Return of the Pharaoh: from the reminiscences of John H. Watson, M.D.

In this fourth of Nicholas Meyers' Sherlock Holmes pastiches, Watson learns his second wife has tuberculosis and he arranges to take her to stay at a sanitarium in Egypt. He hasn’t seen Holmes for some time and is surprised to meet the man in a Cairo bar...in disguise.

Audio Owl review

 

Holmes has been tasked with finding an English duke whose usual winter archeological season in Egypt is not unfolding as it should. The Duke, you see, has not been seen in Egypt for nearly 3 months. Not since he left England at the usual time last fall. 

 

From the initial investigation through to the first foray into the desert, the story gets more steadily adventurous, very much in the spirit of Professor Challenger or the newer adventure of Indiana Jones, although neither Holmes nor Watson breaks character to the extent of carrying a bullwhip or engaging in bar brawls.

A review in the Associated Press praised the print novel, saying it “blends old with new, giving readers familiar stories with parallels to and hints of more modern takes.“

That very much sums up my assessment of the audiobook version as well, which I received courtesy of NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The vocal style for Dr. Watson, by David Robb (Downton Abbey) feels correct for the era - pre-WW1 – and the great detective's few pronouncements (Nicholas Meyer, the author) seem quite in keeping with the original. It is a combination that works marvelously well in audio. The production details are excellent, with musical cues and generally unobtrusive effects that make this feel more like listening to a radio play than a novel.

 

Both the print and the spoken versions deliver a narrative that has a freshness and immediacy nowadays lacking in the original Holmes stories. This is due not so much to modernization of story tropes but to modern reader expectations of character, offering us a better picture of John Watson as a man, as a husband, as a war veteran. Modern readers' engagement with the goals and wellbeing of a key character is an essential element in their willingness to follow a tale to the end, and this Holmes story delivers a Watson whose essential humanness is easy to identify with.

All in all a most enjoyable 8 hours.

This ARC was sent to J.E Barnard by NetGalley in exchange for honest review.

See reviewer Barnard's books (both the grim and the gleeful)

#novel #desert #murder #Egypt #NicholasMeyer #SherlockHolmes #DrWatson #StMartinsPress #adventure #NetGalley #Minotaur

The Witching Tree by Alice Blanchard

Do not confuse The Witching Tree by Alice Blanchard with any gentle witch-related book like Practical Magic or any other by Alice Hoffman. Different authors, very different books despite the common theme of witchcraft in the US NorthEast. This one jumps right into the darker side of both witchcraft and villainy: a modern practicing witch & historical-coven leader wakes up with a foggy memory, dressed in an old Halloween witch costume and chained to a railroad track.  

The recent history of this little northeastern town is sure to intrigue if you like reading about serial killers, covens, and curses. Although this is several books into the series and I haven't read any of the previous ones, I’m not having trouble following who is who among the investigators and chief suspects. Any recurring characters and their connection with Natalie are explicated (briefly) at the time they appear. There are a lot of witches, however: two historic covens plus scatterings of modern solitary witches who appear in a clump and must be gradually distinguished from each other going forward. Mostly they’re sweet, harmless women who have potlucks and volunteer at the food drive when not performing their rituals, but some have motives for wanting the dead witch out of the way.

Immediately following that heart-stopping prologue, we jump to a cosy 19th century mansion where our protagonist, Natalie Lockhart, is considering an important decision: whether or not to quit the police force. Her recent life has included more than one previous grisly murder case and she’s lost people dear to her, and she’s feeling very scarred by it all. So right now, there’s a lot of temptation to hunker down in this mansion with hot, handsome, devoted Hunter Rose, like “curling up with a leather bound Charles Dickens novel.” The imagery is poetic the character and setting feel very soothing. It’s great contrast to what has just gone before, and you can’t help but wonder how soon this gently Gothic upstate idyll will be overturned either by the discovery that Hunter and all he promises are not quite so idyllic as the vacation atmosphere that has so far permeated their relationship promises, or by witch purée being found on the nearby railroad tracks.

 It is hard for this modern woman not to yell about the gilded cage awaiting Natalie if she slides into Hunter’s gilded world where he earns all the money and owns all the assets. Even though she is dreaming of unlimited time to paint and draw and just be herself, including lots of sex and good times with Hunter, quitting her job for this is abandoning her own hard-won career at 30 because some man promises a better vision. Whether the character or the author also sees that as a trap becomes clearer down the road.

