Mt Roskill Grammar

89,611 pages read and 2,340 team points

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Niners Fan

26,505 pts

(25,517 pages read)

The Treasure at Poldarrow Point.

By Clara Benson

3 stars

This is the third Angela Marchmont mystery and a bit of a disappointment. Angela goes to Cornwall to recover form Influenza and along with her goddaughter, Barbara, becomes involved in a search for a Queen's diamond necklace. Add in a group of thieves, a dotty old former jewel thief and an international master thief, and you have a pretty typical plot.
The Mystery at Underwood House.

By Clara Benson

4 stars

Philip Hayes delighted in keeping his family at each other's throats, and in his Will he ensured that this friction would continue after his death. But now three people are dead, and it is up to Angela Marchmont to find out the truth - and the killer. This 1920s mystery has a period 'voice' and plot twists worthy of the title.
The Murder at Sissingham Hall.

By Clara Benson

3 stars

Set in the 1920s and very much a period piece, in terms of language, social attitudes and writing style. Charles Knox has returned from South Africa, now a rich man, and is invited to spend the weekend at Sissingham Hall, now the home of his ex-fiancee and her husband Sir Neville Strickland. Sir Neville is murdered on the dead of night and now Scotland Yard must find the killer. It is Angela Marchmont who saves the day at the very end.
Murder on the Tor.

By Frances Evesham

3 stars

The fourth book in the series. This involves an ancient amber necklace, a mysterious child on the Tor, a dead man, and a pair of criminal masterminds hiding in plain sight, and changes in Libby's relationship with the enigmatic Max.
Murder at the Lighthouse.

By Frances Eversham

3 stars

First in a series. New person in town finds a body on the beach. The body was a former resident who had a career as a rock singer. Then an old lady who watched the beach falls down the stairs. Who is the killer? A quick read and it was the least likely person who killed her.
A Deadly Mistake.

By Keith Finney

4 stars

A fatal car accident leaves the village of Lipton St Faith with an unidentifiable young man. Then Anna Grix hears of a missing curate, and before long there are more dead bodies, Intelligence operatives, enemy agents and the bombing of Pearl Harbour to contend with. The historical details are so very accurate, the social attitudes so indicative of the time and place, this made for interesting reading.
A Deadly Confession.

By Keith Finney

4 stars

The second Lipton St Faith Mystery. While taking an evening walk Anna Grix and Lieutenant Elsner hear a woman scream and then a shot rings out. A few minutes later they find the body of a young woman. What follows is a mixture of mistreated evacuees, stolen ration books, Italian POWs, a protection racket and an AWOL serviceman. Again, the historical accuracy of the writing is a delight to read.
A Deadly Coincidence.

By Keith Finney

4 stars

Set in Norfolk during World War Two. The heroine is Anna Grix, daughter of the local Vicar of Lipton St Faith. When the local postman is found dead in a ditch the police think it's just an accident, but Anna knows better. Her investigations include a US Airforce Lieutenant, a spiv, a bookie and his henchmen and the true villain and murderer. It is written with real historical accuracy in terms of language, social attitudes and events. It is a true cosy mystery, with a twist.
Murder at Hartigan House.

By Lee Strauss

4 stars

Second in a series about the adventures of Ginger, Lady Gold in London in 1923. When she arrives at Hartigan House fresh from her voyage from Boston on SS Rosa, Ginger is met by the butler Pippins, who informs her that a body has been found in a servant's room. Ginger calls in Scotland Yard and Chief Inspector Basil Reed arrives.
Murder on the SS Rosa.

By Lee Strauss

4 stars

In 1923 war widow and former British Secret Service agent Ginger Gold is travelling form Boston to England with her Boston Terrier and her fiend Hayley Higgins. During the voyage the Captain's body is discovered in a pickle barrel, and Ginger works with Chief Inspector Basil Reed to discover the killer.
The Case of the Purloined Poodle.

