Books Set in Europe; England

The Thursday Murder Club, by Richard Osman (2020)

Read: December 8, 2025

3.5 Stars

Book 1

Books Set in Europe; London, England

The Cactus, by Sarah Haywood (2018)

Read: November 18, 2024

3.5 Stars

Books Set in Europe: England and France

The Armor of Light, by Ken Follett (2023)

The Armor of Light covers the life of villagers in Kingsbridge from 1792 to 1824 during the Napoleonic Wars.  The novel touches upon political events in England and Europe, as well as the beginning of the industrial revolution.

The novel opens when Sally Clitheroe’s husband is killed while working for the Earl.  The Earl is hard-hearted and refused to compensate Sally for her loss.  Sally, known as Sal, and her young son must come to terms with losing their main breadmaker

The mill in the village is known for its clothmaking and the Spinning Jenny is a new invention that slowly is making its way into Kingsbridge.  The mill workers, however, fear that this new contraption will put them all out of work and fight the new technology.  In 1799, the aristocrat’s pass the Combination Act, which makes it a crime for workers to criticize their employers.  If they revolt, they are subject to criminal penalty, including the prospect of hanging.

Meanwhile, the French Revolution has disposed of the monarchy, and English ruling class fears revolution may come to England.  The Napoleonic Wars are erupting in Europe.  The English working class who violate the Combination Act can avoid penalty by joining the army as it fights against Napoleon’s advancements throughout the Continent.

The book is long – over 700 pages, but it is a fast read.  The characters are well developed, and the reader becomes involved in their lives and loves.  This novel by Ken Follett did not disappoint.

Read: January 1, 2024

4.5 Stars

Books Set in England

Moonflower Murders, by Anthony Horowitz (2020)

Read: December 20, 2023

3 Stars

Susan Ryeland #2

Books Set in Europe, United Kingdom, England

A Great Deliverance, by Elizabeth George (1988)  //  Inspector Thomas Lynley # 1

This is the first in the Lynley / Havers detective series.  It provides the origin story of how Barbara Havers, a somewhat cantankerous low-level Detective Sergeant in the Scotland Yard, begins working with the aristocratic Inspector Thomas Lynley.

The novel revolves around a murder in a small village north of London.  A teenage girl confessed to beheading her father, but some of the townfolk question whether or not she actually committed the crime.  Enter Lynley and Havers.

The reader learns some of the backstories of Lynley and Havers.  Lynley is dating Helen, but he is also something of a lothario.  We are also introduced to Simon St. James, who is a close friend of Lynley and planned on a career in law enforcement before he was crippled in a car accident.  Lynley was the intoxicated driver of the car.  St. James just married Deborah, who was a former lover of Lynley.

Meanwhile, we learn a bit about Havers’ background.  She comes from a lower-middle class family and lost her young brother to leukemia when he was a child.  His death lies heavy on her family life.

I didn’t find the mystery as intriguing as other stories in the series.

Read: June 1, 2023

3 Stars

Other Books Read in the Series:

Well-Schooled in Murder (# 3)  //  Read June 29, 2003

For the Sake of Elana (#5)  //  Read February 21, 1994

Missing Joseph (# 6)  //  Read June 12, 1996 and January 25, 2003

Playing for the Ashes (# 7)  //  Read January 6, 1996

A Traitor to Memory (# 11)  //  Read January 3, 2004

With No One as Witness (#13)  //  Read May 13, 2023

A Banquet of Consequences (# 19)  //  Read July 4, 2018

Books Set in Europe: London, England

Courtiers, by Valentine Low (2022)

 

This book is an inside look at functioning of the British royal family.  The advisors to the Queen, and other working royals carry immense power and influence.  The courtiers are those whom Diana referred to as the “men in grey suits”.  They are around the royal family at official events and are, in many respects, the power behind the throne.

 

The author takes the reader through the private secretaries, personal secretaries, assistants and deputy secretaries from before Elizabeth II’s rule through Harry and Meghan.  Many courtiers held their positions for years before either retiring or moving on.  They are the trusted advisors of the monarch’s inner circle.  When the Queen was alive, Charles had his own courtiers and Kensington Palace (William and Harry) had their entourage.  The author describes the conflicts of having three separate households, each with its own agenda and people.

