Stalin's Gold by Mark Ellis

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Obtained from: Author/Publicist

Read: July 18, 2015

December 1938. Moscow. Josef Stalin has lost some gold. He is not a happy man. He asks his henchman Beria to track it down. September 1940. London. Above the city the Battle of Britain rages and the bombs rain down. On the streets below, DCI Frank Merlin and his officers investigate the sudden disappearance of Polish RAF pilot Ziggy Kilinski while also battling an epidemic of looting unleashed by the chaos and destruction of the Blitz. Kilinski’s fellow pilots, a disgraced Cambridge don, Stalin’s spies in London, members of the Polish government in exile and a ruthless Russian gangster are amongst those caught up in Merlin’s enquiries. Sweeping from Stalin’s Russia to Civil War Spain, from Aztec Mexico to pre-war Poland, and from Hitler’s Berlin to Churchill’s London a compelling story of treasure, grand larceny, treachery, torture and murder unfolds. Eventually as Hitler reluctantly accepts that the defiance of the RAF has destroyed his chances of invasion for the moment, a violent shoot-out in Hampstead leads Merlin to the final truth...and Stalin to his gold.

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I picked up Mark Ellis’ Stalin’s Gold the day I finished Princes Gate. I don’t think it necessary to tackle the two back to back, but I had the novel on hand and didn’t have reason to delay. 

One of the things I liked about this installment is that begins with Frank Merlin’s personal life. It moves on to the mystery fairly quickly, but I think the insight these scenes afforded created interesting context within the narrative. Maybe I’m alone in this, but I liked seeing the detective off duty and getting to know him in a more casual setting. 

Like its predecessor, the tone and humor of the piece are very English. The book also presents a detailed portrait of the political situation in Britain, Russia and Poland. I felt the mystery elaborate, but well-crafted and ultimately quite satisfying. I also liked how Ellis factored the Blitz into the action and used it to complicate the investigation process. 

In a lot of ways, I think I appreciated Stalin’s Gold more than the founding installment of the Frank Merlin series. The storytelling felt tighter and the action more engaging. The ending was a little drawn out for my tastes, but I was quite pleased with the time I spent on the book. 

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He couldn’t stop thinking about it. Gold worth over $6 million. He knew in his bones that his people had got the count right. Perhaps more than $7 million. That gold no longer existed on paper. Would its loss be noticed?

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Princes Gate by Mark Ellis

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Obtained from: Author/Publicist

Read: July 15, 2015

Princes Gate is the first in a new series of crime thrillers that involve DCI Frank Merlin. These atmospheric books are set in wartime London mixing historical and fictional characters and featuring a charismatic and intriguing half-Spanish detective. When a brilliant emigre scientist is killed by a hit and run driver and a young woman's body is washed up in the Thames, Merlin and his team must investigate. The woman is an employee of the American Embassy, whose Ambassador at this time is Joseph Kennedy. DCI Merlin's investigation of diplomats at the Embassy ruffles feathers at the Foreign Office - the American Ambassador is a well-known supporter of appeasement and many powerful and influential Britons favour the pursuit of a negotiated peace settlement with Hitler. The death of another Embassy employee leads Merlin into some of the seedier quarters of wartime London where a corrupt night-club owner, various high-flying diplomats and the Ambassador himself appear to be linked to the events surrounding the deaths. Merlin has to pursue his detective work under the interfering supervision of an Assistant Metropolitan Commissioner who is fearful about the impact of Merlin's investigations on Anglo-American relations at a time when America represents to many Britain's only hope of salvation. Capturing the atmosphere of Britain in 1940 during the 'phoney war' when, although war rages on the Continent, life continues relatively peacefully in Britain, Princes Gate is an enthralling detective novel.

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Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr.

It didn’t take much to rouse my interest in Mark Ellis’ Princes Gate. A mystery set in wartime London involving Joseph Kennedy, the Foreign Office and potential peace settlements with Hitler sounded absolutely fascinating and I couldn’t wait to get started. Looking back, I can’t say that enthusiasm misplaced as the book has a lot of wonderful things going for it, but I’m not sure it’s quite the enthralling thriller its jacket styles it to be.

Though noticeably similar to Michael Kitchen’s Detective Chief Superintendent Christopher Foyle, I found Ellis’ Frank Merlin an interesting protagonist. His mixed heritage and world views made a refreshing change of pace and I liked the balance Ellis struck between his professional responsibilities and personal history. 

Ellis provides a well-researched portrait of politics during the Phoney War and I liked how he used the American Ambassador’s reputation to his advantage in the context of the story. The tone and style of the narrative is very English and while the pacing left much to be desired, I found the mystery itself quite satisfying.

