A Few Thoughts On The Gods of Gotham by Lyndsay Faye

The Gods of Gotham by Lyndsay Faye
Publisher: Putnam 2012 (Hardcover) 
Source: Purchased
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Synopsis:

1845. New York City forms its first police force. The great potato famine hits Ireland. These two seemingly disparate events will change New York City. Forever.

Timothy Wilde tends bar near the Exchange, saving every dollar and shilling in hopes of winning the girl of his dreams. But when his dreams literally incinerate in a fire devastating downtown Manhattan, he finds himself disfigured, unemployed, and homeless. His older brother obtains Timothy a job in the newly minted NYPD, but he is highly skeptical of this untested "police force." And he is less than thrilled that his new beat is the notoriously down-and-out Sixth Ward-at the border of Five Points, the world's most notorious slum.

One night while returning from his rounds, heartsick and defeated, Timothy runs into a little slip of a girl—a girl not more than ten years old—dashing through the dark in her nightshift . . . covered head to toe in blood.

Timothy knows he should take the girl to the House of Refuge, yet he can't bring himself to abandon her. Instead, he takes her home, where she spins wild stories, claiming that dozens of bodies are buried in the forest north of 23rd Street. Timothy isn't sure whether to believe her or not, but, as the truth unfolds, the reluctant copper star finds himself engaged in a battle for justice that nearly costs him his brother, his romantic obsession, and his own life.

My Thoughts

- I purchased The Gods of Gotham back when it was first published in 2012, fully intending to read it shortly thereafter.  That obviously didn't happen, as here it is 2015 and I've only just now read it.  This is one of those books that left me wondering why I waited so long to pick it up, and has left me very happy that the second novel in the series, Seven For A Secret, is already sitting on my shelves. 

- Set in New York City in 1845, the novel's protagonist, Timothy Wilde, is one of NYC's first police officers (aka copper star).  I really enjoyed learning a bit about the formation of the NYPD, and how its creation was met with such resistance by certain groups within the city. 

- A narratives that evokes a strong sense of time and place is important to me when reading historical fiction. Faye excels in this area. In Faye's deft hands, mid-nineteenth century New York City vividly comes to life in all its splendour and its squalor.  As the mystery at the heart of The Gods of Gotham unfolds, Faye also successfully captures and conveys the tensions that existed between Catholics and Protestants, and between the Irish and American-born New Yorkers. 

- The novel's cast of characters is one of its greatest strengths. Timothy Wilde is a smart, resourceful man, one who seems a perfect fit for police work, even if joining the NYPD isn't his preferred career choice.  Timothy's brother, Valentine, is charismatic and somewhat mysterious, making him all the more alluring as a character.   The novel's supporting characters are intriguing, especially Timothy's landlady Mrs. Boehm, his fellow copper star and sometime partner Mr. Piest, and brothel madam Silkie Marsh.  I especially loved Bird Daily and the newsboys. 

- The narrative itself is engaging, and kept me eagerly turning the pages.  While I wasn't overly surprised by the novel's conclusion, Faye successfully kept me guessing as to how everything would turn out until the final few chapters.

- I'm very much looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

- Recommended to fans of historical fiction set in the United States, as well as to readers who enjoy well plotted and engaging mysteries. 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (February 9th, 2015)

It's Monday, so you know what that means -- it's time for It's Monday! What Are You Reading?, a weekly meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.

My reading mojo was a little off last week, so I didn't read as much as I'd hoped to, but I did manage to finish Tarquin Hall's The Case of the Missing Servant, the first in his Visi Puri mystery series -- which I mistakenly thought was The Case of the Man Who Died Laughing as indicated in my post last week. The novel, which is set in modern day India, was a lot of fun and I definitely plan to continue with the series.  My read of Sarah Dunant's Blood and & Beauty stalled somewhat, although I did pick it back up yesterday and I'm moving through it quickly now.   

In addition to Blood & Beauty, I've also started Adam LeBor's The Washington Stratagem, a fast-paced political thriller featuring a kick-ass heroine who for works for the UN, Yael Azoulay.  I loved LeBor's first Yael Azoulay novel, The Geneva Option (click here to read my review), and so far this latest book is every bit as engaging. Seriously fellow readers, if you enjoy thrillers you simply must give this series a try. I've also picked up Nele Neuhaus' Snow White Must Die, a crime novel set in Germany. It seems promising so far.

While my reading is off to a smashing start this year, I have failed to keep up with the Green Gables Readalong I joined in January so I've decided to opt out of it.  Even though I love the books, I'm just not in an Anne of Green Gables mood at the moment. 

What about you? What are you reading this week?