 

The book focused on the current royal family and was written shortly before the Queen died.  The book discussed the challenges the courtiers faced negotiated through the scandal of Prince Andrew and the explosive Megxit.  The author spent a great deal of ink on Harry and Meghan.  They didn’t come out well.  While the book recognized that Meghan, as an American, had difficulty adjusting to royal life, it also acknowledge that she was difficult to work with and many underlings in the household left their employment rather than stay working for the Firm.

 

I found the book mildly interesting, but not fabulously so.

 

Read:  May 18, 2023

 

3 Stars

 

Books Set in Europe: United Kingdom, London, England

With No One As Witness, by Elizabeth George (2005)  //  Inspector Thomas Lynley # 13

 

This mystery novel is the thirteenth in the Inspector Thomas Lynley series.  It had been nearly a decade since I read the last Lynley novel.  While each novel is a stand-alone mystery, it seemed that there was a lot in this book that relied on considerable knowledge of the characters backstories.  That being said …

 

New Scotland Yard officers, Inspector Lynley (Acting Superintendent Lynley in this volume) and his sidekick Constable Barbara Havers (she had apparently been demoted from Sergeant in the previous novel), have stumbled upon a serial killer.  Three mixed race young boys were left for dead before Kimmo Thorne, a young white, gay female impersonator, turned up dead.  The prior three bodies had been assumed to be runaways and their deaths weren’t thoroughly investigated.  It isn’t until Kimmo’s body is found that the police compare notes and realize that all the deaths were committed in a similar fashion.  To curb accusations of institutional racism, Winston Nkata was hastily promoted to Sergeant to serve as the face for the press briefings.

 

Lynley and his team’s investigation led them to Colossus, a low-budget organization intended to help at-risk children.  The Colossus employees and volunteers all have checkered pasts.  Could they have a hand in the murders?  There also appears to be a link to shady organization called MABIL (Men And Boys In Love), a group of pedophiles who groom young boys for sex.  When a fifth body is found, there are some substantial differences, leading the investigators to believe there may be a copy-cat killing.

 

In between following where the evidence may lead, the reader also gets a peek into the private lives of Lynley and Havers.  Lynley’s wife is expecting their first child, while Havers lives her solitary life and tries to connect with her neighbor.  Their lives are not without their own personal drama and tragedy.  [Spoiler Alert:  Lynley’s wife, Helen, was shot on her doorstep in the wealthy neighborhood of Belgravia.  By the time she was transported to the hospital, too much time had elapsed, and she was brain dead.  Both she and her unborn baby were taken off life support.  Also, the book ends with Lynley appearing to turn in his badge.]

 

This book comes in at over 600 pages.  While it kept my attention, it could have been pared down to about half that size.  I also found one plot thread to have been resolved too quickly.  Still, I enjoy reading about the gentry Thomas Lynley and his working-class side-kick, Barbara Havers.

 

Read:  May 13, 2023

 

4 Stars

 

Other Books Read in the Series:

Well-Schooled in Murder (# 3)  //  Read June 29, 2003

For the Sake of Elana (#5)  //  Read February 21, 1994

Missing Joseph (# 6)  //  Read June 12, 1996 and January 25, 2003

Playing for the Ashes (# 7)  //  Read January 6, 1996

A Traitor to Memory (# 11)  //  Read January 3, 2004

A Banquet of Consequences (# 19)  //  Read July 4, 2018

 

 

Books Set in Europe: England

Disobedience, by Naomi Alderman (2006)

Read: March 3, 2023

3 Stars

Books Set in Europe; England

A Slow Fire Burning, by Paula Hawkins (2021)

Read: August 25, 2022

4 Stars

Books Set in Europe: England

Bitter Orange, by Claire Fuller (2018)

This is a very strange book.  The year is 1969.  Frances Jellico is a self-taught expert on English garden architecture and bridges.  Her mother, with whom she has been living, has just died, so 39-year old Frances has accepted a job cataloguing a dilapidated English manor that was recently purchased by a wealthy American.  Frances has lived a very sheltered life.

