The Shining Skull

Finished March 19

The Shining Skull by Kate Ellis

As usual in this series, there are both historical mysteries that Neil, the archaeologist comes across, and modern day ones that have some relation to the historical ones.  

In 1976, Marcus Fallbrook, a seven-year-old boy, son of a well-off man, was kidnapped. His family was asked for ransom and it was paid, but he was never returned. Thirty years later a middle-aged man knocks on the door of his home looking for Marcus' father, who has passed away, and says that he is Marcus. He explains that a recent accident to his head has caused him to start remembering. In the house are Marcus' younger half-brother Adrian and his wife. As they go through confirming his identity and catching up with events, Adrian is pleased to meet his brother and connect with him.

Meanwhile a teen pop-star who lives in the area is kidnapped, and some parts of her case show similarity with that of Marcus's. 

There is also an odd case of a man, who changes appearances with each contact, impersonating a taxi cab and picking up fares of blonde women, taking them to a more private location, and cutting off most of their hair. He doesn't seem to want anything else of them. 

In terms of the historical case, Neil is supervising a relocation for graves and their inhabitants to make way for the building of a church hall. Some are quite old, and the coffins aren't in good shape. One breaks apart as they move it, and everyone is surprised to find that it holds two bodies: a young woman and a young teen boy. It is her grave, and Neil is determined to discover his identity and work out why he is there. He is also intrigued by a singular marking on some of the graves that indicates they belonged to a group that followed a woman who called herself The Shining One and who predicted a major event when her child was born. 

As the police and Neil separately research their cases and mysteries, the connections begin to be shown and the parallels are, as usual, very interesting. 

I really like how this series brings in history to current cases. It is also interesting to see how the personal lives of some of the characters develop. From Wesley's boss trying to support his woman-friend through moving her mother into dementia living to Pam's teaching to Rachel's moving out of her family home, we see changes in their lives. 

Ghost of a Chance

Finished October 15

Ghost of a Chance by Cate Dean

This is the first novel in a series featuring antique and collectable shop owner Maggie Mulgrew. As a child, Maggie came often to visit the small town of Holmestead, England to stay with her Aunt Irene who had an antique shop. The two bonded and became very close. When Irene died, Maggie found that she'd inherited everything from Irene's house to her shop with the flat above it. She was able to leave the U.S. and her overbearing parents and create the life she wanted, which wasn't that different from Irene's. 

Now, Maggie finds some of her stock at estate sales and auctions, and near the start of the book she attends a nearby sale and finds a few things, including a dirty, but interesting-looking box. She leaves Spencer, her best friend and employee in charge of the shop while she is away. 

Meanwhile, at Oxford, professor of archaeology Pembroke Martin has discovered that his student assistant Ken has sold the rare apothecary jar that Martin had recently acquired after a years-long search. The jar is special as a piece, but Martin wanted this particular jar because of a ghost story associated with it. Digging out the details from Ken, Martin tries to get to the auction before the jar is sold, but is too late. 

Maggie has done well at the auction, and has seen a couple of other local collectors, another dealer and the curator of a local museum. She also met Edward Carlisle, a seemingly wealthy man who made no secret of his interest in the jar, but was unsuccessful in obtaining it. 

As Martin's search leads him to Maggie, she agrees to help, but the two discover the new owner dead, and Martin is now a suspect. 

Maggie finds herself drawn to Martin, a man she has already respected and admired from his reputation and television appearances. But Martin has ties to several other people involved in the case, and she isn't entirely sure whether she should trust him.

I enjoyed the amateur investigation Maggie takes on, trying to not only find the murderer, but also to clear Martin so that she can pursue the friendly feelings she has towards him. 

She's smart, and observant, but also impulsive, and this seems like a promising start to the series. 

The Marriage Hearse

Finished July 13

The Marriage Hearse by Kate Ellis

This is the tenth book in the series featuring DI Wesley Peterson. Here the book opens with a crime scene, where we see a young woman, dead and in a state of undress, be staged for a misdirection as to her death. We then jump to a wedding scene, at the registry office. The registrar is Joyce Barnes, a middle-aged motherly woman who notices an unusual emotion in the bride's eyes, fear. The reader is moved again, to a different wedding scene, opulent and formal in a church, where things are not going well. The bride, Kirsten Harbourn, is late, and her father finally appears, but instead of walking her down the aisle, he is alone and announces that she is dead, murdered. 

