Island of the Mad by Laurie R. King

Island of the Mad is the second book in the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series by Laurie R. King that I'm reviewing on this blog.  The first was Dreaming Spies whose review can be found here.  In Island of the Mad,  Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes conduct their investigations in Venice which is under the rule of Mussolini.   I received a digital ARC from the publisher via Net Galley and this is my honest review.

                             

The cover of this novel is lovely.  Some readers have mistaken the elegant woman on the cover for Mary Russell herself, but I've been reliably informed that the author denies that this is an image of her heroine.

For Mary Russell, this is a missing person case that begins in England.   She is searching for a college friend's aunt who had been consigned to Bedlam.  Holmes accompanies Russell, but he is on a mission for his brother, Mycroft.  Holmes' investigation brings an espionage element into the book.  The involvement of American musician Cole Porter adds extra interest.

Yet it was the disappeared Aunt Vivian who really held my attention.  She is an independent minded woman.  Desiring independence was still considered enough of a sin against convention that she might well be committed to an institution for that alone, but there are secrets motivating the missing woman that Mary Russell will uncover as part of the process of finding her. Aunt Vivian's sketches provide clues. I thought it was fascinating that Vivian used her sketchbook as a sort of diary.

Although there is a slow section, the dramatic resolution of  Island of the Mad more than makes up for it.  There are some feminist themes and the fascist environment provides relevant political commentary for our contemporary times.  I think that Island of the Mad should be considered one of the best books in Laurie R. King's Russell/Holmes series.






                                 

Miss Kopp's Midnight Confessions (Kopp Sisters #3)

Miss Kopp's Midnight Confessions is the first of Amy Stewart's Kopp Sisters series that I've read, but Tara reviewed the previous volume, Lady Cop Makes Trouble on this blog here.

I didn't feel that I needed an orientation to the Kopp Sisters that wasn't provided by Amy Stewart in this book.   So for me Miss Kopp's Midnight Confessions could stand alone.

                         

 When I learned that the Kopp Sisters and other individuals portrayed in this novel really existed, I hoped to be able to find online content freely available that I could link to in this review.  I did find a page on the Library of Congress website devoted to Constance Kopp which included numerous newspaper articles about her.   As the first female sheriff's deputy in the U.S., I thought she would merit a Wikipedia page,  but such a page doesn't exist at this point.  Amy Stewart says that she found the Kopp Sisters on Ancestry.com which is a commercial website.  Serious researchers on the Kopp Sisters would need to pay Ancestry.com for their content.

There was a woman who was assisted by Constance Kopp who I thought was extraordinary by the name of Edna Heustis.  I wanted to know what happened to her after the events of the novel, but I learned that Amy Stewart had fictionalized her to an important degree.   I wondered if fictionalizing real individuals in ways that contradict the historical record could be justified in historical fiction.  Edna Heustis isn't a well-known individual.  Nor is it likely that she will ever be the subject of a full scale biography.  Some might argue that she is too minor for her portrayal to be the subject of controversy.  I will leave the issue up to my readers who may have their own opinions on this matter.

I really liked  Constance Kopp's intervention to restore freedom to young women who had been condemned as "wayward".  This is based on the concept that women are property who couldn't have aspirations or ambitions of their own.  This idea had persisted for centuries and was widely believed in 1916 when Miss Kopp's Midnight Confessions took place.

Readers who are interested in early 20th century law enforcement, and how it impacted women who'd been stigmatized as "wayward" will be interested in reading the latest Kopp Sisters novel.
















                            

Flask of the Drunken Master by Susan Spann

                                                              
Normally, I wouldn't read any book with the word "drunken" in the title because characters who are drunks don't interest me.  Yet I felt that I learned things that I hadn't known about 16th century Japan when I read Claws of the Cat, the first book in the Shinobi mystery series by Susan Spann.  The series features Father Mateo, a Portuguese Jesuit, and Hiro, the shinobi who is protecting him.  Shinobi is the way that Japanese really pronounce the word which is otherwise known as ninja.  Ninja is the Chinese pronunciation of the word.  That's one of the things that I learned from Claws of the Cat.  I hoped to learn more from  Flask of the Drunken Master which is the third book in the series.

