Horses of the Night by Geoffrey Aggeler
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

The fictional account of the life of Christoper Marlowe, playwright and spy of Sir Francis Walsingham.
Although an enjoyable read I would have preferred less religious rhetoric of the Protestant and Catholic teachings, and then I would have given it another star.
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Death Comes to London by Catherine Lloyd
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Lucy Harrington and her sister Anna leave Kurland St. Mary to have a season in town. Both looking for husbands.
Not long after Major Robert Kurland is summoned to London to accept a baronetcy for his war deeds.
When the grandmother of a Major's friend - the dowager Countess of Broughton - dies, Lucy and the Major begin their own investigation, and can they prevent more deaths.
Really liking the characters and enjoyed this second in the series and look forward to the next.


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Mr Darcy's Wedding by Jennifer Lang
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

In this variation Darcy's plan to forget Elizabeth Bennet is to propose marriage to Anne deBourgh.
As they all descend to Kent a rehearsal marriage ceremony is arranged so that it can be timed, with Darcy and Elizabeth as the bride and groom. What could possibly go wrong?
Another novella I would have liked to have been longer.

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Bloody Lessons by M. Louisa Locke
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Its 1880 San Francisco and after the salaries of teachers have been reduced, upsetting anonymous letters have been sent to some teachers.
Laura Dawson a new teacher is employed as a replacement for her very close friend Hattie, who has given up her employment - Laura shows her immaturity by not accepting the reason why. Can this have any connection to these letters.
Annie Fuller is asked by her lawyer friend Nate Dawson to help in the investigation.
Fairly easy and enjoyable read

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Kitty, or Beaux Idéal by Eh Bien
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a Pride and Prejudice sequel which tells the tale of how Catherine Bennet grows up, outside of the influence of Lydia, but with help from her other three sisters. New characters are introduced.
Enjoyable read, I just wish I knew who the author was so I could check if any of their work has been published.

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Mr Darcy's Waterloo by Jennifer Lang
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It's 1815 and the proposal from Darcy to Elizabeth has occurred this year. Events develop so that all the main characters arrive in Brussels - Colonel Forster has joined the regulars, and his wife has invited Lydia to go with them - The Gardiners contrive to follow with the Bennet females. And Darcy has joined his Fitzwilliam relations.
But the Battle of Waterloo is about to happen.

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Death Comes Darkly by David S. Pederson
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

It's 1947 America and Detective Heath Barrington is invited for the weekend to a secluded house with several other guests. Then one of them is found dead.
Took a while for the death to appear in the story, before this there did seem to be a lot of description and not a lot happening. An easy read
A NetGalley book

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A Ball at Pemberley by Jennifer Lang
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

What if in this variation Darcy's parents are still alive, although unknown to him his father is dying. When the Gardiners and Elizabeth visit Pemberly circumstances result in Darcy pretending to be his Steward, and Darcy and Elizabeth get to know each other unencumbered by their social differences. Until Elizabeth discovers the truth.

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Death Comes to the Village by Catherine Lloyd
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In this first of a new (for me) Regency series we meet Miss Lucy Harrington, eldest daughter of the village's vicar, and childhood friend of a badly injured Major Robert Kurland.
The Major after seeing a shadowy figure late one night confides this in Miss Harrington. Leading to the investigation of two missing girls and the apparent theft of small objects from various homes.
Enjoyed reading about the characters and look forward to reading the next in the series.

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13 Under the Wire: A Layla Remington Novel by Gil Reavill
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

After 36 hours on duty during a riot in Los Angeles sheriff’s detective Layla Remington makes a fatal mistake. As she is taken to the temporary staging area she comes face to face with a house she knows, and it brings back memories from 10 years previously and her involvement in the troubles of the Loushane family. This is the story as Layla tried to unravel the mystery.
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Played to Death: A Scott Drayco Mystery by B.V. Lawson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

When a former client gives Scott Drayco an Opera House in Cape Unity, he arranges to meet his next client there. Unfortunately he finds him dead with a letter G carved unto his body. Quite a few people have a motive, and is there any connection to Konstantina Klucze, a polish pianist who played at the House, or to the other murders which occur.

