Sunday 31 January 2021

Photo diary: week 4, project 365

 It seems only yesterday we were saying Good bye to 2020 and greeting a new year with a little glimpse of hope, and now we are parting ways with January. Since most days are very same-sih, I lost count of them. 

Last weekend was a bit different though, as we had the first proper snow of the season. Nothing like where my family lives, of course, they have had snow for months, deep-deep snow, with snow drifts higher than an average child, and temperatures plunging below 30C. My younger son dreams of going to Russia in winter, but I'm not so sure. I'd love to see the snowy streets of my hometown, and the beautiful vast whiteness of the nature, but I lived more than half of my life over here, and I think I would find the weather rather challenging. 

What did we do last week? Not much apart from homeschooling and the usual chores. We also finished watching the Agents of shield season 7 on Disney+, and the last episode was a bit of a let-down. Eddie and I have enjoyed the series. Overall, it was pretty good, some seasons are better than others, and the last one wasn't the best. Still I'm sad, there won't be new adventures of Coulson, Daisy and the gang anymore. 

The Dig has started on Netflix, and I want to watch this, but need to find out if it's suitable as a family film.

We built our snowman, yay! Not a big one, but still a snowman, with a carrot for his nose.

Chez Maximka, English winter

One more photo from that day - Eddie enjoying throwing snowballs at his father.

Chez Maximka, winter in Oxfordshire


Since most of the remote learning is online, I make sure we have a break during the day to go out. We cannot have a walk later in the day, as my older son comes back home from school, and I have to divide my time and attention accordingly.

We saw these huge dirty snowballs in the Church Green on our walk. The snow didn't last long, and was already melting. The streets were all slushy. 

Chez Maximka

There were remnants of the snow on the roofs, and we saw this gathering of white doves. They looked as if they had an imprtant issue to discuss.

Chez Maximka

Project Graveyard still continues, we keep re-visiting the Holy Trinity and checking out the gravestones. We have identified one more Harris gravestone, and potentially two more, but they only have initials rather than full names. I have ordered a book called Edwardian Witney, and hope there might be some information we are after. Also a couple of friends offered to look for info on Ancestry for us. I will definitely take them on their offer, once I know a bit more of who is who.

There is a little playground next to the church. It seems empty every time we visit. Admittedly, we go out even in the drizzle, when we take a break between online learning. 

Chez Maximka

On Friday we decided to change our route and walk towards Cogges manor house. It is closed to visitors, of course, but we liked the nature around, and this old vicarage house. If only walls could talk, how many stories it could tell.

The fields nearby are under water. All the snow and torrential rain have raised the levels of water. The street not far from us is flooded, which is worrying. We had serious floods in Witney and around just before Christmas.
And the irresponsible local authorities have given permission to the avaricious builders to build more in the flood-prone area. Money rules. The locals sign one petition after another. A few years ago the local authorities refused to grant permission, then the big guys in London have over-ruled. Do they give a damn? It's not like they are going to ever live here.

Our town population is about 34,000. They plan to build over 3,500 houses more. Some of them will be dangerously close to the gas storage facility. Many of them will be in the Windrush Valley, which will endanger even more homes in town with the flooding.

Chez Maximka

Rather than showing the photos of the Windrush levels, here is a photo of my brother's cat. A fair warning ahead: there will be more pics of the cat in the future. He is a real beauty.

How was your week? Did you have snow and heavy rain where you live? 

Chez Maximka



You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Dark Memories by Liz Mistry #BlogTour

 

gritty thriller

"The drizzle made the crime scene more sordid somehow. Dingy and dark, with shadows hovering just outside the lit crime scene area, it had the appearance of an apocalyptic world - a lawless one. The very thought of that made DS Nikki Parekh shudder".

Dark Memories by Liz Mistry, the third book in the DC Nikki Parekh series, is a fast-paced and nail-bitingly tense crime story. 

Last year I reviewed Broken Silence (the 2nd book in the series), a gripping and taut Northern Noir thriller. As soon as I saw that the next book in the series was available for reviewing, I knew I had to read it.

When the body of the local homeless prostitute is found under Bradford's railway arches, DS Nikki Parekh and her partner DC Sajid Malik are on the case. Nikki knew this woman - Peggy Dyson, who had been a friend of her mother from years ago. She "tried everything she could to help Peggy, but Peggy had lost too much, fallen too far and become too reliant on her various fixes to respond to Lalita's overtures".

The death of a "worn-out junkie wasn't on anyone's priority list". "Still, no matter how slim the chances were of finding the perpetrator, Nikki had to try".
When the first anonymous newsletter clipping arrives in the mail, Nikki suspects the local journalist Lisa Kane, her long-standing adversary, might be mocking her.

Another body is discovered. A murder, which is seeminly unrelated to the death of the junkie. That is apart from a second anonymous letter containing another clipping from a news report relating to the investigation. "None of it necessarily directly related to her, as fas as she could determine. Still, it made her nervous".