This is one of the cases that Wesley is now engaged in, as they endeavour to discover who killed the bride-to-be and why. The situation is a little unusual, with the bride preparing for the wedding on her own, instead of with friends and female family members, and this raises the question of whether she had planned on meeting anyone during this time.

Kirsten worked as a secretary at a local ESL school where European students came to board and learn the language. Wesley and his team take a look at the situation there, as some people close to Kirsten have mentioned that something odd was going on there, and that she may have endangered herself if she discovered something. 

When a local man with a metal detector investigates a field with permission from the farm owners, he finds jewelry, but also human remains. The police are called in and Wesley calls Neil as the bones look as if they've been there for some time. As he learns more, Neil is determined to solve the riddle of who this woman was, and enlists the help of an archivist friend. 

Wesley's archeologist friend Neil Watson is in charge of a dig at local Tradington Hall, where discoveries have been minimal to this point. 

On the personal side, Wesley's sister Maritia is about to get married to the new vicar of Belsham, and the couple and friends, including the best man who is visiting from London, are working on the vicarage which has been neglected for some time. Meanwhile, she is staying with Wesley and his wife Pam and their kids, and been helpful with the kids as well. 

The local theatre group is putting on a play, newly discovered, but dating back to the late 1500s. The playwright, Ralph Strong, was born locally, and went to London to further his prospects as an actor and playwright. This is the only one of his plays to survive, and is titled The Fair Wife of Padua. Each chapter is introduced with either lines or programme notes from the play, and we begin to see how it aligns with different parts of the many plotlines. 

I always enjoy the way the various plotlines link in Ellis's books and how there is an historical story that has things in common with the current day crime. 

This was an engrossing read that I finished quickly. 

A Cursed Inheritance

Finished April 7

A Cursed Inheritance by Kate Ellis

This is the ninth book in the Wesley Peterson mystery series set in Devon, a series that I'm gradually making my way through. Wesley is a senior police officer in Devon, England. He has a degree in archeology and is also Black. All of these things bring a unique aspect to his cases. 

Here, there is a new case of a freelance journalist who is found dead in the river. Luckily, he hadn't been in the water a long time, so once they identify the body they are quickly looking into what he was doing in the area and what may have led to his death. At the same time, a case where a man has been serving time for years is reopened after a woman who has been living abroad since the crime gives him an alibi. As the police take another look at the evidence and case notes, they must ask themselves why the previous investigation didn't get it right. 

The journalist had been looking at a crime from 1985 where nearly the whole Harford family and their staff at their sixteenth century house, Potwoolstan Hall, had been killed. At the time, it was determined that the young housekeeper had killed everyone and then herself. The police have to ask themselves whether maybe this case was solved with too little questions being asked as well, given that the journalist is also now dead. The house has been transformed into a wellness center offering lodging and treatment for guests willing to spend the high fees for the New Age treatments on offer. 

Wesley's archeologist friend Neil Watson is part of an exchange program, where he is off to Virginia in the United States to visit a dig there at a settlement founded by people who took a ship from this area of Devon centuries before, including one member of the original family of Potwoolstan Hall. Neil also has a personal task he has been given by a family member. 

As some of these cases converge and the historical dig gives uncovers interesting information about some deaths back then, we can see elements of similarity in some of the stories. 

I enjoy seeing Wesley's personal life as well, here with his wife Pam in the later stages of her second pregnancy, which is putting stress on their relationship as well. 

The Plague Maiden

Finished March 29

The Plague Maiden by Kate Ellis

This is the eighth novel is the Wesley Peterson mystery series set in Devon, England. As is typical, there are two storylines, a historical event brought to light through archeology and a modern-day crime that parallels the historical story. 

