Historical Archives - Page 7 of 8 -

“Simon Said” by Sarah R. Shaber

“Simon Said,” the first in Sarah Shaber’s Professor Simon Shaw Mystery series, is set in 1996 Raleigh, North Carolina. Simon Shaw is a history professor at an area college, and needing a distraction from his personal life, takes on a cold case investigation. The body of a woman, possibly someone who has been missing for 70 years, is discovered during an archeological dig on the campus. And, it is a body with a bullet hole in her skull.

Shaw is called in to help the police with possible clues as to her identity, but because of his previous study of the famous local family, he knows immediately who she is. Heiress Anne Bloodworth was thought to have run away in 1926, but Shaw isn’t so sure that the old rumors fit the facts. His determined search for the truth behind the Bloodworth girl’s death uncovers details about the disappearance that were kept hidden at the time by those who knew her. Those revelations have far-reaching consequences affecting the present in startling ways.

Shaber has written Shaw as a flawed, but tenderhearted and gifted man, stunned by his wife’s departure from his life, and unconcerned about rivalry within his own department. Shaw’s position at the college, his continuous presence in the limelight, his academic success (a Pulitzer Prize) have all combined to make him a target of gossip and threats. He dismisses the internal college politics with alarming results and we wonder if he will stay alive long enough to solve the absorbing Bloodworth mystery.

There are fascinating characters in “Simon Said,” engaging dialogue, a possible new love interest, a good friend who has Simon’s back, and outstanding research into the 1926 era in Raleigh and the historic neighborhood surrounding Cameron Village. Against this wonderful backdrop, the beautifully developed, multi-layered plot is a treat.

In 1996, Sarah Shaber won a Malice Domestic/St. Martin’s Press Award for “Simon Said” (in manuscript form) as the Best First Traditional Mystery. It’s been in print ever since and this year is its 20^th anniversary. There are five titles in the series.

For more information about Sarah Shaber and her other series, please visit her Amazon author page.

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Texas Fiction – 2016 List

Adventure, Award Winner, Bestselling Author, Book List, Cozy, Debut Author, General, Historical, Mystery, Nominated for Award, Romance, Short Stories/Collection, Suspense, Thriller, Western

Every once in a while, it’s fun to focus on regional fiction. It’s a chance for readers to concentrate on stories that take place in their favorite part of the world or an area that has aroused their curiosity. Sometimes, fans like to search for books written by authors that live in that region.

The Texas list of 36 authors is a mix of:

Authors who live there, but write books set elsewhere
Authors that have written novels set in Texas, but live elsewhere.
Authors who live in and write about Texas.

Click on the names to take you to the author sites.

Kathleen Rice Adams: “Prodigal Gun”

Susan Wittig Albert: “Blood Orange”

Linda Bingham: “Skyscraper Caper”

Parris Afton Bonds: “Blue Bayou” box set

James Lee Burke: “House of the Rising Sun”

Valerie P Chandler: ‘Rota Fortunae’ in “Murder on Wheels”

Caroline Clemmons: “Angeline”

Catherine Coulter: “Nemesis”

Bill Crider: “Between the Living and the Dead”

Stephanie Jaye Evans: "Safe from Harm"

Ann Everett: “Say You’ll Never Love Me”

Kay Finch: “The Black Cat Knocks on Wood”

Kinky Friedman – series about a Texan living in NYC

Meg Gardiner: “Phantom Instinct” (reviewed here)

Kaye George: Imogene Duckworthy series, “Broke”

Linda Kozar: “Weighty Matters”

Billy Kring: “Tonton”

Liz Lipperman: “Chicken Caccia-Killer”

Nancy Martin: “Miss Ruffles Inherits Everything”

Larry McMurtry: “Lonesome Dove”

James Michener: “Texas”

Golden Keyes Parsons: “His Steadfast Love”

Mark Pryor: “Hollow Man”

James Reasoner: “The Last War Chief”

Catie Rhodes: “Rest Stop”

Rick Riordan: “Rebel Island”

