Laura Freeman's Blog, page 4

Why did the Union lose at Bull Run?

When I studied history in high school and college, the emphasis was on what happened more than why it happened. In my historical romance novels, I try to look at history from the characters’ perspectives and show the impact on them.

Bull Run, the first major battle of the Civil War, was expected to be an easy win for the North but turned into a disaster when soldiers ran off the battlefield and kept running until they reached Washington, D.C.

What happened? In my historical romance novel, “Impending Love and Death” the hero, Logan Pierce, searches for answers for the failure. The heroine, Jem Beecher Collins, is seeking news about her missing husband. Their paths collide when she nearly runs him over with her buggy.

Both interview soldiers who were at the battle and are licking their wounds from an unexpected defeat before returning home. Superiors blamed the three-month enlistment and lack of training on the failure, and President Abraham Lincoln asks for three-year enlistments.

But the Confederate soldiers also had only three months to train. What was the real reason for the loss? Logan and Jem uncover several explanations: There was confusion because each regiment had its own uniform with some Union soldiers wearing gray and some Southern soldiers wearing blue. Other reasons include men who bought their commissions and knew nothing about commanding men in a battle; soldiers who began fighting at dawn were still on the battlefield in the evening; and ammunition wagons were removed from the battlefield leaving soldiers with empty guns.

I don’t expect readers to agree with everything the characters discover, but I hope it creates a dialogue that can be shared with other readers and those interested in Civil War battles. The Union would go on to using trenches and remaining behind barriers instead of marching through cornfields but not before many men died in open fields.

“Impending Love and Death takes place in 1861 with Jem going by train from Ohio to Washington City and then searching the prison in Richmond for answers. Logan must confront his family shame and risk his life to find happiness. The historic romance novel is available at http://goo.gl/B7lKMs and other distributors in print and ebook format.

Politician Logan Pierce visits Darrow Falls, Ohio, to enlist support for the Union cause. There, he meets the beautiful and strong-willed Jem Collins and insists she remain at home for news of her husband, Ben, after the Battle of Bull Run, but she ignores his advice. Jem knows something is wrong when Ben doesn’t send word he has survived the first major battle of the Civil War.

Jem travels to Washington City with Logan to search for news of Ben and uses her nursing skills to care for the wounded. When Logan kisses her, she resolves to remain faithful to her vows of marriage, but can she? Hearing news Ben may be a prisoner, she leaves the federal capital for Richmond but doesn’t return. Can Logan wait, fearing for her fate, or does he risk capture and hanging as a spy by following into enemy territory?

#romance #CivilWar #historical #BullRun

Looking for meaning in historic romances

When I studied history in high school and college, the emphasis was on what happened more than why it happened. In my historical romance novels, I try to look at history from the characters’ perspectives and show the impact on them.

Writers need to begin with researching the information, but many history books provide summaries and don’t always provide details that explain how people felt in the past. During the antebellum, people either supported slavery, wanted to abolish it, or wanted to send slaves back to Africa.

In my novel “Impending Love and War” set in 1860, the heroine is Cory Beecher, who comes from a long line of abolitionists.The characters reveal what side they take on the issue of slavery and then act on it. Cory has to decide whether she will help a runaway slave hiding in her barn. But a deeper problem is exposed about the Fugitive Slave Law.

The South was abusing the Fugitive Slave Law by claiming free men were their runaway slaves. They needed no proof but the identification by the owner. Young males were sought because they could be sold for as much as $2,000 to $3,000. This was in a time when most people were lucky to make $1 a day. Abolitionists were outraged by this practice and pushed for the end of slavery. But Cory faced six months in jail and $1,000 fine if caught helping a runaway, making her decision more difficult.

During a dinner the characters discuss “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” to bring up the topic of slavery and civil disobedience. This leads to the Fugitive Slave Law and a local story. A black man John Price answered an ad and was captured by chasers in 1858 claiming he was a runaway slave. A group of abolitionists stormed the hotel where U.S. marshals were holding him and rescued him. Something similar occurred in the novel and movie “Twelve Years a Slave” where a free black man was sold into slavery.

“Impending Love and War” is a historical romance novel available in print and ebook at Amazon http://goo.gl/B7lKMs and other distributors.