By Magda Alexander

3 stars

Kitty Worthington, now engaged to Inspector Crawford, has opened the Ladies of Distinction Detective Agency. Gigi, a beloved standard poodle has been dognapped, along with her gold and diamond collar, and it is Kitty's task to retrieve her before the thousand pond ransom must be paid.
Murder on the Golden Arrow

By Magda Aexander

4 stars

In England in 1923, after being away in a Swiss finishing school, Kitty Worthington has been collected by her brother to return for her presentation at Court and her debut season. On the train journey a woman with a mysterious connection to her brother is poisoned. Kitty decides that Inspector Crawford of Scotland Yard cannot be trusted to ensure her brother's innocence. Light read but accurate with the historic details and attitudes.
Heron Heights Homicide.

By Nikki Hensley

3 stars

Luna Beazley, who owns Luna's Lunchette in Pineview, finds herself involved in a homicide. The new detective in town is her brother's best friend, and her childhood crush. So, Luna decides to solve the murder. Not an author I'll look out for in the future.
Lady Rample Steps Out.

By She MacLeod

3 stars

First in series set in jazz age London. Lady Rample is at odds after the death of her husband, so a friend takes her to a hot new jazz club in London. When one of the club's owners is murdered Lady Rample decides to become a lady detective.
Murder in the Grotto.

By Martha Bond

3 stars

The Christmas Fayre at Fortescue Manor is hosted by Lord and Lady Buckley-Phipps, with the mayor as Santa. The Mayor's unpopular wife is found dead in the estate's grotto, and once again it's up to Lottie to find the killer.
Murder in the Library.

By Martha Bond

3 stars

Another in the Lottie Sprigg series. Lottie, now a travelling companion instead of an orphaned maid, has returned to Fortescue Manor in Shropshire in time for a dinner designed to end a 300-year-old family feud with the Abercromby family. After the dinner, the Abercromby heir, Percy, is found dead in the library, with Lord Buckley-Phipps' letter opener in his back.
Double Shot Death.

By Emmeline Duncan

4 stars

This is number 2 in a series. Sage Caplin is serving coffee from Ground Rules new venture, a coffee cart, at Campathon, an annual eco-friendly festival held just outside Portland. Sage stumbles across the body of Ian Rabe, a band manager, and there's a second body too. But Sage does discover the killer. Some great coffee based recipes also included.
Miss Morton and the Deadky Inheritance.

By Catherine Lloyd

4 stars

In this third book in a series Miss Morton's father's Will becomes an issue. There are incompetent lawyers, evil South African mine owners, assorted conniving relatives, several deaths, and potentially a fortune for Miss Morton - though annoyingly the author has ended this book on a slight cliffhanger. Will there be a fourth in the series?
Miss Morton and the Spirits of the Underworld

By Catherine Lloyd

4 stars

The second in the series set in 1830s haut monde London. Lady Caroline's employer attends a spiritualist, and Lady Caroline does as well. Madam Lavinia slips a note into her hand which contains intimate family knowledge. When she returns to visit Madam Lavinia with Doctor Harris, Madam Lavinia is found lifeless in her chair. The boom is far better than the title suggests and unusually it is also historically accurate - or at least there are no glaring errors.
Miss Morton and the English House Party Murder.

By Catherine Lloyd

4 stars

This is the first in a series and much better than the cumbersome title suggests. Lady Caroline Morton is the daughter of a disgraced Earl who committed suicide. rather than live in unpaid servitude to the family she has become a paid companion to Mrs Matilda Fogerton. She, and her employer and her daughter, are invited to a house party to celebrate her cousin's birthday and that's when the murders begin.
Murder Among the Pyramids

By Sara Rosett

4 stars

First in the 1920s Lady Traveler in Egypt series. Blix Windway makes her living lecturing ladies' groups about what she has seen on her travels. She agrees to travel with an older lady to Egypt, but they are barely on their way when rough seas, attempted robbery. and all that before she has even reached Egypt. A murder there during a tour of the pyramids convinces Blix that one of their tour party is a killer.
Mermaid Singing / Peel me a Lotus.

