I hope everyone is all ready for Christmas. I have been wrapping Christmas presents today but I’m still rather behind on the Christmas prep. However, the blogging and the reading has been going well this week.
Everyone this Christmas has a Secret by Benjamin Stevenson
Blurb
My name is Ernest Cunningham.
I’m not a detective. I just happen to have a knack for what makes mysteries – and murderers – tick. I’d hoped, this Christmas, that any killers out there might be willing to take a break for the holidays.
I was wrong.
So here I am, backstage at the Christmas show of world-famous magician Rylan Blaze, whose benefactor has just been murdered. From the magician’s assistant to the hypnotist, my suspects are all professional tricksters. Masters in the art of misdirection.
My clues are even more of a mystery:
A suspect covered in blood, with no memory of how it got there.
A murder committed without setting foot inside the room where it happens.
And an advent calendar. Because, you know. It’s Christmas.
Solving the murder is the only gift I want this year.
But can I catch a killer, and make it home for Christmas alive?
Review
I will be honest I picked this book up not realising it was part of a series but to be honest it worked fine as a standalone book and I didn’t feel the story lacked anything because I hadn’t read the previous books.
This book was a very easy read for me and I really enjoyed it being set in Australia. I think it was my first festive read set in a hot country. A real change from my usual wintery reads that I usually read this time of year. I also liked the main character Ernest Cunningham and I liked how he worked but I did find him a little bit big headed at times and this made him a little annoying.
I really enjoyed the storyline of this book and how Cunningham worked out who the murderer was. His methods were very methodical and he reminded me a great deal of Agatha Christie’s Poirot. The way it was all done was very clever.
The main problem I had with this book was that the characters were just rather unremarkable and very forgettable. Other than Ernest and maybe one other character I couldn’t tell you any of their names or anything really about them. I just felt like all the effort was put into the plot and not the characters which was a shame.
I did enjoy this book but I wasn’t bowled over by it and to be honest I’m not sure I will return to the world of Ernest Cunningham but maybe I will one day. I give this book 3 out of 5 Dragons.
(All purchases made using one of the above affiliate links gives a small percentage of money to myself with no extra cost to yourself. All proceeds go towards the upkeep of this blog. Thank you ever so much, your support is gratefully received.)
About the author
Benjamin Stevenson is an award-winning stand-up comedian and USA Today best-selling author. He is the author of the globally popular ‘Ernest Cunningham Mysteries’, including Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone, which is currently being adapted into a major HBO TV series, and Everyone on This Train is a Suspect. His books have sold over 750,000 copies in twenty-nine territories and have been nominated for eight ‘Book of the Year’ awards.
Nineteen-year-old Merowdis Scott is an unusual girl. She can talk to animals and trees—and she is only ever happy when she is walking in the woods.
One snowy afternoon, out with her dogs and Apple the pig, Merowdis encounters a blackbird and a fox. As darkness falls, a strange figure enters in their midst—and the path of her life is changed forever.
From the internationally bestselling and prize-winning author of Piranesi and Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, an enchanting, beautifully illustrated short story set in the Strange universe. Featuring an introduction by Susanna Clarke and gorgeous illustrations from Victoria Sawdon truly worthy of the magic of this story, this is a mesmerising, must-have addition to any fantasy reader’s bookshelf.
Review
I bought this short little book for my husband who is a huge fan of Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell but I fancied a short wintery read so I picked it up at the beginning of December for a quick read.
I loved the illustrations in this book and for me the illustrations were the best thing because I just thought the story itself was really lacking. Sadly for me the book was just too short. I needed a bit more character development, I wanted to know more about the Merowdis and her sister. I definitely think this would have been better as a full novel.
My opinion of this book is that it is rather forgettable. To be honest if it wasn’t for the blurb I wouldn’t have remembered the main character’s name and I definitely can’t remember the sister’s name. The main thing I remember is the pet pig called Apple because how can you forget a pet pig called Apple?
The story felt like Clarke was aiming for a Grimm’s fairytale feeling but for me it just missed the mark. I was quite excited for this book but sadly it just was a bit beige. I give this book 3 out of 5 Dragons.
(All purchases made using one of the above affiliate links gives a small percentage of money to myself with no extra cost to yourself. All proceeds go towards the upkeep of this blog. Thank you ever so much, your support is gratefully received.)
About the author
Susanna Clarke (1959) is an English author who has published novels and short stories. Her debut novel Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell and her set of short stories The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories are all set in a magical England.
The rules are answer the questions below and share a link to your blog in the comments section of Sam’s blog.
What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you will read next?
Hello!
I finished teaching today so my Christmas holidays have officially started! I still have lots of playing jobs on the run up to Christmas but it is nice to have a break from teaching.
What I am Currently Reading
I’ve finally caught up with my poetry reading! Death Comes at Christmas is a bit hit and miss at the moment. Some stories are better than others.
Catherine de’ Medici: The Life and Times of the Serpent Queen by Mary Hollingsworth
Blurb
A new biography of Catherine de’ Medici, the most powerful woman in sixteenth-century Europe, whose author uses neglected primary sources to recreate the life and times of a remarkable – and remarkably traduced – woman.
History is rarely kind to women of power, but few have had their reputations quite so brutally shredded as Catherine de’ Medici, Italian-born queen of France and influential mother of three successive French kings during that country’s long sequence of sectarian wars in the second half of the sixteenth century. Thanks to the malign efforts of propagandists motivated by religious hatred, history tends to remember Catherine as a schemer who used witchcraft and poison to eradicate her rivals, as a spendthrift dilettante who wasted ruinous sums of money on building and embellishment of monuments and palaces, and most sinister of all, as instigator of the St Bartholomew’s Day massacre of 1572, in which thousands of innocent Protestants were slaughtered by Catholic mobs.
