A Spark of Death

A Spark of Death by Bernadette Pajer (2011)

Reader's Annotation

In 1901 Seattle, a puzzling electrocution points to murder, and Electrical Engineering Professor Benjamin Bradshaw is the chief suspect.

Summary

In 1901 Seattle, electricity is regarded as new-fangled and dangerous. When University of Washington Professor Benjamin Bradshaw discovers a despised colleague electrocuted inside the Faraday Cage, his knowledge of electrical engineering makes him the prime suspect. Bradshaw knows that the facts don't add up but in the court of public opinion he has already been found guilty. Then when someone tries to send Bradshaw over the waterfall at the Snoqualmie Falls Power Plant, he knows that the electrocution was surely no accident. Could the murder somehow be related to President McKinley's planned visit to the University of Washington for an electrical demonstration? Could anarchists be involved?

Evaluation

This was a fun mystery with good period detail and no obvious errors in the electrical engineering science. Professor Benjamin Bradshaw made for an interesting and appealing amateur sleuth.

If you like the Professor Benjamin Bradshaw mysteries, you may enjoy The Strange Case Files of Fremont Jones about a woman who sets herself up as a professional "type-writer" in turn-of-the-century San Francisco.

Genres: Mystery/Crime, Historical
Subgenres:

Sarah's Key

Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay (2007)

Reader's Annotation

An American journalist becomes obsessed with the sixty-year-old secret of her family's Paris apartment.

Summary

Paris, July 1942: Sarah, a ten year-old girl, is brutally arrested with her family by the French police in the Vel d'Hiv' roundup, but not before she locks her younger brother in a cupboard in the family's apartment, thinking that she will be back within a few hours. Paris, May 2002: On Vel d'Hiv's 60th anniversary, journalist Julia Jarmond is asked to write an article about this black day in France's past. Through her contemporary investigation, she stumbles onto a trail of long-hidden family secrets that connect her to Sarah. Julia finds herself compelled to retrace the girl's ordeal, from that terrible term in the Vel d'Hiv', to the camps, and beyond. As she probes into Sarah's past, she begins to question her own place in France, and to reevaluate her marriage and her life. (from WorldCat)

Evaluation

I enjoyed the two parallel narrative threads of this novel and the way each reflected and complemented the other. The author made it easy to tell the two narratives apart by using third person for the 1942 thread and first person for the 2002 thread. In addition, the two narrative threads were presented in different typefaces. In contrast to the complex narrative structure, the prose of the individual threads was simple and straight-forward with a lot of dialog. This novel should appeal to those who enjoy a story of realistic people and events with strong emotional content. People who like this novel should try The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.

Genres: Historical
Subgenres:

Devil's Cub

Devil's Cub by Georgette Heyer

Reader's Annotation

When Mary spoils the young Marquis's non-matrimonial plans for her social-climbing sister Sophia, he abducts Mary to France instead.

Summary

The young Marquis of Vidal leaves highwaymen dead in the road and eats social-climbing little chits like Sophia Challoner for dessert but, when it comes to Sophia's fiercely protective older sister Mary, the Marquis has met his match. Mary knows that Vidal will never marry Sophia, so, when she intercepts a message inviting Sophia to run away with him, Mary puts on a mask and goes in Sophia's stead. Then when Vidal discovers the switch, Mary deepens the deception by claiming that the switch was all Sophia's idea for a joke at his expense. This so enrages Vidal that he forcibly abducts Mary onto his yacht and sails for France. There, after many misunderstandings, interfering friends and relatives, a shooting, and a duel, Mary and Vidal realize they are a perfect match and are betrothed.

Evaluation

This fun novel is a well done Comedy of Manners set during the British Regency era. The Marquis of Vidal is the perfect rake, drinking, gambling, dueling, and pursuing women with the most dishonorable of intentions. Mary Challoner is the perfect spunky heroine who tames the rake. The repartee among the supporting characters is tres amusant and there's enough action for any adventure novel. The historical details and language seem accurate to the best of my limited knowledge. Georgette Heyer is considered the queen of the Regency Romance and has inspired many imitators. Her fans include many men like myself who enjoy the adventure and humor of her Regency Romances.

Fans of Jane Austen may enjoy Heyer's Regency Romances. Those who enjoy the adventure in them may also enjoy the historical novels of Rafael Sabatini, while those who enjoy their humor may like the aristocratic buffoonery of P.G. Wodehouse.

Genres: Romance, Historical
Subgenres: Regency Romance

Sharpe's Rifles

Sharpe's Rifles by Bernard Cornwell (1988)

Reader's Annotation

After Lieutenant Richard Sharpe's battalion is cut down by the French, he must assume command of the survivors and lead them to rejoin the British Army in Portugal.

Summary

After Lieutenant Richard Sharpe's commanding officer is killed and his battalion of Riflemen nearly wiped out during the British retreat from the occupation of Galicia by Napoleon's forces, Sharpe struggles to assume command of the survivors and gain their respect. Hunted by a squadron of French cavalry, they ally themselves with the Spanish nobleman Blas Vivar, who carries a potent symbol of Spanish independence with which he hopes to rally the Spanish people against the French invaders.

Evaluation

Bernard Cornwell, inspired by C.S. Forester's tales of naval warfare during the Napoleonic Wars, created his own tales of land warfare set in that period. His character Richard Sharpe, who came up through the ranks at a time when most officers purchased their commissions, is hard-edged yet sympathetic. In Sharpe's Rifles, Sharpe struggles with self-doubt and with his men as he experiences his first command. The battle scenes are well described and realistic, yet always remain involving thanks to Sharpe's very personal point of view. And to round things out, Sharpe even suffers a bit of unrequited love. For more military fiction set during the Napoleonic Wars, try the Aubrey-Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian and the Horatio Hornblower series by C.S. Forester.

Genres: Historical, Adventure
Subgenres: Historical Adventure, Military Adventure

Beat to Quarters

Beat to Quarters by C.S. Forester (1937)

Reader's Annotation

Captain Horatio Hornblower of the HMS Lydia is ordered to form an alliance against the Spanish colonial government with an insane Spanish landowner in Nicaragua.

Summary

 Under secret orders from the Admiralty, Captain Horatio Hornblower has sailed his 36-gun frigate HMS Lydia halfway around the world to the Pacific side of Spanish Central America. Because Spain is allied with Napoleon, Hornblower is to foment rebellion against the Spanish colonial government by allying himself with an insane Spanish landowner known to his followers as El Supremo  and to "take, sink, burn, or destroy" the fifty-gun Spanish ship of the line Natividad. Hornblower, through a clever trick, captures the Natividad and reluctantly turns it over to El Supremo. Shortly thereafter, Hornblower receives new orders: because Spain is now allied with Britain against Napoleon, he must once again pursue the Natividad, but this time capturing or destroying her won't be so easy! And to further complicate Hornblower's situation, he must take on a female passenger, the Lady Barbara Wellesley.

Evaluation

This is the first written of the excellent Hornblower novels. Forester provides a wealth of period detail and brings the HMS Lydia and her crew to vivid life. He has a gift for making slow moving sea battles interesting and exciting. Horatio Hornblower is a layered and complex character: imaginative, empathetic, hard-working, introspective, and self-doubting, he makes for a likable and interesting protagonist. And the presence of the Lady Barbara provides a nice extra flavor of romance. For more military fiction set during the Napoleonic Wars, try the Aubrey-Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian and the Richard Sharpe series by Bernard Cornwell.

Genres: Adventure, Historical
Subgenres: Historical Adventure, Nautical Adventure, Military Adventure