Review: Footsteps in the Dark by Georgette Heyer

I had never heard of Georgette Heyer until last January-ish, but when I found out she wrote British mysteries, I knew I needed to give her a try.  You see, I love a good mystery.  And when they take place in England, I love them more.  Especially when they aren't set in like, 2011.  And now I'm hooked on Ms. Heyer.  Footsteps in the Dark is about a family-3 grown siblings Peter, Celia, and Margaret, Celia's husband, an aunt, and their butler and cook-who decide to spend the summer in a country home they inherited from a distant relative.  Immediately, they hear tales from the locals about the home's ghosts, but everyone just laughs it off.  That is, until strange things start happening-noises that shouldn't be there, shadows, and a skeleton hidden in a wall.  Soon though, the party begins to unravel the mystery.  As more information is discovered, they begin to wonder if it is even a ghost at all, but a real person who is very capable of doing them harm. 

Heyer's writing is just fantastic.  It is full of wit and sarcasm, and grabbed me immediately.  She developed her characters very well, and they all had distinct personalities-some very witty, some serious.  What I loved was the chemistry between them.  Peter, Celia, and Margaret are all siblings, and they act like it even though they are adults.  Celia's husband definitely acts the part too.  He's close to everyone but also gets annoyed easily at his inlaws.  They all seemed so real.  I also adored the constable of the small town.  Comic relief at its best!  I was laughing out loud while reading this at work.

The ghost story/mystery was at times creepy, which I loved.  I thought the characters did a good job of solving it.  Heyer makes them and the situation so believable.  At first, they shrug it off as nothing but an old house creaking, as I would do.  But as things progress, they can't help but start wondering.

So favorite quotes:

Page 44: But an afternoon spent by the trout stream did much to restore their spirits.  The fish were rising well, and the weather conditions were ideal.

Page 144: "Not quite," Charles said.  "We know there is something queer about this house.  I don't want to lay undue stress on all that has happened, but on the other hand I don't want to run to the other extreme of pooh-poohing undoubtedly odd proceedings."  (I wish people still used that phrase-"pooh-poohing".  It is awesome.)

Page 246: Margaret reflected gloomily on the manifold failings of the male sex, and decided that the worst of these was the appallingly blunt questions men asked.


Title: Footsteps in the Dark
Author: Georgette Heyer
Date of Publication: My copy is 2010, originally in 1932
Number of Pages: 347
Genre: Fiction, mystery
Source: Personal Copy

Review: Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn

Set in Victorian London, Silent in the Grave is the perfect murder mystery for a cold night by the fireplace.  Or no fireplace, if your mom is like mine and hates the thought of a draft blowing smoke all through the house....Lady Julia Grey is not really all that shocked when her husband falls ill with a seizure and dies.  He does, after all, have a heart condition.  She doesn't even faulter when a man who claims to have worked for her husband comes forward and tries to warn her that her husband may have been murdered.  She shoos Brisbane away and thinks nothing more of the subject until months later when she finds a strange note in her late husband's desk.  Together, she and Brisbane set out to find her husband's killer, even if it means opening up secrets about an unhappy marriage and why it ended the way it did.

I loved Silent in the Grave.  I mean, strong female main character, great writing, Victorian England.  Oh, and also the mysterious Br. Brisbane, who himself has a secret he's trying to keep hidden.

Julia was a very compelling character.  In the beginning of the book, she is as her last name says-Grey.  She is living in the shadow of an unhappy marriage to a man she once loved but turned out to be a complete stranger.  Julia, however, slowly comes into her own identity and by the end is pretty much bursting with color.  It's not so much that she's changed, it's more that she's letting out the real Juilia that was pent up inside for so long.  I'm excited that this is the first book in a series because it's going to be interesting to see how Julia grows as a person. 

The mystery of the murder is in itself very intriguing and well done.  In the beginning of the investigation, Julia treats it like a game, despite Brisane's (who actually is a private detective) warnings that they may be dealing with a very dangerous person.  As the mystery deepens and they get closer to the truth, Julia realizes that her life really may be in danger.  As a reader, my feelings where similar to Julia's.  Oh, the murder happened a year ago, this won't be bad.  But as the book went on I kept thinking "OMG something bad is going to happen!"