It's Time to Curl Up with a Cozy Mystery

For many of us in the northern part of the Northern Hemisphere, this is the time of year to stay inside curled up with a good book and a big cup of tea.  For me, this includes curling up with a cozy mystery or two.  I have always enjoyed the mystery genre, but sometimes I feel like reading lighter mystery fare. This is where cozy mysteries come in, as they are often a lot more fun and much less graphic than their non-cozy counterparts. In celebration of the cozy mystery, I thought I'd share with you some of my favourites:

Laura Childs' Tea Shop Mysteries

Childs' series, which features a tea shop-owning amateur sleuth named Theodosia Browning as its main protagonist, is probably my favourite cozy mystery series. Set in Charleston, South Carolina -- a place I very badly want to visit thanks to the Tea Shop books - this series is a guaranteed good time.  While I often figured out the resolution of the main mystery before each novel's conclusion, it never diminished my enjoyment of them.  Aside from the series' setting, my favourite aspect of the Tea Shop mysteries are the characters, all of whom are memorable and endearing. Lovers of tea will certainly appreciate the many tea references made throughout each of the novels. If you're not a tea lover reading these books will certainly make you wish you were. 

The Tea Shop series starts with Death by Darjeeling.

Rhys Bowen's Royal Spyness Mysteries

Another favourite of mine, Rhys Bowen's Royal Spyness series is set in 1930s England, and features as its heroine Lady Georgianna Rannoch, 34th in line to the British Throne. Despite being a member of the British aristocracy, Georgie is flat broke and must work.  But working is not something Georgie is particularly adept at, so hilarity ensues. This cozy mystery series, like the Tea Shop mysteries, features a fabulous cast of characters, many of whom are endearingly quirky.  Georgie herself if easy to cheer for as she attempts to live her own life -- which includes trying to find love -- and solve mysteries in the process.  Appearances by the British Royal Family, as well as Georgie's non-Noble mother and grandfather, are particularly memorable.

The first novel in the Royal Spyness series is appropriately titled Her Royal Spyness. 

Heather Blake's Magic Potion Mysteries

This series is, so far, only two books long, and to date I've only read the first one, A Potion To Die For.  I loved it!  The main character, Carly Hartwell, owns a potion shop in small town Alabama.  In the series first installment, a man is found dead in Carly's shop holding on to one of her potions. Carly must work to clear her name and prove her potions aren't deadly!  I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series, One Potion in the Grave.  Blake is also the author of the cozy Witchcraft Mysteries, a series I'm eager to try.



Lynn Cahoon's Tourist Trap Mysteries

As with Heather Blake's Magic Potion Mysteries, Lynn Cahoon's Tourist Trap Mystery series is, to date, only a few books long.  I've read the series' first book, Guidebook to Murder, and thought it was very well done.  The main character is Jill Gardner who, after growing tired of her high flying big city career, moves to small town California to open a bookstore and coffee shop.  In the first book Jill finds herself embroiled in a murder mystery, one that threatens all she holds dear.  I'm looking forward to reading the next book!



What about you? Do you enjoy cozy mysteries? If so, what are some of your favourite series?

Book Talk: Is it Time to Rethink How I Review?

I've noticed a trend on my blog lately, my review posts, by and large, generate the least amount of traffic and the fewest comments (the exception seeming to be those that feature bestsellers such as The Girl on the Train).  Perhaps this is because my reviews aren't linked to a site hosting a meme, or maybe it is simply because I'm reviewing books few others have an interest in.  Whatever the reason, I find it a bit disheartening -- of all my posts, reviews are the ones that take me the longest to prepare and require the most thought. 

Am I the only book blogger that has this issue, or is it a phenomenon that many of you are also experiencing? I love book-related discussion posts, but one of the main reasons I got into blogging in the first place was to discuss those books I've read and want to share with others.  Perhaps I simply need to augment my reviews with discussion posts on subjects related to the book reviewed.

With this in mind, I'm looking for ideas and inspiration from my fellow book bloggers. What do you find works best for you as both a reviewer and as a reader of reviews? What types of review formats do you most like to read? Are there any formats you dislike? What determines whether or not you'll comment on a review? For those of you who have followed this blog for a long time, what do you most like about my reviews? What do you think I should change?

I'm looking forward to hearing your views. 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (February 2nd, 2015)

It's Monday, so you know what that means -- it's time for It's Monday! What Are You Reading?, a weekly meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. 

I managed to finish two of the three books on my reading list from last Monday - The Gods of Gotham (stay tuned for my review later this week) and Caliban's War - so this week I have a couple of new books to share. First is Sarah Dunant's most recent work of historical fiction, Blood & Beauty, which is about the Borgias, and second is Tarquin Hall's The Case of the Man Who Died Laughing, which is the first in his series featuring Dehli Detective Vish Puri.  I expect both books to be enjoyable reads.


