Sunday, May 30, 2021

Review: Plantagenet Princes by Douglas Boyd

Synopsis: When Count Henry of Anjou and his formidable wife Eleanor of Aquitaine became king and queen of England, they amassed an empire stretching 1,000 miles from the Pyrenees to the Scottish border, including half of France. Henry's grandmother Empress (of Germany) Mathilda had taught him that ruling is like venery: show the hawk the reward, but take it away at the last moment, to keep the bird eager to please. To sons and vassals alike, Henry promised everything but gave nothing, keeping the three adult princes hating him and the other siblings all their lives.

Plantagenet Princes traces the lives and infamous webs of mistrust and intrigue among them. What sons they were! Henry (b. 1155), 'the Young king' was entitled to succeed his father, yet was a rich playboy who died crippled by debt before his thirtieth birthday, after living the life of a robber baron. Richard (b. 1157), 'the Lionheart' was lord of his mother's duchy of Aquitaine and became, thanks to her, England's most popular king despite bankrupting the Empire twice in his disastrous 10-year reign. Geoffrey (b. 1158), count of Brittany, was the cleverest, but was trampled to death by horses aged 32 in a pointless melee at Paris, leaving his wife Constance to act as regent for their son Arthur in a long power struggle between Philip Augustus, king of France, and the Plantagenets. The runt of the litter, John (b. 1166) was nicknamed Lackland, since no inheritance was initially promised him. He proved the longest-lived by far, dying at the age of fifty after signing Magna Carta, losing the key duchy of Normandy and most of the other continental possessions - also murdering his nephew Arthur, imprisoning Arthur's sister for life and waging war against his barons, continued by Henry III.


The Plantagenet line continued with Richard of Cornwall, Edward I conquering Wales, gay Edward II, Edward III, Edward the Black Prince and Richard II, who died in prison while his usurper sat on the throne.


I will say this makes for a better introductory book on the male Plantagenet line from Henry II through to Richard II rather than an actually study of the four surviving sons of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. Yes these sons are featured, but barely half the book is dedicated to them before diverging down the line to encompass the selected offspring of the princes and then continuing - selectively again - down the line to Richard II.


For someone more well read, this will provide nothing new - and this type of reader has most likely already tackled individual biographies - for someone looking for an overview or introductory text, then this is more than suitable - though I would re-think the title and leave it just as "Plantagenet Princes".

Review: Catch Us The Foxes by Nicola West

Synopsis: Some secrets you try to hide. Others you don’t dare let out … Twin Peaks meets The Dry in a deliciously dark and twisted tale that unravels a small town.

Ambitious young journalist Marlowe ‘Lo’ Robertson would do anything to escape the suffocating confines of her small home town. While begrudgingly covering the annual show for the local paper, Lo is horrified to discover the mutilated corpse of Lily Williams, the reigning showgirl and Lo’s best friend. Seven strange symbols have been ruthlessly carved into Lily’s back. But when Lo reports her grisly find to the town’s police chief, he makes her promise not to tell anyone about the symbols. Lo obliges, though it’s not like she has much of a choice – after all, he is also her father.

When Lily’s murder makes headlines around the country and the town is invaded by the media, Lo seizes the opportunity to track down the killer and make a name for herself by breaking the biggest story of her life.

What Lo uncovers is that her sleepy home town has been harbouring a deadly secret, one so shocking that it will captivate the entire nation. Lo’s story will change the course of her life forever, but in a way she could never have dreamed of.




I don't tend to wax lyrical about a book but in this case I will make a rare exception.

I am going to put this forward as one of my must read psychological thrillers for the year - right up there with two of my past favourites - Killing The Girl and The Creak on the Stairs.

I - and probably much to the angst of the publisher - recommend having a physical copy of this book as you will often find yourself moving backwards and forwards, thinking you have missed some little clue, as the author dangles much before you, only to snatch it away at the last moment.


This book is - to use a colloquialism - an onion. There are so many layers that the reader really does need to pay attention. The synopsis really does give the reader a slight inkling as to what to expect - but you are being deceived. And don't think that by skipping to the end you have the whole story - you don't! You will find yourself sucker punched a number of times before the ending is revealed.

In the words of our protagonist: " ...... I know better than anyone just how alluring a conspiracy theory could be ..... I had fallen for it's allure ... it was a better story than the truth ..." - but what is truth, what is conspiracy and what is delusion ....... well, I for one won't be revealing that!


All I will add, is someone had better snap up the film rights to this one rather quickly!



Tuesday, May 25, 2021

Review: The Irish Assassins by Julie Kavanagh

Synopsis: One sunlit evening, May 6, 1882, Lord Frederick Cavendish and Thomas Burke, Chief Secretary and Undersecretary for Ireland, were ambushed and stabbed to death while strolling through Phoenix Park in Dublin. The murders were funded by American supporters of Irish independence and carried out by the Invincibles, a militant faction of republicans armed with specially made surgeon's blades. They put an end to the new spirit of goodwill that had been burgeoning between British Prime Minister William Gladstone and Ireland's leader Charles Stewart Parnell as the men forged a secret pact to achieve peace and independence in Ireland--with the newly appointed Cavendish, Gladstone's protege, to play an instrumental role in helping to do so.

