The Merchant's Daughter
Monthly Round Up: December 2019
The end of the year has arrived already! Here's a roundup of what I've been reading this month.
Books I've Read
Death at Eden's End by Jo Allen
The death of a 100-year-old woman at a nursing home shouldn't cause suspicion, but what ensues is a mystery dating back to World War Two and a cold, callous killer. This, the second in the Jude Satterthwaite series, is even better than the first.
What She Saw Last Night by Mason Cross
When a woman is murdered on a sleeper train and her daughter seemingly vanishes into thin air, fellow passenger Jenny Bowen finds herself embroiled in a dangerous cat and mouse game with a hardened killer. A fast-paced, edge of your seat thriller that I really enjoyed.
Gone by Leona Deakin
When a woman goes missing after receiving a card inviting her to play a game, it becomes apparent that she is not the first and that there are an unknown number of people out in the wild, wreaking their own personal havoc. A brilliant twist on a missing person story, with some timely reminders of how we should always be careful what information we share online.
The Merchant's Daughter by M J Lee
The seventh in the Jayne Sinclair series sees the genealogist investigating the mysterious African ancestor of a well-known TV star. With a plot revolving around slavery, this is probably one of my favourite books of this series so far.
First Blood by Angela Marsons
This Kim Stone a prequel was a fantastic surprise to all fans of Angela Marsons. Set at the time when the team were coming together for the first time, we not only get a wonderful and informative insight into the pasts of the characters we have come to know and love, but also an exciting and emotive serial killer plot to boot! This author never lets us down!
A Stranger on the Beach by Michele Campbell
This beautifully twisted tale of love and deception really grabbed my imagination. When a woman who is experiencing marriage problems meets a younger, handsome man, this sets off a chain of events that threaten to alter the course of all of their lives forever. This review will be published as part of the blog tour.
Three Hours by Rosamund Lupton
I've been a huge fan of Rosamund Lupton ever since reading Sister and have heard nothing but praise for Three Hours. This book, detailing the three hours when a school is in the midst of a potential terrorist attack, genuinely blew me away and deserves to be a huge success. My review will be featured as part of the blog tour.
Books I've Acquired
Beth and Cath are leaving their husbands.
This is a story about two very different women.
One is wealthy and having an affair with a man who gives her the kind of love that her cold, detached husband does not.
One is living hand to mouth, suffering at the hands of a violent partner who would rather see her dead than leave him.
You may think you know these women already and how their lives will unfold.
Beth will live happily ever after with her little girl and her soulmate.
Cath will go back to her abusive husband.
And these two women will never cross paths.
But you will be wrong.
On the 3.15pm train from London to Bristol, Beth and Cath are about to meet and discover they share one shocking thing in common.
Family begins with a capital eff.
I'm wondering how many more f*cking 'phases' I have to endure before my children become civilised and functioning members of society? It seems like people have been telling me 'it's just a phase!' for the last fifteen bloody years. Not sleeping through the night is 'just a phase.' Potty training and the associated accidents 'is just a phase'. The tantrums of the terrible twos are 'just a phase'. The picky eating, the back chat, the obsessions. The toddler refusals to nap, the teenage inability to leave their beds before 1pm without a rocket being put up their arse. The endless singing of Frozen songs, the dabbing, the weeks where apparently making them wear pants was akin to child torture. All 'just phases!' When do the 'phases' end though? WHEN?
Mummy dreams of a quirky rural cottage with roses around the door and chatty chickens in the garden. Life, as ever, is not going quite as she planned. Paxo, Oxo and Bisto turn out to be highly rambunctious, rather than merely chatty, and the roses have jaggy thorns. Her precious moppets are now giant teenagers, and instead of wittering at her about who would win in a fight – a dragon badger or a ninja horse – they are Snapchatting the night away, stropping around the tiny cottage and communicating mainly in grunts – except when they are demanding Ellen provides taxi services in the small hours. And there is never, but never, any milk in the house. At least the one thing they can all agree on is that rescued Barry the Wolfdog may indeed be The Ugliest Dog in the World, but he is also the loveliest.
Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson are on the trail of Wang Li a Chinese criminal gang leader in London who is involved in the importation of opium, and Chinese girls who are forced into prostitution in the many brothels under his control in London. On a dark fog bound night, on a back street in old London town a direct confrontation between Holmes and Watson, with this arch criminal and his gang would bring home the reality and danger they both constantly faced in taking on one of the most dangerous investigations they had ever undertaken, against an adversary who was both cunning, and dangerous. Surrounded and outnumbered by Wang Li and his gang, would Holmes and Watson prevail? "Sherlock Holmes-The Final Chapter" is a must read to find the answer.
Between August and November 1888 the residents of Whitechapel a cosmopolitan suburb located in The East End of London would find themselves in the grip of fear as to what was to become known as The Autumn of Terror. A fearsome killer who became known as Jack the Ripper was stalking the dimly lit fog bound streets hiding in the shadows, before slaughtering and butchering the helpless street women. The police were failing in their attempt to apprehend this killer, and public condemnation of the murders was running high.An offer of help would come from an unlikely source in Emma Holmes daughter of the legendary Sherlock Holmes. Using all the knowledge and expertise gained from her father would she be able to prevent further murders and lure this killer to his ultimate and final date with the hangman?A compelling, Victorian crime mystery based on the original Whitechapel Murders of 1888. A mystery which contains many twists and turns leading to an unexpected and surreal thought provoking final conclusion.
Here's to a great January!
When a DNA test reveals that the famous actress Rachel Marlowe has African ancestry, she calls upon genealogist Jayne Sinclair to try to discover more about this mysterious antecedent. With a family line that dates back to William the Conqueror, Rachel's family are reluctant to believe the science, convinced that there must be some error. With a short timescale in which to solve the mystery, Jayne's research is made even more difficult with the realisation that someone will stop at nothing, even serious injury, to prevent her from discovering the truth.
The Merchant's Daughter is the seventh of the Jayne Sinclair series and is probably one of my favourites to date. With more and more people having their DNA analysed on sites such as Ancestry, this is a very topical plot and one that all people (like me) who have done such a test will find fascinating.
Like in previous books in the series, the story is told in two time frames, in this case Jayne's present-day investigations and the sugar plantations of the Caribbean. One of the things I like most about this series is the historical aspect, and the author's willingness to write about what could be termed a controversial subject. As someone with a connection to the slave trade in their family, I found the plot a fascinating one and am glad that books like this are being written so that we never forget the barbaric treatment of these people.
The main historical protagonist is Emily Roylance, a character whom I immediately warmed to. I thought it was a clever idea to have Emily tell her story via her memoirs as this helped the plot to move on quickly and made me desperate to know the circumstances behind her being where she was. In a book full of unpleasant characters, Emily's strength and courage shone through.
The most pleasant surprise for me was how much of the story was set in my home city of Liverpool. M J Lee has certainly created an accurate picture of the life of the wealthy and I could visualise Hope Street at the time when Liverpool was profiting from the slave trade. Similarly, I was pleased to see Jayne visiting the International Slavery Museum, somewhere I have been several times and a place which definitely opens a person's eyes with regard to the treatment of such people.
I really did enjoy The Merchant's Daughter as not only does it discuss an important aspect of British history, but it is a fast-paced read with a great mystery. I can't wait to see what era the author decides to tackle next!
Take a look at my reviews of the rest of the series:
The Irish Inheritance
The Somme Legacy
The American Candidate
The Vanished Child
The Silent Christmas
The Sinclair Betrayal