Stolen Remains by Christine Trent

Rating: ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

Obtained from: Historical Novel Review

Read: May 15, 2014

After establishing her reputation as one of London's most highly regarded undertakers, Violet Harper decided to take her practice to the wilds of the American West. But when her mother falls ill, Violet and her husband Samuel are summoned back to England, where her skills are as sought-after as ever. She's honored to undertake the funeral of Anthony Fairmont, the Viscount Raybourn, a close friend of Queen Victoria's who died in suspicious circumstances--but it's difficult to perform her services when his body disappears. . . As the viscount's undertaker, all eyes are on Violet as the Fairmonts and Scotland Yard begin the search for his earthly remains. Forced to exhume her latent talents as a sleuth to preserve her good name, Violet's own investigation takes her from servants' quarters, to the halls of Windsor Castle, to the tombs of ancient Egypt--and the Fairmont family's secrets quickly begin to unravel like a mummy's wrappings. But the closer Violet gets to the truth, the closer she gets becoming the next missing body... Wrought with both heartfelt bravery and breathtaking suspense, Stolen Remains is a captivating tale of death and deception set against the indelible backdrop of Victorian London.

═══════════════════════════ ❧  ═══════════════════════════

Christine Trent's Stolen Remains, the sequel to Lady of Ashes, left me in mind of A Royal Likeness and that isn't a good thing. Unlike most of Trent's readers, I found her first sequel lacked the appeal of its predecessor and here again, I feel the story failed to replicate the magic of the original publication.

Lady of Ashes struck me for a couple of reasons, the first among them being the detailed insight the story gave to the undertaker's profession. Unfortunately this element all but disappears in Stolen Remains. Have no fear, Violet is still practicing, but I was very disappointed at Trent's decision to downplay the details of her craft in favor of the mystery at hand.

On that note, I also failed to see the entertainment value in Trent's whodunit. Call me crazy, but the whole thing seemed way too coincidental. Violet just happens to be in London, just happens to have her supplies, Queen Victoria just happens to renew their far-fetched association... Give me a break. 

Already frustrated with the direction and tone of the piece, Trent's self-promotional nod to her earlier novels annoyed me even further. The Laurent Doll Shop isn't essential to this series and the fact that scenes continue to take place here comes off as both amateurish and awkward.

There is a lot of buzz regarding the impending publication of A Virtuous Death and The Mourning Bells, but can't say I'm among those dying to get my hands on either tome.

═══════════════════════════ ❧  ═══════════════════════════

“Yes. It has come to our attention that Anthony Fairmont, the Viscount Raybourn, has just died. Perhaps a suicide, but quite possibly murdered, at his townhome in Mayfair."

═══════════════════════════ ❧  ═══════════════════════════

Dreaming for Freud: A Novel by Sheila Kohler

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Obtained from: Historical Novel Review/Netgalley

Read: May 3, 2014

Acclaimed for her spare prose and exceptional psychological insights in her novels Becoming Jane Eyre and Love Child, Sheila Kohler’s latest is inspired by Sigmund Freud’s Dora: An Analysis of a Case of Hysteria. Dreaming for Freud paints a provocative and sensual portrait of one of history’s most famous patients. In the fall of 1900, Dora’s father forces her to begin treatment with the doctor. Visiting him daily, the seventeen-year-old girl lies on his ottoman and tells him frankly about her strange life, and above all about her father's desires as far as she is concerned. But Dora abruptly ends her treatment after only eleven weeks, just as Freud was convinced he was on the cusp of a major discovery. In Dreaming for Freud, Kohler explores what might have happened between the man who changed the face of psychotherapy and the beautiful young woman who gave him her dreams.

════════════════════════════ ❧  ════════════════════════════

Ida Bauer, aka Dora, and her brother

I have mixed feelings about Sheila Kohler's Dreaming for Freud. In retrospect, I think the novel's tone and underlying message intensely creative, but I have serious questions regarding its appeal among wider audiences.

First and foremost, I couldn't personally relate to Kohler's narrators. Freud and Dora are cold, self-absorbed and manipulative and while I can appreciate those character flaws, I think I would have enjoyed the story more if Kohler had balanced these blemishes with a couple redeeming qualities.

To make matters worse, I felt myself at a disadvantage with the material, both historic and conceptual. I wasn't familiar with the case study or particularly well-versed in Freud's theories when I first picked up the novel and ultimately spent more time researching the facts than I did with the finished manuscript.

