Book review : The Organ Job by James Y.Bartlett

The Organ Job
Johann Sebastian Bach Musical Mystery book #1
by James Y.Bartlett

GENRE: #Historical-cozy-mystery

My rating: ★★☆☆☆
Real rating : 2.5

How I wish I had enjoyed this cozy mystery!
It had the potential to be a fantastic light read and a fantastic series to get attached to.
I love classical music and I simply adore settings in 18th century central Europe.

So when I saw this book for free on a book funnel ( and still available for free on Kindle unlimited ) my excitement was sky high!
Unfortunately I really struggled to get to the end and resist the temptation to abandon it.

Before to explain all reasons why it disappointed me, I gonna tell you something about the story :

___PLOT IN SHORT___ Kingdom of Prussia, 1732.
The famous composer Johann Sebastian Bach, along with his wife Anna Magdalena and his cousin and personal secretary Elias Bach, is going from Leipzig to Cassel (now Kassel) to tune the organ of the most important church in the city.
During their stay they learn of the suspicious death of the organist's daughter and the main suspect is her husband, who is also the pastor of the important Martinskirche.
The man has a lot of power and knows how to deceive (and threaten) the people around him.
Only Sebastian, with his wit and the help of his family and a good colleague, can bring the truth to light.
__________________

While I appreciate the idea of a famous composer using his observational skills and insight to uncover the truth, reading the story turned out to be boring and lacking the suggestive charm that the historical set should give.

1) As my plot summary reveals, the culprit is known from the outset (a bit like in the TV series Columbus).
Therefore, to maintain reader engagement, the story requires compelling twists and turns in both the investigation and its narration. Unfortunately, this narrative lacks such twists, and the investigation itself is unconvincing. The narration is unremarkable.

2) The reason why I love reading historical fiction and cozy mysteries set in the past is because I love the feeling of being transported to bygone eras and surrounded by characters who once lived, breathing the suggestive atmosphere of beautiful cities at those times.

However, simply describing the clothing, cuisine, and prominent buildings of a time period is insufficient to create a truly immersive atmosphere.
I've read historical fiction where authors effectively use vivid descriptions of scenes, smells, sensations, and colors to create a palpable sense of the past.
Regrettably, this author failed to achieve that effect for me.

3) The story is told in first person by 3 main characters ( Bach, his wife and his cousin ) + 2 side characters ( Bach's friend and the organist's living daughter ).
I usually enjoy first-person narration, actually it's my favorite one, but here it proved too confusing.

4) The ending was also quite disappointing: (view spoiler)[ no prison or other real punishment for the villain who will escape in the night and no happy ending for the two lovers, who will continue their lives living in different cities. (hide spoiler)]

I only appreciated the cozy atmosphere and the fact that the main characters were based on real people, which motivated me to research their history independently.

The 18th-century setting in Kassel also prompted me to search online for the historical palaces and locations mentioned, leading me to virtually explore the city.
It could have been a compelling historical "whodunit" series if the author had developed the characters more fully, limited the narration to the first-person perspective of one or, at most, two characters and crafted an intricate and captivating mystery with twists that would entice readers to eagerly turn the page.

More descriptive details of the city, rather than focusing on culinary dishes and character outfits, would have made the setting more immersive.
Overall, it was a missed opportunity. For now, I don't plan to read book #2 (already published and available).

Thanks for reading my opinion and sorry for any errors in my text, English is not my native language.

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Book review : City of Vengeance by D.V. Bishop

City of Vengeance
Cesare Aldo book #1
by D.V. Bishop
GENRE: #Historical-mystery #Renassaince-Italy

My rating: ★★★☆☆
This is a mystery set in mid-16th century Florence, Italy.

I'm Italian (so please forgive my English) and I'm always drawn to historical fiction set in the most beautiful and important cities of my country, especially when real historical figures play a role, even a small one, in the story.

The mystery itself wasn't bad, not the best and most engaging I've read in years, but it had a lot of potential to be a great read, however, some things really bothered me and that's why I rated it 3 stars, when it could have been 4 stars.

__PLOT IN SHORT ___ Florence. Winter, 1536.
A prominent Jewish moneylender is murdered in his home, a death with wide implications in a city powered by immense wealth.

Cesare Aldo, a former soldier and now an officer of the Renaissance city’s most feared criminal court, is given four days to solve the murder: catch the killer before the feast of Epiphany – or suffer the consequences.
During his investigations Aldo uncovers a plot to overthrow the volatile ruler of Florence, Alessandro de’ Medici. If the Duke falls, it will endanger the whole city.

A day before another murder had happened: a young boy, who was prostituting himself disguised as a woman.
Strocchi, a constable, Aldo's colleague, wants to shed light on the case, discovering that here too important people who have in their hands the city's trade, are involved with the dead man (or with the murder).

In all this is intertwined with Aldo's private life, in fact he hides a secret and a rival officer of the court is determined to expose some details about Aldo that could lead to his ruin.
Strocchi on the contrary is a sincere young constable still full of ideals and eager to do the right thing, one Aldo can trust.

Would Aldo and Strocchi be able to stop the conspiracy before anyone else dies or will they be defeated by politics and corrupt people greedy for gain and power?
________________

DID I LIKE IT ? My opinions on this book are controversial :

__ABOUT THE MYSTERY ___

YES ---> I liked that part of this BOOK was INSPIRED BY A REAL HISTORICAL EVENT : the murder of Alessandro de Medici which took place in 1537.
I always find historical fiction very interesting when true history is well mixed with fictional elements and I think the writer did it well.

Those who are not Italian will appreciate the author's historical notes, useful and stimulating for better documentation even just by reading Wikipedia.

NO ---> It is true that the book is written in English, so most readers probably don't know many things about the Medici, but I am Italian and since the son of a famous leader (whom a street in my city is also named after) is involved in the story, I already knew the culprit ( ____WARNING : SPOILER[ and also the fact that he is not captured ] SPOILER END _____ ) so I missed a part of the suspense.
Taking inspiration from real events is right, but putting a murder in a book, which you can even read about on the web, is not the best choice.

Furthermore, the first fictional murder seems to almost be forgotten at a certain point in the book and the connection between the two murders is very weak/non-existent.

__ ABOUT THE MAIN CHARACTERS __

YES ---> I became fond of both main characters: Cesare Aldo (at least until 98% of the book when he disappointed me) and Carlo Strocchi.
It's easy to appreciate characters when they are good-hearted men in a world where money and power can corrupt even men of the church as it happened in those days.
It's even easier when one of them has had a troubled past.