When a letter arrives addressed to a past police leader about a crime committed more than a decade earlier, one that someone is already in prison for, clearing him, the police have to face questions about their work in the past, and need to look at the crime again to see who else could have done it. The crime in question is the murder of a local pastor, one that seems to be a burglary gone wrong. The man in prison references a statement he made at the time about a youth he saw hanging about the area, that seems to have never been followed up on. 

An archeology dig in a nearby field, known as Pest Field, is happening, looking for a leper church that is rumoured to be located there. The field is the site for a new branch of a supermarket chain, and there is pressure to do the work within a certain time frame. When the archeologists, led by Wesley's old friend Neil, begin to dig up human remains, the police and coroner become involved. While most of the remains seem centuries old, perhaps those of plague victims buried in a common pit, one found closer to the surface is more recent and may relate to the newly opened case. 

I enjoy the puzzle of the two parallel events, with the historical ones loosely based in real history, and the more recent ones in which Wesley, with a background in archeology uses that and his police skills to connect them. 

I also like that the series includes both the police officers relationships with each other and attitudes, as well as some family life that varies in focus from book to book. Here we see many of the officers in action, and we see Wesley's wife in the later stages of pregnancy and the couple's interactions. I admit that with this and the previous book, I'm starting to rethink my impressions of one of the police officers in their personal life. 

The Skeleton Room

Finished August 3

The Skelton Room by Kate Ellis

This is the seventh book in the Wesley Peterson series. This time the historical timeline that accompanies the contemporary timeline is from the late 18th century with the narrative by a local vicar at the time. Wesley and his team are called to a local estate called Chadleigh Hall that is being converted into a hotel. Workmen there broke through a wall and discovered a hidden, sealed chamber with a skeleton in it. The police and coroner can see that the body has been there for some time, but look for clues as to when the room might have been sealed. With the information that the building was once used as a private girls' school their investigation includes that time period, the 1960s. 

The same day as the discovery of the sealed room, a woman's body is discovered off the coast. As they work to identify her, they need to also determine where she might have entered the water, and whether it was an accident or a deliberate act. 

The historical timeline deals with an unfortunate time when coastal communities lured ships near to shore, where they would founder, and the local people would take the cargo. The motivations for this type of act, and some of the violence that accompanied it are complex, yet related to poverty and survival in many instances. 

There is also a mystery man who keeps to himself and seems to have something to hide. 

The plot of the novel in the contemporary time reveals an interesting loophole that was taken advantage of. I like this series, both learning about history as well as contemporary information. I like how Ellis relates the two time periods through plot elements.

It's also interesting to see how the various characters develop over the course of the series, in both good ways and bad, and how some characters that have been talked about make an appearance that relates to the plot. 

The Summer Book Club

Finished July 25

The Summer Book Club by Susan Mallery

I enjoyed this book better than the other Mallery book that I read recently. The novel is centered on three women, two of whom have been friends since childhood. The third woman, Cassie, is undergoing a major life change as the book opens. 

Cassie's parents died when she was a child, and she was brought up by her two older siblings and her uncle. Cassie is a woman who loves to help those she cares about and her life up to know has been focused on her family rather than her own life and wants. When her uncle passed away, he left her some property in California, across the country from her home in Maine, and her siblings now force her to go out and see what's there and start living life for herself. It's a bit of tough love on their parts, but they want her to have a full life of her own.

Laurel runs a small business, mostly online, in small antiques and collectibles, and is divorced with two daughters. Her ex-husband wasn't an involved father, and left her in a bad place financially that she has worked her way out of. She's a bit wary of men, and she's worried that her fears have been passed on to her oldest daughter.

Paris is also divorced, and has been focused on her anger issues and her mental health for the more than decade since the divorce. She's built the farmland she inherited from her mother into a successful farmstand business. Because Paris is aware of her own emotional issues from the past, she's scared to try a new relationship. 

As Cassie is brought into the friendship through a casual meeting and an invitation to join the book club, the three spend the summer reading, learning about themselves and their capabilities, and taking a chance on new relationships. 

A satisfying and interesting read. 