Ideally I have liked more dramatic tension, more movement and a stronger supporting cast, but I’m not disappointed with the time I spent on this piece and would easily recommend it to fans of period mysteries.  

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He didn’t give a damn for the defeatist Kennedy, or indeed for that stuffed-shirt Chamberlain, whom Hitler had comprehensively hoodwinked. Nothing should stand in the way of a murder investigation, however lowly the victim. No doubt Joan’s fate would seem unimportant in the greater scheme of things whenever the Luftwaffe got round to bombing London, but that was nothing to him. It was his job to seek out the truth behind her death, regardless.

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Next to Love by Ellen Feldman

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Obtained from: Local Library

Read: July 12, 2015

Set in a small town in Massachusetts, Next to Love follows three childhood friends, Babe, Millie, and Grace, whose lives are unmoored when their men are called to duty. And yet the changes that are thrust upon them move them in directions they never dreamed possible—while their husbands and boyfriends are enduring their own transformations. In the decades that follow, the three friends lose their innocence, struggle to raise their children, and find meaning and love in unexpected places. And as they change, so does America—from a country in which people know their place in the social hierarchy to a world in which feminism, the Civil Rights movement, and technological innovations present new possibilities—and uncertainties. And yet Babe, Millie, and Grace remain bonded by their past, even as their children grow up and away and a new society rises from the ashes of the war. Beautifully crafted and unforgettable, Next to Love depicts the enduring power of love and friendship, and illuminates a transformational moment in American history.

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Into the Jaws of Death - U.S. Troops wading
through water and Nazi gunfire

Ellen Feldman's Next to Love was a recommended read. Heather, the voice behind The Maiden's Court, suggested it at the Historical Novel Society Conference in Denver and I tracked down a copy soon after returning home. I wasn't at all familiar with it, but her rending of the plot had me sold sight unseen. 

She mentioned the trials of life on the home front, but was very clear that the story focused on post-war America as well. She mentioned that one of the heroines struggled to understand her husband’s PTSD and that another was defined by her husband’s death. She went on, but my mind was already racing. I flashed on that scene in A League of Their Own, the one in the locker room where the Peaches apprehensively watch Jimmy Dugan walk the telegram down the line. The audience breathes a sigh of relief for Dottie Hinson, but what happened to Betty Horn? How did she weather the years without George? It wasn’t something I’d ever considered, but I couldn't argue the potential in the story of a war widow.  

At this point you’re probably wondering if the book lived up to Heather’s praise and/or my imaginings and I’m happy to report, it did. I think Babe, Millie and Grace make very interesting protagonists and I liked watching their lives and personalities change with each passing year. I also liked style and tone of Feldman’s writing and found it very easy to slip into the world she created within these pages. 

My only complaint is the structure of post-war chapters. I didn’t like the sudden shifts to narrators in the supporting cast. Sporadic intervals with Naomi, Claude, King, Jack, Al, Mac and Amy felt awkward in the context of the story and made it difficult to remain focused on the central trio. The erratic timeline caused further confusion and often forced me to stop and rearrange events in my head to make sense of the order in which they took place. I liked how Feldman used multiple perspectives to explore various themes, but I can'd help feeling her execution imprudent and that the latter chapters of the novel suffered as a result.

Obviously I'd have liked a stronger ending, but I can’t say I felt the time I spent with Next to Love wasted. The presentation was disappointing, but I greatly enjoyed the plot and look forward to reading Feldman again somewhere down the road. 

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“The official line is that, after the war, women couldn't wait to leave the offices and assembly lines and government agencies. But the real story was that the economy couldn't have men coming home without women going home, not unless it wanted a lot of unemployed vets. So the problem became unemployed women. "How you gonna keep us down on the farm after we've seen the world,"' she ad-libs to the old World War I tune. 'Enter the women's magazines, and cookbook publishers, and all these advertising agencies carrying on about the scourge of germs in the toilet bowl, and scuffs on the kitchen floor, and, my favorite, house B.O. Enter chicken hash that takes two and a half hours to prepare. I can just hear them sitting around the conference tables. 'That'll keep the gals out of trouble.”

