The Wars of the Roses: The Fall of the Plantagenets and the Rise of the Tudors by Dan Jones; A Lowcountry Bride by Preslaysa Williams; Bone White by Ronald Malfi; Alexander the Great by Phillip Freeman; Nero: Matricide, Murder and Music in Imperial Rome by Anthony Everitt and Roddy Ashworth; Beyond a Boundary by C.L.R. James; A Stab in the Dark by Lawrence Block; The Killing Kind by John Connolly; Shōgun by James Clavell; Nobody’s Angel by Jack Clark; A Murder in Hollywood: The Untold Story of Tinseltown’s Most Shocking Crime by Casey Sherman; Village in the Dark by Iris Yamashita; Nestlings by Nat Cassidy; Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic by Tom Holland; The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age by Michael Woolraich – Jake Book Review

Rain, rain, go away.

I thought my reading count looked too low and then I realized I didn’t do leftovers for February, so here’s Feb-March combined.

The Wars of the Roses: The Fall of the Plantagenets and Rise of the Tudors *****
Jones is such a talented historian. Gets all the important stuff of the Wars of the Roses in great detail and lets the story entertain. His Templars book will soon be on my radar.

A Lowcountry Bride****
Had to read this for a library reading challenge and it was what I expected given I don’t otherwise read romances. The story was cute, the leads sufficiently wounded, the plot predictable, everyone went home happy except the racists. Many may quibble with that but I’m of the opinion that when it comes to romance, just let people get their Ws. Life is hard enough.

Bone White***
Started out great with an intriguing mystery and curious supernatural elements. But the story doesn’t come together. At first, I thought I was getting a detective story with horror elements and then it dovetailed into horror with a disappointing ending. Could’ve used some editing. But I enjoyed it enough to check out another one of Malfi’s books.

Alexander the Great****
A very good primer on the man/myth that was Alexander. Since there’s not a lot of firsthand accounting of the man himself, Freeman sticks mostly to battles but it’s a focused, well-written product that doesn’t get mired in minutiae.

Nero: Matricide, Music, and Murder in Imperial Rome****

A good enough biography that doesn’t rehabilitate Nero but shows him to not exactly be the decadent monster of Roman history (seems like it’s true of Caligula though). The big beef I had is smack in the middle of the book, the English writers predictably but annoyingly get away from Nero’s story and go long on the submission of Britain that just so happened during Nero’s reign. While it was fascinating to learn about Queen Boudica, it didn’t explain why the writers gave the short shrift to Nero murdering his pregnant wife or castrating a prepubescent slave to make the slave his lover because the slave looked like his mom. It’s just like…man, that happened. Sucks doesn’t it? Anyway. Other than that, it was good.

A Stab in the Dark****

Originally, I had pegged this one as the one in which Block elevated his game. Re-reading it, I can see why I thought that back then. It’s the most focused Scudder’s character has been portrayed and it hints at a larger series to come. But as I’ve come to appreciate 1-3 more than I did back then, I don’t think this one elevates it in a significant way. It’s better than the first three but the first three were also better than I remembered. So that’s no knock on 4, it’s good. There’s just not as much daylight as there was in my mind.

The Killing Kind****

That’s better. A noticeable (if not substantial) jump from the first two. I really liked the take on religion, the examination of Maine’s weird religious history, the villainy of the story — a villainy reminiscent today. But while Charlie Parker’s Broken Man/Avenging Angel routine is turned down, it’s still there, especially in the final third. It’s hard when you like a series for every reason save the protagonist. But I liked it enough to keep trying.

Shōgun***
Was prepared for the narrow interpretations of Japanese culture and got it. I’m sure samurai weren’t around ready to ritually disembowel themselves at a moment’s notice. And a lot of the exchanges felt rote. But it’s massive in scope and hits a lot of its reach. Parts of it got me emotional. Can’t wait to watch the show.

Nobody’s Angel****
Once again, I wish Hard Case Crime published more books like these by obscure authors. This is a hidden gem; more of a parable of urban decay than a mystery, though there’s that too. A hard look at Chicago before widespread gentrification. Could’ve done without the White Messiaship but otherwise loved it.

A Murder in Hollywood: The Untold Story of Tinseltown’s Most Shocking Crime**
Despite the annoyingly invented dialogue, I greatly enjoyed Casey Sherman’s Helltown, mostly because I didn’t know the case or its dynamics between Kurt Vonnegut and Norman Mailer. I was hoping he’d bring the same touch to the famous story of Lana Turner and/or her daughter murdering Johnny Stompanato but I was let down. This is a wiki entry with dialogue, riddled with typos. Also, there’s an outsized focus on Mickey Cohen, perhaps because Stompanato didn’t have such a detailed history. There was no reason to rush this book so I don’t know why it came out this way; Sherman has a name and presumably editors. Just feels like a missed opportunity to learn more about what happened and the circumstances around it.

Beyond A Boundary****

Some said that you don’t need to know much about cricket to appreciate this book. I do not agree with that. I know next-to-nothing about the sport so large parts were inaccessible to me. But I did catch how CLR James linked the history and culture of cricket with colonialism and how cricket at its best expressions can break colonial cycles if it stays true to its working/middle class roots. James is an excellent writer and he kept me engaged throughout, even when I didn’t fully understand what he was talking about.

Village in the Dark****
I don’t know if I liked how Iris Yamashita ended this one (and a main arc of her so far duology) but again, I loved the characters and the pacing. She does such a great job of transliterating screenplay writing to novel form. I’d use the two books in this series to teach a writing class if I could. She left room to explore different ideas for a future series. Not sure if she’ll do it or not; as a fan, I’m hoping she’ll move on to something new. But whatever she writes, I’ll read.

Nestlings****
My only real beef with this is the same beef I have with a lot of other luxury New York apartment horror stories in that there’s never enough New York-ness to it. Obviously, I know there’s only so much of that one can do with a tale that’s supposed to take place mostly in rooms and a building. Still, I just wish there were more references and cultural connections. Nevertheless, this was a well-written tale that turned into a couple of different things, including meditations on motherhood, Judaism, the human body and more. I liked it and will for sure read more by Nat Cassidy.

Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic****

A good — if a bit exhaustive — look at the causes of Rome’s Republican decline and how it became an empire. Some fascinating stuff mixed in with the banal but as always with Rome: a lot of court intrigue and backstabbing. I now want to read a whole book on Sulla, who I understand better. Caesar can wait.

The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age***
The story was fascinating enough, so thoroughly 20s New York: a moll, gangsters, crooked cops, corrupt pols. The execution left a lot to be desired. Wolraich is far too interested in the granular details of Seabury’s investigations to streamline this story. The result is too much of a slog for the kind of tale it’s covering. Still, if you’re as into this milieu as I am, you have to read it.

One’s Company****
I once heard someone say that you don’t want money to be rich, you want it for freedom. That feels accurate and this book explores that theme; namely freedom from trauma. It’s a deeper book than I expected and it made me really feel for the protagonist. Different than what I normally read but good.