If you have any interest in exploring some of the earliest practices of modern criminology, this is the mystery for you! Oliver Potzsch’s newest release, The Gravedigger’s Almanac, is a twisted historical mystery that will remind you of the late great Sherlock Holmes.
Leo is a new resident of Vienna, having fled his hometown in shame. He’s got some money and an interest in an emerging realm of study that is criminalistics. Photography, deductive reasoning, logical fallacies…he’s putting all of the strategies to use on a new case of brutal murders in the cultured city.
I love a good mashup of historical fiction and mystery. This will teach you something while keeping you hooked into a quite sinister string of killings. It is quite a complex case that will have Leo and his associates chasing down lead after lead to solve the heinous crimes. The Gravedigger’s Almanac has the perfect balance between interesting historical facts and compelling narrative. I was enthralled!
Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Details
Title:: The Gravedigger’s Almanac Author:: Oliver Potzsch (Translated by Lisa Reinhardt) Genre:: Historical Mystery Publisher:: HarperVia Length::404 pages Audio Length::13h 49m Audiobook Narrator:: Rupert Bush Published:: May 27th, 2025 The Litertarian Rating:: 5-Stars
Mrs. Quinn’s Rise to Fame is the cozy adventure of a lithe septuagenarian ready to take a little piece of the world for herself for the very first time.
Jenny Quinn bakes every day. She uses antique scales to weigh her ingredients, and recipes passed down to her from the women in her family. Recipes tell their own stories, you know, of the women who wrote them down, and the time they recorded them. One day on a whim, she decides to enter a televised baking competition, but she’s so unsure of herself (and specifically her bread baking skills) that she keeps her application a secret from her beloved husband. It’s only the second time she’s kept something from Bernard, and the guilt starts to rise like her nemesis: yeasted dough. Remarkably, she gets through to audition after audition and eventually, she can’t hide it any longer, and she realizes she doesn’t want to keep her other secret anymore either. She’s just not sure how to tell it.
Okay seriously, this book gives all the cozy feel-good vibes of Bake Off. Jenny is patient and kind and so sincere it hurts a little bit, but in a good way…? Somehow Olivia Ford has really captured the essence of that British baking competition and infused it into this story perfectly.
Some of the book focuses on some flashbacks to a young Jenny, who finds herself in a very difficult situation. The world was different in those days, especially for women, and I found that storyline so heartbreaking and emotional.
The writing was so engaging and compelling it was easy to connect to the story. A delight all the way through. Like a hug in a book!
5 stars, no notes.
Details
Title:: Mrs. Quinn’s Rise to Fame Author:: Olivia Ford Genre:: Cozy General Fiction Publisher:: Pamela Dorman Books Length::384 pages Audio Length::11h 12m Audiobook Narrator:: Melanie Crawley Published:: January 30th, 2024 The Litertarian Rating:: 5-Stars
In the years between the Great Wars, two unexpected things happen on a remote Welsh island: a whale washes ashore, and two English stenographers arrive. For a young girl who knows nothing outside of her island, it seems like the chance of a lifetime.
Manod is an island native, along with her sister and her father. Life on the island is hard, but the people there are not afraid of hard work and difficult conditions. This is what the visiting ethnographers seem to be most interested in, and Manod agrees to help them understand her island and her people.
This is a beautiful, concise novel about the converging of cultures, exploitation, and the possibility of The Unknown.
I thought it was a very powerful story about a young woman coming into herself and deciding what it is she wants from life, sometimes trusting where she naught ought, and helping others where she’s able.
Elizabeth O’Connor comes from a background in short stories, and I feel like it shows, in the best way. It is written in a way that is clear and detailed, while also using symbolism and allusion to keep some things open to interpretation. This is her debut novel and I can’t wait to see what she comes out with next!
Details
Title:: Whale Fall Author:: Elizabeth O’Connor Genre:: Historical Literary Fiction Publisher:: Pantheon Length::224 pages Audio Length::3h 50m Audiobook Narrator:: Dyfrig Morris, Gabrielle Glaister, Gwyneth Keyworth, Jot Davies, & Nick Griffiths Audiobook Publisher:: Random House Audio Published:: May 7th, 2024 The Litertarian Rating:: 5-Stars
Ancient history fascinates me. Getting to read such vibrant and extensively-researched fictional interpretations like this one is such a treat.
Babylonia is the story of a girl who came from nothing. Less than nothing, some might argue. Semiramus was born into shame, but by mercy of the gods, she survived. She became a young woman beaten down by hardship with only her own wits to rely upon. They serve her well as she navigates her fate in the ancient Assyrian Empire.
Because of her hard upbringing, Semiramus never takes anything for granted. She knows what it is to suffer and to live in squalor, so when she comes to the greatest city in the Empire and gets to live in a palace, she doesn’t get complacent. She also has no fear. She befriends slaves and wild leopards. She does not let the King’s mother or the court’s spy master intimidate her. She trains with weapons like a soldier with her husband, and then by herself.