And then the third envelope arrives, with the old diary entries which make a very disturbing reading. "It seemed too coincidental for her to receive three anonymous missives so closely together..." Nikki is unsure what all this mail is supposed to mean. "She'd been threatened plenty of times, but these letters weren't overt threats - were they? They seemed more like clues to Nikki - but clues of what?"

The third murder happens on Nikki's old street, just opposite the house where she grew up. Her childhood was traumatic, but Nikki is a suvivor.
Underneath the third victim's body there is the diary from which she received several pages earlier.

Liz Mistry doesn't shy away from the darker side of crime in her stories. In the previous book in the series she explores the themes of the human trafficking and modern slavery. Dark Memories also has scenes which are very hard to read.
There are potential triggers in this book - such as child abuse, domestic violence, murder. 

As the violence escalates, Nikki and her team have to find the links between the three victims. To do that, she has to revisit the past. Lalita's and her memories might hold the key information to solving the identity of the murderer. "For a long time now, Lalita had wanted to open up to her girls about their childhood, but at the back of her mind she'd always wondered if her desire to get things off her chest was more for her benefir than theirs".
The tension is building and building.

Will Nikki be able to catch the killer, before he moves on to his next intended victim?

We observe the plotline unfolding from different perspectives: we watch Nikki and her team conduct the investigation. 

Alongside it, the story is being told from the perspective of the killer. We're inside his head, and while we might not be complicit, it feels distressingly voyeuristic. 

Dark Memories is a tough, edgy, uncompromising and thoroughly absorbing thriller. I cannot wait for Nikki's next adventure.


Purchase Links

UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dark-Memories-addictive-nail-biting-Detective-ebook/dp/B08NZ4LV2R


US - https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Memories-addictive-nail-biting-Detective-ebook/dp/B08NZ4LV2R


Author Bio – Born in Scotland, Made in Bradford sums up Liz Mistry’s life. Over thirty years ago she moved from a small village in West Lothian to Yorkshire to get her teaching degree. Once here, Liz fell in love with three things; curries, the rich cultural diversity of the city … and her Indian husband (not necessarily in this order). Now thirty years, three children, two cats (Winky and Scumpy) and a huge extended family later, Liz uses her experiences of living and working in the inner city to flavour her writing. Her gritty crime fiction police procedural novels set in Bradford embrace the city she describes as ‘Warm, Rich and Fearless’ whilst exploring the darkness that lurks beneath.


Struggling with severe clinical depression and anxiety for a large number of years, Liz often includes mental health themes in her writing. She credits the MA in Creative Writing she took at Leeds Trinity University with helping her find a way of using her writing to navigate her ongoing mental health struggles. 


Being a debut novelist in her fifties was something Liz had only dreamed of and she counts herself lucky, whilst pinching herself regularly to make sure it’s all real. One of the nicest things about being a published author is chatting with and responding to readers’ feedback and Liz regularly does events at local libraries, universities, literature festivals and open mics. 


She also teaches creative writing too. Now, having nearly completed a PhD in Creative Writing focussing on ‘the absence of the teen voice in adult crime fiction’ and ‘why expansive narratives matter’, Liz is chock full of ideas to continue writing.


In her spare time, Liz loves pub quizzes (although she admits to being rubbish at them), dancing (she does a mean jig to Proud Mary – her opinion, not ratified by her family), visiting the varied Yorkshire landscape, with Robin Hoods Bay being one of her favourite coastal destinations, listening to music, reading and blogging about all things crime fiction on her blog, The Crime Warp. 


Social Media Links –

FB https://www.facebook.com/LizMistrybooks/

Twitter @LizMistryAuthor

Website: https://www.lizmistry.com/





This review is part of the blog tour, please check out what the other book bloggers thought about this thriller.

Many thanks to Lis Mistry and Rachel's Random Resources for my copy of the book!



Wednesday 27 January 2021

Circles of Deceit by Paul CW Beatty

 

historical murder mystery

"I would like to say that your suffering will be the last called for from workers seeking justice and proper returns for their labour, but the fact is everywhere I look I see storm clouds. There will be more, not fewer, disputes like yours in the future, and they will be across many industries, unless trade and attitudes buck up. The only comfort I can see is that, when that time comes, you will already have made your contribution and may avoid more hardship."

Circles of Deceit by Paul CW Beatty is a Victorian murder mystery set during the times of the Industrial Revolution, and addresses some of the crucial economic and social issues of the time - radicalism, poverty, riots, and violence on both sides of the conflicts. 

This is the second book in the Josiah Ainscough historical murder mysteries, which portrays the conflicts between the working class and the capitalist classes. While it might help to understand the background of the main protagonist if you start with the first book, Circles of Deceit reads perfectly well as a standalone.

