While Andrew Taylor beautifully evokes the stifled atmosphere of New York City under siege during the War of Independence (also referred to as the ‘Revolutionary War’). And gives us a plausible enough character in the guise of Mr. Edward Savill, a clerk for the American Office based in London. The over-all arcing storyline could have done with some judicious (if not) ruthless editing to bring the unwieldily mess into a more manageable read. As it stands, The Scent of Death meanders all over the place, so much so, that at one point I had to abandon it.
\nIt wasn’t so much from boredom, as tedium from an over abundance of exposition and story lines, that could have, IMHO, been a little more succinct and to the point. It’s one thing to describe a place, in detail, and evoke a sense of being there, and then, quite another to drown the reader in minutia.
\nThat isn’t to say I didn’t, in the end, enjoy this historically set mystery, just that I would have liked to have arrived at its conclusion a lot faster than I did. Especially as at the latter stages of Savill’s journey of discovery, it feels like the author suddenly rushed the ending, in comparison that went before.
\nThat said, the characters were, for the most part, well-drawn and delineated. As was the setting, from the gritty, realistic brutality of Canvas Town, down to the rest of the city struggling under shortages.
\nMuch of the intrigue and mystery of the novel is centred around the Wintour family which Savill is lodging with, rather than the war itself. But this too suffers from a meandering narrative that fails to deliver any real surprises at the book’s end.
\nAll in all, while The Scent of Death may be well researched and accurate in certain detail, it suffers from glacial pacing and unsympathetic characters who lacked any emotional depth to make the mystery worth bothering about.
\n", "date_published": "2026-06-25T10:33:00-04:00", "url": "https://alexandrawolfe.ca/2026/06/25/the-scent-of-death-by/", "tags": ["Book Review","Historical Fiction"] }, { "id": "http://alexink.micro.blog/2026/06/19/salt-to-the-sea-by/", "title": "Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys", "content_html": "This is a wonderfully written story about four young people, ranging in ages and backgrounds, set during World War Two, detailing all the horrors and ravages of war, and its effects on those struggling to survive. Vivid and sometimes, horrific moments punctate the spare prose of each character’s short chapters.
\nThe four main characters: Florian (the Knight) a young Prussian with a mysterious stolen artefact, Joana, a Lithuanian nurse, and Emilia, an idealistic and damaged Polish girl who, at 15, is pregnant after being raped by Russian soldiers.
\nA fact we learn slowly over the course of the book, like many other heartbreaking details about each characters life. Their family, friends, and the tragedy each carries within them: secrets that weight them all down. Too young to carry such a heavy burden, but forced to by circumstances and war. The brutality that’s thrust upon them, and how each, in their own way, is forced to deal with pain unimaginable. The guilt and the shame they carry. And the horrors they have witnessed.
\nDespite the heavy weight subject, and the gruesome descriptions, we’re also offered a great deal of hope and light and small acts of heroism. Especially through the philosophical wisdom of the old Shoe Poet, whose positivity and moments of observational humour breaks up some of the bleakness. Sorry Eva too manages to momentarily divert us with her straightforward comments, opinionated about everything and everyone.
\nBut the main focus are the four intersection stories of Florian, Joana, Emilia and Alfred, a young sailor who spends a great deal of time lost in his head narrating letters he’ll never write, to a girl from his childhood.
\nI loved the alternating chapters and the alternating points of view. Sepetys carefully weaves historical facts into what is a fictional account, and gives us glimpses of what life was like for those fleeing two mighty armies hellbent on destruction, at any cost: including the lives of innocent children.
\nHer prose perfectly captures the heartbreak and sets a tone we can relate too—whatever our age—to these four young people struggling for survival. Some of them will make it, others will not be so lucky. Sadly history tells us about the ship our characters were escaping to, the Wilhelm Gustloff, which was torpedoed by the Soviets in January 1945 with over 10,500 people onboard, more than 9,000 of whom perished in the frozen sea that fateful day.
\nMoving and uncomfortable, heartbreaking and yet, at times, also uplifting, SALT TO THE SEA is a look into what happens to displaced people, lost in the cracks of history, forgotten, and gives them a gentle, insistent ‘voice’ to be heard, by us, the reader.
\n", "date_published": "2026-06-19T09:30:00-04:00", "url": "https://alexandrawolfe.ca/2026/06/19/salt-to-the-sea-by/", "tags": ["Book Review","Historical Fiction","YA"] }, { "id": "http://alexink.micro.blog/2026/06/13/the-silence-of-the-bones/", "title": "The Silence of the Bones by June Hur", "content_html": "I truly had high hopes for this debut novel from author, June Hur, given its subject material, late 18th to early 19th century Korea, in a period of scandal and turmoil. Catholic priests were risking life and limb to infiltrate Korea and spread the word of the One God. And while Hur uses this as the backdrop to her novel, I felt it missed the mark.
