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Saucy Jack strikes again
Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson LOST AND GONE FOREVER. By Alex Grecian. Read by John Curless. Books on Tape. 9 CDs; 10 ½ hours. When reviewing the newest book in a series, I usually try to judge whether someone who hasn’t read all the earlier entries will understand and appreciate the new one. This time,…
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Anne Perry’s annual holiday gift
For 11 years now, Anne Perry has given her fans a Christmas present: a holiday novel, one of her engaging Victorian tales with a Christmas setting. These books offer support for the theory that good gifts come in small packages: They are briefer than Perry’s usual novels, but each offers a complete and satisfying tale,…
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All this and a mystery, too
Novel readers are well acquainted with the darker side of Victorian England, the often-wretched lives of the poor and society’s gaping inequalities. We also may have had literary glimpses into the lives and adventures of those in government and law-enforcement circles. Julia Stuart’s hilarious novel offers a look at a slice of Victorian life that…
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This year’s new gems from Anne Perry
Fortunately for her legions of fans, Anne Perry continues to produce fine novels in her two series set in Victorian England, the William Monk novels and those featuring Thomas and Charlotte Pitt. These books offer so much: They are excellent historical novels. Perry does her research well, presenting us with an unsentimental picture of life…
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Christmas reading arrives
For nine years now, Anne Perry has been writing a short novel for Christmas, drawing on her expert knowledge of Victorian England, as well as some of her familiar characters. For Perry’s many fans, the arrival of her latest holiday book is as much a herald of the season as the parade, the bell ringers…
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Madam India Black, at it again
If you enjoy reading fiction set in Victorian England, then give this India Black series a try. Dickens, of course, showed the chasm between rich and poor, and focused his literary light on the dark side of London inhabited by thieves and worse. Today, Anne Perry, in her two mystery series, does an eye-opening job…
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Intrigue and danger in Victorian England
Anne Perry is one of the best historical novelists writing today. Her books are literate, thoughtful, thought-provoking and intriguing. Obviously, she has done a great deal of research, yet her stories are told so naturally that the reader is immersed within the world she creates without being distracted by too much thinking about how she…