A Tip for the Hangman by Allison Epstein
Length: 374 Pages
Genres: Historical Fiction, LGBTQ, Mystery Thriller
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Trigger Warnings in this book for Blood, Gore, Violence and Homophobia

Kit Marlowe has always been a figure that has played around my peripheral--I knew he was an Elizabethan poet and playwright, overshadowed by contemporary Will Shakespeare (though at the time he was what we would now call quite the celebrity), and that he was most likely gay. But when I spotted this beautiful cover I was immediately intrigued, even more so once I found out it was about Kit's supposed spying for the Crown. In all honestly, I was expecting this book to be on the dry side and was really pleasantly surprised! It's all the fun and danger of Jason Bourne wrapped up in the glitter and dirt of 1500s England.

Christopher Marlowe, called Kit, is the poor son of a shoemaker with a wit and talent far beyond his meager beginnings. At Cambridge, he finds himself shunned by the other students, who are almost exclusively rich lordlings. Out of his few friends, his closest is Tom Watson. Kit wishes they were even closer. However, the politics and favoritism of school is soon left behind when Kit is approached by Sir Francis Walsingham--principal secretary to Queen Elizabeth and spymaster. He has seen potential in Kit, and with that potential comes money. What Kit doesn't realize is that he will lose something in exchange for all that he gains--his soul.

This is a spy tale with heart. Kit is young and brash and charming, with a quick tongue and even quicker brain. I felt the excitement when he broke codes or narrowly avoided discovery, and all the heartbreak of his love for Tom, who is pulled into the Crown's schemes because of Kit. For lovers of the period, you will find many familiar faces within these pages, far beyond Shakespeare and Walsingham--there is Mary, Queen of Scots (Kit's first mark), actor Edward Alleyn, famous spy Robert Poley, and Sir Robert Cecil, too.

Please check this one out if you're interested in the time period, but be sure to bring your tissues! Kit is as wonderful and wicked as he was in real life and you'll be sore to lose him.

Book Review: The Woman in the Mirror by Rebecca James

The Woman in the Mirror by Rebecca James
Length: 368 Pages
Genres: Gothic Horror, Historical Fiction
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Trigger Warnings in this book for Miscarriage, Forced Institutionalization, Parental Abuse, Suicide, Relationship Between an Adult and a Minor (A girl and her teacher. Not Graphic.), Forced Adoption, Blood and Murder

It always delights me to discover a new (well, semi-new) gothic being published, as that's the genre of my heart and also the one I'm currently writing in! The Woman in the Mirror is full of delightful and well-done genre-conventions that will make a gothic lover's heart sing!

In 1947, Alice Miller has been hired to be a governess at the Cornish estate of Winterbourne. It is just after the war and she is eager to leave London, the Blitz, and the untimely death of her fiancé far behind her. There, she meets the enigmatic Captain Jonathan de Grey, left scarred and with a limp from the war, and his cherubic twins, Constance and Edmund. Only, things are not right at Winterbourne. The previous Governess left mysteriously and abruptly. The Captain is loathe to speak of the death of his wife, whose life and sudden end hangs over the estate like a shadow. Alice wants nothing more than to be a balm to the children who so need a mother, and perhaps, find a way to the Captain's heart, but she is thwarted at every turn by something sinister, jealous, and hundreds of years old.

In modern day New York, Rachel Wright is the head of a newly-opened gallery and the lover of a famous entrepreneur--yet it's not enough. All her life, Rachel has felt displaced, hollowed-out by the knowledge that she doesn't know where she came from. She is adopted, you see, and knows nothing of her biological parents. But that is about to change, because Rachel is told that she has inherited a isolated Cornish estate--Winterbourne--from an unknown aunt. Driven by questions that she is both afraid and desperate to answer, Rachel leaves everything behind in New York to go to Cornwall and discover her past, and possibly her future. But whatever stalked Alice all those years ago has not grown weaker with time and is ready for fresh de Grey blood.

This is a story that would be perfect for Halloween--it's full of foggy Cornish weather, an angry witch, a portrait that changes constantly and all sorts of things that go bump in the night. Rebecca James writes beautifully and it only adds to the dark spell The Woman in the Mirror will cast on you. If you're looking for a recently published work along the vein of the classics Rebecca or The Turn of the Screw, this will do just the trick!