\nThe Silence of Bones could have been so much more than just a murder-mystery. All the right ingredients were there. A mysterious priest converting Koreans to Catholicism, a high born lady dressing as a man and smuggling forbidden books into the capital city, and an Inspector at the police bureau seeking revenge for the death of his parents, and redemption from his family’s shame.
\nExcept, we are given Seol’s story. Here is a young woman (16) sold into indentured slavery from one master to the police bureau in the capital, who becomes a ‘Damo’. A woman who has to be present for the sake of decency when an officer of the law is interviewing, searching, or talking to a female suspect.
\nSeol isn’t too happy to find herself in her current situation, torn from what little family she had left, and burdened with a promise to search from her dead older brother’s grave, for her older sister. This is essentially the backbone of the story, as she helps the venerable Inspector Han discover who the murderer is, while figuring out her place in this new world she finds herself in.
\nAll this makes for a somewhat intriguing mystery, but without any real depth and lacking any true emotion. I felt indifferent to the characters and the story as it unfolded, and couldn’t quite put my finger on why. Mostly it came down to the fact I was being told a story, rather than “immersed” in the story. I never got a real sense of place, nor of the characters themselves. We didn’t get to feel the sights and sounds, nor connect with any emotion on a substantive level.
\nEven the main character of Seol was want to wander off at tangents, as the author gave us mini info dumps in the middle of something the character was doing, or saying. That said, there were still a few interesting moments but never enough to make up for the disjointed feel to the narrative as a whole.
\nThis was, for the most part, just an okay read. Not great, but not awful either, just average.
\n", "date_published": "2026-06-13T10:45:37-04:00", "url": "https://alexandrawolfe.ca/2026/06/13/the-silence-of-the-bones/", "tags": ["Book Review","Historical Fiction"] }, { "id": "http://alexink.micro.blog/2026/06/10/the-ashes-of-london-by/", "title": "The Ashes of London by Andrew Taylor", "content_html": "THE ASHES OF LONDON by Andrew Taylor is a well plotted murder-mystery set amid the aftermath of the Great Fire of London, in 1666, and the political turmoil following the Civil War. Wherein a number of the ‘Fifth Monarchists’ continue to fan the flames of sedition long after the failed Commonwealth in the belief they can still bring about the installation of King Jesus; And a heaven on earth.
\nThe intertwining threads of this story are seen through the eyes of the two main characters: James Marwood, caring for his ageing father who’s suffering from the onset of dementia. This young man’s struggle is heartfelt; living down his father’s past while trying to make a living for them both, he’s caught in a web of lies, secrets, and betrayal while longing for a quiet ordinary life.
\nCatherine ‘Cat’ Lovett is the daughter of a fugitive ‘Regicide’ who, while in the care of her Aunt and Uncle, is raped by their son Edward. Throw in the fact that her Uncle has arranged a marriage of convenience and sold Cat’s inheritance to his own benefit, you can understand why she takes matters into her own hands. Not to spoil the reveal, Cat has her revenge but with devastating consequences for her, and those around her.
\nAndrew Taylor has fully fleshed out this unlikely pair, who carry quite the burden between them, both seemingly doomed by their fanatical fathers. Historical fact is blended seamlessly with fiction, blurring the lines with enough detail that brings every scene to life, so much so, you can almost smell smoke in the air. All of Taylor’s characters are true to their nature, and the age in which they live in, displaying the foibles and failings of the times. And in the case of Marwood—this wonderfully drawn character—there’s also a sense of duty and courage despite his situation and station in life.
\nAll in all, a thoroughly engrossing read. I read this one in less than two days sucking up every last detail, learning a great deal along the way I didn’t already know, about this period in history. I highly recommend this one whether you are into historical fiction, or not. Well drawn, fully-fleshed out, plenty of intrigue and action, and a cast of characters Shakespeare or Marlowe might have conceived and written about.
\n", "date_published": "2026-06-10T10:48:00-04:00", "url": "https://alexandrawolfe.ca/2026/06/10/the-ashes-of-london-by/", "tags": ["Book Review","Historical Fiction"] }, { "id": "http://alexink.micro.blog/2026/05/28/the-reckoning-by-james-mcgee/", "title": "The Reckoning by James McGee", "content_html": "THE RECKONING is not a book for the faint of heart, nor anyone who doesn’t like animal cruelty, violence, or graphic action in a fight scene. That’s because author, James McGee, accurately portrays the gritty underbelly of early 19th century London, when Britain is at war with France, and the Napoleonic Wars raged across Europe.
