The Tudor Conspiracy ~ C.W. Gortner

I expect that few could argue that Henry VIII's extensive efforts for a male heir did nothing for the stability of England upon his son's passing. This along with notions that women could not possibly make good leaders affected politics in Europe on nearly the same scale as William the Bastard's conquest of the isle. Only instead of having the nobility marry off their daughters to strengthen ties, the continental Kings were looking to their sons to impress a Queen long enough that she would give her hand and eventually the reins to her country. Ultimately, women proved themselves up to the task by maintaining power but at great sacrifice.

In the second instalment of his Spymaster Chronicles, Gortner has the wizened Prescott returning to Mary's court in hopes of saving Elizabeth from making a foolish move against her sister. With a palace filled with suspicious (and suspicious looking) Spaniards, attractive noble women, and the murder of a friend conspiring to distract him from his task, Prescott's biggest challenge is still his boss, the independent-minded Elizabeth.

As Prescott works toward his goal, the reader is reacquainted with some of the characters in the previous novel including the Dudleys, the dangers of court life as well as those lingering beyond the palace gates, and is introduced to a whole new host of powerful decision makers, spies and ways to torture and kill them. In the previous novel I sometimes felt a little out of the story - that it was perhaps not descriptive enough, or that I just couldn't envision what Gortner was trying to paint for the reader. I'm pleased to say that this time, I could see the River Thames iced over and hear the galloping of horses.

While I had no problem conceptualising a spy novel in Tudor England, I wasn't sure how this historical James Bond could gain access to the Royal courts again. The author had created an entry in the last novel that I had not thought of, but I do not see how he will accomplish it next time. As a result of this clever ploy, I am looking forward to seeing what mess Gortner has Bess drop Prescott into and how the poor spy manages to extricate himself.

Review originally appeared on the now defunct Paternoster Row Legacy blog.

Robert B. Parker's Ironhorse ~ Robert Knott

Whenever my mates or family members are handed a box of second-hand books they set aside the westerns for me. Apparently, I am the only person they (and I) know who reads them. They were the first historical fictions that I'd ever read and I'm still drawn to the wild, expansive scenery and experiencing the growth of settlements into, villages, into towns which finally become cities. The thing that truly intrigues me most are notions of, and distinctions between law and justice, and how neither is really down to an agreed set of moral or ethical values.

Robert B. Parker wrote two series that I enjoyed tremendously; Spencer and Virgil Cole & Everett Hitch. The former is a hardboiled gumshoe in Boston, the latter, a western series with two no-nonsense characters charged with keeping law and order. When Parker died in 2010 and his completed forth instalment was published posthumously I assumed that Virgil and Everett had been written off into the sunset. However, Robert Knott who co-wrote the film adaptation of the first book in this series Appaloosa was enlisted by the Parker family to carry the torch.

Sometimes I feel as though when an author has left this mortal coil, his or her characters have as well. However, there are some good examples of where another is able to capture the essence of the those characters and the late authors' phrasing, intent and drama. Robert Knott falls within this group. I was worried that Cole and Hitch would change, become more verbose or more super-human, but Knott gratefully kept the two as sensible and contained as the late Parker had.

Deciding to return home via train, giving their horses a rest, the two protagonists unexpectedly find themselves defending the passengers against a gang of robbers mid-heist. The main problem is that these robbers happen to be former nemeses of Coles' who've all joined forces, including Bloody Bob Brandice who was thought to have been killed by Cole twelve years before. As they seek out the miscreants, they discover the magnitude of damage the theft would cause for the future of country and who it would empower all the while Cole works through his domestic troubles.

Virgil and Everett's relationship is still relaxed even with the odd tense moment. Their complete trust in each other and the knowledge of each other's skills and weaknesses is still powerful and times quite comical, as they have always been. The seemingly casual attitude toward danger also has not changed. My only criticism is the lack of times Cole defers to Hitch regarding word selection during a banter with a 'baddie'. I had always found those moments realistic, an example of how when focused on some particular task, the mind might not be able to process what it should already know. I do hope that this is not the end of Virgil and Everett, and would not hesitate to read another should Knott pen it.

Review originally appeared on the now defunct Paternoster Row Legacy blog.

Crossing The Wire: One Woman's Unlikely Journey To The Afghan War, And Her Surprising Revelations About The Dangers We Face ~ AnnaMaria Cardinalli

The Human Terrain System is group of individuals hired by the United States Army. I include their definition here to ensure the best understanding possible.
"The Human Terrain System develops, trains, and integrates a social science based research and analysis capability to support operationally relevant decision-making, to develop a knowledge base, and to enable sociocultural understanding across the operational environment."