The same goes for a secondary character that I think will be recurring in the following books: Saul Orvieto, a Jewish doctor with whom Aldo develops a sentimental bond.

I would have liked to have a little more of the characters' private lives in the book and if I were to read more books in the series, it would be more out of interest in the characters than the mysteries they investigate.

NO---> As you can see above I liked the character the series is named after, Cesare Aldo, almost until the end, when I never expected him to ruin the ending for the readers and behave like a real hypocrite.
How ?
I can only tell you with a SPOILER ( don't read it if you plan to read the book ) ____WARNING : SPOILER[ _ Aldo in the end reveals a truth that had remained hidden: the real culprit of the fictional murder, who was a good boy who in a fight had killed a man hated by everyone for his wickedness.
Not only does Aldo ruin the happiness of two lovers, but his gesture leads the boy to commit suicide.
Aldo's lover had asked him to keep quiet, he knew that the boy was a good person and Aldo could have given him the chance to redeem himself.
I was disappointed by this ending, but I thought that Aldo wanted justice at all costs, not excusing the murder even if the victim was despicable and even if the murder had not been premeditated, but had occurred by accident.
THE REAL PROBLEM FOR ME was when Aldo, on that same night, killed an equally despicable and evil man, so that he would not reveal his secret and thus save his career and life (Aldo is gay and in those days one would end up rotting in prison).
SO HE SET HIMSELF UP AS JUDGE OF ANOTHER, BUT THEN HYPOCRITICALLY COMMITTED THE SAME ACTION: A MURDER!
I wouldn't have minded killing the blackmailer bastard, if Aldo hadn't first condemned the boy to flee and take his own life.
But he ruined a boy's life for a wrong action and then immediately after committed the same action to save his good name and with it himself.
UNACCEPTABLE ! ] SPOILER END _____
This contributed to making me give up continuing the series.
I can't read books where I don't have respect for the main character.

___ ABOUT THE WRITING STYLE __

NO ---> I don't know if the author has been to Italy or has Italian friends, in any case he stuffed the first half of the book with the most vulgar word that we Italians have to express male genitals: "cazzo" and "palle" (sorry if I report it here).
" C..." It's a disgusting word and within the first 25% of the book, it appears frequently, approximately every two to three pages, even in vulgar contexts such as: sucking his "c....".
Then from 25% to 50% of the book it is still a recurring word even in sentences where it could have been avoided. This thing disgusted me a lot, even if in Italy that dirty word has now become a common exclamation.
The issue is not only the vulgarity of the word itself, but also the vulgarity of the sentences in which it was used.
The constant repetition of this word, appearing on almost every page, was disgusting and made me want to stop reading.
If the author didn't want to use the clinical word "penis", he could have employed other Italian words that indicate the male genital organ, such as "uccello" or "pisello," which are less overtly vulgar than the word chosen by him.

The author also had fun inserting here and there Italian words that are readily translatable into English (secretary, office, family , puttana (whore)...) and the purpose of this stylistic choice makes no sense.

--> The atmosphere was no longer Italian because of those words, the author should have instead concentrated a little on some suggestive description of Florence, but apart from mentioning the name of some palaces, there is no description that transports the reader to 16th century Florence.
I recently read a book set in Venice in which there were words in Venetian (which are explainable in Italian, but do not have a corresponding word) and in Italian of the time that would not be translatable and therefore it was right.
BUT IN THIS BOOK THIS DID NOT MAKE SENSE and it seemed ridiculous to me.

Thanks for reading my opinion :-)

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Book review : Her Rebel Heart by Alison Stuart

Her Rebel Heart
by Alison Stuart

GENRE: #Historical-adventure-romance
STANDALONE

My rating: ★★★★☆
3.7 rounded up to 4

Easy read, light romance with a hint of adventure, no drama and happy ending guaranteed.

The setting is English Civil War but other than that there is no real historical information in the book, except perhaps the fact that the author was inspired by real women who endured a siege of their castle when their husbands were engaged in wars.

__ PLOT IN SHORT __ England at times of the Civil War.
Sir John Felton's two daughters are alone with the garrison in their manor Kinton Lacy Castle.
Deliverance is a classic tomboy who studies all the books in the library on war tactics to defend her home.
Penitence, a true beauty, is more feminine and is pining over her broken engagement to her neighbor and lover Jack Farrington, who now fights for the opposing faction, the Royalists.

Captain Luke Collyer and his men are sent from Gloucester to Kinton Lacy by the girls' stern father to help them resist the siege and save the castle and all the people living within the walls.
Luke has a certain reputation with women and the disheveled woman dressed in breeches, who does not want to give up the command, is certainly not his ideal type of woman ... and yet between one skirmish and another the two begin to collaborate and respect each other. The attraction and a strong feeling are a natural consequence ... but the situation is critical and dangerous, someone is betraying from within and perhaps giving in to feelings is not the wisest thing to do ...

_______________________


__CHARACTERS__ As soon as I read the names of the two sisters (Deliverance and Penitence ??? Seriously ? ... Awful !!!) and that Luke was considered a womanizer and she was rebellious and stubborn, I wanted to abandon the book... but since it was already the fourth that I started without then going on I decided to continue.
Horrendous names and two clichés that I hate... But fortunately the characters turned out to be more pleasant than what was my first impression and it was easy to grow fond of them.

I admit that all, but especially the two main characters could have been explored a little more, however when I finished my reading I realized that I missed them and that is exactly what makes me understand the grade I liked them and their story.

__LOVE STORY__ Hmm... Actually I would not recommend this book to those who read mainly romances because the whole story is a mix of various elements and the author does not focus mainly on kisses and meetings.
To be honest I liked this fiction precisely for that reason. Indeed I enjoyed the adventure and the twists (which however were resolved quite quickly ) and the love story developed slowly without being too sappy (which I hate and really didn't want).

---> It's a clean romance up to 80% of the book, then there's one sex scene (which seems a little out of line with the rest of the writing style of the book), but even if it's explicit it's not vulgar and it's described briefly, so nothing particularly steamy.

---> The language is clean and that's something I always appreciate.

---> It's a fast paced adventure, I never found a moment of lull and this helped raise my rating.

---> Not a particularly exciting novel that will remain engraved in your memory, but it's a pleasant read, recommended to those looking for an undemanding content and an entertaining read..

Thanks for reading my opinion and sorry for my English, it's not my native language.

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Giveaway : Carnival Mask Bookmarks

A freebie for you : colorful Bookmarks suitable to all those fascinated by masks

Those of you who still use paper books can print them out and use them as bookmarks. .