We first meet Josiah Ainscough in Children of Fire, and learn that he has been brought up in the family of the Methodist Minister. He is a member of the Stockport Police Force. Intelligent and observant, Josiah makes a good detective. In the second book we watch him becoming more mature, and also more aware of the injustices of the society and the grievances of the working people. His loyalties are being changed by new circumstances.

Of late Constable Josiah Ainscough finds his duties exhausting. "There had been more petty crime, more domestic violence, and more trade disputes. The worst thing was the number of people beaten up for being, or not being, Chartists, League-men, Irish, or some other section of the community".

Invited by his guardian to attend a talk by Feargus O'Connor, the famous Chartist leader, at the Hall of Science in Manchester, his company and he find themselves in the middle of a mêlée between the Chartists and supporters of the Anti-Corn Law League. The fighting is vicious, and Josiah helps prevent the murder of the speaker. 

As it transpires later, there is a professional assassin abroad, whom the police nickname the Sneaker, and he is showing interest in killing radicals in crowds.

Josiah is given a task to keep an eye on Dianne Burrell, a prominent Chartist who might be a target on that account. She is a union organiser of women weavers, and works at the women-only mill. The police want Josiah to protect Dianne in case she's on the assassin's list.

Josiah admires Dianne's determination and strength of conviction. He cannot help himself falling for her, and also finding sympathy for her cause. He is concerned that he might be an incongruous protector. "If Dianne was the assassin's target, then he hoped he was equal to the task of protecting her". 

Their relationship is complicated, as at first, being in disguise, Josiah cannot reveal his true identity. He is torn between being a lover and a deceiver. Going out with Dianne, his loyalties would inevitably have to change. "No longer would he be the unbiased upholder of law and jusitice for all and every person in the community... he would be counted as an activist in the grievances of the working people, as Dianne was herself... He didn't know where he would stand when he had to make that choice".

Things are getting even more complicated, as he himself is being targeted by the ruthless killer, for whom murder is joy, a thing of beauty and symmetry. "My soul sang and my heart lifted. Ignorance defeated, stupidity massacred, terror sown on the wings of destruction. Nothing of all that I know is better than this, to kill without responsibility".

Will Josiah be able to apprehend the assassin, and protect Dianne and her father? Will he get to the bottom of the conspiracy?

The historical background is meticulously researched. You learn a lot about the 1840s England, especially the turbulent period of 1842-43, when the Chartists urged the Parliament to adopt their great petitions. It also shows that history repeats itself, the government is as ineffective and the politicians are playing dirty games.

Circles of Fire is a well-woven story, told with a great wealth of detail.



historical murder mystery



Purchase Links 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Circles-Deceit-casebook-Josiah-Ainscough-ebook/dp/B08LLCPSYR


https://www.amazon.com/Circles-Deceit-casebook-Josiah-Ainscough-ebook/dp/B08LLCPSYR


Author Bio –  

Paul CW Beatty is an unusual combination of a novelist and a research scientist. Having worked for many years in medical research in the UK NHS and Universities, a few years ago he took an MA in Creative Writing at Manchester Metropolitan University emerging with a distinction.

His latest novel, Children of Fire, is a Victorian murder mystery set in 1841 at the height of the industrial revolution. It won the Writing Magazine’s Best Novel Award in November 2017 and is published by The Book Guild Ltd. 

Paul lives near Manchester in the northwest of England. Children of Fire is set against the hills of the Peak District as well as the canals and other industrial infrastructure of the Cottonopolis know as the City of Manchester.


Social Media Links – Twitter 

@cw_beatty


historical fiction

This post is part of the blog tour.

Many thanks to Paul CW Beatty and Rachel's Random Resources for my copy of the book!

historical fiction set in Eng;and, chartists' movement


Sunday 24 January 2021

Photo diary: week 3, project 365

This morning we woke up to the first proper snow. My younger son was ecstatic, he could finally have a snowball fight with his father. We even managed to build a snowman. Later walking in town, we have spotted quite a few of snowmen, as many people had the same idea.

Our week was a very mixed bag. Sash needed a dental treatment in one of the clinics in Oxford, where they work with people who have special needs. This procedure has been postponed several times, for basically a year. He needed a sedation to help him cope, as they were also taking some blood samples to check if there are side effects from the current medication he takes daily. 

It was extremely stressful for him and everyone involved. Sash arrived home very subdued, still under the influence of the sedation, and looking very pale and haunted. My husband rushed to take the blood samples to the clinic, from where they were taken to the hospital in Oxford. A couple of days later we had a call from the clinic that the hospital claimed the samples were not labelled. I've seen the packaging, everything was labelled, so they have clearly lost or misplaced the samples (there were three bottles of blood). I'm still fuming. All this stress for nothing. To have more blood tests, he would need another sedation. 

My brother took several photos of my Mum's artwork, including this tree in the water. She painted it in the hot enamel technique (with porcelain paints, and it needs being fired many times at a very high temperature in a special kiln), from the photo I have taken of the local floods last year.

