Posted by Sari
It is Jukka’s birthday! Congratulations. And we are celebrating with Antons Gin & Tonic. Which really isn’t. G&T, that is. It is a lonkero, peculiarly Finnish long drink made of grapefruit soda and gin. And this is pretty typical of its kind, nice and bitter with a good gin aftertaste with juniper berries.
Lately, I have been reading quite a lot of historical detective stories, most with some sort of romantic element. They all tend to be situated in Britain, and almost all are written by Americans. I do find this interesting. Maybe they represent sort of fantasy Britain that is easier for Americans to accept. Also American fascination with royalty does play a part in many of these. They are nostalgic and romantic, unhistorical and a bit silly. But they are fun and easy reads. Here are some:
Sherry Thomas's Lady Sherlock series reimagines Sherlock Holmes as Charlotte Holmes, a smart socially ostracized gentlewoman who is also on the spectrum. Watson is a widowed actress who offers Charlotte a home. Together they with the help of Charlotte’s admirer (it is complicated) Lord Ingram they solve mysteries. It is a fun series with an unexpected heroine, and a bit silly plots, but so far I have enjoyed these.
Elizabeth Bailey’s Lady Fan mysteries are set in the end of 18th century. Ottilia Draycott is hired as lady’s companion to a dowager marchioness. She marries the second son of the house and solves crimes. These are okay, but I just could not get over the fact that everybody in the family were just okay about the marriage because Ottilia was just so cool and nice. I got a bit bored by the fourth book and left it at that.
Deanna Raybourne’s Veronica Speedwell Mysteries are Victorian. Unconventional Veronica finds out her politically problematic heritage and meets a disgraced natural historian Revelstoke Templeton Vane. Then they solve crimes together while dealing with sexual tension. There are now seven(?) books, I have read five. Again, totally unhistorical, a bit repetitive but fun.
C.S. Harris's Sebastian St Cyr series has something like seventeen books by now. It is a regency series where Viscount Devlin solves murders, has father issues and falls for his enemy’s daughter Hero. Hero is great though her very modern sensibilities are a bit on your face, the plots are pretty nice and though there are some annoyingly repetitive stuff in these also, I have actually enjoyed all of the books in the series.
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