She has been relegated to live in two attic rooms in the manor.  She will be sharing space in the house with Cara and Peter, who have also been hired by the American to catalogue the contents of the manor.  They have the rooms below Frances’s attic apartment.  Before she formally meets them, Frances discovers that there is a peephole in her bathroom where she can see into Cara and Peter’s bathroom.

Cara is inclined to tell stories.  Although she is from Ireland, she pretends that she is Italian.  After leaving her home behind in Ireland, she recreated herself as an Italian and spins tales of her so-called exotic life.  Frances is gullible and believes Cara’s tales, but Peter warns her that all is not what it seems.  But is Peter being straight up with Frances?

The novel jumps from 1969 to 20 years in the future when Frances is dying in a hospital bed remembering the past.  As we delve into the novel, we realized the events of that 1969 summer were much darker than they first appeared.

I was intrigued by the initial portion of the novel, but the last third seemed to drag.

Read:  July 21, 2021

3 Stars

Books Set in Asia and Europe: Iran and England

The Saffron Kitchen, by Yasmin Crowther (2006)

 

Maryam Mazer was born and raised in a small village in Iran in a wealthy family.  Her father was a general in the Shah’s army.  She grew up in a somewhat traditional family where women were expected to marry a man selected by the father.  When she is 16, her father found a man for her to marry, but Maryam had other ideas.  She dreamt of being a nurse and helping people.

 

Her closest childhood friend was Ali, her father’s servant.  He grew up in a very tiny village and taught himself to read.  In Maryam’s family, he became her father’s confident and secretary, however, he was treated as a servant.

 

When the Iranian Revolution, Maryam found herself in the middle of a family tragedy and was sent to Tehran, and ultimately to London.  Maryam had ventured from her home during rioting in her village.  Ali saw her and brought her to his apartment until it was safe for her to return the next day.  Her father assumed that she had slept with Ali, and thus shamed the family’s name.  He disowned her; but allowed her to go to Tehran to pursue her nursing dreams.  She left, knowing that Ali had been beaten within an inch of his life by here father’s men.

 

In London, she met Edward, who became her devoted husband, and they had a daughter, Sara.  She had what seemed to be a perfect life.  She would occasionally return to Iran to visit family.  When her last living sister died, however, her 12-year-old nephew, Saeed, was sent to London to live with Maryam and Edward.

 

Saeed had difficulty settling life in London.  His presence in Maryam’s household opened the floodgates to her memories of Iran, which she had suppressed for years.  She believed that the only way to face her demons would be to return to Iran and to the tiny village where she had spent many pleasant summers as a child.  Ali was still living there, waiting for her return.

 

The book goes back and forth between Maryam and her grown daughter, Sara.  Sara’s life was only in England, but she knows of her Iranian roots.  The novel slowly peels back the layers of Maryam’s life so that we understand what brought her to London and back to Iran.

 

Read: January 14, 2021

 

4.5 Stars

 

Books Set in Europe; Italy and England

Mapping the Edge, by Sarah Dunant (1999)

This was a very strange novel.  It follows Anna Franklin, a single mother, who left her 6-year-old daughter, Lily in the care of her housekeeper to take a brief trip to Italy.  Anna was writing an article about dating through the want ads.  (Remember, this book was written over 20 years ago.)  When Anna failed to return home, her two closest friends gather ponder what could have detained Anna.

The novel alternates between two different scenarios.  Was Anna kidnapped by a man who wants her to be his dead wife, or has she found a companion who fulfills her sexual fantasies?

Sarah Dunant has also written several historical fiction novels, including The Birth of Venus.  I liked those novels much better.

Read:  August 25, 2020

3 Stars

Books Set in Europe: England

Queen of Shadows: A Novel of Isabella, Wife of Edward II, by Edith Felber (2006)

This historical novel is as much the story of Isabella, Queen consort of England and wife of Edward II, King of England as it is her lady-in-waiting, Gwenith de Percy.  Gwenith was a young Welsh woman who landed herself a position on the English Court bent on revenge for the actions of Isabella’s father-in-law, Edward I.  Edward I had conquered the Wales and stripped the nobility of its lands.  He the process, he named his son the first English Prince of Wales.

Isabella, the French princess and daughter of Philip IV, King of France, arrived in England at age 12 to marry then Edward, Prince of Wales.  She soon learned that her husband had a string of male lovers.  Despite this, they have 4 children together.