By Charmain Cliff

4 stars

This book was two for the price of one. Charmain was born in New South Wales, became a journalist in Melbourne, and married novelist and journalist George Johnson in 1947. They lived in London for a few years and in 1954 moved their family to the Greek Islands - these two books are about that time period living on Kalymnos, and the family's adaptation to, what was for them, a very primitive lifestyle. Her descriptions of their life and the people have so many funny little details that paint vivid mental pictures for the reader. It's a slice of life, written by a keen observer and with, at times, deep affection.
Luna and the Lie

By Mariana Zapata

5 stars

This is another annual reread for me, and probably my third equal favourite book by this author. Luna Allen is a survivor and, as you discover her backstory, you are drawn into her life. At times she seems a bit too 'happy' but it's her resilience that keeps one reading. And it's a redemption for Rip too. So, this is yet another 'slow burn' from an author who has written several of my 'happy place' books of all time.
Lightning in a Mirror.

By Jane Anne Krentz

4 stars

Number 3 in the Fogg Lake Trilogy. Olivia finally discovers who killed her mother and the Foundation finally finds the location of the Vortex. It does tie up all the loose ends and links up with Fallon Jones and Arcane. A good ending - and potentially a start in to more of the same.
A Deadly Endeavor

By Jenny Adams

4 stars

Set in Philadelphia in 1921. Edie Shippen has returned after years spent in California recovering from Spanish Influenza, for her sister's engagement party to her former boyfriens. So she decides to become a modern woman. At the same time young women are being found, butchered. I can usually work out the villain and motive, but this ending was not what I was expecting - at all.
A Body on the Doorstep.

By Marty Wingate

4 stars

First in a series called the London Ladies Murder Club. It's 1921 and Mabel Canning has come to London to work for the Useful Woman's Agency and be a modern woman. When she answers the door for Rosalind Despard a young man falls dead at her feet and she finds herself hunting for clues.
The Gator Did It.

By Kay Dew Shostak

4 stars

This is number 5 in a series. Jewel is not a fan of Florida's Gators football team, or of the real thing, so she is creeped out by the eccentric host of her first ever football party calling the alligators behind his mansion. When Mr. Jackson fell off his balcony the alligators took a few bites. Then the burglaries start, friend's children become involved, there are drugs involved, and finally the murderer confesses.
The Sea Turtle Did It.

By Kay Dew Shostak

4 stars

The second in a series. jewel Mantelle is out on the beach with one of her friends who runs a group called Turtle Trackerst, and there is what seems to be an early season nest, but it's actually the body of a young girl. Jewel also has to worry about cleaning up the historic house her husband inherited and so she invites a local girl to help her. There's college kids partying on the beach, a Senator's illegitimate child, a lost sketch pad, another murder, and of course, the murderer.
The Manatee Did It.

By Kay Dew Shostak

4 stars

First in a series. Jewel Mantelle has moved to the historic coastal Southern town of Sophia Island because her husband inherited a mansion in the historic district. One of the many Mantelle cousins is found floating in the marina. Jewel and her new friends do their best to solve the murder.
Through My Eyes: CSI Memoirs that Haunt the Soul

By Tamara Mickelson

4 stars

Tamara Mickelson served 4 years in the US Airforce and in 1996 she joined the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department. Two and a half years later she accepted a position with CSI, where she processed crime scenes throughout Sacramento County. She served 20 years and then retired. She now (understandably - if you read this book, you'll know why) has CPTSD (Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. I am very grateful to live in a country where guns are not so commonplace as in the USA.
Dirty Player.

By Mira Lyn Kelly

4 stars

A standalone novel. Friends from high school Greg and Julia are now an NHL star and TV sports reporter. At their High School reunion, they share a kiss, and you have the happy time, the major misunderstanding, separate time of misery for both and finally the reconciliation and HEA.
Fox Trot Murder.

By R. A. Wallace

4 stars

The second Goldie Weston mystery. Goldie is till writing her column Ask Mrs. Doyenne when one of her brothers, Hap becomes a murder suspect. So, Goldie gets busy finding clues to clear him, as well as trying to convince him to give up his fox-trotting night life and work at his father's latest venture - a radio station. And there's the issue of young women being recruited as bootleggers.
The Ladies' Column.

By R.A. Wallace

4 stars

A 1920s cosy mystery set in the USA. Goldie Weston knows a lot about everything and uses her skills to create a job as Mrs. Doyenne at her brother's newspaper. When a man she saw arguing with her fiance is murdered and her scarf is found with the body, she is drawn into the world of flappers, speakeasies, members of her own large family and special agent Zeb Marsters.
All's fair in Love and Treachery.