Book Review: Book of Night by Holly Black

Book of Night by Holly Black
Length: 306 Pages
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Trigger Warnings in this book for Violence, Gore, Familial Abuse, Parental Neglect, Mentions of Incest and Mentions of Drug Addiction

“There'd always been something wrong with Charlie Hall. Crooked, from the day she was born. Never met a bad decision she wasn't willing to double down on. Had fingers made for picking pockets, a tongue for lying, and a shriveled cherry pit for a heart. If her shadow had been one of those magic ones, she was pretty sure even that thing would have run away.”

I've spoken before about how much I love Holly Black's works. The Folk of the Air series is one of my favorites of all time, and before that, when I was little, I was obsessed with The Spiderwick Chronicles. They were some of the first books that I just devoured, usually reading one a day, and I of course loved the artwork of Tony DiTerlizzi (and yes, I was disappointed by the movie). So in a way, I feel that Holly Black shaped who I am today, contributed to my love of dark fairytales, mythology, and even parts of my creativity. There just weren't books out there to feed my fascination like The Spiderwick Chronicles did! So of course, I was thrilled to bits to find out she would be writing her first ever adult book, and my sister lovingly preordered it for me! And as always, Holly Black did it again, weaving something together that will both mesmerize and break your heart.

Charlie Hall is known as "The Charlatan", an expert thief and conwoman who has made her name stealing, mostly priceless tomes from "gloamists". Gloamists are people who can do a special sort of magic, able to command their shadows, to make them change into fantastical shapes, or slip through the smallest crack to find out dirty little secrets. Now, after a brush with a gun, Charlie has decided to go the straight and narrow, and works almost exclusively as a bartender. But the lure of fast money and the thrill of swiping something right from under someone's nose is still there. She wants to be good, for her new boyfriend Vince, who has mysteriously lost his shadow, and for her sister, Posey, who craves a quickened one more than anything.

Unfortunately, trouble seems to be drawn to Charlie. There is the mysterious death of a rare book dealer, his shadows torn to bits--his last known sighting? The bar where she works. When she sticks her nose in it, it ends in her being harassed at her work by a gloamist who's looking for a special book and a special person. Vince comes to her rescue, killing the gloamist as easily as squashing an ant. There are secrets that Vince is keeping, about his past and his present, ones that Charlie will do anything to discover--even if it breaks her heart in the process. Thus begins a tale of blood-fed shadows, dark cabals, and proof that revenge is a dish best served cold.

This book was a beautiful blend of horrific fairytale and gothic mystery, which is nothing less than I've come to expect out of Black. Full of her wonderful, biting prose and characters that are so perfectly rendered they feel real, I couldn't wait to find out all the secrets in this book, but loved every minute it took. I recently described Holly Black as the queen of writing "bad girls", and she has done it again in Book of Night. Charlie is a loveable hard-ass with as much bite as her cocktails, but has that sort of vulnerability you can easily lose with characters like this. All I can say is read it--it's the urban fantasy you've been waiting for.

Book Review: Blind Tiger by Sandra Brown

Blind Tiger by Sandra Brown
Length: 512 Pages
Genres: Historical Romance, Romantic Suspense
Rating: 4 out 5 Stars

Trigger Warnings in this book for Violence, Graphic Scene of Rape and Assault

I've been hearing tell of a romantic thriller set in Texas during the Prohibition which also contains a cowboy hero with a heart of gold and a hairy chest (my own kryptonite), so of course I had to pick up Blind Tiger by Sandra Brown! Don't be frightened by the heftiness of this book, it is long, yes, but also packed full of amazing details of the time period which really make the setting come alive. As a born and bred Texan I also delighted at seeing some of our more dialectal phrases being used e.g. being on someone like a "duck on a junebug"! It was no surprise to me that Ms. Brown is a true Texan as well.

Thatcher Hutton has mustered out of the army post-WWI and is traveling home to the ranch where he works via hitching rides on trains. When a brawl with some hobos, ornery after losing money to him in a card game, forces him to jump from the train, a little worse for wear, he happens upon a shack. He stops for water, to ask for directions to the nearest town, and just so happens to meet Laurel Plummer, a young widow.

Laurel is still reeling after the abrupt suicide of her husband. Left with a newborn baby, she has no one to turn to, except her father-in-law, Irv. He doesn't have much, but he cares for her and the baby as best he can. When Thatcher appears, Laurel can't deny the instant attraction and electric connection they have. But Irv is suspicious of Thatcher because, secretly, he's running an illegal moonshine business and the law is sending in agents to pick through them like vultures over bones.

