Chanticleer Book Reviews

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FROM the SHADOWS by KB Shaw – YA, Science Fiction, Action/Adventure

In the tradition of H. G. Wells and Isaac Asimov, K.B. Shaw’s From the Shadows piques the reader’s imagination. In the world where Cameron Rush, a shy, geeky boy from Wisconsin, and Rosa Costas, the bright, sassy daughter of a New Mexico ranch foreman, live, twenty-first-century technology makes a quantum leap and changes the nature of human experience.

Sounds amazing, right? This new technology could take tailgating to a new level. Seriously, what could possibly go wrong?

Only, Robert K. Merton’s law of unintended consequences still prevail. So, there is that…

Fifteen-year-old Cameron and Rosa have never met in person. However, they know each other well, as they met in a chat room, and talk daily on their multiComs. The couple takes GundTech’s multiCom technology — computers, without cameras, that capture images and display them in a way that allows virtual eye contact among users—for granted. It’s been around forever, well, at least ten years. They also take for granted their personal AIs.

A multiCom computer’s artificial intelligence (known as its AI) allows it to think, have personalities, experience emotions, and develop self-images. Each computer’s AI is unique and requires that the user demonstrate respect and courtesy to get a requested response. Cameron and Rosa understand this — as the rules of operation were clearly explained in the operating instructions. Therefore, they are never surprised when Sam and Vee, their respective multiCom AIs, sometimes add their two bits worth during conversations.

But they never expect to meet the AIs in person.

Unbeknownst to them, Cameron and Rosa were preordained centuries ago to play an integral part in the technological evolution triggered when GundTech’s mysterious creator introduces the Interactive Holographic Transmitter. With the IHT, time and space can be manipulated enabling humans, alone or collectively, to touch, see, hear, and ultimately, smell, and taste events as they happen.

Throughout this complex, fascinating tale, Shaw manages to keep the teen protagonists real and likable. They are “in touch” with their families, community, and school; they tease, flirt, grumble and complain, and impress the reader with their spirit and ingenuity.

In this well-crafted book, the amalgam of speculative fiction with a hint of Gothic eeriness works very well. What happens, to whom, how, and why is the stuff of possibility thinking. Fast-paced and engaging, with no loose ends, From the Shadows provides readers no opportunities to rest or close the book. Here’s a YA novel that’s a good read for any age.

March 2, 2018
AMASKAN’S BLOOD, Book 1 of the Boahim Series by Raven Oak – Coming of Age, Sword & Sorcery, Epic Fantasy, YA
In Amaska, residents serve Anur, the God of Justice. Amaskans, men and women, train with a rigor akin to the Spartans to be in peak physical strength and to be ever alert for the presence of danger. Yes, the Amaskans kill, but only to right a wrong as directed by the “Order.” They take no delight in carnage, but they will not stand idly by when someone is suffering an injustice. Knives are their weapon of choice. When not in combat, they identify themselves proudly with tattoos of circles on their jaws.

The Tribor, on the other hand, are a people void of morals who worship Itova, the Death Goddess, and kill with abandon. Their triangular tattoos are covered by their clothing and there is nothing noble about their instinct to murder.

Then there are the previously warring kingdoms of Alexander and Shad, now existing in a tentative peace, one that rulers hope will be solidified through a royal marriage. A princess of Alexander is betrothed to a prince of Shad. If the union is successful, the two kingdoms hope the brutal conflict over the borderlands will cease once and for all. Unless, of course, the marriage a ruse on the part of one side, the first step in a strategy to conquer. There’s speculation and intrigue as readers speculate who are the allies and who is about to be betrayed.

Locales, readers soon learn, are of great importance in this book and provide insights into the characters. The author includes a map of “Boahim” and we learn much about its “Little Dozen” kingdoms.

As accomplished as the situations and settings are, the real feat of this novel is the depth of characterization. At the heart of this tale are twins, young women who were born five minutes apart. Princess Margaret of Alexander is delicate, genteel, silly, spoiled, and absurdly naïve about political matters. At least her sister, Adelei thinks so.

In contrast, Adelei, raised in Amaska since she was five years of age, moves with the strength and stealth of one who has killed many times for a cause, who puts duty above any earthly pleasure. She has the advantage and the burden of having two fathers, King Leon of Alexander, her biological father, and Master Bredych of Amaska, the man who adopted her when she was five. How she came to leave her kingdom of origin and return a decade later is a riveting, suspenseful tale, part of which is told in flashback. Of course, present events are tied to the past, and Adelei will have to reconcile what has happened to her when she was a child, known then as Iliana, if she is to perform the assigned task of protecting her twin sister.

