Book Review: The Vanishing Man by Charles Finch @MinotaurBooks

I haven't read any of The Charles Lenox Series of books, but since The Vanishing Man was a prequel and sounded intriguing, I decided to try it. I was not disappointed.

Lenox is an English aristocrat turned sleuth. It is 1853 and Lenox has been called up by the Duke of Dorset to discretely find a painting that has been stolen from his home. It's more than just the painting, though. You see, right next to the rather ordinary, relatively cheap painting that was stolen is a priceless portrait of William Shakespeare -- one that only a few people know exists.

Lenox is an intelligent and interesting character. What adds to the entertainment is the people he surrounds himself with. His valet, who helps him with his investigations, his housekeeper, his neighbor (Lady Jane), and somewhat of a ruffian who Lenox hires to do some investigating--to name only a few. The investigation goes off kilter when Dorset himself is accused of murder and put in the Tower of London. Lenox is not only trying to solve this complex mystery, but he's in danger of losing all social standing if he doesn't.

One of my favorite parts of The Vanishing Man are the several spots where Finch describes the derivation of certain words in our current vocabulary. Tips, bedlam, cottage -- to name a few. I bookmarked them all. He also includes a rundown of the aristocracy and what all the titles mean. Along with these tidbits, the writing is exceptional. The banter between the characters is sophisticated. And the plot moves swiftly, with twists that I didn't see coming. Nothing is for sure until the very end, and then there are still some things that Lenox is not able to nail down completely.

I do have one question, though. Why that title? What man has vanished? If you have read this and have thoughts, please leave me a comment. What am I missing?

I'm a fan of historical fiction and loved learning more about Victorian England and Shakespeare while delighting in these characters and this story. I'm a fan and look forward to beginning my journey through some more Charles Lenox stories. Highly recommended to fans of Victorian mysteries.

Published by Minotaur, February 19. 2019
eARC obtained from Edelweiss
304 pages

Rating: 5/5

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Book Review: An Assassin's Guide to Love & Treason by Virginia Boeker

If you are really interested in Shakespeare's England, An Assassin's Guide to Love & Treason will certainly entertain.

Katherine Arundell's father is a Catholic in 1602 when Queen Elizabeth is attempting to make England a Protestant country. Katherine's father doesn't do a very good job of hiding his religion and when the queen's guard comes to arrest him, they kill him.  Katherine hides and then escapes to London with the horse groom, Jory, who also aspires to be a priest.

Katherine finds the men whom her father was working with on a plan to assassinate the queen and vows to help them to avenge her father's death.  Katherine becomes Kit, a boy, who must obtain a part in Shakespear's new play, Twelfth Night, that will be performed for the queen.  Kit will kill the queen during the performance. Kit is successful in getting the part but doesn't realize she is walking into a trap.

The other narrator is Toby, who works for the queen to discover the network of people who are planning the assassination.  Toby has set up this play just to lure the assassins to make their move.

Things get convoluted when Toby and Kit develop feelings for each other.  Toby thinks Kit is a boy, and well, there is also the problem that Kit is the assassin that Toby is supposed to turn over to the queen's guard.

The middle of An Assassin's Guide to Love & Treason gets really slow.  After Kit gets the part in the play, the relationship between her and Toby develops very slowly.  And the assassination is planned...very slowly.  And Toby tries to figure out who the guilty party is -- very slowly.  Nothing much happens.

Even though our main characters are teens, the book reads more like an adult book.  The pacing is too slow and meticulous, and the details too many.

The ending, however, is very exciting and satisfying. I would recommend this to teens who are very interested in Shakespeare or the time period.  Or those that really enjoy historical assassins.

Published by Little, Brown BFYR, October 23, 2018
ARC obtained from School Library Connection Magazine
384pages

Rating: 3.5/5

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Book Review: The Steep and Thorny Way by Cat Winters @catwinters

Cat Winters has solidified her place on my "must read" list with The Steep and Thorny Way. Billed as a reimagining of Hamlet, the story kept me enthralled.

