Lady Molly of Scotland Yard - Baroness Orczy

After reading The Scarlet Pimpernel, I wanted to read more from this author. I was particularly drawn to this title since it involved a female detective working with Scotland Yard in the early 1900s. I had to download this one off Google since Gutenberg.org didn't have it available for download. I'm not sure why since it was originally published in 1910. This version had some illustrations, and I included one at the bottom from one of my favorite stories.

Included are 11 mysteries that Lady Molly solves. Most of them are the usual, expected whodunits or "how did they do it?," but I found the final story unique. It was a fitting ending for the book, but I won't spoil it. I'll just say that I really liked it.

The stories are narrated by a Watson-like character named Mary. Once she was Lady Molly's maid, but now she's a valuable assistant. Lady Molly herself could have been another Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple. She's smart, keeps her methods close to her chest and solves the crime when everyone else is left scratching their heads.

I found each story to be engaging and easy to read. They weren't too long, and the only thing that was slightly annoying was when Mary would say things like, "You recall..." because of course I don't. It didn't bother me much. 

I find it interesting what ends up becoming popular. I compared Lady Molly to a few popular detectives that have numerous movies and TV shows to their name, and I think Lady Molly could've easily had one as well. It's a shame more people don't know about this book, it easily earns a Good Book! review from me.

I liked the way Lady Molly solved this one (The Man in the Iverness Cape)

Except the Dying (Murdoch Mysteries #1) - Maureen Jennings

I waited forever for this book to drop in price. I love the show, and I wanted to see how alike the characters were. I'm going to stop saying that I don't read the book and watch the show/movie, because I've broken my rule too many times. I was just really curious to see how alike the book would be. By the cover, I expected it would be pretty close. BUT...

This book is nothing like the show. The inspector isn't friends with Murdoch, Crabtree has a family, and Drs. Ogden and Grace are nowhere to be seen. Murdoch himself is different in temperament, and apparently he has a mustache. I would say the main difference is the show is more "clean." The book goes into more detail about the dirty side of Toronto that gets glossed over in the show (prostitution, disease, desperation). There is also some language in the book if that bothers you.

The story itself starts out with a dead woman. Someone is removing her clothing and leaving her frozen body naked in the snow. The dead woman turns out to be a maid in a prominent household, and Murdoch has to sift through all the lies to discover who is behind the death.

I was able to separate the story from the show since the two weren't that similar. The book was pretty good and had me guessing until the end. Still a bit confused about one or two things, but it was an enjoyable read. I'm not sure I would read more of these, but it isn't the author's fault. For this type of book, I have to be in the mood for the melancholy. I definitely would stay away if you're reading it only because you're expecting to get more of the show you love. You'll probably be disappointed.  I'll still give it a Good Book! review.

Night Witches - Bruce Myles (DTB)

If you've never heard the term "Night Witches," you aren't alone. Up until a few months ago, I'd never heard of them either. Recently, I was introduced to an incredible band called Sabaton. If you're a fan of rock music and you love history, PLEASE check out this band. The theme of their music is history, and they're really good at it. One of their songs taught me that the Soviet Union had women flying planes in WWII. If you have seven minutes to spare, check out the Sabaton animated music video, Night Witches, on YouTube. If you're still interested after that, Sabaton has a history channel where you can learn even more. Anyway, the song and history videos led me to want to learn more, so I went in search of a book.

I chose this particular book because of the mention of interviews with actual women who served in the regiments. Some of the writing seems fictionalized, but it's mostly things like descriptions of scenery or what the weather would've been like. The few pictures included aren't high quality, but the book was published in 1990, and the pictures are much older than that, so it's understandable.

I am not really a person that enjoys nonfiction books. I normally avoid them like the plague, but I just had to know more about these brave young women. I'm glad I got this book, because I enjoyed it so much. You know ahead of time that some of the women are okay, since the author speaks to them. Others don't make it, and I don't remember being this emotional while reading a book in a long time. I remember telling my girls that I was afraid a particular girl wasn't going to make it, and I was going to be upset. I was right.

I read this book fairly quickly. The chapters were longer than I normally like, but I didn't care at all. The pages flew by, and before I knew it, I'd read the last page. The war was over, and there was nothing left to read. I still feel a strange sense of loss.

My only complaint is that I wanted more. More pictures, more stories, more biographical updates at the end. The book was way too short for me. It wasn't a short book, it's 272 pages, it was just such an interesting and unknown story that I couldn't get enough. It's a story I wish more people knew of. I wish I'd known of it sooner. Great Book!