Diary of Anne Frank - Book 97

I last read this book as a teenager and it made as big an impression on me now as it did then. This tale from the Holocaust of a young Jewish girl who is forced to go into hiding to avoid the soldiers is moving. Imagine the turmoil of your teenage years with all this going on as well. Life is never the same for Anne, but she deals with it by writing in her diary chronicling the daily events. As you read, it's hard not to be impressed by the fortitude of those forced to live a restricted life and the bravery of those who helped them.

Imperium by Robert Harris - Book 95

I've read and enjoyed a lot of books by Robert Harris and Imperium is one of the best. As an old Latin scholar, I was fascinated to learn more about the life of Cicero, whom I knew as a famous man of letters. I did not realize how much he was enmeshed in the political life of the time. Harris brings this era of ancient Rome, when it was still the centre of the world's most powerful empire, vividly to life. The characters are richly drawn, especially Cicero and his secretary Tiro, who narrates the tale. An excellent read which is highly recommended.

Prophecy by S J Parris - Book 92

The sequel to Heresy, Prophecy reintroduces Giordano Bruno, the Italian heretic turned detective spy. As ever, he's trying to unravel a conspiracy against Elizabeth I while working as a mole in the French ambassador's court. There are multiple twists and turns as well as the sights and sounds of the Tudor court and the book is quite readable. However, S J Parris is no C J Sansom, who does a far better job of bringing that world to light in a more thrilling way. Recommended.

Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton - Book 82

The first time I tried Pirate Latitudes, I didn't get into it, but a few months later I picked it up again. Perhaps it was more interesting because I was on my way to the town in which much of it was set, Port Royal in Jamaica, but whatever the reason, I found it a good airplane read. Set in the Caribbean in 1665, it tells the tale of Captain Charles Hunter who sets out to take some gold from the Spanish, finds himself captured, lost, almost shipwrecked, recovered, betrayed and facing death. Luckily, he's a resourceful fellow, so whenever it looks like the end, he somehow manages to escape. Peopled by a cast of rogues, prostitutes and corrupt politicians - as well as a few people too sanctimonious for anyone's good, the novel rolls along merrily. A good holiday read.

Promises to Keep series by Shayne Parkinson - books 62-64

I love a good historical novel, and the Promises to Keep series by Shayne Parkinson has a lot going for it. It's set in New Zealand in the 1880s, which is a novelty in itself, among a small farming community in Ruatane. The trilogy follows the life of Amy, from the age of about 12 onwards. And what a turbulent life it is too - from near ruin, to a disastrous marriage, to surprise relatives and more. The supporting characters, including her stepmother Susannah, her cousin Lizzie, her husband and sons and others, are all well drawn and come to life off the page. I was sorry when the trilogy came to an end and will be looking out for more from this writer. Five stars!

The books are:

• Sentence of Marriage
• Mud and Gold
• Settling the Account
• A Second Chance

Find out more on the Shayne Parkinson author page

The Cellist of Sarajevo - Stephen Galloway - Book 35

Inspired by a true story, this is a moving story of four people in war-torn Sarajevo:

From Amazon: Canadian Galloway (Ascension) delivers a tense and haunting novel following four people trying to survive war-torn Sarajevo. After a mortar attack kills 22 people waiting in line to buy bread, an unnamed cellist vows to play at the point of impact for 22 days. Meanwhile, Arrow, a young woman sniper, picks off soldiers; Kenan makes a dangerous trek to get water for his family; and Dragan, who sent his wife and son out of the city at the start of the war, works at a bakery and trades bread in exchange for shelter. Arrow's assigned to protect the cellist, but when she's eventually ordered to commit a different kind of killing, she must decide who she is and why she kills. Dragan believes he can protect himself through isolation, but that changes when he runs into a friend of his wife's attempting to cross a street targeted by snipers. Kenan is repeatedly challenged by his fear and a cantankerous neighbor. All the while, the cellist continues to play. With wonderfully drawn characters and a stripped-down narrative, Galloway brings to life a distant conflict.

I found this book an easy read and really enjoyed the journey into a completely different, often horrifying world. If you've ever wondered what it's like to live in a war zone, this book brings it home by showing the minutiae of everyday life as well as the seemingly small decisions which may mean life or death. An excellent read.

From Dust and Ashes - Tricia Goyer - Book 27

This book dealt with the immediate postwar period in Austria. Here's Amazon's description:<

It is 1945 and a group of American soldiers liberate a Nazi concentration camp. Helene is the abandoned wife of an SS guard who has fled to avoid arrest. Overcome by guilt, she begins to help meet the needs of survivors. Throughout the process, she finds her own liberation - from spiritual bondage, sin, and guilt. Readers will be intrigued and touched by this fascinating story of love, faithfulness, and courage amidst one of the darkest chapters of mankind's history.