The end of the book leaves a lot of questions unanwers, but in a good way.  The reader is left thinking about certain things, like what Julia will decide to do with her life now, or what else Brisbane might be hiding, and the awkward moments between Julia and Brisbane because of their growing attraction to each other.  I'm excited to read the next book because I'm sure a bit more will be uncovered in it.

Title: Silent in the Grave
Author: Deanna Raybourn
Date of Publication: 2007
Number of Pages: 512
Genre: Historical Fiction
Source: Personal copy

Review: The ABC Murders by Agatha Christie

Hercule Poirot is enjoying retired life when he receives a startling letter in the mail.  It says that there will be a murder in Andover on a specific date, and it's signed "ABC."  The murder happens, and soon Poirot and Scotland Yard are looking for a serial killer who kills in alphabetical order.  This is his toughest case yet, and he hates that he knows more murders are coming yet cannot stop them.

I liked The ABC Murders but it wasn't as gripping as Murder on the Orient Express.  The beginning was a bit slow for me and it took a while to get into.  I think part of it was the narration.  The book is narrated by Poirot's old friend Hastings, who is in town visiting.  I liked Hastings as a character, but he just didn't do it for me as narrator. 

Once the murders and investigations got underway though, I was sucked in.  Numerous characters are introduced-relatives and friends of the victims-and Poirot uses them to help catch the culprit.

Saying much more would ruin the story, but let me just say that Poirot is just as smart and cunning in this as in Murder on the Orient Express.  I really love him as a character and felt for him when he was down and out about not having any clues.  The ending of The ABC Murders is, in true Agatha Christie fashion, shocking and unexpected.  Although I didn't like it as much as my first Poirot book, it was still a great read and I look forward to more Poirot in the future.

Title: The ABC Murders
Author: Agatha Christie
Date of Publication: 1936 (my copy is from the 1970s)
Number of Pages: 272
Genre: Fiction, Mystery
Source: Library

Review: Lord of the Far Island by Victoria Holt

Ellen Kellaway has lived her whole life through the charity of others and her aunt never lets her forget it.  Her mother is dead and she hasn't seen her father since she was a baby.  Ellen is spunky, smart, and talkative, so when she realizes that she's going to be forced to be a governess, she feels like her freedom is running out.  Then as luck would have it, she finds a way out through marriage to a wealthy young man she has known all her life.  However, Ellen starts to feel doubtful about her choice in a husband.  Then Ellen gets a letter from her father's family.  They want her to come live with them on a remote island off of England's coast.  Ellen jumps at the chance.  Once there though, she can't shake the feeling that something terrible is going to happen.  Someone wants her dead, but who?

While I enjoyed the first Victoria Holt novel I read, The Bride of Pendorric, I really enjoyed Lord of the Far Island.  I got into the story right away and read it quickly.  I felt that the relationship that Ellen developes in this book is so much more believable than Favel's relationship with Roc.  She knows the man for a while and can really develope feelings for him.  It feels more real.  The story was a bit predictable and ran a bit like the Pendorric book, but the development of the relationship as well as the main character herself made the story so much better.  This story, and even its ending, seemed so much more natural.  I also prefered Ellen over Favel.  She is more likeable.  She doesn't just fall in love with the first man who swoons over her.  Ellen is intelligent, witty, and opinionated, and likes it to be known.  She is very adventurous and can stand on her own two feet.  My kind of gal if you know what I mean.  I liked Favel in the Pendorric book, but she got on my nerves at times because of her dependence on her husband.