CLICK ON THE PREVIEW IMAGE and then DOWLOAD FOR FREE

@TizianaFragnerGraphic
Carnival Masks Bookmark #1
Size 300 x 700

@TizianaFragnerGraphic
Carnival Masks Bookmark #2
Size 300 x 700

I hope you will like it. :-)

Hello friends,
Happy Mardi Gras ! :-D

I've always felt captured by the colors, the sparkle and the mystery of Carnival masks.
That is why every yearin this period, being Italian, my readings are mainly set in Venice, the city of masks par excellence and where Carnival was and still is a very important and eagerly awaited event.

I can't explain why I prefer historical fiction rather then contemporary ones. So I love the settings in Venice of bygone eras, especially the 18th century, with ladies in evening gowns with full skirts, tight bodices and fabulous wigs, lace, ribbons and jewels. men with tricorn hats and large dark cloaks hiding behind masks...
So much liveliness against the backdrop of a mysterious Venice made of water, fog, bridges and gondolas.

I love spy and secrecy games and the Venice of ancient times, in its splendor and its corruption, is the perfect background for this kind of stories.


Would you like some good suggestion
about historical mysteries set in 18th century Venice ?

Here you are :

Scherzo:
Murder and Mystery in 18th Century Venice
by Jim Williams
GENRE: #Historical-mystery
My rating: ★★★★☆


__IN A NUTSHELL __ Ludovico the German, a young eunuch who works as a singer in the theater of the splendid and corrupt Venice, finds a corpse hanged from a bridge.
The man who is with him, a well-known French philosopher named Voltaire, insists to begin a dangerous investigation. A friend of Ludovico, Giacomo Casanova will help to find the truth while the mysterious Count of Cagliostro...well you have to read it by yourself !

... Or first you can read MY REVIEW HERE.

Ascension:
The Alvise Marangon Mysteries book #1
by Gregory Dowling
GENRE: #Historical-mystery
My rating: ★★★★★


__IN A NUTSHELL __ Venice under the Dogeship of Pietro Grimani ( 1741-1752 ). Alvise Marangon is a young cicerone, i.e. a tourist guide that worksin tandem with his friend gondolier Bepi. When one day a couple of customers are stalked by shady characters, Alvise tries to help and finds himself involved in a murder. Arrested by the Doge's men, he has only two choices: rot in prison or act as an ape for the Doge to foil a political plot.
Luckily some good friend as the gondolier Bepi, the librarian Fabrizio and his beautiful daughter Lucia will be a great help in a complicated and really engaging investigation.

I really loved the main character and you can read MY REVIEW HERE

The Four Horsemen:
A Venetian mystery with surprises at every turn
The Alvise Marangon Mysteries book #2
by Gregory Dowling
GENRE: #Historical-mystery
My rating: ★★★★★


__IN A NUTSHELL __ Venice, 1749. Alvise Marangon,a young man raised in England, but born in Venice officially works as a cicerone (tourist guide) for English nobles on tour, but secretly he is also a confidential agent who operates in espionage to protect Venice from intrigues and dark plots. This time too he will find himself involved in the political plots of some rebels and in the greedy greed of Venetian nobles of ill repute.

This one is even better and more compelling than book #1, I loved it very very much ( but please, don't skip the first book, you'll have a better enjoyment of the characters and their stories and a better vision of the whole setting and story ).
----> MY REVIEW HERE


Something for those who love romantic fiction

The Venetian Mask
by Rosalind Laker
GENRE: #Historical-suspence-romance

__ NOT YET READ _ IN MY WISHLIST__


__IN A NUTSHELL __ Enduring friendships and long-held vendettas come alive against the splendor and decadence of eighteenth-century Venice.
Venice, 1775. Elena and Marietta are two great friends who marry men from two feuding families.
As the French Revolution unsettles all of Europe, Elena’s husband frames Domenico and he becomes a political prisoner. Marietta and Elena plot to save him even if they have to put their life at risk. The two women will discover that the tradition of mask-wearing is not only allowing adultery and debauchery, but can have noble purposes too.


Thanks for stopping by and have a nice day !


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Book review : The Four Horsemen by Gregory Dowling

The Four Horsemen
The Alvise Marangon Mysteries book #2
by Gregory Dowling
GENRE: #Historical-mystery
My rating: ★★★★★
full 5-star rating !!!!!!!

A gripping Venetian mystery with surprises at every turn.

Why I LOVED IT in few words :
- gripping mystery from the first to the last chapter
- nice, witty and smart main character
- interesting and nice and quick-witted recurring side characters
- evil villains you can't wait to see punished
- chucklesome and lively dialogues that manage to make the reader enter the souls of the characters
- fascinating backdrop of ancient Venice with engaging but never too long descriptions (as sometimes happens to those who write historical fiction)
- lots of true history cleverly interwoven with fiction
- happy ending without leaving annoyingly unresolved issues, but still fueling the hope of reading not just one, but many sequels !!!
- useful italian and Venetian words glossary available

__ THE PLOT IN A NUTSHELL ___ __ Mid-18th-century Venice.
Alvise Marangon, a young man born in Venice and raised in England by his actress mother, lives in his hometown earning a living as a cicerone (tour guide) together with his friend Bepi the gondolier. He also has a second secret job: he is a secret agent for the Missier Grande, one of the powerful figures who control justice in the Venetian Republic.
Summoned by his superior to investigate the suspicious death of another agent and a possible secret society whose political and subversive objectives are unclear, he finds himself entangled in a deadly game of nocturnal meetings, murders, disappearances of works of art, bewitching and dangerous noblewomen and sadistic spoiled offspring.

The very life of the Republic is in danger and the risk of new wars with the Greeks and Turks is one step away from the hard-won peace.

Fortunately he can count on his shrewdness and skill to improvise, as well as on his laconic, but intuitive ,acute and faithful friend Bepi, on the lovely and also smart girl he loves (but who he has not yet managed to conquer) Lucia and on the erudite and good father of Luicia, the bookseller Fabrizio.


___________**********_____________

---> Fluid WRITING STYLE that makes reading easy and smooth, but at the same time knows how to keep the reader's interest alive not only regarding the investigations and the mystery but also the personal life of the main character, who often finds himself living in dangerous and tangled situations even on an emotional level.

--> While this mystery is perfectly READABLE as a STANDALONE, it would be a shame not to start with book #1.
In fact, if you read this novel after the other, you will have a greater understanding of Alvise and his friends, not only in terms of character, but above all regarding their lives and the world of Venice at that time.
Reading book #1 ( Ascension ) first, will give you a greater enjoyment of the story of book #2.

