📚’The character driven plot is a good one…’ @CathyRy Reviews #HistoricalRomance Return to Sattersthwaite Court by @MimiMatthewsEsq for Rosie’s #Bookreview Team #RBRT #BookTwitter

Today’s team review is from Cathy.

Cathy blogs here https://betweenthelinesbookblog.wordpress.com/

Rosie’s Book Review Team

Cathy has been reading Return to Sattersthwaite Court by Mimi Matthews.

I seem to be making a habit of reading books that are part of a series, although I have read one of the two previous books (Gentleman Jim.) Return to Satterthwaite Court is the third book in the Somerset Stories and it can absolutely be read as a standalone.

Twenty year old Lady Katherine Beresford had a mind of her own and wasn’t afraid to use her wiles to find out more about someone who intrigued her. Which, after their very unconventional meeting, was Lieutenant Charles Heywood.

Charles, just off his ship berthed in London docks, disenchanted with conflict and having resigned from his commission after eight years serving in Her Majesty’s Navy, was about to shop for Christmas gifts when he spotted a small, dirty mongrel dog dart into the street. The dog was heading straight into the path of a carriage. Without a second thought, Charles was after the dog, in time to save him from the carriage but not quite in time to stop the little rascal from nipping Kate when she tried to disentangle him from her skirts.

In a refreshing turnaround it’s the female pursuing the male, and initially Charles wanted none of it. After the last few years he was ready for a quiet life in the Somerset countryside with dogs and horses. Kate is a progressive protagonist, also an animal lover, skilled at shooting, loyal to those she cares for, respectful to those ‘under’ her and, despite the social niceties, she knows what she wants and wasn’t about to settle for less. Being the only girl with three brothers she learned early to stand up for herself.

Charles is also an appealing character. Principled even when it’s to his disadvantage and occasionally it’s very much so. He doesn’t feel in the least undermined when Kate sometimes takes the lead as they are drawn into trying to solve a mystery from the past.

The character driven plot is a good one…the mystery impacts the present, with danger and despicable people plotting and planning. I haven’t been disappointed in any of the books I’ve read by Mimi Matthews, and Return to Satterthwaite Court is no exception. Another very enjoyable read.

Book description

A reckless Victorian heiress sets her sights on a dashing ex-naval lieutenant, determined to win his heart as the two of them embark on a quest to solve a decades-old mystery in USA Today bestselling author Mimi Matthews’s sequel to her critically acclaimed novels The Work of Art and Gentleman Jim.

Lieutenant Charles Heywood has had his fill of adventure. Battle-weary and disillusioned, he returns to England, resolved to settle down to a quiet, uneventful life on an estate of his own. But arranging to purchase the property he desires is more difficult than Charles ever imagined. The place is mired in secrets, some of which may prove deadly. If he’s going to unravel them, he’ll need the assistance of someone as daring as he is.

At only twenty, Lady Katherine Beresford has already earned a scandalous reputation. As skilled with pistols as she is on horseback, she’s never met an obstacle she can’t surmount—or a man she can’t win. That is, until she encounters the infuriatingly somber Lieutenant Heywood. But Kate refuses to be deterred by the raven-haired soldier’s strong, silent facade. After all, faint heart never won handsome gentleman.

From the wilds of rural Somersetshire to the glittering ballrooms of early-Victorian London, Charles and Kate embark on a cross-country quest to solve a decades’ old mystery. Will the greatest danger be to their hearts—or to their lives?

📚Vintage #Mystery. @CathyRy Reviews Stardust In Nuala by @harrietsteel1 for Rosie’s #Bookreview Team #RBRT #BookTwitter

Today’s team review is from Cathy.

Cathy blogs here https://betweenthelinesbookblog.wordpress.com/

Rosie’s Book Review Team

Cathy has been reading Stardust In Nuala by Harriet Steel.

A Bombay film company is shooting a drama, based on a Ceylonese legend, in Nuala and it’s up to Inspector Shanti de Silva to make sure all runs smoothly. As some scenes are bing filmed outside, reinforcements were brought in to make sure the fascinated crowds were kept under control.

