Reviews tagging 'Torture'

The Deadly Hours by C.S. Harris, Susanna Kearsley, Anna Lee Huber, Christine Trent

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adventurous emotional mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.5

“What do you think?” said the Austrian, his gaze meeting Jude’s and holding it. “That if you do this, it will in some small way atone for what you allowed to happen here today? Well, it won’t. There is a darkness that exists within each of us, Mr. Lowe. All it takes is a seductive leader or the right circumstances to turn that darkness into evil. I have struggled all my life to stay on the side of goodness and light. What about you, Mr. Lowe? Do you even know which side you’re on?” — from Siren’s Call, by C. S. Harris 
 
(Sorry for the super long review format—it was tricky since I’m reviewing a book that consists of four different novellas by four different authors. 😅) 
 
TITLE—The Deadly Hours: (I) Weapon of Choice 
(II) In a Fevered Hour: A Lady Darby Novella 
(III) A Pocketful of Death 
(IV) Siren’s Call 
 
AUTHORS—(I) Susanna Kearsley 
(II) Anna Lee Huber 
(III) Christine Trent 
(IV) C. S. Harris 
 
PUBLISHED—2020 
 
GENRE—historical fiction, historical fantasy 
 
SETTING—(1) a seaside inn in Italy, 1733 
(II) Georgian era Edinburgh, 1831 
(III) Victorian era Edinburgh, 1870 
(IV) Kent, England, 1944 
 
“Because the gold was stolen from a church, you mean, and people think that angered God?” 
“Vautour shrugged. “There are older gods in Cartagena, and the gold the Spaniards used to build their churches was already stolen… You may choose which god you think would seek its vengeance…” — from Weapon of Choice, by Susanna Kearsley 
 
MAIN THEMES/SUBJECTS—overarching: a cursed gold pocketwatch, murder mysteries, 
(I) lady writer MC, Jacobites, assassins & adventure, love between married couples, snappy dialogue, Shakespearean epigraphs for each chapter, stories, traditional gender roles, poisons 
(II) lady forensics scientist & painter MC, disease, a graveyard, classism & criminalization of the poor, poisons, a sort of cishet feminist/savior complex feel to this story though… 
(III) lady undertaker MC who also comes across as a very Hercule Poirot kind of detective, cemeteries, classism, Industrial Revolution 
(IV) lady historian MC, World War II, xenophobia, historical artifacts & collections, fascism, good vs evil, war 
 
WRITING STYLE—(I) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 
(II) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 
(III) ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 
(IV)⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️—her scenic descriptions were particularly good 
 
CHARACTERS—(I) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 
(II) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 
(III) ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 
(IV)⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 
 
STORY/PLOT—(I) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 
(II) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 
(III) ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 
(IV)⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 
 
BONUS ELEMENT/S—(I) I just loved the relationship between Hugh and Mary—married couple love stories are my favorite. 🥰 
(II) Bonnie Brock was a super interesting character and I liked the end scene in the graveyard. 
(III) I loved that the MC was an undertaker. 
(IV) The philosophy of this story was phenomenal! 
 
“It helps,” said Rachel, conscious of a painful welling in her chest. “I think it helps the spirit of the universe, the… the common chord of our shared humanity. There’s too much that is horrible in our world right now. We all need to do our part to come down on the side of good and light.” — from Siren’s Call, by C. S. Harris 
 
PHILOSOPHY—(I) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 
(II) ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 
(III) ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 
(IV) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️—Really, really good!! 
 
This book was ADORABLE! Such a fun and interesting read! All of the stories were very readable even if some of them were definitely stronger than others. I just loved the idea of this book and its execution was remarkably good. I would definitely read more like this and will definitely be reading more of Susanna Kearsley and C. S. Harris specifically! 
 
“The old enchanter smiled. ‘I warned you it would not be easy, but in truth there is no spell, or curse, that cannot be undone.” — from Weapon of Choice, by Susanna Kearsley 
 
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 
 
TW // death, murder, disease, g-word slur, torture, xenophobia (Please feel free to DM me for more specifics!) 
 
Further Reading— 
  • The Devil and the Dark Water, by Stuart Turton 
  • Bone China, by Laura Purcell
  • The Witch’s Daughter, by Paula Brackston

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