Cory Beecher didn’t mean to shoot handsome Tyler Montgomery and only kisses him so he doesn’t find the runaway slave in the barn.  Abolitionists never considered marrying slave owners, but her world explodes with newfound desire when her lips touch his. Can she go through with her carefully crafted plans to marry math instructor Douglas Raymond when her heart longs for another? 

Tyler Montgomery needs to find the runaway slaves before his rival Edward Vandal captures them. Although he doesn’t want to involve the fiery and beautiful Miss Beecher, once she kisses him, all his plans unravel. As his rival closes in on the quarry, he hesitates to leave, knowing she’s marrying the wrong man. But what does an unemployed lawyer with questionable parentage have to offer the woman he loves?

#romance #historical #Antebellum #fugitiveslave #slavery

Raining Tears review

This is a five star ***** review by Kim Ligon

Laura Freeman has created a riveting, fast paced story about a drug-addicted thief who leaves a trail of victims and havoc in her wake from theft to baiting the police into shooting the wrong person to a widow out for revenge to a devastated rookie cop and a flawed but persistent new Detective out to find the truth. There is also a cast of supporting characters with vibrant stories in their own right. It is surprisingly laced with hope, shows the awesome power of forgiveness, and encourages never giving up before you arrive at the truth. The writing pulls you behind the eyes of Freeman’s characters so you see what they see and understand their deepest fears and fervent hopes. This is a fantastic page-turning read that will keep you engaged to the last paragraph. I highly recommend it. I received a copy of this novel through Netgalley, but the opinions are my own freely given.

Raining Tears review

A review of my new release “Raining Tears” appeared in the Akron Beacon Journal.

BOOK TALK

‘Raining Tears’ is a detective tale with modern themes

Barbara McIntyre

Special to USA TODAY Network – Ohio

Cuyahoga Falls resident Laura Freeman has taken a sharp turn from historical romance with “Raining Tears,” a detective story that incorporates modern themes like the opioid crisis and policeinvolved shootings.

The main characters are Claire Batton, a nurse, Sydney Harrison, a police detective, and Beth Moreno, a rookie officer in a fictional town near Cleveland. Claire became addicted to opioids after a car accident and began stealing pills from he pain management department at the hospital where she worked, but the thefts were noticed and she transferred to the emergency room, which forced her to look elsewhere. Now she’s going through her co-workers’ lockers.

One rainy day, Claire sees a pain management patient sitting at a bus stop. Knowing that the woman takes oxycodone for arthritis, she uses a rain poncho to disguise herself, sticks a gun in the woman’s face and steals her purse. Claire is on her way home to change for work when she has an unexpected opportunity: A young father on his way home from the pharmacy with antibiotics for his infant son. In her attempt to rob him, Claire ends up injured and the man ends up dead, shot by Officer Moreno.

Claire escapes, having hurriedly identified herself as one of her co-workers, using a driver’s license she had stolen months before. Because she had made it appear as if the dead man had been robbing her, the case seems simple enough. Then Detective Harrison starts seeing discrepancies.

Claire becomes concerned with avoiding detection and securing drugs, while Beth’s notoriety as the shooter is turning into a frenzy: In one scene, she is trying to buy groceries and a crowd surrounds her, throwing canned goods. Meanwhile, Sydney closes in.

“Raining Tears” (286 pages, softcover) costs $17.99 from Wild Rose Press. Laura Freeman also is the author of the solid 2014 Civil War-era romance “Impending Love and War,” set in a town that resembles Hudson, and its five sequels.

Raining Tears

Raining Tears by Laura Freeman, 2023, crime detective thriller

“Raining Tears” will be released Jan. 30, 2023 and can be pre-ordered at https://goo.gl/B7lKMs or other book sites. Here is a teaser with the blurb:

Detective Sydney Harrison thought the police shooting of an armed robber was cut and dry, but when the facts don’t add up, she finds herself in a cat-and-mouse game with a drug-addicted woman willing to sacrifice the lives of others to feel normal.

Claire’s life spiraled out of control when a grab and dash for a purse turned into a chance meeting with a stranger in a dark alley. His death wasn’t her fault, but the police are searching for her. Before running she needs to tie up loose ends even if it means another person has to die.

