The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern / Lynda Cohen Loigman

 

3.5  out of 5 stars

This is a very sentimental novel, framed around Augusta Stern's retirement and the lost love of her youth. The author manages to incorporate many ideas to frame this dual timeline story. We get a peek into the pharmacy business and the gangster culture of the 1920s, Jewish history and heritage, herbalism, the treatment of women by the medical profession, and the importance of family in any era.

When Augusta moves into the seniors complex that her niece helped her select, the last thing she expects is to run into Irving Rivkin. He was the delivery boy for her father the pharmacist and the boy who she fell in love with in high school. He was also the guy who suddenly disappeared out of her life, married one of her classmates, and moved away without saying goodbye. Augusta worked hard her whole life to fill her time and her thoughts with anything but Irving's perfidy. How could this happen?

Although the plot is rather predictable, there were a few small surprises along the way. The love story delayed was well thought out, and Augusta and Irving's misunderstandings and antics were entertaining. Although it won't be one of my favourite books this year, I do not regret reading it.

Fan Service / Rosie Danan

 

3.75 out of 5 stars

This book is better than the cover art would lead you to believe. It should appeal to people who have participated in an obsessive fandom or to fans of all things werewolf.

Alex Lawson had a rough childhood—her mother abandoned the family when she was very young and she didn't fit in to the small town community where she and her father lived. She found solace in the TV drama The Arcane Files. She moderated a comprehensive fan website where she finally belonged and was internet famous as the Mod. But at a con, Alex meets the star of the show, who says unkind things about her when he thinks she's gone. Alex's feelings morph from adoration to wrath in that moment.

Meanwhile, Devin Ashwood is rapidly discovering that his Hollywood career is over and he is hanging onto his werewolf character by his fingernails. It's making him crazy and he wonders why he feels like he's becoming a real life werewolf. After shifting twice, he is looking for help when he discovers the fan website and emails an old address.

Alex can't believe that Devin Ashwood wants her assistance, but he's willing to pay and her dad has medical bills. She'd be a fool to say no, but what help can a vet tech be in this situation? However the arrangement puts them in close proximity and they gradually get to know each other. You can see which direction this is headed.

Mild warning: there's a bit of bondage.

Salvage Right / Sharon Lee and Steve Miller

 

4.25 out of 5 stars 

Book 8 of the 2025 Read Your Hoard Challenge

How I adore this series! I never tire of adventure in the Liaden Universe. I've been considering why this is and I have found two reasons. First and foremost, this is an optimistic universe. Yes, there are bad actors who are persistent (the Department of the Interior and the Lyre Institute), but there are far more decent persons (biological and artificial) who give me hope. Secondly, it is an excellent mix of science fiction and fantasy. There are artificial intelligences, space ships and space stations, but there are also Healers, wizards (the Dramliz), and sentient, manipulative Trees. In addition, many of my absolute favourite books are written by man-woman teams. I think this provides a balance that I find very attractive.

In this volume, we return to the out-of-the-way space station, Tinsori Light, a relic of the old universe, possessed by the Enemy, held in check only by two devoted Light Keepers, Jen Sin yos'Phelium and Lorith of the Sanderat. They have been murdered and reconstituted by the Light so many times over the last two centuries that they teeter on the abyss, having difficulty trusting that the old intelligence that ran the station is wiped out and that they can be safe again.

Korval, having Jen Sin on site, has salvage right to this damaged station and have declared their intention to return it to its position as a thriving space port. The Cousins start pouring in to assist, overwhelming Jen Sin, who has relied only on Lorith and himself for centuries. Can he adapt to this new reality? And of course, with this many members of Korval together, the luck will ensure no lack of other challenges.

I appreciated the afterword by Steve Miller describing some of their process, for instance that they alternated which one took the lead on each book. I was especially entertained by their inspiration for Tinsori Light. While vacationing at the seaside, they developed a habit of listening to the maritime weather radio. Every day, they heard, “Matinicus Rock is not reporting.” First it became a catch phrase, but it morphed into a distant space station in the far flung ocean of the universe, cut off by malfunction. It is selfish of me, but I hope that Sharon will continue to write without her life-mate Steve.

Direct Descendant / Tanya Huff

 

4 out of 5 stars 

Several words come to mind: creepy, snarky, charming, cozy. Cozy eldritch horrors, anyone? But you get that in a small town that has an Agreement with the Dark. The Four, direct descendants of the original pact-makers, do the Dark's bidding when needed and the Dark keeps Lake Argen prosperous and untroubled. Cassie is the current Mouth, who can give orders that can't be resisted, and she is the last to see a stranger stab himself in the foot and disappear into the Dead Grounds.

