BOOK REVIEW: Mallory's Oracle by Carol O'Connell

Detective Kathy Mallory. New York's darkest.

You only underestimate her once.
The soul of a thief.
When NYPD Sergeant Kathy Mallory was an eleven year old street kid, she got caught stealing. The detective who found her was Louis Markowitz. He should have arrested her. Instead he raised her as his own, in the best tradition of New York's finest.
The mind of a cop.
Now Markowitz is dead, and Mallory, the first officer on the scene. She knows any criminal who could outsmart her father is no ordinary human. This is a ruthless serial killer , a freak from the night-side of the mind.
The courage of a hero with nothing to lose.
And one question troubles her more than any other: why did he go in there alone?

Publisher: Headline

Pages: 272  

I'm always on the look out for a new crime series and I think I may have found it, Mallory's Oracle is the first in the series of Mallory novels by Carol O'Connell.
Kathy Mallory is a New York detective but her talents lie in technology not out on the streets. She was taken in at the age of eleven by NYPD detective Louis Markowitz. Louis and his wife Helen raised Kathy and set her on the straight and narrow but Mallory still harbours some demons and is always prepared to bend the law if she feels it is the right thing to do.
When Louis Markowitz is murdered, Kathy is first on the scene. She has no idea why her father went after a suspect alone and how he was outwitted, he was the smartest man she knew. Mallory is given indefinite leave to get over her father's death but she has no plans to stay at home with her feet up. Instead she embarks on an investigation of her own to catch a ruthless serial killer.
Mallory's oracle was a really good read. Kathy Mallory is a well-crafted character, she is not necessarily likeable but she is damaged enough to be interesting to the reader. I feel like I have only scratched the surface of this character and I think we will find out more and more as the series develops.
This book requires you to pay attention, I felt a little bombarded by characters and suspects at the beginning but once I had a handle on it all I was really interested to find out how it all fitted together.
The New York setting is perfect; it provides a gritty and realistic backdrop to the story. In this book we meet characters from all types of backgrounds and it showed that murder doesn't just affect the down-trodden.
Mallory's Oracle is a great read, I am looking forward to the rest of the series.

Many thanks to Caitlin at Headline for sending me a review copy. 

The Proposal by Tasmina Perry

When Amy Carrell's wealthy boyfriend ends their relationship just before Christmas, she's left to nurse her broken heart alone. With nothing to lose, she replies to an advertisement requesting a companion for a mysterious 'Manhattan adventure.'
Whisked off to New York with eccentric British aristocrat Georgia Hamilton, Amy experiences a glamorous side of the city she's never seen before. Along the way, Georgia initiates her protege in the arts of old-school elegance.
But as Georgia shares her life lessons, Amy discovers a painful secret in her mentor's past.  A secret that shattered her future. A story of love and betrayal that only Amy has the power to put right. 

I absolutely adored this book. It is very different in style to Tasmina's previous books but I thought that it was brilliant. The book revolves around two main characters, Amy Carrell, a New Yorker living in London and famous publisher, Georgia Hamilton. They meet when Amy replies to Georgia's advert for a companion to travel to Manhattan with her over the Christmas period. The two women become friends and Amy begins to wonder why Georgia had to advertise for a friend. She begins asking questions and the story unravels.
Tasmina Perry flits between the present in 2012 and the summertime of 1958 when Georgia was doing 'The Season' as a debutante. A terrible secret from Georgia's past is revealed and Amy becomes determined to get some kind of justice for her new friend.
The story that Tasmina Perry has created is wonderful and I was engrossed straight away. I took to both Amy and Georgia and it was lovely to see their unlikely friendship develop.
The detail in this book is excellent, Amy and Georgia's trip to Manhattan was really vivid and believable and I also loved all of the details and gossip from Georgia's experience of 'The Season'.
This book is a very heart-warming read with a bit of a mysterious edge. I highly recommend it, you won't be disappointed.

Dot Scribbles Rating: 5/5

Publisher: Headline Review

Pages: 352

Many thanks to Caitlin at Headline Review for sending me a copy of this book, The Proposal is out now.

Book Review: My Notorious Life by Madam X by Kate Manning

Axie Muldoon, the headstrong daughter of Irish immigrants, forced to beg for pennies as a child  on the brutal streets of New York City, grows up to become the most successful- and controversial- midwife of her time.
'Saved' from poverty by a well-meaning philanthropist, Axie is sent West with her brother Joe and her sister Dutch. But the kindness of strangers is short-loved and soon Axie returns to the city of her birth- separated from those she loves but determined to one day reunite her family.
When she is taken in by a Manhattan doctor, Axie learns the craft that she will live by- and later fight for. As a purveyor of 'lunar tonic for the relief of female complaints' she rises from the gutter to the glitter of 5th Avenue high society, and discovers that the right way is not always the way of the church or the law.
As Axie's reputation grows she finds herself on a collision course with the crusading official who would be the righteous instrument of her downfall. It will take all of her power to outwit him and save both herself and those she loves from ruin. 

