These books are so much better when Charlotte and Emily are reduced to background characters. I can only handle so many pages of society scandals. When Thomas is working on his own without the constant meddling assistance of his wife and sister-in-law, the procedure part of the mystery is so much more satisfying. 

One thing I always get a kick out of with these books is the character names. I've worked in a school before. I'm familiar with unusual names. However, the names in Perry's books are something just a little more. Sholto. Beulah. And my personal favorite, Theophania. I'm not overly familiar with the naming practices of English residents but there is something to be said for having characters with names outside of Elizabeth, Mary, Henry, or George. This coming from a mother who has an Elizabeth in her own house. 

Dates Read 6/7/2020-6/9/2020

Book 36/75

First and foremost, I would just like to point out that I can't stand reading books out of order. I don't care if someone tells me books can be read as stand alone novels. If that were true, why would the book be included in a series to begin with?

People who know that I'm an avid historical fiction reader and that my favorite era is the Tudor-era have been telling me for ages that I need to read this book. I've had this book on my TBR for quite some times. However, I had to get around that "I have to read the other four books first" quirk. I have read the first Inspector Grant novel. I was incredibly let down. The idea that I had to read three more Grant novels before getting to the novel I really wanted to read became tiresome. This proved to be one of those times where maybe I just need to listen to people. 

Yesterday, Mother Nature was being especially moody in Minnesota. Law enforcement was recommending people stay put. My husband who will drive through the apocalypse even turned around and didn't go to work. That means it was bad. It wasn't the usual December dumping of a foot of snow. It was two to three inches of solid ice that had most of the state turned into a skating rink. There's a rather comical video of a school bus sliding sideways down a hill. 

The Daughter of Time was the perfect book to keep me entertained yesterday. My children certainly didn't need me. They got LEGOs for Christmas. I figure I have three more days before they are complaining about being bored. By that time, they should be back in school. 

Anyway. I can't remember the last time I finished a book in one sitting. This book was absolutely enthralling. At times it felt more like a play than a novel. I enjoyed the banter Grant had with all the players. I have read a few reviews were people were turned off by his level of snark. I had zero problems with it. It actually made things more enjoyable. His rant about Mary, Queen of Scots had me rolling. 

Tey's theory about the fate of the Princes in the Tower was hardly new for me. I still enjoyed the manner in which she presented it. The argument was compelling. If I didn't already have my own thoughts about what happened, I could easily be convinced to join her side. My book also included a hand written afterwords stating that Richard III was actually found innocent in 1984. I did not know that Richard III had ever been brought to "trial". I would have thought if anything, this would have occurred after his remains had been found. For anyone interested in seeing the trial play out, you can watch it here - http://www.josephinetey.net/Trial-of-King-Richard-III.html Minnesotans are being told to stay home again today. At least I have something to do now. 

Do I think this was the greatest crime novel every written? No. Mainly because I don't view it as a traditional crime novel. It's more a scholarly debate than anything else. Was it worth breaking my series rule for? 100%. Just don't expect me to make a habit of it. 

Death in Focus is the first book in a new series by Anne Perry. It features Elena Standish, a seemingly ordinary girl who is trying to develop a career in photography (see what I did there?) in the years between WWI and WWII. 

I'm having a hard time understanding how Anne Perry is going to make a series out of the adventures of Elena Standish. Mainly because Elena should have been dead a thousand times over by the end of the first book. 

This book was pretty awful. I've been working on putting down books that I know are going to be one star reads for me. There are too many books waiting for me. Why waste time on books that aren't going to be any good? This book was an exception to that rule. Be warned there are a lot of potential spoilers ahead.

Elena was the biggest problem with this book. She was flat out stupid. At several points during the novel, the reader is reminded that Elena has more poor choices regarding men before. We aren't told exactly what her previous flame does. All we know is he betrayed England during WWI. He made her look like a fool. The reader is told this several time. Elena tells herself this several times. One might think a person would learn her lesson. If you can't trust a man you knew for years and found yourself to be in love with, why in the world are you trusting a man you met on the street in a foreign country? I have no idea what the answer to that is. Elena does though. Or at least she must have a good reason because that's exactly what she does. More than once. 

Elena decided to abandon her sister in Italy and go fleeting to Paris with a man she just met. The trip to Paris is interrupted when her new love interest is given a secret mission that requires him to immediately go to Berlin. "I'll just go to Paris and wait for you." That's what you might think Elena would say. You'd be wrong. Elena decides she should go to Berlin (a current powder keg where Hitler is doing everything he can to throw a match) with this man she knows nothing about.

Long story short, the man ends up murdered. Elena ends up on the run. She spills her guts to every stranger she meets but then can't figure out why the German police are after her. Meanwhile in England, her grandfather who use to be the head of MI-6 can't seem to come up with a plan to keep tabs on Elena and get her out of trouble. 

This was one of the most absurd, unbelievable novels I have read in a long time. I really only finished it thinking that the publisher was pulling a fast one on readers. Elena ends up dead at the end of the novel and there's actually going to be an entirely different series. Hopefully a series featuring Elena's Luger wielding grandma, Josephine. There's your series folks. If it weren't for the anachronistic political discussions sprinkled in, I would have forgot I was reading an Anne Perry novel. This had none of the trademarks of her Pitt, Monk, or even Christmas novels. 

The first half of the book is about Rachel. She's pretty snarky and doesn't like many people. She also seems to have a tendency to go off half cocked. Her social circle consists of her best friend, Darla, and "Robathy" (Rob), her ex-boyfriend from high school. Rachel owns the only bookstore in town. Darla is her business partner. Rob owns the local bar. Cameron, Rob's best friend from high school, moves back to town. Rachel hated Cameron. In return, Cameron hated Rachel. Now that they're in the thirties, Rachel sees that Cameron is a lot different from how she viewed him in high school and finds herself interested in him.

The story is pretty light on details. Cameron was the star football player and dated the head cheerleader, but he seems nothing like that person now. He hasn't dated in a while because he's "working on himself". He has a chihuahua, he drinks green tea and he does yoga. We don't ever find out why Rob is called "Robathy" or why Cameron thinks he needs to "work on himself". The first half of the book comes to an end and Rachel's story is basically over without Rachel or Cameron having a real date or there being any real romance or wooing.

The second half of the book is Darla's story. I enjoyed it more. She had more of a connection with Eli, her son, Milo's, teacher. But, it also ended without much closure. There weren't any details about how Milo dealt with his mom dating his teacher, etc.

My first experience with series books, I was a bit confused by the sort length of this tidbit tease. After I figured it out, that the book is released in short installments quicker than waiting for the whole novel I warmed to the idea. The price is about the same and the wait is much shorter=bonus. I still would prefer to have the whole book in hand but if I have addiction issues to the story I want it asap and this would be a much nicer way than waiting a year or more.
Zenobia the strong willed independent woman with much to hide runs into the most dangerous man in the Horde rebellion. He rescues her from an attack on her ship and wisps her away where he may or may not have tangling in the sheets on his mind. They have a lot in common. She is stubborn, so is he, she is smart, as is he, she likes to study motives, and he does too, they also both want each other, but they don’t, they both have enemies and they may be the same.
There is a full arrangement of cool mechanical tools in this steampunk book. I loved the armored kraken the best. Flying ships, gliders and riders. It was a pirate ship adventure as well as steampunk experience.
Readers of Steampunk, romance and adventure will enjoy this series. I don’t know if I will continue the series I liked it but did not connect with the characters in the short bit i had to read.