Review: The Used Virgin by Zara Altair

Synopsis: After Rome, before the Middle Ages, Italy belonged to the Ostrogoths.

A corrupt governor. A young girl. An old man. Argolicus unravels the threads.

When a life-long friend disappears, a peaceful retreat to the provinces turns into a challenge to the local governor for Argolicus.

A cruel slander originates from the venal governor. When Argolicus visits the governor, he discovers an unscrupulous plot destined to impoverish his friend. When his lifelong tutor overhears a comment, they set out to find their friend only to discover base cruelty and a secret plot.

A plot that challenges the King’s people, the roots of Roman civility, and his friend’s life.

Affronted, he pursues the thread. Little does he know that his investigation will pitch him in a fight with thugs and ultimately set him head-to-head with the governor.

~~~

"The Used Virgin is the first in a series of mysteries based in southern Italy at the time of the Ostrogoth rule of Italy under Theoderic the Great. Italians (Romans) and Goths live under one king while the Roman Empire is ruled from Constantinople. At times the cultures clash, but Argolicus uses his wit, sometimes with help from his tutor Nikolaos, to provide justice in a province far from the King’s court." (author note)

~~~

Set around 510AD, this narrative revolves around retired Roman Praefect Argolicus' task of clearing his friend Adeodatus' name after being accused of a heinous crime by corrupt local Governor with an agenda of his own.

Its a pretty basic story line that could have been filled with a bit more historical context and character development.  Even I - a reader familiar with the historical Ostrogoths - found myself wondering just where I was exactly in this narrative.  A little more care given to the story itself, and this could have been fleshed out into a decent story.  Just too rushed for my liking.

You will find the series listed here @ Goodreads.

Review: A Sip before Dying by Gemma Halliday

Synopsis: The Oak Valley Vineyard has been in Emmy Oak's family for generations. So when the small Sonoma winery is suddenly in financial trouble and in danger of being gobbled up by the corporate giants, Emmy moves home to try to save her legacy with her modern culinary know-how. First step—she throws a party showcasing her latest vintage and signature tasty treats to a group of wine country's most elite enthusiasts. Only when one of her VIP guests sips a glass of poisoned wine and dies in her cellar, Emmy's name is on everyone lips for all the wrong reasons.

The victim was the young, boy-toy husband of one of Silicon Valley's most successful female CEOs... and his playboy ways and suspicious spending habits have almost no one mourning his death. Enter Detective Christopher Grant, recent SFPD transplant, who is assigned to the case and immediately homes in on Oak Valley. But Emmy is determined to clear her winery's name—even if Grant's dark eyes, sexy smile, and mysterious past threaten to distract her. After calling in the big guns to help her—a.k.a. her jewelry designer best friend and copious amounts of cookie dough ice cream—Emmy finds herself digging through a slew of suspects to uncover crimes, grudges, and secret affairs that could put a soap opera to shame. Can Emmy find out just which of the upper crust poisoned the victim's vintage...or will Emmy's next sip be her last?

~~~

I felt as if I had read this before - but can find no record of me having done so - so thus a sense of deja vu with this little cosy mystery.

The synopsis says it all really and the story line follows the usually plotline of a cosy mystery.  Gemma and bestie Ava set out to solve the murder of a guest at the winery, whilst making herself a target of both the killer and the investigating detective.

Nice quick read and introduction of characters for the rest of the series.  

Review: Assassin in the Abbey by EH Walter

Synopsis: An assassin and an assassin catcher play a game of cat and mouse at the coronation of William I on Christmas day 1066.

~~~

A very short story of a mere few pages, set in the aftermath of the Norman victory at Hastings in 1066. William of Normandy is about to be crowned King of England, however, not all see this as a welcome event and one in particular will set out to ensure this does not happen. But William has taken precautions. And our "assassin catcher" narrates the scenes before us, the reader. Who will succeed - the cat or the mouse?

Review: A Novel Crime by ACF Bookens

Synopsis: When Harvey Beckett discovers a body in a neighborhood garage, she has no idea how much that moment will shift everything in her world.

Not everyone can be grateful for a murder, but Harvey Beckett almost can. With the help of her friends and her own gumption to make some changes in her life, Harvey sleuths out the killer . . . and her own adventure.

If you enjoy cozy mysteries, inspiring woman sleuths, and the city of San Francisco, you'll love A Novel Crime. A prequel for the forthcoming St. Marin's Cozy Mystery series set in a waterside town in Maryland.

~~~

A quick read with a not overly complicated plot that introduces us to the main character - Harvey Beckett - of the St Marin's series.

Having not read any in the series, I came to this with no expectations and found that time passed quickly as I delved into this mystery. 

Read this one first before the rest if you have the opportunity to do so as it will provide a little background into the main characters current set up for the rest of the series following.

Review: A Pint of Problems by Chris Lowry

Synopsis: How could he tell her no……even after she broke his heart.

When a woman from Jake’s past finds him passed out on his front porch, she makes him breakfast and an offer he can’t refuse.

Help her get the money owed to her and he gets a percentage.

And her.

He’s dead broke and needs a drink so the walking around money has appeal. Plus the promise of another night with her to sweeten the pot?

What’s supposed to be a short visit turns into an accidental murder charge and his ingénue is nowhere to be found.

Jake’s going to need all the help he can find if he hopes to get out of the mess she dropped him in the middle of.

Fans of disgraced lawyers and southern noir are going to love the Jake Burbank series because if you can’t root for the underdog, at least you can buy him a drink.

