Month: February 2018

Summer of the Woods by Steven K. Smith

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I saw this on Bookbub for free. The cover grabbed my attention, the blurb sealed the deal. This is the first book in a series called The Virginia Mysteries.

The blurb: When ten-year-old Derek and eight-year-old Sam move with their family to Virginia, they have no idea what adventures the summer will bring. As the brothers explore their creaky old house and the deep surrounding woods, they uncover a sixty-year-old mystery of a valuable coin collection stolen from the local museum. Join the boys as they spend their summer running from danger and searching the woods, secret caves, rushing waters, and hidden passageways for treasure and the rare 1877 Indian Head cent coin!

My review: As you can tell by the blurb, this is a story about children, written for children. I’m not a child but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Derek and Sam are likeable kids who have moved to a new area and go exploring and find themselves having an adventure. It’s a light, quick read. I felt the circumstances around the mystery came across as valid and the boys acted as most boys would.

I liked that they knew when they had done the wrong thing, and why. And the consequences of their actions were acknowledged by all and suitably dealt with. Young boys (and girls) will enjoy the adventure, will learn a bit about Virginian history and learn some lessons in life too (without even knowing they have been taught these lessons).

Recommended for young readers, or parents of young readers. Or, if you’re like me, older readers who just want a change of pace and a reminder of our younger days.

The Last Hours by Minette Walters

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I believe the author usually writes crime fiction or thrillers and this book is a step in another direction for her. To be truthful, I do have one of her crime fiction books on my shelf that I have not read (yet). But crime fiction isn’t really my thing. Books involving the plague are right up my alley. The Last Hours is one of these books.

The Blurb: June, 1348: the Black Death enters England through the port of Melcombe in the county of Dorsetshire. Unprepared for the virulence of the disease, and the speed with which it spreads, the people of the county start to die in their thousands.

In the estate of Develish, Lady Anne takes control of her people’s future – including the lives of two hundred bonded serfs. Strong, compassionate and resourceful, Lady Anne chooses a bastard slave, Thaddeus Thurkell, to act as her steward. Together, they decide to quarantine Develish by bringing the serfs inside the walls. With this sudden overturning of the accepted social order, where serfs exist only to serve their lords, conflicts soon arise. Ignorant of what is happening in the world outside, they wrestle with themselves, with God and with the terrible uncertainty of their futures.

Lady Anne’s people fear starvation but they fear the pestilence more. Who amongst them has the courage to leave the security of the walls?

And how safe is anyone in Develish when a dreadful event threatens the uneasy status quo..?

My Review: I gave this book an easy five out of five stars. The Black Death or Plague has always been of great interest to me. I read Doomsday Book by Connie Willis some years ago and loved it. And when I saw The Last Hours and realised what the theme was I instantly purchased the ebook. I have no regrets.

The history, the period, and the characters were excellent. I had no issues believing the facts as recorded in the book and I cared about the characters and their plights. Then add the blood and gore, in appropriate measures to the plot, and you end up with a story that keeps you rivetted. It did me anyway. The story pulled me in from the first page and held me to the last. Not many books do that. They usually waver in the middle somewhere for a short time, but not this one. The pace was constant, the secrets compelling, and the action surprising and heart breaking at times. You’ll have to read the book to find out why I say that.

In all honesty, there is only one thing about this book that irritated me. The ending. I was shocked to turn the page to find the book ended but the story didn’t. We have to wait for the sequel to be published later in the year (October 2018) to read more and find out what happens. This one thing almost made me give four stars, but I quickly pushed that notion away as being spiteful. The book is brilliant and I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys following the lives of believable characters in a world that once existed, but thankfully does not any more. Now, we have other issues to contend with, but as they say, that’s another story.