Russian enamel, Lyudmila Kravchenko artist, hot enamel

Eddie and I have been walking around St Trinity church almost every day for a breath of fresh air. As soon as the rain stops, we are out. We catch Pokemons and also do some exercise. Eddie runs races across the green. 


We've been also exploring the church graveyard, looking for the Harris family. I believe they were a local Quaker family. We are trying to figure out if any of the Harrises we found lived in our house. I looked up at the church webpage, but their records on the graves are very inconsistent, and if you input the name Harris, it brings no results, which is weird, as we have discovered at least five gravestones with this family name. I wonder whether it's worth registering on the Ancestry, to have a search on them. 
Eddie and I decided that when it's warmer, we'll dig out some of the snowdrops from our garden and plant them next to the Harris' tombstones.
I was just telling my Mum yesterday, "When the weather is warmer, I'm going to dig...", and she got worried that I was planning to dig in the graveyard.


To spare you more pics from the graveyard, here is a screenshot of a Sphinx from Wizards Unite, another game we play on the iPhone. It has beuatiful graphics, though the tasks are too repetitive, so we don't go on it as often.

Harry Potter games

Do your children eat mushrooms? Mine two refuse to eat them categorically. They wouldn't even try them, so annoying. I love mushrooms, my favourite recipes are little pies with mashed potato and mushrooms, risotto, and fried potatoes with mushrooms.

Abel & Cole

My strange child wears a vest in winter and claims he is hot, while I am wearing a warm jumper. I shiver, just looking at him.

Chez Maximka

One of Eddie's tasks this week was to make something creative with the toilet paper rolls. He made a pen holder. 

Chez Maximka


You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Deadly Whispers in Lower Dimbledook by Julie Butterfield

cosy mystery set in Cotswolds

"Oh you should realise by now, anything that happens here is known in every nook and cranny within the hour. And murder - well, that's big news by Lower Dimblebrook standards

When Isabelle Darby - the main protagonist of a cosy mystery Deadly Whispers in Lower Dimblebrook by Julie Butterfield - moves to a quaint Cotswolds village of Lower Dimblebrook, she doesn't expect it to turn into a chilling setting for Midsomer Murders. "It was a gentle village of thatched cottages and honey-coloured stone where everyone knew your name and what day of the week you washed your sheets but in Issie's case, knew nothing about her past."

Issie's moved to the village in search of peace and quiet and to recuperate from the broken heart (her husband left her on Christmas eve). Transition to the rural setting goes well, she enjoys her cottage, working as an illustrator of children's books, but then the tragedy strikes.

Her close friend Fiona Lambourne is found dead in the car park of the local beauty spot. Fiona, like Issie, was a relative newcomer to Lower Dimblebrook. "She had married Anthony Lambourne a little over two years previously after a whirlwind romance carried out mostly in London and had agreed to turn her back on a rather unispiring career in a bank and move to Lower Dimblebrook, joining Anthony in Lambourne House which had been in his family for generations". 

Anthony's first wife has died in a tragic accident, when their younger son was a toddler.

Fiona and Issie "had become firm friends, both finding solace in the fact that neither of them really belonged in Lower Dimblebrook".

Issie is shocked. Who would want to kill her friend? The local gossip mill is getting out of hand - the rumours claim Fiona had been having an affair, she had been meeting her lover in the unused car park, and that he killed her. "The incessant gossip of small villages drove her to distraction. What an absolutely ridiculous suggestion. If Fiona was having an affair, Issie would have known about it". A loyal friend, Issie insists that Fiona was happily married and she loved her husband.

She refuses to believe that her friend would embark on an affair, and sets up her mind on finding out the truth, "Everyone says they heard that Fiona was having an affair, they heard she was seeing someone. But who is the person who supposedly saw her with this other man? Who started this rumour because I think that's what is happening... a rumour has taken over the village and it's quite wrong".

DI Wainwright is in charge of the murder investigation. He is convinced Issie knows more than she tells him. He is exasperated with her attitude, but he's also drawn to the secretive artist, so loyal to her friend. As he tells her, "This is a murder investigation, Issie, and you should be careful and sensible. Not it appears, two of your strongest skills." He's spot on.

DI Wainwright's side kick, DC Cotterill, grew up in the village, and knows the local ways.

"They were a new team, in fact, this would be thier first case together. He had inherited DC Cotterill along with his promotion and his first instinct had been frustration at having such a young and inexperienced constable by his side."

There are several comical supporting characters who inject the narrative with a great dose of humour. Meet the local gossip Doris Stokes, who sincerely believes she is the next Miss Marple. She is eager to help Issie get to the bottom of the rumours and maybe even find the murderer. When Issie gently tells Doris that catching a murderer is probably better left to the police, "the older lady's face had fallen and there was definite disappointment in her eyes. She had clearly been envisaging the two of them becoming a crime-busting team, breaking a murder case with nothing but their handbags and Doris' incredible knowledge of the entire village's comings and goings".