A Painted Doom

Finished July 11

A Painted Doom by Kate Ellis

I was so enjoying the last Kate Ellis that I read I decided to immediately read the next one in the series. As is usual for this, there is an historical plotline that is gradually revealed through the archeological work that occurs in the novel and through letters or other writings that are given at the beginning of chapters. Here the historical is about the Merrivale family, a well-off family of the late 1400s that had links to the Earls of Devon, and who were loyal supporters of the House of Lancaster in the Wars of the Roses of that time. Recently, a skull was discovered when digging was done in an area of land not built on for some time, where a new town hall is planned for. Neil thinks that they may be excavating the foundations for a manor house of the Merrivale family. 

Meanwhile, in the present, farmer Terry Hoxworthy is preparing an old barn on his land for possible sale. He has roped his teenage son Lewis into helping him, and Lewis makes a discovery in the old barn's loft that comes into play later in the plot. He also sees a large wooden panel with a disturbing scene painted on it that he recoils from. The following day, when the local planning agent comes by, he brings Neil with him to check for any historical significance relating to the old barn. Neil also discovers the panel, which he soon identifies as a 'painted doom', a panel often displayed prominently in churches to depict the horrors that awaited those who weren't destined for heaven. 

Terry also finds something else on the property, a man's body, apparently a victim of murder. As the modern story unfolds, we get stories of the more recent past, the death of a minor celebrity, and, excitingly, a new coroner, a competent and confident young woman, Laura Kruger. We also see a different side of Gerry Heffernan, Wesley's superior, on both personal and professional levels. 

I enjoyed seeing the development of the different repeating characters in the series, and seeing them in lives beyond the professional. 

I liked learning about 'painted dooms' and their history. Bringing in the personal correspondence of the Merrivale family brought aspects of the story a more personal slant, and as always there is a modern day parallel to the story of what happened in the Merrivale family. 

Altogether, a satisfying read.

The Bone Garden

Finished July 8

The Bone Garden by Kate Ellis

This is book five in the Wesley Peterson series. This book is set around an excavation of a Renaissance era garden at an estate called Earlsacre Hall. The property was recently bought by a trust and they are restoring the main building as an arts centre and having the gardens brought back to what they were once. Local archeologists are working first to see what they find, and under a stone plinth that held a sundial they discover a body. While the local pathologist agrees that the body is likely hundreds of years old, it does look like it was a murder victim that was buried alive. When more bodies appear, the work gets delayed a bit, and things look for complicated for the historical situation. 

In the present day, a body is found in a nearby holiday park and the only clue that Wesley and his time can find is a newspaper cutting about the restoration at Earlsacre. Wesley has also had a call from a local lawyer requesting advice on a personal matter that he hasn't disclosed. They agree to meet at a cricket match they are both playing in, but the lawyer disappears and is later found murdered. 

Neil appears here as well, coming in to assist with the archeology work at the site. 

Rachel, another police officer, also takes a role here both professionally and personally as she is part of the murder investigations, and finds a new attractive man that seems to be interested in her. 

I really enjoy this series, seeing how the different central characters react, and how they are changed by the experiences they have. I also like how the police characters lives are rounded out by there personal lives, whether is is Wesley's wife Pam preparing to return to teaching, or Wesley's superior talking about his choir rehearsals. 

The archeological story is also interesting, especially as it might have a personal connection to Wesley's family. The bodies date back to the struggle between the York and Lancaster lines of the royal family, which is a time period I find interesting. 

The Funeral Boat

Finished July 4

The Funeral Boat by Kate Ellis. 

This is the fourth book in this series, set in Devon, and featuring police officer Wesley Peterson. 

A smallholding farmer finds a skeleton when he does some digging for a project, and some of the items around the remains indicate it might be a Viking burial. Neil Watson is called in for a closer look, and begins to do some research at a local museum as part of that. 

Meanwhile, a Danish woman visiting the area disappears, with her car left empty and unlocked on a quieter road in the country. While the police are looking into her disappearance, they are also dealing with a series of confrontational farm robberies happening in the area. When the Danish tourist's brother arrives to help, things seem to be escalating. 