When a private investigator comes to town to look into the man's fate, Cassie is instantly attracted to her. But she knows that at some point, she will have to explain her town's odd circumstances if she wants a real relationship. There may be some problems with that! Especially since the vanished man seems to be unsettling the Dark and changing the balance.

This book shows off Tanya Huff's sharp sense of humour and her vivid imagination. I loved the assortment of characters in Lake Argen, the wild, funny ravens, and the matter-of-fact dealing with the Dark. As if deals with the supernatural were an everyday thing. I love urban fantasy (even when it takes place in non-urban environments) and I really enjoy Huff's versions of it.

Under Loch and Key / Lana Ferguson

 

3 out of 5 stars 

I'm not exactly sure why I found this shape shifter romance as silly as I did. You may feel quite differently about it. I mean I guess the whole idea of being able to transform from human to animal form is a fantastical thing. Why does it matter to me what form the animal is? Not sure, but this felt a bit goofier to me.

I did like the Scottish setting, the estranged family angle, the ancient curse, and the family feud that Keyanna encounters. It's a matter of taste, but I found that the progression of enemies to lovers happened a little too quickly and easily for my enjoyment. I prefer to enjoy the anticipation but I realize that others want to get to “the good stuff“ right away. Even as a kid, I liked the lead up to Christmas better than the gift opening event. Then, right as I felt that nagging disappointment, there was the author wrote in the inevitable setback, and I was appeased.

So, gothic romance complete with monster. Much preferable to a plain, vanilla human romance, am I right?

Story of a Murder / Hallie Rubenhold

 

3.5 out of 5 stars 

I have been in awe of Ms. Rubenhold's research skills since reading her wonderful book The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper. I was slower to engage with this book simply because I was less familiar with the crimes or the criminal in question. However, as the facts piled up, I felt my interest quickening. It's an extremely effective method of eliminating any romantic notions about the people involved. Additionally, Rubenhold treats the women involved as worthy of our attention and care. They are not just props to tell the male criminal's story.

We get to examine all the sordid details of Crippen's underhanded and swindling ways of business. I knew generally about patent medicines—their inefficacy, their possible harmful side effects, and the dashed hopes of those who paid money that they couldn't afford to use them. Being privy to all the wheeling, dealing, and scheming to defraud gave me a new appreciation of the sliminess of the process.

We also meet a Doctor Crippen who likes the company of women but intensely dislikes dependents (like children). He is responsible for abortions, one wife's ovaries being removed, moving suddenly to avoid consequences, and the elimination of women that he no longer wished to deal with. He has few compunctions about his treatment of other people and he is a compulsive liar. But like so many of this kind of person, his superficial charm and glib tongue seem to have smoothed his way through society, since most of us expect decency and empathy in those we deal with.

Crippen's big mistake, it seems, was not noticing that normal people have friends and family who care about them. He thought that his second wife's friends would just carry on with their lives after her disappearance, because that was exactly what he planned to do. He failed to recognize the determination of those friends to find out what happened to Belle.

I was left pondering his mistress, Ethel. I can't imagine being willing to put up with being a (not so) secret mistress or a henchman in illegal and immoral business dealings, but she must have had her reasons. I have to also wonder why she was willing to don boy's clothing and go on the run with Crippen. I can see why Crippen wanted her along—she literally knew where the body was buried, as she had worked hard cleaning up the murder scene. She also knew far too much about his shady business. It must have been jarring for her when Crippen proposed splitting up when they arrived in Quebec. Nevertheless, she stayed true to him until the end of her life.

It is the last chapter which chronicles the changing narrative of Belle Elmore from murder victim to awful, repulsive woman who deserved to be killed. Belle was self confident, hard working, caring, and well connected. Crippen had arranged for her ovaries to be removed early in their marriage, so she pursued careers in opera and music hall, ending up very involved in charitable pursuits. Instead of divorcing this wife, Crippen likely tried to poison her and the situation went wrong, leaving her body with unmistakable signs of foul play. Notably, it was in the early days of the 20th century that an independent woman would be interpreted as cruel and uncaring to her husband, when women were seeking wider roles for themselves and men were resentful. Male writers switched up the story until Belle was the wicked witch and Ethel the innocent young thing. Ms. Rubenhold sets the record straight.