There is Madeleine, Issie's next door neighbour and landlady, who "had lived in Lower Dimblebrook for 60 years and Issie had found her to be a hive of information about the village, its occupants and the surrounding area".

And there's a funny Geraldine, a small dog with a big personality, who will prove that friends come in all shapes and sizes.

The fictional village of Lower Dimblebrook is a chucklesome, caricature exaggerated vision of the Cotswolds village. The scenery described is very recognisable. The villagers, on the other hand, are a bit of a stereotype. 

Issie "had ended up in Lower Dimblebrook, a village from bygone era where women still visited the village shop with wicker baskets over their arm, made their own jam and bread and the thought of having to lock your front door was an alien concept". (Very close friends of mine lived in one of the Cotswolds villages, in what used to be a manor house, later developed into apartments. I have never seen my friend with a basket, neither did she ever make her own jam or bread. And the door was always locked). It's a sort of an idealised village, where the neighbours care for each other, and where a vicar's wife is always a mother-figure who dispenses cake and advice in equal measure.

Even the front cover is an idealised vision of the Cotswolds loveliness (where are all the aerials and masts, cars parked next to the cottages and swamps of tourists?!). 

I have guessed the main culprit pretty early in the book, but this didn't prevent me from enjoying the story. 

If you are looking for a light cosy mystery set in the British countryside, do visit the world of Lower Dimblebrook with its colourful and whimsical characters. It's a charming story, you're sure to enjoy it.

Purchase Links 

Amazon UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Deadly-Whispers-Lower-Dimblebrook-delightful-ebook/dp/B08L9FP2SK

Amazon US - https://www.amazon.com/Deadly-Whispers-Lower-Dimblebrook-delightful-ebook/dp/B08L9FP2SK

Kobo  https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/search?query=deadly+whispers+in+lower+dimblebrook

 

Author Bio – Julie Butterfield belongs to the rather large group of 'always wanted to write' authors who finally found the time to sit down and put pen to paper - or rather fingers to keyboard.
She wrote her first book purely for pleasure and was very surprised to discover that so many people enjoyed the story and wanted more, so she decided to carry on writing.
It has to be pointed out that her first novel, 'Did I Mention I Won The Lottery' is a complete work of fiction and she did not, in fact, receive millions in her bank account and forget to mention it to her husband - even though he still asks her every day if she has anything to tell him!


Social Media Links –


@juliebeewriter


www.Juliebutterfield.co.uk


https://www.facebook.com/juliebeewriter


cosy mystery set in Cotswolds

This review is part of the blog tour.

Many thanks to Julie Butterfield and Rachel's Random Resources for my e-copy of the book!

fiction set in English villages, cosy mystery set in English villages


Saturday 23 January 2021

A Remedy in Time by Jennifer Macaire (#BlogTour + giveaway to win a $25 Amazon gift certificate)

 

time travel fiction

"To avoid culture shock and undue influence on the future, anyone sent back was absolutely forbidden to come into contact with Palaeolithic people, so our mission consisted of getting samples, filming the animals, and - most importnatly - avoiding contact with the other humans".

A Remedy in Time by Jennifer Macaire is a science-fiction/time travel novel. It's a fast-paced, edgy and atmospheric read that will absorb you from the very first pages.

The plotline moves from the "present" (3377) to the last Ice Age. A deadly virus is taking over the world. It is a new type of typhus which can infect animals as well as humans. It does not respond to any typhus treatments, and starts to ravage the continent. Scientists call its clinical signs and symptoms disturbing. The death rate is 100%. To better understand the transmission dynamics, the team is going back as far as possible in time to get samples.

Robin Johnson, a researcher for the Center for Environmental Biology and Ecosystem Studies at the Tempus University time travel lab is one of the chosen for the trip back in time to observe the sabre-toothed tigers who went extinct very quickly, and the Center wants Robin to identify the reason. She has a hypothesis "that the disease came from the last ice age and was now making a comeback, aided by global warming". 

Robin's travel partner Donnell is not happy to have her on the trip because, according to him, she's untrained and untried, and has a history of mental condition. Most of her adolescence Robin spent in a "juvenile facility for the mentally ill". 

When Donnell dies an agonising death as soon as they arrive to the Ice Age, the signal is sent back to the present to bring in a rescue team. Waiting for them to arrive, Robin has to survive in the unknown terrain, surrounded by vicious prehistoric creatures.

Death stalks her at every step. She nearly drowns, and is rescued by the caveman. His name is Yah. 

"Our communication was limited to names, the numbers one and two, and that was it. We couldn't convey emotions, ideas, or the past and the future. We were in the here and now, and only a tenuous bond held us together. I thought he probably stayed with me from a sort of clan instinct".

