King Arthur Movie Tristan

title: The Quiet Gentleman

author: Georgette Heyer

pages: 360

genre: regency mystery/romance

published: 1951

source: sent for review from Sourcebooks

first line: In the guide-books it figured as Stanyon Castle; on the tongues of the villagers, it was the Castle; the Polite World spoke of it as Stanyon, as it spoke of Woburn, and of Cheveley.

rated: 4 out of 5 stars









Before I start my review, I just wanted to mention that I believe Georgette Heyer to be the Queen Bee of Regency Mystery/Romance novels and I'm a big fan of her work. I'd also like to give many thanks to the publicists over @ Sourcebooks for providing me with several great Heyer titles over the past couple of years. They are the reason I discovered this wonderful author.





Now onto my review....I think you might already be able to tell how it will go.





About:


Gervase Frant returns home after surviving the Napoleanic Wars. Gervase is now the Earl of St. Erth and is home to claim himself as master of the estate known as Stanyon Manor. His step-mother Lady St.Erth, and step-brother Martin, are both openly unhappy about this. Also staying at Stanyon Castle are Gervase's cousin Theo and Miss Morville who is a guest.


One day while out riding, Gervase stumbles upon a maiden in distress. Miss Marianne Bolderwood has fallen off her horse.

Gervase notices right away how lovely Marianne is and begins, like so many others, to give her his attentions. This makes Martin furious, he thinks that Marianne is his personal property and plans to marry her someday, fueling his hatred of Gervase even more.





With Gervase waking in the middle of the night swearing someone was just in his room, to his being setup to purposely take a tumble off his horse, the new Earl has the distinct feeling that the jealous Martin is behind it all. Miss Morville actually tries to help Gervase figure out who is trying to do him harm and she becomes a good friend to the new Earl.









My thoughts:


Since I first read Heyer's work she has reminded me of Jane Austen.

Heyer brings Regency England to life in her stories, and as I read, I am instantly transported there. She set a Gothic mood in this novel from the start with her description of Stanyon Manor and I really enjoyed that.


Heyer had a knack for creating fun characters and storylines. There was a sweet and unexpected romance in the plot.



Gervase Frant himself is a well thought out character and he is definitely The Quiet Gentleman, never losing his composure and finding clever ways to get through difficult situations. He makes for a great hero.

There's a swordfight, people wandering the castle at night, a ball, men fighting over a female, witty dialogue and murder attempts. What more could you want in a book?




I giggled as I read, was swept into the storyline and sighed as I turned the last page. Heyer had me guessing until the end and the person behind trying to harm Gervase wasn't who I thought it would be.



I enjoyed reading The Quiet Gentleman so much that I was up past 1:00 AM to finish reading it, even though I had to be at work early the following day.


With interesting characters, a Gothic like mansion, a dash of humor and some romance, you have a fun mystery the likes of which only Georgette Heyer can weave.

"Good God! The fellow's nothing but a curst dandy!"
p.13

Check out Blodeuedd's review of The Quiet Gentleman.







About the author:





Georgette Heyer (16 August 1902 – 4 July 1974) was an English historical romance and detective fiction novelist. Her writing career began in 1921, when she turned a story for her younger brother into the novel The Black Moth. In 1925 Heyer married George Ronald Rougier, a mining engineer. The couple spent several years living in Tanganyika and Macedonia before returning to England in 1929. After her novel These Old Shades became popular despite its release during the General Strike, Heyer determined that publicity was not necessary for good sales. For the rest of her life, she refused to grant interviews, telling a friend: "My private life concerns no one but myself and my family."

quoted from wiki

title: A Question of Belief

author: Donna Leon

published: 2010

genre: mystery


pages: 262

source: sent by publisher for review

first line: When Inspettore Vianello came into his office, Brunetti had all but exhausted the powers of will keeping him at his desk.


rated:
3 out of 5 stars

Donna Leon’s sumptuous series of novels featuring the principled, warmhearted Venetian Commissario Guido Brunetti have won her countless fans, critical acclaim, and international renown as one of the world’s best crime writers. In A Question of Belief, the nineteenth novel in the best-selling series, Brunetti must contend with ingenious corruption, bureaucratic intransigence, and the stifling heat of a Venetian summer.

About:


A Question of Belief is the nineteenth book in Donna Leon's series featuring a Venetian police commissioner named Guido Brunetti.

Set against the stifling Venetian heat, there are two investigations going on in this installment.