This second episode in "Alvise Marangon mysteries" is a FULL 5 STARS to me, I have no complaints about it, not even the smallest.

The character of Alvise is captivating, the recurring characters are pleasant and always useful to the investigations (including the lively and clever children who play in the mud and that he often uses to send messages or ask for information... they remind me a little of Sherlock Holmes' "Irregulars").
The adventures are always exciting and fast-paced.

I won't dwelt on the description of the CHARACTERS and how they are portrayed in an excellent way so much so that it seems like you really know them, I will not even dwell on the fact that Gregory Dowling, a writer and professor of Anglo-American literature who has lived in Venice for many years, is able to literally transport the reader to that time and place as if we were in a time machine, but as a reader who loves historical thrillers I assure you that it is worth reading the two books in the Alvise Marangon series.

---> The LENGTH OF THE BOOKS is also PERFECT: not too short (where we often do not have enough details and insights) and not too long (where the writers often divert the discussion into a thousand other preambles and superfluous descriptions, boring and making you lose the thread of the main story).


Reading SUITABLE FOR ALL AGES from 14 years and up:
- Clean language
- 1 sex scene, but not described in detail.
- 1 brutal killing, but not described in gruesome detail (trust me, this is coming from someone who hates horror and bloody details)

I sincerely hope that Mr. Dowling is writing book #3 for this wonderful series.
The premises for writing other exciting episodes are all there and I hope that the series can soon be translated into Italian too.
I am Italian, I like reading in the original language, but I am sure that Alvise Marangon and his mysteries would also be very popular with Italians who do not know English.

Thank you for reading my opinion.
Even though English is not my language, I hope I was able to explain myself well and to have been helpful in choosing the book.

READ ALSO MY REVIEW about the engaging prequel:
ASCENSION, book #1 in Alvise Marangon mysteries by Gregory Dowling.

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Book review : Ascension by Gregory Dowling

Ascension
The Alvise Marangon Mysteries book #1
by Gregory Dowling
GENRE: #Historical-mystery

My rating: ★★★★★
Wonderful and gripping mystery!

4.8 stars rounded up to 5, but only because the author was lazy enough to include only a few meager lines as historical notes, when he could have enlightened the reader in a better way.
As for the mystery itself, the main character, the side ones and the setting, my rating is 5 full stars, I really loved it !!!!

---> If you like historical settings and Italian city like Venice, I recommend it!

Readable as a standalone, since it leaves nothing hanging, but there is also a book #2 ( series : The Alvise Marangon Mysteries ), which I already own and will read as soon as possible.

____PLOT IN SHORT ___ Republic of Venice, 1749.
The city is under the Dogeship of Pietro Grimani ( 1741-1752 ).

Alvise Marangon is a young man born in Venice, but raised by his mother, a theater actress, in England.
Returning to Venice to try his hand at art, after a couple of years he decided to earn a living as a tour guide (cicerone, is the old Italian word), working in tandem with his faithful gondolier friend Bepi.

Thanks to Alvise's perfect bilingualism, they work exclusively with English tourists.
One day they take on a boy and his tutor as clients, both interested in esotericism and who will meet mysterious and suspicious people, dragging Alvise into a network of murders, criminals, blackmailers and spies.

In fact, one of the greatest authorities in Venice will demand that Alvise become an agent in his service, under penalty of prison on false charges.

Days of investigations, disguises, kidnappings, escapes and fortunately also desperate rescues will follow, until Alvise, with the help of his friends, will find the truth.

___****______ **** ______


__MAIN CHARACTER ___ The story is told in the first person by Alvise, who is a sunny, spontaneous, lively character with a subtle irony that makes reading fun, even in moments of great tension.

The humor is never forced or exaggerated to be annoying, on the contrary it is well-dosed by the writer with wit and fully conveys the way of being cheerful and so little inclined to worry about the consequences of words and actions, of the main character.
Alvise will not fail to make you become his fan.

In addition to his sympathy, he proves to be a witty and enterprising guy, full of affection towards his friends and generous to the point of wanting to help even when it would not be convenient for him.

His only flaw is perhaps his loose tongue, he cannot hold back his sarcasm even in front of the authorities and despite having taken a vow of secrecy, he cannot help but be sincere.
Well, I also liked him for this!

___ SIDE CHARACTERS___ They are divided into 4 groups:
- the small circle of people dear to Alvise
- the authorities with whom he is forced to collaborate
- the clients
- the evil ones

Each character has their own peculiarity and each of them (even those that in a film we would call the extras) is useful to make the story more fun, more intriguing, more mysterious, more exciting, more suspenseful ... depending on the case and the moment.

I find them all well described and vivid, so much so that I almost believe I really know them.

___ DIALOGUES__ The dialogues are well written and thanks to the description of the tones of voice we can perfectly imagine the characters while they recite their lines, something that helps to define the atmosphere of the moment, whether it is light or threatening and full of suspense.

___ SETTING ___ In this case the city becomes the co-protagonist of the story.

Its beauty is made of luxurious palaces with foundations in the water, significant monuments in the history of the ancient republic and still existing nowadays, lagoons and canals on which gondolas and boats of different types parade day and night, fabulous and large squares where the festive crowd pours in full of colors and masks, dark nights in which only few lanterns reveal the human figures hidden under tricorn hats and cloaks...

Dowling's descriptions take you directly to the first half of the 18th century of the Venetian Republic and you can enjoy its timeless charm to the full while reading the book.

___MYSTERY____ It seems more complicated than it is, but until the end the reader remains wrapped up in uncertainty and doubt.
Perhaps I was more fascinated by Alvise's way of operating and the constant trouble he finds himself in, rather than by the mystery of the murder.
---> I mean, I was so caught up in the whole adventure that I wasn't focused on wanting to know who killed who at all costs. I think that the strength of this thriller is precisely this and I think that a good film director could really make a great movie out of it!

There are several characters who are not who they say they are so the twists and turns alternate with the theories that the reader is led to hypothesize, in this way you get to the end of the book without ever having a boring moment.


__ YOU HAVE TO KNOW THAT ___ There are several words in the book that necessarily had to be written in Italian and Venetian, just to make the story more impressive and suggestive, but the author has provided a GLOSSARY, located AT THE END OF THE BOOK.
It is very useful even for me, because despite being Italian I do not know the Venetian words.

