The Cricket on the Hearth, Charles Dickens | 82 pages

Dicken's 3rd holiday novella, published in 1845. John Perrybingle and his charming young wife Dot have a charming little life with their charming little baby and charming friends. But all turns sour when toymaker Tackleton sees Dot embrace a stranger, throwing conflict into this previously peaceful world. Instead of spirits as in Christmas Carol (published 1842), the scene is visited by a supernatural Cricket. You must read the sweet twists and surprises for yourself!

As in all good fairytales, our dear cast live Happily Ever After. Happy holidays!

Beloved Poison by E.S. Thomson

Beloved Poison by E.S. Thomson – 390 p.

Spend some time in Victorian London. Jem works in the family apothecary (pharmacy to you and me) for St. Saviour’s Hospital. But the hospital is to be torn down and relocated for the new railway. As the hospital tends to the poorest residents, and surgical technique in the mid-19^th century leads to more deaths than cures, untold numbers of human remains must be exhumed and also relocated. Jem befriends Will, the young architect charged with the cemetery removal. Together, they attempt to unravel an unsavory mystery involving six tiny coffins, each containing a crude doll wrapped in blood-encrusted rags.

A good, compelling read if you can stand the filth, the blood, the bodies, and the stench of this singular era.

The Séance by John Harwood

The Séance by John Harwood - 328 p.

This deliciously creepy gothic, set in the Victorian English countryside, hits all the right notes: Ancient decaying mansion surrounded by a gloomy forest – check. Apparitions, spiritualists and mysterious mishaps (as well as naysayers and skeptics) – check. Star-crossed lovers and crazy mothers – check! The book is written from several viewpoints at different time periods, and the story threads wind closer and closer until all is revealed, and not exactly how one would have expected. Very fun read! 

The Queen Is Dead by Kate Locke

The Queen Is Dead by Kate Locke, 337 pages
(Book 2 in The Immortal Empire series)

I wasn't so impressed with this book as I was with the first. It seemed that the author simply tried to "tidy up" from her first novel and make connections. One particular character that comes back from the past left me shaking my head. The quick change from viewing certain characters as "evil" and then as heroic was a bit odd. The end seemed to be rushed and didn't have as much action as the first book in the series did. All in all -- I didn't dislike the story, but it could definitely have been much better.