Looking back, I can claim a certain admiration for Kohler's style and thesis, but generally speaking I'd be very hesitant to recommend this particular novel forward.

════════════════════════════ ❧  ════════════════════════════

Her imaginings have been examined and interpreted again and again. How many people have already taken up her story and filled in the blank spaces, attempt- ing to explicate what happened according to their own imaginative desires? At least her sufferings have served a purpose, and a good one, at that. The professor’s version of their interaction is so different from what she remembers, but does it matter in the end? Who will have the last word? Will anyone guess that the dreams she told him were invented? Perhaps it does not matter. Perhaps it makes no difference whether the world knows her version of what happened. Would the stars change? Would they cease to glitter so brightly? Would even her own life, what may be left of it, be any different?

════════════════════════════ ❧  ════════════════════════════

A Matter of Breeding by J. Sydney Jones

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Obtained from: Historical Novel Review/Netgalley

Read: April 30, 2014

1901. Karl Werthen and his colleague, renowned criminologist Dr Hanns Gross, are investigating a bizarre series of murders in the small Austrian town of Graz. Meanwhile, back in Vienna, Karl's wife Berthe is looking into what seems to be a fraudulent breeding scheme involving the prized Lipizzaner horses. Could the two investigations be connected?

════════════════════════════ ❧  ════════════════════════════

The fifth installment of Jones’ Viennese Mystery series finds Karl Werthen and Dr. Hans Gross puzzling over a peculiar succession ritualistic of murders in the close-knit village of Graz. In her husband’s absence, Berthe Werthen has stumbled onto a mystery of her own, a conspiracy that threatens to destroy one of Austria’s most recognized treasures: the world renowned Lipizzaners of the famed Spanish Riding School. Following a complex series of leads, the Werthens soon discover themselves in a high stakes web of violence, scandal and corruption.  

A brilliantly atmospheric novel, A Matter of Breeding paints a remarkable portrait of Vienna at the dawn of the twentieth century. The city literally comes to life in a radiantly authentic display of pageantry and prejudice, effectively drawing the reader into a bygone age. Cameo appearances by Archduke Franz Ferdinand, artist Tina Blau, and author Bram Stoker deepen the illusion and bring genuine flare to the narrative. 

The mystery itself is elaborate and thought-provoking and though I felt it somewhat overwhelming, I honestly appreciate the underlying themes of Jones’ intrigue. The characterizations are rather thin, suggesting it best to read the books chronologically, but all told I found A Matter of Breeding both enjoyable and entertaining. 

════════════════════════════ ❧  ════════════════════════════

Gross could well understand the man’s concern. Nearing retirement, Thielman wanted simple pathological killings, not some religiously motivated murder that would spark a racial firestorm.

════════════════════════════ ❧  ════════════════════════════

Potions and Paper Cranes by Lan Fang

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Obtained from: Historical Novel Review

Read: May 26, 2014

A stark, honest portrayal of cursed love during the Japanese occupation of Java and the struggle for Indonesian independence. Sulis is a young woman selling potions in Surabaya's harbor district. She meets Sujono, a coolie with dreams of becoming a freedom fighter, and whose passion for Matsumi, a geisha called to Java by a Japanese general, is destined to ruin all of them. In Potions and Paper Cranes, each tells the story of their lives during the end of World War II and Indonesia's transition from a Dutch colony to an independent republic.

════════════════════════════ ❧  ════════════════════════════

My nose for World War II lit led me to Lan Fang's Potions and Paper Cranes, but my appreciation for the novel has nothing to with global events of the period. Shocking as it sounds, it was Fang's depiction of individual experiences that captured my imagination. 

The main story shifts points of view between Sulis, Sujono and Matsumi, something I liked as the role of each character alters with each narrative voice. It is an approach few could manage, but I felt Fang handled it beautifully. Another thing I liked was contrast in Fang's approach to Chinese, Indonesian and Japanese culture and how those influences might have interacted during the uncertainty brought on by the larger conflict.   

A deeply intuitive tale, Potions and Paper Cranes is a naked assessment of human nature, a haunting narrative that touches something in the reader's soul and shakes them to the core. 

════════════════════════════ ❧  ════════════════════════════

Life taught me that I did not need to give answers because He would make arrangements. Life was a skillful player - I had befriended Him when I was child and knew He did not need any answer from me. Life would determine my fate.