___ HISTORICAL NOTES: unfortunately disappointing, they are only a few lines and to know the basic history of the characters who really existed and the politics of Venice and some objects mentioned in the book by name (such as the "Marangona" and the "Bucintoro", but which are not explained during the story or in the glossary and you will have to search for them yourself on the web.)
In a novel in which fiction merges with true history, historical notes by the author are important to me.
I always feel disappointed when they are missing or almost that.

RECOMMENDED READ ?? Off course yes, to all mystery lovers, even to those who love "cozy mysteries" because:
- there are no bloody scenes
- the language is clean
- there are no sex scenes

Thanks for reading my opinion and sorry for my English, I'm from Italy.

READ ALSO MY REVIEW about the very well written and gripping sequel:
THE FOUR HORSEMEN , book #2 in Alvise Marangon mysteries by Gregory Dowling.

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Book review : The Silence of Stones by Jeri Westerson

The Silence of Stones
Crispin Guest Book #8
Medieval noir by Jeri Westerton
GENRE : #Historical-mystery

My rating: ★★★★★
4.5 rounded up to 5 stars.

I can say that Crispin Guest is definitely my favorite mystery series !

2024 has been a year in which I've read a lot of boring and unsatisfying books, so when I read one of Crispin Guest's adventures I always feel like I'm finally with an amazing long-time friend, who I can always count on for fun!

It's difficult to love every book in the same series with the same enthusiasm and I admit that I feared the moment had come when I would be disappointed... especially in the first pages when everything seemed too calm to be anything other than the world of Crispin and his apprentice Jack Tucker.
Luckily for me, that world is always full of rude rascals and when, after a few chapters, another nice friend of Crispin's arrived (already a co-protagonist in book #3), the adventure began!

___ PLOT IN SHORT __ England, 1388.
Crispin Guest and his loyal apprentice Jack Tucker are attending a ceremony in Westminster Abbey, when suddenly, after an explosion, King Richard II realizes the Stone of Destiny has disappeared.

After the crushing defeats suffered by the Scottish rebels, the king cannot afford any further weakening of authority and power. He, desperate, requires Crispin to find both the stone and the culprits within 3 days and with his usual contempt and hatred for the former knight, he has Jack imprisoned and promises to have him hanged if the case is not solved.

Without clues or witnesses, everything turns out to be very complicated and while Jack's life hangs by a thread, Crispin will have to get help from an old friend to face 3 groups of enemies.

______________________

Unlike the other first 7 books, here Crispin and Jack ( __THE 2 MAIN CHARACTERS __ ) find themselves separated and while Crispin desperately tries to save the life of his apprentice, for the first time Jack also has his own little case to solve, entrusted to him by none other than the queen!

I found it a good variant to give a bit of freshness to the series and above all it allows the reader to see how Jack is growing not only physically, but also acquiring awareness and maturity.

The series begins with thirty-year-old Crispin and twelve-year-old Jack.
A disgraced knight estranged from court because he was involved in a plot against the king and a small bag cutter with no one in the world who cares about him.

WHY ONLY 4.5 stars and not 5__WHAT I LIKED LESS THAN USUAL ___

While all the previous books introduce their past and their beginning together in an exhaustive way, this volume focuses more on the bond of father-son affection and mutual dependence that was created between the two of them, leaving the reader in a sort of limbo (and therefore too many questions without answer) regarding their past and who and what made them who they are now.

For this reason, although the adventure of this book has a beginning and an end without leaving anything unfinished, I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND IT AS A STANDALONE.

I liked the book, but I admit that I would not have been able to appreciate either the emotional dynamics or the witty moments between Crispin and another character already seen in book 3, if I had not read the previous books first.

-----> This is also why I didn't give it 5 full stars.
In fact, I think that this story is enjoyable and appreciable only by those who already know the characters and their vicissitudes very well, otherwise it could seem like a mystery that can easily be forgotten.


__WHAT I LIKE HERE AND IN ALL THE BOOKS IN THE SERIES ___
Crispin Guest's mystery series usually mixes fictional events and fictional characters alongside a handful of real-life characters.

What makes reading enjoyable for me is that while in parallel I can briefly read about the true lives of the characters on Wikipedia (along with all the historical notions that concern them), in the book I see them come to life as if by magic they appeared before my eyes.
Through the dialogues imagined by the author, they take shape and life, surprising me with lively or laconic, sometimes sardonic jokes, generous or despicable actions, behaving cowardly or courageous, siding with Crispin or against him and making themselves adorable or hateful in my eyes.
This is the beauty of fiction, it makes the news from history books more real and closer to us and encourages us to discover more about events and people that perhaps seemed boring to us when we were at school.

___ HISTORICAL FIGURES and also CHARACTERS in this story___
The recurring side characters are often the king Richard II and those around him:
his uncle John of Gaunt the founder of the royal House of Lancaster, Henry Bolingbroke, son of John and future King Henry IV, the sheriffs of the moment, the abbot of Westminster and so on.

Each book gives a special role as co-protagonist to other historical figures of that moment.
This time we have :

___ John/Eleonor Rykener :
a really nice character, good at heart and with a double identity, who, as in real life, worked disguised as a woman both as an embroiderer and as a prostitute.
The character went down in history due to her arrest for prostitution and sodomy and the confusion generated by her disguise.
In the stories of Jeri Westerton, the author, he is a good friend of Crispin, ready to help him in the investigations and also to pleasantly embarrass him with his feminine attitudes that Crispin hates, but which often prove useful to confuse even enemies.

___ Queen Anne of Bohemia:
first wife of King Richard II. Here too, as in reality (considering what I have read about the two young spouses) they are very much in love and Anna has a mitigating effect on Richard's impulsive and unwise decisions.
Through the case that she entrusts to Jack we can admire her in all her kindness and generosity.

___ Katherine Swynford :
first the mistress and then the third wife of John of Gaunt.
Crispin, who has greatly broadened his outlook over his years of disgrace, still clings to the prejudices he held about her as a boy, as he did not approve of Gaunt's affairs outside of marriage.
In this new adventure we see Crispin take another step forward towards greater open-mindedness, capable of giving a second chance to those who deserve it.

A CURIOSITY ABOUT KATHERINE SWINFORD that probably you don't know:
---> Although she is not a prominent figure in history books, many important historical figures descended from her, from that time to modern times including: Princess Diana, Sir Winston Churchill, (Lord) Alfred Tennyson and 5 American presidents (G. Washington, T. Jefferson. J. Quincy Adams, F. D. Roosevelt and G. W. Bush)


___ HISTORICAL OBJECTS : Stone of Scone also known as Stone of Destiny

In each book of the series Crispin is looking for a famous and legendary missing object (this is why he is called the Tracker, his job is to track down missing objects and usually a murder also happens and he will find the culprit).