The well known film star, Dev Khan, owns the company which also includes members of his family. The final scenes have been shot and de Silva is looking forward to peace reigning once again in his normally sleepy town. Unfortunately a suspicious death puts paid to his hopes.

”Don’t you see,’ a man was saying in a low, urgent tone. ‘If we do nothing, he’ll never let us be free to make a life of our own.’

A woman’s voice answered but her words were too muffled for de Silva to make them out. He watched as the shadows the couple cast on the side of the tent drew closer to each other and merged in an embrace.’

There also seems to be something of a disturbance at the Residence, the home of Archie Clutterbuck, assistant government agent and de Silva’s superior. Small items are mysteriously disappearing and Clutterbuck’s dog is acting strangely.

The murder investigation throws up complications as the victim was known for being conceited and self centred by those who knew him. His relationship with those people close to him was difficult, and his marriage seemed to have been a turbulent one. De Silva is informed he needs to tread carefully with his investigation as news of the death would no doubt provoke much speculation and more than likely a public outcry.

Set in 1941, the war hasn’t yet affected Ceylon and life in the hill town of Nuala goes on as usual. I enjoy revisiting the characters in this series, also the wonderfully atmospheric setting. De Silva and his wife, Jane, have a lovely relationship and she enjoys throwing ideas back and forth with her husband when he’s working on a case.

Book description

A celebrated Indian film company comes to Nuala, sprinkling its stardust over the quiet little town and keeping Inspector de Silva busy. With the end of the visit at last in sight, he looks forward to returning to a more peaceful existence, but a sudden death dashes his hopes. With Jane’s help and that of a new ally, he’s drawn into the turbulent affairs of a warring family. Meanwhile, a mysterious intruder is causing trouble at the Residence.

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📚Set During #WW2. This Is The Fourth Outing For Bunch Courtney. @CathyRy Reviews Vintage #Mystery In Cases Of Murder by @Jancoleedwards for Rosie’s #Bookreview Team #RBRT

Today’s team review is from Cathy.

Cathy blogs here https://betweenthelinesbookblog.wordpress.com/

Rosie’s Book Review Team

Cathy has been reading In Cases Of Murder by Jan Edwards.

In Cases of Murder is the fourth outing for Bunch Courtney. Set during WWII, the Courtney’s home, Perringham Hall has been requisitioned by a secret division of the military which means Bunch is living at the Dower House with her grandmother. Her father is away in London for most of the time in an advisory capacity, and her desperately ill mother in a nursing home. It’s left to Bunch to run the estate with the help of a group of Land Girls. She also acts as a civilian consultant to the police, having assisted Chief Inspector Wright on more than one occasion, and it seems he needs her help again.

‘“There’s a telephone call, Miss. Chief Inspector Wright.”

Wright? What could he want? “Thank you. Tell the Inspector I’ll call him back.”

“He did say it was urgent, Miss. He called twice while you were out.”

‘“Did he indeed.” She tried a few passes of the brush across Perry’s ample rump but the moment was gone. It’s not Knapp’s fault, but dammit all the same. “All right, tell him I shall be in directly.” She tossed the brushes through the tack-room door and turned to scrub her knuckles against the sprinkle of white hairs between the Fell Pony’s eyes.’

A young woman’s body has been discovered in shocking circumstances. The police have confirmed her name as Laura Jarman and are aware of her address but the family, particularly her father, are proving to be uncooperative. DCI Wright wonders if perhaps someone local with social connections might be helpful in gathering information he’s not able to access. This latest murder has distinct similarities to several previous unsolved cases and then yet another body is discovered, again with similarities, and this young woman was Laura’s flatmate, Kitty.

Bunch’s life isn’t easy with her father rarely at home and her mother’s condition deteriorating rapidly, not to mention the challenges and dangers of war time Britain. Clues and tidbits of information are garnered slowly in this complex case, adding to an emerging picture of the people involved and the crimes themselves. Leading further afield that was expected, they were taken on a convoluted trail involving munitions factories and London clubs. The link between Laura and Kitty and gentlemen’s private parties remains elusive.