This is the first chapter. I hope you enjoy it and consider purchasing the ebook or print book.

Chapter One

Claire Batton recognized the old woman seated at the Newtown bus stop as an easy mark. Edith Merryweather was a regular in the pain management program at the hospital where the doctor prescribed her oxycodone medication. Although the opioid painkiller was highly addictive, it provided comfort care to octogenarians like Edith. Many patients kept their pills handy when away from home. If Claire was lucky, Edith had her meds in her outdated leather purse left unattended on the bench beside her. If nothing else, she’d net a few dollars.

The clouds on Ohio’s May evening were leaking a misty drizzle, and Claire pulled her backpack from her shoulders and removed a small bag. The hospital had given out the one-size-fits-all rain gear in assorted colors at the chamber of commerce expo in February. She shook out the black one and slipped it over her head, pulling the large hood forward to obscure her face. The raindrops fell steadier. The poncho’s thin plastic blended with her black stretch pants and battered running shoes and created a dark mass of nothing identifiable to any witness of her anticipated acquisition.

After slipping on latex gloves, she removed a small revolver from her bag. As a nurse, her fingerprints were in the system for background checks, and she was careful not to leave any on the weapon or ammo in case she had to ditch the gun. She was a fan of mystery stories and paid attention to details. She pulled her backpack onto her shoulders and took a deep breath as she surveyed her target. Her right hand gripped the molded handle beneath the folds of the poncho. She didn’t want to hurt anyone. The doctor could prescribe Edith more medicine, and she would return to a feeling of normalcy the pills produced. She’d be able to function again without the panic and anxiety that haunted her. It wasn’t a crime to feel like a human being.

Claire dashed across the street as the gentle sprinkles morphed into an intense downpour. The rain pelted against the plexiglass enclosure around Edith. A wind blew an empty coffee cup out from under the raised walls and into the street. The trash can outside the enclosure overflowed like a scoop of melting ice cream on a cone, and the ground was littered with soggy clumps of cigarette butts and crumpled food wrappers.

The change in the weather had come on suddenly, and unprepared individuals scattered for cover, but no one joined solitary Edith. The bus traveling toward the stop was a half dozen blocks away, delayed as a mob of wet boarders pushed and shoved to escape the rain. Claire had to make a decision while the timing was right. She could snatch the purse and dash off before the bus arrived and Edith realized she had become a donor to the Claire Batton Foundation, or she could do nothing and continue on her route.

Claire hesitated. What if Edith recognized her? What if she grabbed for her purse? She saw the bus closing its doors. The vehicle wouldn’t take long to cover the distance. It was now or never.  She stepped inside the shelter. The rapid fire of heavy raindrops was deafening in the small enclosure, but there was no need to talk. Edith’s arthritic hands struggled to tie a plastic hat over her fluff of white curls.

Claire tugged her hood forward and pointed the gun in Edith’s face. Before the elderly woman registered what was happening, Claire snatched the purse off the bench and dashed out into the rain. She fled behind the bus stop, along the brick wall of a Mexican restaurant, and turned into the alley that ran behind the eateries and small businesses of downtown.

The cloudburst continued an angry assault on the rooftops and roads, filling gutters and potholes. Newly formed rivers flowed along the edge of the sloped asphalt pavement, seeking storm drains. She splashed through the virgin rivers as the water soaked her exposed clothing.

Claire hugged the backs of the retail buildings, hiding in the shadows, listening for any pursuers. The darkness was broken by an occasional streetlight attached to a telephone pole.

Her heart raced, the rush of adrenaline from obtaining Edith’s purse rivaling any feeling of opioids when they coursed through her body. She slowed to a walk, savoring the natural high. Ahead was a large metal trash dumpster with two plastic flip-up lids. She stepped beneath the overhang on the back of the building for protection from the steady rain and opened Edith’s purse to search the contents. She pulled out a prescription bottle of oxycodone and shook it. Nearly full. It had been worth the risk. She slipped her backpack off one shoulder and transferred the plastic bottle inside along with her revolver.