It's the1920s and Hanalee is out to avenge the death of her father. When the kid who went to prison for hitting Hanalee's father with his car is released, Hanalee comes after him with a pistol. He convinces Hanalee that he's not the murderer. That he was framed. That Hanalee's new stepfather, the doctor, is the real killer.

Hanalee begins to investigate, including a couple of visits with the ghost of her father. Turns out, the story is much more complicated. Hanalee's father is black and her mother is white. The Ku Klux Klan has a strong presence in 1920s Oregon and they do not accept Hanalee or any other person of color.

I don't want to say too much about what happens. The tension mounts, as Hanalee begins to understand the truth about her father's death, and she finds herself in great danger because of it.

Winters writes characters that you can't help but sympathize with. It's easy to think the worst of people, but in some cases that's not the truth. And, of course, sometimes those we trust turn out to be the worst! The Steep and Thorny Way is a multilayered story that I couldn't put down. I wasn't really sure about what happened until it was revealed.

I will recommend this to my students along with Winters' other novels, In the Shadow of Blackbirds, The Cure for Dreaming, and The Uninvited. I gave them all 5/5 ratings.

Published by Amulet, March 8, 2016
eARC obtained from NetGalley
352 pages

Rating: 5/5

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Book Review: A Wounded Name, by Dot Hutchison

If you are interested in a fairly accurate modern retelling of Hamlet, then A Wounded Name fits the bill!

Hamlet's castle, in this case, is a boarding school. The story is told from Ophelia's perspective, which gives it and interesting twist -- as well as a more paranormal feel since Ophelia sees all kinds of ghosts and spirits. One of these is her dead mother, who wants Ophelia to join her at the bottom of a lake where there is a hidden city waiting for them.

It's been a REALLY long time since I've read Hamlet, but it's a classic, and I know the story. I'm a little shaky on some of the details. But I don't remember this hidden underwater city being part of the plot of the original, and it was the part that I found confusing. I didn't see what it added to the story, other than reinforcing the fact that Ophelia is apparently crazy, or at least her family thinks so.

All of the major characters are here -- even using the same names, so it's very easy to follow the story. Hamlet is called "Dane" and his father is referred to as "Hamlet."

The writing is beautiful. Sometimes too beautiful. All of the major lines we had to memorize in high school are in this book, as well as some other quotes almost directly from Shakespeare. But, even Hutchison's own writing is eloquent. Sometimes maybe too eloquent.

While I enjoyed reliving the story of Hamlet, and the book really ramped up at the end after a pretty slow, meandering start, I still had some issues. Mainly with the sense of time and place. The writing is so close to Old English, that I had trouble remembering that we are in modern times. It doesn't help that NOTHING modern is referred to for quite a while. I found myself distracted from the story because I was trying to figure out approximately what year it was. A little ways in, it mentions "Fortune 500 Companies" so I knew we weren't too far in historical times. Later, a motorcycle and a Limousine are mentioned. Finally on page 96, a cell phone is referred to and on page 114, email.

I also couldn't picture this boarding school. I didn't even realize it was supposedly in the U.S. until very close to the end of the book. Someone gets sent to France, but we never get a sense of WHERE they are leaving from. There aren't many descriptions of the actual school and home that they live in, other than to say there are three floors.

I have trouble if I can't picture things when I'm reading. I need to see the characters within the setting -- both place and time. I really missed that in A Wounded Name and didn't really enjoy the story because of it. As a side note, the cover of the book is perfect -- it really conveys the feeling of the story. The title, however, I don't really understand.

Anyone who is interested in a Hamlet retelling will enjoy this straightforward take on a modern version with a few additional embellishments.

Published by Carolrhoda Books, September 1, 2013
Copy obtained from Library Media Connection Magazine
 311 pages

Rating: 3/5

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