The mysterious universe of books

  Death and The Poet  By Fiona Forsyth Book Title: Death and The Poet Series: The Publius Ovidius Mysteries Author: Fiona Forsyth Publication Date: 20th March 2025 Publisher: Sharpe Books Pages: 361 Genre: Historical mystery Triggers: murder, references to slavery, domestic abuse, alcohol, cancer Tour Schedule 14 AD. When Dokimos the vegetable seller is found bludgeoned to death in the Black Sea town of Tomis, it’s the most exciting thing to have happened in the region for years. Now reluctantly settled into life in exile, the disgraced Roman poet Ovid helps his friend Avitius to investigate the crime, with the evidence pointing straight at a cuckolded neighbour. But Ovid is also on edge, waiting for the most momentous death of all. Augustus, the first Emperor of Rome, is nearing his end, and the future of the whole Roman world is uncertain. Even as far away as Tomis, this political shadow creates tension as the pompous Roman legate Flaccus thinks more of his career than solvi...

I bought this book yesterday and went to bed in the early hours so I have a bit of a sore head today! Scroll down to read my review. Luminous: The Story of a Radium Girl By Samantha Wilcoxson Publication Date: 2nd June 2020 Publisher: Independently published Page Length: 319 Pages Genre: Biographical Fiction / Historical Fiction Amazon A story of female friendship and strength set against corporate corruption. Catherine's life is set on an unexpected course when she accepts a job at Radium Dial. She soon finds out that the excellent pay is no recompense for the evil secret that lurks in the magical glow-in-the-dark paint. Catherine Donohoe takes on the might of a big corporation and becomes an early pioneer of social justice in the era between world wars. Emotive and inspiring - this book will touch you like no other as you witness the devastating impact of radium poisoning on young women's lives. It’s too late for me, but maybe it will help some of the others. ~ Catherine Wolf...

I saw this book today, and I just love the cover and the synopsis. What do you guys think? Will this book be on your to-read list? B.R.A.G. Medallion Honouree, 2023 Global Book Awards Silver Medallist and 2023 Coffee Pot Book Club Gold Medallist. At the end of his Grand Tour, somewhere between Athens and Constantinople, Christian Selwyn, the young Earl of Hazelmere, vanished - seemingly without a trace. Time passes. In London, his uncle and cousin move into his home … while his unofficial fiancée, Sophia, is left desolate and in limbo. Finally, his friends – loyal and close as brothers – set out to search in person, determined to find him and bring him home. Christian’s startling re-appearance at a grand ball hosted by his uncle, takes society by storm and fuels endless speculation. Where has he been during these three missing years? What happened to him? And more importantly, how did it happen? Only one thing is clear. The earl who left England five years ago, has returned a changed m...

If a Cold War thriller is your go to book, then you have to check out The Secretary by Deborah Lawrenson. Moscow, 1958.  At the height of the Cold War, secretary Lois Vale is on a deep-cover MI6 mission to identify a diplomatic traitor. She can trust only one man: Johann, a German journalist also working covertly for the British secret service. As the trail leads to Vienna and the Black Sea, Lois and Johann begin an affair but as love grows, so does the danger to Lois. A tense Cold War spy story told from the perspective of a bright, young, working-class woman recruited to MI6 at a time when men were in charge of making history and women were expendable. Four Stars Set during the Cold War, this story is about an agent who goes undercover in Moscow to discover who the traitor is. While trying to balance her disguise, along with fitting in, Lois has her work cut out. Not knowing who to trust, and knowing that wherever she goes she is being watched by KGB informants makes for a t...

Sword Brethren  By Jon Byrne Book Title: Sword Brethren Series: The Northern Crusader Chronicles Author: Jon Byrne Publication Date: 28th November 2024 Publisher: The Book Guild Pages: 416 Genre: Historical Fiction (Action/Adventure) 1242.  After being wounded in the Battle on the Ice, Richard Fitz Simon becomes a prisoner of Prince Alexander Nevsky of Novgorod. Alexander, intrigued by his captive’s story, instructs his scholar to assist Richard in writing about his life. Richard’s chronicle begins in 1203, when his training to be a knight is disrupted by treachery. He is forced to flee England for Lübeck, where he begins work for a greedy salt merchant. After an illicit love affair, his new life is thrown into turmoil, and he joins the Livonian Brothers of the Sword as they embark on imposing the will of God on the pagans of the eastern Baltic. Here, he must reconcile with his new life of prayer, danger and duty – despite his own religious doubts, with as many enemies within ...

  The Rune Stone  By Julia Ibbotson Book Title: The Rune Stone Series: Dr DuLac series, book #3 Author: Julia Ibbotson Publication Date: December 8th, 2021 Publisher: Archbury Books  Pages: 294 (ebook) / 376 (paperback) Genre: historical romance (timeslip mystery) A haunting time-slip mystery of runes and romance When Dr Viv DuLac, medievalist and academic, finds a mysterious runic inscription on a Rune Stone in the graveyard of her husband’s village church, she unwittingly sets off a chain of circumstances that disturb their quiet lives in ways she never expected. She, once again, feels the echoes of the past resonate through time and into the present. Can she unlock the secrets of the runes in the life of the 6th century Lady Vivianne and in Viv’s own life? Again, lives of the past and present intertwine alarmingly as Viv desperately tries to save them both, without changing the course of history. For fans of Barbara Erskine, Pamela Hartshorne, Susanna Kearsley, Christi...