City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert

Good afternoon, Bookaholics. As you know I usually read crime but I am stepping out of my comfort zone reading wise and I would encourage you to do the same. Lockdown is a time for trying new things when many of us have the time to do it.

This isn’t the usual type of book I read but I was looking for something completely different. I was a little unsure whether this would be the book for me but I don’t mind telling you, I was completely seduced. Elizabeth Gilbert is a brilliant writer. This is evident in every single word which she uses to good effect to draw me to a crescendo of emotions one minute followed by a diminuendo the next. It is some time since I have been so emotionally involved in a book. The story is told by an elderly lady, Vivian, to the unknown (to the reader), Angela. It is, at its most simple, the story of Vivian’s fascinating life. It is so much deeper than this, however. It is a microcosm of New York from the 1940’s onwards and the story of a group of people who live, work and love there. It is the story of a crumbling theatre and the people who work there. It is the story of awakening sensuality and sexuality, and yet is done with such sensitivity that the reader is drawn in. It is all of that and so much more I loved this book. I genuinely could not stop reading and desperately wanted to know what happened and who Angela was. A brilliantly executed story of the lives of a group of artistic temperaments who gel and are drawn toward each other. The characterisation is the best I have read and I read a lot. I would highly recommend this book to all women whether you read this genre or not. Elizabeth Gilbert is my new favourite author and I cannot wait to read more by her.





So as you can see, Bookaholics a fabulous book. I’m off to try another, so I’ll be back soon. If you haven’t read this one, seriously, buy it. You won’t regret it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC of this book. At no point was I asked to write a positive review and my review is based on my reading, and enjoyment, of the book.

Book Review: The Music Box Enigma

Good afternoon, Bookaholics. If you like historical mystery with both grit and humour, have I got a book for you.

Having read, and thoroughly enjoyed, The White Feather Killer, bu this author, I was keen to read this latest book. R.N. Morris is fast becoming my favourite author and Silas Quinn my favourite detective. The victim is a thoroughly loathsome character and if someone hadn’t bumped him off, I might have been tempted myself. Quite frankly I’m not sure why anyone would want to investigate the murder but justice has to be done. Silas Quinn is a brilliant character - dogged, determined and clever. The cast of characters who surround him are bumbling and brilliant in turn. The addition of Edward Elgar as both a composer and a special Constable is a stroke of genius.  The story is part gritty crime, part P.G. Wodehouse and it works.  It trots along at a fair pace keeping the reader interested.. To borrow an overused phrase, there’s a twist you will never see coming. In this case it is seriously true. The ending was extraordinary and I was stunned. The historical aspect is well researched, well written and interesting, giving a sound basis for the setting and context. A superbly written book which I would highly recommend. 

It isn’t out quite yet but as we are all currently in lockdown this is one to pre-order and get reading the minute it is out.  

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the Advanced Reader Copy. I was not asked to write a positive review but as you can see, I loved it.

See you soon, Bookaholics, with another great review.  Until then, keep reading. 

Research at the Surgeons' Hall Museum

I am a member of the Society of Authors, and thus the Society of Authors in Scotland. This excellent organisation arranges a veritable plethora of different visits for authors. The latest one was particularly good for crime writers, so as you can imagine I signed up in a heartbeat. This was to the Surgeons' Hall Museum in Edinburgh. What a superb visit this turned out to be. Also chock full of information that might just, one day, end up in a book,

The Royal College of Surgeons Edinburgh started as a medieval guild, The guild of Barber Surgeons, in 1505. Only members could practice as surgeons.   This makes it one of the oldest medical colleges in the UK. The barbers pole is actually from the surgeon - red for blood and white bandages. Now I knew barbers poles were a remnant of their time when they were also surgeons but didn't know about the colours. It is housed in beautiful building in the Old Part of Edinburgh.