Thatcher has, unfortunately, arrived at a very bad time. The local doctor's young wife, heavily pregnant and hated by the locals for being a German, has gone missing--right after talking to him. With murders happening left and right, a moonshine war brewing and all sorts of seedy shenanigans running deep in the town, Thatcher and Laurel must decide which side of it all they're on and hopefully not kill each other in the process.

I really enjoy historical romances that move beyond just the romance, that feature a cast of authentic and highly readable characters, that informs you as much as it titillates! This book was full of action, but also emotion, and contains not only a smart female character but a kickass hero who will not only be a gentleman but a law unto himself should Laurel get hurt. Fans of westerns as well as romances would enjoy this and I love how it's in a sort of unusual time period for a western--most are set in the 19th century, at least in my experience. Highly recommend!

Book Review: From Bad to Cursed by Lana Harper

From Bad to Cursed by Lana Harper
Length: 368 Pages
Genres: Contemporary Romance and Fantasy
Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

A special thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for providing me with an ARC of this book!

I previously had the good luck to get an ARC of the first book in the series, Payback's a Witch, by Lana Harper, and I gave it a whopping five stars! It was witchy and funny and sexy, so obviously I jumped at the chance to get my hands on the sequel! Unfortunately, I didn't like this one quite as much.

Isidora "Issa" Avramov comes from a long line of badass, darkly-inclined witches, but has her own softer side as well, one that yearns to design her own ready-to-wear, sustainable fashion. She also loves animals, and at eighteen she worked at a shelter. Unfortunately for her, goody-two-shoes and green magic expert Rowan Thorn also worked there and certainly lived up to his name--he was a thorn in Issa's backside the whole time she was there, until finally she snapped and served up some magical retribution.

Now, Issa and Rowan see each other as enemies, just as their families have for generations. But when a necromantic curse--the Avramov family's specialty--is cast on a Thorn, leaving the girl weak and with hardly any magic, they must come together to get to the bottom of who could have the motive and means to create such deadly magic. And even more shocking, Issa thinks she might like Rowan. Like Rowan.

I was really excited to sink my teeth into this book, mostly because the Avramov's were the most fascinating of the families to me, and the heroine, Isidora, is Talia's little sister (Talia was my favorite part of Payback's a Witch!). Rowan started off a bit one-dimensional, something a lot of the characters outside of the protagonist face, and just when I thought he was getting a bit more depth, I felt he went right back to his old ways (which is pretty much perfect, might I add). They had a cute relationship, and I liked how much they talked things out to resolve conflict. Unfortunately, I ended up feeling like the mystery and history of Thistle Grove was just overall more exciting than the romance in this installment.

But please, if you loved the first one, give this one a go as well. If anything, it'll produce some laughter and sunshine for your day, along with a lot of snark and spells! 

Book Review: The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas

The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas
Length: 352 Pages
Genres: Gothic and Historical Fiction
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

A special thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for providing me with an ARC of this book!

Trigger Warnings in this book for Murder, Racism, Colorism, and Mentions of Rape

"I was going to die in this house. The knowing swept through me, heavy with grief, cold and oracular as the whispered words of a saint.

San Isidro was my tomb."

The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas is a book I've so been looking forward to, namely because I'm such a huge fan of a Gothic and am loving how they are having a bit of a revival (which is good news for my own book!), but also because I thought it was so refreshing to see this sort of novel set someplace outside of the usual European setting. The result is a haunting blend of religion and magic, priests and witches, and the horrors of colonialism in Mexico.

When Beatriz accepts the hand of the handsome and wealthy Don Rodolfo Solórzano, it is not because she loves him--it is because she has lost everything after her father was executed during the overthrow of the Mexican government, and wants nothing more than to have a place to call home for her and her mother. But the Solórzano family estate, Hacienda San Isidro, is a place full of secrets--and perhaps something even more insidious. For something in San Isidro is angry, something that slams doors, that leaves rats eviscerated, that causes spectral, girlish laughter.

Exhausted and terrified by sleepless nights doing battle with San Isidro, Beatriz feels she has no one else to turn to but the church. There, she finds Andrés, a mestizo priest with strong familial roots within San Isidro, and startingly, powers that seem not of this world. Together, they hope to cleanse San Isidro of its ghosts--both literal and figurative--and to get to the bottom of what happened to the first Doña Solórzano.