The object of the moment is something that I, being Italian, had never heard of: the Stone of Scone also known as Stone of Destiny.
A stone which in 1296, First War of Scottish Independence, Edward I of England took as war booty and brought to Westminster Abbey, where it was placed in a wooden chair, known as the coronation chair.

Since then it has been a symbol of the divine right of English kings to rule over Scotland.
The stone only returned to Scotland in 1996 (7 centuries after it was taken!!).
It has been kept in Edinburgh Castle ever since, but with the agreement that it would be brought back to England for each coronation.
Every English monarch has sat on that stone on their coronation day, including Elizabeth II and her son Charles III in 2023.

Being Italian, I know little about English history, so I am fascinated when I read the author's historical notes with all the connections to the book and to reality.


___ MY CONCLUSIONS ____
Although I liked it a lot, this adventure has less action than usual and it's less fast paced compared to the previous books in the series and less impressive, so I suggest you do not start with this one, much better to start from book #1 or at least book #2.

Thanks for reading my opinion and please be patient with my english, it's not my language.

If you want to know more about PREVIOUS BOOKS, you can read my reviews here :

BOOK #1 "Veil of Lies" :

BOOK #2 "Serpent in the Thorns" :

BOOK #3 "The Demon's Parchment" :

BOOK #4 "Troubled Bones" :

BOOK #5 "Blood Lance" :

BOOK #6 "Shadow of the Alchemist"

BOOK #7 "Cup of Blood"

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Book review : A Murder By Any Name by Suzanne M. Wolfe

A Murder By Any Name
An Elizabethan Spy Mystery Book #1
by Suzanne M. Wolfe
GENRE : #Historical-mystery

My rating: ★★★★★
Actual rating : 4.7 rounded up to 5

A good start to a historical mystery series.
Well thought out mix of fictional and historical characters, where it was impossible for me to find out the culprit of the murders, which was surprising although logical.

___ Here THE PLOT IN A NUTSHELL ___ England, under the reign of Elizabeth I.

As it has been since the beginning of time, the court of a kingdom is a place full of intrigue (political and amorous), populated by people in power and people in submission, shrewd spies, some of whom are unsuspected, and naive and innocent people who are transformed into in victims.

When the lifeless body of a Lady in Waiting for the Queen is found on an altar, it is immediately clear that it is a murder, aimed at undermining the authority of the "virgin queen".
It will be up to the young and handsome Nicholas Holt, the queen's unsuspected secret agent, to discover the killer before he strikes again.
His faithful dog Hector, his two Jewish doctor friends and his sensual friend who is the director of a brothel will be ready to help him.

________****__________

Reading this book was like reading two books.
Let me explain: there are only 336 pages ( Kindle Edition ) in which the author tells us in the 3rd person a murder mystery and during the story, she presents not only the main character, but also a series of characters who are his best friends and other characters who they are his acquaintances.

--> Why do I say that I feel like I've read 2 books?
Because unlike other books I have read, the author not only describes the appearance and soul of the character, but also takes the reader into scenes of life spent in the past and which then led to the deep bond that Nick has with them.
Mrs. Wolfe tells about characters past events in a way full of details and sensations, making it so engaging that instead of being perceived by the reader as a digression, it helps him to empathize with all the characters who participate in the story, without exception.

I felt like I was reading the story in the current book and simultaneously other stories in a prequel book.


___CHARACTERS__
The author's cunning was also this:
if for each character introduced, the writer had immediately told me about his/her past, I admit that it would have bored me a little, because each story lasts many pages.

Instead the author gives a first look at the character through quick scenes with witty and lively dialogue between Nick and the others, then continues with the mystery and investigation.

Initially the reader knows the character's name, his role and through dialogues can decide whether he/she is good, villain, with a nice way of being or not.

Later in the story, at the second appearance of the character of the moment (who is no longer a total stranger to the reader, indeed the reader at this point is curious to know more), through Nicholas' memories, we discover his/her origins, as he/her entered into Nick's life, their past connection and how it all connects to the present.

Through the past of Nick's friends and enemies, we get to know Nick even better, his feelings, his fears and hopes, the motivations of his actions and his "non-actions".

All this allowed me to become attached to the characters and to fully enter their world as if I had been reading this series for some time and which leads me to already be certain that I want to read other adventures in the books to follow (for now there is only one book # 2, but I think the writer is writing book #3).

In any case it should be underlined that the book is READABLE AS A STANDALONE.
Nothing remains pending, although more romantic readers will perhaps want to read issue 2 to see if Nick's love life will take a more stable turn (I certainly want to know!)

As I have already said, in addition to the imaginary characters, real historical figures appear and participate in the story to a minimal extent such as:
- Queen Elizabeth I
- Cecil Walsingham spy (politician and diplomat and espionage master)
- Kit Marlowe (playwright and spy)
- Geoffrey Chaucer (writer, poet, bureaucrat and diplomat)
- a young actor named William Shakespeare

As in every fiction, the author took some liberties, including the invention of a court jester that Elizabeth never had, but who here in the book was a character that I liked and hope to find again in the book # 2.

---> In the final author's historical notes you will find what was true and what was invented.

__ SETTING OF THE STORY__ again Mrs. Suzanne M. Wolfe did a good job.
The descriptions of the streets, the taverns, the rooms and the atmosphere are vivid and very detailed, so much so that it is easy to see in the mind the images of the scenes that are taking place and it is easy to breathe the smells and live as if it were live, the sensations that the descriptions inspire in us.

___ MYSTERY ___ at the end of the book perhaps you will realize that the mystery was not that complicated and that the explanation is logical and perhaps could have been predictable, but the clues and the behavior of the suspects mislead the investigations and the reader's suspicions, so the revealing the culprit was something I didn't expect.

__ SUITABLE FOR :
There aren't bloody scenes or any description of a sex scene, therefore suitable reading for everyone aged 14 and over.

I sincerely hope that the writer can publish many more books in this series, I will definitely read them!

Thank you for reading my opinion, I hope I was able to explain myself as best as possible even though English is not my native language.

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Book review : An Affair at Christmastide by Sandra Sookoo

An Affair at Christmastide
a Mary and Bright novel book #1
by Sandra Sookoo
GENRE: #Christmas-cozy-mystery-romance #RegencyChristmas

My rating: ★★☆☆☆
Disappointing !

---> Recommended only for readers interested in steamy romance.
If you are a mystery reader don't waste your time with this.

