Helen Peters - Friends and Traitors - Book Review - Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books

 

This is one of our summer reading picks for 2023. It’s by Helen Peters and is entitled Friends and Traitors and is due to be published on the 6th July 2023 by Nosy Crow Books. The best way to describe this book is that it’s a vintage cozy crime detective book that has an historical edge. The book cover has been illustrated by David Dean and really pulls you into the story before you’ve even turned the very first page!

The plot of this book was so intriguing that I really looked forward to finding out more. I have really struggled recently to enjoy and finish some of the books I've started to read. This is very unusual for me and I’m not sure why this is happening. Afterall, we are having a golden moment featuring some amazing children's books. However some of the plots just appear to be too drawn out and uninteresting. Reading this book was a breath of fresh air - it came just at the right time for me to really enjoy.

Are you ready to solve the secrets and mystery of Stanbrook Hall? What will you discover and can the characters in the book change the course of history? The story is set in the summer of 1940 as Britain prepares for a German invasion. In the middle of this, Sidney Dashworth and her classmates start a new term at the newly relocated boarding school - an enormous mansion in the picturesque countryside. Unsurprisingly the new term starts off in chaos. The unlikely villains of this story have a sinister plan. It takes an unlikely friendship and some improvisation to lead the readers into a memorable journey that will have you engrossed from the very first page.

I loved the plot as it brought a great amount of suspense and tension including classmate rivalry and some midnight creepiness. The house staff and other residents each give another dimension delivering some quirkiness and plot richness. The book is easygoing and gripping with a very strong narrative - there’s just the right amount of detail and dialogue to suck you into the mystery. I'm not sure if this is the start of a series as all the loose ends appeared to be tied with a very climactic finish. 

This is a great family adventure that has some low moments as well as marvellously high moments to leave all readers satisfied and wanting more. A great holiday read for everyone.

Ella Risbridger - The Secret Detectives - Book Review - Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books

A gripping, beautifully written historical mystery, from an incredible new voice in children's fiction.

Ella Risbridger is a writer and editor. She is found mostly in her pink kitchen in South London. This is her first children's book which was published in June 2021 by Nosy Crow Books. The book has a fantastically eye-catching cover that showers you with a golden shimmer. The cover has been illustrated by the brilliant Ray Tierney and will certainly stand out in the bookshops this summer. Are you ready to ride the waves and enjoy a spectacular adventure? We hope you are as this one is going to develop the amateur detective skills in YOU! So it's time to roll up your sleeves and turn the pages of this book. 

The body seemed to fall for a long time. There was no splash, or if there was it was lost in the waves. Isobel was frozen to the spot for a moment before her common sense caught up with her and she stepped back quickly into the shadows. This book is a gripping whodunnit thriller that has a rhythm to the plot which is led by the characters. The group of multi-racial children each bring their different backgrounds to the story - their individual strengths and weaknesses make this detective adventure really enjoyable to read. 

The story takes place on board the S. S. Mariana which is a small boat that has set sail from Calcutta to England. One of the children witnesses something being thrown overboard in the middle of the night which leads to the start of an amazing crime to solve. Like all Agatha Christie-type stories, there are a number of great individuals who might have been involved in this despicable act. Intriguingly, what has or who has been thrown overboard the ship and why? The ship's captain insists that NOBODY is missing which provides a great opportunity for the children to solve the mystery in a funny and heartfelt way.

This is a brilliant historical mystery that I enjoyed immensely. It had a real quirkiness about it that I loved. This genre is packed with so many mystery stories but this one stands out for me. I loved the backstory and the colourful characters that we share the journey with. The author has done a remarkable job of bringing this adventure to life. It's full of historical accuracy with some detailed research of the time and period. This is a fast-paced race for time to solve the crime before the ship reaches England.  Are you ready to don your dear stalker and take notes and use your brain? If so, this is the adventure for you. Can you work it out before the children do? All you need to do is follow the clues to the bookshop to pick this one up and give it a READ.  

