Gabriel Ward, academic sleuth, is a delight. Borderline autistic. Compassionate. Ethical. Very smart. I really preferred the 2nd in this series, A Case of Life and Limb, but I wasn't allowed to enter it as a favorite read for some (very frustrating) reason. So go ahead, read this first book to get to know the setting and the sleuth. Then go immnediately to the 2nd book to get to know Gabriel Ward better and the few people who learn to appreciate him as he investigates another mystery, a better one with TWO murders that need resolution.
Beautiful setting of Oxford, England, as a woman tries to find out what happened to her missing sister years ago. Female protagonist works as a dictionary linguist and word clues begin to appear about her sister's mysterious vanishing. The book is wonderfully filled with unique words, many old but all new to me. It was delightful page by page to find new words. The resolution of the missing sister is satisfying and the characters all believable. This book was this author's 1st work of fiction and it was splendid.
THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER!'KEPT ME READING EAGERLY'Philip Pullman. 'HUGE FUN AND, AS YOU'D EXPECT, ALSO BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN'Gyles Brandreth. 'QUITE SIMPLY ONE OF THE FINEST MYSTERIES I HAVE EVER READ'Rob Rinder . 'A TANTALISING MYSTERY FOR WORD SLEUTHS AND CRIME FANS ALIKE'Janice Hallett, Sunday Times bestselling author of The AppealGuilty by Definition is a love letter not only to language but to the city of Oxford, wrapped within an intriguing mystery of a missing woman and considering the emotional aftershocks of her disappearance on those left behind.. She'd known there would be ghosts in Oxford. Martha wasn't afraid of any…
An historical telling of the last year of the American Civil War. Who knew there was a sophisticated Southern spy network that wreaked havoc throughout northern cities? That assassin John Wilkes Booth was a only one cog in that network but still "a dreadful man"? That young Tad Lincoln had a cleft palate? So much happened that last year of the war that I didn't know, and kudos to Ellsworth for sharing "The Lost Cause" reworking of history. And of course, there's that dear, great man, Abraham Lincoln. I feel I know the president much better after reading this history, and that's a value that can't be quantified.
From the author of The Ground Breaking, longlisted for the National Book Award, comes a riveting saga of the last year of the Civil War—and a revealing new account of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln
Told with a page-turning pace, New York Times bestselling author and historian Scott Ellsworth has written the most compelling new book about the Civil War in years. Focusing on the last, desperate months of the war, when the outcome was far from certain, Midnight on the Potomac is a story of titanic battles, political upheaval, and the long-forgotten Confederate terror war against the loyal citizens…
The inhabitants of New Hope, Nebraska, have done their best to put the Civil War with all its turmoil and devastation behind them. By 1878, the town is prospering. Three daily railroad stops. Groceries, feed and grain, hardware, and leather goods readily available. Bank, doctor's office, café, and barber shop. Its own church and school, preacher and teacher. A civilized community with all the marks of progress. That's what the hard-working members of the Merchants' Association believe until the day New Hope's telegraph agent – young Eddie Barts – disappears, and suddenly life in New Hope changes. Widow Ruth Churchill, barber and owner of the town's finest boarding house, has lived and loved in New Hope for over a decade. She calls it home and its citizens friends. Five years after the death of her beloved husband, Ruth has managed to find peace and a kind of happiness. But with the disappearance of Eddie Barts, Ruth will find her world and her life turned upside down. Despite all the trappings of civilization, something – someone – evil is hiding in New Hope. For years, unknown to anyone but one relentless searcher, a wicked man of violence and deception has been living behind a mask of respectability. Before his mask is ripped off, Ruth will experience suspicion, doubt, danger, and fear. Her own life will be at risk. Her own heart, too. Because along with terror and grief comes love. They live side-by-side. When it's all over, New Hope, Nebraska, will never be the same. And neither will Ruth.