I was so happy to start a new mystery-romance series and after having appreciated a short story by this author I was expecting to find a good mystery to be solved and a sweet and exciting romance and a nice Christmas atmosphere...
... But some romance writers should stick to romance novels and leave mysteries to those who are more competent at writing them.

__PLOT IN SHORT __ The widow Mary Tomlinson has been living as a recluse in her brother's house for some time to take care of him and her young niece, when one day she has to accompany the girl to a ball.
The ball takes place at the house of a count with whom she lost her virginity as a young woman, only to be abandoned when he was due to marry.

Inspector Gabriel Bright is the brother of the count who hosts the ball, he too is invited to the party as a companion for his twenty-year-old son.
The inspector is also a widower and like Mary has suffered a huge disappointment in the love field.

A mutual attraction instantly sparkles between the two companions and at the ball everything seems fun until an obnoxious butler is found dead.
____________*********____________

I think the story had great potential to be a good book, unfortunately it isn't well developed : 

1) CHRISTMAS ATMOSPHERE = non-existent. If one of the purposes of the book is to "be Christmassy" and the word Christmas is also in the title, then the fact that Christmas is only mentioned in words and there is no Christmas atmosphere, in my opinion it's a flaw !

MORE IMPORTANT : IF ONE WANTS TO WRITE A MYSTERY, ONE MUST ALSO KNOW HOW TO DO IT !!!

2) MYSTERY = not at all well thought and and too many things are so wrong :
--> The Main Male Character, despite being an inspector, takes charge of a murder case that occurred in his brother's house.
Worse: his son was seen by everyone with the weapon in his hands and he's the prime suspect.
How is it possible that this inspector can (on his own initiative, without any permission from Scotland Yard) take on the responsibility of investigating? CONFLICT OF INTEREST!! UNACCEPTABLE
---> Furthermore, he declares that he can only trust himself. I asked myself : WHO MUST ENSURE OTHERS THAT HE IS NOT CORRUPT?
---> Then he names the woman he kissed (another guest of the house which had a past with the owner of the house where happened the murder ) as his assistant in the investigation...

ALL GUESTS ARE SUSPECTS AND MORE SHE ALSO HAD A SOLID MOTIVE TO MURDER THE MAN.
Then the suspect's father, brother of the owner of the house where the murder took place, investigates the murder together with another potential culprit... CRAZY THINGS!! AGAIN UNACCEPTABLE


---> The author also points out that they take everything with gloves and a handkerchief...BUT THE STORY TAKES PLACE IN 1818, THERE WAS STILL NO OPTION TO VERIFY FINGERPRINTS !!
---> His son, found with the bloody knife in his hand, is only 20 years old, if he is not the killer then he found the body...he is presumed to be upset...YET HIS FATHER, THE INSPECTOR, SENDS HIM TO THE ROOM AND FOR OVER 2 DAYS AND IGNORE HIM (without questioning him and without going to see how he is), BUT THE SAME FATHER FINDS THE TIME TO QUESTION 2 OTHER GUESTS (and not his son) AND FLIRT( + ALMOST HAVING SEX ON THE DESK IN THE STUDY ) with a woman he just met.

Hot kisses and sex are entirely inappropriate in that dramatic moment... SHOULDN'T HE WORRY ABOUT HIS YOUNG SON?
Well in 2 days neither the hero nor the heroine of the novel cared about him. Disgusting.
Everything in this book is focused on the attraction between the two MC and their hunger for sex.

---> Another stupid thing:
When they finally question the boy together... suddenly the twenty year old boy (who has an excellent relationship of affection and friendship with his father, as the author shows us in some initial scenes) looks scared and intimidated by his father as if he were a stranger and was too strict and for every movement and response he ( the boy ) seeks comfort in the woman, a stranger he has just met, like if he were a 6 year old little boy as if he's known her forever... it's just ridiculous and it conflicts with everything that was written before. RIDICULOUS!!!

---> Then at a certain point the author has the Female Main Character, who is neither a doctor nor an investigation expert, check the dead man... and she examines the corpse like a professional, while the inspector (with 20 years of experience) stands there, staring at her in amazement like an open-mouthed idiot.

The author justifies everything by saying that the protagonist is a reader of crime novels... SO ONE BECOME AN EXPERT PATHOLOGISTS ONLY BECAUSE IS USED TO READ MYSTERY NOVELS ????? ...Come on, this isn't believable even in fiction

MORE : I remember you that they are in 1818, they had not mystery books so explicative as nowadays mystery books like CSI tv series ( and even nowadays I doubt one could know so much only by reading or watching tv ).

  :-(( Of course the book is full of other bullshit that made me very nervous and ruined the reading, but it would take me too long to list them all.

3) ROMANCE = The romantic part looks more like a contemporary romance than one set in the early 1800s.
Audacity in main characters behaviour and double-meaning dialogues that would have been funny in a contemporary brilliant comedy, in my opinion are not so plausible in the Regency era (it is 1818), at least not for a woman who spent 10 years as a spinster, acting as governess in the house of the brother.
---> It looks like the author was inspired by some modern films and adapted dialogues to a regency romance.

---> Furthermore :the book begins by showing the two protagonists respectively as lonely and partnerless people for the last 10 years, disappointed and deeply hurt by those they had loved in the past and almost on every page it is underlined that they will never openly trust someone else again.Suddenly they collide in the carriage house, without even seeing her face he feels the shape of a woman and instinctively kisses her, she feels the hard chest of a man and responds to the kiss by putting her arms around his neck.

Well... I admit that after 10 years of solitude they are hungry for stronger emotions and even sex, but two people who have been alone for ten years wouldn't be so uninhibited, they would be rather awkward, furthermore two people who fear suffering again don't throw themselves in each other's arms so immediately and with such an hot passion as these two.
I find this hardly believable!
 
The plot is full of inconsistencies and seems to be written specifically for readers who want nothing more than to read spicy love scenes and are not interested in everything else.

I WILL NOT READ OTHER BOOKS IN THIS SERIES.

Thanks for reading my opinion and please forgive my bad English, since it's not my native language.

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Book review : The Theft Before Christmas by Cheryl Bolen

The Theft Before Christmas
The Regent Mysteries book #3
by Cheryl Bolen
GENRE: #Christmas-cozy-mystery-romance #Regency-novella

My rating: ★★★☆☆
Real rating 2.5 rounded up to 3 stars

Short story that combines mystery and romance in the Regency era.
I chose it as a read because I love this mix and the time of year it is set in is Christmas.