Princess Margaret is preparing to marry Prince Gamun of Shad, a young man with the worst of reputations (think Joffrey in Game of Thrones), although the dreamy young woman hopes it is only petty gossip maligning her betrothed. In protecting her sister, Adelei is also protecting their shared father, the elderly and ailing king, and the entire Kingdom of Alexander.

As events unfold, can two such markedly different sisters learn from each other? And, if so, what will the consequences be? Just when you think you know where the novel is headed, the author will surprise you, frighten you, charm you, and, ultimately, move you profoundly.

Raven Oak’s fantasy novel, Amaskan’s Blood, pays such careful attention to detail that readers will likely feel as if they’re reading historical fiction. While it does take occasional detours from realism, this epic novel reads like an extraordinary and engrossing depiction of actual events. This is a credit to Oak’s very precise and inviting prose and her enormous talent for elaborate plot twists imbued with emotional drama. Will fans of fantasy still like this book? Absolutely! In fact, if you’re longing for the next season of Game of Thrones to begin, this is the novel to read while you’re waiting.
- Writing: Excellent
- Sex: Nothing graphic – advised for 13+
- Violence: Killings involving knives and blood
- Narration: 3^rd Person
- Tense: Past
- Mood: Adventurous/Suspenseful
February 27, 2018
COMMUNITY AFFAIRS, A JERSEY SHORE MYSTERY by Michele Lynn Seigfried – Cozy Mystery, Female Sleuth
Bonnie Frattori, the heroine of Michele Lynn Seigfried’s latest Jersey Shore installment, has it all: a handsome neurosurgeon husband, two lovely little girls, and a big house right on the beach. Things couldn’t be peachier—until Lemon Face moves in next door.

Lyla (aka Lemon Face) and her husband, Senator Cason Spratt, are the neighbors from hell. Before they even settle in, Bonnie overhears Lyla accusing Cason of dropping his trousers in all the wrong places. It soon becomes apparent that Lyla is consumed with jealousy and sure Cason is after anything in a skirt.

Seeing that her own natural, innocent tendency to flirt bugs Lyla, and having gotten on the wrong side of her new neighbor’s temper without even trying, Bonnie goads Lemon Face on by humorously pretending she’s planning an affair with Cason. It isn’t long before Bonnie’s adoring spouse begins to suspect it’s true and stomps out in a rage. Poor Bonnie is left alone to deal with the increasingly insane, enraged Lemon Face who sends over poop bombs, paints WHORE on Bonnie’s garage door, and makes sure everyone in the community knows what a home-wrecker she is. See how quickly playing games can get you into trouble?

The book begins, though, on a far more sinister note with Bonnie sitting in a dank cell, with no memory of how she got there. She hears another woman’s screams through the walls. As Bonnie scours her memories of the past few weeks before she wound up in this terrifying situation, she recalls how she and her friend Chelsey, a private investigator, tried to find some connection between Lyla, Cason, and a girl named Polly Pitcher whose disappearance has the community in an uproar. Digging ever deeper, even neglecting her new job as a Municipal Clerk to hunt for dirt on Lyla and her philandering senator husband, Bonnie makes herself the target of thugs who will not stop at threats, but plan to murder her and the woman in the next cell. Flashbacks from Bonnie’s captivity to her attempts to ferret out the truth about her neighbors and restore peace on her little piece of the Jersey Shore make for moments both hilarious and harrowing.

Author Michele Seigfried has created Bonnie from a knowledgeable perspective, as she herself has worked as a Municipal Clerk in the State of New Jersey. Her up-close look at life behind the scenes in a local government office rings true. Chelsey, Bonnie, and others are recurring characters in this third of the Shore mystery series.

Seigfried knows how to cook up a multi-flavored stew with lots of surprise ingredients. Despite the imminent threat, her charmingly conceived heroine has more than her fair share of attitude and keeps comedy constantly on the boil.

A whodunit played for laughs as well as suspense, Community Affairs runs the gamut from gossip to greed to gore when neighbors clash on the posh Jersey Shore.