                                               

                       

Over the course of this series I'm getting to know the characters.  Since I'm not a Catholic, I hadn't expected Father Mateo to be so sympathetic.  In this book he voices opinions that are dangerous in Japan.  Yet it occurs to me that they would be just as dangerous in Europe of this period if they were truly taken seriously.  Portuguese nobility would not be that different from samurai in wanting to curb any expression of opinions that would threaten their power.

 Another character that I was glad to get to know better was Akechi Yoshiko whose father was murdered in Claws of the Cat.   Yoshiko, who dresses as a male samurai, is now making her way in the world by hiring herself out as a debt collector.  Since the novel is mainly from Hiro's perspective, and he dislikes Yoshiko, it's difficult to get to the truth about this character.   Is she a woman of integrity or is she a conniving woman without principle?  Is Hiro's concept of Yoshiko distorted?  It's interesting, but not unexpected that her clients tend to be women.  Most men don't take Yoshiko seriously.  Yoshiko's life must be difficult.  She would need to have a thick skin and a great deal of persistence to be successful in the career she has chosen.  I actually admired Yoshiko.  There were other strong women in this novel--most notably the victim's devout Buddhist wife, Mina and Tomiko, the daughter of the man who was accused of killing the victim.

I was noticing Hiro's limitations in this book.   I was bothered by the fact that he doesn't understand a basic Buddhist concept.  You'd think that he would have been exposed to it previously given the prevalence of Buddhism and Buddhist ideas in Japanese culture.  I realize that Hiro isn't a Buddhist himself, and that he has issues with religious beliefs in general.   Yet I thought he would be more familiar with Buddhist doctrines.

I also found Hiro's approach to teaching Father Mateo self-defense somewhat problematic, but I suspect that this is an indication that Spann has little knowledge of how the martial arts are taught.   Hiro is described as beginning with basic katas.  Actually, someone like Father Mateo, who has no experience at all with any martial arts would need to begin with breathing.  Then he would need to be taught the proper stance.  Only then could he start with katas.  Ideally, each kata would be taught individually and mastered before the student moves on to the next one in the sequence.

My biggest issue with Hiro in Flask of the Drunken Master is that I think that he got out of hand and committed an act of completely unnecessary violence.  The situation could have been handled differently.  It seems to me that Hiro's judgment isn't always reliable and he has a tendency to cover up his mistakes.  Of course he doesn't want to lose face in the eyes of those whose respect he needs to maintain, but I wish he were more introspective so that he could learn from his errors.  I acknowledge that Hiro is still young.  He will hopefully mature over the course of this series. 

This was not as enlightening as Claws of the Cat.  I also have to say that there were parts of Flask of the Drunken Master that I enjoyed more than others, but I thank the publisher for allowing me access to this book in advance of publication through Net Galley.

                                           

The Castlemaine Murders--An Untelevised Phryne Fisher Novel

Until I read The Castlemaine Murders  I had no reason to think about the Australian TV series Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries and how it might be different from the books.  I actually didn't know very much about the issue because I hadn't seen very many episodes of the TV series.  A few of them appeared on American public television, and it looked like it was a typical situation of adaptations needing to leave out sub-plots or other details due to the constraints of episodic television.  I understand that.  I try not to let it bother me unless what the TV series leaves out feels very important.

I have a friend on Goodreads whose first exposure to Phryne Fisher was the TV series. She is now reading the books in order,  and made a remark that she preferred the TV version because of the lovely relationship between Phryne and Detective Inspector Jack Robinson.  I was taken aback by this news because I knew that Jack Robinson was a happily married man in the book version, and that he was much too conventional for Phryne in any case.    Yet I still didn't think about how much such a change would matter to me.

I've been reading the Phryne Fisher books in no particular order based on whatever book happened to catch my interest.   Enter The Castlemaine Murders stage right.  I started reading it and saw that Phryne's lover, Lin Chung, was very prominent.