\nThis is McGee’s sixth novel in the Matthew Hawkwood series, but my first outing and not to be my last. The author skilfully makes this easy to read as a standalone, without the need to have read previous installments. Any references made to previous escapades and adventures are all told within the context of the story, and add to the over-all story and background of our erstwhile hero, Hawkwood. A man who’s as straight as an arrow, and happy to bend the wrong rules for the right reasons. Especially in pursuit of justice for a killer’s victims.
\nI thoroughly enjoyed the rich detail that McGee has woven into a tight tapestry of what life was like during this period, in English history. And loads us up with plenty of intrigue on any number of levels. Not just a murder mystery, with Officer Hawkwood trying to trace a killer with little or no clues to go on. This is also a political thriller, with plenty of insight to the inner workings of the government, or, I should say, a number of departments, and high society of the day. Specifically, the warped sexual proclivities of the upper echelon and their ilk.
\nIt is McGee’s descriptions of this sordid world, that while repugnant, show us just how life was for so many—the struggle for survival on a daily basis, brutal and cutthroat. And yet, within this world there are moments of lighthearted banter, jovial comradeship, and small slither of light. It is not all darkness and gloom, not all pain and drudgery.
\nMcGee also lightens the load with wonderfully drawn characters, Hawkwood may carry the bulk of the story, but the other characters are as well crafted and fully fleshed out. I specifically like Jago, a rapscallion of a man who is Hawkwood’s right hand man, and has Hawkwood’s back. Then there is James Read, the Chief Magistrate at Bow Street, and Hawkwood’s ‘boss,’ who is the ‘moral’ compass, and even Read’s clerk, Twigg, was someone you don’t soon forget, as he provided some droll moments of humour. Even the Coroner’s surgeon, Quill, in his ‘death’ house, provided a welcome chance for the author to provide us with some great banter back and forth.
\nWith plenty of colourful, engaging characters, going up against the entrenched bureaucracy of Brooke, Addington and Saxby, and with some keenly written snappy dialogue, McGee weaves an excellent story to a very real backdrop of history. He combines plenty of action and yes, plenty of violence, to keep a reader turning the page. And for me, this was a real page turner. I read THE RECKONING over two days, sucking up and relishing every detail.
\nWhile I enjoyed this novel, I will admit it might not be to everyone’s taste. As I stated, there is plenty of violence within the context of the story, and in part, the details are a little on the grisly side—but never overly gory, at least, not for me. If you like your murder mystery with a historically accurate background, a bunch of well-shaded characters, and a lot of period action (pun intended) then you will probably enjoy this one as much as I did.
\n", "date_published": "2026-05-28T15:40:00-04:00", "url": "https://alexandrawolfe.ca/2026/05/28/the-reckoning-by-james-mcgee/", "tags": ["Book Review","Historical Fiction"] }, { "id": "http://alexink.micro.blog/2026/05/22/the-stockholm-octavo-by-karen/", "title": "The Stockholm Octavo by Karen Engelmann", "content_html": "THE STOCKHOLM OCTAVO by Karen Engelmann is a wonderfully written historical thriller full of intrigue, fans—and yes, I mean those kind of fans. Fans women use to use to fan themselves with, and more, with a deft hand, secretly signal to friends and lovers—hinting at mystery, murder, and a dash of romance. A story that is as much about cartomancy as it is about history, is decked out with an unusual cast of characters, ‘The Eight,’ who are lead character, Emil Larsson, must find in order to achieve his destiny.
\nSet in Stockholm, Sweden, at the end of the eighteenth-century, we find out Emil Larsson’s destiny isn’t his own, it’s tied up with that of the King of Sweden. All of which is the author’s way of opening up the various levels of society represented in the story, from seedy gaming houses and tap rooms, to the lofty levels of the government and royal palace and sumptuous world of Gustav III. Revolution is brewing on many levels, as the world in which Emil finds himself, is undergoing tumultuous change.
\nEngelmann’s writing is fluid, graceful, and wonderfully nuanced, sucking the reader into the story where the descriptive prose conjure locations, activities, and conversations that evoke this world, perfectly. This is not by any means a fast, action-packed story, but a slowly nuanced complex story told from a number of POV, centred around Emil Larsson. A story that paints a richly detailed world of manners, morals, and a belief a person can rise above the station they’re dealt in life if but given a chance or, dealt the right hand of cards.
\nAn enjoyable, immersive experience. Highly recommended.
\n", "date_published": "2026-05-22T15:57:00-04:00", "url": "https://alexandrawolfe.ca/2026/05/22/the-stockholm-octavo-by-karen/", "tags": ["Book Review","Historical Fiction"] } ] }