable mystery and fun. There  is a nice blend of history, gardening and romance. I would have loved a garden design and plant details.
You will want spring to come soon with all the gardening. I would be tempted to wait for the third book and read them all in a row as a summer beach read. I was glad I had read them in order.
Read on:
If you like Rosemary and Thyme or Agatha Christie
Quotes:
Pru wouldn't be surprised if Davinia seized on a fairy garden or a collection of gnomes next.
Her longing for some family relation in England has led her to dream up all sorts of connections.
He shook it firmly, with a good gardener's grip...it's always easy gardener to gardener...
...and wondered if there was a point to showering at all these days, as she seemed to be in dirt more than out of it.
You can never have too many cups of tea...it's an especially fine conversation lubricant.
It was just one cup of tea and a generous slice of bakewell tart, but it was a restorative visit.
She reminded herself to check back in about fifty years to see how it was doing.

Read as an ARC from Netgalley

Tudormania Continues

Title: A Love Most Dangerous by Martin Lake
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing January 2015
352pp.
Genre: historical fiction, Tudor, Henry VIII, English history,
3.5 Stars ***
Author: Martin Lake is an English author who has written several historical novels, primarily self published. It appears he writes series, his first concerned the Norman invasion of England, The Lost King: Resistance, Wasteland and Blood of Ironside (soon to be a fourth). Another concerns the Crusades: Outcasts. I had not read this author previously, so was unprepared for the abrupt ending, which of course generally signifies a sequel. Indeed, an interview states an interesting historical character, Nicholas Bourbon will participate. While I would consider these to be superficial historical fiction (there are just enough facts and interesting characters) Wikipedia is a primary reference. Modern language and behaviour are annoying (an editor would also be useful). But they are entertaining reads. Tudor fans will enjoy.
Story line: 
It is 1537, Jane Seymour is Queen, but Henry's roving eye finds another mistress. Alice Petherton (not an historical figure, but Lake later discovered the Shelton mistresses around the same time period) is a Maid of Honor to the Queen's Court. She's 17, innocent but determined to control her life (never to be queen, but unrealistic for the turbulent masculine time period).   I found it hard to believe that men found her so irresistible or she was seemingly unaware of this (until Cromwell points it out at the end). She is a survivor though, and became a fascinating character in the course of the year (although I am still not clear on the timeline). I would continue this series, especially at the beach.
There are several side plots, and power twists, but descriptive London locations made for interesting reading. Unexpectedly, I liked Thomas Cromwell best.
This is more of a bodice ripper with more physical assault and gratuitous sex than I expected. Hilary Mantel it is not. But not every book needs to be a history lesson. And it is Henry the VIII, with graphic detail of poverty and decadence. Tudors sell.
(Just opened my Daedalus catalogue and discovered 4 page of Tudormania, evidently it sells well! But I found three to read, The Marlowe papers by Ros Barber, The Divorce of Henry VIII by Catherine Fletcher and King's Fool by Margaret Campbell Barnes).
Read on:
He recommends reading Alison Weir  and Ian Mortimer.
I recommend Hilary Mantel or Vanora Bennett.
Phillipa Gregory (The Other Boleyn Girl) and SJ Parris (Prophecy) are favorites.
Leanda de Lisle Tudor: Passion. Manipulation. Murder.
Quotes:
Opening line:
To be a servant at the Court of King Henry is to live with your heart in your mouth.

She (Anne Boleyn) took me as one of her Maids of Honor and my slow approach to the furnace began.

Read as an ARC from Netgalley

Spring Forward, into action!

Title: Murder in the Queen's Wardrobe by Kathy Lynn Emerson
Publisher: Severn House
283 pp.
Genre: cozy, mystery, historical mystery, Elizabethan spy mystery, English mystery
3.5 Stars ****
Author: aka Kate Emerson, Kaitlyn Dunnett, Kaitlyn Groton, author of over 50 novels, generally reflecting her long interest (45 years) in British history. She has a BA from Bates College and currently lives in Maine. Emerson won an Agatha Award for Mystery Nonfiction (2008) for "How to Write Killer Historical Mysteries". She is a member of Historical Novel Society, Mystery Writers of America, and Sisters in Crime.  Emerson's Liss MacCrimmon Scottish American Heritage Mystery series is very popular (Kaitlyn Dunnett)- I was given multiple copies one year when she first published Kilt Dead (2007).   I have read several of her Face Down in.... Series. These are also Elizabethan tales with Lady Susanna Appleton, gentlewomen, herbalist and sleuth. In fact, the current series heroine is the illegitimate daughter of Sir Robert Appleton, and several characters will reappear.
Story line:
Interestingly, this is a work of fiction based on real events. It is the first book in a new series that will feature Mistress Rosamund Jaffrey, who eloped at 16 to escape the family; an inheritance has made her independent but she is estranged from her husband of two years. Rob is a merchant's son, (and she thinks him beneath her??), but now in Russia. It is 1582, London is embroiled in political machinations and an interesting character of itself in this book, vividly described. Rosamund is clever, at languages and codes, and is recruited by Nicholas Baldwin (Lady Appleton's lover) ((working for Sir Francis Walsingham)) to spy on Lady Mary Hastings, the Queen's cousin. Lady Mary is expected to be the bride of Tsar Ivan (the Terrible) of Russia, a prospect which terrifies her, but which also threatens her life. Acting as a lady's maid, Rosamund encounters intrigue, danger, murder and poisons. She has a devoted Polish maid Melka who saves Rosamund more than once.
Rosamund seemed self centered and self important, at a time that women were neither. The ability to throw off social constraints strained credibility. But it you don't  take it too seriously, it is an entertaining read. And perhaps perfect as we await spring. The series continues with Murder in the Mercery (March 2016).
Read on:
To her other series, Face down in.... And Secrets of the Tudor Court series
If you like Sarah Woodbury, Fiona Buckley, Margaret Frazer
Quotes:
Parts of her disguise had begun to itch, and she was hungry despite gorging herself on hazelnuts.
"Most women would have run screaming from a room at their first glimpse of an intruder." "...that thought never crossed my mind." "You barely thought at all."
...the beard was a thing of beauty, as were Laski's clothes.
Rosamund was far from satisfied and it struck her suddenly that although she would be wise to comply with the principal secretary's orders, she didn't not have to do so with meek obedience.

Read as an ARC from Netgalley