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The Typewriter Girl by Alison Atlee

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Obtained from: Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours

Read: June 19, 2014

A passionate historical debut novel about a young woman in turn-of-the-century England who finds love and independence at a seashore resort. In Victorian London, there’s only so far an unmarried woman can go, and Betsey Dobson has relied on her wits and cunning to take herself as far as she can—to a position as a typewriter girl. But still, Betsey yearns for something more…so when she’s offered a position as the excursions manager at a seaside resort, she knows this is her chance for security, for independence, for an identity forged by her own work and not a man’s opinion. Underqualified for the job and on the wrong side of the aristocratic resort owner, Betsey struggles to prove herself and looks to the one person who can support her new venture: Mr. Jones, the ambitious Welshman building the resort’s pleasure fair. As she and Mr. Jones grow ever closer, Betsey begins to dream that she might finally have found her place in the world—but when her past returns to haunt her, she must fight for what she’s worked so hard…or risk losing everything. This eloquent debut novel displays firm propriety barely restraining seething passion—a sizzling combination reminiscent of Downton Abbey

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When I first stumbled over Alison Altee's The Typewriter Girl, I got really excited. The jacket art is beautiful and I'm just shallow enough to get charged up over that sort of thing. The comparison to Downton Abbey didn't hurt either and by the time I got the book I was dying to get started which is funny, because I only made it through chapter three. 

Marketing didn't do this piece any favors and I for one think it a travesty to liken Atlee's work to the Masterpiece hit. Now, before you get your panties in a twist, hear me out. I went into this book with a distinct expectation and was both confused and disappointed to discover that anticipation misplaced. Upset, I stepped away from the book and came back to it after clearing my head. I started over at chapter one, ignored the sales tag and took in the story with a completely open mind and discovered a truly intriguing take on turn-of-the-century life. 

There is more grit in these pages than in the halls of Downton, a palpable desperation Lord Grantham couldn't begin to comprehend and an emotional quagmire that puts Lady Mary to shame. There is a vulgarity I found unnecessary, but I truly enjoyed watching Betsey come into her own over the course of the story. She is an atypical heroine in world of strict social order and I found that fascinating as a reader.

A suggestive and striking novel, The Typewriter Girl isn't your average Victorian era fiction, but Atlee makes it work, ultimately creating something both unconventional and entertaining. 

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Such a sky. The widest she'd ever seen. Even more than the long bow of the shoreline and the eternal spread of the sea, it was the sky Betsy could not fold into her understanding, the cliffs and hillocks of the land overturned, sculpted into the stony clouds and softened with the promise of light.

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Check Out All the Stops on Alison Atlee's The Typewriter Girl Blog Tour & Book Blast Schedule

Monday, August 4
Review at Peeking Between the Pages (Audio Book)
Book Blast at Mina’s Bookshelf
Book Blast at Princess of Eboli
Book Blast at Literary Chanteuse
Book Blast at What Is That Book About

Tuesday, August 5
Review at A Bibliotaph’s Reviews (Print)
Book Blast at So Many Books, So Little Time

Wednesday, August 6
Book Blast at Let Them Read Books

Thursday, August 7
Book Blast at Mari Reads
Book Blast at Book Lovers Paradise

Friday, August 8
Book Blast at Book Blast Central

Saturday, August 9
Book Blast at Caroline Wilson Writes

Sunday, August 10
Book Blast at Book Nerd

Monday, August 11
Review at Just One More Chapter (Audio Book)
Book Blast at Gobs and Gobs of Books

Tuesday, August 12
Book Blast at Queen of All She Reads

Wednesday, August 13
Review at Historical Tapestry (Audio Book)
Book Blast at The Lit Bitch
Book Blast at CelticLady’s Reviews

Thursday, August 14
Review at A Bookish Affair (Print)
Guest Post at Historical Tapestry

Friday, August 15
Review at Brooke Blogs (Audio Book)
Guest Post at A Bookish Affair

Saturday, August 16
Book Blast at Broken Teepee

Sunday, August 17
Interview at Closed the Cover

Monday, August 18
Review at The Maiden’s Court (Audio Book)

Tuesday, August 19
Book Blast at Layered Pages
Book Blast at Always with a Book

Wednesday, August 20
Book Blast at Literary, Etc.

Thursday, August 21
Review at Books in the Burbs (Print)
Book Blast at Bibliotica

Friday, August 22
Review at Bibliophilia, Please (Audio Book)

Saturday, August 23
Book Blast at Reading Lark
Book Blast at Ageless Pages Reviews

Sunday, August 24
Book Blast at Passages to the Past

Monday, August 25
Review at Flashlight Commentary (Audio Book)
Book Blast at Historical Fiction Connection

Tuesday, August 26
Interview at Flashlight Commentary

Wednesday, August 27
Book Blast at Susan Heim on Writing

Thursday, August 28
Review at Luxury Reading (Print)
Review at The True Book Addict (Audio Book)
Review at Jorie Loves a Story (Print)

Friday, August 29
Interview at Jorie Loves a Story