Installment Immortality / Seanan McGuire

 

4 out of 5 stars 

Book 7 of the 2025 Read Your Hoard Challenge

The previous book in this series ended on a very sad note and I felt a bit of trepidation about this one. Sure enough, the Price-Healy family are still mourning their losses, but they are heartened when the family's caretaker ghost, Mary Dunlevy, returns to the fold. Mary was blown to smithereens during the Price family's bombing of the Covenant’s HQ and has just recently been reconstituted by the Anima mundi. At first, Mary thinks that she may be free to care for her family without restrictions, but the Anima mundi has other ideas.

Somehow, the Covenant figured out that a ghost was part of the bombing destruction and they can carry grudges like nobody's business. They have arrived in New England, where they are capturing unsuspecting ghosts and tormenting them. Mary is instructed to stop them. Being a caretaker ghost, Mary is leaning in that direction already, but it seems like larger matters may be involved.

McGuire teaches us more about the ghostly existence that she has invented and throws in a couple of new cryptids as a bonus. Elsie and Arthur accompany Mary on this mission, perhaps finding some comfort in the process.

A short story about Verity Price-de Luca at the end of the volume is a poignant reminder of her losses. Will she be able to contain her grief enough to care for the immanent new baby? Will her older child, Olivia, be able to rejoin her mother? There's nothing like a deadly critter crisis to put life into perspective!

I get the impression that McGuire is winding this series down. Although there will always be work for the family, it seems that the Covenant isn't the big threat that it used to be. If an ending is in the offing, I will greatly miss the Aeslin mice. HAIL!

Beast of the North Woods / Annelise Ryan

 

4 out of 5 stars 

No offense to Wisconsinites, but I had never heard of their beloved monster, the Hodag, until 2021 when I read Ilona Andrews' book Blood Heir. And I thought the Andrews just made it up, so I was stunned when the Hodag became a factor in this mystery’s early pages.

Once I got over that little revelation, I was ready to proceed. Morgan, the cryptozoologist main character, gets dragged into a murder investigation by a valued employee. Rita's nephew is accused of brutally murdering a rival and then claiming that a Hodag did it. Rita and her brother hope that Morgan can find out if there's any truth in the tale. It quickly becomes apparent that there's more going on than just one man's death and Morgan finds herself in the crosshairs of several dangerous people.

The tension is good, the pacing works well, and the ending, while it felt a little unrealistic, was supported by information the author provides in an afterword. So far, I have enjoyed each book in this series and I really hope that Ms. Ryan continues to write them.

When the Moon Hits Your Eye / John Scalzi

 

4 out of 5 stars 

John Scalzi is fond of writing an absurd situation and then examining how the people around it act and react. Whether it Kaiju monsters, talking cats, or rejuvenating senior citizens to create an army with life experience, he likes to write how he thinks we would react, with a bonus of how he would prefer us to react. So, in this outing, the Moon is suddenly transmogrified from rock to cheese.

Scalzi is completely uninterested in the reasons for or process of this change. What he wants to talk about is the dialogue between scientists, politicians, and the public about the situation. In these days of massive amounts of information, disinformation, and misinformation, I am not surprised that someone like Mr. Scalzi would want to write this. And he makes it as ridiculous and therefore fun for himself as possible. This is his commentary on the current relationship between North Americans and the field of Science, complete with reputable scientists, skeptics and conspiracists.

The character of Jody Bannon is a rather transparent version of Elon Musk (despite the character thumbing his nose at Elon and Jeff) . He is both incredibly smart and remarkably stupid. He is an obnoxious, empathy free, smart phone hurling, tantrum throwing man-child. But there are a lot of other characters to compare him to. Among them a pastor experiencing a crisis of faith. An academic whose popular science book is unexpectedly on point. A musician with a terminal illness. Two brothers who have been feuding over something that no longer matters. Three retired men who meet everyday at a local diner. And many more. It reminded me a bit of books like World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, where we get to look at a world issue from a plethora of viewpoints.

The big question is what would you do if you knew you had a limited time to live? What would you do? What would you quit doing? Who would you spend your remaining time with? [The little question: is Scalzi okay? No terminal conditions, I hope. He just sounds like he's put a lot of thought into the matter.] I have to say that I would try to speed up my reading! I might even eat a few more chips and drink all the coffee that I wanted. I'd likely quit doing housework too. Why not?