When Edward became King Edward II, he proved to be a weak king.  This allowed the the young and ambitious Hugh Despenser to dig his claws into Edward.  Hugh became Edward’s lover, but with the idea of becoming ruler of the country.  Isabella recognized that Hugh’s interest in Edward was not on altruistic grounds.  She despised him.

Meanwhile, Gwenith became friendly with the Welsh baron Owain de Rhys.  He first initiated a friendship with her in hopes that she would be able to convince Isabella to spare fellow Welshman Roger Mortimer his life.  Mortimer had been in prison awaiting his execution at the hands of Edward, or more likely Hugh Despenser.  Gwenith convinced the Queen to visit Mortimer in prison.

Mortimer and the Queen became lovers and she was able plan his escape from the Tower of London.  Soon Isabella and Mortimer were plotting to overthrow Edward.

While reading this novel, I did a lot of fact-checking and most of the events depicted in the novel corresponded to actual historical events.

I enjoyed this book.  It is a fast read, and interesting because it tells the story of King Edward from Isabella’s point of view.

Read:  May 14, 2020

4 Stars

Books Set in Europe: England

The Silent Patient, by Alex Michaelides (2019)

The Silent Patient is a psychological thriller narrated by Theo Faber, a psychotherapist.  He is ostensibly out to help Alicia Berenson, a young woman accused of murdering her husband and who is now confined to a psychiatric facility known as the Grove.

Alicia was a famous painter with an equally famous fashion photographer husband, Gabriel.  The novel starts after Alicia had been convicted of binding her husband to a chair and shooting him in the face several times.  After the murder, Alicia refused to speak again.

The murder made headlines.  Theo Faber seemingly became obsessed with the murder and, several years after the crime, he got the opportunity to work with Alicia.  He was determined to get her to talk and get to motive behind the killing.  In the process of providing her with his version of therapy, he meets with Alicia’s family and friends and quizzes them about Alicia’s past.

As the novel unwraps, we learn as much about Alicia’s past as we do about Theo’s past.  Theo is trapped in a marriage with a woman he seemingly loves despite her affair.  There was a final twist that I didn't see coming, which really made for a good thriller.

This novel was a page-turner.  It was a very quick read and was just the ticket to get me out of my reading slump.

Read: January 3, 2020

5 Stars

Books Set in Europe: England and France

I'll See You in Paris, by Michelle Gable (2016)

I’ll See You in Paris is loosely based on the life of Gladys Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough (née Gladys Deacon; Feb. 7, 1881 ~ Oct. 13, 1977).  A bit of background: Gladys was born in France into a wealthy, but eccentric American family.  When she was a child, her father killed her mother’s lover.  Her father spent a few years in prison, but when he got out, he was given custody of his children.

As an adult, Gladys travelled in an artistic social circle and encountered many major authors and artist of the time.  She became close friends with Consuelo Vanderbilt, who was married to the 9^th Duke of Marlborough.  Theirs was an unhappy marriage.   Gladys became the Duke’s mistress.  It was a happy arrangement for decades.  When Consuelo and the Duke divorced, Gladys and the Duke married, making Gladys the Duchess of Marlborough.

In her later life, the Duchess became a recluse.  She lived in a small village in England with a host of cats and dogs. She was known to threaten visitors with firearms.

This is where the novel begins.  The novel goes back and forth in time and we slowly learn about Gladys’s life.  The novel begins in 2001 with Annie Haley, a young woman newly engage to a marine who has been shipped to Afghanistan.  Annie was raised by her single mother, Laurel.  Annie never knew her father ~ her birth certificate lists her father as being “unknown.”

Laurel has business in England and invites Annie to accompany her.  While her mother is tending to business, Annie wanders through the little village and encounters Gus, an aging aristocrat.  They strike up a friendship over a book entitled The Missing Duchess.  Gus knew the woman who was the subject of the book, although she adamantly denied she was the Duchess.  His recounting of the Duchess brings us to the 1970s, where a young American woman named Pru was hired to be a companion to the aging Gladys.