The Human Terrain System (HTS) has piqued my interest for several reasons since its inception. I was in my second year of sitting anthropology and we debated the topic twice in one my classes. The first time in terms of ethics (i.e. an institution with strong biases hiring people who should be unbiased to collect and analyse cultural data), the second time in terms of safety for the social scientists, the communities being analysed, the military and the insurgents. We knew that the debates were flawed as we only had a portion of the information needed to comprehensively argue any point. What we had were journalistic accounts and opinion pieces, and our own thoughts on ethics and biases. What we were missing were the thoughts and opinions from members of the HTS and members of the communities being researched. I don't know if there are any English offerings about the latter, but this book deals with the former.

Set mostly in a diary format, with narratives of the author's pre-HTS history, AnnaMaria Cardinalli gives us a glimpse of what being a female member of the HTS was like, particularly after a member had succumbed to burn injuries after being doused with petrol and set alight. Cardinalli begins by explaining that one of the motivations for writing the book was to clarify information she felt was either misrepresented or taken out context by the press and some government institutions. What she ultimately discovers is that when wanting to dominate, a society will redefine acts (in this case sexual) and abuses to justify the subjugation of women and the young.

While it takes a while to get to her conclusions, she is able to relate nearly all of her own experiences to her revelations. This might seem odd initially, but how women are treated in male dominated areas within Western societies (i.e. the military, media and within the law) are not so far from those she uncovered in Afghanistan. I'm not sure if she meant to actually note this implicitly or if it's accidental, but while the dangers are couched as a way of understanding the cultural situation in parts of Afghanistan, it seems quite the allegorical statement for our own part of the world.

I didn't always agree with some of her opinions on the justifications for the HTS, but her well balanced arguments and documented conclusions are hard to argue. For that reason, I'm thankful for having been given the opportunity to review Cardinalli's work, and I recommend it to anyone who is looking for information on gender issues generally, but of parts of Afghanistan specifically, or for those seeking the perspective of a member from the Human Terrain System.

This is the part where I disclose that I was awarded a copy of this e-version of the novel by the publisher through Netgalley.

Review originally appeared on the now defunct Paternoster Row Legacy blog.

Ratcatcher ~ James McGee

Ever since I saw a theatrical production of Oliver Twist, in an outdoor theatre of an evening in the dead of winter, when I was 6 or 7 years old, I've been fascinated by the people fully immersed in the underground economy because of characters like Dodger, Fagan, Sikes, Nancy and their nemeses - the Bow Street Runners. I wanted to meet these people who roamed in the alleys of my city, until the librarian tried very hard not to laugh when telling me that Pentonville, Newgate and Islington were in the other London. Though completely deflated regarding my inability to meet with these people it did not dissuade me from my love affair with The Artful Dodger, Dickens and the men of the law.

With the exception of a couple of online games, I did not realise there were fictions about the Bow Street Runners, therefore, when it appeared in a group read monthly poll a while back I was beyond excited. It didn't win, but I made sure to add the Matthew Hawkwood character to my reading list anyway.

What I like about McGee's characters is that they have strong convictions and stand by them. Sometimes an author will define a character as having particular characteristics but when challenged, it becomes muddled. McGee doesn't do that. That isn't to say that there aren't weaknesses. I truly enjoy Matthew Hawkwood as a person generally; but I'm not sure how an intelligent man with such obvious physical talents ends up needing to be rescued whenever he gets into a sticky spot. I fail to understand how these characters survive. I expect that this was by design, as generally speaking, Bow Street Runners were not known to have partners. Usually there were about six of them working for the magistrate and that was it. What McGee has done is made room for Hawkwood to have a partner handy who he trusts and can depend upon. I am hoping that Hawkwood is able to get himself out of most future scrapes in future instalments.

The story itself is quite interesting with Napoleon and his interest in the East and tapping into that American revolutionary spirit all the while giving Wellington nothing but grief. As a result Hawkwood is more of an early incarnation of MI5 than a Runner. The novel features the required elements for a good detective mystery with treachery and deception, accidents and street urchins along with everything else one expects from 19th century London, with the added benefit of new naval technology. I also found that the author was able to impress how someone not from The Rookery might have felt, being that it's an obvious location for any number of shady goings-on, every corner fraught with danger, creating a sense of urgency and fear. For that, I'll be reading the next in the series.

Review originally appeared on the now defunct Paternoster Row Legacy blog.

Lady Macbeth: On The Couch ~ Alma Bond

While I have seen a few incarnations of "That Scottish Play" by Shakespeare I never studied it. I am, however, relatively well informed about the historical Macbeth and family. There is an important distinction here, that I probably should have paid attention to when offering to read this book at Netgalley. In my defence, I never expected my name to be selected.