~~~

Short story featuring a drunken lawyer framed for not one but two murders when an ex-girlfriend seeks him out to get some money left to her by one lover but denied her by another lover. The momentum of the story is continual, as lawyer Jake and cop Maggie find out the truth behind the obvious frame-up.

A short cosy crime (as opposed to noir fiction) in the Jake Burbank series. One for the fans.

Review: Unnatural Ends by Christopher Huang

Synopsis: Sir Lawrence Linwood is dead. More accurately, he was murdered—savagely beaten to death in his own study with a mediaeval mace. The murder calls home his three adopted children: Alan, an archeologist; Roger, an engineer; and Caroline, a journalist. But his heirs soon find that his last testament contains a strange proviso—that his estate shall go to the heir who solves his murder.

To secure their future, each Linwood heir must now dig into the past. As their suspicion mounts—of each other and of peculiar strangers in the churchless town of Linwood Hollow—they come to suspect that the perpetrator lurks in the mysterious origins of their own birth.

~~~

Not a fan of this one - I found the story too long in the telling, which meant I took much longer to get through this one than I did Huang's previous book.

Set in the 1920s, the main narrative alternates between the three siblings - Alan, Roger and Caroline - and the detective in charge - Detective Inspector Clarence Mowbray.  It also takes the reader back to when the siblings were young (1903) - though for the life of me I could not fathom why this narrative was included as I, personally, found it did not add anything to the story but rather detracted from it instead - maybe I missed something that others have not.

All in all, it is a tale of three children solving the murder of their father - so each narrative goes over the same scenario, except from the point of view of the narrating sibling, until the story merges under that of DI Mowbray.

As mentioned, it was really too long in the telling for me that I lost both momentum and interest. A pity, as Huang's other book - A Gentleman's Murder - was rather good.

Every Man A King by Walter Mosley

In this highly anticipated sequel to "Down the River Unto the Sea" from Edgar Award-winning "master of craft and narrative," Walter Mosley, Joe King Oliver is entangled in a dangerous case when he's asked to investigate whether a white nationalist is being unjustly set up. (National Book Foundation).

When friend of the family and multi-billionaire Roger Ferris comes to Joe with an assignment, he’s got no choice but to accept, even if the case is a tough one to stomach. White nationalist Alfred Xavier Quiller has been accused of murder and the sale of sensitive information to the Russians. Ferris has reason to believe Quiller’s been set up and he needs King to see if the charges hold.

This linear assignment becomes a winding quest to uncover the extent of Quiller’s dealings, to understand Ferris’ skin in the game, and to get to the bottom of who is working for whom. Even with the help of bodyguard and mercenary Oliya Ruez—no regular girl Friday—the machine King’s up against proves relentless and unsparing. As King gets closer to exposing the truth, he and his loved ones barrel towards grave danger.

Mosley once again proves himself a "master of craft and narrative" (National Book Foundation) in this carefully plotted mystery that is at once a classic caper, a family saga and an examination of fealty, pride and how deep debt can go.

Publishers stand firm on Roald Dahl rewrite row

Article from The Telegraph:

European publishers have joined a backlash against changing Roald Dahl’s books, saying his stories “lose all their power” if his language is watered down

The author’s Dutch publisher Joris van de Leur criticised the decision by Puffin and the Roald Dahl Story Company to make hundreds of changes after consulting sensitivity readers and said he may stick with the original text.

The word “fat” has been removed from the books, including its use in reference to Augustus Gloop from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

But Mr van de Leur said of Dahl’s writing: “Exaggerations are a figure of speech with him: if a person is fat, it represents gluttony and excess. Children understand what such literary hyperbole is. They really don’t think all fat kids are greedy.”

He said that De Fontein, the publishing company of which he is director, could continue to publish the old versions.

Old copies of Roald Dahl’s books have become sought-after following the news that new editions replace the original text.

World of Books, the online seller, said sales of Dahl’s books have risen by 600 per cent in the past week.

Nick Poole, the chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, said that libraries should try to stock the original editions along with the new to allow readers to “judge for themselves which they prefer”.

Mr Poole said that to give readers a choice, it was essential that publishers who edit classic works clearly label new editions, saying: “We are dependent on publishers to identify that this has been done, for example by marking it as a ‘revised’ edition.”

He added: “We are committed to opposing censorship unless there is a specific risk that providing access to a particular book will break the law or incite hatred or violence. We recognise that publishers do regularly revisit the text of new editions to reflect changing values. It is important for them to let the reader know that the text has been altered from the original.”

Read article in its entirety here at The Telegraph

See also more on this from:

• The Telegraph
• The Guardian
• The Atlantic
• The Age
• The Conversation
• The New York Times
• Sydney Morning Herald
• Time
• CNN
• Daily Mail