Then I wondered what they had done with this book on the TV series.  I looked at a list of episodes on IMDB and saw that it wasn't there. When I understood that the TV series had engaged in a deliberate de-emphasis of Lin Chung in order to make room for a potential relationship with Jack Robinson, I felt a rant coming on.  There really are some serious implications in this change, and for me The Castlemaine Murders represents why it's important.

                                                 

Phryne Fisher is controversial because she isn't monogamous, and is often considered promiscuous.  Yet she does have a primary relationship in Kerry Greenwood's books.  He is the man to whom she always returns because he's special, and that special individual is Lin Chung.  He is portrayed as not only attractive, but also competent, intelligent, resourceful,compassionate, courageous, loyal, generous and considerate.  He also has remarkably good taste.  He is rooted in his culture. He feels committed to his family and community.  Unlike many Asian characters in fiction who make their home in the West, identity isn't a troublesome question for him.  He knows who he is, and where he belongs.  He isn't lost and has no feelings of angst.   Yes, he's idealized.  Yet it does mean something that for Phryne Fisher the perfect man doesn't have the same background as she does.  Kerry Greenwood celebrates diversity through the relationship between Phryne Fisher and Lin Chung.

In The Castlemaine Murders Lin Chung comes into his own.  He has carried out important missions for his family before, but in this book he's shown as establishing diplomatic links with other Chinese families and taking a philanthropic role in giving assistance to elderly impoverished Chinese.

The significance of this novel goes beyond Lin Chung's metamorphosis into a family and community leader.  It also deals with race hatred directed at the Chinese in the Australian Gold Rush during the 19th century.  There is mention of an extraordinary individual, a white Australian constable named Thomas Cooke who risked his life to stop an anti-Chinese riot.  There is a commemorative plaque devoted to Thomas Cooke which can be found at the Monument Australia website. This history needs to be remembered.  Racism is a worldwide problem, but it's possible to make a stand against it.  It is the presence of Lin Chung in the book series that allowed Kerry Greenwood to address this theme.

My feeling is that the choice to make Lin Chung a minor background character in the TV series reflects a discomfort with the interracial relationship and with the potential of this character to raise issues that are equally disquieting.  Replacing him in Phryne's life with Detective Inspector Jack Robinson makes the TV series more like a conventional crime series.  It probably broadens the appeal of the TV series, but I consider it a disservice to a character that I love.

The Castlemaine Murders could have made a powerful episode in Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries.  Fortunately, the novel still exists to show us that a Phryne with Lin Chung is far more interesting than a Phryne without him.


                                                

                                   

                                                 

The Angel Court Affair by Anne Perry

I haven't read many of Anne Perry's Victorian mysteries.  In fact, I've only read two since I joined Goodreads in 2008.   The Victorian period isn't my favorite.  Victorian ideas about respectability and class snobbery tend to annoy me.  Yet the first wave of modern feminism began during this period.  So I keep my eye out for Victorian titles that involve women speaking up for themselves.

 The Angel Court Affair attracted my attention because it deals with the disappearance of a woman preacher who was considered blasphemous. Since religion interests me,  I wanted to find out what she believed and why people thought it was blasphemy.

                                                       

Sofia Delacruz, the character who caused so much controversy, was an Englishwoman who escaped an arranged marriage and re-emerged in Spain as a religious leader with a small following.  Based on my research into the history of Christianity, it seemed to me that what she preached had some similarities to the Christian ideal of Imitatio Christi or Imitation of Christ.  In the medieval period this was known as the path of the saints because it was too demanding for ordinary people.  Sofia Delacruz firmly believed that everyone could follow that path.  Her most controversial statement was that God was once like us.  To me, this seemed to refer to the Christian doctrine of the Incarnation.  Jesus became flesh and lived a human life.  The Christian Gospels depict this human lifetime.  So I didn't find this particularly controversial myself, but perhaps Victorians didn't like to think of the implications of Christianity.  Proposing that God was once human, or that humans could become like God disrupted the rigid hierarchies that pervaded Victorian culture.  There were hierarchies of age, gender,class and race.  People weren't allowed to "get above themselves" and it was downright subversive to encourage people to dream of becoming more than they were.