In a story that spans Donegal, Dublin, London, Paris, New York, Cannes, and Cape Town, Julie Kavanagh thrillingly traces the crucial events that came before and after the murders. From the adulterous affair that caused Parnell's downfall; to Queen Victoria's prurient obsession with the assassinations; to the investigation spearheaded by Superintendent John Mallon, also known as the "Irish Sherlock Holmes," culminating in the eventual betrayal and clandestine escape of leading Invincible James Carey and his murder on the high seas, The Irish Assassins brings us intimately into this fascinating story that shaped Irish politics and engulfed an Empire.


"Monto (Take Her Up To Monto)"
When Carey told on Skin-the-goat,
O'Donnell caught him on the boat
He wished he'd never been afloat, the filthy skite.
Twasn't very sensible
To tell on the Invincibles
They stood up for their principles,
day and night by going up to Monto Monto......"
(Irish folk song)


Irish politics is like one of those multi-games of chess you see in a New York park scene - the master playing against multiple opponents. It is neither straight forward or insular - there are too many players, too many agendas, too many external forces and influences, and most of the time, the Irish themselves factor little into the private agendas of the dominant personalities.

I am very au fait with both Irish history and politics - and had in the course of my reading, come across the Phoenix Park assassination of Cavendish by the Invincibles so was looking forward to an new analysis of events.  Unfortunately, I was sadly disappointed - and considered this a labourious and unrewarding reading experience.

This book attempts to cover off a lot of history leading up to the assassination. Kavanagh introduces many characters - some I personally consider not necessarily pertinent; and the side trip to Gweedore to "provide context" was, to be perfectly blunt, a waste of paper.

I believe that in order to construct a story around a single event, the author has cast a wide focus - too wide in my opinion; the narrative needed to be more linear. As such, I feel this failed to provide enough focus on the actual assassination, perpetrators and consequences early enough - it took just too long to get to the point. It was convoluted, lacking in structure and direction -  there was too much attention centred on individuals and events that had no relevance. I mean, the author's note says the tome was styled like " .... the shifting episodic structure of today's television dramas ..." - if this was an attempt to make the subject more palatable for the general reading public, then it missed the mark completely.  Sounds like the author is trivialising her subject matter.

Furthermore, the author's note as to the intent behind writing this book should have been placed at the front of the book rather than stuck at the back - it may have provided a slightly clearer idea of what the author was trying to achieve rather than leaving the reader slightly bewildered. The reader who picks this up is looking for more than a dry history lesson - they already have enough background knowledge - they are looking for a more narrow focus on a particular event. Any reader attempting this tome should come well prepared and have read some cursory editions of Irish history and politics beforehand, for without this,  defeat will come faster than a politicians promise on election day.



Had some editor attacked this with the proverbial red pen (or hatchet) and suggested a much more abridged - or even structured - version, this may have made for a more enjoyable (if that's appropriate) read. As mentioned there were just too many side issues which distracted and detracted from a more linear narrative - they were unnecessary and not overly relevant, and certainly should have been left on the cutting room floor.  Trying to literally stuff all the research into the single tome shows a distinct lack of understanding of the topic at hand and an inability to prioritise information- as the adage goes - sometimes less is more.  The topics just needed to be compartmentalised a little more effectively and efficiently.  Having said that, neither of Kavanagh's predecessors - Tom Corfe and Senan Molony - managed to provide a decent narrative on the subject.

Reading this as a kindle version made it much easier to put aside - with a physical copy, I would have just skipped through to the pertinent narrative and have had done with this in less than a day.  

read more here:


Sunday, May 9, 2021

Out of the Shadows by Emily Midorikawa

Out of the Shadows: Six Visionary Victorian Women in Search of a Public Voice by Emily Midorikawa
Queen Victoria’s reign was an era of breathtaking social change, but it did little to create a platform for women to express themselves. Not so within the social sphere of the séance – a mysterious, lamp-lit world on both sides of the Atlantic, in which women who craved a public voice could hold their own.

Out of the Shadows tells the stories of the enterprising women whose supposedly clairvoyant gifts granted them fame, fortune, and, most important, influence, as they crossed rigid boundaries of gender and class as easily as they passed between the realms of the living and the dead. The Fox sisters inspired some of the era’s best-known political activists and set off a transatlantic séance craze. While in the throes of a trance, Emma Hardinge Britten delivered powerful speeches to crowds of thousands. Victoria Woodhull claimed guidance from the spirit world as she took on the millionaires of Wall Street before becoming America’s first female presidential candidate. And Georgina Weldon narrowly escaped the asylum before becoming a celebrity campaigner against archaic lunacy laws.

Drawing on diaries, letters, rarely seen memoirs and texts, Emily Midorikawa illuminates a radical history of female influence that has been confined to the dark until now.


“Midorikawa breathes life into these long-ago women in ways that make them feel contemporary despite their extraordinary circumstances and distance in time . . . By the book’s end, it no longer matters whether you believe these six remarkable spirit mediums were hoaxes or not; you’ll certainly believe in them. —BookPage (starred review)

Join Emily Midorikawa on 5/16 for the virtual launch reading at Brookline Booksmith

Wednesday, May 5, 2021

The Arrowood Series by Mick Finlay

If you have not already invested in this series, I suggest that you do so in order to catch up with all things Arrowood before the release of the latest ....




More for Mick Finlay on his blog >>> here