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Eligible: A Modern Retelling of Pride and Prejudice by Curtis Sittenfeld
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

In this Pride and Prejudice retelling we have the Bennets and their neighbours moved to modern day America. With Jane at 40 and Lydia at 23 years old with the other sisters in-between.
For me it just doesn't work moving the story away from the Regency period. The story just doesn't have the same impact.
I didn't really like any of the characters apart Mary, which I suspect I wasn't suppose to considering how she was portrayed.
A NetGalley book.

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Blood of Saints by Maegan Beaumont
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I think this is one of those books which would have been useful to read the previous three.
Sabrina Vaughn ex-homicide inspector (previously known as Melissa Walker) is pulled back into the web of a serial killer because of twenty-year-old forensic evidence found on a recent body. Is there a connection to the man who tried to kill her.
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For Dead Men Only by Paula Paul
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What are the stories about the The Temple of the Ninth Daughter, a Freemasons Lodge in Victorian Newton-upon-Sea. Is there a connection with the ghostly horse-rider and a series of deaths of Freemasons in the area.
Dr. Gladstone investigates. This is the first of this series that I have read, and enjoyed enough to want to start at the beginning to see how the characters develop.
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Multiple Motives by Kassandra Lamb
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

It appears that psychotherapist Kate Huntington and her close friend lawyer Rob Franklin are the target of a killer.
When it seems that the detective in charge - Phillips - does not take them seriously, they and their friends have to find the killer.
Found it difficult to believe that someone like this detective was still in the police force.

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In the Clearing by Robert Dugoni
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

While Detective Tracy Crosswhite is investigating a domestic killing in Seattle where both the wife and son have confessed to the killing she is asked to look into a cold case - that of an apparent suicide forty years earlier of a Native American high school senior.
This is the first book of the series that I have read - I enjoyed the two investigations but at times felt that there was just too much detail and background information which didn't help move the story along but stalled it.
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Winter at Netherfield Park by Jennifer Lang
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

What if on the morning after the Netherfield Ball Caroline Bingley is thrown from her horse while out riding and is unable to travel to London as planned. Forcing all the party to stay.
Can Bingley be persuaded to forget Jane Bennet. And what will be the outcome when the rest of Bingley's family, Colonel Fitzwilliam and Miss Darcy come to visit. It would seem that Winter brings love to Hertfordshire.

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Innocent Little Crimes by C.S. Lakin
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Lila Carmichael, world famous comedienne invites to her private island a small group of 'friends' from fifteen years ago.
Where she forces them to play a game - who will survive to win the prize.
None of these characters had an redeeming features - can you wish for everyone to die?

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Collide-O-Scope by Andrea Bramhall
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

On a coastal path in Norfolk a body has been discovered. For Detective Sergeant Kate Brannon her job is to discover which of the 40 residents of the nearby fishing had means and motive - actually nearly all of them as the dead person was not well liked.
A NetGalley book.

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Twelve Days of Christmas by Jennifer Lang
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

With this Pride and Prejudice variation Elizabeth Bennet has been married to George Wickham for five bad years. Finally she decides she must leave him and take their child to the only place where she might find refuge - Hunsford Parsonage. As her family had been all killed in a fire at Longbourn. With the help of strangers can she ever recover.

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A Capital Crime by Stuart S. Laing
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Robert Young and his close friend Captain Charles Travers of the Edinburgh Town Guard work together to find the murderers of a gentleman. But who was this man really and why was he killed.
As they search for the answers the Jacobite army of Bonnie Prince Charlie is approaching Edinburgh.
Looking forward to reading the next in the series.

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Mr Darcy's Hallowe'en by Jennifer Lang
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

What if Mr. Darcy's mother - Lady Anne Darcy - felt guilty about the marriage arrangement with Catherine de Bough and her daughter. Hallow'en when ghosts are at there most powerful and Lady Anne decides to interfere. She realises that Darcy and Elizabeth are ideally suited and does her best to bring them together after they have met at Netherfield.