She glanced around. Alone. If Edith had raised the alarm, they weren’t after her yet, and she could make her escape. She pulled out Edith’s wallet. The bills were arranged from ones to twenties all facing the same way. Claire didn’t have time to count it. She folded the stack in half and shoved it deep into her bag. The remaining items inside the old handbag were useless. She tossed the purse and wallet into the trash container.

The rain eased into a gentle pitter-patter, but the cloud clusters bathed the alley in dark shadows even though it wasn’t yet nine-o’clock. Claire searched her surroundings to find her bearings. Edith’s bus stop was behind her. The hospital and her nearby apartment were north on the other side of Main Street. She’d have to use the crosswalk a couple of blocks ahead. The police would be looking for someone in black.

She searched for another poncho. Neon yellow would work. No one would think a thief wore a bright color. She removed the black one and debated whether to toss it in the trash. It had the hospital name printed in small letters near the neck. Leave no clues was her motto. She took time to fold it over and over until it was small enough to fit into the storage bag. She shook out the yellow poncho and slipped it over her head. It was like transforming from notorious Ms. Hyde into sweet Nurse Jekyll.

Claire’s shoes were soaked, and a chill in the air made her shiver. She had an hour to run home, take a hot shower, and put on dry clothes before reporting for her ten-hour shift at the hospital. She kept her latex gloves on to keep her hands warm and headed toward the intersection.

She paused. The sound of footsteps, softened by the splashing of water, approached from the opposite direction. Who else would be in the alley? A police officer wouldn’t be on foot. She moved against the back of a building, searching for the closest alley for an escape. Claire wasn’t afraid of the dark. She had her gun. No one was going to mess with her. She searched her bag, glad she hadn’t removed her gloves, and withdrew her revolver.

A man whistling a jingle stepped into a circle of dull yellow from a light fastened to the back wall of the next building. He wore a fancy raincoat and a floppy hat.  

Claire remained in the shadows. Water dripped in a steady plop-plop beat as it overflowed a sagging gutter overhead, splashing in a puddle at her feet. It hit the barrel of her gun, and she jerked it out of the water’s path to protect her weapon.

He stopped and stared at her. “What do you want?”

She extended her arm, and the metal of the barrel reflected in the dull glow of the light’s outer edges.

He gasped in a sharp intake of air but didn’t run. “You have a gun.”

She laughed at his statement of the obvious.

“You’re a woman.” The man’s voice squeaked with surprise.

Claire had made a mistake revealing her gender. “Don’t let that fool you.” She jabbed the gun in his direction. If he wasn’t going to flee, she’d use his stupid bravado against him. “Give me your wallet.”

“You can have it.” He reached into his coat pocket. “I don’t want any trouble. My boy is sick, and I need to return home with his medicine.”

Medicine? “What kind of pills?”

“Penicillin drops. He’s eight months old and has an ear infection.”

Drops for a baby was useless to her. A police car’s siren echoed in the distance. Edith must have told the bus driver about the robbery, and he’d called it in. An old friend worked at the local dispatch center and had shown her the screens she monitored every shift. The mapping system allowed dispatchers to track patrol cars and calculate distances to crime scenes, sending the closest officers.   

She was wasting time. She needed to get out of the alley now. She waved the gun sideways to send the man on his way. “Forget it.”

He held out his wallet, waiting for her to claim it. A loud crack made her look above at the overhang of the building. The rusty gutter, filled with rainwater, broke away from its neighboring section and crashed onto Claire’s outstretched arm and hand holding the gun.

The weight of the water inside the aluminum frame was like a brick being slammed down on her forearm. She screamed and dropped the gun. A spasm shook her arm, and a sharp stabbing pain shot through the muscles up into her shoulder and down to her fingertips.

The gun lay on the wet pavement between them. The man gazed into her eyes for the briefest moment before h leapt. Claire dove onto her knees to reach her revolver, but the man snatched it in his left hand and stood over her. He pointed the barrel down at her head as she knelt on the wet pavement. 

“I think I’ll keep my money.” He still had his wallet in his right hand and gripped the gun awkwardly in his left.  

She looked up at him towering over her and debated whether to challenge his possession of her weapon. “Do you even know how to use that?”

