[Review] Defending The Dead--Sheila Connolly

I enjoy Sheila Connolly's County Cork mysteries, but this was the first in the Relatively Dead series that I have read. I was intrigued by the Salem witch trials connection and having never been to Salem myself, the descriptions of the town then and now were fun to read. The genealogy research also was interesting and Abby is an easy character to like. The afterward is particularly fascinated where Sheila describes how much of the story and the genealogical connections are true.

I guess because I didn't read the previous books I feel a bit confused about the situation between Ned, Leslie and the children Ned fathered. I should probably go back and read the first two books to understand that relationship and also how Ned and Abby came together. Overall, it was good, just not great. As a mother of a little girl, I found Ned's biological daughter Ellie a bit too mature in her words and actions for a 7-year old, so some scenes with her didn't quite ring true for me. Also, I highly doubt any mother would let the babysitter take her child out all day without asking where they were going. I also kept wondering what the son was doing while Ellie was romping around with Abby and Leslie was at work. 

Thanks to Netgalley and Beyond the Page Publishing for providing me with this ARC.

[Review] The Dead Assassin--Vaughn Entwistle

Arthur Conan Doyle and his playwright friend Oscar Wilde team up to discover who is behind a bizarre scheme to reanimate corpses of executed prisoners and instruct them to kill key members of the British government. All the while a menacing fog hangs over London. Wilde is hilarious, and I must admit that despite years of English lit courses I never knew he was married with two children. I didn't love Conan Doyle bringing his soon-to-be mistress into his home with his wife and children, but I know he did carry on an affair with her while Touie was dying.

All in all I think Entwistle does a nice job of bringing Oscar and Arthur to life in a new and unique way. In the course of their adventures they tussle with a strange toymaker and the menacingly flamboyant Marquess Rufus DeVayne, who rides in a yellow carriage pulled by zebras. Despite the light banter between Arthur and Oscar the overall feeling of the book is quite dark, particularly the first half, and the duo barely escape with their lives. The Marquess is truly a disgusting character and unfortunately it seems the sleuths, and Queen Victoria herself, haven't seen the last of him.

Thanks to St. Martin's and Netgalley for this ARC.