Book Review: More Vacation Reading

Our two weeks on the Outer Banks ends in the morning. Here are a few examples of how I spend a vacation.

Christian author Deeanne Gist took me to a tobacco plantation in Virginia in the 1640's. A BRIDE MOST BEGRUDGING  finds Lady Constance Morrow stolen from living a life of privilege in England to being a " tobacco bride" in the Colonies. Through the eyes of this pampered young lady, Gist gives a very accurate glimpse of the hardships of life that our early settlers lived. The author's notes give us a fuller idea of the Indian situation and the life style that Constance would have experienced.

The book is very simply written. There is some sexual tension between Constance and her new husband, but the scenes never take the reader into their bed. The description of violence is also restrained, but I still had an emotional reaction to the death of several characters that I had grown fond of.

SHADOW FALL by Erin Kellison takes place in modern New York City where the world of fantasy and the real world are at war. Two years ago Custo Santovari had been killed by an agent of the Wraiths. Now he is back as an angel, of all things, to protect ballerina Annabella from a wolf who has escaped from the dark side of a fantasy world.

 Annabella has worked hard all of her life to be a principle dancer and is about to make her debut as Giselle.  While she is lost in her dancing something truly magical happens and the portal between the two words opens. (I liked the idea that a "magical performance" can be indeed magical) If you like your romance stories to include shape shifters, angels, wraiths, mermaids, etc., you might want to try author Erin Kellison. This is a surprisingly good twist on the "good vs. evil" plot.

It is always a big thing to me when I find an author who goes immediately to my found-a-new-author list. Nancy Pickard may be an old name to you, but DEAD CRAZY made me a fan. Her series heroine is Jenny Cain, head of the Port Frederick, Massachusetts, Civic Foundation. Her job is to see that the foundations monies go to worthwhile community programs. In DEAD CRAZY she is answering a request for an old church to be turned into a refuge for the town's street people. After the objections of several neighbors of the church and several murders, Jenny is able to bring everything to a satisfactory ending.

This book moved well; the characters were well developed; the plight of the mentally unbalanced  members of a community realistically portrayed. This was all written with a touch of humor that never was cruel to our most vulnerable neighbors. I will be checking Pickard's other writings.

ENGLISH COUNTRY HOUSE MURDERS is an anthology that I will be keeping around for awhile. The book contains the best loved authors from this genre, ie. Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Dorothy L. Sayers, G. K. Chesterton. Well, you get the idea. The stories are in chronological order, making it fun to watch the evolution of the English mystery.

The introduction to ENGLISH COUNTRY HOUSE MURDERS should be  required reading for anyone who is a fan of this type of literature. The rules that must be followed are carefully set out for the would be author. Two important conditions; no author should attempt such an undertaking if that author is not English and no character within the story is ever named Lefty.

OK, one more Bodice Ripper. TENDER IS THE KNIGHT  by Jackie Ivie is a typical story with predictable plot and characters, the ice goddess trapped into marriage with the rough, very sexy, fierce, Scottish warrior. Set in Victorian times, the story does make good use of the fact that the war between Scotland and England was not over. This was an enjoyable read, but there are better examples of the genre being published.

Now it is time to pack to go home. These books ( with the exception of English Country House Murders)  will stay at the condo for the next person and I will return to attack the books that are waiting under my bed.