Again, I like how old papers help connect the theme between the past and the present, in a number of ways. I also likes seeing Wesley's wife Pam in a new light as she uses her knowledge of Old English to translate the papers they find, and bring the old story to life. 

The way the story unfolds brings in the real life of the people involved. From the medieval fair that Pam participates in as a volunteer, to the connections between local farmers, we see how people are connected beyond their jobs. 

Blood Sisters

Finished June 18

Blood Sisters by Vanessa Lillie

This novel follows archeologist Syd Walker, who works for the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Rhode Island. Syd, though white presenting, is of Cherokee heritage and was born and raised in Oklahoma, where her parents and sister still live. As the book opens, it is 2008 and Syd has just uncovered the remains of a young woman when doing a resource survey for new cables being run through the area. She has a representative from the local tribal office, who she's worked with before, and a coroner's representative attending. 

The real story of this novel though is back in Oklahoma, where a skull has been found with a link to Syd. Syd's boss flies her out to Oklahoma, where Syd is forced to face the demons of her past. When she was a teen, she and her sister Emma Lou were visiting a friend Luna, when two masked men barge in, separate them, make threats. Syd and Emma Lou survived, but Syd was able to shoot one of the men before their escape, which was followed by an explosion and a fire that destroyed the home. Syd has been haunted by the ghost of Luna, who has guided her and warned her of danger. 

Back in Oklahoma, Syd finds that Emma Lou has also disappeared, and the police seem reluctant to follow up on the disappearance. Syd goes in hot, following her instincts about old rivalries and motives to find her sister, but she finds so much more than she expected.

Lillie uses real history here, from the Trail of Tears, to the forced takeovers of Pawnee land, and the poisons resulting from mining in the area of Miami and Picher. She knows the area and the issues, since she is also Cherokee from Oklahoma. This book takes us into the lives of the people in Oklahoma, showing the reality of treaty breaking and loss of culture. It also contains elements of hope, of setting things right, and of renewing cultural traditions and language knowledge. 

This is an emotional and moving story of teenagers that went through trauma in different ways, and found ways to move forward with their lives, never forgetting their past. 

An Unhallowed Grave

Finished April 16

An Unhallowed Grave by Kate Ellis

This book continues the Wesley Peterson mystery series. Here we have a woman found hanging from a tree, staged to look like a suicide. As the police begin to uncover her history, they find that she has connections to others in the area from deeper in her past. 

An archeological team is working in the area, and uncovers a body nearby that is from five centuries before. As the team makes other finds, connected with the change in religion from that earlier time, there is also a more personal story about a local family and the larger community that worked for and interacted with them. 

I really enjoy having the archeological finds mirror the case that the police are working on. Here, we have the young woman working for the wealthy local family, looking after their children, and being blamed for something that may or may not be their fault. There are also elements of infidelity in both timelines, and a tragedy. 

I also liked how Wesley's personal life had a relation to the story as his wife looks for a child care provider that she can trust as she prepares to go back to work. 

This is a slower-paced mystery, and there are many small side plots that are interesting as well. I like seeing the various reappearing characters develop through the books. 

The Merchant's House

Finished January 5

The Merchant's House by Kate Ellis

I enjoyed The Armada Boy so much (a book I picked up in a charity shop) that I have got most of the rest of the series, and started with this one, which is the first in the series. The Armada Boy was the second in the series, so I'm mostly doing it in order. 

Here, DS Wesley Peterson has just transferred into the local force from London. As he walks to work the first morning, he sees his friend archeologist Neil Watson engaged in a dig at an old structure. They talk briefly and Wesley correctly identifies the structure as a merchant's house from the 17th century. Recently, Neil's team had discovered a child's skeleton that was confirmed to be from the same time.

As Wesley arrives at work, so does a new case, that of a body found by a woman walking her dog. Wesley is pulled into it and gets to know his superior officer Gerry Heffernan, and his fellow officers, including DC Rachel Tracey, who I liked from the book I already read. 

On the homefront, Wesley and his wife Pam are consulting with a fertility clinic as they try to have a child, and Pam is a bit emotional and sensitive about it. 

