Blue Wolf Reviews

Tag: historical fiction

  • Murder in Paris

    Murder in Paris

    A tall stranger stood surveying the ballroom at the Hotel Ritz, Paris. His white tuxedo jacket was ill fitting, his air of intrigue captivating for young American heiress Maisy Bell; this was not the first time a man of his years had caught her attention. As the Krug flowed, the talk escalated and couture fashion was worn with elegance, Maisy introduced herself to this intriguing man.

    An air of mystery and mystique introduces Murder in Paris from Kirsty Manning as Charlie James, still enjoying life in Paris, still trying her hardest to be accepted as an Investigative Journalist is asked to discretely look into the disappearance of Maisy Bell, who according to her Aunt Clementine went for an outing a week ago and failed to return.

    Charlie taps into her contact in the Paris Gendarmerie, the delightfully shy Inspecteur Bernard, who while sympathetic seems to think Maisy will eventually return, but Charlie is none too sure. She talks her boss George into allowing her to follow through with the story of the missing American.

    When a murder is committed in Tours, Charlie is sent to cover the story but also decides while she is there to see if she can discretely find out more about Maisy Bell’s destination, a Villa in Saint-Cloud,

    Nothing goes according to plan as she is refused admission to the murder site, hides behind a tree, meets a man whom she believes is the gardener, but is Detective Gilles Allard, of the Tours Police Department and officer in charge of the case.

    As the details of the murder become apparent, Charlie finds she and the handsome Gillies Allard spend time together sharing information, trying to place all the pieces in the ever-increasing puzzle that seems to be connected to the disappearance of Maisy Bell.

    Captivatingly woven between the high society of Paris during 1938, Haute Coutre and murder, Charlie James realises that moving to Paris with a bruised heart, determined to become a reporter with her own by-line, has also shown her that sometimes a second chance at love can be offered, in the most unusual circumstance.

    Murder In Paris is book two in A Charlie James Mystery series.

  • The Fifth Avenue Artists Society

    The Fifth Avenue Artists Society

    As a young girl, the author would listen to stories told about her family in earlier times. She became so intimately involved with the characters and relations, that she began to add her own fillers to their life stories. Evenings were spent at home talking about events and times, and often the stories of her Grandparents and great Aunties and Uncles, wove their way into the conversation.

     The author developed an intense interest in her kin and their motives for events that happened. No Wonder! They were an amazingly talented family. One was a pianist who played with a symphony orchestra, one was an artist, one was a milliner of great renown, and one a teacher. The author chose to write about the writer, who struggled for recognition in a male dominated area.

     Virginia, or Ginny, was based on the character of Alice, Ms Callaway’s great,-great- aunt, who wrote small reviews for a newspaper. Ginny’s family was close. Their father had died, and mother struggled to keep things going, but the children all earned an income and would help out. Ginny had loved the boy next door, Charlie.

     They had such a close understanding of each other, and had been together since childhood, that a marriage proposal was expected. It came as a tremendous shock, when at a party thrown by Charlie’s Mother, the proposal was made, but to a wealthy girl. Even though later Charlie had told her that his mother had given him no choice but to marry into money, Ginny was devastated. Her brother told her that to survive heartbreak she must sit down and bury herself in writing.

     Ginny did this and was stunned when she found she had a completed manuscript to present to a publisher. It was then that her brother Franklin introduced her to the Fifth Ave Artists Society, where men and women artists actually mingled, with the aim of supporting and helping each other. Amazing and heady stuff! It was during this time of enlightenment that Ginny’s brother, Franklin, began to bring home money and buy expensive gifts for the family. This was a halcyon period for them until things began to go wrong. Because of Franklin’s naivety, a trail of disasters began.

     This is an Historical fiction, set in 1876, written and researched about the times in the Bronx in New York. It is a romance, a book of female enlightenment, and the beginning of choices for women. It looks at differing needs of individuals within a close family, and also looks at areas of forgiveness. It is quite fascinating to look at this from a modern perspective, especially when it is your own family who behave in certain ways. Patterns emerge, and names from the past are used to keep the memories of those long gone, alive. Such talent, love and heartbreak, in a very special family, make for enjoyable reading.