I found Helene's story compelling and the book served to remind me of a perspective that's often ignored - that of the people terrified into supporting the Nazi regime, even though their real sympathies lay elsewhere. I'd give this book 3.5 stars - while I enjoyed it, I'm not in the least tempted to read the others in the series.

The King's Daughter - Barbara Kyle - Book 16

This is the story of the time of Bloody Mary. The novel covers attempts to reinstate Catholicism in the mid 16th century. It has everything - intrigue, murder, a dashing Spanish soldier of fortune - but somehow I just couldn't immerse myself in the world that author Barbara Kyle painted. Perhaps it's because I've been spoiled by the excellent novels of C J Sansom, but although there was nothing wrong with the book, it just never gripped me in the way I would have wanted. For me, this is only a three-star read.

Amazon's description:

Upon the death of her father, Henry VIII, Queen Mary assumes the throne after a long exile. Her first order of business is to wed the devout Prince Philip of Spain, creating a powerful alliance that will transform Mary-s fanatical dream of ridding England of Protestantism into terrifying reality. And so begins the reign of Bloody Mary...
Even as she plans for her own nuptials, Isabel Thornleigh is helping to lay the groundwork to overthrow Mary and bring Elizabeth to power. But none of the secrets Isabel has discovered compares to the truths hidden in her own family. With her beloved father imprisoned by Queen Mary, only Carlos Valverde-a Spanish soldier of fortune-can help Isabel. Now with England-s future at stake, Isabel risks all to change the course of history...

Heresy by S J Parris - Book 14

I stayed with the Tudor period (well, the Elizabethan period, really) for my next book, a novel by S J Parris called Heresy. This book introduces Giordano Bruno (which for some reason kept reminding me of Britain's ex-PM, Gordon Brown), a lapsed Catholic Italian tasked with rooting out seeds of Catholicism in England at the behest of Walsingham. He goes to Oxford in search of conspiracy and finds it in abundance. There are several murders, not to mention petty academic rivalries in these hallowed halls.

S J Parris has been compared to C J Sansom, but although Heresy was a good read, it didn't grip me in quite the same way as the Sansom's Shardlake series. However, I think it's a worthy addition to the ranks of historical detective fiction and am looking forward to reading the next in the Giordano Bruno series - Prophecy.

Heartstone by C J Sansom - Book 13

This is the fifth Matthew Shardlake mystery by C J Sansom. I was introduced to these late last year and have devoured them ever since. Set in one of my favorite historical periods, the time of the Tudors, it sets Shardlake on the trail of two mysteries, putting him in the usual amount of danger as he moves from London to Portsmouth.

From Amazon:

In 1545, times are perilous for London counsel Matthew Shardlake and for his country. While the English, heavily taxed and with their coinage debased by Henry VIII, prepare for a naval attack from the French at Portsmouth, Shardlake takes on a case at the request of Catherine Parr on behalf of her former servant, whose son committed suicide after discovering “monstrous wrongs” against a teenage ward he once tutored. As the 43-year-old, hunchbacked Shardlake seeks to uncover secrets in the ward’s household, he also investigates the past of a presumably sane woman kept for years in Bedlam. Even with the queen’s patronage, the dogged Shardlake is threatened bodily while pursuing answers to both cases, which ultimately pit him against his old court nemesis, Sir Richard Rich.

As usual Sansom captures the period vividly and it's a rollicking good read. Can't wait for the next one!

Catherine of Aragon by Giles Tremlett - Book 12

From Amazon's Booklist:

The daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, Catherine was already one of the most learned women in Europe when, still in her teens, she married Arthur, Prince of Wales. His death a few weeks later left her stranded in England until she married King Henry VIII in 1509. Henry’s disappointment over the lack of a son to inherit the throne and his fascination with one of Catherine’s ladies, Anne Boleyn, are used to explain what went wrong with an initially happy union; but Tudor-era politics are never so simple. Tremlett deftly takes the reader through all the twists and turns, and shows us a woman who, rather than being a passive victim, was fully the equal of her husband in conviction and determination. --Mary Ellen Quinn

I've always been fascinated by the Tudors, and read a lot of fiction on the period, so it was interesting to read a non-fiction portrayal of Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII's first wife. Former Guardian journalist Giles Tremlett tells the story well, bringing the known historical facts to life beautifully, and I knew much more about Catherine at the end than I did when I started.  It was a gripping read, every bit as exciting as the fictionalized portraits of that era. One of the best I've read so far in this challenge.