The political world was also described as in a state of ferment in this novel.  The United States had recently declared war on Spain. The British authorities feared anarchism and foreign invasion.   Interestingly enough, there was a reference to an  alternate history short story first published in 1871  in which Germany conquered England called The Battle of Dorking  by George Chesney.  You can read it for free on Project Gutenberg Australia here .

 Yet what about the mystery?  The mystery case itself seemed rather familiar and even predictable.  This is part of the Thomas and Charlotte Pitt series, and I hoped that Charlotte would play a more active role.  Charlotte and the Pitts' teenage daughter, Jemima, did express their views about Sofia Delacruz. There is also a mention of Charlotte's secret participation in the women's suffrage movement which I appreciated, but most of the investigation was performed by men. 

I also noticed the double standard about extra-marital affairs which were routine for men, but scandalous for women.  The reputation of a woman could be destroyed by such an affair, but there were no repercussions for men.  This double standard continues  in contemporary society,  so it shouldn't be news to readers.  Yet I still found it infuriating. 

The Angel Court Affair isn't recommended for those readers who feel a sentimental nostalgia for Victorianism.  This is a sharply observed realistic view of Victorian society.  Anne Perry depicts it as a culture poised on the brink of change.  


                                          

                                             

The Saffron Crocus: A YA Mystery in 17th Century Venice

Publication Date: December 13, 2014

Black Opal Books

eBook; 306p

Genre: Young Adult/Historical Mystery/Romance

Winner of the 2014 Rosemary Award for Best Historical for Young Adults.

Venice, 1643. Isabella, fifteen, longs to sing in Monteverdi’s Choir, but only boys (and castrati) can do that. Her singing teacher, Margherita, introduces her to a new wonder: opera! Then Isabella finds Margherita murdered. Now people keep trying to kill Margherita’s handsome rogue of a son, Rafaele.

Was Margherita killed so someone could steal her saffron business? Or was it a disgruntled lover, as Margherita—unbeknownst to Isabella—was one of Venice’s wealthiest courtesans?

Or will Isabella and Rafaele find the answer deep in Margherita's past, buried in the Jewish Ghetto?

Isabella has to solve the mystery of the Saffron Crocus before Rafaele hangs for a murder he didn’t commit, though she fears the truth will drive her and the man she loves irrevocably apart.

Review

I have to confess that I love books set in Venice.   It's such a unique city with fascinating traditions and it played such a pivotal role in European history.    The first book that I read which took place in Venice is one of Anne Rice's best novels, Cry To Heaven.  Since The Saffron Crocus shares some of the same elements as that wonderful Rice novel, I felt as if I would be revisiting its world.   I received The Saffron Crocus free via this blog tour in return for an honest review.

This was a fast read that was mostly enjoyable.   I especially liked the heroine's voice teacher and mentor, Margherita.  I was fascinated to learn from McMahan's historical note that she was based on a historical personage.  Further research led me to discover that she was one of the first women to become an opera singer.

 I would have liked to have seen more Ladino during the scenes in the Jewish ghetto.  Ladino is a creole of Spanish and Hebrew spoken by the Jews of Spain, Portugal and Italy.  I'd heard of it before, but had never seen any example of Ladino before I read this book.

I lost my appetite for The Saffron Crocus as a result of a very predictable plot event that also had me wondering whether several of the characters were truly TSTL (Too Stupid To Live) because they should also have seen what was coming.  Oh, but the result was super-dramatic.  Look,  I love dramatic plotlines, but not a crisis that was manufactured because the characters blundered into it without thinking.  After that, the resolution seemed contrived.  I wished that I could have pushed a re-set button, so I could go back to the point where the novel was fun and I still respected the protagonists.

                                                       

Buy the eBook

Black Opal Books

Amazon UK

Barnes & Noble

Kobo

About the Author

Alison McMahan chased footage for her documentaries through jungles in Honduras and Cambodia, favelas in Brazil and racetracks in the U.S. She brings the same sense of adventure to her award-winning books of historical mystery and romantic adventure for teens and adults. Her latest publication is The Saffron Crocus, a historical mystery for young. Murder, Mystery & Music in 17th Century Venice.

She loves hearing from readers!

