Book Details
Title: Mind of a Killer
Author: Simon Beaufort
Publisher: Severn House
Publication Date: April 1, 2018
Pages: 278
About the Book
Newspaper reporter Alec Lonsdale discovers that a series of seemingly random murders may be connected in this absorbing historical mystery.
1882
Following up a story about a fatal house fire, newspaper reporter Alec Lonsdale discovers that the victim’s death was no accident. But why would someone murder a humble shop assistant and steal part of his brain? Alec is about to uncover evidence of a shocking conspiracy that reaches the highest echelons of Victorian society.
My Rating
🔍🔍🔍🔍 out of 5
My Review
What a great historical mystery by author Simon Beaufort (pseudonym of a husband and wife writing team). Mind of a Killer is the first installment in The Alec Lonsdale Victorian Mystery Series. The story takes place in London in 1882.
I have always loved reading books set during the Victorian time period. Simon Beaufort’s rich and descriptive writing brings the story to life, especially the city of London and its different social classes. The main character was Alexander Lonsdale, a reporter for The Pall Mall Gazette. Lonsdale spent most of his adult life as one of Queen Victoria’s faithful representatives in Africa. He returned to London and announced to his family he was going to be a reporter. Needless to say the family wasn’t happy about his new career move. Lonsdale wishes to be hired full-time at the Gazette and he begins investigating what he believes are a series of connected murders.
Lonsdale is a well-developed character, very smart and witty. I love the interactions and dialogue between Lonsdale and the other reporters at the Pall Mall Gazette. I especially liked Hulda Friederichs, the only female reporter for the paper. Hulda is a strong aggressive female character who speaks her mind usually without thinking it through first. She does not let anyone or anything intimidate her. Hulda and Lonsdale have an interesting working relationship…sometimes even posing as husband and wife while trying to solve the mystery. Hulda’s personality is to just wing it while Lonsdale prefers to be more cautious. They make a great team!!
I felt the mystery itself was original and creative. The author had me guessing until the end. 🔍🔍🔍🔍 out of 5 for me. I would definitely read more from this series and would recommend this book to everyone who loves historical mysteries and stories from London’s Victorian Period.
Thank you Simon Beaufort, Severn House, and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book to read.
Book Details
Title: The Roanoke Girls
Author: Amy Engel
Publisher: Crown Publishing
Publication Date: March 7, 2017
Pages: 279
About the Book
A gripping, provocative thriller about the twisted secrets families keep, perfect for fans of The Girls.
Beautiful.
Rich.
Mysterious.
Everyone wants to be a Roanoke girl.
But you won't when you know the truth.
Lane Roanoke is fifteen when she comes to live with her grandparents and fireball cousin at the Roanoke family's rural estate following the suicide of her mother. Over one long, hot summer, Lane experiences the benefits of being one of the rich and beautiful Roanoke girls.
But what she doesn't know is being a Roanoke girl carries a terrible legacy: either the girls run, or they die. For there is darkness at the heart of Roanoke, and when Lane discovers its insidious pull, she must make her choice...
My Rating
🔍🔍🔍🔍 out of Five
My Review
The Roanoke Girls,a standalone dark suspenseful thriller, is my first Amy Engel book. Fifteen year old Lane comes to live with her grandparents, the Roanoke’s, after the suicide of her mother. She had never met her grandparents or her cousin Allegra who was six months younger. All Lane knew about her mother’s family was her mother had ran away and wanted nothing to do with them. Because Lane’s mother had difficulty showing love to their relationship was not good.
The story takes place in Osage Flats, Kansas mainly over one summer. Once Lane arrives there the book goes back and forth in time (then and now). The book was mostly told in first person point of view of Lane but some chapters explained the back stories of other Roanoke Girls. The writing style flowed easily and kept me interested throughout. I don’t want to share too much other than the subject matter is disturbing. What a sick messed up family!! It’s pretty unreal how everyone involved just acts like everything is normal. Reading it made me sick and angry but I couldn’t stop.
I loved the relationship and dialog between cousins Lane and Allegra. When some of the secrets are revealed to Lane, Allegra tries to explain and rationalize what is going on. She obviously had been brain-washed since she had lived there all her life. Reading a book like this gave me kind of a weird feeling…like I was reading a secret diary that I shouldn’t be. All the characters were flawed but I felt especially sad for Lane who had never known love from her mother and when she shows up at her grandparent’s home she has a small hope that things will change. This is definitely not a happy pick-me-up kind of book but rather dark and disturbing.
🔍🔍🔍🔍 out of 5 ! I recommend to those who love to read about dark and disturbing family secrets. Thank you to Amy Engel, Crown Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book to review.