His shoulders snapped back, and he cocked the hammer before she could warn him. It took skill to safely uncock the firing mechanism of the old gun, and in his inexperienced hands, it could go off and kill her with the slightest touch on the trigger.

Claire huddled close to the ground, watching a vehicle as it entered the alley at a slow crawl behind the man who now held her captive. The suburban utility vehicle flashed no lights and echoed no siren, but the reflective white letters on black paint declared it was the police. It had to be a second car from the one approaching with sirens blaring from the opposite direction. They were trying to trap her in the alley. How would she escape? Maybe she could dash for the narrow opening between the next two buildings and cross Main Street. She raised one knee and put her foot beneath her.

The driver of the police car turned on the spotlight and lit the man’s figure from behind, outlining him above her. They’d see her escape if she ran, especially in the yellow rain poncho.

Claire crouched down and covered her head as she screamed, “Please don’t shoot me! Please don’t shoot me!”

“What?” The man gasped. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

She raised her head, trying to decipher the figure in the bright blinding light. He fumbled with the gun.

“Police! Turn around!” a female officer ordered. Her voice was from the other side of the alley on the passenger side of the cruiser. That meant two police officers and less chance of escape. What was the deal? All she had done was steal an old woman’s purse.

“Show me your hands!” The masculine voice of the other officer sounded closer.

“What?” The man above her turned. The metal of the gun in his hand reflected in the bright spotlight as he rotated to his left and the voice.

“Gun!” the male officer shouted from the center of the alley. “Drop it! Drop the gun!”

The first shot was from Claire’s revolver. She’d practiced shooting enough to recognize the high pinging sound. The shots that followed were from a different gun and rang out deeper and louder above her, one after another. She covered her ears as the barrage echoed off the buildings in the narrow alley.

She watched as the man fell backward from the blows of the shots, and his body crumpled to the ground, sprawled out on the pavement. He was on his back, his face turned toward her, his eyes open in shock and pain. Ribbons of red swirled in the puddles of water around his body. His mouth opened as if to speak, and he gave a final gasp as life left his body.

She heard footsteps approaching and snatched the latex gloves from her hands, stashing them in a pocket. Freed, her damaged hand throbbed, and tears filled her eyes. She blinked to make them fall.

After kicking her gun away, the male officer knelt by the body and checked for a pulse. He walked toward her and extended his hand. “Are you all right?”

She sobbed and placed her left hand in his as she planned her escape.

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#femaledetective #mystery #medical #crime #detective

 

 

Interview by Margaret Carter

Author Margaret Carter has a newsletter and interviewed me for the January 2023 issue, “News from the Crypt.”

It can be found on her website http://www.margaretlcarter.com/newsletter-208-january-2023/

You also can visit her at Margaret Carter’s Crypt (http://www.margaretlcarter.com), devoted to her horror, fantasy, and paranormal romance work, especially focusing on vampires and shapeshifting beasties.

Here is the interview with Laura Freeman:

What inspired you to begin writing?

When I was twelve, I read “The Hobbit” and “Lord of the Rings” and wanted to create stories about friendship and adventure, especially for girls. I had four brothers, and they always seemed to do the “fun” stuff.

What genres do you work in?

I have written a six-book historical romance series, a holiday supernatural romance novella, and a female detective mystery scheduled for release Jan. 30. I like to mix two genres like a romance within a mystery or a mystery within a romance.

Do you outline, “wing it,” or something in between?

I begin with my main characters’ names and keep a character list going. Then I write a rough draft of the action and dialogue to form a series of events broken into chapters that make up the story which is around 100 pages. I create a formal outline from those chapters and adjust it as I add details or move scenes around. To help build tension, I’ll edit the last chapter and move backwards through my story so I know where the story is heading. This allows me to reveal clues later in the story and remove them from the beginning or replace a clue with a subtle hint. This is a must for me because I initially reveal too much too soon and this forces me to move important details to a later chapter and create suspense.

What have been the major influences on your work?

My favorite authors have been J.D. Robb, Sue Grafton, and Janet Evanovich, who have strong female characters. I was a reporter for 16 years and covered events, politics, and crime which I draw from for ideas. I also worked in a hospital and use that setting in “Raining Tears.”

What effect did your journalism career have on your fiction writing? And what would you say are the principal differences between those two types of writing?”