Author Links

Webpage for The Saffron Crocus
AlisonMcMahanAuthor.com
AlisonMcMahan.com
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads
Pinterest
Google+
Instagram
Tumblr

The Saffron Crocus Blog Tour & Book Blast Schedule

Monday, April 13
Book Blast at Genre Queen

Thursday, April 16
Guest Post & Giveaway at Let Them Read Books

Friday, April 17
Interview at Mythical Books

Monday, April 20
Review at Flashlight Commentary

Tuesday, April 21
Review at History From a Woman's Perspective

Wednesday, April 22
Guest Post at History From a Woman's Perspective

Tuesday, April 28
Book Blast at A Literary Vacation

Wednesday, April 29
Guest Post & Giveaway at So Many Precious Books, So Little Time

Tuesday, May 5
Review at Book Nerd

Wednesday, May 6
Review at Just One More Chapter

Thursday, May 7
Review at 100 Pages a Day

Friday, May 8
Guest Post at Just One More Chapter

Saturday, May 9
Book Blast at Romantic Historical Lovers

Tuesday, May 12
Review at The True Book Addict

Wednesday, May 13
Guest Post & Giveaway at Historical Fiction Connection

Thursday, May 14
Review at Book Babe
Guest Post at What Is That Book About

Monday, May 25
Review at Beth's Book Nook Blog

Wednesday, May 27
Book Blast at CelticLady's Reviews

Thursday, May 28
Review at The Lit Bitch
Review at Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers

Monday, June 1
Review at Broken Teepee

Tuesday, June 2
Guest Post at The Maiden's Court

Friday, June 5
Spotlight & Giveaway at Jorie Loves a Story

The Witch Hunter's Tale

Publication date: January 6, 2015

St. Martin's Press

Formats: eBook, Hardcover

Pages: 320

Series: Book Three, The Midwife Mysteries Series

Genre: Historical Mystery

Sam Thomas takes readers back to Puritan England with midwife Bridget Hodgson, hailed by the Cleveland Plain Dealer as "one of the most fascinating detectives in contemporary mystery fiction."

Winter has come to the city of York, and with it the threat of witchcraft. As women and children sicken and die, midwife Bridget Hodgson is pulled against her will into a full-scale witch-hunt that threatens to devour all in its path, guilty and innocent alike.

Bridget—accompanied once again by her deputy Martha Hawkins and her nephew Will Hodgson—finds herself playing a lethal game of cat and mouse against the most dangerous men in York, as well as her sworn enemy Rebecca Hooke. As the trials begin, and the noose begins to tighten around her neck, Bridget must answer the question: How far will she go to protect the people she loves?

*****REVIEW*****

I recently read and reviewed The Harlot's Tale, which is the previous book in Sam Thomas' mystery series dealing with the 17th century English midwife Bridget Hodgson.  You can find that review on this blog here. Now that I was caught up on the lives of Bridget and other significant characters, I could go on to read the latest book in the series which I received from the publisher via Net Galley in return for this honest review.

In The Harlot's Tale, Bridget had begun to develop into a kinder and more compassionate individual, but her principles are still very important to her.  In  The Witch Hunter's Tale, Bridget is tested to the breaking point during a witchcraft hysteria that is orchestrated by her ambitious Puritan nephew, Joseph Hodgson.  Bridget has to ask herself whether she values her integrity more than the lives of the people she cares about most. 

In the context of the witchhunt which impacts the entire city, the murder of a prominent alderman at the beginning of the book, seems to recede into the background.  There is very little investigation of the murder.  Events overtake Bridget, and she can only take defensive action against them.  The truth about the murder does eventually surface and it is an important plot development, but neither Bridget nor her resourceful servant Martha can be said to be responsible for uncovering the truth.  

There are few surprises in this novel.  I have read numerous books about Puritan witchcraft hysterias.  They are very similar in their progression and the motives of those who instigate them.  As usual, politics and class antagonism played prominent roles in this witchcraft hysteria. 