════════════════════════════ ❧  ════════════════════════════

The Right Fight by Chris Lynch

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Obtained from: Historical Novel Review

Read: March 8, 2014

The author of the acclaimed Vietnam series sets his sights on World War II. There are few things Roman loves as much as baseball, but his country is at the top of the list. So when it looks like the United States will be swept up into World War II, he turns his back on baseball and joins the US Army. Roman doesn't mind. As it turns out, he is far more talented with a tank than he ever was with a baseball. And he is eager to drive his tank right into the field of battle, where the Army is up against the fearsome Nazis of the Afrika Korps. The North African terrain is like nothing Roman has ever known, and desert warfare proves brutal. As Roman drives his team deeper into disputed territory, one thing becomes very clear: Life in wartime is a whole new ball game.

════════════════════════════ ❧  ════════════════════════════

Baseball is life for professional ball player Roman Bucyk, but love for his country prompts him to trade his uniform for military issue khaki and ship out as part of the African front to fight the German Afrika Korps in Algeria and Tunisia during WWII.

Geared for readers aged ten to fourteen, The Right Fight is a fairly straightforward piece that combines the history of the US campaign in North Africa with more abstract concepts like patriotism, death, loss and loyalty. Though I usually gravitate towards more complex narratives, I actually enjoyed Lynch’s treatment of the material and the authenticity of his story, but was most impressed with his ability to give a multifaceted face to the war through Roman, Pacifico, Wyatt, Hannah, Logan and Cowens. 

A strong and appealing young adult historical, The Rigth Fight sets a high standard for future installments of Lynch’s WWII series.  

════════════════════════════ ❧  ════════════════════════════

"Now?" I say. "Now I drive you to the field hospital and turn you in. Your mission is accomplished, and you are going home, my friend."

════════════════════════════ ❧  ════════════════════════════

Prisoner 88 by Leah Pileggi

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Obtained from: Historical Novel Review

Read: March 10, 2014

What if you were ten years old and thrown into prison with hardened criminals? That's just what happens to Jake Oliver Evans. Inspired by a true account of a prisoner in the Idaho Territorial Penitentiary in 1885, Jake's story is as affecting as it is shocking. Convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to five years, Jake is taken under the wing of a young guard and the kindly warden, as well as a few fellow prisoners. He is taught to read and given a job tending hogs at a nearby farm. In prison, Jake finds a home he has never had in a place most people are desperate to leave. But when he has to make a choice about right and wrong during an explosive escape attempt, Jake jeopardizes his friendships and his security.

════════════════════════════ ❧  ════════════════════════════

Inspired the by the real life imprisonment of a minor in America’s Old West, author Leah Pileggi’s Prisoner 88 is a fictional account of ten year old Jake Oliver Evans’ incarceration in the Idaho Territorial Penitentiary in 1885. Confined behind bars, Jake grows up quickly, learning value life lessons from his interactions with fellow inmates and prison staff.  

I have no problem admitting this piece caught me off guard. Aimed for readers in the fifth grade, Prisoner 88 is not something I’d usually pick up so I was ill-prepared when it proved impossible to put down. Simply written from the colloquial perspective of an endearing adolescent, Pileggi creates a poignantly honest and revealing rendering of America’s early prison system within these pages. 

Well-researched and detailed, Prisoner 88 is a pragmatic and engaging tale that will appeal to children and parents alike. 

════════════════════════════ ❧  ════════════════════════════

"Well, I did. They say I shot somebody, though I don't know that's what I really wanted to do. It just happened." Then I shut up. I didn't feel like talking 'bout it no more with Mr. Nance. I just felt like, I don't know, doing nothing.

════════════════════════════ ❧  ════════════════════════════

Mending Horses by M.P. Barker

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Obtained from: Historical Novel Review

Read: March 13, 2014

Daniel Linnehan is an indentured servant no more. He has his papers, his beloved horse, Ivy, and a new direction in life. But an Irish teenager, wearing fine clothes and riding an even finer horse, is asking for trouble. After a terrible misunderstanding leaves Daniel beaten, the peddler Jonathan Stocking takes Daniel under his wing. But Billy, another Irish youngster traveling with Mr. Stocking, is not thrilled that the two must work together, first as peddlers on the road and then in a traveling circus where Daniel heals and trains the skittish circus ponies and Billy charms audiences with a singing voice from heaven. All too soon, past secrets catch up with them, bringing danger and heartache. This deeply moving sequel to A Difficult Boy weaves an indelible piece of historical fiction into a gripping adventure that explores themes of patience, courage, kindness, and the true meaning of family.