Reporting requires research and interviewing others which helps with background and historical data for my fictional writing. News writing also limits how long a story can be which makes me choose my words wisely. Fictional writing allows more flexibility to convey meanings and share the thoughts of a character to explain behavior or the why of a crime.

Please tell us about your Impending Love Series. Also, how did you research the historical background?

Each book is about a different Beecher sister and begins in 1860 with a runaway slave and ends in 1866 with the last villain stalking the youngest sister. I researched my family tree and used family names but placed them in different time periods. I made Sterling Beecher the father of the six sisters in the books. He was my great-great-grandfather with a long family history back to New Haven, Connecticut. Set during the Civil War, I read books, visited battlefields, and interviewed reenactors. I used real historical figures sparingly but researched them to make sure they would act the way they did in my books.

What inspired your Christmas Cookies novella “Tackling Molasses Crinkles”?

I wrote a column under Freeman of the Press, “The unopened gift on Christmas morning” about the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings on Dec. 14, 2012, in which parents had bought presents for their six-year-old children, but they would never be opened. The gifts represented a child’s unfulfilled life and inspired this story. I wanted to give hope to those who have lost a child and imagine their angel watching over them.

What is your latest or next-forthcoming book?

My next book is “Raining Tears” due out Jan. 30, 2023. It is a female detective mystery that is told from the viewpoints of four women connected by the death of an innocent man. I attended a Citizens Police Academy, and my brother was a police officer and detective which helped with the technical information. I enjoyed writing the villain because she could say and do outrageous things.

What are you working on now?

I am working on two stories. One is a cozy mystery where a woman finds a body in the park and discovers later that her co-worker’s husband was having an affair with the victim. She tries to help her friend and uncovers important clues that put her life in danger and angers the handsome police officer investigating the case. The other story I’m working on is a historical romance set in 1774 where the heroine tries to figure a way out of a forced marriage and uncovers the hidden reasons for the union.

What advice would you give to aspiring writers?

You can have lots of ideas in your head but until you put them in print, you aren’t a writer. And your writing requires a goal, problems, and resolution to be a story. Learn the basics of writing, the expectations of a genre, such as a happily ever after in a romance, and study other authors. Writing can be time consuming and challenging, but if you love creating characters and putting them in danger, you need to write. It makes you happy. At times developing a story will drive you crazy, but don’t quit.

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#interview #authors #romance #mystery

Book recommendations

Book recommendations from 2022

I’ve read and reviewed a lot of books this year and would like to recommend my favorites. Everyone has different tastes in books, but I have tried to focus on helping writers by pointing out strengths in the stories whether it is a complex plot over a simple plot, subplots, character development, twists, and surprise endings. Although writers can benefit from studying other writers, readers can also be better educated on what to look for in good writing.

“The Raider’s Daughter” by Kimberly Cates is an excellent example of historical fiction in the American Revolution period.

“Seeing Miss Heartstone” by Nichole Van; “To Heal an Earl” by Alexa Aston; “Dangerous Secrets by Caroline Warfield; “Reforming Lord Neil” and “Rescuing Lord Inglewood” by Sally Britton; “A Lord of Many Masks” by Jessica Scarlett; and “The Mark of a Rogue” by Adele Clee are excellent Regency novels.

“Masked Intentions” by Diana Bold is an excellent historical novel.

“The Color of Memory” by Julianne Maclean is an excellent example of women’s fiction.

“It’s a Wonderful Undeadlife” by R. E. Mullins is an excellent supernatural vampire story.

“Mind Your Own Murder” by Patti Larson is an excellent cozy mystery.

“Penelope” by Anya Wylde is an excellent romance.

“What She Forgot” by S. W. Vaughn is an excellent thriller.

Try different genres to broaden your reading options. Feel free to recommend your favorite authors and books.

Look for book reviews at http://www.authorfreeman.wordpress.com

#bookreviews

A Nice Class of Corpse

A Nice Class of Corpse by Simon Brett, 2022, Cozy

The story takes place in 1980 in Devereux Hotel, Littlehampton, England. Readers will enjoy the setting and language.