This was a fun and quick read.  The style of moving back in forth in time, while not entirely seamless, was smooth enough to keep me turning the pages.  It is not necessary to know the background of Gladys Deacon to enjoy this book.  While reading this book, I did a little research to see how closely the novel tracked the life of the Duchess.

Read:  Oct. 28, 2019

4 Stars

Books Set in England; London

The Weight of Ink, by Rachel Kadish (2017)

In late 2000, British academic Helen Watts come across a cache of Jewish papers written in the 1660s.  She quickly realized that they might be important and enlists the assistance of an American graduate student, Aaron Levy, to review the documents before turning them over to the university for preservation.  In their initial review, they realize that the documents contain scholarly writings between the Sephardic communities in London and Amsterdam. They soon discover, too, that the documents are written by a scribe who is a woman, very unusual for the 1660.

The novel goes back in time between the early 2000s and the 1660, where we are introduced to Ester Velesquez, the scribe.  The Jewish communities in the 1660s were still in the midst of the Inquisition.  The Amsterdam Jewish community had recently excommunicated Baruch Spinoza. Additionally, at this period in time the Jewish community was confronted by Sabbetai Zev, a Sephardic rabbi who claimed to be the Messiah.

Ester, being a woman, had been educated, hence her ability to serve as the scribe for the aged and blind rabbi.  The rabbi had Ester copy the letters he sent to Amsterdam, hence the newly found documents contain both the rabbi’s correspondence as well as the return replies. The letters seem to discuss arguments regarding the Sabbetai Zev’s influence throughout Europe, especially Florence.

A good portion of the beginning of this novel provides a concise history of Sephardic Jews.  This portion of the novel is very interesting and very readable.  Later portions of the novel, however, become bogged down with too many people and too many details that are seemingly irrelevant to the main ark of the story.  Ester becomes a companion to Mary, a spoiled rich young woman, who herself becomes involved with a rowdy cast of British actors.  This portion could have been trimmed down into another book, as I found this to be a distraction to the thesis of the novel.

Ultimately, we learn that Ester had taken the name of one of the British actors and written theological arguments to many Jewish thinkers, including Spinoza.  Her letters showed her intellectual curiosity and thirst for learning in her well-laid out arguments.  Some of the thinkers responded.  We also learn that her letters, written under the name of Thomas Fallow, presented Spinoza’s arguments.  The aged rabbi for who Ester was acting as scribe, would respond to Fallow’s letters with his own theological arguments.  Only as the old rabbi is dying does he confess to Ester that he knew she was Thomas Fallow.

I started reading this book several months ago, but had to put it down because it is so busy.  Then, one of my book groups selected this as a reading, so I picked it up again.   I liked it better on the second try, but it is still too busy.  There is simply too much going on in this novel.

Read: August 18, 2019

3.5 Stars

Books Set in Europe and North America: England, Russia and United States

Heads You Win, by Jeffrey Archer (2018)

This novel begins in 1968 when Alexander Karpenko is a 16-year-old living in Leningrad, Russia with his parents.  His father has plans to form a union for dockworkers, but his plans are thwarted when he is assassinated by the KGB.  Alexander suspects that his former friend, Vladimir may have had a hand in the assassination.

Knowing that their lives are in danger, Alexander and his mother must escape Russia.  Alexander’s uncle has a plan for their escape ~ to hide in a crate intended for a container ship.  Alexander flips a coin, which will determine their destination ~ England or America.

From here, the story takes a turn.  We go back and forth between both alternatives.  One alternative finds Alexander, now known as Sasha, in England.  His mother starts her life as a cook, and ultimately the owner of several restaurants.  Alexander is a stellar student and finds himself at Cambridge University.  Eventually, he enters politics and becomes a member of parliament.

In the other alternative, Alexander, lands in New York City and becomes known as Alex.  Life in New York is more hard-scrabbled.  He quickly becomes a hustler and runs several stalls in a market, before being shipped to Vietnam in the war.  After his stint in the army, he becomes involved in the banking industry.

Both versions of Alexander, however, retain an interest in the political intrigue occurring in his native Russia.  After 30 years, both feel the pull to return.

There is a “surprise” ending, however, all the hints to the ending are scattered throughout the novel and I guessed the end.  Alexander's former childhood friend turned out to be Vladimir Putin.

This was a fun read.  Not high literature, but an easy and enjoyable book.