__PLOT IN SHORT __ Christmastide. Regency England.
Captain Dryden and his wife Lady Daphne are held in high regard by the Prince Regent, as they helped foil dangerous plans against the country and the crown.
Just as they are preparing to go and spend Christmas with her aristocratic family, they are called by her highness.
A famous statuette given to him by the King of Spain has disappeared and it is important to find it in time for the King's visit, to avoid a political clash.

Meanwhile, a friend of the captain and a young aristocratic girl under the protection of Lady Daphne remain alone and without a chaperone waiting for the Dryden couple. United by concern for their friends, they discover that they are very attracted to each other.
______________

This Christmas novella is book #3 in a series of mystery-romance novels ( THE REGENT MYSTERIES ), but the good news is that it can be read as a standalone, in fact the author has fully managed to illustrate to the reader the situation regarding the bonds between the various characters, their way of being/their way of think and how they got to where they are in the book.

The bad news however is that being a short story it should have focused more on one of the 2 themes and less on the other.
---> Let me explain better:

In a 230/300 page novel the author has plenty of time to develop a romantic bond between 2 characters and develop an intricate and well thought out mystery that keeps the reader on their toes.

Since the novella is much shorter than the novel, considering that a part of the pages must be dedicated to introducing the characters and situations of the previous books) everything is done more quickly and if the remaining space is divided between the budding love story and a mystery to investigate, each of the two themes will have even less chance of being developed.

The result is that the mystery is stupid and inconsistent, it lacks suspense, the investigative questions are boring and repetitive, the solution is obvious and the reader is left with the feeling of having read thin air.

The love story borders on the absurd. I admit that at that time engagements and marriages were decided much less quickly than in our times, but the fact that the two characters fall madly in love after just 2 days together does not give the reader any emotion.

There is no pathos in this story, neither in the mystery nor in the romance and perhaps it could still be a nice story to read for those who are already fond of the two protagonists of the series (a couple who are consolidated in this book, but who seemed equally unlikely), but I confess that if I were an avid reader of this series, I would still have been disappointed.

However, I'm still curious to read the novels of the series, the general plot is promising.
I will try to give book #1 a chance, to see if starting from the beginning I will have a greater chance of becoming attached to the characters and enjoying reading all the volumes.
This short story that is book #3 might help you to get to know a little about the protagonist couple of the series The Regent Mysteries.

Thanks for reading my opinion and please forgive my English ( not my native language ).
Happy holidays to you all !!

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Book review : The Twelve Saints of Christmas by Karen Baugh Menuhin

The Twelve Saints of Christmas
Heathcliff Lennox Mysteries Book #12
by Karen Baugh Menuhin
GENRE: #Christmas-cozy-mystery

My rating: ★★★★☆
Actually 3,7 stars rounded up to 4.

---> If you love classic Golden Age mysteries, then you might like this one even if written by a contemporary author.

In fact, the writing style is very reminiscent of that of "whodunits" from the first half of the 20th century with a very small addition of humor and a little more coziness which in this book is given by the affectionate bond that the two protagonists feel towards their wives, and by the cheerful presence of 3 cats and 1 dog who liven up the scenes from time to time.

__PLOT IN A NUTSHELL ___ England, December 1923.
Major Heathcliff Lennox (ex-RAF pilot) and ex-Inspector Jonathan Swift of Scotland Yard are not at all 2 elderly people as one might expect, but rather 2 charming young people interested in investigating crimes and mysteries, who work for Scotland Yard only for cases involving very wealthy people.

Shortly before Christmas Lennox (who always travels together with his butler and his beloved pets, a dog and a cat) and his best friend Swift are sent by Scotland Yard to shed light on a strange death that occurred at Temple House, near Bath.

Temple House is run by a secret order of old aristocrats who call themselves "The 12 Saints", each of whom has no heirs and who have the common goal of giving money to needy organizations every Christmas.

The two pseudo-investigators must shed light on the death of one of the saints, the circumstances of which are unclear and lead to suspicion of murder.
The perfect harmony soon turns out to be only an external image, in fact jealousies and old secrets emerge which lead to another murder and a very complicated mystery to unravel.

_________ ****** ___________

The writing style is fluid, the dialogues are witty and always aimed at explaining the story of the moment or the private story of the two main characters, there are no stupid digressions and stupid useless chatter as in many contemporary mysteries set in the 1920s.

The story is told in the third person and one of the things I appreciated in the investigative couple is that both characters have equal weight and ability (and sometimes even confusion) in the investigation.

---> I hate the old cliché that sees the main character as super intelligent (and also presumptuous like Sherlock and Poirot, whose books I adore, but in this kind of detective the two of them are enough for me) and his "trusty right-hand man" is slow on the uptake ( like Dr. Watson and Hasting poor things).

Here the investigative couple continuously interacts on an equal basis and I really liked the friendship that binds the two characters and the loyalty towards each other that arises from it.

---> This is book #12 in a series where the two protagonists are initially single and then over the course of the books they find their soul mate and then get married, however the romance is subtle and barely hinted at (as in the detective books of Agatha Christie and his contemporaries) however sufficient to give humanity and to make the two characters more real and to give more warmth to the plot.

---> Although the book is part of a series, it can be read as a standalone. What you need to know about the past of our protagonists is told in a concise and light, but satisfying way.

----> The mystery is very well thought out by the author and until the end I would never have guessed the real culprit.
---> The author's skill lies in creating various hypotheses in the reader's mind that always seem plausible, but which ultimately turn out to be inaccurate.
The culprit was really a surprise to me.

---> What lowered my rating was the fact that the two investigators also stumbled in the dark until the end (and I was also surprised by this!).

In fact, despite carrying out several interrogations, the two are often accused of being incompetent and although they kept a cool head in the face of these offenses and pretended to be close to the truth, in reality they too only discovered the culprit in the final scene.
Maybe a little more cunning in the two characters wouldn't have hurt.

----> What I loved 200%, being a great animal lover, was the constant and lively presence of 3 cats (1 was from Lennox and 2 lived in Temple House) and 1 dog (also from Lennox).
Obviously they had nothing to do with the investigation, but seeing them sprawl here and there, tearing ribbons and baubles from the Christmas tree, sleeping curled up around Lennox, made reading the book more pleasant and serene for me.

I really think I will read more books in the series and next time I will start from book #1.

----> :-( Christmas atmosphere = barely perceptible
(and that little only thanks to the pets).
This also contributed to lowering my rating, in fact, as I always write in my reviews, if the word CHRISTMAS appears in the title, then I expect a festive atmosphere.

Thanks for reading my opinion, I hope it could be useful to you for choosing or discarding this reading.
If you found English errors in my text, please forgive me, it's neither my native nor my every day language.

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