This novel is beautifully atmospheric--I especially appreciated the wonderful descriptions of San Isidro and the land around it--spooky and wonderful all at once. The two protagonists of The Hacienda, Beatriz and Andrés, are very interesting and well-fleshed, and the relationship that blooms between them (deliciously slow-burn might I add) is lovely, too. My only qualm with it is that I felt the other characters, particularly that of Rodolfo and his sister, really suffered from a lack of dimension. I think there was a lot that could have expanded upon to add more depth to these characters and even some scenes within the novel. But these are nitpicks that will not hinder the enjoyment of The Hacienda in any way for other readers! 

If you are a fan of Gothics like I am, this one is a must-read and a breath of fresh air for the genre while holding onto what makes it so enjoyable: mysteries hidden within dark houses, secretive families, untimely deaths, and of course, a hint of forbidden romance!

Book Review: Siren Queen by Nghi Vo

Siren Queen by Nghi Vo
Length: 288 Pages
Genres: Historical Fiction and Fantasy
Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

A special thanks to NetGalley and Tordotcom for an ARC of this book!

Trigger Warnings in this book for Racism, Homophobia, Body Horror, Violence, Gore, Antisemitism and Sexism

“Like we understood to make wide circles around the drunks on the streets and how calico cats were the luckiest of all, we understood immortality as a thing for men. Men lived forever in their bodies, in their statues, in the words they guarded jealously and the countries they would never let you claim. The immortality of women was a sideways things, haphazard and contained in footnotes, as muses or silent helpers.”

Having already read some of Nghi Vo's work previously, I had very HIGH expectations for her newest work, which is inspired by Old Hollywood, only made much darker and much more magical.

Luli Wei (we never learn her real name) has always loved movies. When she was a little girl, she would trade inches off her hair for a ticket inside the theater to see Juliet kill herself over her beloved Romeo, or perhaps get a glimpse of Su Tong Lin, the only woman on the big screen who looked like her. Luck seems to be on her side when she stumbles across a movie set and is immediately chosen to be an extra for the film. The magic of movie making gets in her blood, taints it. But the world of the stars is one that will chew you up and spit you out, or worse, leave you a brainless extra that they trot out in times of need, called "nodders". Once, Luli was told she was "cold as the Atlantic", and it will be that ice in her veins that will keep her alive and famous--and grant her her most famous role as the hissing and red-tailed "siren queen". But even after fame has found her, her pride and temper might cost her more than just her next role--it might cost her her life.

This a novel that is full of a strange magic, both in the prose and the subject matter. Changelings stalk the movie sets, people drink up other people's years in teacups, and the truly famous become real life stars--hung aloft in heaven by some amazing power that also grants them immortality. Luli is a character with an amazing depth; she is bitter and strong and wise, with a surprising inner softness and loyalty. She wants to be something. But most of all, she wants to belong to herself and herself only, a hard thing in the line of work she has chosen. Told from her point of view, we get a sort of pseudo-biography that could belong to any Old Hollywood starlet, detailing her childhood spent in her family's laundry in Hungarian Hills, to her many powerful and doomed loves, if not for the whispers of monsters and magical mayhem, imps and silver kisses. 

This is a book that will wrap you up in its spell, holding you fast until the very last page, and leave you gasping for more. There is no doubt that Nghi Vo is not only here to stay but a gale-force talent to be reckoned with, one that will certainly hold us captive for many more years to come.

Book Review: The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn

The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn
Length: 435 Pages
Genres: Historical Fiction
Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Trigger Warnings in this book for Graphic Depictions of War, Blood, Death, Gore, and Mentions of Rape

"Because people love war heroes...but even in my own beloved homeland, war heroes are supposed to be clean and uncomplicated. Those urging me to write my memoir will want a patriotic young woman who fought to defend her country, a heroine to root for with a story clean and simple as a full moon--and I was that young woman, but I was more. My moon had a midnight side."

I have previously read one other book by Kate Quinn called The Huntress, and while I didn't love it, I knew she was talented with a great knack for storytelling and an obvious love for history. Previously, I had watched the 2015 movie, Battle for Sevastopol, which was a fictionalized account of Red Army sniper Lyudmila Pavlichenko's life. She was a woman who killed 309 Nazis, and famously said on an American tour: "Gentlemen, I am 25 years old and I have killed 309 fascist invaders by now. Don't you think, gentlemen, that you have been hiding behind my back for too long?" So when I realized Quinn's newest book was about her, I knew I had to get my hands on it! And I'm so happy I did.