By Celeste Connally

4 stars

The second in the Lady Petra Forsyth Regency mystery series. This is set just before the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. A murder at the Asylum for Female Orphans proves to be linked to a group of radicals plotting to overthrow the monarchy during the three days of celebration to mark the end of the war with France. It is foiled by Lady Petra and her allies and friends.
Wait For It.

By Mariana Zapata

5 stars

This is another of my most favourite books ever, and linked to The Wall of Winnipeg and Me. Diana is Vanessa's best friend, and, since her brother's death, aunt and guardian to Josh and Louie. She buys a house across the road from Miss Pearl and meets Dallas, and it's all on from there. This author is a master of the slow burn.
The Wall of Winnipeg and Me

By Mariana Zapata

5 stars

My annual Reread of one of my most favourite books ever - I love Vanessa and Aiden, and Zac, and all the complexities of this novel. Vanessa goes from being his personal assistant to his "need a green card" wife. And she doesn't realise that she is his 'ride or die'. Mariana is a master of the slow burn.
Avenging Angels : Back in the Saddle.

By Kristen Ashley

4 stars

Jessie Wilde is one of the Angels and she is trying to find her brother. Eric Turner of Nightingale Investigations thinks it's dangerous, and steps in, as do the other Angels. Homeless people are going missing and Jessie and the Angels and the Nightingale guys all get involved.
Avenging Angel

By Kristen Ashley

4 stars

First in a series and related to Kristen Ashley's Rock Chicks series. Rachel Armstrong is the first Angel and runs into Julien 'Cap" Jackson of the Phoenix branch of Nightingale Investigations, in her search for women who are going missing.
Jane Austen - A Life

By Claire Tomalin

5 stars

This biography fills in some of the gaps in the record of Jane Austen's life; a life for which we have few primary sources, thanks to her family's destruction of Austen's letters. No Diary has even been found, or any other personally written biographical material. Tomalin covers Austen's ill-fated love for a young Irishman, her frequent travels and visits to London, her brothers' naval service in the Napoleonic War and in the colonies. She does not subscribe to the generally held belief that Jane Austen was a sheltered and housebound spinster, whose knowledge of the world was confined to her village life. It is readable and very detailed and brings Jane to life for me in a way that other biographies have not done.
The Demon's Den and Other Tales.

By Tanya Huff

5 stars

I've always loved the Valdemar book by Mercedes Lackey and also enjoyed stories form other authors set in Mercedes' world. this collection of seven stories were all published in the Valdemar anthologies but it was great to read the Herald Jors all at once rather than spread over a period of years.
Homewreaker

By Jill Westwood.

4 stars

Andie has a terrible track record with romance, so when her father (she has no relationship with her mother) suddenly retires, reunites with his first love from high school and moves from New York to a goat farm in North Carolina, she goes to see him to see if she can talk him, or both he and Renata, to move back to New York. And then she meets Seth.
Least Likely Two.

By Jill Westwoof

4 stars

Hollister goes to her 25th high school reunion and meets up with her frenemy Ben Rose. What she doesn't realise is that he's been in love with her since nineth grade. This is very readable; there's some humour mixed with a really good second chance and late in life romance.
There's Something about Marty

By Wendy Delaney

3 stars

Number three in the Working Stiffs series. Marty McCutcheon died on his birthday, the third husband of Victoria McCutcheon to die. Is she a black widow? She asks Charmaine to solve Marty's murder.
Sex, Lies, and Snickerdoodles

By Wendy Delaney

3 stars

Number 2 in the Working Stiffs series. Port Merrit's bad boy Russell Falco's body washes up on the shote of Merritt Bay. Charmaine suspects that one of his liaisons is what got him killed - and she's right, but has to survive the killer herself.
Truly, Madly, Deeply.

By Wendy Delaney

3 stars

Book 1 in The Working Stiffs mystery series, Charmaine Digby is a human lie detector, and a B list movie star as a mother, and is the County Coroner's newest assistant. A family friend Trudy has recently died in hospital, but the doctor is suspicious - and Charmaine has a case to solve.
Lady Ambition's Dilemma.