I liked how the archeology/historical part of the novel echoed what was happening in the present, showing that some issues and behaviours are universal. I also found it interesting to see the chapters starting with a historical diary entry as a bit of foreshadowing what was to be revealed. 

Once again, the various characters are interesting and I can see how the series as a whole will fill them out with added depth. The plotlines here were also intriguing and I enjoyed pondering the ethical dilemmas they revealed. 

The Armada Boy

Finished November 27

The Armada Boy by Kate Ellis

This novel is the second in the series featuring Devonshire police officer Wesley Peterson. In the small coastal town of Bereton, a group of American veterans has gathered, partly to visit where they were stationed for a while during World War II, just before D-Day, and partly as a memorial to those fellow soldiers who never returned. When one of the men, Norman Openheim is killed in the ruins of an old chantry chapel, the police find themselves both looking at current young criminals as well as delving into the activities that took place 50 years earlier. 

Before Wesley became a police officer he got a degree in archaeology, and it happens one of his friends archaeologist Neil Watson is doing work both in the chapel where the murder took place and in the coastal waters of the village. This work is around a ship and the Spanish men who were on it, as they were wrecked while trying to limp home after the defeat of the Armada. The bodies of the men are buried in the chapel, rather than in the churchyard with the locals. 

As the case moves on, Wesley and his fellow officers uncover information from both the more recent and the more distant historical events. Ties to the present and those connected wtih related local crimes also come to light. 

This read got me interested enough to order more books in the series. 

The Nodding Canaries

Finished October 28

The Nodding Canaries by Gladys Mitchell

This book is part of a long series that I've not read before. The Nodding Canaries is the 34th book in the series, but it seems like you don't need to read them in order to enjoy them. This book was originally published in 1961, shortly after it was allowed that female teachers could be married. The banter and slang used is dated, and in one or two cases offensive as current terminology. The sleuth here is Dame Beatrice Lestrange Bradley, who is a psychiatrist who works for the Home Office in England. 

Here she is called to Nodding by Alice Boorman, a schoolteacher that is a longtime friend. Laura Gavin, Bradley's secretary, is a childhood friend of Alice's. Alice has recently applied to run for Organizer of the area, a much-sought after position by teachers. She has been shortlisted along with two other teachers, and she offered to host them around the interview time as they lived further away, one from Devonshire, and one from Scotland. 

Before the late afternoon interviews, the women toured the town, seeing the cathedral, the market, and some historical sites. One suggested the historical site of Pigmy's Ladder, a prehistoric flint mine. Alice did not accompany the other women into the mine as she had already been and felt claustrophobic, but when they didn't reemerge at the appointed time the site manager called for help and the women were found and taken to the hospital for their condition. Alice feels that a past past-time of hers makes her a possible suspect to them and has asked Dame Bradley to find out the truth behind the incident. 

This incident leads to a missing male teacher, his questionable past, historical artifacts, and the local archaeological society. 

This is a mystery with much twists and turns. Dame Bradley is a force to be reckoned with, and the men here defer to her with little hesitation. The mystery itself is complex and dates back some time, with a variety of suspects and motives to keep the reader guessing. 

Hearts of Stone

Finished January 3
Hearts of Stone by Simon Scarrow

This novel jumps between two time periods, late 2013 and World War II. In the more modern time period, Anna is a high school history teacher in London and it's nearing Christmas break when she gets an email from a man, Dietrich Muller, in Germany asking if she is Anna, and if her grandmother was Eleni. At first, Anna is wary, but after doing some research, she listens to his story. 

It goes back to 1938 in Greece, on the island of Lefkas, where Eleni is from. Dietrich's grandfather Peter, and great-grandfather Karl were on the island doing an archeological dig led by Karl. Eleni's father was the police inspector in the main town there and thus they met, and the teenagers, Peter, Eleni, and her friend Andreas, spent a lot of time together and became friends. 

Karl was called back to Germany as things got more tense, and Andreas joined the navy shortly after. We then follow Andreas and Eleni on their journeys during the war, as Anna talks to her grandmother and finally gets her to open up about that time in her past. Dietrich's knows Peter's story from the diaries he left behind, and they share how those stories diverge and intersect.