 The pacing is good, churning ahead with introduction of clues, suspects, fellow police, and a full net of red herrings. By the 10% mark you're well into the investigation's early stages, and one big flag has just turned up for it: the dead witch was doing research for a new book - presumably about witchcraft - in the same historic town that had killed three women during the Salem witch trials era, and been cursed for it. Detective Natalie doesn’t quite believe in curses, but she memorized the words of that particular curse way back in childhood and it sure seems, with yet another grisly death to investigate, that the town is prone to more than its share of evil deeds. 

The book makes a distinction between modern 'good' witchcraft, or Wicca, and the various dark rituals commonly thought of as 'witchcraft' including neo-satanic rites invented by confused drug addicts who are hoping magic will turn their chaotic lives around better than NA meetings will.  Blanchard can make a basic description of a pretty, snowy, woodland scene feel deeply creepy and potentially evil. Just imagine what she can do with a sagging cottage where a pair of tweakers - wannabe evil witches - have been squatting in squalor while making up weird rituals out of their drug-addled imaginations.

 One intermittent flaw in the writing is that the author first does a great job of showing us the series of disasters that brought Natalie to the point of emotional and psychological brittleness and then spells it out in clumsy sentences like “Natalie felt tremendous guilt and pain and sorrow.” It’s like a kindergarten teacher came along and added a clarifying sentence. And there are occasional lines of description that don’t make a lot of sense, like “peeled off her coat with a stale crackle.”. It’s hard not to think that is a dictation typo that got left in accidentally.

 Overall, though very well written, this book is unrelieved grimness apart from that briefly cosy opening scene in the mansion. There are no lighter moments to take the tension down a notch, only Natalie’s exhausted efforts to keep her web of personal and professional relationships functioning in the face of not only another hideous crime but her own fragile mental state. It's a tossup what is more compelling for the reader: following the police investigation to find the villains, or guessing whether Natalie's life & psyche will fall apart completely before the climax.

Be warned that readers who like full closure on their mysteries won't take kindly to this ending. There's a lot of emotional punch but ends left deliberately loose and lots of setup for the next book too.

This ARC was sent to J.E Barnard by NetGalley in exchange for honest review.

See reviewer Barnard's books (both the grim and the gleeful)

#novel #witchcraft #murder #witches #WitchingTree #AliceBlanchard #AliceHoffman #MacMillan #NatalieLockhart #NetGalley #Minotaur

 

 

 

Porthaven: a teen superhero's life is about to get complicated

In 'Guardians of Porthaven,' a new YA fantasy/adventure from Orca Books, the fairy-tale tower is only half real, & the princess cloistered high above is actually a prince. One who reads superhero comics. And he has superpowers himself.

If his life wasn't complicated enough before his 15th birthday, after it  literally nothing goes as planned.

Malcolm Gravenhurst is the next generation of an elite family that uses its powers to protect the city of Porthaven against robotic invaders called the klek (for the sound they make). The klek claimed his parents & his grandmother, leaving him to be raised in the family industrial tower by tutors and trainers overseen by his remote grandfather, his emotionally distant aunt, and nurturing Uncle Felix. He's kicked around a lot by his cousin Eric in combat training and reduced to a brand by his cousin Melissa, who controls the family's social media presence and watches its stock price like a mother hen.

A telling metaphor for Malcolm's existence is that, at the media scrum/high-society event that passes for his birthday party, it's almost all over before he discovers there was a cake with his name on it. It's mostly eaten now, and he wasn't offered a piece. Later on he explains to a new acquaintance that growing up as a Gravenhurst is "sometimes more like being part of a business than part of a family" but by then it's already very clear to the reader that he's more a pawn than an individual to his family. 

Underlining his difference from them, he wants to be a crime fighter helping the ordinary citizen, but that's not anywhere on his family's big-picture agenda. This yearning lures him out of his tower into the darkened city where he can be himself, unfettered by family demands (as long as he's not recognized). But out there too are people far more diverse than his elite upbringing introduced him to, and questions he's never had to consider, and answers he may not be ready to confront. He gets called on his white, rich, savior-complex upbringing without any heavy moralizing or orchestrated canceling. Beyond his tower he has to earn his friendships, and other people's loyalty.

Malcolm's first fight against the klek is well written, unfolding on your mental movie screen like a manga battle but with an inner narrative of his thoughts & feelings: surprise at the kleks' size and dismay at his own ineptitude, feeling outclassed by his far more experienced relatives as you might expect when a rookie joins a team that's been fighting together for over a decade. The writing continues clear & the pace compelling; with new characters and complications arriving just when you think you know how the story will unfold.

A cracking good story with strong character development and high action. I'll look for more by author Shane Arbuthnott.