Bunch is a very likable character. She’s nobody’s fool, her heart is in the right place and she’s not averse to taking risks now and again even if she does get seriously reprimanded by Wright. Bunch still finds him difficult to fathom. She’s drawn to him but has no idea how he feels. The murder mystery is researched and set out well, characters are depicted realistically, and the nearness of war is always present adding to the intensity of life in general. In Cases of Murder is a very enjoyable addition to this series.

Book description

When the body of Laura Jarman is discovered crammed into a steamer trunk and dumped on a Brighton railway platform, members of her wealthy industrialist family are shouting for answers, but their reluctance to co-operate with the investigation arouses suspicion from all sides.

What could possibly link Laura to private gentlemen’s parties on the edge of sleepy Wyncombe village, and what are her family so desperate to conceal?

When Laura’s London flatmate is murdered in an almost identical style, Bunch Courtney and DCI William Wright find themselves racing along a convoluted trail through munitions factories and London clubs to a final shocking end.

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📚’The story is beautifully written and the characters brought to life fully’. @CathyRy reviews Stolen Summers by @Annecdotist for Rosie’s #Bookreview Team #RBRT

Today’s team review is from Cathy.

Cathy blogs here https://betweenthelinesbookblog.wordpress.com/

Rosie’s Book Review Team

Cathy has been reading Stolen Summers by Anne Goodwin.

Stolen Summers by Anne Goodwin

After Matilda (Matty) Windsor became pregnant, she was taken to a home for unmarried mothers and forced to give her baby up for adoption. When she left she didn’t know she wouldn’t be going home again. She was taken to Ghyllside Hospital and left there. Matty initially had no idea Ghyllside was a mental institution. She had no idea why her father would let her be taken there or why she had to stay. Her upbringing meant she was quite naive and had no experience of the wider world.

Matty’s story is tragic but not uncommon during the dark days when unmarried mothers were classed as ‘moral defectives’ and more often than not treated with unbelievable mental and physical cruelty.

‘Not all the nuns were cruel. Some of the younger ones would address the girls kindly if Mother Superior were out out earshot. So Matilda counted her blessings when Sister Bernadette slipped onto the seat beside her in the taxicab, while a sombre man with a box-shaped head took the passenger seat at the front. He resembled a tradesman in his white cotton coat worn over an ordinary jacket and trousers; Matilda assumed the nuns had offered him a lift out of charity. He wasn’t introduced.’

Matty’s main concern was her six year old brother who she knew would be missing her, and wrote to him religiously over the years. Meanwhile as Matty tries to make sense of, and come to terms with her situation, she makes an unlikely friend in Doris, her polar opposite. Her friendship with Doris (and Eustace, who has his own story and is also very likeable) and Matty’s underlying determination not to see herself as mad or bad, helped to ease her sadness and rage at the injustices she suffered and see her through.

Stolen Summers is the hard hitting prequel to Matilda Windsor Is Coming Home, which is in my to be read pile. I can’t wait to read it after this. This short story alternates between the years 1939/40 and 1964 when attitudes regarding unmarried mothers thankfully had begun to change.

The story is beautifully written and the characters brought to life fully so you can’t help but be drawn to Matty and Doris in particular, while exploring a horrific time in the not too distant past.

Book description

All she has left is her sanity. Will the asylum take that from her too?

In 1939, Matilda is admitted to Ghyllside hospital, cut off from family and friends. Not quite twenty, and forced to give up her baby for adoption, she feels battered by the cruel regime. Yet she finds a surprising ally in rough-edged Doris, who risks harsh punishments to help her reach out to the brother she left behind.

Twenty-five years later, the rules have relaxed, and the women are free to leave. How will they cope in a world transformed in their absence? Do greater dangers await them outside?

The poignant prequel to Matilda Windsor Is Coming Home is a tragic yet tender story of a woman robbed of her future who summons the strength to survive.