I loved the characters and the setting.  Holt is able to mesh a scary gothic-esque setting with a beautiful setting.  Ellen loves the house and the island because of its beauty but it can also seem foreboding at times because of its isolation.  The characters were extremely well written.  Slack was my personal favorite.  The villagers call him "dumb", but he is so kind and actually very smart.  He is brilliant with birds and soon becomes a close friend of Ellen.  Holt makes certain characters suspicious to both Ellen and the reader because of subtle little details.  The way a person responds to a question or comment, or certain circumstances that are hinted at before something bad happens, makes you start suspecting characters that you thought were good.  Unlike the Pendorric book, I had no idea in Lord of the Far Island what was going on or who was up to no good.  Bride of Pendorric was suspenseful, but this book was even more so. 

I definitely recommend this book.  If you read the Pendorric book and weren't super fond of it, you should read Lord of the Far Island.  It can be predictable if you've read the other one, but not so predictable that you can't enjoy it and guess what's going to happen. 

And now some favorite quotes to showcase Victoria Holt's fabulous writing:
Page 40: I tried not to think about it, but my habit of thrusting aside the unpleasant and deluding myself into the belief that it would never happen was not quite so successful as usual.
Page 156: When a house has stood for seven hundred years much must have happened within its walls.  If those stones could speak what tales they would have to tell!  And in houses such as this there would have been gaiety and sorrow, comedy and tragedy.  I have the feeling sometimes that these emotions have been captured and held within stone walls and that there are times when they cannot keep them secret.

Title: Lord of the Far Island
Author: Victoria Holt
Date of Publication: 1975 (original)
Number of Pages: 336
Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Romance
Source: Personal Copy

Review: Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

Murder on the Orient Express is a gripping murder mystery with a surprising ending.  Belgian detective Hercule Poirot is traveling by train through Europe.  It is snowing hard, and the train has to stop on the tracks for a few days in the middle of nowhere until it can get past the snow.  While stopped, a gruesome murder takes place.  Who stabbed wealthy American Mr. Ratchett twelve times?  It has to be someone in the same car, yet no witnesses have come forward.  Poirot takes it upon himself to solve the murder and interviews and studies all of the passengers.  Will he catch the murderer?

I really enjoyed Murder on the Orient Express.  It's been years since I've read anything by Agatha Christie, and this was my first Poirot story.  I couldn't put the book down because I was so engrossed.  I was worried when I picked it up that I might get bored.  After all, the entire story takes place on a train.  However, Poirot is such an intriguing character and asks the suspects really interesting questions.  I could not for the life of me discover who murdered Mr. Ratchett until Poirot revealed it.

I really love Christie's writing.  I love a good mystery and crime novel, but often I find that the story undermines the writing.  I can let this slide sometimes if the story is really awesome, but thankfully Christie didn't allow that to happen.  Even though the story is really what makes the book, the writing is excellent and isn't just tossed on the wayside.

Agatha Christie really is one of a kind.  I've never read a story like hers by another author.  She is able to weave a web of characters, lies, and half-truths that create the ultimate murder mystery.  Murder on the Orient Express was genius in my opinion and I adore Poirot.  I'll be reviewing another Poirot mystery in a few weeks.  I can't wait to read more from the queen of murder mysteries :)

Title: Murder on the Orient Express
Author: Agatha Christie
Date of Publication: First Publication was 1934, my copy is 2011
Number of Pages: 315
Genre: Fiction, Mystery
Source: Personal Copy

Review: The House on Tradd Street

The House on Tradd Street by Karen White is a fun, chick lit-esque ghost story/mystery set in Charleston, South Carolina, one of my most favorite places ever!  (for numerous reasons.  Though my family is probably recalling as they read this my "Mr. Hottie" chronicles....but that's a whole nother story and it's kind of too embarrassing to share on the internet.  But I digress....)  Melanie Middleton is a middle-aged woman who has a very successful career as a realtor.  Her specialty-old historic houses.  So when she suddenly inherits an old house with a ton of history on Tradd Street, you'd except her to be ecstatic.  But there's a catch.  Melanie has the unique ability to see ghosts, and she doesn't like it at all.  That's why, while she sells beautiful old homes, she prefers to live in a brand new, plain white condo.  With her inheritance, she must restore and live in the old house for at least one year, and she's not happy about the ghosts she keeps seeing in it.  With the help of historical real-life mysteries writer Jack Trenholm, Melanie reluctantly starts to uncover the house's secrets.  One major problem-one of the home's ghosts doesn't want her digging around in the past.  What will Melanie uncover?