Not only Yah is Robin's saviour, it appears that he might have a solution to finding a vaccine. His family died from the typhus-77, but he survived, and his blood is full of antibodies. In the hands of unscrupulous pharma companies, his blood would be worth a fortune. Robin is intent to hide Yah before the rescue team arrives. While Robin hopes to find the cure for the deadly virus, the rescue team members have their own agenda. 

"I had one day to find out what Jake (Robin's love interest) knew, two days to think of a plan fpr getting Yah back to his cave and hidden, and one  week to help find the vaccine that would save millions". Quite a resolution to make!

Will Robin be able to stay alive and stop the virus at its source?

This is a story of contrasts, from the fascinating wild life and habitats of the Ice Age and the customs and ways of cavemen, to the sci-fi vision of the future with its spectacular technology as well as the bleak apocalyptic world on the verge of self-destruction.

The new technology, described in the novel in great detail, is exciting. I wish we had the personal medical devices like medbot.

This novel has certain parallels with the current pandemic, and the discussions on the origins of the virus, whether it's a fluke of nature or a man-made product.

A Remedy in Time is a dark, nail-shredding, gripping read. You don't know which characters you can trust. And you will never expect a shocker of a twist at the end. Compulsive reading!


Purchase Links

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Remedy-Time-favourite-timeslip-ALEXANDER-ebook/dp/B08H7X6RL9/

https://www.amazon.com/Remedy-Time-favourite-timeslip-ALEXANDER-ebook/dp/B08H7X6RL9/

https://www.headline.co.uk/titles/jennifer-macaire/a-remedy-in-time/9781786157911/


Author Bio – Jennifer Macaire lives in France with her husband, three children, & various dogs & horses. She loves chocolate, biking, & reading. She grew up in upstate New York, Samoa, and the Virgin Islands. She graduated from St. Peter and Paul high school in St. Thomas and moved to NYC where she modeled for five years for Elite. She went to France and met her husband at the polo club. All that is true. But she mostly likes to make up stories.

time travel fiction


Social Media Links –

https://twitter.com/jennifermacaire

https://www.facebook.com/TempusU

 

This post is part of the blog tour.

Many thanks to Jennifer Macaire and Rachel's Random Resources for my NetGalley ARC. 

time travel fiction

If you like the sound of this book, don't forget to enter the giveaway to win a $25 Amazon gift certificate, to buy A Remedy in Time or any book you fancy.

Giveaway to Win a $25 Amazon Gift Certificate (Open INT)

*Terms and Conditions –

Worldwide entries welcome.  

Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below.  

The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. 

If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. 

Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  

Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. 

This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data.  

I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.


Please note that the giveaway is being hosted across several blogs taking part in the blog tour.

Chez Maximka blog is hosting the Rafflecopter gadget for free as part of the tour, but is in no way responsible for choosing the winner or dispatching the prize. Good luck!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Saturday 16 January 2021

Photo diary: week 2, 2021: project 365

 As I'm reading Grace Dent's wise piece of writing in today's Guardian, I nod my head in agreement. With all the current restrictions and higher levels of intolerance around, you almost feel that you have to walk purposefully and not stop and admire a rushing river, or a red kite soaring in the skies, as if it is against the rules. She asks, "How long outdoors is acceptable until your need for fresh air is deemed wanton?" 

Many people are carrying their anger. Today Eddie and I were walking home, and stopped in the street to catch a Pokemon or two outside one of the Pokestops. We checked that we didn't block the way, in fact, it was absolutely empty, and no-one around, we are very careful with social distancing. Then a car pulled by next to us, the guy has angrily pointed a finger at us. I thought, he might have a delivery for the house we were standing next to, so moved us further along the street. But no, he then just drove on without getting out. What the heck was all that about? 

The levels of river Windrush are quite high this week, though the muddy path through the flood fields is passable.


My brother sent me the picture of their new cat. A couple of years ago they lost their elderly cat, who was 16 or 17 years old, and who was a dear member of the family. 
He is a beauty, isn't he?!

Chez Maximka

Homeschooling is better structured this time. Children have two Zoom sessions per day, and can discuss any issues with the teachers. They are also happy to see their mates and wave to them.

It's nice that they are also encouraged to have exercise and a walk every day, when possible. Eddie and I have a brisk walk around the block, getting some fresh air for half an hour around lunchtime.

Chez Maximka
This week I published two book reviews, including for Children's Fate by Carolyn Hughes. I have been playing with photo props. This is historical novel set during the times of the Black Death. It's a fasciating story, but has potential triggers (death during the pandemic). You can also win a £15 amazon voucher to spend on any book you want (or chocolate).

Chez Maximka

Homeschooling is not fun, so I'm finding my "entertainment" ad hoc. When Eddie is using the laptop, I might open the Pokemon app on the iphone.