Lyudmila Pavlichenko is a single mother, a history student, a grinder at the Kyiv Arsenal Factory--and a deadly sniper. When war broke out, she knew she had to do something--something to ensure a place for her young son, free of Fascism. With six months in a sniper school under her belt, she enlisted without a second thought, and challenged the registrar who pushed her to become a nurse. She wanted to be in the infantry, or nothing else.

In two-and-a-half months, Pavlichenko wracked up 187 recorded kills. Her biggest war, however, would be fought against men who thought her weak, men who wanted her for her body and would have her demoted if she refused them, and two men who break down her ironclad defenses and touch her heart. But with war comes sacrifices, of sleepless nights, of peace, of her beautiful city of Odessa, and of those she cares about the most--her platoon, her friends, her love.

Lyudmila has seen the horrors of war and doesn't want the fame and medals that come along with it. But Stalin has other plans for her. The "girl sniper" will be sent to America with two other students to make speeches and hobnob with the President in order to convince them to open up a second front in Europe. Without them, more Soviet blood will be spilt, more buildings bombed and more families torn apart. There, Lyudmila's quick temper will be tested, and surprisingly, she will find a friend in the first lady, Eleanor Roosevelt. And quickly, shockingly, find herself at the center of a plot to assassinate Franklin D. Roosevelt.

I adored this book--Quinn painted such a vivid picture of life at the front, and most importantly, of being a woman at the front, and I found myself entranced, practically unable to put it down. Lyudmila was an astounding woman and I think that Quinn really captured her character and spirit, and of course she would, since she researched her so fully, and read her autobiography as well. Right now, it is hard to imagine us being allies with Russia--we've been enemies in the not-so-distant past, and are enemies this very minute--but without Russia we might live in a very different world today, one in which Fascism won. As Quinn says in her notes it is often said "that Word War II was won with British intelligence, American steel, and Soviet blood." For lovers of fiction covering WWII, here is a book that will open up a new side of the war, featuring a woman who was a finely-honed instrument of death and is almost always forgotten, along with all the other amazing and brave women who made our victory possible. 

Book Review: Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel

Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel
Length: 432 Pages
Genres: Fantasy and Historical Fiction
Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

A special thanks to NetGalley and Redhook for providing me with an ARC of this novel!

Trigger Warnings in this book for Blood, Gore, Misogyny and Death

I've always loved mythology ever since I was little (one of my favorite gifts I received for my birthday was a book on Greek mythology), but like many, I've neglected learning more about mythologies outside of a Eurocentric view. Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel was one of my most anticipated reads of 2022 and I'm so excited to say I think it will be one of my top books of 2022 as well!

Kaikeyi is the oldest daughter, a yuvradnyi (crown princess) to her twin brother's yuvraja (heir apparent), of the raja of Kekeya, and a mother who has been banished, forgotten as easily as if she was a mere servant. Life among seven brothers and a father who sees her as nothing more than bait for a political marriage, is both privileged and hopeless. She wants to be just as good a warrior, just as good a politician and student, as her many brothers. With the loss of her mother, she is plunged into despair and turns to her beloved scrolls for advice. There, she discovers a secret, a place that she can enter into with meditation, a place where she can see all the many tethers that make up the relationships around her. With practice, she will be able to manipulate those tethers, to stroke them into calmness, or suggest someone confess to her a secret.

Years later, Kaikeyi is bargained away as a third wife to the raja Dasharath, who desires nothing more than an heir--but it is in a bargain of her own making. In exchange for her hand, she asks that should she produce a son, he will be made the sole heir to the kingdom, no matter if his other wives eventually have sons as well. He accepts, before her father and twin and their entire court.

At her new home, Kaikeyi cultivates relationships with servants, courtiers, and her fellow radnyi. But still she does not have a son. Desperate, Dasharath calls on the gods for help, and they answer, offering magical kheer for the wives to drink in order to produce heirs. Little do they know that the gods have set into motion a plan that will bring bloodshed and betrayal in its wake.

But Kaikeyi has one last trick up her sleeve. When her marriage to Dasharath was still young, she saved his life in battle. In payment he granted her two boons, oaths to the gods that whatever she wanted he must grant. Now, Kaikeyi can choose to use these boons to save her kingdom and her family, but at the cost of being forevermore a villain in her own tale.