“Bonnie Frattori’s hijinx land her and her marriage in peril as she digs up dirt on her new neighbor. Cozy Mystery fans unite for Michele Seigfried’s 3rd book in The Jersey Shores Series: Community Affairs, a mystery with plenty of twists and turns staring a heroine with a penchant for designer shoes and trouble!” – Chanticleer Reviews
February 19, 2018
The MYSTERY of HOLLOW INN (SAMANTHA WOLF MYSTERY, BOOK 1) by Tara Ellis – Middle Grade Mystery, Folk Tales, Children’s Books
A summer vacation turns sinister for two tweeny girls far away from home.

Twelve-year-old Samantha (Sam) Wolf and her best friend Alyson (Ally) Parker leave their home state of Washington vacation two weeks in Montana where Sam’s aunt and uncle have turned an old mansion into a hotel called Hollow Inn, after the family that once lived there. While things look pretty good initially, the girls learn from the staff that the place is haunted. Moreover, business is suffering since the last guests abruptly left claiming someone else was in their room – a ghost! Now, Sam’s aunt and uncle must deal with negative rumors and targeted vandalism.

Sam doesn’t fall immediately into the trap of believing the mansion is haunted. Being a natural investigator, Sam happily delves into the Hollow family journal found in the attic. Her hope is to find answers, to separate fact from fiction where the Hollow family history is concerned, and find a way to boost her uncle and aunt’s business.

While Sam’s intentions are good, situations become challenging and downright frightening when a dark presence appears in her room during her first night at the inn. The next day, the girls take a little boat out on the lake and panic when the boat mysteriously overturns. More determined than ever, Sam and Ally begin snooping around the estate in earnest to get to the bottom of the strange occurrences. Their investigation pays off when they discover a secret passageway. Little do they know, however, that their find will point them down a dangerous path.

Ellis’ The Mystery at Hollow Inn, the first book in the Samantha Wolf Mysteries is a well-written work, filled with engaging dialogue, plenty of twists and turns, and chapter cliffhangers that champions a confident, inquisitive young girl and her friend.

Reminiscent of Nancy Drew, Samantha (Sam) Wolf is a relatable, well-crafted character that young readers will enjoy getting to know. Level-headed, smart, and focused, Ellis’ newest heroine can consider any situation that comes her way without allowing her emotions to taint her decisions. She’s also exceptionally curious, an asset that lands her in hot water time and time again.

Working with a small and relatively harmless-looking cast, Ellis keeps her antagonists under wraps while sprinkling red herrings and false leads throughout the narrative; and while clues (lightly laced with twists) are given, it’s a who-dun-it to the very end.

Make room on your bookshelf next to Nancy Drew! Here comes a new series perfect for today’s young mystery fan. Samantha Wolf tackles ghosts, vandals, and a creepy sense that someone or something is watching her every move!

Reviewer’s Notes:
- How was the writing? (very good style, minimal errors)
- Is there any sex? (none)
- Is there any violence? (very low- age appropriate)
- How is the book narrated? (third-person POV)
- Which tense is the book? (largely present tense)
- What’s the mood? (a classic Middle-Grade mystery that consistently builds tension)
February 17, 2018
HONG KONG CENTRAL, Lee Carruthers #3 by Marilynn Larew – Suspense, Crime Thriller
Former CIA agent and all around badass, Lee Carruthers, returns for the thrilling third book in the series, Hong Kong Central by Marilynn Larew.

Lee is looking forward to some well-earned downtime, so when her ex-boss and mentor, Sidney Worthington calls with another job, Lee is not amused. During her previous mission, people tried to kill her—multiple times. All she really wants right now is some serious R&R. However, she is the gal who will never say “no” to a job. And besides, Worthington swears it’s an easy gig.

Easy sounds nice. So, our heroine jets off to Hong Kong to track down Henry Wong, an antique dealer who missed a routine weekly check-in for the first time in twenty years. What could possibly be easier?

Once Lee arrives, she sets out to locate Wong Antiques and its proprietor, Henry. Ever the professional finder, she arrives at the antique shop just in time and witnesses Henry’s kidnapping. Lee “borrows” a random motorcycle (she’s not shy about bending a law or two when necessary) and the chase is on, ending when the bad guys dump Henry inside a bar run by a notorious Triad. This initiates a string of unfortunate events for Lee.

In no time at all, Lee is caught up in a battle between the police and pro-democracy demonstrators. The police pursue the demonstrators with tear gas and arrest as many of them as they can get their hands on, including our heroine – Lee. The pièce de résistance: while in jail, Lee is doused with vomit, thanks to one of her cellmates. The end of a perfect day—said no one.