The other day, when they had a Zoom session, one of the class mates kept saying she had a question. When the teacher let her talk, she said her dog wanted to say Hi to the class. Of course, it did.
After that, Eddie and I kept saying things to each other like, My Pokemon wants to say Hi to the class.

Chez Maximka

We haven't had any bread left, and I didn't fancy going out shopping, so decided to try a new bread recipe from Nigella - for an old-fashioned sandwich loaf, made with soured milk. Apparently, Nigella's recipe is a twist on Dan Lepard's bread made with buttermilk.
I'm not a confident bread-baker. I could never pass the test for bread-making on GBBO. This recipe is pretty easy to follow, doesn't require much kneading, and the result is very tasty. I'm going to bake it again.

What else is "newsworthy"? Eddie and I watched the first two episodes of WandaVision on Disney+. From what I've seen on Twitter, most people are raving about it. I found it rather bizarre - cringe at times. But I will watch the next episode on Friday. If you enjoy series like Bewitched, then it might appeal to you.

Chez Maximka

Today's bit of excitement was going to Sainsbury's and buying new slippers for Eddie with my groceries. It might be considered a non-essential indulgence, but the slippers he's been wearing, look utterly shredded on the soles, and were destined for the bin. 

I also bought a couple of books - CatKid Comic Club and Dear Child by Romy Hausmann. The reviews of this thriller are very encourgaing, if you want to know more, read the review of Dear Child on Coffee and Books blog.
Sadly, it will have to wait until I have a chance to read it, as I have a huge stash of books for reviewing, looking at me solemnly and tutting at me for buying more books.

The article which I enjoyed today is Grace Dent's "Sweet treats..." in Feast (The Guardian). It so resonated with me. It's a poignant piece, which shows we're all hanging there, and little treats save the day. And we should never underestimate little escapes, even if it means lingering by the chocolate aisle or looking at the books at Sainsbury's.

Chez Maximka


You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Friday 15 January 2021

Children's Fate by Carolyn Hughes (#BlogTour + £15/$15/€15 Amazon gift card giveaway)

 

fiction about plague, pandemics in books, Chez Maximka

"He'd said her pottage was delicious, though she wasn't sure he meant it. After drinking a few mazers of wine, he'd cocked his head. "What a delightful little wife you'd make," he said and, reaching for her, drew her onto his lap and kissed her. She'd been so thrilled, yet she was sure he was just teasing.

She'd never be his wife.

Yet she'd settle for being his leman. She wondered if, one day, he might take her away from Mistress Brouderer's, but it was a vain imagining, for the witch would surely never let her go".

Children's Fate by Carolyn Hughes is the fourth Meonbridge Chronicle, an absorbing tale set in England in 1360, eleven years since the Black Death. It swept like a wildfire across Europe; on average, 35-40% people died from the plague, and in some villages and towns, the toll was even higher - 80-90%. 

It's been six years since Emma Ward and her children fled their home in Meonbridge to move to Winchester. She hopes to have a better life in town, as there is lots of work, and they could make a new start. It's true that Emma herself succeeded in finding a decent job in becoming a weaver, which she could not have done in a rural setting. She's got enough money to buy her elder daughter Bea an apprenticeship with Mistress Brouderer.

Sixteen-year-old Bea is an apprentice to Sibylla Brouderer, who charges parents of her apprentices for their daughters' training. Sibylla has lost all her family in the first wave of the plague. She had survived "in a strange world, emptier of people, in which women had more chance to make a mark in their own right". And while embroidery is a decent job, Sibylla's running a more lucrative job on the side, prostituting her young wards to the willing menfolk of the town.

Bea is wilful and vivacious, and has hopes of succeeding in this world. According to her mistress, she has a great potential and would bring in good money. Bea is a vulnerable teenager, exploited by her immoral mistress and men who pay for her services.

Bea is confused. On one hand, she is ashamed of her new "job", and cannot confide in her mother or sister. On the other hand, she enjoys the attentions of rich and handsome Riccardo Marchant. She is also happy with the money and gifts she receives. 

"Bea battled with her feelings. It was clear she'd been tricked into Riccardo's bed, first by her mistress, then by the man himself. She should be angry as well as sahamed, somehow, she wasn't either. Or not much".

And when Riccardo compliments her and hints that she would make a good wife, she is happy to be deluded. It still rings true. Centuries pass, but women are willing to be duped by men's smooth talk.

When Emma hears the rumours about Mistress Brouderer, she is shocked and bewildered. She blames herself for her daughter's misfortune. She often regrets her decision to leave Meonbridge, though she convinces herself that she is building a new, more prosperous life for herself and her children. Yet, at what cost? Bea is in grave danger. Her youngest, Bart, is a little thug, who runs wild in the streets of the town and keeps dangerous company with the thieves. Only middle child, Ami, seems to be doing well, working as a servant in the merchant's household.