2021 Holiday Reviewlets: on the page

 

Welcome, fellow fans of holiday fare! Yes, some is cheesy, some is sleezy, and some is simply syrup spiking our insulin levels faster than those cookies and slices and chocolate-dipped cherry bombs are doing. But they're all part of the season for us modern media consumers, and I'm here to kick off some easy enjoyable fare - mostly light mysteries - to enhance your idle moments or your daily commute.

First up: a quartet of contemporary crime authors with their seasonally spiced new books:

Death on a Winter's Day 

by Verity Bright

The 8th in this series of Lady Eleanor Swift mysteries takes place in a chilly Scottish castle over the holidays. An ill-suited, sometimes ill-tempered assortment of guests has gathered for the feast and some non-genial verbal sparring when all the lights go out. There's rustling and shuffling and great consternation until they come back on, Et voila! A body very obviously murdered. All too soon a gale blows up, trapping everyone in the best 'isolated manor' tradition and we're off to the races, in this case a spirited competition between Team A (Lady Eleanor and her butler) and Team B (the Scottish police). The motives pile up and alibis evaporate until, in a dashing confrontation with a dangerous enemy on a storm-wracked night, All Is Revealed.

This book hovers around 1920-21 Britain going by the clothing & technology but I couldn't date it any nearer by the text, and some of the language is jarringly modern. If words like 'upgrade' and 'partying' are going to interfere with your enjoyment, this isn't the book for you. Likewise, if you're a fashion history purist who shudders at the thought of a Society hostess wearing her departed mother's old favourite evening gown without so much as a minor alternation to bring it within spitting distance of the long straight lines of a 1920s cut, spare yourself. If you're not a stickler for those or for proper modes of address between social classes, you'll do just fine with this wintry Scottish crime.

Christmas on Palm Court

by Stephanie Edwards

A sweet romantic suspense novel about a paranormally gifted family, with sections alternating between the 1960s when their grandmother was young and in love, and the granddaughter 60 years later negotiating life with her own fiance. Just when it starts to seem too charming for words, irate ghosts appear and must be dealt with. You'll want to be acquainted with earlier books in this series to understand how everyone's ghost-management skills came about. There's not a lot of overt Christmas stuff, so if you're looking for tree decorating & recipes you'll be happier elsewhere. If you just want something seasonal set in a warm climate with some ghosts and some sisters and some light romance, this might be your ticket to a few hours of escapist reading.

With thanks to #NetGalley for the ARC #RomanticSuspense #Ghosts #Christmas #IsleOfPalms #31Days31Reviews

Death by Gingerbread Drop
by Jo A. Hiestand

This novella's as Christmassy as a Hallmark movie from the very first page. Someone literally drops dead at a charity cookie auction, forcing all concerned into a busy hunt for the means and motive behind this very public deed. Set in small-town Missouri, on tree-lined streets hosting white clapboard churches, it's centered on the owner of a bakery/cafe (the Linn House Mystery series), so features lots of goodies to tease your appetite while you read. You don't need to know all the series' characters' back story to enjoy this one. The writing, pacing, and descriptions are all satisfactory; the mystery's solution very much rooted in the characters seen in this installment. It's a good choice for a short commute or a coffee/cookie break in your favourite cafe.

As the Christmas Cookie Crumbles

by Leslie Budewitz

A Food Lovers' Village Mystery promises, well, food, and one set at Christmas promises to be extra delicious. The village is being decorated lavishly for the seasonal tourist/shopping influx when Erin, owner of an upscale foodie shop in her family's ancestral Mercantile building, witnesses a nasty moment between nearby antique dealers and their adult daughter. With visions of previous foul play dancing in her head, Erin fears the frosty moment is a harbinger of further furors, and when that daughter fails to turn up at a cookie exchange right before her boss discovers money is missing, well, suddenly the village is looking at a deadly December.

This author has a long record of satisfying light mysteries and this one - a revised edition of one previously published by Midnight Ink - is no exception. Since it's part of a series, she's kindly included a cast list annotated with just enough detail to orient us to the characters we'll meet. The writing is crisp and exceptional for easing in just enough back story to make sense of the fast-moving present. Holiday decorative details delight, and the lavish foods and drinks will have you thirsting for a wassail cup all your own. Even this picky reviewer is more than happy to relax into a cosy reading chair by the fire and follow Erin into this holiday crime investigation.

#holidays #homicide #cookies #Christmas #cooking #baking #feast #food #fiction #CrimeFiction #Cats #Murder #CosyMystery #MysteryFiction #bookstagram #booklovers #LeslieBudewitz

 HOLD ME DOWN

By Clea Simon

This is NOT the usual cats-n-cosies mystery we've come to expect from this author. In this novel of women's suspense, an aging rock star’s gig at her old band-mate’s memorial service-slash-benefit-concert brings back familiar faces and fractured memories of life on the road. 

