Death in Kew Gardens plus Love and Death among the Cheetahs

DEATH IN KEW GARDENS by Jennifer Ashley is the third installment in the “Below Stairs” mystery series which was new to me although the first book, Death Below Stairs, received a starred review from Publishers Weekly.  The main character is named Kat Holloway who is a roughly thirty-year-old cook in Victorian London. By coincidence, she meets Mr. Li, a Chinese scholar who is later accused of murdering Kat’s neighbor, Sir Jacob Harkness. Harkness is a frequent traveler to China and interested in the botany work at Kew Gardens. Curious and steadfast by nature, Kat is determined to clear Mr. Li’s name with the help of her employer (Lady Cynthia), her fellow servants (especially assistant Tess), and her romantic interest, Daniel McAdam.  Although they will enjoy Kat’s adventures, readers may have to ignore some overly convenient events. For example, how does Daniel manage to immediately obtain a position working at Kew Gardens for yet another botanist and the very one who has brought Mr. Li to the authorities’ attention? The characters do have unique and appealing personalities and Ashley does an engaging job of weaving suspense with historical Victorian facts and meal preparation details. “‘Oh my,’ [as] Tess said excitedly. ‘Better than a panto.’”

Rhys Bowen is one of my favorite authors and I am enjoying her latest, LOVE AND DEATH AMONG THE CHEETAHS. This light, entertaining mystery is 13th in the Royal Spyness series which features Lady Georgiana Rannoch, now married to Darcy O’Mara and on honeymoon in 1935 Kenya. Dinner parties, a polo match and a safari seem like fun, although there is work for the newlyweds: as a distant relative of the Queen, Lady Georgie has been asked to keep an eye on the Prince of Wales and Wallis Simpson, while Darcy is in the midst of a case tracking a jewel thief.

The exotic African setting gives Bowen the opportunity to address the infidelities, alcohol/drug use, and attitudes towards servants as shown in the “Happy Valley” expatriate lifestyle of the time. In addition, there are several references to real-life residents including Beryl Markham, Idina Sackville, and Tom Delamere. It is inevitable that Lady Georgie and Darcy discover a dead body and like an Agatha Christie mystery, suspects and motives are plentiful amongst the expatriates and their servants. I am already looking forward to their next adventure.

City of Saints and Thieves by Natalie C. Anderson

CITY OF SAINTS & THIEVES by Natalie C. Anderson was released in January and deserves the high level of praise it has received, including from well-known and award winning authors like Tara Sullivan (The Bitter Side of Sweet), Francisco X. Stork (Marcelo in the Real World - which some of our English classes read) and Ashley Hope Perez (Out of Darkness, just nominated for the Abe Lincoln Award).  Natalie Anderson’s debut novel tells the story of Tina (Tiny Girl) who escaped from the Congo with her mother almost a decade ago.  For a while Tina had a protected life, serving as playmate and companion for the son of the Greyhill family where her mother worked as a maid. But her mother was murdered and so for the last five years Tiny Girl has been surviving on the streets as a thief and member of the Goondas, a local gang in Sangui City, Kenya.

Tiny Girl blames Mr. Greyhill for her mother’s death and desperately wants revenge (dirt, money, blood is her mantra) so she patiently plots and breaks into the estate – only to be caught. That leads to deals and counter deals involving a memorable cast of characters – Boyboy, the computer nerd and hacker extraordinaire; Bug Eye, the gang’s trainer and daily leader; Mr. Omoko, the ultimate cruel boss out for money; and Michael Greyhill, her former playmate.  CITY OF SAINTS & THIEVES is most definitely a thriller, packed with questions of loyalty, plenty of suspense, and a courageous striving for survival.  With so many starred reviews (Booklist, Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, Publishers Weekly, and School Library Journal), I won’t be surprised to see CITY OF SAINTS & THIEVES as a nominee for Illinois’ Abe Lincoln Award in a few years.

Until then, here is the just-released 2018 Abe Lincoln Award nominee list, including titles like Salt to the Sea, Those Shallow Graves, and March – Book One which we have reviewed previously. Still looking for more to read? Check out the suggestions for young adults and adults from Illinois Reads. Enjoy!