Terry Shames: “The Necessary Murder of Nonie Blake”

Leann Sweeney: Yellow Rose Mystery Series

Livia Washburn: “Peach of a Murder”

Nancy G. West: "Smart, but Dead"

George Wier: “Cold Rains”

Lori Wilde: “Love of the Game”

Lynn Chandler Willis: “Wink of an Eye” (reviewed here)

Manning Wolfe: "Dollar Signs"

Reavis Z. Wortham: “Dark Places”

Celia Yeary: “Annalisa”

Have fun choosing from this great list of Texas fiction. 🙂

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“Circling the Sun” by Paula McLain

2 Comments / Adventure, Bestselling Author, Historical

Paula McLain’s “Circling the Sun,” is the story of horse trainer/aviator/writer, Beryl Markham. It recalls the remarkable accomplishments of this under sung woman far ahead of her time in Colonial Kenya and explores her relationship with renowned Denys Finch Hatton, safari hunter, and Karen Blixen, author (as Isak Dineson) of “Out of Africa.”

Beryl’s father sold everything in England in order to buy a farm in Kenya, but Beryl’s mother could not cope with the stark cultural differences and returned to England with son, Dickie, leaving Beryl behind to be raised by her father.

Her father, ill equipped to raise a young girl, was always busy with the hard work of running a farm, so she was frequently left alone and spent a great deal of time with members of a neighboring tribe. She learned their languages and customs and made friends that would be with her for life. The realities of African living shaped Beryl's character and 100 years ago, forged a strength and determination in her that would be unusual even for a woman of today.

“Circling the Sun” tells us that Beryl’s freedom to do what she wanted came with an incredible price. The standards by which she lived in Africa, coming and going as she pleased, affected all her relationships and her view of the world. She was a natural at training horses, but had to battle at every turn to be recognized and accepted. Nothing was ever easy.

Interacting in polite Colonial Kenyan society was beyond her understanding. She had no wish to be judged and yet, she was targeted unfairly merely because she was a female. Her casual disregard of the conventional separation of men and women caused her great pain when she attempted to navigate the minefields of marriage, society, and motherhood, even when Royals were involved.

Markham is remembered as the first woman to fly non-stop across the Atlantic from East to West, but “Circling the Sun’ spends most of the book on her time as a horse trainer and her interactions with Blixen and Hatton. They played an incredible part in shaping the woman she would become and the choices she would make that placed her in the history books. They were a complicated threesome. Hatton never married either of the women, but had a relationship with both.

The colors and sounds of Africa are a major character in the book and give us a sweeping sense of the majestic nature of the continent and the customs of native Africans. McLain paints a fabulous landscape that keeps us enthralled and gives us a peek into why so many English expats were drawn to the place: Money to be made, worlds to experience, the excitement/danger of safaris, creating something permanent out of the untamed land.

Circumstances and the people in her life shaped her, but Markham could not have become the bush pilot or transatlantic pilot she did, without that incredible setting that set her free.

A work of historical fiction not to be missed.

Please visit www.paulamclain.com for more information about McLain, “Circling the Sun,” and her earlier acclaimed bestseller, “The Paris Wife.”

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“Outlander” by Diana Gabaldon

2 Comments / Adventure, Bestselling Author, Historical, Romance, Sci-Fi

The “Outlander” series, by Diana Gabaldon, has been a sensation in the historical fiction arena, blending time-travel, romance, and adventure into one terrific story. Why do we love “Outlander?” It’s well-written, crosses genres beautifully, and the broad sweep of the storyline is just plain fun.

Claire Randall is a former combat nurse, home from WW2 in 1945. She has been reunited with her husband, Frank, and they are enjoying a second honeymoon in the Scottish Highlands after a long, war-caused separation. On the lookout for interesting flowers and herbs, she wanders into a circle of ancient stones said to be the legendary Merlin stones, touches one of the stones and disappears. That is, disappears from 1945 and pops up in 1743 – right into the middle of the Jacobite rebellion, with Bonnie Prince Charlie attempting to take over the throne of England.