Based on the ancient Sanskrit epic Ramayana (which is one of the largest epic poems in the history of the world), Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel explores a much-maligned character, that of the stepmother to the hero of the story, Rama. He is an avatar of the god Vishnu and is an incredibly important character in Hindusim. While in the epic Kaikeyi is somewhat given the excuse of being swayed by her maid, the humpbacked and conniving Manthara, in this version, she makes choices of her own free will, for better or worse. She is full of strength and doubts, goodness when she is afraid she is nothing but wicked and forsaken by her gods. Kaikeyi is truly a character that will stick with you long after you turn the last page.

Full of fascinating deities, magic and heartbreak, Patel has breathed new life into a character who before existed little beyond her betrayal and her womanhood. Perfect for fans of Ariadne by Jennifer Saint and Circe by Madeline Miller--welcome Kaikeyi into your collection of favorite mythology villainesses!

Book Review: The No-Show by Beth O'Leary

The No-Show by Beth O'Leary
Length: 352 Pages
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

A special thanks to Berkley for an ARC of this book!

Trigger Warnings in this book for Miscarriage, Death, and Harassment

Siobhan is beautiful, quick-tempered and Irish. She is a life coach who seemingly has her own perfectly together. But after a disastrous breakup with a man she thought she loved, she has become an expert on pushing those she loves far away. Hookups are her way of life. No strings attached means no hard feelings.

Miranda is a tree-surgeon who is practical and, according to her younger twin sisters, boring. The only thrill she seems to crave comes from scaling trees and chopping down branches with a chainsaw. And sometimes gazing at the bearded and tattooed bad-boy at work, AJ. Too bad she's already taken.

Jane loves routine: she always chooses the same yogurt pot at the bakery, has certain clothes for certain days, and never reads more than one book a month. All of this is a way of coping after a scarring dismissal from a law firm in London, which came along with a scandal that still haunts her. Unfortunately, a sweet man with a love for books decides to make her his friend. Only Jane wishes they could be more.

What do all of these women have in common? They are all involved with the same charming, perfect, and thoughtful man: Joseph Carter.

I've been meaning to read some Beth O'Leary and so I was quite excited when I was contacted by the publisher to receive an early copy of her latest for review! The No-Show is wonderful, full of comedy and heartbreak and of course, love, and I relished every moment of it. I had an idea as to what the twist was, and although I turned out to be right, it didn't lessen my enjoyment of the book. All of the ladies have unique and strong personalities and I found myself wanting each one to find her happily ever after with Joseph, who is a memorable hero with tons of heart. This is a perfect summer read, one I can't recommend enough! If you're a fan of British rom-coms like Notting Hill, I think this will surely be your new favorite (and might I say young Hugh Grant would have played a perfect floppy-haired and bumbling Joseph).

Book Review: The Novice's Tale by Margaret Frazer

The Novice's Tale by Margaret Frazer
Length: 229 Pages
Genres: Historical Mystery, Cozy Mystery
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Trigger Warnings in this book for Graphic Descriptions of a Death by Poisoning, and Fatphobia

"Help us, Seinte Frideswyde!
A man woot litel what him shal bityde."

-Geoffrey Chaucer

I love a good cozy mystery, and if it happens to also be a historical mystery, then I can't say no! This is the first part of the Sister Frevisse (pronounced FRAY-viss) mysteries, and was originally published in 1992.

In 1431, England, there is little freedom for women. It is no shock then, that those of a pious nature, and a wit beyond men's measure or recognition, often found solace within convent walls. Dame Frevisse, the lady detective of this series, is as pragmatic as she is smart, strong-willed and unafraid to speak up when she feels others are being mistreated. She is the hosteler of St. Frideswide's, and is thus one of the only nuns that move freely from the cloister to the guest halls where pilgrims, both rich and poor, stay. One of the most dreaded visitors to this peaceful place is Lady Ermentrude, who is full of bluster and most often drunk. Her great-niece by marriage, the novice Thomasine, lives in fear of her lady aunt, who threatens to rip her from the convent and force her into marriage at every visit.

It is not too surprising, then, when Lady Ermentrude is poisoned. What is is that a servant in the kitchen, the nosy Martha, is accidentally poisoned when she drinks the Lady's medicated wine and eats her milksops, prepared by Thomasine. Now, Frevisse must use both wit and cunning to exonerate Thomasine, and bring the real killer to justice.

Full of fascinating and vivid detail on both medieval life and the inside workings of a nunnery, this is a short and pleasing read for any historical fiction lover. Highly recommended for a lazy day in the sun, preferably with a cold glass of tea!