I truly loved The House on Tradd Street.  It's such a fun book.  It's light-hearted yet serious at the same time.  This was my first experience with Karen White, and I really enjoyed it.  I'm really picky about my ghost stories, but this one was perfect.  The ghosts were mysterious and creepy, but no so involved in the story that they stopped acting like ghosts.  I also enjoyed Melanie's psychic abilities.  She really hates seeing ghosts, but sees them so often that it's normal to her.

Melanie herself was a really likeable character.  She can be a complete bitch and is extremely stupid at times, but she's also very insecure and afraid to face her own emotions.  She is almost 40 but acs like a child when she's with her parents because of the tension between them.  I really loved how Melanie kept denying to herself her feelings for Jack.  All of this made Melanie seem real.  Her friends were all great too, and they were very funny.

One thing that annoyed me (in a good way though-not in a "OMG I need to stop reading this book" kind of way) was Melanie's relationship with the mysterious Marc Longo.  He is the grandson of Joseph Longo, who the former owner of the house on Tradd supposedly ran off with.  But there's much more to that story.  Priceless diamonds and money problems are involved, and I kow Melanie was smarter than she acted, but I think she just wanted to make Jack jealous.  I kept thinking, and so did Jack, that Marc was up to something, and Melanie just would not believe it.

I highly recommend The House on Tradd Street.  Even though it deals with ghosts and an old mystery, it feels like it's a really story that could happen to any of us.  I think that's because the characters all seem so real and the setting is in a place I'm familiar with and love.  It's a heartwarming story about timeless love, loss, and uncovering the truth.  A great book to bring on vacation or read in a hammock, you won't want to put it down.  I can't wait to read the next book with Melanie Middleton, which also takes place in Charlston, The Girl on Legare Street. 

Title: The House on Tradd Street
Author: Karen White
Date of Publication: 2008
Number of Pages: 352
Genre: Fiction
Source: Personal Copy

Review: Pray for Silence by Linda Castillo

Pray for Silence is the second novel Linda Castillo has written with character Chief of Police Kate Burkholder as the main character.  Not much happens in the small community of Painters Mill, where many inhabitants are Amish.  Kate and her colleagues are shocked when they find a whole Amish family gruesomely murdered in their own home.  Why were they murdered?  And what secrets did the family have that could have led to their deaths?  Kate puts herself in harm's way to find the person who committed the heinous crime, and she is joined by State Agent John Tomasetti, her boyfriend who has some problems of his own to deal with.

I picked up Pray for Silence thinking it would be a nice no-brainer to read during the semester.  I figured it was a murder mystery, and it couldn't be that intense, right?  Wrong!  The book was fast-paced and extremely gruesome, and it kept me wanting to read more.  Surprisingly, it took me almost the whole book to figure out who the killer was, and I loved all the new suspects that kept popping up.

I really loved Kate and her ability to relate so well with the victims.  As a cop, she tries not to because it often makes things too emotional.  As she is the narrator though, readers get a look inside her head.  Growing up Amish heself and going through much of what one of the dead girls went through, Kate is determined to find the killer, even if she acts really stupid and risks her life to do so.

I thought Castillo did the whole Amish thing quite nicely.  I usually shy away from books about the Amish because they often seem kind of cheesy and fake.  This novel was different.  Perhaps it's because Kate herself talked about the Amish like it's a normal thing.  I'm not sure, but I liked it.

Castillo definitely knows how to write a good murder mystery.  This was definitely not what I expected, but in a good way.  Like I said above, I didn't figure out who the murderer was until the end, and I usually can guess long before then.  Another thing I loved is that you don't need to read the first Kate Burkholder book, Sworn to Silence, before reading this one.  There was enough background info given in this one that I knew what was happening, and it didn't have a super long summary of the first book in the first chapter, which was great because that can get annoying.

