Review: Mrs Hudson & The Capricorn Incident by Martin Davies

Synopsis: It is spring in Baker Street, and London is preparing itself for the wedding of the season - an international spectacular in which the young and popular Duke of Krasnow, a political exile from his native land, is due to take the hand of the beautiful and accomplished Princess of Rovenia - a union that will heal the divisions between her family and the duke's. But the stakes are high.

When the princess disappears in dramatic circumstances, other members of the British establishment are quick to call on Mr Sherlock Holmes and he, in turn, looks to his redoubtable housekeeper Mrs Hudson, and housemaid Flotsam, to assist in this puzzling case.

~ ~ ~

What if Baker Street’s most gifted resident wasn’t called Sherlock Holmes?

This is the premise for a mystery series based around Sherlock Holmes' housekeeper / landlady, Mrs Hudson, as the primary investigator. This particular tome is number seven in the series, which I wasn't fully cognisant of at the time of reading, so my comments are based solely on this tome.

Not a fan - Mrs Hudson was not to my mind, central to the storyline at all, it more based around the housemaid, Flotsam, who is also our narrator. Maybe I should I read the first books, as I was certainly not invested in this one.

For those who are interested, the  books in the series are:

• Mrs Hudson & the Spirits’ Curse
• Mrs Hudson and the Malabar Rose
• Mrs Hudson and the Lazarus Testament
• Mrs Hudson and the Samarkand Conspiracy
• Mrs Hudson and the Blue Daisy Affair
• Mrs Hudson and The Christmas Canary

Review: Marple: Twelve New Stories

Synopsis: A brand-new collection of short stories featuring the Queen of Mystery’s legendary detective Jane Marple, penned by twelve remarkable bestselling and acclaimed authors.

This collection of a dozen original short stories, all featuring Jane Marple, will introduce the character to a whole new generation. Each author reimagines Agatha Christie’s Marple through their own unique perspective while staying true to the hallmarks of a traditional mystery.

Miss Marple was first introduced to readers in a story Agatha Christie wrote for The Royal Magazine in 1927 and made her first appearance in a full-length novel in 1930’s The Murder at the Vicarage. It has been 45 years since Agatha Christie’s last Marple novel, Sleeping Murder, was published posthumously in 1976, and this collection of ingenious new stories by twelve Christie devotees will be a timely reminder why Jane Marple remains the most famous fictional female detective of all time.

Nice little addition to my Agatha Christie library, with some very different takes on the original Miss Marple.

I really enjoyed each author's own personal style when I can to including such a well-known character into their own stories, and it was great to see the inclusion of some familiar characters and locations.

The Authors & Their Stories:

Lucy Foley: Evil In Small Places
Jane visits an old school friend.

Val McDermid: The Second Murder at the Vicarage
Harkens back to the original "Murder in the Vicarage" with the same characters making another appearance. Another murder is committed, the victim being one of the original characters.

Alyssa Cole: Miss marple Takes Manhattan
Miss Marple is in Manhattan with her nephew Raymond West when a murder in one of the off Broadway theatres takes place, just as one of Raymond's books is about to premier as a play.

Natalie Haynes: The Unravelling
Miss Marple is involved in a murder in a village where an impersonation takes place.

Ruth Ware: Miss Marple's Christmas
Jane is celebrating Christmas in St Mary Meade at the Bantrys. However, deception and fraud are unwelcome gifts.

Naomi Alderman: The Open Mind
Attending a dinner at St Bede's College, Jane is witness to a poisoning of a greatly disliked man and a journalist. Long lost letters provide a clue.

Jean Kwok: the Jade Empress
Jane is on a cruise ship to Hong Kong to meet her nephew Raymond. A death of a passenger reveals a family secret.

Dreda Say Mitchell: A Deadly Wedding Day
Death of a wedding guests. Jane teams ups with Ms Bella, a local sleuth of the Caribbean community.

Elly Griffiths: Murder at the Villa Rosa
On the Italian Amalfi Coast, a writer contemplates the murder of his main character.

Karen McManus: The Murdering Sort
Nicola West (granddaughter of Raymond West) and her friend Diana Westever encounter the death of a rich old man.

Kate Mosse: The Mystery of the Acid Soil
Miss Marple meets a friend and a curate shortly after WWII. There is a murder in the village.

Leigh Bardugo: The Disappearance
Jane stay with her nephew Raymond for the summer. However, Dolly Bantry calls Jane back to St Mary Meade to solve the disappearance of one of Gossington Hall's new tennants. Dolly Bantry is at the heart of the mystery.

I cannot say how much I enjoyed their mini homages to Agatha and Jane.  As I said, a great addition to my own Agatha Christie Library!

Review: The Return of Hester Lynton by Tony Evans

Synopsis: Victorian England's most celebrated lady detective returns in ten new brain-teasing mysteries.With scheming fraudsters, corrupt doctors, devious forgers and terrible murderers afoot, Hester Lynton, and her trustworthy assistant Ivy Jessop, have their work cut out for them. But amidst the dirt and deprivation of 1800s London, our investigative duo will stop at nothing to catch their criminals.

The Return of Hester Lynton is a collection of ten absorbing cosy detective stories, perfect for fans of Sherlock Holmes, Mrs Gladden and the Lady Hardcastle mysteries.

This is a lovely homage to Sherlock Holmes with female detective Heston Lynton and her female "Watson", Ivy Jessop. Follow Hester and Ivy as the tackle such cases as:

• The Case of the Fanshaw Inheritance (competition for an inheritance involving a treasure hunt)
• The Case of the Stolen Leonardo (a stolen master, a locked room, forgery)
• The Case of the Missing Professor (missing formula, traitors)
• The Mystery of the Locked Room (mysterious death, question of family inheritance)
• The Adventures of the Diamond Necklace (missing necklace, scandal, secret organisation)
• The Adventure of the Kidnapped Schoolboy (missing child that is not straight-forward)
• The Puzzle of the Whitby Housemaid (Bram Stoker brings a case involving a mysterious doctor and a scared maid)
• The Case of the Russian Icon (swindled museum, double-cross)
• The Case of the Naked Clergyman (eccentric clergyman and an inheritance at issue)
• The Problem of Oscar Wilde (Oscar seek Hestor's help in recovering stolen letters)

Hester shares many similarities with Holmes: she smokes; makes use of disguises; works with a police inspector; deals with confidential cases; has an erstwhile sidekick and biographer (and narrator); is attended to by a loyal housekeeper; and is a spinster to Holmes' bachelor.

The tales, whilst being conveyed to the reader at a later period, date between 1880s and 1890s in Victorian London. England was still under the reign of Queen Victoria (d.1901), the Boer War was in its infancy (1899–1902), and the scare of the Ripper murders was still fresh in peoples' minds (1888). You can refer to my review of MJ Trow's "Four Thousand Days" for further background on London at this point in time.

Hester actually put me in mid of the lesser know female detective - Maud West.  From Bella Ellis' article on Crimereads: 

"Maud was real-life private detective who was London’s and, I suspect, the UKs only female private detective at start of the twentieth century. Quite a celebrity in her day, with a career spanning more than thirty years, West claimed her work took her all over the globe, from London to Paris, to the U.S and back again. A renowned mistress of disguise she often impersonated men from all walks of life – from sailors to aristocrats." 

A lovely collection of mysteries to while away an afternoon.

Further reading:

- History Extra: Female Detectives

- FishWrap: 3 Amazing Detectives