Melita Pargeter moves into the hotel where eight rooms are filled by elderly guests and staff is limited to Mrs. Naismith, who runs a tight ship, Kevin Newth, who does all the mundane duties and several maids who live off-site.

Someone is writing a diary and decides a murder will make life more interesting. Mrs. Selsby is thrown down the stairs but her death is ruled an accident. This opens up her coveted room facing the sea.

Melita believes her death wasn’t an accident. Her husband was an interesting character who didn’t always stay on the right side of the law. She breaks into Selsby’s room and examines her jewelry. That same night the jewelry is stolen.

Because Selsby left her wealth to the other boarders and employees, everyone is a suspect. Melita follows a woman who then is murdered but ruled an accident. The police become involved, but Melita is left to tie the murders to the jewelry. Each clue takes her closer to the killer and puts her own life in danger.

This story is set before cell phones and texting on purpose. Modern technology makes it difficult for amateur sleuthing since everything can be documented immediately. If you want a detective to use less technology and more sleuthing, you might consider a historical cozy or mystery. I am working a mystery set in the 1870s for that reason.

More book reviews can be found at http://www.authorfreeman.wordpress.com

#cozy #mystery #SimonBrett

Raven

Raven by Adele Clee, Gentlemen of the Order Book 2

This is a second chance story where the hero and heroine loved one another, lost each other, and reconnect with the hope of finding what they had years before.

Finlay Cole is known as the Raven and works as an enquiry officer for the Gentlemen of the Order with his friends, who have stories of their own. Seven years ago Finlay was reported killed in Belgium but was a prisoner for nine months. When he returned to England, he discovered the woman he loved, Sophia, had married Lord Adair and felt betrayed, thinking she married for position and wealth. He married Hannah who knew he loved another. Both spouses have died three years ago but they have rarely spoken to each other, both nursing heartache.

Backstories give depth to a character, and Clee is an expert at weaving the past with the present and giving each character something to overcome before they can be happy.

The story begins with Finlay being ordered to go to the remote home of Sophia and help her with a problem with her sister, Jessica. He is reluctant to go but follows orders. Sophia is hiding Jessica because she suffered a head injury falling down the stairs after discovering her fiance, Archer, in bed with the maid, Maud. Dr. Goodwin has been treating her for the past seven years, and she has been getting worse. Also, Sophia’s stepson has been causing problems.

Layering problems and storylines adds dimension to a story, especially a romance, which often is one dimensional. Add a mystery to a romance or a romance to a mystery to give the reader additional satisfaction.

Clee weaves several different storylines throughout the tale, putting layer upon layer. Among the mystery and intrigue is the love story between Finlay and Sophia. They alternate POV and reveal first their lusts, their regrets, and wishes to be together. The scenes are passionate and sensual.

She also keeps several surprises until the end during the final confrontation for the truth. As in the other stories, Finlay’s friends in the Order help to solve the crime and apprehend the bad guys.

Find more book reviews at http://www.authorfreeman.wordpress.com

#tomance #mystery #regency

Murder at the Dolphin Hotel

Murder at the Dolphin Hotel by Helena Dixon, 2019, Cozy Historical Mystery

The story takes place in 1933 in Dartmouth, England. In 1916 Elowed Underhay disappers, leaving her daughter, Kitty, to be taken care of by her grandmother, Mrs. Treadwell, who owns the Dolphin Hotel. Kitty has learned to run the hotel and is taking over while Mrs. Treadwell visits a sick relative.

Her grandmother hires ex-army captain Matt Bryant for security. As soon as her grandmother leaves, strange things begin to happen. Her room is searched, and she discovers notes about “giving back what was not yours to keep” in her grandmother’s room. People start dying and a friend of her grandmother is hit on the head and her house searched. It’s a classic whodunnit with several suspects and more bodies as the story builds to its climax.

Questions in the case lead to more questions with Kitty and Matt trying to find answers. They are the main characters in future books. Matt is haunted by his service in WWI when he was nearly buried alive in the trenches and the death of his wife and daughter. Kitty seeks answers to her mother’s disappearance and her father, whom she can’t remember. The combination of personal searches with the crime balances the story.

More book reviews can be found at http://www.authorfreeman.wordpress.com

#cozy #mystery #England HelenDixon