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📚’A series to be read chronologically, and savoured’, says @CathyRy. The New Shore (Little Island #3) by Caren Werlinger #TuesdayBookBlog

Today’s team review is from Cathy.

Cathy blogs here https://betweenthelinesbookblog.wordpress.com/

Rosie’s Book Review Team

Cathy has been reading The New Shore by Caren Werlinger.

The New Shore by Caren Werlinger

The New Shore is the third in the Little Sister Island series and it was so good to revisit the place and the people. Kathleen and Molly, Miss Louisa, Meredith and her parents and many more. There are big changes on the horizon for some of the residents, particularly Rebecca and Kathleen, with soul searching and internal second guessing decisions made when it seemed the path in life was clear. I enjoyed how characters were explored and also the general progression in all of the residents’ lives.

Kathleen’s estrangement from her parents, particularly her mother, who has never been interested in Kathleen or what’s going on in her life since her brother’s death, is brought to the fore by illness. Despite her mother’s disinterest and the hurt she has always felt, Kathleen steps up and hopes her mother might finally show some acknowledgement of her, if not actual affection. Apart from that there is a major challenge for Kathleen that she knew would happen eventually but was unprepared for it happening so soon.

‘Even now, she could see the wraithlike expression on her mother’s face as they’d gathered on the island’s ancient stone circle to perform the ceremony that would link Kathleen to Little Sister forever. While everyone else had celebrated Kathleen Halloran’s life, Kathleen had seen in her mother’s cold eyes that she only wished it had been Kathleen’s brother, Bryan, standing there.’

There are many challenges associated with living on a small, remote island and, although a new school is in the offing, meaning the island’s children wouldn’t have to be schooled on the mainland, the lack of access to medical care is an issue which is highlighted.

The characterisations are as flawless as ever, very realistic and dynamic, and the inclusion of new characters adds to the story, one in particular is an intriguing addition. The fascinating spiritual, cultural and magical elements were a huge draw from the start, as was the close knit community. The wonderfully descriptive prose brings the island, with its changing weather patterns, impressive landscape, ceremonies and traditions rooted in history, to vibrant life. The link between the island and islanders is an extremely strong one, nature and ancestry play a huge part in island life.

This is a series to be read chronologically, and savoured, in order to get the full impact of the characters, their lives and Little Sister Island.

Book description

Life on Little Sister Island is idyllic. Until it isn’t.
Now that the island will have its own teacher for the first time in decades, Rebecca Ahearn is tasked with making financial arrangements to build a new school room. While on the mainland, she barges straight into her first—and only—love, a woman she hasn’t seen in over forty years. Suddenly, the choices she has made for her life seem empty, and she begins to wonder if it was worth the sacrifice.
For Kathleen Halloran, distance and limited communication have been the keys to maintaining a tolerable relationship with her parents. She’d like to keep it that way, but when her father needs her help to take care of her mother—the woman she knows never loved her—she’s forced to confront the pain and resentment she can’t seem to let go of.
Kathleen’s mate, Molly Cooper, galvanizes the islanders to pitch in and help Kathleen and Rebecca weather the stormy seas ahead. The question is, can wounds that deep ever truly heal? Perhaps the magic of Little Sister Island can do what humans cannot—and make the impossible possible after all.
The New Shore is the third book in the Little Sister Island series.

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📚A Light-Hearted Mock-Memoir. @CathyRy reviews Price’s Price by Chris Maden, for Rosie’s #Bookreview Team #RBRT

Today’s team review is from Cathy.

Cathy blogs here https://betweenthelinesbookblog.wordpress.com/

Rosie’s Book Review Team

Cathy has been reading Price’s Price by Chris Maden

Price’s Price is described as ‘a light-hearted and elegiac mock-memoir’ and I think that sums it up pretty well. Stanley Featherstonehaugh Price spent his childhood in Zimbabwe and his boyhood in English schools. He had dreams of exploration in deepest Africa and beyond just as soon as he came into his inheritance, which he believed would become his when he reached his eighteenth birthday. It came as a huge blow to discover he wouldn’t get anything until he was either twenty-five or married. Stanley tried for the second option but his marriage strategy was scuppered when his intended married someone else.