With her English and slightly alien accent, she is soon called Sassenach (an outlander) by the MacKenzie clan that rescues her from an assault by a British soldier (her husband’s ancestor) and is suspected by everyone of being a spy. But, for whom? Her rescuers, in part to use her as a bargaining chip, keep her hostage.

Her skill as a healer is discovered when she meets injured Jamie Fraser and that ensures her safety until her fate can be decided. “Outlander” reveals Gabaldon’s tremendous amount of research into the uses of botanicals for healing both in 1945 and two hundred years earlier. We are treated to descriptions of herbs, the drugs available in both centuries, the limits of medicine in the 1700s, the choices available, and even the handling of prisoners. The wisdom of the modern medical era is applied to herbal remedies of the 1700s, but often, Claire just has to make do.

Gabaldon has written the developing relationship between Claire and Jamie realistically within the constraints of the time travel strand. Claire can’t reveal when she is really from – nobody would understand it – and Jamie does not quite trust her since her circumstances don’t really ring true. Claire has a modern sense of humor and Jamie is puzzled by her references to John Wayne and her cursing. And, yet, they each feel an attraction as they are thrown together repeatedly during the action. The complexity of Scottish clan rivalry is explored, alliances for and against the British are created, and Claire occasionally uses her knowledge of history to protect the people in her immediate circle.

“Outlander” succeeds in part because of its intimate portrait of a marriage, with its moments of personal truths, physical intimacy, enduring love, and sometimes hilarious banter. Two strong-willed people are forced into a union of convenience in order to save their lives and the relationship is raw and wonderful. There are sometimes tender and sometimes rough, bedroom scenes between Jamie and Claire. There are graphic descriptions of an attempted rape as well as an actual rape with another character. Gabaldon does not mince words, so be forewarned that this is well-done adult reading.

The Jacobite rebellion and the surrounding political turmoil drive the tale, but it’s the characters that keep us spellbound until the last page. There are good guys and bad, some of whom are both in order to survive in a dangerous political climate, and one who is undeniably evil. We don’t always know whom to trust. The supporting characters are colorful, complex, as well as entertaining, and add depth and realism to the multi-layered plot.

The time travel is brilliantly handled. Claire tries on multiple occasions to return to the stones in order to get back to her own time, but as she falls more deeply in love with Jamie, she is torn between leaving him and her responsibility to the husband she left behind. Along the way, she discovers that she may not be the only person who has traveled through the stones.

I laughed during the engaging dialogue, cringed at the choices that needed to be made and cried during some desperate moments for more than one character. When the book ended, I was very happy that there were more titles in the series to be read.

The novel won the Romance Writers of America's RITA Award for Best Romance of 1991. The first seven books in the series sold over twenty million copies and landed on the NYT bestseller lists six times. The eighth book in the series was published in June, 2014. A TV series based on the first book, “Outlander,” debuted in the USA in August, 2014.

For more information about Diana Gabaldon and her work, please visit www.dianagabaldon.com

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“The Book of Lost Fragrances” by M.J. Rose

2 Comments / Bestselling Author, Historical, Romance, Suspense

MJ Rose delivers another suspenseful tale with The Book of Lost Fragrances.

A brother and sister have inherited the House of L'Etoile, and then discover the perfume company is in serious financial difficulty. They need a hit fragrance to save the corporation or else parts of it will have to be sold off, something Robbie does not want to do. Robbie feels that delving into the 250 year old family business history will uncover an ancient perfume formula that will save the day. He has the professional talent, but not the nose to sort through formulas that he knows the family possesses, somewhere hidden. His sister, Jac, has the nose, but not the interest in investigating something that she considers a fantasy. She is more pragmatic and wants to sell off bits to save the whole. Neither of them suspects at first that the lost fragrance could save more than just the business.

