21 May 2014

ENGLAND EXPECTS.

ENGLAND EXPECTS by SARA SHERIDAN.

SOURCE:  The third of six books won celebrating the blogoversary of Lindsay over at THE LITTLE READER LIBRARY

ABOUT THE BOOK: Set during the summer heatwave of 1953, England Expects finds Mirabelle and Vesta investigating the seemingly unrelated murders of a racing journalist and a cleaning woman. Their searches lead them through Brighton Pavilion's crumbling passageways to the quad of a Cambridge college and, finally, into the shady world of freemasonry where betraying secrets can cost dearly. And, while not on the murder trail, Vesta has to make some decisions about her personal life.

FIRST SENTENCE {Prologue}: Joey Gillingham got off the train and checked his watch.

MEMORABLE MOMENTS {Page 47}: The rate of corpses piled around that woman was astonishing. If someone was ill in her general vicinity, it would be best to check it out.

MY THOUGHTS: What I'd describe as a cosy mystery with perhaps a bit more oomph than is usual for the genre. Though England Expects is the the third book in the Mirabelle Bevan Mystery series I thought it perfectly readable as a standalone novel.

Set in 1950's Brighton (something I did like though I'd probably have appreciated it more if it were set in my home town) and apparently based on actual events. Whilst there was nothing wrong with the book -I can't say it was badly written, the plot was OK and not without humorous moments, the characters fair to middling, - it was just one of those novels that for some reason or other simply failed to engage me hence the low rating.


Copyright: Tracy Terry @ Pen and Paper. All original content on http://pettywitter.blogspot.co.uk/ is created by the website owner, including but not limited to text, design, code, images, photographs and videos are considered to be the Intellectual Property of the website owner, whether copyrighted or not, and are protected by DMCA Protection Services using the Digital Millennium Copyright Act Title 17 Chapter 512 (c)(3). Reproduction or re-publication of this content is prohibited without permission. In addition I would also urge that if you are reading this on any other page you contact the original blog owner/reviewer.

11 comments:

Kelly said...

It sounds like one I might possibly enjoy, but considering it's part of a series and I have so many books in my TBR pile (not to mention those on my wish list), I think I'll pass on this.

Brian Joseph said...

When books do not do anything different I sometimes feel the way you do about this one.

The quote about the bodies piling up was funny.

Sherry Ellis said...

That's too bad you didn't find the book engaging.

The Bookworm said...

With my recent read, I can totally understand when you say it didn't engage you.

Stephanie Faris said...

It doesn't seem like you see many books set in the 50s. It's still one of my favorite eras.

Melissa (Books and Things) said...

I get that. Sometimes it's just not for you. Still, brilly review!

Literary Feline said...

I am sorry this one wasn't better for you. It sounds interesting though. I'll have to think further about this one before deciding to read it or not.

Mary (Bookfan) said...

Too bad it wasn't an engaging read. The setting and era sound good.

Melliane said...

It's interesting I confess but if it's only OK, I think I'll pass. Thanks for the review.

Yanting Gueh said...

When I read the synopsis, I was slightly curious and interested. But when I got to the first and the most memorable lines, I sort of drifted from it a bit ... Good to read your thoughts on it, Tracy!

Suko said...

Thanks for sharing your honest thoughts about this book.