By Jane Steen

4 stars

This is the third of the Scott - De Quincy mysteries. Ladt Helena's nephew Deddy is arrested for the murder of an aristocratic friend, and because it was a homosexual relationship. Lady Helena does investigate and deduces the identity of the murderer. She also becomes engaged to the handsome French doctor.
The Mirror

By Nora Roberts

4 stars

Number two in The Lost Bride Trilogy. Classic Nora Roberts - real world problems with a strong paranormal overlay. Sonya's inheritance of a stately mansion in Maine with resident evil witch and a curse means that she and her best friend Cleo, along with help from one of Sonya's newly found cousins and a lawyer, Trey, have a situation to handle. And there's also Sonya's cheating ex to deal with.
The Stolen Letters

By Andrea Penrose

4 stars

A novella in the Lady Arianna series. Her husband's relative the dowager Marchioness of Sterling has had some incriminating letters stolen. They were taken from a French diplomat along with important state papers and she needs Arianna's help. Two old foes also become involved in the situation.
Freshly Brewed Murder

By Emmeline Duncan

4 stars

Set In Portland, Oregon. Sage Caplin, a barista with her partner Harley, has opened a Coffee Cart at the Railyard. She finds a man's body in front of her cart, the developer of the property across the street, which had caused the eviction of a whole group of food carts. Since he was murdered with Sage's box cutter, she needs to focus on finding the killer before their new business is ruined.
Leave the Girls Alone.

By Jacqueline Bublitz

4 stars

Nineteen years ago Ruth-Ann's childhood friend was murdered by a convicted killer. When another young girl goes missing from her home many years later Ruth returns to New Zealand from New York to see if her suspicion that the killer had an accomplice was true.
Lady Odelia's Secret.

By Jane Steen

4 stars

The second in the Scott - De Quincy Mystery series. Lady Helena's sister Odelia is an artist and the mistress of a prominent painter, whom she proposes Lady Helena should hire to make her drawing room a showpiece. Some nasty vandalism eventually leads to the murder of another of Sir Geraint's mistresses, and the attempted murder of Lady Odelia. At the trial in the Old Bailey Lady Helena is first mentioned as an investigator.
Rifles Six Years with Wellington's legendary Sharpshooters

By Mark Urban

5 stars

Mark Urban is a British journalist, broadcaster and historian/author. This covers the Peninsula War from 1809 to June 1815 and afterwards. It's very readable and he has some amazing primary source material, including new material from a descendent of Major General Robert Craufurd. My favourite Peninsula hero Major Harry Smith appears in this.
Lady Helena Investigates

By Jane Steen

0 stars

First in a series of the Scott - De Quincy mysteries set in the Victorian period. Lady Helena is suddenly widowed and must deal with her interfering family, a mother with what appears to be dementia, local scandals and an attractive French doctor, all while mourning the death of her husband (which may not be as accidental as it first appears). Well worth reading.
Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord.

By Celeste Connally

4 stars

First in a mystery series set in the Regency period. Lady Petra Forsyth discovers a plot by men of the ton to discard their wives in an asylum run by an evil man. Of course, she foils the plot but only after being drugged and taken there herself.
Time Will Tell

By Rita Mae Brown

4 stars

One of the 'Sister' Jane Arnold series. Expensive watches found in odd places, two murdered young men, a dismembered body and a prostitution ring make for an intriguing mystery. Add in foxes, hunting, horses and hounds and you have a classic Rita Mae Brown mystery.
Knife Skills

By Julie Adler

4 stars

Trudy goes to interview chef Laszlo alman for her paper in the Valley and finds him dead - stabbed through the heart with one of his own chef's knives, so, of course, she has to find out who did it! This is all mixed up with the potential closure of her newspaper and a potential romance.
Black Jade

By Gloria Oliver

4 stars

Set in Dallas, Texas in 1930. Daiyu Wu refuses to be lessened by her blindness. When she smalls a burned garlic odour in a garment left at the family's laundry business, she realises that someone has soaked the dress in arsenic. She doers her best to trace the origins of the dress and find the victim, and the murderer. Wee worth reading.
Portrait of a Dead Guy

By Larissa Reinhart

4 stars

First in a series. Artist Cherry Tucker is in competition for the commission to paint Dustin Branson - in his coffin. She has to also deal with ex-boyfriends, her flaky family, an illegal gambling ring, and a killer. Set in a zany Southern town.
The St Valentine's Situation.