All in all, a great entertaining read.  Just don't pick it up if you're weak in the stomach!  I plan on reading Sworn to Silence soon!

Title: Pray for Silence
Author: Linda Castillo
Date of Publication: 2010
Number of Pages: 320
Genre: Fiction, murder mystery
Source: Personal Copy

Review: A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (aka I love me some Sherlock Holmes)

I've always had a thing for Sherlock Holmes.  I chalk it up to Basil Rathbone and his dreamy good looks and awesome acting.  A Study in Scarlet was my first ever attempt at reading a Sherlock Holmes story, because up until I read it, I'd only seen movies!  (the best are with Rathbone, but I was surprised by how much I adored the newish Holmes movie that came out a few years ago with Robert Downy Jr.)

A Study in Scarlet is the first Holmes mystery, and it's actually the story where Holmes and Watson first met.  I loved reading about their introduction and their first few weeks as roommates, and about how fascinated Watson was by Holmes' capability of deduction.  Holmes is asked by the police to help them solve a murder.  The body seems to be unmarked, and is in a vacant building with a word written on a wall in blood.  Holmes is happy to help, though he's sure Scotland Yard will take all the credit when he solves the case.  Holmes invites Watson to come along, and here we have their case together!  After a second body is found, the police are a bit flustered, but Holmes presses on in his search for the murderer.

I loved A Study in Scarlet!  The story was great, and while it did have its flaws, it was very entertaining.  I was surprised by how similar Holmes and Watson were in this book compared to movies I've seen.  It's nice to see that the films portrayed them so accurately.  Sherlock Holmes is definitely a brooder.  He is always sitting alone, lost in his thoughts.  He's also very smart and notices the tiniest of details, which I'm sure came in handy back before forensic science was around to help solve crimes.  Watson is shocked when they are first introduced and Holmes knows right away that he fought in Afghanistan.  A little later in the book, Holmes explains:

Page 18: "You appeared to be surprised when I told you, on our first meeting, that you had come from Afghanistan."
"You were told, no doubt."
"Nothing of the sort.  I knew you came from Afghanistan..........The train of reasoning ran, 'Here is a gentleman of a medical type, but with the air of a military man.  Clearly an army doctor then.  He has just come from the tropics, for his face is dark, and that is not the natural tint of his skin, for his wrists are fair.  He has undergone hardship and sickness, as his haggard face says clearly.  His left arm has been injured.  He holds it in a stiff and unnatural manner.  Where in the tropics could an English doctor have seen much hardship and got his arm wounded?  Clearly, in Afghanistan.'"

Part 2 of the story was slow and boring at first.  It totally leaves Holmes, Watson, and England, and you are suddenly in Utah.  I was confused until I realized that this part was explaining everything that led up to the murders.  After the scene was set and things got rolling, that part became really interesting, and I couldn't wait to find out how this all came to be.

As I mentioned above, Sherlock Holmes has a knack for details.  It helped him solve these murders when the police detectives were too busy jumping to conclusions.  What I also really enjoyed about this is how Holmes, upon making a discovery, would keep it to himself.  Sometimes he remarked to the police or to Watson about a small clue he'd found, but he always waited to explain himself.  In the end, Holmes new how everything had happened long before the police.

I liked the author's writing style because it went well with Holmes' personality.  There were a few factual errors, which were pointed out in footnotes by the editor, but they didn't interfere with the story or its entertainment value.  I read parts of the intro, which in my Barnes and Noble Classics edition is by Kyle Freeman.  It has a lot of interesting details about people in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's life that he may have based his characters off of.  Watson, many believe, is Doyle himself, while Holmes may be a mixture of people, including one of the author's former teachers.

If you love mysteries or are a fan of the Sherlock Holmes movies, I think you'll love this story.