════════════════════════════ ❧  ════════════════════════════

The sequel to Barker’s 2008 release, A Difficult Boy, Mending Horses reunites readers with Daniel Linnehan. Freed from indentured service Daniel attempts to make his way in the world and soon finds himself making unlikely alliances among the performers in a travelling circus where he works with a team of skittish prancing ponies. 

I personally feel my experience with this book was undermined by my having skipped its predecessor. Plot wise there is a lot going on in this piece and despite its being written for readers ages eight to fourteen, I felt my unfamiliarity with Daniel’s history made Mending Horses difficult to get into.

That being said I truly appreciated Barker’s attention to detail and vested interest in historical accuracy. Billy’s story in particular struck a chord with me and added a nice balance to heavily masculine narrative.  

════════════════════════════ ❧  ════════════════════════════

A smile flickered across Billy's face, then quickly faded. "So long as Mr. C. doesn't throw us out the of his show and take away our ponies. After all, I didn't chose him, now, did I?" She took one of Mr. Stocking's hands. "I chose you." To Daniel's surprise, Billy took his hand too. 

════════════════════════════ ❧  ════════════════════════════

Light of the Diddicoy by Eamon Loingsigh

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Obtained from: Historical Novel Review

Read: January 9, 2014

Light of the Diddicoy, by Irish-American commentator Eamon Loingsigh, is the riveting and immersive saga of Irish gangs on the Brooklyn waterfront in the early part of the twentieth century, told through the eyes of 14 year-old Irish immigrant Liam Garrity. Forced to travel alone to America just months before the Easter Rising in Ireland, Garrity stumbles directly into the hard-knock streets of the Irish-run Brooklyn waterfront and falls in with a Bridge District gang called the White Hand. Through a series of increasingly tense and brutal scenes, he has no choice but to use any means necessary to survive, and carve out his place in a no-holds-barred world of a community living outside the law. The book is Loingsigh’s third, and is the first of his forthcoming Auld Irishtown trilogy, which delves into stories and lore of the gangs and families growing up in this under-documented area of Brooklyn’s Irishtown underworld. His interest in New York’s Irish community stems from hearing tales of his grandfather and great-grandfather, who ran an Irish saloon in New York City for longshoremen from 1906 to the late 1970s.

════════════════════════════ ❧  ════════════════════════════

The first installment of Eamon Loingsigh’s Auld Irishtown trilogy, Light of the Diddicoy, illuminates the dark underbelly of Brooklyn’s Irish roots through the fictional story of Liam Garrity. Fresh off the boat, Garrity is swept into the brutally violent world of New York’s Irish-American mobs where survival demands living outside the law. 

Having thoroughly enjoyed Black Mass, The Gangs of New York, The Westies and Paddy Whacked, I was eager to see an author tackle Irish gang culture in a fictional setting and in terms of subject matter, Loingsigh didn’t disappoint. I liked the atmospheric quality of his narrative and the depravity he wasn’t afraid to depict within these pages. Unfortunately, I felt the story was undermined by inconsistencies in the author’s tone and somewhat shallow characterizations.

An original and poetic coming of age story, Light of the Diddicoy touches on some fascinating material, but might prove difficult for those looking for truly captivating, character driven fiction.  

════════════════════════════ ❧  ════════════════════════════

Down under the Manhattan Bridge overpass there once roamed a gang I fell in with. A long time ago it was, when I was young and running. It’s all I had, this life. Just as yours is yours. Don’t let yourself think mine is anything different, anything better. I won’t have it that way. It was just a life, and there you have it. But like so many born on the isle of Ireland, I am to die far from home. Though such a grief has since let me alone, as bitterness only cuts into the bone...