This story is Alma Bond's narrative of the Lady Macbeth as is characterised by William Shakespeare. It is crucially important to remember this fact when reading the text, particularly for anyone who reads a considerable amount of historical fiction and is less enamoured by The Bard. It certainly limits the amount of nitpicking about anachronisms and the like. Whether the same is true for the Shakespearian boffins I cannot say.

Written from Lady Macbeth's perspective, the story begins when she is still in her childhood, still living with her father. I quite like this bit, it felt natural and the narrative flowed nicely and I felt I was reading a book. At this stage I forgot that I was not reading an historical fiction per se, but it was done with such confidence that it had the feel of having been a heavily researched story. Then the narrative changes a bit, and one realises that the story is now required to fit into a familiar tale. Therefore, while the parts prior to her marriage to Macbeth seem to serve the reader, the rest of the book serve the play. As a lover of historical fiction I felt the loss of connection with immediate effect.

The 'historical fiction' portion of the tale is about a woman growing up with dreams and goals, and a young lady wanting what young girls generally want, an attractive, strong husband. The 'play' portion is mostly about a young woman (though she would still be considered a teen in our world) who is whinging about her unmanly husband because he's hedging about taking monarchical matters into his own hands. I'm sure there is a psychological term for this about-face in character, and while I connected with Bond's Lady, I felt alienated from Shakespeare's. Which is unfortunate, because I was really enjoying the read. I wonder if the opposite is true of those who studied the play.

All this makes me wonder if perhaps I'm not the right audience for this book. Although, I think I am supposed to be, because had the constraints of the play not existed, I think it would have been quite a unique and sympathetic approach to explaining Lady Macbeth and might have gone a long way to understanding why she perhaps should not be so vilified. I believe that Bond's skills lie in explaining the conditions of time and place fill, as well as in creating an understanding of a young woman's motivations in such a game of kings - all things that I think Shakespeare missed. Though, in the Bard's defence - he was writing the story for a very different purpose.

I do have one point of contention that I need I cannot fail to mention. Despite understanding that this story is based on a play, but there is no reason that anyone should be wearing an ocelot anything during Macbeth's reign. Ocelots are from Central and South America - lands that were not yet 'discovered', nor was there yet any trade with them in the 11th Century. They would have; however, likely been something of high status in The Bard's time, so if he included clothing made of ocelots and Bond is following this, then I withdraw my objection.

Review originally appeared on the now defunct Paternoster Row Legacy blog.

Rivka's War ~ Marilyn Oser

There are books about young women coming of age during times of unrest. There are even novels about Jewish girls growing up in infernal locales. There are tales about Jews in Russia. There are books about Jews at war. There may even be books about Jews in the military during World War I (WWI). Possibly some of Jews during the Revolution in Russia as well. What is rare is a combination of all these things: a Jewish teenager woman enlists in the Russian military during WWI, fighting both on the front and against other Russians while political parties gain supremacy over the Tsar and his family.



Growing up in a small village in Russia, Rivka is a young woman with a yearning for adventure but is culturally limited in choices for her future, while her brother chooses academic pursuits rather than exploring how far the less rigid strictures of society might take him. Frustrated and depressed by what life has to offer her, Rivka is ecstatic when she is sent to visit her brother studying in Petrograd.

Almost immediately she meets with two women who will be the biggest influences on the rest of her life. Both encourage her to shed the notions that woman and especially Jewish women, cannot fight for themselves or their country. Coping with the challenges of becoming a soldier and the cultural differences existing between all the other fighting women, Rivka constantly questions whether she has found her calling and whether she should continue with her adventures.

Oser tells a compelling and empathetic story about a young woman struggling and manoeuvering within a landscape where prejudices and political sentiments change at the whim of the person speaking loudest. As we follow the protagonist through her self-doubt and triumphs we realise that self-determination, whether in times of conflict or not, is achieved through the trials and tribulations of every day life, and that finding 'home' is a desire for us all, regardless of what we do in life.

My only criticism is the sense of time and this has perhaps more to do with me than the author, but I felt that for Rivka time was 'long', even when it was only a few months or so. This story takes place over a period of about four years, but there were times where I felt like there decades between events, only to realise that WWI and the Russian Revolution were still each in their infancy. However, Rivka is quite young and I seem to recall time going slowly when I wanted something desperately, and quite quickly in those wondrous moments.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from NetGalley

Review originally appeared on the now defunct Paternoster Row Legacy blog.