Title: A Study in Scarlet
Author: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Date of Publication: 1887 original, my Barnes and Noble Classics edition is from 2003
Number of Pages: 96
Genre: Fiction
Source: Personal Copy

Review: The Curse of the Spellmans

Lisa Lutz has charmed me again with Curse of the Spellmans, the sequel to one of my favorite reads ever, The Spellman Files.  In this book, main character Izzy Spellman has gotten herself into deep water.  She is a private investigator in a family with a private investigating business.  Her problem?  She can't seem to keep herself out of jail.  One more arrest and she could lose her P.I. license.  But Izzy isn't about to stop snooping on her ex-boyfriend turned possible murderer.  She'll do whatever it takes to get to the truth.  This witty and funny novel is fast-paced and will keep you laughing from beginning to end.

I was so excited when I saw this book for super duper cheap at bookcloseouts.com in November, and I had to buy it.  I read the first book years ago when a book-of-the-month club my mom is in sent her the wrong book.  She decided to keep it, and I read it and fell in love with the Spellman family.  They are a quirky bunch, each with a very distinct personality.  Izzy, the narrator, has always been my favorite character for her wit and major attitude problems.

One of the things I love about this book (and the first one as well) is its format.  Because Izzy is a P.I., the whole book is pretty much written like a long case file.  I especially love the footnotes at the bottom of the pages, where Izzy explains stories, TV shows, and family members.  It's such a unique (and often super funny) way of telling a story, and Lisa Lutz does it perfectly.  Another thing I really appreciate is Izzy's obsession with an old TV show called Get Smart.  I haven't had the honor of seeing it yet, but I myself am obsessed with a TV show from around the same time period called The Man From U.N.C.L.E.  In The Spellman Files (book 1), Izzy was constantly referencing Get Smart episodes.  Curse of the Spellmans doesn't refer to it as much, but it does include a lot of hilarious scenes (and footnotes!) about the TV show Dr. Who, which I've never seen but am now very compelled to.

While reading book 2, I loved examining how the characters have grown and developed since book 1.  They are all still as funny as ever, but in this book I really feel like I know them.  They are also very real because they have very real faults, just like you and me (because *gasp* even the best of us are not perfect!).  One of my favorite things in Curse of the Spellmans was the relationship between Rae (Izzy's 15 year old little sister) and Henry (a friend of Izzy's who is a 40 something year old detective).  Rae for some reason thinks Henry is her best friend and is constantly at his office and apartment.  Henry should be really annoyed, but he actually turns their meetings into something constructive.  He makes Rae do her homework and helps her study, something her family could never get her to do.  Their relationship is so sweet and so well developed, and I love it because it's so innocent.  They really are just friends, and it's funny when Rae's teachers just can't comprehend that.  I also love how confused Izzy got over the situation at times.  Some chapters are supposed to be transcripts from recordings she makes of Rae and Henry's conversations (she is of course a P.I. and also investigating her weird family members), and those chapters had me laughing really hard.  Rae and Henry are so cute together.

Here is a passage about the Rae-Henry relationship:
Pages 24-25: (Izzy is narrating) The primary conflict between Henry and my sister was how they should go about defining their relationship-not to each other, but to other people.  The first time this problem arose was when Henry's boss, Lieutenant Osborn, entered Stone's office shortly after Rae's arrival.
"Henry," the lieutenant said pleasantly, "is this nice young lady an informant?"
To which Rae, genuinely flattered, replied, "No.  We're just good friends."
The lieutenant gave Inspector Stone a double-take, handed him a case file, and left the office with a cordial nod of the head.
"In the future, Rae, it's probably best if you don't refer to me as your friend."
"But we are friends, right?"
"I guess so," Stone reluctantly replied, unable to come up with another definition.  "But just don't say it out loud."

This book was great.  Because of it's format, it's a super quick read.  I read it in one weekend when I was sick with a nasty cold and sore throat.  I highly recommend it to anyone who loves funny books, a good mystery, and seriously witty and sarcastic characters.  I'm super psyched that there are two other books in the series out now!  I really, really enjoyed Curse of the Spellmans!

A fave quote:
Page 84: (Izzy, on her arrests for snooping on her very suspicious-looking ex-boyfriend) "I have many flaws, but I suppose the only one that truely damages my life is that I believe all questions have answers and I believe that I am entitled to those answers."