Mary Hollingsworth delves into contemporary archives to discover deeper truths behind these persistent myths. The correspondence of diplomats and Catherine’s own letters reveal a woman who worked tirelessly to find a way for Catholics and Protestants to coexist in peace (a goal for which she continued to strive until the end of her life), who was well-informed on both literary and scientific matters, and whose patronage of the arts helped bring into being glorious châteaux and gardens, priceless work of art, and magnificent festivities combining theatre, music and ballet, which display the grandeur of the French court.
Review
I’ve only ever read history books that mention Catherine de’ Medici in passing but I have always wanted to know more about this formidable character from history. This is also my first book by Mary Hollingsworth.
I’ve read a lot of history books over the years and after studying Ancient Greek and Roman history it is quite clear that history is written by men and is about men and any woman who even dared to take control and show her strength was severely slandered by the male history writers. Catherine de’ Medici was no different.
Catherine de’ Medici was an Italian born French queen who was also the mother of three French kings during a tumultuous time of the sectarian wars. History tends to remember Catherine de’ Medici as a schemer who used witchcraft and poison to get rid of her enemies. A woman who wasted huge amounts of money on building projects and statues and the person who instigated the St Bartholomew’s Day massacre of 1572 which saw thousands of Protestants slaughtered by Catholic mobs.
Hollingsworth challenges these preconceptions by using letters written by Catherine de’ Medici, correspondence of diplomats, and other historical sources from the time. By piecing together all her findings she shows a very different story of Catherine de’ Medici and one that I wasn’t expecting.
I absolutely loved reading this book and I really liked how you could see how well researched it is. Hollingsworth shows a completely different Catherine de’ Medici and she is definitely a new favourite for me and I can’t wait to read more about her. Catherine de’ Medici worked tirelessly for her sons and her country and the only thing that stopped her working was illness. I give this book 5 out of 5 Dragons and will definitely be reading more books by Mary Hollingsworth soon.
(All purchases made using one of the above affiliate links gives a small percentage of money to myself with no extra cost to yourself. All proceeds go towards the upkeep of this blog. Thank you ever so much, your support is gratefully received.)
About the author
Mary Hollingsworth is a scholar of the Italian Renaissance, and author of The Cardinal’s Hat, The Borgias: History’s Most Notorious Dynasty and Patronage in Renaissance Italy: From 1400 to the Early Sixteenth Century.
Goodreads Monday is now hosted by Budget Tales Book Club. All you have to do is show off a book from your TBR that you’re looking forward to reading.
Hello!
I hope everyone has had a good start to the week. I haven’t had any teaching today so it has been a day of Christmas prep and making up Etsy orders.
My chosen book this week is another Christmas read that I am hoping to read this month.
Death Comes at Christmas edited by Marie O’Regan and Paul Kane
The award-winning Marie O’Regan and Paul Kane invite you to a festive gathering of bestselling, critically acclaimed and award-winning writers in tribute to classic, British period crime stories. From locked room mysteries on Christmas eve to devilish whodunits and tales of simmering rivalries unfolding at the dinner table, these thirteen original seasonal tales will delight and shock at every twist and turn. So, unwrap the presents, pour a mug of mulled wine and follow the bloodstained footprints through the freshly fallen snow as winter descends and darkness lurks in the shadows.
Featuring stories by: Fiona Cummins, Angela Clarke, A.K. Benedict, Susi Holliday, J.T. Ellison, David Bell, Sarah Hilary, Claire McGowan, Tina Baker, Sam Carrington, Liz Mistry, C.L. Taylor, Helen Fields, Russ Thomas, Tom Mead, Vaseem Khan, Samantha Hayes & Belinda Bauer
I’ve fallen slightly behind with my poetry reading because I forgot to take the book on holiday with me but I’m hoping to catch up soon. I’m thoroughly enjoying Murder at the Christmas Emporium so far.
Stacking The Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Marlene of Reading Reality. It is all about sharing the books that you have recently added to your bookshelves. These books can be physical books, ebooks and of course audiobooks.
Hello!
This week I spent a few days in Bath and of course this resulted in book shopping. Bath has some of my favourite bookshops and this always results in a quite a few book purchases.
I bought books from three bookshops.
Mr B’s Emporium
I only bought one book from Mr B’s which was quite restrained. I’ve been wanting a really nice edition of the Hogfather by Terry Pratchett for ages and I really want to re read over Christmas.
Topping and Company Booksellers
I got distracted by the Christmas books again and I bought two new ones. I’m really not sure I will manage to read all these Christmas books over December as the pile is getting higher and higher. However, I do keep reading Christmas books until January 6th so I might manage to finish the pile.
Samantha Shannon and Silvia Moreno-Garcia are two of my favourite authors so I was quite excited to get these pretty hardbacks.
Persephone Books
I only bought two Persephone books and another is a Christmas gift. I was hoping to buy a few more but sadly the shop was full of hyacinths. As pretty as hyacinths are I am also highly allergic and was really struggling to breathe so it was a quick in and out of the shop.
I bought:
Little Boy Lost by Marghanita Laski
William – An Englishman by Cicely Hamilton
My TBR pile is getting bigger and bigger but I’m really hoping I can get loads of reading done this month.
Lady Book Dragon 