‘Thus, I formed my creed. What the Fates have in store is beyond the ken of any mortal, but the point is to face their whims with a sense of adventure and fun. Not fatalism, which is an abnegation of life, but rather a vicarious acceptance of all that they threw in my path.’

Stanley decided to join the army, believing they might be persuaded to fund an expedition. After a year at Sandhurst and another in the mountains of Nepal with the Gurkhas, he was asked where he wanted to be stationed. Anywhere but Hong Kong was Stanley’s answer. So Hong Kong it was.

Stanley seemed to drift through life, at the mercy of his desires but lamenting at times the non realisation of his dreams of exploration. His was a louche lifestyle fuelled in large parts by sex, booze and the desire for wealth. With descriptive prose Chris Maden portrays a vivid picture of Stanley’s life in Hong Kong with all its ups and downs, bars, clubs, brief (and longer) encounters, businesses and wealth made then lost.

A very expressive, unusual and at times poignant read, with a memorable protagonist. I enjoyed it.

Book description

Stanley Price has dreamt since childhood of exploring the world. But, when the army posts him to Hong Kong in the 1960s, this officer, scoundrel and rake falls for the glamour, the girls and the gung-ho attitude. Swept along and seduced by this free-wheeling city, he is sucked into a delightful vortex of beer, women and bribes. His dreams remain ever-present but out of reach. Until, that is, he falls for a young lady who could be his redemption – or his nemesis.

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🕵🏻‍♀️A #Mystery Discovered While Renovating. @CathyRy reviews The Forever House by @LindaAcaster, for Rosie’s #Bookreview Team #RBRT

Today’s team review is from Cathy.

Cathy blogs here https://betweenthelinesbookblog.wordpress.com/

Rosie’s Book Review Team

Cathy has been reading The Forever House by Linda Acaster

The Forever House by Linda Acaster

Carrie and her late husband, Jason, have made a career out of renovating houses to sell on. Carrie thought this last house was meant to be their forever home although Jason had other ideas, and Carrie was determined to finish the renovation despite people pressuring her to sell. Her son and his family live in Australia and, although they Skype regularly, the only person within striking distance is her very stylish, career orientated sister-in-law, Louise, who can’t understand why Carrie is carrying on with the renovation.

While removing wallpaper in one of the bedrooms, Carrie discovers childish drawings and numbers pencilled on the wall, a message and evidence of an old bolt that disturbed her deeply with its sinister implications.

‘My mind filled with ragged numbers climbing the corner of two walls. Had the edge of the wallpaper been teased back to complete the drawing unseen? To hide it? What for? Why not draw on paper, on a blackboard? Didn’t the child have one? This was a detached house with a large garden, not a back-to-back terrace with merely a yard. People of some substance would have lived here.’

With only so much manual work able to be carried out at one time, Carrie decides to find out as much as she can about the previous occupants of her house. The more she uncovers, it seems the likelihood of any kind of happy ending grows less and less.

Carrie’s investigations drive the story, and it wasn’t quite was I was expecting, so the more I read the more invested I became in finding out what actually happened in Carrie’s house. Written well with a well put together plot and fleshed out characters, The Forever House is an enjoyable and intriguing read albeit with an undertone of tragedy and sadness.

Book description

A chilling discovery. A sense of foreboding. They say I’m obsessing. I’m not.

Resisting family pressure to sell the too-big house Carrie and her late husband began to renovate, she is determined to carry through their shared project to prove she can manage alone.

And she can, until a discovery beneath old wallpaper chills her to the bone.

As her need to know more becomes all-consuming, Carrie’s family fears she’s tipping into irretrievable obsession. Can she be dissuaded, or must she take that final step?

How far is too far to right a wrong?

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📚’Captivating!’ @CathyRy Reviews Lost Coast Literary by Ellie Alexander @ellielovesbooks, for Rosie’s #Bookreview Team #RBRT

Today’s team review is from Cathy.