The museum contains a mock lecture theatre which displays a recreation of the first dissection in both Edinburgh and Scotland. There was a video with a surgeon talking as though he were in the hall giving an anatomy lesson to students. In the centre was a body on a dissection table. This lit up as the various organs were discussed. Brilliantly done. This was the way in which trainee surgeons originally learned about human anatomy. Dissection could also be given as a punishment.  The Judge could say they could be hanged and dissected. The hangman separated the guilty party's  body from his soul. His body was then handed over to the Royal College of Surgeons.

Despite this there were not enough bodies to meet demand. Cue Burke and Hare of the body snatchers fame. These guys originally handed a body over where the person had died of natural causes. They received some money in exchange for the body and thought it would be a good way to earn a living. So, they murdered sixteen people and sold the bodies to Robert Knox. When they were caught Hare turned evidence and Burke took the fall for the whole thing.  He was punished to death and dissection. The dissection was done privately but this led to a public outcry. Therefore, his body was put on public display. Thousands of people came from all over the country to see him.  Nothing like a bit of notoriety I think.

Pocketbook made from the skin of William Burke

©Surgeons’ Hall Museums at The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh

Now this is where the story gets even more interesting. They made notebooks out of Burke's skin and the museum has one of these on display. You are not allowed to take photographs in the museum but they very kindly sent me a photo of the book and allowed me to use it in this blog. I would like to thank them for doing so. This is the photo above. What a way to end up. At least he came in useful I suppose.

Museum has been opened to the public since it opened in 1832. It continues to do an amazing job today. It is one of the most interesting museums I have ever visited and I learned so much. For example Joseph Bell was the inspiration for Sherlock Holmes. He was only 16 when he started to study medicine and used logic and fact to work out what might be wrong with his patients. Now, as a crime writer, that is fascinating. 

I would highly recommend a visit to the museum for anyone visiting Edinburgh. If you want to know more visit the museums website http://museum.rcsed.ac.uk The staff are helpful and extremely knowledgable about all the exhibits in the museum. They are happy to chat and answer any questions. 

So my Bookaholics a different but interesting post today. Now you know what Crime Writers get up to in the name of research. I keep saying being a crime writer is a blast and I am sure you will agree that is true. See you all back here soon. Until then keep reading and writing. Remember to live life to the full and enjoy whatever you are doing. 

Launch of my first fiction book by Heather Flack

Today on the blog we welcome author Heather Flack whose first novel is launched today under her pen name of Fen Flack. It is an honour to have her join us and tell us a bit more about herself and her book. Heather over to you. 

The early 11th century is perhaps an obscure period of history, so why set a novel then? In 1982 I bought a cottage at Ribbesford on the outskirts of Bewdley, Worcestershire. In researching its history I discovered it had been “seized by the Danes” before the Norman Conquest. Intrigued, I began to read about the trouble times of late Anglo-Saxon England and discovered Edmund Ironside. At school I’d learned about Aethelred the Unready and Cnut (in those days Canute) but not the king in between these two. His story was inspiring and the circumstances of his marriage the stuff of novels. However, back in the ’80s and ’90s I was writing other things and Edmund went “into the freezer”.
I was inspired to write a set of novels set in Ribbesford itself beginning with its seizure by the Danes and ending with Harthacnut’s attack on Worcester in 1041. The themes were getting to know God, racial prejudice, healing and forgiveness. But I couldn’t find a publisher.
After 2000 I became more interested in factual local history. I was living in Kings Norton, Birmingham, at the time its buildings won BBC2’s Restoration 2004 and I wrote the guide books and history of the buildings. I still had a house in Bewdley and was contributing to the history of that town too.

I retired in 2007 and did an M.A. in English Local History. Part of my degree was a project on the early history of Bewdley and I succeeded in pushing back its origins some two hundred years. The paper had all the makings of a book, so I bought some ISBNs and got a local printer to produce it. I had the opportunity of speaking to the Bewdley Civic Society on the subject and sold 70 copies on that occasion. I was a published author!

Through some writing classes I built up a portfolio of stories about my local area. I published these as “Pieces of Wyre”, because all the writing concerned places in the Wyre Forest area (north Worcestershire). I found outlets for sales in the local libraries, tourist information centre and also the new Museum of Carpet in Kidderminster.