A man named Araldo Fontana has been murdered and he is suspect of being involved with a corrupt judge who delays trials for bribes.
Guido was looking forward to a cool vacation in the Alps with is book loving wife Paola and their two children. He finds himself in the midst of a murder investigation instead.



Guido's sidekick is Ispettore Vianello. Vianello's aunt seems to be taken in by a corrupt psychic. Her bank account has been dwindling and she insists it is for charity. This is the second investigation.





My thoughts:


As I mentioned before, A Question of Belief is the nineteenth novel in this series. This can be read as a stand alone book.

The author sets the mood perfectly and as I read I could definitely imagine the stifling hot weather in Venice.
I think I would have enjoyed this one more if I had read a few of the others books first and gotten a better feel for the characters.
The story did start off a bit slow for me, but it picked up toward the middle, once the murder occurred and the investigation really took off. Author Donna Leon added a twist that I hadn't seen coming and the ending was not what I expected. I don't include spoilers in my reviews, so I'll leave it at that.



Guido and his family were my favorites in this story. I especially liked Paola's literary references.
Guido actually takes time out of his busy day to come home and sit down to lunch with his family. I found that a nice touch.

Overall, a nice, quick dose of mystery set in Venice with some memorable characters.





The first in this series is called Death at La Fenice and was published in 1992. I'll have to be on the lookout for other Guido Brunetti mysteries.






about the author:

Donna Leon is the author of the international best-selling Commissario Guido Brunetti series. The winner of the CWA Macallan Silver Dagger for Fiction, among other awards, Leon was born in New Jersey and has lived in Venice for thirty years.

title: Dead of Wynter

author: Spencer Seidel

pages: 292

genre: fiction/suspense

published: May 2011

source: sent for review by Booktrib

first line: The ghost, the dead man, was still following.

rated: 4 out of 4 stars











About:

Alice Wynter receives a phone call from her mother telling her that her father is dead. When she goes back to her hometown of Redding, Maine, she discovers that her twin brother Chris is missing. Alice grew up in a troubled household with an alcoholic and abusive father. As a result, her twin Chris was a troubled teen and developed his own drinking problem. Alice was able to move away and start a life of her own, but now that she's back in town, bad memories are resurfacing as the police are trying to figure out what happened to Alice's father and brother.
As the story goes on, there are flashbacks to 1984 when Chris was a teen and getting into deep trouble as well as glimpses into Alice's homelife.







My thoughts:


Dead of Wynter is one of those novels that slowly draws you in. I enjoyed uncovering the story layer by layer.
I wondered if Chris was responsible for his fathers murder and what secrets Alice and her mother were keeping. I felt bad for Alice having to go back to her hometown where so many painful memories were waiting.

The flashbacks were done well and were a necessary part of the story in order for the reader to get a glimpse into these characters lives.

Author Spencer Seidel does a great job at creating a creepy atmosphere. This was a good mystery and I enjoyed getting caught up in it.

Like she had reached some great destination, some great place, but had forgotten how she'd gotten there. It was the journey, the connection to the past that was gone. And she'd carefully constructed her life that way. And now that curtain was being pulled back, just a little, to remind her that the lies she'd told herself and others over the years were just that: lies. She wasn't a real person. She was a facade.

p.27

About the author:

Spencer Seidel lives and works in suburban New Jersey but has also called Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Portland, Maine home. He is an honors graduate of Fairleigh Dickinson University and attended the Berklee College of Music to study guitar, which he has been playing for over 25 years. His love of reading and books began as a child after discovering Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Later, he was drawn to darker work by authors such as Stephen King, Peter Straub, and Jack Ketchum, who continue to influence his dark novels and short stories.

Special thanks to Booktrib.

title: A Circle of Souls


author: Preetham Grandhi


genre: mystery/thriller


published: 2009


pages: 341


first line: The slaaf stumbled along the shore of Willow Lake.


rated: 4 out of 5










In A Circle of Souls 10 year old Janet Troy disappears one day after getting off the school bus. As a short cut walking home, she takes the path along Willow Lake and is never heard from again.



Dr. Peter Gram works at the hospital and specializes in pediatric medicine. Late one night a 7 year old is brought into the ER and they page Dr. Gram to evaluate her. Naya Hastings has been having vivid nightmares and has been sleepwalking dangerously. Her parents are in fear of her hurting herself during her dream states.
Meanwhile agent Leia Bines has been called back to work from her vacation in Hawaii to investigate the dissapearance of Janet Troy in Connecticut.