During the years since her mother’s death, Jac has suffered with unsettling dreams she does not understand. For a long time she (and others) thought she was mentally unbalanced and she never believed that she might be reliving the distant past. Her struggle with her own past, her trust issues, and her conversations with family ghosts – create a multi-layered, vulnerable lead character. We want her to make the right decisions, to be happy, trust, and find love again.

M.J. Rose believes that who we were influences who we are today, and her four books in the Reincarnation series apply that concept across the centuries. The Book of Lost Fragrances deals with the power of a love that endures from the time of Cleopatra. Fragrance is employed in the book as a memory tool to not only attempt to bring reincarnated lovers back together, but also as an aid in returning to a difficult time when one can undo mistakes and therefore ease the pain of the future. If it’s true that a memory tool exists and has that kind of influence, it would change the world as we know it. In The Book of Lost Fragrances, governments and religious institutions race to find this tool before it falls into the wrong hands.

The brother and sister have an interesting dynamic and as we learn the business and history of perfumery from the inside out, their desperate interaction rings true on every level, even after a murder is committed and Robbie is suspected. A former lover, who knows them both, adds tension and intrigue to the mystery. Dr. Malachi Samuels, a scientist working to prove that reincarnation exists, is a recurring character in the four books, continuing his search for ancient memory tools, sometimes involving others in dangerous schemes to achieve his own goals, always under scrutiny by the FBI.

Supporting characters are well written in this enthralling tale that addresses issues in Tibet and China, the Dali Lama, the French Revolution, lost and found again lovers, Cleopatra’s priceless perfume formula book, and more. Students of archeology will be drawn to the importance of ancient Egyptian pottery shards in the storyline.

Rose is a master at writing sensual descriptions and I found myself emotionally enveloped in the aromas of the flowers and herbs described. I was transported to memories of my own experiences with these same blossoms. The peonies in my own yard beckoned me, even though blooming season had long been over.

Rose always does impeccable research in order to build the historical foundation for the ‘Reincarnation’ books. Each title spans several centuries and countries and she has openly admitted loving this part of her process. While working on The Book of Lost Fragrances, Rose sent the manuscript to a perfumer in France, who designed a fragrance (Ames Soeurs) inspired by the book. She subsequently showed the fragrance in NYC when the book was being launched.

The Book of Lost Fragrances was on the ‘Indie Next List’ in 2012 and was named one of the Top Ten Mystery/Thrillers for 2012 by Publishers Weekly. While it is part of a series, it is a solid stand-alone title. Just don’t let it be.

For more information about M.J.Rose, the Reincarnation series, her other books, as well as her AuthorBuzz work, please visit www.mjrose.com

To read my review of "The Reincarnationist," go here.

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“Agincourt” by Bernard Cornwell

2 Comments / Adventure, Bestselling Author, Historical

Set in the 1400s, “Agincourt” delivers a graphic account of one of the most important battles of the age. Underfunded, overconfident and thoroughly lucky, the English king, Henry V, decides he needs to conquer Agincourt in order to claim the French crown and maintain his dominance of the Normandy coast. He must overcome formidable odds and expensive, incredible losses on hostile foreign soil, and yet he marches on. Any real battle strategy is thrown to the wind as the French forces keep outwitting the English. If you don’t already know the actual story of Agincourt, the book will keep you guessing until the end.

The tale is told from an archer’s viewpoint. It’s not a new storytelling technique to have a warrior relate the action, but interesting in this case because the skill of English archers was feared throughout the world. If you had a few hundred archers on your side, you would most likely win the battle. They were the early medieval equivalent of our modern day artillery, yet their quivers only held about twenty arrows at a time. Think about it. Twenty ‘shots’ before having to be resupplied from a packhorse shared by other archers. Survival depended on having quick, deadly aim and well-made arrows that flew true.

As always, “Agincourt” is meticulously researched, and Cornwell accomplishes a literary feat few authors can claim – he makes a battle fascinating, while at the same time never letting us forget about the violence. From the description of exhausted men slogging through muddy tracks to the subplots of personal bickering over lands, women and food, war is depicted as grim, hard work accomplished for the glory of the nation and king.