Candy Gourlay - Bone Talk - Book Review (Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books)

Amazing cover illustration by Philippine illustrator Kerby Rosanes

Samkad lives in a tribe deep in the Philippine jungle at the end of the nineteenth century, and has never encountered anyone from outside his own tribe before. He's about to become a man, and while he's desperate to grow up, he's worried that this will take him away from his best friend, Little Luki. However, Samkad's world is about to change utterly. A strange man with white skin arrives in his village, and Samkad discovers the brother he never knew he had. A brother who tells him of people called `Americans'. Americans who are bringing war, and burning, to Samuel's home...

The remarkable primitive culture of the Philipines, many years ago, has been brought to life by Candy Gourlay. Bone Talk is set around 1899, a period which is known as the Philippine-American War. It's a fantastic story that will be published on the 2nd August 2018 by David Fickling Books. This will be the author's third published book and, in my opinion, the best book to date. You are all definitely in for a great historical treat. 

Some books grab the attention of the reader well before you turn the first page. The idea for this book is very intriguing as you are instantly transported back in time to 1899, Bontok. Like small ripples in a pond, this book will reach out to the fantasy brain and stay with you for some time. The story is told from a Filipino perspective, which I really loved and depicts the beating heart of tribal life in the Philipines around that time. It is brilliantly written, weaving historical facts and research together to deliver a plot that, hopefully, reflects the time as authentically possible.  

It's a fantasy story that itches at the skin through the brutal reality of life and will ask many questions of the reader along the way. It is a reflection of a time that many people will be very unfamiliar with. However, it makes the reader want to know more. In fact, I became really emotionally involved with the story. I wanted, on so many occasions, to be able to climb up the nearest tree and experience what was going to happen first hand. Pure armchair fantasy! Nevertheless, it's a very hard-hitting book that combines a basic way of life with a dark and macabre reality from death and war.

You will love one of the main characters called Luki. She is very well written and dances off the page with a playful charm and cheekiness. She will make you chuckle as her character really does deliver a lighter-side to the plot. 

I loved this book in so many ways. It's diverse, very challenging and really made me think. I feel as if I have lived every moment of the story. You set off on a mundane ramble and end in an explosive narrative that finds the Philippine tribes move beyond the village into an unknown world. This is a great young-adult read that strikes away from the norm. It certainly shook me from my reading perch as it was enjoyable on so many levels. 

Janine Beacham - Rose Raventhorpe Investigates: Rubies and Runaways Bk 2 (Guest Publication Day Post Top 10 Butlers )

Rose Raventhorpe and the secret society of crime-solving butlers are at it again! Today is the publication of the second book in the series by Little Brown Books for Young Readers. When an orphan goes missing, will Rose and the butlers be able to find her before she disappears forever?

When an orphan boy named Orpheus interrupts the Cathedral's Mistletoe Service, saying that his sister has been kidnapped, Rose vows to help. Solving the mystery will be a lot better than accompanying ghastly Herbert! But the investigation is more complicated than Rose has anticipated and will lead her and her butler friends through fancy tea-rooms, horrible factories, secret underground passages and more...

For fans of Murder Most Unladylike and The Clockwork Sparrow, these are all fantastic historical mystery reads that will have you gripped with period crimes and a puzzle or two to solve. Why not give them all a go today? :)

Welcome, Janine. Here is her post on Top 10 Butlers.

As a kid I thought it would be great fun to have a butler. He would say, ‘would Miss like tea served on the lawn?’, or ‘shall I run Miss’s bath at the desired temperature?’ or ‘Shall I tidy your room for you, Miss?’ (If you ask your parents to say things like that, their eyes bulge and they start shouting.) There are some wonderful butlers in books, plays, TV series and films. Here are some of my favourites. Some are funny, some are sad, and some you definitely want on your side when you’re in trouble. 


1 – Jeeves. Jeeves is the butler in a series of classic, funny books by PD Wodehouse. He’s technically a valet, but most people think of him as the quintessential butler. He helps the hapless Bertie Wooster out at every turn. Typical quote: ‘It is hardly my place, sir, to criticise the facial peculiarities of your friends.’