My Roommate is a Vampire / Jenna Levine

 

G

2.7 out of 5 stars 

Apparently adding a supernatural aspect to a romance is what is required to make it palatable to me. Had this been a roommate romance between two regular humans, I am pretty sure I would never have finished it. Mind you, it was just barely into my interesting range. It could have used a bit of mystery, some higher stakes, or something to make it more engaging.

Cassie and Frederick make up their minds about their relationship very fast and face very few obstacles. Sure, Freddie has been in a coma for a century and has no idea how to behave in 21st century society, but that is what he has originally recruited Cassie for—roommate as life coach. They have to build a bit of trust, which isn't helped when Frederick’s frenemy Reginald decides it's time for Cassie to know what her roomie really is. She is scared and panics, but that doesn't last long.

Their misunderstandings are pretty mild. Even the final showdown is over far too easily and quickly. It seems to me that the main characters should have to work a little harder for their HEA. On the other hand, I was glad to see Cassie getting on with a job interview and taking care of herself while navigating Frederick's disappearance. I hate when female characters just abandon their own dreams and goals because they have acquired a romantic partner. We need to have lives and ambitions of our own, am I right?

Originally, I decided to read this as a prelude to the second book of the series, but I am now waffling about whether I'll read any further. Never say never, but I think there may be plenty of other novels that would be more fun.

Lethal Bayou Beauty / Jana DeLeon

 

4 out of 5 stars 

Just as much fun as the first book. I am always delighted to discover a funny series where I get the humour. It's hit or miss for me. But I am going to delay a good while before tackling book 3, as I think it would be awfully easy to overdose on it.

Fortune, our CIA agent in hiding, just can't stay out of trouble. Part of the problem is her choice of friends. Ida Belle and Gertie are very bad influences as well as fabulous accomplices. Fortune, who previously had been happy with guns, explosives, and testing both of those with her co-workers, is discovering there is more to life.

DeLeon plays Fortune's ignorance of regular life for all it's worth. It leads her to make hilarious mistakes which are then amplified as Ida Belle and Gertie attempt to “help" her. Everything those two are involved in gets turned to slapstick, which tickles my funny bone. Honestly, where has this version of me come from? How is it that I'm actually enjoying something this silly?

So, I'm taking a break from the series to hopefully keep it fresh for me as a reader, but I'll be revisiting Sinful, Louisiana again. Soon, I hope.

A Caribbean Mystery / Agatha Christie

 

3.5 out of 5 stars 

I always like a Jane Marple novel. Christie enjoyed travel, so she sends Miss M to a Caribbean destination for a break from the English winter. This gives the author the excuse to write about a new place, but the English people at the resort behave just like they did at home—drinks, dinner, dancing, time at the beach. Oh, and murder.

There are several memorable characters. Major Palgrave is a stock character, familiar to Christie readers, the old codger who spent time in the far flung empire doing colonial things and blabbers on about it whenever he gets an opportunity. These guys appear in so many of Christie's novels that she must have found them entertaining. Major Palgrave does us the favour of boring everyone with Important Information that will be necessary for Miss M to figure out what's going on.

Then there's Mr. Rafiel, the crotchety semi-invalid, who is old enough, rich enough, and disabled enough that people let him get away with all sorts of rudeness. Christie has created a number of this sort of character too. He gets the honour of being Miss M's sounding board, seeing as she is removed from her usual environment, where folks know her reputation. As she bluntly tells him, investigators here will only listen to a rich man, not an older lady.

We also get a little reminiscence on Jane's part about a young man she was tentatively interested in, until she got to know him and realized how deathly dull he was. A fortunate escape, as a woman with her skills shouldn't be tethered to an unintelligent spouse.

Not among the best Marple novels. She sparkles best when in her natural habitat of St. Mary Mead.

The Secret, Book & Scone Society / Ellery Adams

 

2.5 out of 5 stars 

A choice of my RL book club which I'll be discussing with them next week. Actually I'll try to keep my big mouth shut, since it isn't the best nor the worst cozy mystery that I've read, but it did have some of what I consider to be some of the more objectionable tropes of this sub-genre.

If I was judging by cozies, I'd believe that law enforcement is either corrupt or inept in the majority of small communities. Perhaps I'm deluded, but I think most law enforcement officers are good people doing the best job they can.

I also roll my eyes when the women (they are almost always women) do silly things like breaking and entering or elaborate spying. This group of amateur investigators does both of these things. I don't find this realistic which drives me nuts. I’ll only grant an exception to comic cozies like the Miss Fortune series by Jana Deleon, where she writes it as slapstick.