Cathy blogs here https://betweenthelinesbookblog.wordpress.com/

Rosie’s Book Review Team

Cathy has been reading Lost Coast Literary by Ellie Alexander

Lost Coast Literary by Ellie Alexander

Emily Bryant is living in a cramped apartment she shares with her roommates in New York as she begins her career in publishing. She’s gearing up to pitch for a book she desperately wants and which will be her first editorial project when she receives a text from her uncle. He’s contacting her to let her know her grandma has passed away. She, Emily, has been left the grand house that her grandmother loved. Emily needs to go to Cascata, on the Lost Coast of California immediately.

It had been over twenty years since Emily had been in Cascata due to a family falling out, the origins of which Emily had no memory. But apparently she needed to be there in person because there are specific requirements involving editing manuscripts that have to be met in order for her to inherit.

‘Crap. I let out a long sigh, barely noticing the overhead speaker announcing my stop. I gathered my things and held on while the train slowed. Why now? This was a plot twist I would have loved in fiction. Not in real life. I didn’t have time to stress about this. This pitch meeting could mean the difference between being stuck writing reader’s reports and rejection letters for another year or working on my own book for the first time.’

Emily had never understood why her father had ended his relationship with their family after the death of her mother, so consequently she hadn’t seen her grandmother since she was a child. She’s puzzled by her inheritance and even more so by the stipulations of the will. No-one in Cascata will explain the reason for the estrangement although they are mostly all happy to see Emily. Her father also refuses to elaborate. Emily and her cousin, Shay, strike up a friendship immediately. It’s to Shay that Emily turns when weird things begin to happen as she begins to fulfil the conditions of the will.

I loved this setting, the house and the pretty town, and although the town itself is fiction, there is a region called the Lost Coast in California. I enjoyed the well defined characters, loved the fact the story has a thread of magical realism and of course the literary theme. I haven’t read anything by this author before and didn’t know what to expect, but I found the story captivating and enjoyed the way it played out.

Book description

Book editor Emily Bryant finds herself unexpectedly in the charming town of Cascata on California’s Lost Coast, holding the keys to her grandmother’s rambling Victorian mansion. While sorting through her grandmother’s things, Emily learns that she must edit old manuscripts to inherit the estate. It’s a strange request from a family member who was basically a stranger.

Emily quickly realizes that there’s something different about these manuscripts. Any changes she makes come true. At first, she embraces the gift. She has a chance to help characters find true love or chart a new course for their future. But then things go terribly wrong. Her edits have the opposite effect. The sweet and funky seaside community of Cascata is reeling from the chaos Emily has created. Everything she thought she believed about her family and her past is in jeopardy, and no amount of editing can fix the damage she’s done.

Then she finds one last manuscript. If Emily can get this edit right, maybe she’ll have a chance to create a new narrative for herself and everyone around her.

AmazonUK | AmazonUS

🕵️‍♂️Vintage #crimefiction🕵️‍♂️@CathyRy reviews a Shanti de Silva investigation. Break From Nuala by @harrietsteel1, for Rosie’s #Bookreview Team #RBRT

Today’s team review is from Cathy.

Cathy blogs here http://betweenthelinesbookblog.com

Rosie’s Book Review Team

Cathy has been reading Break from Nuala by Harriet Steel

Break From Nuala By Harriet Steel

Ceylon hasn’t yet been affected by the war in Europe and Inspector Shanti de Silva and his wife, Jane are taking a short holiday at the luxuriously appointed Cinnamon Lodge in the coastal town of Galle. As always when they were away from Nuala, de Silva was a little concerned how people would view a Ceylonese man and a British woman as a married couple but any worries were soon laid to rest.

What was meant to be a restful break was soon interrupted by a couple of incidents at the hotel — a visit by the local Chief Inspector which de Silva didn’t think was routine and a group of guests, famous diver Elodie Renaud and her party, were taken ill by what appeared to be food poisoning. Seemingly unremarkable, if unfortunate, events initially, but then de Silva couldn’t help but put his policeman’s hat on and investigate surreptitiously when a nightwatchman is found dead and a guest mysteriously disappears.

