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carolcooney 's review for:
Of Hoaxes and Homicide
by Anastasia Hastings
Dear Fellow Reader,
It is the end of January already. While January can be dreary where I live (and it was) there is the hint of light at 5 p.m. which we haven’t seen for a while. There is hope. There must be, I have even been thinking about the garden, and by the end of the season, I never think I will want to think of it again.
This week I have a (not too much of a surprise) brand new cozy mystery for you. This is the second in the series of Dear Miss Hermione mysteries. No, I have not read the first one, Of Manners and Murder. While I would always encourage you to start at the beginning, I didn’t have any trouble reading this second book without having read the first. I was given a copy of this book for my honest review.
Of Hoaxes and Homicide takes place in about 1885 and is the story of Violet Manville and her half-sister Sephora. Violet is the commonsense sister while Sephora cares about society and clothes and being a lady. Both women live in a house owned by their aunt, Adelia, who has left town with her latest lover. One of the secrets that she left behind with Violet is that Aunt Adelia was London’s very popular Agony Aunt, Miss Hermoine. Violet is now Miss Hermoine. She fills this role with the help of Bunty, the housekeeper. (She has a secret room where she works and everything.)
Sephora is bored and Violet is a bit restless also. They had been involved in a murder mystery and it was quite exciting. It was hard to go back to their regular lives. Violet is hiding it but is especially on edge because of the mysterious Eli Marsh, whom she met when investigating the murder. He may have captured a bit of her heart. Sephora is especially missing her best friend, who is off visiting relatives.
Or is she?
Miss Hermoine receives a letter asking for her help and Violet connects the letter to Sephora’s friend. It seems the friend has been caught up in a cult, the Hermetic Order of the Children of Aed. The stories about the cult have been made infamous by the mysterious Count Orlando.
Was the cult really having orgies?
Were there ritualistic sacrifices?
Violet decides to go to the Cult to see what it is all about and while she is there, a man is murdered. Who did it? Can she find the missing girl and return her to her family? Will the mysterious Eli March arrive? Sephora comes into her own in the story and surprises Violet in the best way.
I found it to be a very pleasant story. I liked the writing. The style reminded me a bit of the Enola Holmes stories in that Violet occasionally has an aside with the reader when she is frustrated about something. This book is available now so you can buy it or try your local library. (I just checked and my library system has 4 copies.)
On to something different…
I won’t be writing a full review (because you can read about 100 of them if you try) I would highly recommend The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride. I just finished it, and I LOVED it. I am in awe of the mind that can come up with such interesting characters and plot. Hats off to Mr. McBride!
And because we are on the eve of it, Happy Library Lovers Month! Go forth and tell those librarians how much you appreciate what they do! In some ways, they are the Guardians of our Galaxy.
It is the end of January already. While January can be dreary where I live (and it was) there is the hint of light at 5 p.m. which we haven’t seen for a while. There is hope. There must be, I have even been thinking about the garden, and by the end of the season, I never think I will want to think of it again.
This week I have a (not too much of a surprise) brand new cozy mystery for you. This is the second in the series of Dear Miss Hermione mysteries. No, I have not read the first one, Of Manners and Murder. While I would always encourage you to start at the beginning, I didn’t have any trouble reading this second book without having read the first. I was given a copy of this book for my honest review.
Of Hoaxes and Homicide takes place in about 1885 and is the story of Violet Manville and her half-sister Sephora. Violet is the commonsense sister while Sephora cares about society and clothes and being a lady. Both women live in a house owned by their aunt, Adelia, who has left town with her latest lover. One of the secrets that she left behind with Violet is that Aunt Adelia was London’s very popular Agony Aunt, Miss Hermoine. Violet is now Miss Hermoine. She fills this role with the help of Bunty, the housekeeper. (She has a secret room where she works and everything.)
Sephora is bored and Violet is a bit restless also. They had been involved in a murder mystery and it was quite exciting. It was hard to go back to their regular lives. Violet is hiding it but is especially on edge because of the mysterious Eli Marsh, whom she met when investigating the murder. He may have captured a bit of her heart. Sephora is especially missing her best friend, who is off visiting relatives.
Or is she?
Miss Hermoine receives a letter asking for her help and Violet connects the letter to Sephora’s friend. It seems the friend has been caught up in a cult, the Hermetic Order of the Children of Aed. The stories about the cult have been made infamous by the mysterious Count Orlando.
Was the cult really having orgies?
Were there ritualistic sacrifices?
Violet decides to go to the Cult to see what it is all about and while she is there, a man is murdered. Who did it? Can she find the missing girl and return her to her family? Will the mysterious Eli March arrive? Sephora comes into her own in the story and surprises Violet in the best way.
I found it to be a very pleasant story. I liked the writing. The style reminded me a bit of the Enola Holmes stories in that Violet occasionally has an aside with the reader when she is frustrated about something. This book is available now so you can buy it or try your local library. (I just checked and my library system has 4 copies.)
On to something different…
I won’t be writing a full review (because you can read about 100 of them if you try) I would highly recommend The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride. I just finished it, and I LOVED it. I am in awe of the mind that can come up with such interesting characters and plot. Hats off to Mr. McBride!
And because we are on the eve of it, Happy Library Lovers Month! Go forth and tell those librarians how much you appreciate what they do! In some ways, they are the Guardians of our Galaxy.