Title: Curse of the Spellmans
Author: Lisa Lutz
Date of Publication: 2009 for paperback edition
Number of Pages: 480
Genre: Fiction
Source: Personal Copy

Review: Bride of Pendorric by Victoria Holt

Bride of Pendorric is one of those classic romantic suspense novels that my mom and grandma read years ago and loved.  I love these kinds of books.  I really, really do.  More for the entertainment value that the writing.  These books to me are very comforting, much in the same way I love and reread Jamaica Inn by Daphne DuMaurier whenever I need a no-brainer read and am in a downer mood. 

This is the story of Favel, an English girl who has spent her life (except for some years in school) on an island near Italy.  Her father is an artist.  Her mother died a few years ago and Favel has taken her place ever since.  The family isn't doing well financially.  The a handsome, mysterious man comes to the island and takes an interest not only in her father's artwork, but in Favel herself.  Soon, they are married.  Right before Roc Pendorric and Favel are to leave for Cornwall, English, where the family estate is located, Favel's father dies.  She is devastated, and a little bit nervous about the weird events surrounding his death.  When Favel arrives at Pendorric, she is met by an eccentric but loving family.  Soon though, weird things start happening.  Is the story about the Pendorric ghost true?  And if so, is she the next Pendorric bride to fall victim to the famly curse?  As her new husband becomes more and more distant and creepier things start to happen, Favel realizes that her life is in danger.  Someone is trying to kill her, and not a ghost. 

For pure entertainment value this book is pretty awesome.  It had me captivated through most of it, though in the beginning I was really annoyed with how quickly Favel was swept off her feet and suddenly in love with Roc.  While it's nice to daydream about, I don't really like the whol idea of falling in love as soon as you set eyes on someone and marrying them.  Because seriously, you don't know them.  Heck I've been with Boyfriend for 4 years now and I can't fathom marrying him yet.  So that part of it was kind of annoying, but the rest was great.  The writing was pretty good too.  The descriptions of the Pendorric estate and the moors were beautiful and really thorough.  I could easily imagine all the locations in this story because of Holt's descriptions.

As for the story itself, it was a lot of fun to guess who the ghost really is.  I thought for a long time that is was one certain person (who I shall not name because I don't want to give things away), and then I thought, "hmm, maybe it's this other person.."  And then all of a sudden it all came together, and I knew who it was before Favel did and I was like, "Favel!  This person is trying to kill you!!". It was intense towards the end, let me tell you.

I do wish that I had been warned about the twin stuff in the book.  I have a twin sis and I try not to read anything where one twin is dead.  However, this book actually is an exception to that rule because of the great way that they were portrayed.  The living sister was so sentimental about her dead twin and for some reason because of it I felt okay with it. 

Despite a few flaws (or maybe just my feminist beliefs on relationships and marriage, lol), I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the other book I have by Victoria Holt soon.  I had a few qualms with the very end of the story, but if I explain them, I'll give a lot away.  If you want to chat about it, I'm on Twitter ;)



Title: Bride of Pendorric
Author: Victoria Holt
Date of Publication: 1963 (original)
Number of Pages: 336
Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Romance
Source: Personal Copy

The Anatomy of Ghosts-You Just Need to Read It!!

Yes that's right.  I'm telling you what to do ;)  This isn't my actual review of The Anatomy of Ghosts (that will be up in a few days).  This is just my OMGIJUSTFINISHEDITANDITSAWESOME!! post.  For real.

This is soooo up high on my favorite books read in 2010 list!  I already posted that list a few days ago because I didn't think I'd have the time to finish anymore books this year, but....I was up until the wee hours of the morning yesterday (er....this morning..) finishing The Anatomy of Ghosts.  And it is AWESOME.  It is a MUST-READ.  It is FABULOUS.  I think it comes out January 21st or something like that.  Go read it, because it's possibly my favorite book of 2010 (which is funny because it's actually not out until 2011....).

Just read it.  It's called The Anatomy of Ghosts, and it's by Andrew Taylor.