The island of Lefkas is the setting for most of the historical part of the story, and I got a good sense of both the land and the people who lived there. This was a horrific time for them as they were occupied first by the Italians and then by the Germans, both of whom took much of the food there for themselves. The islanders natural resistance to this made reprisals common, and this created a cycle of tragedy and loss. The author also ties in more ancient history to the story through archeology and the long history of the Greek people. 

I really enjoyed this book and even though it is a long book, I read it fairly quickly. 

Cathedrals of Flesh

Finished September 22
Cathedrals of Flesh: My Search for the Perfect Bath by Alexia Brue

This memoir covers a few weeks in the author's life when she had an idea with Marina, a friend of hers to start a business in New York City operating a traditional-style Turkish bath. The idea began in Paris where the two visited several baths in this style. They loved the atmosphere, the process that was followed on a visit to the bath, and the interaction between the bathers. She then decided to go to Turkey to check out the baths there, and found it was a declining industry for the most part. Marina joined her for a few days here to explore alongside her, She did learn and few things, but found that the baths weren't as well-kept as she'd expected, and decided to take her research to a few other countries that had a public bath culture. Following this she got the opportunity to join an archeological dig in Corinth that included a public bath. She did find some things of interest here, but didn't like the dig leader's manner and it didn't live up to her image of what it would be.
Her next country was Russia, first in St. Petersburg, and then Moscow. Marina joined her for a day in St. Petersburg and then for the Moscow portion of the visit. Here she was first introduced to the idea of hitting oneself, or a fellow bather, with birch twigs as an added element of the bathing experience. The baths here were much hotter, and also not always that well-kept.
From Russia, she went to Finland, where he boyfriend joined her for part of the time. Here she entered the world of wood-fired saunas and found the baths well-run and very health oriented. Here they also used a branch of birch as an added stimulus. Along with her boyfriend, she took an excursion with a local family into the countryside to experience a lakeside sauna. Her final bathing experience was in Japan, and she was enchanted by the experience here. Some of the baths are fed by hot springs, with the sulfur smell I remember from my childhood hot springs experiences here in Canada. Besides Tokyo, she also visited Kyoto and a bath that was more of a spa experience with multiple offerings.
There is a list of baths in various counties at the back of the book, but of course since the book came out in 2003, it would be only a starting point for anyone interested. I was surprised at the many Canadian locations that were not included here, so I don't think it was a necessarily well-researched list to begin with, but more of ones that she'd heard of in her travels.
As I said, I grew up going to many hot springs in Alberta and B.C., all based on natural hot springs. Banff is likely the most well-known of these. I also like a good bathing experience of any type and have found memories of my multi-stage bathing experience at Baden-Baden in Germany, which sounds similar to her Paris experiences.
As of the book's publication, and what I've been able to see online, I don't think she ever opened a bath business, and now is probably a bad time for these sorts of businesses. Hopefully, we will get a vaccine that works well and be able to enjoy these lovely experiences again in the future.

The Egyptian Mirror

Finished June 15
The Egyptian Mirror by Michael Bedard

This spooky story for 9-12 year-olds takes place in Caledon. Simon and his family have recently moved back into the house his mother grew up in, after the death of his grandfather. Simon is the new kid, and smaller than most of the other boys in his neighbourhood. Watching them play baseball, he sees a ball break the window of an elderly neighbour across the street. When he later sees the neighbour fall while attempting a repair, he lets his mom know. The neighbour, Mr. Hawkins was a good friend of Simon's grandfather.
Once Mr. Hawkins is home from the hospital, Simon begins delivering dinners to him, and discovers from a photograph that Mr. Hawkins shares with him that he looks just like his grandfather who was such a good friend of Mr. Hawkins. The two start their own friendship, talking while Mr. Hawkins eats his dinner. Simon retrieves things from the second floor rooms for the older man, and learns about his career in archaeology and his large collection of mirrors, displayed throughout the house.
Simon finds himself particularly drawn to one small mirror, an Egyptian one that Mr. Hawkins believes is a well-done replica. Simon sees things in the mirror and learns that Eleanor, Mr. Hawkins wife, used to see things as well. He learns the story of how the mirror was acquired and the odd circumstances surrounding it.
Simon also begins to get ill, losing energy and feeling dizzy, and the doctors have a hard time diagnosing what is wrong with him.
Simon has been helping at home with his younger toddler sister Babs whenever he can. He reads to her, spends time taking her on outings and just playing with her. On one of their outings, he meets another new kid in the neighbourhood that he recognizes from school, Abbey. She is with her younger brother Max, and the four children start spending some time together. Abbey and Simon begin a friendship and Simon begins sharing some of his feelings and observations with her, including those around the mirror.
There is a strong feeling of danger and darkness present in this story, and the children must reach out to another archaeologist for assistance in resolving the threats on Simon and others.
An interesting, magical tale for young readers of fantasy and history.