When the army comes home from their siege at Balkh begging for more troops, Semiramus volunteers to come as one of the climbers. She does not take no for an answer, her husband and her King need help, and she is not one to sit idly by. Then, when there, she sees an opportunity the King’s advisors did not, and it leads them to great success. This clever act of bravery is yet another turn in her story that leads her down a more complicated and treacherous path she could never have anticipated.
This novel is beautifully immersive and speckled with immaculate detail. The names, the rituals, the exhibitions, battles, the dramas…I loved every minute of it. She is an example of making lemonade out of a few raggedy lemons and the importance of taking control of your own destiny. She is a strong woman in a time of strong women, and an absolute pleasure to read about.
I am so grateful to the publisher and netgalley for granting me an early review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Details
Title:: Babylonia: A Novel Author:: Costanza Casati Genre:: Mythological Fiction Publisher:: Sourcebooks Landmark Length::448 pages Audio Length::16h 21m Audiobook Narrator:: Ayesha Antoine Audiobook Publisher:: Recorded Books Published:: January 14th, 2025 The Litertarian Rating:: 5-Stars
What a perfect read for spooky season-a historical ghost story mystery, The Haunting of Maddy Clare.
Ms. Sarah Piper is recruited by an eccentric world war veteran needing an assistant for his latest project: hunting a ghost who’s been haunting an old barn. He’s an academic writer searching for solid proof of the otherworldly, and Sarah rapidly agrees. The spirit is very much alive, and vengeful, especially of men. Sarah turns into an integral part of the investigation into what happened to Maddy Clare, and how they might be able to help her spirit settle.
What is there not to love about this book? Okay, the subject matter is pretty dark. Maddy Clare was horrifically traumatized before she died, and that subject matter is very heavy. I feel like it was brought to justice in the end though, which helps to pacify the discomfort of reading about such difficult events.
I loved the mid-century setting, the ghost hunting characters being respectable (albeit damaged) gentlemen, the supernatural phenomena, the ongoing mystery, and the slow burning romance that simmers beneath it all. I ate it up. I can see myself returning to this book every fall in the future. What a way to set the tone for the season!
What is your favorite ghostly mystery book?
Details
Title:: The Haunting of Maddy Clare Author:: Simone St. James Genre:: Historical Ghost Mystery Publisher:: Berkley Length::318 pages Audio Length::9h 45m Audiobook Narrator:: Billie Fulford-Brown Audiobook Publisher:: Penguin Audio Published:: October 4th, 2022 The Litertarian Rating:: #-Stars Spice Rating::2.5?
Historical fiction isn’t something I read often. Not unlike sci-fi/fantasy novels, it requires a higher level of effort from the reader than other genres. It can be slower to suck you in, demanding patience as the story threads weave themselves together. But if you’re lucky, as the pieces dance and settle into their places, you’ll be left with an intricate tapestry that takes your breath away. Daughter of Ruins stands in testament of that truth. It serves as a beacon to how powerful the genre can be.
Demitra is a motherless daughter brought back to her father’s home country of Greece after losing his wife in America. She uses drawing as a coping mechanism in her childhood loneliness, sketching Italian soldiers of the World Wars where they find leisure on the Greek beaches. Then the war takes a turn and the once lithe and eager bodies are piled high and lifeless. There are many hard lessons like this one in store for Demitra as she navigates the world, and this book follows her through many trials and tribulations through her life, though it is not all hardship. Her journey takes her from Greece to America and back again, and all the while she is developing into the woman she was destined to be.
I think the story captured the life of a young woman so well. It was a difficult time in Greece, and a difficult time for women. Though she had no direct maternal influence, there were many strong women mentors in Demitra’s life. With an artist’s curiosity she observed the world around her, turning her wisdom and unique understanding into art.
I am still quite stunned by the intricate structure of this novel. Demitra uses many figures of Greek mythology to analogize the human lives around her and translates them into her art. She dives deep into her understanding of the gods before she draws them, and though they are done with simple materials, her art has a depth that is undeniable by those who witness it.
This is an emotional book. There is grief and sorrow and growth and healing and hope and faith and passion and curiosity and pain and confusion and determination and love. There is tenderness and betrayal. There is scheming and outsmarting and deceit and compassion. There is everything under the umbrella of human emotion, because this is a human story.
I will not soon forget this story. Demitra and Maria and Elena and Aphrodite and all of those who weave in and out of these pages. I listened to this as an advanced listeners copy from netgalley and the publisher and I have nothing but great things to say about the incredible narrator Alex Sarrigeorgiou. Phenomenal work. There is something special about the story of a woman coming into her own. I hope you will read it.
Details
Title:: Daughter of Ruins Author:: Yvette Manessis Corporon Genre:: Historical Fiction Publisher:: Harper Muse Length::416 pages Audio Length::12h 24m Audiobook Narrator:: Alex Sarrigeorgiou Audiobook Publisher:: Harper Muse Published:: October 8th, 2024 The Litertarian Rating:: 5-Stars
The Cheesemaker’s Daughter | Kristin Vukovic The Weight of Ink | Rachel Kadish (no review on the blog as I read it years ago, but another sweeping historical fiction tale I think you’ll love if you liked this book).