I was extremely sad to reach the final page of My Notorious Life as I just did not want the book to end.
Axie Muldoon or the infamous Madam X's story is fascinating from start to finish. Circumstances dictate Axie's life, she finds herself an orphan in New York; her brother and sister lost and no-one to care for her. A Manhattan doctor takes her in and inadvertently she learns the craft of midwifery.  Midwifery was far from an honourable profession at this time; contraception was frowned upon and women entirely at the mercy of men. Although Madam X saves many women's lives and delivers hundreds of healthy babies, it is the work she does to prevent conception or to interfere with pregnancy that sees her branded as a devil in society.
Axie has fought her way to the top of society; she is one of the richest women in New York so when someone tries to take it all away from her, she is more than prepared to put up a fight.
Kate Manning fills her story with exquisite and fascinating detail. She presents the full horrors of midwifery and female suffering, of course she also shows the delights of pregnancy and motherhood too. However, it is the negative aspects that drive Axie on to help even when she knows it brings a huge risk to her and her family. Women who already have many children and no money to feed another; victims of rape; mistresses promised the world and then abandoned when with child. Axie has all sorts knocking at her clinic door, peasants and prostitutes, right through
to the wife of the Mayor of New York. Each woman has a story and these all add up and intersperse to make a truly wonderful book.
I had so much admiration for Axie's character; she fights for everything she has and is always determined to do the right thing. Her husband Charles was also an orphan and their relationship highlights the scars left behind by their experiences. They find it so hard to trust each other as they are so used to being abandoned yet they are fiercely loyal to each other and protective; both driven by a passion to better themselves.
My Notorious Life by Madam X is one of those books that I know I will read again and again. The detail included is brilliant, I felt as though I had learnt so much and Kate Manning's careful research abd attention shines through.

Dot Scribbles Rating: 5/5

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Pages: 448

Many thanks to the lovely Jude at Bloomsbury for sending me a copy of the book, it is available now.

Book Review: Married by Christmas by Scarlett Bailey

All she wants is a perfect Christmas Eve wedding...
It's been on Anna's wish list since she was a little girl, dreaming of a far happier family life than she'd ever experienced.
Only now-two weeks before the big day- her perfect husband-to-be drops a  bombshell...
But nothing's going to stop Anna's plans- not even the pesky inconvenience of discovering her groom already has a wife!

Scarlett Bailey's last book The Night Before Christmas was fantastic so I was particularly excited when her new book arrived.
The cover is gorgeous and extremely festive so it would make a fab Christmas present.
Anna had a really tough childhood which resulted in her being taken into care. She does not want to make the same mistakes as her mother so she has a plan. This includes marriage, a house, children and so on. The marriage in particular means that Anna will have the perfect Christmas eve wedding. However, her fiance Tom throws a huge spanner in the works when he reveals that he is actually already married and can't find his wife in order to get a divorce. Anna cannot believe this is happening but she is not going to have her plan ruined. She sets off to New York to hunt down this mystery wife but what if she fails and what if her life plan isn't actually the right one?
Married by Christmas is a really festive adventure. I loved the New York setting as it is exactly the time of year when I would like to visit. Anna is a very determined young woman and it is very interesting to watch how she works. She gradually begins to question her plan for life, has she created a life simply to fit the plan? Does she actually love Tom or has he chosen him because he fits into her idealistic future?
I think that Scarlett Bailey is a very entertaining writer. Married by Christmas is the perfect feel good read for this time of year. Once you have read about Anna's adventures in New York, you will be reaching for the milled wine and mince pies.

Dot Scribbles Rating: 4/5

Many thanks to Ebury for sending me a copy of the book to review, Married by Christmas is out now!

Book Review: The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty

On a summer's day in 1922, Cora Carlisle boards a train from Wichita, Kansas to New York City, leaving behind a marriage that's not as perfect as it seems and a past that she buried long ago. She is charged with the care of a stunning young girl with a jet-black fringe and eyes wild and wise beyond her fifteen years.  This girl is hungry for stardom, and Cora for something she doesn't yet know. Cora will be many things in her lifetime- an orphan, a mother, a wife, a mistress- but in New York she is a chaperone and her life is about to change.
It is here under the bright lights of Broadway, in a time when prohibition reigns and speakeasies with their forbidden whispers behind closed doors thrive, that Cora finds what she has been searching for. It is here, in a time when illicit thrills and daring glamour sizzle beneath the laws of propriety that her life truly begins. It is here that Cora and her charge, Louise Brooks, take their first steps towards their dreams. 