A more exciting opportunity emerged in 2012 when I was helping in the local secondary school with a project on medieval Bewdley. I worked with the English teacher to help pupils write fictional letters and wills about our town in that period. I wove their material together with mine to make “Bewdley under the White Rose”, which told the story of our town from 1448 to 1485. 

Late in 2014 I was on a writing course and to my surprise, Edmund Ironside’s story came back into my mind and would not go away. I found I could not rest until I had done more reading and worked out a time line. Some books demand to be written and this was one of those. The text was complete in five months. The timing is perfect, as 1016 is a thousand years since Edmund was King.

You can find out more about Heather and her books on her website and on Amazon

Thank you for joining us Heather. Your book sounds fascinating and I am sure readers will be keen to buy.

Book Launch: On a Wing and a Prayer by Ruby Jackson

On Tuesday evening I had the honour of being invited to the launch of On A Wing and a Prayer by Ruby Jackson. This was held in Waterstones, Dundee and has to be the most entertaining book launch I have attended. Ruby Jackson held the audience in the palm of her hand as she told tales of the people she met whilst researching the book. The book is set during World War 2 and for the book Ruby Jackson interviewed people who did extraordinary things during this period. The accounts of what they did had the audience spellbound. 

Ruby Jackson does an incredible amount of research for her books. She tells the tale of contacting Fortnum and Mason in London. She needed to know the cost of honey during WW2. Fortnum and Mason told her she needed to speak to their archivist. What? Who would have known that a London store would have an archivist. I also learned that Fortnum and Mason have bee hives on their roof. How interesting is that? Something else I learned was that many rich young men, who had their own planes, handed them over to the military for the war effort. I could go on. 

Attending this event has made me think very carefully about how a book launch can be entertaining, interesting and informative. I hope that Bookaholic readers will also take some ideas away from this blog on rethinking their own launch.

So what is the book about. This is book 3 in the Churchill's Angels series, which is about four plucky girls from Dartford, Grace, Sally, Rose and Daisy. This book tells the story of Rose, an ordinary working class girl, who joins the ATS. You can rest assured that the historic details are 100% accurate as, in most cases, they come straight from the horse's mouth. If you like historical romance then this is an excellent book which I would highly recommend. You can buy the book from Amazon UK or USA by clicking below. 

     

See you all again soon Bookaholics. Whatever you are reading, enjoy.

The Death Game: By Chris Longmuir

We're staying with historical crime this week on bookaholic, but moving from Egypt to my homeland of Scotland. In fact we are in my home city of Dundee. 

I have previously read the books in Chris Longmuir's Dundee Murder series and enjoyed them immensely. This series is as good as, if not better than, the last. I love the premise of going back to early 20th Century Dundee, and writing about the first female policewoman in Dundee. The character, Kirsty Campbell is based on this woman. This character is excellent - feisty, single minded and yet vulnerable. This sums up the women of Dundee in my Grandmother and Great Grandmother's time. Chris Longmuir sets the scene well and her evocative writing brings the Dundee of the time to life. There were still some aspects of this life going strong in my childhood. Now before you all think I'm about 100 years old, Dundee was just slow to change in some areas. Having been in several jute mills, and having listened to my grandmother's tales of her life as a weaver, I can assure you that the descriptions are spot on.

This has nothing whatsoever to do with the book, but my grandmother was one of the best weavers in Dundee. She was able to run three looms at once, which is no mean feat, and as far as I know she was the only weaver to do this. As the weavers were paid per piece, it meant my grandmother earned a fairly decent wage. I couldn't help but reminisce here. The book brought up so many memories.

The plot is well written and kept me intrigued and reading. In fact I read this whole book in one sitting, over the course of a day. Before you think this is a short read, it is not. I am just an incredibly fast reader and I was so absorbed in the book I could not put it down. This is the sign of a well written book. I know Chris is now writing the second book in the series, and I, for one, cannot wait until it comes out.

         

That's it for another day. What will I pull out of the bag next time. Well, that remains to be seen. Keep tuned to find out and keep reading.