Review: THE MYSTERY OF THE MISSING FRENCHMAN, H. L. Marsay

• This edition read as an e-book on Kindle (AmazonAU)
• 
  ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CXP7YRDP
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Tule Publishing, Publication date ‏ : ‎ 13 August 2024
  
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 276 pages
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1962707633
• Book 3 of 4: The Lady in Blue Mysteries 

Synopsis  (AmazonAU)

Even in war, your enemies can linger too close to home…

While war and revolution continue to ravage Europe, Dorothy Peto embraces her new role at Scotland Yard as she and several detectives investigate a series of jewel thefts. Then Dorothy is tasked with assisting the inscrutable Inspector Derwent and the charming Colonel Lamarchant to find a missing French aristocrat. Their enquiries take them to a country house in Yorkshire, that’s been converted to a hospital for wounded soldiers and was the last place the Frenchman visited. However, the more questions they ask, the more questions they have.

When the body of a man suspected of being the marquis is discovered, the investigative team returns to London, but the dead man is a stranger. Dorothy speculates that the death, the jewel thefts and the missing Frenchman may be connected. She finds herself tangled in a web of conscientious objectors, Irish republicans and communist agitators, and not everyone is who they appear to be.

My Take

I must confess that I haven't read earlier titles in this series but this one seems to work well enough as a stand-alone. However while the story was interesting, it didn't feel particularly enriched by the historical period in which it is set.

It comes with this disclaimer: Inspired by the remarkable life of Dorothy Peto, the Metropolitan Police’s first female superintendent. 

My rating: 4.4

I have also read

4.4, A LONG SHADOW -#1

4.4, A VIKING SHADOW - #2 

4.4, A GHOSTLY SHADOW -#3

4.4, A ROMAN SHADOW -#4

4.5, A FORGOTTEN SHADOW #5

4.5, A CHRISTMAS SHADOW #6

Review: DAUGHTERS OF BATAVIA, Stefanie Koens

• 
  
  This edition read as an e-book on Libby supplied by my local library
  
  
  
• ISBN: 9781460766163
• ISBN-10: 1460766164
• Published: Harper Collins Publishers, AU, 29th July 2025
• Number of Pages: 384
• winner Banjo Prize for fiction
• Longlisted for Best Debut Fiction in the Indie Book Awards 2026 

Synopsis (publisher)

A woman searching for answers in her own life finds them - and much more - in the wreckage and haunting stories of the Batavia shipwreck. The powerfully moving historical debut from the winner of the Banjo Prize for Fiction. 

Two women. One shipwreck. And four centuries of secrets.

Shortly before Christmas in 2018, Tess McCarthy, a hard-working English teacher who never does anything out of the ordinary, flies to Western Australia's remote Abrolhos Islands. She is in search of answers - both to the infamous Batavia shipwreck and her personal family crises.

Amsterdam, 1628. Saskia, an orphaned young Dutchwoman, boards Batavia with relatives, bound for a new and potentially dangerous life in the East Indies - only for her world to first collide with Aris Jansz, the ship's reluctant under surgeon.

Tess, Saskia and Aris - their lives linked by secrets that span generations - carry the baggage of past losses and the uncertainty of their futures. And, in the most unlikely circumstances, they find qualities that echo through centuries: faith, acceptance, and love. 

My Take

The story of the wreck of the Batavia on Houtman's Abrolhos was told to me when I was quite young. I thoroughly enjoyed this re-telling with its dual time frames. We slipped easily between the present and 400 years ago. The characters in both were well presented and the stories were credible.

My rating: 4.6

About the author

Stefanie Koens grew up in Perth, reading, writing and dreaming of stories. As a teenager she won prizes in the Mary Durack Young Writers Award, then studied English, History and Education at Notre Dame University. She loves bringing local history to life and capturing family stories.  

 

 

Review: THE BENEVOLENT SOCIETY OF ILL-MANNERED LADIES, Alison Goodman

• 
   This edition an e-book on Kindle (Amazon)
  
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BP9WFCY1
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ HarperCollins (June 1, 2023)
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 459 pages  

Synopsis  (Amazon)

A Washington Post Best Mystery Novel of 2023

A high society amateur detective at the heart of Regency London uses her wits and invisibility as an ‘old maid’ to protect other women in a new and fiercely feminist historical mystery series from New York Times bestselling author Alison Goodman.

Lady Augusta Colebrook, “Gus,” is determinedly unmarried, bored by society life, and tired of being dismissed at the age of forty-two. She and her twin sister, Julia, who is grieving her dead betrothed, need a distraction. One soon presents itself: to rescue their friend’s goddaughter, Caroline, from her violent husband.
 
The sisters set out to Caroline’s country estate with a plan, but their carriage is accosted by a highwayman. In the scuffle, Gus accidentally shoots and injures the ruffian, only to discover he is Lord Evan Belford, an acquaintance from their past who was charged with murder and exiled to Australia twenty years ago. What follows is a high adventure full of danger, clever improvisation, heart-racing near misses, and a little help from a revived and rather charming Lord Evan.

Back in London, Gus can’t stop thinking about her unlikely (not to mention handsome) comrade-in-arms. She is convinced Lord Evan was falsely accused of murder, and she is going to prove it. She persuades Julia to join her in a quest to help Lord Evan, and others in need—society be damned! And so begins the beguiling secret life and adventures of the Colebrook twins. 

My Take

This was a fairly light whimsical read set in the early 19th century in London. The historical detail was impressive, and the stories were credible, if rather cosy. I'm not sure that it is a series that I will want to continue. A bit too romantic for my taste.

My Rating: 4.4

About the author

Alison Goodman lives in Australia with her husband and their terrier, Buckley. Her latest book is The Dark Days Deceit, the final in the Dark Days Club trilogy which Alison calls Pride and Prejudice meets Buffy (or Georgette Heyer goes demon hunting!). She is happily learning how to dance a quadrille, hoist herself into boned stays, and handle a small-sword...all in the name of research.

Alison is also the author of New York Times Bestsellers, EON and EONA (also known as The Two Pearls of Wisdom and The Necklace of the Gods). The award winning fantasy duology is set in a mythical China and has sold into 20 countries, and translated into 12 languages.

Alison's other novels are the SF thriller, Singing the Dogstar Blues, and her wickedly dark adult crime novel, A New Kind of Death, which has just been re-released as a Kindle e-book. Her artist husband painted the cover, which is - Alison says without any bias, whatsoever - totally brilliant and the best cover she has ever had on any of her books.