The story gets very creepy once Naya's dreams become more vivid, and take a paranormal aspect. She begins to see and speak to Janet Troy in these dreams. Janet gives Naya tips and clues about her death and murderer. Naya then passes these clues on to Dr. Peter Gram through vivid drawings.






I found A Circle of Souls to be a page turner. The story took off from page one and just kept on going. It was a fast paced thriller with plenty of plot twists and turns to keep me hooked until the very end. The story had some great, well developed characters. I found myself trying to figure out who the killer was and hoping Leia Bines would finally arrest him. I liked that there was a strong, female investigator on the case. The reader also gets a look into the killers mind and finds out why this person is so sick.




This was a great book, I highly recommend it for anyone who enjoys a good, suspenseful thriller with a bit of paranormal twist to it. Like I said, it got very creepy once Naya starts to talk to Janet in her dreams. I got goosebumps while reading. I felt like the author did a good job when writing about Janet and what happened to her, it wasn't overwhelming to the reader.

"I wont be scared," Naya said, trying to put on a strong facade. "Would you like to lie down next to me?" Janet asked, changing the subject.


The two girls lay down next to each other. Naya wondered why Janet only wanted Dr. Gram to help her. She was a little scared to ask.


"Why the doctor?" Naya whispered into Janet's ear.


"Because he knows what the big, bad man has done," Janet whispered back.

special thanks to Preetham Grandhi for sending me a signed copy of his book!



about the author:

Preetham Grandhi, M.D. immigrated to the United States from Bangalore, India to pursue a career in child and adolescent psychiatry. After his graduation from Yale he has been the chief of service for House 5 at Bronx Children’s Psychiatric Center. He is devoted to helping young children gain insight into their emotional and behavioral needs and empowers them to maximize their inner potential. He also has a private practice and resides in Westchester County, New York, with his family.

-quoted from the authors website: http://www.acircleofsouls.com/about.html

title: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

author: Washington Irving

published: 1820

firts line: Found among the papers of the late Diedrich Knickerbocker.



The Legend of Sleepy Hollow starts off with the narrator describing the town of Sleepy Hollow. The mood is set perfectly, the small town is said to be haunted and the townspeople believe there is such a thing as the Headless Horseman.

Enter Ichabod Crane, who is a schoolteacher and arrives at Sleepy Hollow from Connecticut to teach the townchildren. Ichabod is described as being tall and lanky, with his clothes too large for his thin frame. He also enjoyed reading, singing and flirting with the townswomen. He spent winter evenings with the old Dutch wives and loved to hear them tell ghost stories.

When he meets Katrina Van Tassel, he likes her right away. However, Katrina is being courted by Brom Van Brunt, a young man well known for being mischevious.

When there is a party at the Van Tassel home and the whole town is invited, Ichabod is more than happy to go. Ichabod hopes that one day he will marry Katrina and he will inherit the Van Tassel property.


As the night goes on with dancing and drinking, the townspeople begin to tell thier ghost stories. And invetiably, they begin to tell stories about The Headless Horseman.

Once the night is over and everyone starts to go home, Ichabod stays behind to speak to Katrina. When he is done, he leaves, walking home alone late at night. He begins to pass a few of the places where the ghost stories he heard of took place.


Out of the dark appears the Horseman, and comes after Ichabod. The next day all that the townspeople find is Ichabod's horse, hat and a smashed pumpkin. Everyone just accepts that the Horseman killed Ichabod.


A few years later, an old farmer visits New York and comes back to town saying that he saw Ichabod Crane there. He claims that Ichabod ran off that dark night because he was spooked in the woods and because Katrina had turned him down. Brom also seemed a bit suspicious whenever people mentioned Icabod's dissapearance. He would laugh at the story and seemed to know more than he was telling anyone.



I hadn't read The Legend of Sleepy Hollow since I was in grade school, and on re-reading it, I found that I still enjoyed it. This is a great spooky story for anyone, especially older school children.

I liked how Irving sets the mood and there is no dialogue in the story, it is just the narrator telling his tale.

From the listless repose of the place, and the peculiar character of its inhabitants, who are descendants from the original Dutch settlers, this sequestered glen has long been known by the name of SLEEPY HOLLOW, and its rustic lads are called the Sleepy Hollow Boys throughout all the neighboring country. A drowsy, dreamy influence seems to hang over the land, and to pervade the very atmosphere.