The past is at once poignant and unapologetically raw, raucous, and raunchy. Concerts and parties, long blurred into a drug-and-booze-filled kaleidoscope, begin to come back into focus. This book could be a straightforward trip down a fictional Memory Lane but it’s so much more: an interrogation of celebrity-worship, the music industry, the fractal nature of memory and the essential question of whether we’re really who we think we are.

When one of those old familiar faces is found dead outside the concert venue, the suspense, uncertainty, and mutual distrust rise along with Gal’s growing collection of returning memories and nightmares. Her inner vulnerability pulls the reader in early as she maneuvers through the crowd and later the financial and legal tasks needed to set up a trust for Aimiee’s daughter. Amid the police investigation and her own groping for some shreds of reliable truth, she must interrogate her memories of every event, every individual encountered during the band’s chaotic rise and sudden collapse. We’re right there in her claustrophobic motel room with the nightmares, walking through the midnight streets when she can’t sleep. Questioning everything.

This novel slides between past and present like a well-constructed concert set shifts on a single note from driving rock lyrics to soulful ballads of lost love and friendships gone wrong. The tension tightens mercilessly until we’re no longer sure whose word to trust over anything.

 I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

#NetGalley #CleaSimon #HoldMeDown #suspense #CrimeFiction #murder #rocknroll #concert #killer #memory #nightmare #party #danger #death #music #touring #roadie #guitar #drummer #bassplayer #frontman

ALOHA ALIBI by Jasmine Webb, Narrated by Khristina Hvam

If you’re looking for someone a bit smarter and more ethical than that Plum woman, yet still getting into entertaining scrapes through (usually) no fault of her own, slip on your flipflops and bring along your beach hat for this lively skedaddle between Maui’s high-rise tourist hotels and the long, low bungalows where the locals live. 

After an unfortunate encounter with a local gangster and the subsequent arrival of a gory and suggestive ‘gift’ on her doorstep, Charlotte ‘Charley’ Gibson flees the mainland for the Hawaiian island she left a decade ago. 

Even worse, due to lack of funds she must move into her mom’s spare bedroom, a situation that makes any adult cringe. 

She immediately lands a job to start saving for rent, but murder intervenes on her very first day. 

Soon she’s up to her neck in dubious suspects and even more questionable allies, including a delightful pair that make this new series a great gift choice for seniors as well as thirty-somethings. The subsequent investigation is fast-paced, fun, sometimes scary, but fully believable, and the narration is sharp and sassy, well suited to Charley’s breezy attitude. 

It’s like a Hawaiian vacation in a novel, an exciting escape from gray, cold Canada, an enjoyable listen for any commute.

 I received this audiobook from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

 #NetGalley #audiobook #AlohaAlibi #JasmineWebb #KhristineHvam #Maui #mystery #murder #tourist #tourism #LandDeveloper #protestors #beach #crimefiction #listenNow #BeachRead

The IRON WIDOW burns down the patriarchy in a big way

 

 

In a world where girls are disposable, living and dying for the convenience of men in the home, the boudoir, in the building of empires, one girl defies the ages-old custom, determined to avenge her sister’s death even if she dies too.

This book is MANGA in novel, rather than graphic novel, form, and thus a tale of blended spirit and mech tech, of young men with tortured psyches and young women who can reach them when nobody else can. There are plenty of exciting, easy-to-visualize battle sequences. But when our young heroine, Zetian, is paired with the most violent pilot in the Imperial Army, all her unprecedented spirit power may not be enough to save her.

The story is fast paced and very readable, with gentleness and friendships as well as brutal training and individual striving against obstacles that seem insurmountable. While its roots are firmly in MANGA, the novel form allows a depth of insight into the main character and her society that would be lacking in a graphic novel. Zetian is both engaging and repelling; we want her to succeed even when we don’t approve of her methods. The male characters are less developed, serving (unusually) as tools for her instead of her for them. In that sense it’s a subverting book, determinedly flipping the accepted social order on its head even while Zetian maintains a public façade of meekness.

The tale’s Chinese cultural roots are deep and wide, from the ancient custom of binding girls’ feet to the newest ways that media empires shape public perceptions in support of state objectives. Embedded racism in this post-disaster society serves both individual and Imperial aims as all lower-designated (refugee) racial groups are weak separately, their mutual antipathy fostered to keep them from making common cause against the dominant elite.

A worthy read that doesn’t hesitate to burn down the patriarchy both individually & collectively.

Content warning: physical & psychological violence.