B Reviews / Book ReviewsContemporary / contemporary mystery / dysfunctional family / England / family relationships4 Comments
On his retirement, George Ainstey had moved to Ellstream, hoping to escape from the tensions of London life. His only neighbors were Lady Charlotte Merrion, who lived in the mansion on the site of an eighteenth-century ruin, and her daughter-in-law, Antonia Merrion, whose land adjoined Mr. Ainstey’s. But even in ... more >
B- Reviews / Book Reviews1970s / child heroine / England / Portugal / second chance at love2 Comments
At Edmund Brooke’s insistence, his ten-year-old daughter, Vitorina, leaves the closed world of her old and strait-laced great-aunts and their Portuguese mansion—complete with chapel—and journeys to a boarding school in England. Edmund readily accepts the offer of a golfing acquaintance to act as chaperone for Tory. Once on the train, ... more >
Book Reviews / C Reviews1950s / Europe / mystery / Post WWII / social change4 Comments
The Green Empress coaches specialised in taking clients of wealth or importance across Europe in luxury. When Angus Graham became “liaison officer” for one of these coaches he did so lightheartedly, but the dangers and difficulties of the journey were only compensated for by the charming presence of Lord Lorrimer’s ... more >
A- Reviews / Book Reviews / Recommended Reads1950s / England / family relationships / France / road trip5 Comments
Jessica de Vrais was twenty-two, the only child of an elderly and irritable widower. Though they thought alike on almost all matters, they agreed on none; least of all did they see eye to eye on the subject of men. Jessica, pretty and popular, invited them to come and stay; ... more >
B+ Reviews / Book Reviews / Recommended Reads1960s / ensemble / family relationships / London / Older Man/Younger Woman / Portugal8 Comments
Edmund Forth, a handsome young man in his mid-thirties (though admittedly a bit stogy and sober for his years) is engaged to the beautiful but selfish Angela Wilde. His world seems perfect until lovely Fran Nash comes riding into his life on the back of a Portuguese donkey. Fran’s sunny ... more >
A- Reviews / Book Reviews / Recommended Reads1960s / art thief / boss/secretary / England / Historical / opposites attract / Paris / professor13 Comments
Lucille Abbey runs her London secretarial agency with utmost efficiency. When, therefore, a certain Professor Hallam rejects three girls sent by her to apply for the post of his secretary and they each pronounce him “impossible”, Lucille herself sets out to interview the Professor at his home in Hampshire. He ... more >