Laura Moriarty has written an extremely interesting book. The Chaperone is the story of Cora Carlisle who is charged with being a chaperone to Louise Brooks as she enrolls in a dance studio in New York. Laura Moriarty's books is fictional , however Louise Brooks was a real person, a famous silent movie actress who led a very dramatic life on and off screen.
The Chaperone is set in the 1920's and I loved how Moriarty really captured the feeling of change. Cora is the main character and she is taken out of a small town in Kansas and thrust into glamorous New York. Her perception, morals and values are constantly challenged and not just by Louise, but by the world around her.
Cora has another reason for visiting New York. As a young girl she was adopted and New York holds the key to the secrets of her past. What will she discover and will she ever be able to return to her old life after having her eyes thoroughly opened?
Laura Moriarty's writing is superb, she creates such vivid images in your mind and the pace of the book was excellent. The Chaperone is only 366 pages long but Moriarty packs so much in; racism, prohibition, sex, lies, love, loyalty and betrayal. If you like extremely well written historical fiction or if you are just after a really good story then have a look at The Chaperone, it is an excellent read.

Dot Scribbles Rating 4/5

Many thanks to Penguin for sending me a copy of the book to review, The Chaperone is out now.

Book review: Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? by Claudia Carroll

What happens when two people decide to give themselves the year off...from each other? 

Annie and Dan were the perfect couple. But now the not-so-newly-weds feel more like flatmates than soul mates and wonder where all the fun and fireworks went...

When Annie lands her big break in a smash-hit show that's heading for the bright lights of Broadway, she's over the moon. Goodbye remote Irish village, hello fabulous Big Apple! But with their relationship already on the rocks, how will Annie and Dan survive the distance? 

They're hitting the pause button on their marriage. One year off from each other- no strings attached- except a date to meet at the Rockefeller Centre to decide their fate. Will they  both turn up? Or is it too  late for love?

Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? is the first book by Claudia Carroll that I have read. In the main I really enjoyed the book but I did have a few minor quibbles too.
Annie and Dan were childhood sweethearts, they met at 15 and married early. Now at 28, their relationship is already under strain. They left their life in Dublin and Annie's career as an actress to move back to the village of Stickens and Dan's family veterinary practice after Dan's father died. Annie is desperately unhappy, Dan is working ridiculous hours, she can't stand her mother-in-law and her acting career seems like a long-distance memory. So when Annie's agent calls and tells her she has an audition for the new Jack Gordon play, she jumps at the chance. The play is a dream and to be directed by Jack Gordon is a huge opportunity so when she is offered the part, she feels that she can't say no. The only problem is that the play is moving to New York for a whole year, on one hand how can Annie leave Dan for a year and on the other hand how can she turn down the chance to perform on Broadway?
Dan knows that this is Annie's dream and she has given up so much for him already. He knows that she is majorly unhappy in Stickens so her tells her to go to New York. They will put their marriage on hold for 1 year and arrange to meet at the Rockefeller centre in 12 months which is where they got engaged.
Annie loves New York and the play, she misses Dan but she also thinks he probably hasn't even really noticed her absence.
New York is full of temptations, Jack Gordon being the  biggest one; he has his sights firmly set on Annie and a small matter like a husband in the UK is not going to deter him. Annie can't even  contemplate Jack at first but when she hears that Dan has allowed his friend Lisa Ledbetter and her kids move in as she is having marital problems, she doesn't know what to think. Lisa has always had a thing for Dan and now that Annie is away she is obviously making her move.
Annie focuses on her and Dan's agreed date in December but will he even turn up and if he does, does she want to return to her old life?
Sorry for the lengthy description but quite a lot happens in this book. I identified with Annie as I met my husband when we were very young and we're already married with a baby on the way at 28. However, my reservation with the book was the idea of Annie going away for a year. This is something I would never contemplate. I understand that Claudia Carroll really plays on the fact that Dan works all hours as a vet and doesn't always put Annie first but I too have first-hand experience of this due to being married to a junior doctor but I wouldn't run off for a year! It's a shame as on  the whole I liked Annie and I'm all for people following their dreams but she was a little tinged for me as in my opinion she was being a little selfish.
I still enjoyed the book though, in particular the New York setting and all of the characters involved in the play. I shall try the author's other books, I just struggled with the idea in this one.

Many thanks to the lovely Charlotte at Avon for sending me a copy of the book to review, Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? is out now.

Dot Scribbles rating 3.5/5