Read:  March 29, 2019

4 Stars

Books Set in Europe: London, England

The Secret Keeper, by Kate Morton (2012)

The Secret Keeper is a mystery with all sorts of twists and turns.  The novel begins when 16-year old Laurel sees her mother, Dorothy, stab a strange man to death at their country estate.  The murder is deemed have been in self-defense, and, with one exception, the family never discusses the matter again.  Laurel, however, her the man address her mother by her first name. Who was this man and what was his relation to her mother?

Laurel has never forgotten the murder.  Now, 50 years later, Dorothy is nearing the end of her life and Laurel hopes to learn of her mother’s past.  Dorothy’s children have gathered around to care for her.  Laurel goes over old photograph albums with her mother and comes across a mysterious photograph taken during London during World War II. She also finds Peter Pan book with an inscription to Dorothy from Vivian.

The story is told between the present (2011) and London in 1941.  We learn early on that Dorothy may have had a checkered past.  Laurel seeks to learn about her mother’s past.  Dorothy lives across the street from the wealthy and beautiful Vivien Jenkins. They both do volunteer work for the War effort.  Dorothy has a vivid imagination and attempts to befriend Vivian.  Dorothy’s boyfriend is Jimmy, a young man from a working class background, making a living as a war photographer.  Although Dorothy loves him, she doesn’t want him to come in contact with the wealthy Vivian.

Somehow, thought, Laurel knows that there is a relationship between her mother, Vivian and Dorothy.

The characters really come alive.  There were twists in this novel that I never saw coming.  It held my interest from page one to the end.

Read: August 21, 2018

5 Stars

Books Set in Europe: United Kingdom, England

A Banquet of Consequences, by Elizabeth George (2015)  //  Thomas Lynley # 19

I generally like Elizabeth George’s novels with Detective Thomas Lynley and Barbara Havers.  I have missed a few books in the series, however, thus missed some of the references in this mystery novel regarding their personal lives.

This novel is less a mystery to be solved by Lynley and Havers and more a look into the lives of too many damaged people with too problems.

The book begins with the suicide of Will Goldacre.  Not a spoiler, as he kills himself in the first few pages of this nearly 600 page tome.  His mother, Caroline Goldacre, can’t get over his death, and years later, when most of the action takes place, she is still grieving.

Caroline is a busybody who meddled into Will’s life and now is trying to save her other son, Charlie’s marriage.  She is also the personal assistant to militant feminist Clare Adley.  When Clare is found dead, Lynley and Havers become involved.  Havers has apparently (in a previous Lynley mystery), come sideways with the big boss, so is on a short leash to solve Clare’s murder.

There were just too many people and too many threads, many of which had nothing to do with the murder of Clare, but not significant enough to make they “red herrings.”

I found this book to be less than satisfying as a good murder mystery.

Read: July 4, 2018

2.5 Stars

Books Set in Europe: England

Into the Water, by Paula Hawkins (2017)

Into the Water is a very confusing suspense thriller.  The novel it told through numerous voices.  Each chapter moves the novel forward through a different voice, however, sometimes that voice is in first person and sometimes in third person.  This causes a bumpy read.

The novel begins with the death of Nel Abbott, a single mother.  Nel was found in the Drowning Pool, where many “troublesome” women had been found dead over the centuries.  Nel, however, was the second death in the drowning pool in just a few short months.  Did Nel commit suicide by diving into the pool, or was she pushed.  And if she was pushed, who would have motive?

Nel’s daughter, Lena, is a typical 15-year old with all the angst that goes with it.  She is suddenly found under the care of Jules, her aunt.  Jules and her sister, Nel, were estranged, which creates a complicated relationship between Jules and Lena.

Lena’s best friend was Katie Whittaker, who had died in the drowning pool only a few months before Nel.  In the months before her death, Katie and Lena had a falling out.  Is there a link between her death and Lena?

The novel delves into the past life of Nel and Katie Whittaker, the young teenaged girl who died earlier in the year.  The plot involves some very dark issues, including rape.

There are also many plot strings that are not satisfactorily resolved.  This novel didn’t live up to Hawkins’s previous novel, The Girl on the Train.

Read:  May 31, 2018

3 Stars