Once Lee is released, her mission becomes even more tangled by labyrinthine layers of deception and obfuscation. She must kick her badassery into gear to complete the mission and stay alive. So much for a simple job.

The character of Lee Carruthers is well-crafted, compelling, and believable. She knows what she wants and when she wants it – and especially when she doesn’t. She can dazzle her prey by wearing a sexy black dress, tote a pistol in her clutch, or sport blue jeans and running shoes to investigate a suspicious event. Readers who loved Lee Carruthers in The Spider Catchers and Dead in Dubai will love her even more now. Readers who are new to Larew’s series are in for a fabulously thrilling, nail-biting, page-turning, edge-of-their seats ride.

Marilynn Larew’s writing style is smooth, engaging, and well-paced. Her ability to craft vibrant settings against the backdrop of exotic and gritty Hong Kong is exceptionally well-delivered. To sum it all up, Hong Kong Central is an absolute win.

Reviewer’s Notes:
- How was the writing? Excellent. The author crafts a solid story layered with interesting characters moving in and around the exotic, politically sensitive, and criminal underworld of Hong Kong. Her ability to create intriguing, believable scenes with succinct, eloquent prose is outstanding.
- Is there any sex? Yes, but it’s not graphic and works to reveal Lee’s attitude towards short and long-term relationships.
- Is there any violence? Yes, but it is not disproportionally graphic and is necessary to reveal the possible dangers facing the lead character.
- How is the book narrated? First-Person.
- Which tense is the book? Past.
- What’s the mood? Tense, colorful, and mysterious.
*Fans may purchase Hong Kong Central from the following retailers: Amazon, Barnes & Nobles, Kobo, and Apple iTunes
February 15, 2018
DARKNESS FALLS, Book Two of WINDHOLLOWS by Trayner Bane – Children’s Books, Fantasy & Magic, Sword & Sorcery

What would life be like if the air we breathe was slowly, consciously, being robbed of oxygen itself?

What if the dark side in all of us could be manipulated by a soulless fiend, converting us into unwilling weapons against our own people?

While Air of Vengeance, the first book in the Windhollows series dealt more with issues of overcoming differences, friendships and family, Darkness Falls is more of an adventure/quest: characters from the first book bent on vanquishing evil and saving friends and family…

Windhollows is an idyllic land populated with fantastical creatures, where its peoples live symbiotically, producing complementary air-like Essenses necessary for life. Its way of life is threatened by a brilliant, twisted genius who vows revenge on the people who rejected him because he was different, whose arsenal of weapons both rob the air people breathe and turns others into creatures whose purpose in life is to destroy the ones they once loved.

As the second book opens, Doctor Molskin, father of Billy, the hero of Volume 1, discovers that the breathable air in parts of Windhollows, is being robbed of some of its essential chemical makeup called Essense. He understands almost immediately that the problem has been created by his former assistant who now calls himself Rip Stinker, a brilliant but twisted soul whose dismissal from the doctor’s Essense labs has caused him to seek revenge against the doctor, his children and all “normal” Windhollows denizens.

Stinker was born a “bare pants,” children lacking Essense and therefore societal outcasts. His revenge has been to rob a group of healthy children from birth of their Essense, including Billy, turning them “bare pants.” More menacing, he has now created another weapon that can transform these same children into misshapen monsters seeking their own revenge for their flawed destiny.

Two stories alternate throughout most of the book. First is the quest to find and destroy Rip Stinker and his evil technology undertaken initially by Dr. Molskin, and eventually by his son Billy along with two friends. The other story is built around Skylar, the sweet, innocent young barepants girl who was the object of Billy’s infatuation in the first book. She and other “bare pants” have been wooed by Rip Stinker’s seductive message of regaining their full Essense but she has her doubts about what this Faustian bargain will yield.

Along the way to Rip Stinker’s castle, Skylar discovers she has a mysterious ability to talk to the wild animals that no one else has. Just as she is reveling in her new powers, she runs afoul of Rip Stinker’s technology that turns her into a monster similar to Stinker himself who now is ruled by a darkness within her that she never knew existed, and she now finds her waging a war within, of light versus the darkness, even as she joins Stinker and his nefarious plans.

How these two quests intersect becomes the race-to-the-finish theme of this admirable middle-grade fantasy novel.

Follow the links to read the Axe Breaker and Air of Vengeance Chanticleer Reviews!

February 6, 2018
A DOCTOR a DAY: A Novel (EveryDoctor Series, Book 1) by Bernard Mansheim, M.D. – Literary Fiction, Medical, Social & Family Issues

A behind-the-scenes look at the life of a medical doctor, from med school to internship to private practice to the courtroom and beyond.