════════════════════════════ ❧  ════════════════════════════

A Life Apart: A Novel by L.Y. Marlow

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Obtained from: Historical Novel Review

Read: February 12, 2014

When Morris Sullivan joins the navy in 1940, his hopes are high. Though he leaves behind his new wife and their baby daughter, he is thrilled to be pursuing his lifelong dream-only to be shipped off to Pearl Harbor when the war begins. When he narrowly survives the 1941 attack, thanks to the courage of a black sailor he doesn't know, Morris is determined to seek out the man's family and express his gratitude and respect. On leave, he tracks down the man's sister, and finds an immediate, undeniable connection with the nurturing yet fiercely independent Beatrice, who has left the stifling South of her upbringing for the more liberal, integrated north. Though both try to deny their growing bond, their connection and understanding is everything missing from Morris's hasty marriage to his high school sweetheart Agnes, and from Beatrice's plodding life as she grieves the brother she has lost. At once a family epic, and a historical drama that takes readers from World War II through the Civil Rights Movement to the present day, A Life Apart is about a love that creates complicated and unbreakable ties between two families that live worlds apart. L.Y. Marlow brings readers along for the emotional journey as Morris and Beatrice's relationship is tested by time, family loyalties, racial tensions, death, unending guilt, and the profound effects of war.

════════════════════════════ ❧  ════════════════════════════

On December 7, 1941 the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan. Stationed at Pearl Harbor, Morris Sullivan owes his survival to Robert Dobbins, a black seaman who died pulling his comrades from the water. Seeking closure, Morris is determined to thank Robert’s family for his sacrifice, but his effort to honor a fallen hero blooms into a romance that will define the man he becomes and challenge everything he believes.

Spanning the better part of five decades, A Life Apart, is a tedious historical, but under that it is a heartbreakingly beautiful novel of prejudice, strength, forgiveness and love that defies convention. I personally found Marlow’s peppering of the story with tenuously relevant headlines from the 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s distracting, but the depth and earnestness of the love triangle she created between Morris, Beatrice and Agnes provided a powerfully moving thesis that struck me to the core.  

════════════════════════════ ❧  ════════════════════════════

The very next day she asked Morris to take her to church, and she had kneeled in that tiny booth, the darkness covering her, and she had told the priest everything—their secrets, the heartbreak, her pain—and when she was done, she looked through that distorted grid, a glimmer of light shimmering, and she listened to him whisper: You must forgive, my child. You must forgive to release your soul from bondage.

════════════════════════════ ❧  ════════════════════════════

Wishing on Buttercups by Miralee Ferrell

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Obtained from: Historical Novel Review/Netgalley

Read: December 28, 2013

Can Love Survive When Secrets Collide? She’d kept her secrets safely hidden—those from her past, and those in the present. Some things, Beth Roberts knows, a lady simply doesn’t share, even in the 1880’s West. The townspeople would never understand. No one ever has. Jeffery Tucker, a handsome young writer, has kept his own secrets. He doesn’t have a right to pry into Beth’s affairs but finds himself strangely drawn to her and intrigued by the whiff of mystery surrounding her. Beth knows that one day someone will unravel the threads of her past. And when two men from her past arrive, the truth might just hurt . . . Beth’s future and her heart. As shadowy memories surface, Beth sketches the scenes she sees and is shocked by what—and who—her illustrations reveal. Dare she risk her heart again?

════════════════════════════ ❧  ════════════════════════════

They say time heals all wounds, but the last seventeen years have done little to ease the pain of Beth Roberts’ past. Found alone and disfigured on the Oregon Trial, the injuries of her childhood have cast a shadow over the woman she’s become. Intrigued by the enigmatic young lady, writer Jeffrey Tucker longs to unravel the mystery that surrounds his fellow boarder, but discovering her secrets might cost him his heart. 

Written as a standalone, Miralee Ferrell’s Wishing on Buttercups takes up where Blowing on Dandelions left off, returning readers to Baker City Oregon and the familiar camaraderie of Katherine Jacobs’ boarding house. Like its predecessor, Wishing on Buttercups incorporates heavy religious themes to explore emotional conflict, but the context and premise of Beth’s quest for acceptance and her journey of self-discovery make this installment a much stronger historical.

A light-hearted inspirational, my only real criticism is that Ferrell habitually utilizes miscommunication as a means of creating romantic tension. Her characters often jump to the wrong conclusions and frequently withdrawal from one another after losing the nerve to admit their true feelings. The monotony is frustrating and, at times, made it difficult to remain engaged in the story. 

════════════════════════════ ❧  ════════════════════════════

Beth hesitated, drawn by the offer to accompany this man she knew so little about, but apprehensive at the expression he'd cast her way. Had he noticed her hand creeping to her neck, or did his curiosity go deeper? She couldn't risk her heart again, no matter how appealing the man.

════════════════════════════ ❧  ════════════════════════════