Old Bones

Finished January 25
Old Bones by Gwen Molnar

This novel is part of a teen mystery series facing Casey Templeton, a young man with a good head on his shoulders. Casey's dad was with the RCMP, and as the youngest of three brothers, Casey is an independent kid. After his dad retired, they moved to Richford, a small town in Alberta, and his dad became mayor of the town soon after. Casey and his dad, now that they are spending more time together have been forging a deeper relationship. One example of this is how Casey thinks through problems and explains his thought process to others.
As the book begins, Casey's class is on an overnight field to Drumheller to visit the Tyrrell museum and experience archeological work. Casey and his best friend Mike, find parts of a tooth, but Casey ends up sunburnt from being a bit too interested to take the precautions he should have. Later that night at the motel, Casey overhears a conversation, but is forced to wait some time to report it.
As Casey is offered the opportunity to take a summer job at the Tyrrell to follow up, he also becomes better friends with Mandy, a girl he already knew through their parents' friendship. The pair go on a couple adventures together and end up in danger.
I liked Casey, and how he used the tools his father taught him to keep his head in the various situations he encounters. I also liked how relationships grew through the novel.
A good read.

The Lost Sisterhood

Finished July 27
The Lost Sisterhood by Anne Fortier

This novel alternates between two time periods. The earliest one is around 1250 B.C., in the Late Bronze Age, where the story begins with a young woman Myrina and her younger sister Lilli. The two girls return from a successful hunting trip to find their village changed forever. They must find a new home, and Myrina relies on stories from her mother Talla to lead them back to the Temple of the Moon Goddess where she hopes they will be taken in. It is a long trip with many challenges, not least is the reception at the Temple itself. But this is just the beginning of a longer journey, one measured in years, and taking the two woman and their companions across the Mediterranean to new lives.
In the present day, Diana Morgan is a sessional instructor at Oxford, a philologist and an expert in Greek mythology. When Diana was a young child, her father's mother, her Granny, came to live with them, and she became the recipient of Granny's stories. Despite being told that her Granny had mental health issues, Diana believed in the stories of the Amazons that Granny told, and of Granny's life as Kara, one of them. When a man she's never met before, Ludwig, approaches her to assist at a dig, she is surprised and wary. Despite the warnings of her mentor Katherine Kent, and her colleague James Moselane, Diana meets Ludwig at the airport and finds herself at a dig in the middle of the Tunisian desert. What she finds there makes this a personal quest for her.
Instead of going home, she goes on to Knossos to meet her best friend Bex who is on a dig there and has found something she thinks Diana will be interested in, and Diana finds herself running toward the answers to her questions about her grandmother, away from her professorial duties, and staying a step ahead of at least one group of people determined to stop at nothing to keep her from finding answers. Her journey takes her from England to Tunisia, Greece, Turkey, Germany, and Finland.
This is a story of the origins of the Amazons, one that is very believable. This is also a story of women across the ages fighting for the right to live their own lives, on their own terms.
It brings Greek mythology and classic tales alive from Mycenae, Thracia, Ephesos, Troy, and Crete. We see the characters Otrera, Hippolyta, and Paris brought to life.
A engaging quest of a novel.