Emma's heart is breaking and she takes a decision of taking her children back to Meonbridge, away from the sins of the city. At first, Bea doesn't suspect her mother's motives, she is pleased to see her old friends and get new admirers. Soon enough she struggles to get into the rhythm and hardship of rural life. She is now used to higher standards of living. Missing her rich lover and their cosy arrangement, Bea escapes back to the city.

When the plague returns to Winchester, Bea flees back to her village, only she is not welcome any longer. 

Hatred born out of fear erupts into violence. Emma has to choose between her children and re-think her own position in the village. These are scary, challenging times for everyone involved. Will she be able to defend her daughter, or does she need to make a heartbreaking choice?

As mentioned above, Children's Fate is the fourth book in the Meonbridge Chronicles series. Though it reads as a standalone, I found it a bit confusing to start with. There are many female characters, pregnant or with children, and I had to check out the list of characters several times to understand who is who. Some of the plotlines and life stories of the main characters which appeared in the previous books, are mentioned in this novel, and make you want to discover the world of Meonbridge. I would love to read the series from the first book, and get acquianted with the main protagonists better.

I remember reading years ago an article in one of the history magazines about what it was to be a parent in the middle ages. From what I recollect, there were two schools of thought on the matter, one of them being that parents in those days were pragmatic about their children's deaths, as the rate of childhood mortality was very high. Women had one child after another, and not many of the infants survived. There was another school of thought though, that not all parents were philosophical about their children's demise, and many of them were destroyed with grief. 

Children's Fate made me think about it. It was not a comfortable reading at times. Some scenes in the novel will make you feel like someone's ripped your heart out. 

With the current pandemic, you can draw parallels with the pestilence of the middle ages, both ultimately sweeping across the world with the cruel natural selection of the human species.

The novel is deeply researched. It transports you to another time and place, and shines a light into the 14th C England's social and cultural history.

Eileen Power talks in Medieval Women that "medieval industry was open to women and they played a by no means inconsiderable part in it. There was hardly a craft in which we do not find women. They were butchers, chandlers, ironmongers, net-makers, shoe-makers, glovers, girdlers, haberdashers, purse-makers, cap-makers, skinners, bookbinders, gilders, painters, silk-weavers and embroiderers, spicers, smiths and goldsmiths, among many other trades".

It's fascinating to see the wide range of jobs and positions which women were involved in in the aftermath of the Black Death, from Emma and Mariota who are weavers to Lady de Bohun who's the "lord" of Meonbridge after the death of her husband, from Sibylla Brouderer, embroideress and procuress, to Eleanor who inherited her father's flock of sheep. Some of the widowed women re-marry, while some prefer to stay independent and rely on their own labour for income.

Children's Fate is not a prettified, bucolic fantasy from the days of Ye Olde England, and damsels in distress, saved by lovable rogues. This is an honest, harsh account of what it was like to be a woman in the Middle Ages, what options you had and what choices you had to make in order to survive.

This review is part of the blog tour.

Purchase Links:

UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Childrens-Fate-Meonbridge-Chronicle-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B08LZLW9S1

US - https://www.amazon.com/Childrens-Fate-Meonbridge-Chronicle-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B08LZLW9S1

 

Many thanks to Carolyn Hughes, Riverdown and Rachel's Random Resources for my copy of the book!

If you like the sound of this book, scroll down to enter a giveaway to win an Amazon voucher to spend on The Meonbridge Chronicle or any other book of your choice.

fiction about plague in England


Author Bio – 

CAROLYN HUGHES was born in London, but has lived most of her life in Hampshire. After completing a degree in Classics and English, she started her working life as a computer programmer, in those days a very new profession. But it was when she discovered technical authoring that she knew she had found her vocation. She spent the next few decades writing and editing all sorts of material, some fascinating, some dull, for a wide variety of clients, including an international hotel group, medical instrument manufacturers and the government.


She has written creatively for most of her adult life, but it was not until her children grew up and flew the nest several years ago that writing historical fiction took centre stage in her life. She has a Master’s degree in Creative Writing from Portsmouth University and a PhD from the University of Southampton.


Children’s Fate is the fourth novel in the MEONBRIDGE CHRONICLES series. A fifth novel is under way.


novels set in medieval times, novels set during the plague time



You can connect with Carolyn through her website www.carolynhughesauthor.com and social media:


Social Media Links – 

Facebook: CarolynHughesAuthor

Twitter: @writingcalliope

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2hs2rrX


medieval fiction, novels about the plague


 

Giveaway to Win a $15 / £15 / €15 Amazon Gift Card (Open Internationally)

*Terms and Conditions –

Worldwide entries welcome.  

Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below.  

The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. 

If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. 

Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  

Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception ofthe winners’ information. 

This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data.  

I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

Please bear in mind that this giveaway is running across several blogs, taking part in the blog tour, and is not exclusive to Chez Maximka. I am hosting a giveaway rafflecopter gadget for free as part of the tour.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Meonbridge chronicle, books about plague, Chez Maximka