By Carol Babineaux

3 stars

In Pinewoods Corner librarian Lacey helps Martin Weaver research the fate of a fabled ruby necklace and a vanished wife. It all ends well with the solution of two of the town's historical legends and an HEA,
Dirty D-Man

By Mira Lyn Kelly

4 stars

Another of the Slayers hockey series. A classic little sister of best friend trope that includes a serious injury for the brother, and the usual angst and misunderstandings. A light and easy read.
The Red-Hot Blues Chanteuse

By Ana Brazil

4 stars

Set in a vaudeville Theatre in San Francisco in 1919, Viola Vermillion has to solve the murder of her partner and lyricist before the evil industrialist arrives to retrieve a red notebook of incriminating coded information. I ended up really wanting to know what happened next....
Bogged to Death

By Priscilla Baker

3 stars

Number 2 in a series. A body is found in a cranberry bog during a festival and Penny goes detecting. Add in a gambling ring and a klepto cat and you have a classic cosy mystery just a bit longer than a novella.
The Harrison: a Beautiful Place to Die

By Madison Kent

4 stars

This is part of the Madeline Donovan mysteries series. It is set in Chicago in 1889. A beautiful and luxurious hotel called the Harrison (after the owners) has been built in Goose Island. Soon after its opening beautiful young girls start disappearing. Madeline is employed to look into the disappearance of one of the girls.
Murder Offstage

By L B Hathaway

4 stars

This is the first Posie Parker mystery. It has secret underground nightclubs, a cursed diamond, a forgery ring and an aristocratic evil mastermind. And it's a very accurate portrayal of the 1920s.
Murder on the White Cliffs

By L B Hathaway

4 stars

This is one of the Posie Parker mystery series set in the 1920s. This novel has 'bright young things' parties, drugs, several murders and Soviet agents and a traitor. And the period details are correct, which makes my historian's heart very happy.
The Merging

By John P Logsdon

1 stars

This was recommended as a good paranormal mystery, but it was more a 'police against evil demons' with lots of violence story. Not an author /trope I'd bother reading again.
The Key to Murder

By Jen Pitts

4 stars

This is #1 in a series called The French Quarter Mysteries. An adopted woman moves to New Orleans after the death of her adoptive parents. She finds a key and a diary in her new apartment and that's how it all begins. The 2 murders are almost incidental and I must admit it took me till almost the end before I finally worked up the identity of the murderer and his motive.
Dirty Deal

By Mira Lyn Kelly

4 stars

This is a Slayers Hockey novel, with the 'suddenly a single dad' trope. It does include the issue of parents using an elder sibling as a substitute parent. Some amusing sections and a fun read.
The Skeleton in the Closet

By Angie Fox

3 stars

A bit of fluff, but entertaining fluff. It's number 2 in a series called Southern Ghost Hunter mysteries where the heroine has accidentally earthbound a deceased gangster to her property and has discovered that, with his help, she can see and speak to ghosts.
Two A Day

By Lauren Blakely

3 stars

The premise was a familiar trope, the 'forbidden because of workplace regulations'; romance, the characters were engaging at the start but for me there were too many sex scenes, which detracted from the humour that made the story interesting enough to read. I did finish it, and the lead-in to the second in the series is intriguing.
Crossroads

By Sarina Bowen

4 stars

Linked to her True North series, this is the story of Damien Rossi and Nicolette Overland. It was nice to have some gaps filled in and for them to get their HEA ending - finally. As always the dialogue was funny, insightful and believable.
A January Promise

By Brokerah Brumley

3 stars

Life in small town Texas for an elderly woman after the death of her husband of 35 years is complicated by well-meaning people who are trying to set her up with blind dates. So, she tells a lie and then has to deal with all that happens after. Portrays dealing with loss of a spouse, and a parent.
Blonde Date

By Sarina Bowen

4 stars

This is a novella. It surprised me as the author covers the serious issue of consent in a college/hazing /sorority context, and shows how facing a situation is empowering. Believable plot, great dialogue and engaging main characters.
Boyfriend

By Sarina Bowen

4 stars

A US college romance but it does have some depth in the issues it covers - breakdown of families through divorce, death in the family, abuse by a step-sibling are all part of the plot. Best of all Bowen's dialogue is genuine and funny and her characters and their actions are believable.
Letters from Portugal, Spain & France 1812 - 1814.