2 - Stevens in the novel The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro, and the 1993 film. Poor repressed, duty-bound Stevens. He tries so hard to be the perfect butler he forgets to live a life for himself. Great book, and film portrayal by Sir Anthony Hopkins. Typical quote: ‘A man cannot call himself well-contented until he has done all he can to be of service to his employer.’ 

3 – Edmund Blackadder in the Blackadder TV series, played by Rowan Atkinson. Blackadder is possibly the funniest, most caustic butler ever. Especially when he’s stuck with the stupidest master in London. Typical quote: ‘God, I’m wasted here. It’s no life for a man of noble blood, being servant to a master with the intellect of a jugged walrus and all the social graces of a potty.’


4 – Brabinger in the TV series To the Manor Born. Dear old Brabinger wouldn’t dream of leaving Audrey fforbes-Hamilton when she leaves the Manor. An old-school gentleman. Typical quote: (On hearing the flowers have been arranged in water tainted by a dead pigeon) ‘I thought they lasted longer, Madam.’ 


5 – Geoffrey in the TV series The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Middle name Barbara. Studied at Oxford, was an Olympic runner, and got slapped by the Queen. Typical quote: (after receiving a small raise) ‘Thank you, sir, and with my newfound wealth, I shall be able to treat myself to a Happy Meal!’


6 – Niles in the TV series The Nanny. Snide and droll, he gives CC Babcock hell and is always on Nanny Fine’s side. Typical quote: (Trying to get into the Professional Butlers’ Association) ‘I happen to come from a long line of butlers, each one a member, until my father, the butler to the Duke of Carlisle, accidentally knocked over a vase … he was wrestling naked with the Duchess at the time.’


7 – Carson in the TV series Downton Abbey. Millions of fans loved Downton. Carson is a tradition-loving, slightly stuffy, loyal and caring man who doesn’t like change. Typical quote: (Told there are worse things in the world) ‘Not worse than a maid serving a duke.’ 

8 – Alfred Pennyworth in Batman (comics, TV series, films). Alfred keeps those bat-costumes looking their best, and no doubt cleans the Batmobile while Batman is swanning about as Bruce Wayne. Typical quote: ‘Endure, Master Wayne. Take it. They’ll hate you for it, but that’s the point of Batman, he can be the outcast. He can make the choice that no one else can make, the right choice.’ 


9 – Domovoi Butler in the Artemis Fowl books by Eoin Colfer. Butler is Artemis’s bodyguard as part of family tradition. I love a butler who can make pithy comments and fight with the best. Typical quote: ‘Argh? Pathetic and inarticulate. Nice combination. Your mothers must be so proud.’


10 – Crichton in the play The Admirable Crichton, by JM Barrie. Originally disapproving of class equality, Crichton takes charge when a bunch of Victorians are shipwrecked. He becomes engaged to a Lady Mary. On the point of marriage, they are rescued, the social order restored, and poor Crichton returns to his humble station. He inspired the equally admirable Kryten in the TV series Red Dwarf. Typical quote: ‘His lordship may compel us to be equal upstairs, but there will never be equality in the servants’ hall.’ 


Honourable mentions: 
Angus Hudson, the loyal Scottish butler in the TV series Upstairs Downstairs. 
Hobson in the film Arthur – acerbic but affectionate minder to Arthur. 
Lurch, in the TV show The Addams Family. 
Mrs Danvers in the novel Rebecca, by Daphne Du Maurier. Yes, she’s the housekeeper, not the butler, but at least one housekeeper should be on this list. Mrs Danvers is menacing, malicious and scary as hell.

Author Biography
A former journalist, Janine Beacham has written all her life. She has always loved fairy tales and fantasy, and as a child would make up games for her friends to play at school. Janine once entered a competition where the prize was a real-life butler - which partly inspired the secret society of butlers in the Rose Raventhorpe Investigates series. Janine lives in Western Australia with her family. 
Find her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BeachamJanine