While I did finish two books last week, unfortunately Anne of Green Gables was not one of them.  I'm still languishing behind, as I was supposed to be finished by the end of January and already moved on to the second book in the series. Oh well, if I put my mind to it I'll be able to catch up really quickly.  I shouldn't be surprised that I've fallen behind, however, because I don't have a great track record when it comes to readalongs LOL.

What are you reading this week? 

January In Review

It is hard to believe January is already over, isn't it? It was a very cold and snowy month here so outdoor activities were kept to a minimum -- a trend I hope reverses itself in February because my little dog misses her daily walks -- but I managed to get a lot of reading in because of it.  I also had my biggest blogging month in almost a year, with nine posts. Yay me! Here is a look back at the reading and blogging I accomplished in January:

Total Books Read: Nine (this puts me on pace to read over 100 books in 2015, which will likely not be sustainable). Click on the book titles below to read my reviews.

• Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
• Quiver by Holly Luhning
• The Witch of Babylon by D.J. McIntosh
• Suffer Little Children by Peter Tremayne
• The Strangled Queen by Maurice Druon (no review)
• The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
• The Black House by Peter May 
• The Gods of Gotham by Lyndsay Faye (review to come)
• Caliban's War by James S.A. Corey (no review)

Of these nine books, six of them had been sitting on my TBR pile as of December 2013. My favourite of the books I read was Daughter of Smoke and Bone, followed closely by The Gods of Gotham.

Blogging-wise, I posted six reviews (most grouped together as mini-reviews), participated in the It's Monday! What Are You Reading? meme on a regular basis, signed up for the Canadian Lit Bingo Reading Challenge, and took part in one Top Ten Tuesday post.  Statistically, my review posts generated both the least amount of traffic and the fewest comments.  As a result, I'm going to re-think my review strategy since, despite this being a book blog, readers don't seem as interested in my reviews as they do in my participation in general discussion posts/memes.  Anyone else find their reviews are the least popular feature on their blog?

Looking ahead to February, my goal is to continue reading books off my TBR pile. I'm going to start by tackling Sarah Dunant's Blood and Beauty. 

How did your reading go in January?

It's Mystery Time: Mini Reviews

2015, so far at least, seems to be the year of mysteries and thrillers for me. Of the seven books I've read so far, five of them fall within these two genres. I'm not overly picky when it comes to mysteries or thrillers, and will read anything that sounds good or is highly recommended by reading friends.  Luckily, I've enjoyed each of the books I've read in these genres this year.  Here are my thoughts on the two I most recently finished:

The Blackhouse by Peter May (4 out of 5 Stars)
Publisher: Quercus, August 2014 (Trade Paperback)
Source: Purchased

Set on Scotland's remote Isle of Lewis, The Blackhouse is a compelling mystery that highlights how our past can shape who we are, and how it can impact the present. When a Lewis man is found murdered in a manner similar to a recent killing in Edinburgh, Detective Fin Macleod is sent to the Outer Hebridean island to determine if there is a connection between the two. But the Isle of Lewis, the childhood home of Detective Macleod, is a place he had hoped never to return to, and the murdered man was a childhood bully.  Returning to the island means Fin will not only have to confront the present, but also his past. 

I enjoyed The Blackhouse immensely.  Not only was the mystery a good one, leaving me guessing as to the perpetrator until the novel's end, the characters are well-developed and interesting.  My favourite aspect of the novel, however, has to be its setting.  This is, as far as I can remember, the only book I've read set on the Isle of Lewis, and May does a great job capturing the essence of the Isle and bringing its culture to life.  I'm very much looking forward to reading the next novel in the Lewis trilogy, The Lewis Man.  I highly recommend this book to fans of the mystery genre. 

Suffer Little Children by Peter Tremayne (4 out of 5 Stars)
Publisher: Headline (mass market paperback)
Source: Purchased

Suffer Little Children is the third novel in Peter Tremayne's Sister Fidelma historical mystery series.  Set in Ireland in the mid-seventh century, the series features an Irish nun - Sister Fidelma - as its protagonist. Fidelma, however, is more than a nun, she is also dalaigh (lawyer) of the law courts of Ireland, and it is in this capacity that she is called upon to solve crimes. In Suffer Little Children Fidelma is asked by her brother to determine who killed a renowned scholar at an abbey within his domain, and in so doing put a stop to a war being threatened as a result of the killing. 

The Sister Fidelma series is quickly becoming a favourite of mine. Not only does the series feature a smart, fascinating heroine in Fidelma, but each of the mysteries is engaging.  I also love how Fidelma goes about solving them.  One of the strongest aspects of this book, as well as of the others in the series, is that it showcases early Christianity in Ireland and how it differs from Rome. As Roman Catholicism takes further hold in Ireland it will be interesting to see how Fidelma, who doesn't agree with many of the tenets being put forth by Rome, adapts in future books.  I can't wait to continue with this series!