By Samuel d Broughton

5 stars

Broughton began as an assistant- surgeon in the Dorsetshire militia, and in October 1812 became assistant-surgeon of the 2nd Life Guards. Then he was appointed additional surgeon and placed in medical charge of the squadrons of his regiment being sent to the Peninsula. He was with his regiment in their campaign from Lisbon to Boulogne and later at Waterloo. His letters cover the Army and the campaigns as well as his observations of all that happened around him. As such, they are an amazing primary source, and must have been one of the sources used by Georgette Heyer for her research. Some of the stories he recounts are tragic.
The Recollections of Rifleman Harris.

By Benjamin Harris

5 stars

This is an account, from the rank and file soldier's perspective, of what happened during the Peninsula War and up until Napoleon was sent to Elba. I became interested in this period after reading a Georgette Heyer semi-fictionalized story called The Spanish Bride about Colonel Harry Smith and the Spanish girl he married during the Peninsula Campaign. It was so detailed that I decided to check the research - and found this account, which was fascinating. It led me to check several other sources.
Murder at Kensington Palace

By Andrea Penrose

4 stars

This is the third Wrexford and Sloane regency mystery. Charlotte's cousin Cedric is murdered and his twin brother is accused of the crime. To help him Charlotte must return to her aristocratic origins and rely on Wrexford's interest in science to solve the murders. A very twisted plot and historically accurate.
I Taught Them To Cook

By Jenny Ridgwell

4 stars

The story of the author's time as Head of Cookery in 1972, in an east London comprehensive school. This was the first time boys were able to choose cookery as a subject so there were issues of discipline - there was also the EXAM. It is an honest autobiography, and students then seem so much less sophisticated and less adventurous in terms of food than students today.
A Change in Tide.

By Freya Barker

4 stars

First in the Northern Lights series. Main protagonists are in their forties, and have individual challenges to work out - PTSD induced agoraphobia and loss of her career and first marriage for the heroine, and the end of a sporting career for the hero. Add in a pregnant sister, unscrupulous paparazzi and a nasty ex for the sister and there's lots going on.
Come a Little Closer

By Kait Nolan

4 stars

A combination of second chance romance and semi-mystery, but well written. Part of a linked series but can be read as a stand-alone. Nice to see the high school bully/mean girl get her comeupance.
A Journey - An Experience of a Lifetime

By Michael L Gayer

4 stars

Autobiography of a retired Master Trooper in the Indiana State Police. An insight into how being a part of law enforcement affects the men and women who serve and impacts on their families. It covers the dark and lighter sides of police work. He began by working as a dispatcher in 1973 and applied to the Indiana State Police Recruit Academy when he was 21. He served for 21 and a half years. Really interesting to see how attitudes differ in the USA.
Backstitched and Stabbed

By Tilly Wallace

5 stars

Number 2 in the Grace Designs mystery series set in post-World War One Wellington. It shows how the attitudes of the time to homosexuality could lead to murder. Really accurate in terms of historical Wellington and social mores. Recommended.
Gather the Anarchists

By Tilly Wallance

5 stars

Historical mystery set in Wellington post-World War One during the visit to New Zealand by Edward, Prince of Wales. Number 3 in a series. Historically accurate, social history is spot on as are the events, fashion etc. Really enjoyable.
Crash Into You

By J H Croix

4 stars

Linked to the Diamond Creek, Alaska series. Does cover issues such as sexual abuse, how influential men can get away with abuse, effects of dyslexia on confidence along with a pleasant story,

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Mt Roskill Grammar

89,611 pages read and 2,340 team points

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75

76

77

78