Finally, I found the ending OTT melodramatic. I don't want to spoil things and I can see where it probably seemed like a neat way to wrap things up. Not to say that I don't think that crime happens in small towns because I know it does. However the situation in this novel seemed over elaborate to me.

There were good things I liked about this book too. I appreciated that four friends who banded together. I liked their assortment of talents and careers. I loved Nora's bookstore and her bibliotherapy for her customers. It meshed nicely with Hester's comfort scones produced in her bakery. We gradually learn that all of the women have big secrets and they have kept others at arm's length for a long time. All the elements of the title explained. (I may as well confess that the title made me itchy until I figured out the comma placement was accurate.)

So not the best, not the worst. Although the final pages set up the next book handily (and 2 of the 4 women haven't been matched up with a romantic interest yet) I rather doubt that I'll continue on. But at least I'll know what everyone at book club is talking about while I struggle to keep my opinions to myself.

The Queen's Bargain / Anne Bishop

 

3 out of 5 stars 

Book number 532 of my Science Fiction and Fantasy Reading Project

If you have read this far in this series, you know exactly what to expect. Lucivar will bellow a lot and threaten on a regular basis. Daemon Sadi will scare everyone around him frequently. Lucivar's wife Marian will experience physical weakness. Daemon's wife Surreal will want to stab somebody. There will be sexual shenanigans by a younger member of the clan that the adults will have to sort out. Someone will be drinking blood, others will be chugging brandy. (Although not a single brandy snifter was thrown or shattered in this volume. Very disappointing.)

This time around, Lucivar and Marian's ward, Jillian, is the young woman in difficulty. Being an Eyrien, one of the winged race, she matures very slowly, but she is just starting to blossom into womanhood and starting to feel confined by her small community. Ripe for trouble, when another youngster, Dillon, shows up and thinks she is fair game. He has been betrayed and hounded from one community to the next and has become a deft manipulator of young women. He doesn't realize what he has let himself in for!

These books are like cotton candy, light and fluffy, of no nutritional value. However they are fun and quick to read. Once I pick one up, I have a hard time setting it down.

A New Lease on Death / Olivia Blacke

 

3.75 out of 5 stars 

How do you make friends with a ghost? Ruby has moved into a crappy Boston apartment previously rented by a dead woman, Cordelia, who presumably committed suicide. Ruby is still using Cordelia's furniture and kitchen paraphernalia. A spectral Cordelia has watched Ruby kill her plants and donate her clothes.

Cordelia has only seen one other ghost: her across the hall neighbour, Jake, who promptly says, “I don't believe in ghosts" and disappears. She has spent time figuring out what she can and can't do. What else has she got to do with her time?

Ruby is a believer and is sure that Cordelia is still sharing the apartment. Now if they can only connect somehow. Cordelia wants to figure out who killed Jake while protecting Ruby. Despite this, Ruby gets interested in solving the crime too. Their difficulty communicating provides some humour--there's only so much you can do with magnetic fridge poetry.

Frankly, the mystery is less interesting than the budding friendship between the two women. We learn more about them as the book progresses, probably a little more about Cordelia. However, it's obvious that Cordy still has secrets that Ruby hasn't sniffed out yet. I expect that the next book will fill in some blanks in Ruby's life too. Just who is Jerkface, the cheating boyfriend that she moved to Boston to get away from? Can she stand to stay away from her family?

I'll willingly read the next volume. This was warm, fuzzy, and cozy.

The Adversary / Julian May

 

3 out of 5 stars 

2025 Re-Read

It's been 10 years since I last read this novel, but I have to agree with my original review: this is my least favourite volume of the Pliocene Exile series. It does set me up nicely to progress to May's Galactic Milieu books, which I hope to read during May to July, one per month.

I used to have a fabulous memory, but that ability is long gone. There were very few details that had stuck with me over the last decade. The Pliocene Earth doesn't get much of a chance to dazzle here. It is merely a setting for a largely mental battle. All the humans who came through the time gate are exiles, but Marc Remillard is, as usual, a special case. Having led a rebellion in the Galactic Milieu, he commandeered the time gate and escaped to the past. Everyone else has gone through channels and screening. His mental abilities set him apart, in both positive and negative ways. This time around, I found him more intriguing—perhaps because I know that I'll be seeing him again next month.