Dr. Luke James is in private practice. He has a loving wife and young daughter, and in some ways, his work brings joy and affirmation. But when he started his long journey through the healing profession, he knew there would be times when all his efforts would end in the loss of a patient. As this intensely emotional story opens, Dr. James is in court, defending himself in a malpractice suit in which, as the prosecutor accuses, “You let your patient die.” Told in flashbacks, we see how the lawsuit is calling into question many of the ideals the physician once cherished. He recalls crucial incidents from his fraught, exhausting, sometimes depressing, sometimes uplifting days of doctoring, the many times when his judgment might have prevented — or resulted in — the death of a patient in critical condition.

As he watches patients die, their last moments provide a profound reminder of the swiftness of death—” like flipping off a switch.” Yet Dr. James will continue to offer words of comfort and try daring remedies. Once he even donated his own blood in hope of a miracle cure for one of his patents. He thinks that the practice of medicine is an art and a craft that must be honed and believes that even the science of medicine inexorably dictates its own terms. As he remembers his work life in all its complex aspects, Dr. James ponders his decision for the patient whose demise is the focus of the malpractice trial. Was he “playing God?” Did he rob the patient of her right to a longer life, even though that would have been a life of an unconscious mind and a body riddled with tubes, unhealable wounds, and deterioration?

Author, and former practicing physician, Bernard Mansheim has fictionalized the duties and dichotomies of his own experience as a doctor so starkly that there can be no doubt of his deep connection to the questions posed and the answers sought by Luke James. Mansheim started his education with a BA in English Literature, and there is also no doubt of his ability to compose a gripping saga that tears away any blinders we might have had about the glamour of a doctor’s life.

At one point, Mansheim’s hero realizes he can’t allow himself to cry and begins to build an inner wall to hide some of his worst fears and sorrows, creating a backlog of unexamined depression. In an author’s note, Mansheim states that the suicide rate among doctors is 50% greater than that of the general population. It is known that a doctor a day commits suicide. This dismal trend has followed since 1858. His story boldly reveals some possible reasons for that grim statistic, while leaving room for hope for his embattled protagonist and others like him. This novel lays the foundation for discourse about this public health crisis and may be one of the most important books that you could read this year.

January 24, 2018
The SPIRIT SHIELD SAGA: SEER of SOULS by Susan Faw – Epic Fantasy, Mythology & Folklore, Coming of Age Y/A

Be ready for Susan Faw’s grand adventure, where she serves up a world in which humans and the not-quite-human Primordials must make peace and work in harmony against a common foe. This young adult novel, liberally seasoned with mysticism and magic, incorporates themes from mythology, folk/fairytale, and legend, with an Adonis-like hero, a battle between good and evil, and the restoration of a monarchy to its rightful ruler.

Seventeen-year-old Cayden Tiernan, a seemingly simple shepherd boy, lives on a farm with his twin sister and father in far reaches of the kingdom of Cathair near the Land of the Primordials, somewhere between the sea and the capital city. These demi-god twins are blissfully unaware of their true identities and their pre-ordained destiny. They take their supernatural gifts and abilities for granted, never questioning their purpose or station in life – or the prophesy proclaiming a savior will appear to free the kingdom from the unholy grasp of Queen Alcina. They only know they have a special bond, a psychic connection, and perceive their differences from other people in their world – although, the perception is small at this point, and not clearly defined.

The spurious Queen Alcina seeks to circumvent the prophesied appearance of the savior destined to free the Cathairians from her onerous rule by drafting all young men from seventeen to twenty-five to serve in her legions. Her edict loosens the winds of change. Unrest and rumors of treason begin to blow across the land.

The story takes off when Cayden volunteers for the army to deflect being arrested for the justified murder of an evil soldier. By doing this, he triggers events that take him on a hero’s journey into a dangerous world where mystical beings and abounding magic rub shoulders with the familiar world of his youth.

Faw’s alternate world echoes the medieval period in human history and utilizes a coming-of-age plot structure with an engaging and adept storytelling sensibility. Fans will be thrilled to learn that Seer of Souls is the first book in The Spirit Shield Saga. Faw shines brightly as a keen, larger-than-life storyteller and deserves the praise and accolades she is receiving for this series. Seer of Souls contains epic villains and courageous heroes, hints of burgeoning young love, graphic violence, and mind-stretching magic, a promising read that will draw a strong audience from Y/A readers.

