Historical Fiction

In 1902 at 7/7 Marchmont Crescent in Edinburgh, there is a sophisticated, yet elderly tabby cat named Grimalkin who spends his days observing the estate’s owner Mr. Calvert and his devoted maid Eilidah. Full of aches, pains and an itchy patch caused by fleas, one morning Grimalkin takes his last breath and is greeted by the mythical Cat-sith who informs him that as a cat, he has nine lives. Of those nine lives, cats have three lives when they stay, three when they stray, and three when they play. Having spent his first life “staying” and being cared for by Eilidah, Alex Howard’s The Ghost Cat takes the reader along on Grimalkin’s next eight ghostly lives and observational visits at 7/7 Marchmont Crescent and its various occupants over the course of the next one hundred and twenty years. Quietly curious and casually unhurried, The Ghost Cat is a unique historical fiction novel written from the perspective of a senior inquisitive cat that is simultaneously light-hearted while also being thought-provoking. While the title The Ghost Cat and its premise gives the book a fantasy sound at a first glance, the novel is instead almost entirely a historical fiction book with very…

The debut novel of A. Rae Dunlap, The Resurrectionist is a well-rounded and cleverly crafted historical fiction story revolving around the field of anatomical study and body-snatching in the early 19th century Edinburgh. Despite the story’s macabre content and its almost gothic-like visuals, The Resurrectionist is anything but depressing or grim and is surprisingly warm and animated (yeah, maybe not my best puns, I apologize). While the visual descriptions of the dead and anatomical parts may potentially be off-putting for squeamish readers, the novel doesn’t unnecessarily dwell on it for shock value and is instead the focus is its entertaining and charming coming of age story. While listed officially as a historical fiction novel, The Resurrectionist is just as much a true crime retelling featuring many very real historic people woven in and around Dunlap’s fictional ones. That being said, absolutely no knowledge of the source material is needed, I recommend not reading into it ahead of time as it may give away some spoilers to the story. In fact I was completely unaware of the novel’s true crime angle for majority of my read and was floored when I discovered the connection near the book’s conclusion and author’s acknowledgements.…

The following review is based on a complimentary ARC provided by Smith Publicity / Amble Press via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. For all the glitz, glamour, power and fortune the film and greater entertainment industry of Hollywood offered in the 1950’s, it also served far more instances of lies, betrayals, pain, and in Mark B. Perry’s historical fiction novel, heartbreak. Arriving with naturally good looks and big dreams of stardom, And Introducing Dexter Gaines chronicles Dan Root’s life-changing meeting with Hollywood power couple Milford “Milly” Langen and Lillian Sinclair, his persona transformation into future leading man Dexter Gaines, and the harsh consequences that come with a life in the entertainment industry. Historically accurate (at least to my very limited knowledge of the Golden Age of Hollywood), dramatically narrated, and full of fun celebrity appearances, Perry’s novel is a solid historical fiction entry paired with a heartbreaking and moving LGBTQ+/Queer storyline. Well plotted and paced, thematically strong, and executed in an entirely tasteful and classy manner (more on that shortly), I thoroughly enjoyed Perry’s novel and found it to be a very well-rounded and satisfying read. Before getting into the actual review for And Introducing Dexter Gaines, there are…

Foreboding and just slightly unsettling, T. Kingfisher’s What Moves The Dead is an atmospheric modern retelling of Edgar Allen Poe’s famous short story The Fall of the House of Usher. If one is familiar with the literary classic source material, you can roughly follow and know what to expect in this short novella. However, unlike the original short story, T. Kingfisher expands the classic tale with some clever ideas and twists that help this interpretation successfully stand out on its own. Additionally, added character motives, speculative fiction elements, and a bit of fringe science importantly attempt to address the source materials formulaic shortcomings and common criticisms, resulting in a solidly accomplished read that is accessible and not too spooky/disturbing for most readers. Clocking in at around 160 pages, What Moves the Dead is an easy to read novella that’s self-contained and straightforward. However unlike the original story that leaves a lot open to interpretation, T. Kingfisher attempts to fill-in and answer a lot of the unknown factors that Poe never explicitly addressed. A common point of criticism about most horror mansion/estate tales is questioning why the narrator doesn’t leave once they begin to encounter unsettling experiences. She addresses this by…

CJ Wray’s (pseudonym for Christine Manby) The Excitements is a textbook case of a publishing firm doing a fantastic job of marketing and writing a synopsis for a book that is considerably more interesting than the actual book itself. The Excitements has a lot of different elements that feels like they’re going in all different directions with little thematic cohesion or planning. Worse, the actual story is bland, consistently underwhelming (when it’s not being comically unrealistic), and overall poorly crafted. I don’t remember how this ended up on my to-read list (perhaps because it features senior female characters, an accidental trend I’ve been on this year), but I certainly am questioning my past choices and do not recommend this one at all, even if you like cozy historical fiction books. Perhaps it partly on my end for reading too far into the synopsis, but I truly feel like I was betrayed by The Excitement’s marketing that summarizes “Scandal and crime… veterans intend to settle scores, avenge lost friends, and pull off one last daring heist before the curtain finally comes down on their illustrious careers”. To be frank, the “scandals” and “crimes” are used very loosely here, with the scandal…