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The Daughters Of Red Hill Hall by Kathleen McGurl
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

A seemingly parallel story of two 'sisters' from 1838 and two friends in modern times. Gemma while working to catalogue archives finds a pair of duelling pistols and is determined to discover the story of their possible use in 1838 while trying to sort out the mess that has become her life.
Didn't really find the modern story interesting enough.
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Whiskey Sour by J.A. Konrath
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Lieutenant Jacqueline 'Jack' Daniels pf the Chicago Police Department is called out when a body is found in a bin - the work of a serial killer. The killer calls himself the 'The Gingerbread Man'. Some interesting characters which add to the story though not the FBI agents.
Look forward to reading the next in the series

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The Taste of Wormwood by Keith McCarthy
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Arthur Meadows has been transporting illegals into Britain for some time, but now there is a problem, he believes he may have caught 'something' from the latest two.
Not much later an Asian couple are killed.
Its for Chief Inspector Beverley Wharton to find out what are the connections.
Didn't find it really interesting.
I presume that my kindle version is an uncorrected proof considering how many glaring mistakes I found but I would have thought that someone would have at least read it through once.
A NetGalley book.


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Stealing the Countess by David Housewright
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Paul Duclos has had his $4m violin, named Countess Borromeo, stolen. And it is up to Rushmore McKenzie to locate it and return it to Paul.
An okay read which I never really felt involved in.
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A Pair of Fine Eyes by Jennifer Lang
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

In this Pride and Prejudice variation, several years prior to the start of the story Darcy had glimpsed a pair of fine eyes and had become entranced.
With the visit of the Mr Collins to the Bennets, one a day trip with the Bennet parents an accident occurs which kills all three..
Darcy was asked via Lady Catherine to find the heir and at Longbourn he meets Jane and decides that she would be the perfect wife and that he will propose to her in the future.
On that day after she says yes he meets Elizabeth of the fine eyes.
What a tangled web to be solved.
I would have like more story about the minor characters and felt that this could have been a longer tale.



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Mr Darcy's Rescue by Jennifer Lang
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

With this Pride and Prejudice variation the Gardiners go on holiday to Ramgate for Mr Gardiners health. And when they take Elizabeth with them she meets Miss Darcy. Elizabeth is immediately suspicious of Wickham when Georgiana introduces them, and advises Georgiana to inform her brother.
When Darcy finally arrives his prideful and arrogant manner offends Elizabeth. Of course. Relations between the two of them can only get better.

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London's Glory by Christopher Fowler
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Some story stories from the Peculiar Crimes Unit and the detectives Bryant & May.
Not really keen on short stories but as an introduction to the characters they were interesting enough that I would like to start at the beginning of the series and read the full novels.
A NetGalley Book.

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Elizabeth's Mistake by Jennifer Lang
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

In this Pride and Prejudice what if Wickham had persuaded an heiress to marry him - no not Miss Darcy - but a Miss Aintree. But then because he is bored he pays a visit to his friend Denny in Meryton disguised as a single gentleman and there he meets Elizabeth Bennet.
What if Darcy discovers the truth, would Elizabeth ever believe him?
An engaging novella.

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Walleye Junction by Karin Salvalaggio
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Talk show host Philip Long is kidnapped and Detective Macy Greeley travels to Walleye Junction. The location of a phone call they believe came from Long. Only for Long to be murdered in front of Greeley.
What could be the reason for his kidnapping, even when the police find two of the kidnappers who else is involved and why.
An interesting story.
A NetGalley Book

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The Inconvenient Corpse: A Grace Cassidy Mystery by Jackie King
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Grace Cassidy, running away from her husband finds a room in a bed and breakfast only to find a naked dead body on her bed a few hours later. She then becomes the prime suspect so decides she needs to solve the murder herself.

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The Big Fear by Andrew Case
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

What has veteran cop Ralph Mulino stumbled onto when he boards a boat on the river in New York to find a dead man, and then moments later he kills a cop. When the head of the Department to Investigate Misconduct and Corruption resigns it is left to the new acting head Leonard Mitchell to investigate. But it gets complicated.
Enjoyed the story but felt some of the description could have be cut as it didn't add to the story.
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Shadows in a Brilliant Life by Susan Kaye
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A short story about the characters from Persuasion. Concerning the seduction of Louisa Musgrove by Captain Wentworth - can Anne Elliott prevent this and can Wentworth re-discover the gentleman he really is.

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The Devil's Breath by Emily Kimelman
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Hugh Defry, the ex-boyfriend of Sydney Rey's dead brother has been charged with murder of his business partner. A situation which brings Sydney to Miami. To find out why Hugh has no memory of the events that night.

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A Covent Garden Mystery by Ashley Gardner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

London 1817 and Captain Lacey comes face to face with his estranged daughter. His wife and daughter having returned to England to discuss a divorce.
Lacey is asked to investigate the disappearance of several 'game'girls just before his own daughter disappears.
I continue to enjoy this series.