The dominant spirit, however, that haunts this enchanted region, and seems to be commander-in-chief of all the powers of the air, is the apparition of a figure on horseback, without a head. It is said by some to be the ghost of a Hessian trooper, whose head had been carried away by a cannon-ball, in some nameless battle during the Revolutionary War, and who is ever and anon seen by the country folk hurrying along in the gloom of night, as if on the wings of the wind.

All the stories of ghosts and goblins that he had heard in the afternoon now came crowding upon his recollection. The night grew darker and darker; the stars seemed to sink deeper in the sky, and driving clouds occasionally hid them from his sight. He had never felt so lonely and dismal. He was, moreover, approaching the very place where many of the scenes of the ghost stories had been laid.

I read this online at:



This read has been part of R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril…IV

Dead Until Dark (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Book 1)


author: Charlaine Harris

genre: paranormal romance

pages: 292

published:2001

first line: I'd been waiting for the vampire for years when he walked into the bar.

rated: 4 out of 5





I finally picked up a copy of Dead Until Dark , I was beginning to feel like the only blogger left who hadn't read this one.

Sookie Stackhouse is a waitress in a small town in Louisiana. She has a special ability, she can read minds. In Sookie's world, vampires are commonplace. So when one gorgeous vampire named Bill walks into the restaurant where she works, she takes notice of him right away. After he gets into a bit of a bind, Sookie saves his life and the two become attached then and there. As the story progresses there's murder and mystery involved.



I found myself laughing out loud while reading quite a few times. I think my favorite term in the book is 'fang banger', which are vampire groupies basically. I liked the love scenes and found this book had just the right dose of romance, humor and mystery. I like Sookie's character and found her to be smart, funny and sassy. I like Bill too, and wanted the two to get together right from the start.

His kiss deepened, and I parted my lips. I'd never been kissed like this. It went on and on until I thought the whole world was involved in this kiss in the vampire's mouth on mine.

My one problem with this book was that I liked but didn't love Bill. I don't think his character was that strong, I like my heroes to be memorable. When I think about favorite literary vampires, Bill will not be on my top favs. I would consider reading the second installment in this series though.



also reviewed by mariel




True Blood has been made into a series. Have you seen it?

title: Trust Me: The Last Stand Trilogy, Book 1

author: Brenda Novak

pages: 435

genre: romantic suspense, mystery

published: 2008

first line: “You already heard, right?”

rated: 4 out of 5

Four years ago...
Skye Kellerman was attacked in her own bed. She managed to fend off her knife-wielding assailant, but the trauma changed everything about her life. As a result of that night, she joined two friends--also survivors--in starting The Last Stand, an organization to help victims of crime.
But now...
Her would-be rapist is getting out of prison. Skye knows that Dr. Oliver Burke hasn t forgotten that her testimony cost him his reputation--and his freedom.
Sacramento detective David Willis, who investigated her case, believes Burke is a clear and present danger--and guilty of at least two unsolved murders.
And now Burke is free to terrorize Skye again. Unless David can stop him. Unless Skye can fight back. Because Oliver Burke has every intention of finishing what he started. And that s a promise. Trust me.

It took me a few chapters of reading Trust Me before I was good & hooked. Then I could not put it down.


Skye Kellerman was attacked by a man in her own home four years ago. She was able to fight him off. He was Dr. Oliver Burke, a prominent dentist with a wife and child.
Turns out he is responsible for murdering three other women and Skye would have been next if she hadn't stabbed him with a pair of scissors during the attack. Oliver was sent to prison, and is being released early for snitching on a fellow inmate to the police. Sadly enough, Olivers wife and family think he is innocent, his wife even sends Skye hate mail.


Skye met Detective David Willis when he worked on the case and the two form an attachment. When David hears that Oliver will be out of jail soon, he is worried for Skye's life. Skye and two other victims of attacks formed a group called 'The Last Stand'. TLS was created to help other victims of crime.

David is divorced and has a son, and although he doesn't love his wife any longer he is trying to get back together with his wife for his sons sake. He and Skye are in love but the two are torn, because of Davids situation. Davids wife is suffering from MS and he feels even more guilty knowing that she needs him to care for her.





I really enjoyed
Trust Me. The plot was good, full of suspense. The characters were well written, including the supporting characters. I liked Skye and David. I liked it that their relationship was complicated and these two are drawn to each other yet are trying to do the right thing. Thier characters were complex and interesting. Oliver was creepy and as the book goes on, you get to see things from his point of view, you get to see how twisted he really is. His jail scenes are pretty disturbing.



The plot was great, I enjoyed the twists and turns. There's a few moments where I was like O-M-G! And I like that in a book.