Body armor and weapons of the era are discussed in terms of their merits for particular campaigns, and in very human terms – “armored men on foot were less vulnerable to arrows than horses…”

I keep coming back to Cornwell for more, wishing that my school history books could have made the events of that century come to life in the way he does. If Cornwell ever gives up the mighty pen for the more prosaic life of an ancient history professor, his classes would be standing room only.

For more information about Cornwell and his work, please visit www.bernardcornwell.net

Read the review of Cornwell's "Sword Song" here.

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“Mother Earth Father Sky” by Sue Harrison

11 Comments / Bestselling Author, General, Historical, Saga

The time is 9,000 years ago. Chagak lives a simple life beneath “Mother Earth Father Sky” in the Aleutian Islands. She helps the other women skin seals, smooth the hides with volcanic rock, sing songs to praise the hunters, and weave curtains and sleeping mats from grass that grows in the area. Her mother creates a special suk for her from bird skins and cormorant feathers to celebrate her transition into womanhood. Chagak is about to be married to a young seal hunter she likes and life is as it should be. Her routine is one that all the women in her village have always had, against the constant background of the roar of the wind and the sea.

One day, while Chagak is gathering berries and grass, her village is attacked and unknown warriors butcher everyone in it, including her betrothed. Her own group is not a war faring tribe; they hunt seals, not people, so she cannot understand the why. As the lone survivor (except for her infant brother) she has the gruesome duty of burying everyone, saving their spirits for the travel to the afterlife. Harrison’s expressive writing reveals the emotional trauma that Chagak endures while dealing with the worst parts of life.

Chagak knows her best chance of continued survival is to summon all her strength, take an ik (small canoe) and find the Whale Hunters village of her mother’s family across the open water. She hopes that her grandfather will take her and her brother in. During her journey, she stops at a beach to rest and encounters an old man, Shuganan, a renowned ivory carver who persuades her to stay. He cares for her as a granddaughter, keeping her safe when he can. Their relationship becomes precious to both of them and they use it to defend against unwelcome visitors who may have been the attackers at Chagak’s former village.

What follows is a saga of ancient rituals of the prehistoric Ice Age, descriptions of infinitely different roles of men and women, splendid tales of the origin of the world as understood by the First Men, and the awakening of a young woman’s spirit. Harrison has created a moving story of jealousy, betrayal, devastating loss, courage, murder, and greed surrounding the beautiful, gentle Chagak. Despite the harsh realities of Chagak’s life dependent on men, some of whom could be (and were) brutal, she learns to survive and even triumph.

“Mother Earth Father Sky” is meticulously researched, with incredible detail about the customs and implements used at the time. A beached whale is reduced to bone and steaks and blubber on the page. We read that fat is carefully simmered, then separated into use for cooking and oiling skins. We learn how ulaqs are constructed and why the ikyaks stay afloat. A recent visit to a Natural History Museum was made more ‘real’ by having read Harrison’s debut novel.

Chagak is only 13 in “Mother Earth Father Sky,” but we can surmise from archeological digs that she would have been considered of marriageable age as soon as she entered puberty. When young children developed enough dexterity/strength to hold a spear or weave a mat, they were trained to acquire life skills that supported the group in some way – skin seals, gather roots and eggs, collect driftwood for roofs, clean bones for clothing and housing. It was a harsh life by today’s standards of dishwashers and big box stores and restaurants, but for them, it was merely life. Chagak had long been a contributing member of her clan.

I ‘met’ Sue Harrison on Twitter and looked into her work, discovering that the prehistoric series, ‘The Ivory Carver Trilogy,’ was out-of-print and hard to find. I persisted in my search because of my interest in the Pacific Northwest and the Aleuts and acquired “Mother Earth Father Sky” through a used book dealer. Now that Harrison has been able to have the novels published as ebooks, I can share the review of this marvelous title.

Please visit www.sueharrison.com for more information about this bestselling author, her other series and projects.

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