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A Tapping at my Door by David Jackson
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Home alone at night, in Liverpool, the persistent tapping on the door and window makes her check outside. A raven, but then the killer attacks.
D.S. Nathan Cody is recovering from an undercover job gone wrong and when another police officer is killed it's realised that they are not random killings but police officers who are being targeted. But why. For me an okay read.
A NetGalley book.

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Accusing Elizabeth: A Pride & Prejudice Variation by Jennifer Joy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

While staying at Hunsford Elizabeth reject Darcy appalling proposal. Unfortunately events overtake them before the letter can be given.
A valuable pair of diamond earrings go missing from Anne de Bourgh's room. While everyone seem to want to find the guilty person, why is Lady Catherine determined to blame Elizabeth. What secrets are Anne, and the Colonel hiding?
Can the situation ever be resolved.
An entertaining read.

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Serial Killer Confessions: Just Friends by Martyn Martello
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

James Martin an ordinary man until his wife dies and he no longer feels alive until he discovers a hobby - killing his friends.
I found at time that the dialogue was stilted, and unfortunately his killings evolved into torture. I basically lost interest then.
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Frobisher's Savage by Leonard Tourney
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Twenty years previously Sir Martin Frobisher returns from one of his voyages with a supply of black stone and an Eskimo (now named Adam Nemo) who now is a servant in a manor just outside of Chelmsford where Joan and Matthew Stock live.
One Sunday Adam Nemo discovers the cowering figure of his deaf and dumb friend Nicholas Crookback, with the bodies of his family who have been brutally murdered.
Only the Stocks believe Nicholas innocent and try to discover who and why the Crookback family were killed.
An interesting tale.
A NetGalley book.

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The Postbox Murders by Edmund Glasby
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

A cut up body is found in a rural post box and the police are mystified by the motive and identify of the killer.
Richard Montrose, a clockmaker and crime hobbyist decides to investigate and solve the crime before the police but Chief Inspector James Holbrooke is suspicious of his involvement.
I felt it was a bit of an anti-climax ending.
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Betrayal by PatM
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

In this Pride and Prejudice variation, Lord Matlock is determined that Darcy will marry Isabelle Weatherby, for reasons only known to him and her father Sir Malcolm. Arrangements are made for her, Colonel Fitzwilliam and Darcy to visit Lady Catherine at Rosings.
Where is all goes wrong for the Colonel.
Several years later Darcy decides its time to marry, and meets Elizabeth resulting in quite a bit of mature content.
This is the story of Colonel Fitzwilliam as a not honorable man. With a more wicked Wickham and Caroline Bingley.
As a fan of the Colonel I didn’t like this representation but that is what JAFF is all about.

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Blue Murder by Emma Jameson
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

In Chelsea, London a Halloween party goes badly wrong when two young men are found dead. The deaths are investigated by Chief Superintendent Anthony Hetheridge, Detective Sergeant Kate Wakefield, and Detective Sergeant Deepal Bhar.
Didn't really like any of the characters.

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Just to Hear 'I Love You': An Alternate Tale of Jane Austen's 'Pride & Prejudice' by Sarah Johnson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

My second reading of this Pride and Prejudice variation whereby Elizabeth and Mary as the only two survivors of the Bennet family are taken in by their Gardiner relations. In an earlier tragedy Mary has been left deaf.
On a holiday with the Gardiners at Ramsgate they met Miss Darcy, but Wickham is also there. Can she be saved and how will the meeting of Darcy and Elizabeth fare.
This is more the story of Mary and Colonel Fitzwilliam, which is why I read it again.

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A Secret To The Grave by Jane Blythe
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A suicide pact. What is the secret that a group of girls have vowed to keep even when faced with death, One man knows, the man who has started to kill them.
Would have thought that now they were adults that other solutions were open to them.
I believe this is the first in series and so a couple of the unanswered questions maybe be explained.
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Blame the Mistletoe by Sarah Johnson


In this Pride and Prejudice variation Darcy and Bingley have left Netherfield. But several weeks later while in London they both are drawn back to the inhabitants of Longbourn.
With Miss Darcy they go back, hoping to win the hearts of the two eldest Bennets, with help from the Christmas mistletoe. But there is the interference of Collins and Wickham.
A delightful tale

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