Book 5 of my 2025 Read My Hoard Project. This series has earned my favour and will stay in my collection.

Clever Girl: Jurassic Park / Hannah McGregor

 

R

4.5 out of 5 stars 

A sharp and insightful critique of the movie Jurassic Park through a queer feminist lens. Obviously, JP is a fantasy—we have no way to clone dinosaurs. But the bigger fantasy is that people can control nature. You can see it in our economic system, which requires ever expanding growth on a planet of finite resources. Also in the reluctance to acknowledge the need to change course in order to slow climate change and the mistaken faith that humanity can somehow remedy the climate problem through technology.

I personally believe this cockeyed belief in human supremacy comes from having so many people living exclusively in cities now, whose only contact with animals is pets or the plastic-wrapped portions on sale in the grocery store. We have forgotten that we are part of nature/this world. One good natural disaster can remind us of our lowly place with the rest of the animals, in need of food, water, and shelter. It's hard to feel like masters of the universe under those conditions. The poorest members of our society could be the wisest: they know exactly how little control they have in life.

McGregor points out something that I had forgotten, that all the dinosaurs in the original movie are female, an attempt to prevent them from reproducing uncontrolled. The hubris of men who consider their input necessary? The state of the art technology isn't enough to keep these wild animals contained, as the Park creators have also underestimated the intelligence and persistence of these female creatures (just as women are currently underestimated in our society).

I had never considered the colonial overtones of the movie before. The island is taken over with no regard for its natural ecosystem and new organisms conjured from the lab and deep time are imposed on it. Problems in this “paradise“ are revealed with the sick triceratops, which has eaten a plant that its system can't cope with.

Well worth a read, as it is well written, entertaining, and bite-size. Just imagine your self as a T. rex and happily devour it!

Unleashed / Emily Kimelman

 

3.7 out of 5 stars 

What inspired me to pick up this book? Believe it or not, it was the author's video on Facebook. She described her books as “feminist action fiction" where “a woman and her dog fuck shit up.” Plus, she gave a political rant that impressed me with her unbridled anger. Female rage is something I get.

Now, I am not usually a thriller reader because I mostly find them to be ridiculous male fantasy, imagining themselves as the badass main character. But what, I thought to myself, if the main character was a woman badass? Would I like that? Turns out I do like it. Joy Humboldt is exactly what you need in a thriller—impulsive, stupidly brave, confident in her ability to do what needs to be done, sexually adventurous. This book is her origin story, as she starts by taking on a new dog walking business. Then her clients start turning up dead and Joy is understandably interested in who killed them and why. One thing leads to another and Joy decides that she will get to the bottom of things and seek her own kind of justice.

The plot is action packed and highly unlikely, but it was fun. It was fun to watch a woman beating the bad guys at their own game, wreaking her revenge and getting away with it. Not until the very last pages does she assume her new identity, Sydney Rye, to return to the Big Apple as a private investigator. I can hardly wait to read the next book!

A Death in Diamonds / S.J. Bennett

 

4 out of 5 stars 

Four books in and I'm still enamoured with this series. I love how Bennett treats her main character, Queen Elizabeth II. I think when we only see someone on the news or in the fan press, it's easy to forget that they are human beings just like you and me. We saw the professional Queen but didn't get to peek behind that armor to acknowledge her doubts about her role, her insecurities concerning her appearance, or her desire to believe that her husband is hers alone.

Bennett gives us a monarch who is trying to find her way, revise her role. She is surrounded by her father's courtiers, the “men with mustaches,” who frustrate her with their assumptions that they always know better and that she's not strong enough to deal with unpleasant realities. She is learning how to get stern with them, make sure she gets the information she wants, and make sure they know who's boss. It was a struggle that many women identify with—being dismissed and underestimated by the men around them. The Queen does what so many of us do: she finds herself a female ally in Joan McGraw and the two of them deftly stick handle around the mustaches.

I love how Bennett also addresses the juicy rumours that everyone has heard. The herd of snappish corgis. The predilection of Prince Philip for tall blondes. The toughness of Princess Anne. The sensitivity of the young Prince Charles. She weaves it all into her novel convincingly but also interprets the facts to give a slightly different picture than the popular press did. She sees them as real people with strengths and weaknesses that are understandable, not as actors in a Royal soap opera.

Going back in time to write about a young Queen was an inspired impulse. The first three books alluded to her previous investigation experience and Bennett can supply us with those details now. I am already anticipating book 5.