‘No wonder the manager had looked so uncomfortable, thought de Silva. Were it to come out, a death on the premises, particularly such a grim one, would do the hotel’s reputation no good at all. He shuddered. It sounded like the dead man was the same nightwatchman he’d talked to on the evening he and Jane had arrived at the hotel. He might well have been killed not long after they spoke.’

Break from Nuala is the eleventh outing for Shanti de Silva, and is just as enjoyable as the previous books, although I did miss the regulars. Jane takes a more active role than usual and de Silva treads carefully as he has no jurisdiction in Galle. The cast of characters is diverse with several potential suspects. As the mystery begins to unfold and the investigation gains momentum things edge towards danger.

An enjoyable and well written cosy mystery set in a wonderful location.

Book description

It is autumn 1940, and Inspector de Silva and his wife Jane are looking forward to a well-earned holiday. But their hopes of a relaxing break in the picturesque city of Galle beside the Indian Ocean are dashed when death, mysterious illnesses, and a missing guest cast a gloomy shadow.
As they’re drawn into the investigation, the mystery deepens. Is there a villain amongst their fellow guests or further afield? The search for answers will lead them into great danger that has repercussions far beyond the island of Ceylon.

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‘A fun, entertaining series’ @CathyRy reviews Cosy #Mystery Madam Tulip and the Rainbow’s End by @DaveAhernWriter

Today’s team review is from Cathy. She blogs here https://betweenthelinesbookblog.wordpress.com/

Cathy has been reading Madam Tulip and the Rainbow’s End by David Ahern.

Madam Tulip and the Rainbow’s End, the fifth instalment of this popular series, finds Derry O’Donnell and her fellow thespian and good friend, ex Navy Seal, Bruce, left to pick up the pieces when the rest of the cast desert the touring production they were involved in, without paying. Not only that, they made off with the box office takings leaving Derry and Bruce with the hotel and bar bill for everyone.

Luckily Derry has her alter ego, Madame Tulip, to fall back on, so while Bruce searches for a job, Derry dons her Madame Tulip costume to tell fortunes at a charity event to help work off their debt. Derry’s uncanny gift is the result of her being the daughter of the seventh son of a seventh son. Madam Tulip is the character created by Derry and her friends and transforms her into an elegant, mature lady who has a natural affinity with Tarot and crystals, which helps her clients to find answers to their questions.

As a result of being forced to stay on, Derry and Bruce get caught up in a mystery and a crypto currency puzzle involving an inheritance. And who, if anyone, was responsible for the death of a talented stone mason. Derry and Bruce are on the case although it’s anything but straightforward.

This is a fun, entertaining series, due in no small measure to Derry’s parents, Jacko and Vanessa, and their one-upmanship antics, which always frustrates Derry as she is in the middle, implored by both sides to make the other see sense. The characters are well developed and their relationships and interactions believable. Derry has grown more comfortable and self assured in her role as Madam Tulip, especially since she stopped telling fortunes at celebrity events and parties as it seemed to lead her into the sort of company she’d much rather not keep.

The character driven plot has enough suspects for confusion, cryptic clues to a puzzle, danger and a great setting.

On the private island of a wealthy banker, a young and talented stonemason falls from a cliff. A tragic accident? Or murder?

The dead man’s sister is obsessed with justice and will stop at nothing.
A glamorous French widow and her heart-throb son are certain they have been cheated of their legacy.
A daughter is bequeathed an island mansion beyond her means.
An enigmatic letter hints at a hidden fortune.

After the collapse of her theatrical tour, actress Derry O’Donnell must work to pay her way in a West of Ireland village. As Madam Tulip, she tells fortunes for a local charity only to be drawn into a maze of mystery and intrigue.

Madam Tulip and the Rainbow’s End is the fifth in the Madam Tulip series of mystery-adventures, in which out-of-luck actress Derry O’Donnell finds the promise at the End of the Rainbow may not be what it seems.

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