The Tudor Secret ~ C.W. Gortner

If anyone were to ask me if I felt there ever was a period, prior to the Cold War that was rife with espionage, I would immediately respond with: The Tudors, especially around the time of Henry VIII and his offspring. This isn't to suggest other periods or families in and out of England weren't affected by secret passageways meetings, just that it seems there wasn't a day with this lot that didn't involve some sort of intrigue. There was plenty of reasons for it: shifts in religion, including the head of the church; shifts in hereditary rights; siblings and relational rivalries; not to mention the host of problems attached to Regency Councils - men hungry for power that isn't 'divinely' theirs to control. Perfect conditions for intrigue to germinate and fester in a plague of deceit and intelligencing.



One of the Dudley family's stable hands is selected to become their oldest son's squire at court, as the head of the family, John Dudley: Duke of Northumberland, controls the youthful King's Regency Council. Upon arriving at court, squire Brendan Prescott is immediately embroiled in the complicated and serpentine lives of Henry VIII's children as the young King lay dying.

What also usually goes hand-in-hand with Tudor stories are heady romances, however, Gortner deftly ensures that the reader gets a spy story first, with a little romance on the side. Prescott is no James Bond and the wooing protocols of the time don't allow for the story to divert too broadly. I was also quite pleased about how the story unravels and the onion like series of plots that Prescott has to work through.

For those familiar with this era, there are likely to be predictable moments, but along with those of us less knowledgeable about this group of young royals and their entourages being guided by the Old Guard, there are some pleasant and sometimes quite shocking surprises.

My one small criticism, though it will hardly prevent me from reading the next installment, is the use of the term medieval. I recall reading it twice and thinking it is completely out of place as the word itself was coined in the 19th century. In the 16th and 17th centuries the period between the fall of Rome and the Renaissance would have been called the Middle Age, but not medieval. I realise I come off as a bit of a pedantic, but truth is, when I'm trying to visualise the buildings that Prescott is describing, I don't know if I'm meant to think of the Middle Age that he could referring to, or architecture that we would identify as medieval today, which would have been modern for the squire. Because I couldn't quite work that out, it was a hard punch that took me momentarily out of the story. It doesn't affect the overall novel, but perhaps something the author might consider clarifying in future installments.

Review was originally located on the now defunct Paternoster Row Legacy blog.

The Secret Rescue: An Untold Story Of American Nurses And Medics Behind Nazi Lines ~ Cate Lineberry

When new technologies are developed, unforeseen or unexpected uses for them tend to arise. This is probably more true in areas of war and conflict than at any other time. We've seen how military technologies eventually end up in our homes and for our hobbies: microwave ovens; radios and gps, just to name a few. What can also happen is the creation of a cargo plane that can double as medical transport. World War II (WWII) saw this new feature, as well as the consequences of "hot-bedding" an air-force.



In 1944, the Medical Air Evacuation Transport Squadron (MAETS) was created within what is now the U.S. Airforce, to transport wounded military personnel (not just those fighting for the Allies) from the front lines. Medics were hired to help with the loading and unloading of patients while the nurses provided ambulatory services. This book is about 29 members of the 807th and one of the 802nd, who landed in Nazi occupied Albania after their plane succumbed to mechanical problems during a storm while flying over the Adriactic Sea.

Lineberry tells the story of how the combined efforts of the British Special Operations Executive (S.O.E.) and the American Office of Strategic Services (O.S.S.) along with Albanian resistance fighters worked together in rescuing the medical personnel. Although one member had published her memoirs, including this harrowing event, the events had been deemed classified until recently, for the safety of both the military and secret services personnel as well as the Albanians who volunteered or were voluntold to help the thirty stranded Americans. That this tale remained relatively secret, despite the number of people involved is probably the most amazing part of the story.

Despite the scattered official sources and the too few members of the crash still alive after all these years, the author is able to provide a comprehensive version of the events. That she was also able to access photographs of most of those involved is even more astounding. Giving not only a voice to these medical professionals, but allowing the reader to put a face to those who must have been increasingly frustrated at the never ending delays in getting back to safety.

Because Lineberry was limited by the number of personal accounts she could access to tell this story, it occasionally has the feel of an escapees travelogue, rather than a saga of despair and triumph. This is by no means a fault in the writing or the presentation, it is just the reality of what the author had to work with and as a result, there were moments when I was emotionally affected and empathising with the situation, then suddenly plunged into a bit of a dry account.

I do feel that anyone interested in medicos and/at war, or Albania's unique political situation at the time would do well to add this to their collection.

Review originally appeared on the now defunct Paternoster Row Legacy blog.