The strengths of The Witch Hunter's Tale are its dramatic intensity and Bridget's continuing character growth.  If there is a next novel in this series, it will be absolutely astonishing because there is no single predictable path for Bridget Hodgson in the aftermath of this book.  That's really rather marvelous because she has the freedom to shape her own life for the first time.   I was glad to see a proper resolution that is still open ended.

                                           

Buy the Book

Barnes & Noble

iTunes

IndieBound

Powell's

About the Author

Sam Thomas is an assistant professor of history at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. He has received research grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Newberry Library, and the British Academy. He has published articles on topics ranging from early modern Britain to colonial Africa. Thomas lives in Alabama with his wife and two children.

For more information please visit Sam Thomas's website. You can also find him on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

The Witch Hunter's Tale Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, February 9

Review at With Her Nose Stuck In A Book

Spotlight at What Is that Book About

Tuesday, February 10

Review at Flashlight Commentary

Spotlight at The Lit Bitch

Wednesday, February 11

Review at Build a Bookshelf

Friday, February 13

Spotlight at A Literary Vacation

Monday, February 16

Review at Book Babe

Spotlight at Let Them Read Books

Tuesday, February 17

Review at The Emerald City Book Review

Wednesday, February 18

Review & Interview at Back Porchervations

Friday, February 20

Spotlight at Passages to the Past

Monday, February 23

Interview at Mina's Bookshelf

Spotlight at Historical Fiction Obsession

Tuesday, February 24

Review at A Book Geek

Wednesday, February 25

Review at A Chick Who Reads

Spotlight at CelticLady's Reviews

Thursday, February 26

Review at Beth's Book Nook Blog

Spotlight at Brooke Blogs

Friday, February 27

Review at So Many Books, So Little Time

                                                         
                                               
                                             

Charitable Hatred: Puritan Preaching Leads To Murder in The Harlot's Tale

The Harlot’s Tale is the second book in a historical mystery series that takes place in 17^th century England whose protagonist is the midwife Bridget Hodgson.  She is a widow from a noble family who is accustomed to wielding authority, but she is also highly principled.  When I started reading the first book in this series, The Midwife’s Tale, I thought she was arrogant, self-righteous and intolerant.   I almost gave up on the book because I found her too unsympathetic.   

Fortunately, I became interested in Martha Hawkins, her new maid.  The very fact that Bridget gave Martha a chance despite her background showed that Bridget had more compassion than I had imagined.  I continued reading because of Martha.  She is clever, courageous and resourceful. She also has some very interesting skills that make her useful for crime investigation in both books.

                                             

                                                 

In this second book, I think that Martha has influenced Bridget for the better.  She seems more open to new ideas and approaches.  She has become more supportive toward women in unfortunate circumstances which also puts her on the wrong side of the law. As a midwife, Bridget is supposed to report all women giving birth to children out of wedlock so that they can be publicly whipped.  In Puritan dominated York, the city where this series takes place, Bridget’s newfound sympathy can be dangerous to her.

The case in The Harlot’s Tale involves a series of murders of prostitutes.  The killer leaves Biblical verses in the hands of the victims.  This leads Bridget to suspect that some fanatical Puritan is the perpetrator, but this gives her a great many suspects.  The religious zeitgeist had become increasingly fanatical.  There is a popular Puritan preacher in York who calls for “charitable hatred” toward individuals that Puritans consider immoral.  This phrase is never explained.  How can hatred ever be charitable?  It sounds like war for peace or freedom within slavery.   When I analyze it from a Puritan perspective, I imagine that a Puritan might consider it merciful to kill someone who is sinful so that they will sin no more, and won’t enrage God any further.  From a modern secular viewpoint that kind of thinking seems bizarre.  

 This is the sort of environment that leads to witchcraft hysterias.  So it’s fairly predictable that this is the subject of the third book, The Witch Hunter’s Tale in which I imagine that Bridget is in some serious jeopardy.  Midwives have often been suspected of witchcraft during witchcraft hysterias.   I will be reviewing The Witch Hunter’s Tale for a blog tour in February.

Although the situation in The Harlot's Tale is scarcely unexpected during this period of England’s history, there are some plot twists that made for a good mystery.  The plot complications and character growth caused me to consider this novel an enjoyable read.