Even though it took me a few chapters in to get hooked, this was a great read and I recommend it. By the time I was halfway through, I could not put this book down. The suspense is great and so is the romance.

She wanted his help professionally, but working with him left her emotionally vulnerable. She couldn't seperate the two, not as easily as he seemed to do.


She wished they could go back to the early days, when their feelings were first developing, when everything was still so innocent and unexpected that it took them both unawares. Now that David knew that he had to guard against personal involvement, nothing was the same, which was shy she'd changed too- grown defensive.

One thing I didn't like about this book was that the ending was a bit anticlimactic. I would have liked more to happen when Skye finally comes face to face with Oliver. It felt like the author got the story so worked up, it was hard to put the book down, I needed to know what happened next, but then it all ended too fast.


All in all, it was a great read, and I do recommend it.







About the author:

Brenda and her husband, Ted, live in Sacramento and are the proud parents of five children—three girls and two boys. She juggles her writing career with her children’s softball and soccer games, field trips, carpool runs and homework sessions.

visit the author's website: http://www.brendanovak.com/



-----------------------

Special thanks to j.kaye for sending me this book to read and review :o)

c.j. over @ 'The Trillionth Page' was hosting Nancy Drew week.

Starting August 18th, will be Nancy Drew week here at The THRILLIONTH PAGE, full of mini-recaps and reader reviews of favorite Nancy Drew adventures, recollections from the books or series, opinions, and more!

I've been reading The Ghost of Blackwood Hall with my daughter. It's her first time reading Nancy Drew and she really enjoyed it. Read on for my review.




title: The Ghost of Blackwood Hall


author: Carolyn Keene


pages: 178

genre: mystery

published: 1948

first line: "If I ever try to solve a mystery with a ghost in it, I'll use a smart cat to help me!"

rated: 4 out of 5





Widow Mrs. Putney, asks Nancy Drew for help finding her stolen jewelry. Nancy's friends Bess and George, wind up helping her and the search leads them to New Orleans. Mrs. Putney keeps telling Nancy that her late husbands ghost has been speaking to her, first telling her where to bury his jewels, then once the jewels are stolen and replaced with fake ones, his spirit tells her not to seach for them any longer. Nancy notices this odd behavior from Mrs. Putney, and doesn't believe in spirits herself, but choses to humor the widow until she can solve the case. The case leads her to a deserted old mansion called Blackwood Hall, that is haunted by a ghost playing a piano.
With some help from her friends George, Bess and Ned, Nancy solves the mystery and all ends well.

'Nancy's attractive face tightened as she realized that danger might be lurking in the forest. She was convinced that the theft of Mrs. Putney's buried treasure was no ordinary affair.'

I read this book a few chapters at a time to my daughter each night before bedtime. Being a 3rd grader, I hoped she was ready for a Nancy Drew mystery. And she was. She really enjoyed reading it and followed the storyline very well. Some of the writing is a bit outdated, so I had to stop and explain certain words or phrases to her, but all in all, she really liked the story.







Part of the fun about the Nancy Drew books are the creative covers. Here's a few I found. Click on each to read about the story.

























About the author:

Nancy Drew is an amateur sleuth, the fictional heroine of a popular mystery series, primarily aimed at the children-young adult audience, and written under the collective pseudonym "Carolyn Keene". The series was created and outlined in detail in 1930 by Edward Stratemeyer, founder of the Stratemeyer Syndicate, with the first manuscripts written by Mildred A. Wirt Benson and edited by Stratemeyer's daughter Harriet Stratemeyer Adams. The Stratemeyer Syndicate had a strict non-disclosure contract; writers such as Mildred Benson produced books based upon outlines provided by the Syndicate. As a ghostwriter, Benson was the second most prolific writer (after Stratemeyer-Adams herself), producing twenty-three of the first thirty volumes.


quoted from wikipedia

visit http://www.nancydrewsleuth.com/ for more










Nancy Drew is a movie made in 2007 based on the mystery novels. We did watch the film and enjoyed it too. Nancy's character was just how you'd expect her to be and Ned is a cutie!

In the movie, Nancy is trying to give up sleuthing. She winds up moving to LA with her father, and going to a new school, where they do make fun of her and her 'old fashioned' style of dressing. Of course, there's a murder mystery involving a movie star and the home she and her father are staying in, that she just has to solve.


Nancy solves the mystery, with the help of her friends and some of her housekeeper's baked goodies. And her 'old fashioned' outfits even end up being featured in a fashion magazine. WTG Nancy :)