December 26, 2017
The INNOCENT DEAD, Sam Dyke Investigations, Book 7 by Keith Dixon – International Crime Thriller, Hard Boiled Mystery

Award-winning English author Keith Dixon creates another scary scenario to add to his Sam Dyke Investigations series. This time, he tackles terrorism and makes it personal.

When private eye Dyke gets a call to the home of businessman Mark Ware, he has no idea he is going to visit an enormous mansion. But the secrets hidden there are even more incredible than the décor. As told by Mark and his stunningly beautiful wife Bobbie, their ten-year-old son has been kidnapped. Yet, there is no demand for ransom to date, and the crime took place several days before.

So why was no one called until now? And what was the role of the evasive housekeeper who would have known the whereabouts of everyone in the house, or of the chauffeur who, though an ex-cop, did nothing to stop little Luke from being dragged from the family limo?

And if the kidnappers want no money, what exactly are they after?

To ferret out the answers to these questions, Dyke calls on his son Dan and his faithful assistant Belinda. Dan’s a computer wizard and Belinda, well, Belinda is a one-woman deadly weapon. Although the two don’t appreciate the expectation that they will be available to assist Dyke whenever he calls–day or night—they always are there to help.

The deeper they delve, the more questions arise, leading to a bloody murder, an international drug cartel and a very mysterious character named Church who spends his days voluntarily leading discussion groups on religion. But which religion? And what else does he do with his time? Once nearly every clue has been uncovered, Dyke realizes he may need to pull the plug on the operation and get his backup to safety. Then Dan disappears, and Sam knows he’s in for the long haul, do or die.

Dixon’s somewhat surly, often cocksure crime fighter, Dyke, is a marvelous creation. His investigative skills rival that of any intellectual British parlor sleuth, while his tendency to get in the face of dangerous characters shows he is no stranger to backroom brawls. Throw in a few sarcastic zingers to add humor to some otherwise very tense moments—and you have the essence of Dixon’s anti-hero. There’s no word out of place in this practiced writer’s prose; he knows how to pressurize a plot to the point of near explosion, then reins it all in and sweeps up the loose ends. Recommended.

December 26, 2017
MISTRESS SUFFRAGETTE by Diana Forbes – Victorian Historical Fiction, Suffragette Movement, Political

Against a backdrop of the Gilded Age, Mistress Suffragette follows a young woman as she fights with society and herself to find genuine freedom.

New York debutante Penelope Stanton is on the verge of marrying Sam, a business acquaintance of her father, but when her father’s business endeavors begin to fail, Sam drops her. Her family will soon be in dire straits if they can’t marry Penelope off or find her a good job. At a dance, she meets Edwin Post, an older, married man, who forces himself on her—and she must admit, his kisses drive her wild.

Torn by so many conflicting options, Penelope impulsively runs off to Boston with her old school chum Lucinda, to look for work and break free from obstructive social custom. In Boston, they meet Verdana, a brawny bloomer-wearer who draws Penelope into the movement for women’s rights. Soon Penelope finds that Verdana has forged an unconventional relationship with none other than her ex, Sam.

Then Penelope’s mother joins them, and a strange ménage is formed. Verdana and Penelope get work as speakers for women’s suffrage, demonstrating the freedom of Verdana’s “rational” trousers contrasted with Penelope’s “irrational” corsets and flounces. On a bicycle ride, they run, literally, into a radical Jewish artist, John Sloan, who moves in with them while recovering from his bruises. Penelope is attracted to John, while fearing he may be a fraud.

Meanwhile, Edwin is still pursuing her, driving her half mad with lust and indecision, and the whole gang is being stalked by a menacing neighbor who hates suffragettes, forcing Penelope to prove her secret skill with a pistol. All the chaos turns out to be good for Penelope, who is increasingly able to separate her negative feelings from her positive convictions, learning to say no—and someday, perhaps, yes.

Diana Forbes is a New Yorker who writes historical fiction with gusto. She has clearly researched the era, adding details about the styles, current events, medicines and other small but enjoyable touches. But her central focus is on leading her heroine through the bends and switchbacks of a well-devised plot. While all her characters are intriguing, Penelope will be especially recognizable and appealing to modern females as she grapples with the strictures of a time when women were the virtual chattel of the males in their lives. Penelope experiences love, lust, and everything in between, balanced by a strong sense of reason unusual in one so young.

December 18, 2017