Double Book Review by Soulla Christodoulou
James Walker has been writing books for some time and it was through my own book’s publication with The Conrad Press that we became connected. He is a published author with the same publisher.
He writes the most incredibly charming books set in the 17th Century where galloping across fields on horseback, disobeying your husband’s wishes and sneaking around in the shadows was frowned upon but not if you’re Lady Jane Tremayne. This is not a period in history which afforded women their freedom to develop interests outside of the home, marriage and family.
This makes Walker’s main character even more so of an absolute darling in so many ways; we see and experience her determination, keen sense of justice, tenacity and strength of character as she pursues her quest to solve two mysteries in the first two stories of a series; Ravishment and The Hanging Tree.
Her best friend, Lady Olivia Courtney, less willful and more abiding of society’s expectations of her in terms of behaviour, is carried along by Jane’s enthusiasm, energy and courage and they find themselves in some dangerous situations and in the company of some shady characters along the way.
The plot unravels in a timely way with no time-wasting or unnecessary detail; the writing is succinct, the prose and dialogue perfectly in tune with the political unrest of the period, across people’s attitudes, conventions of the time and contrasting places of city, town and country. In parts of the book I could smell the stench, imagine the foreboding buildings and alleyways as well as taste the beer and food; the culinary delights quite appetising.
Both Ravishment and The Hanging Tree are beautifully written and as a reader I became quickly immersed into the period by Walker’s ability to portray atmosphere and scene in a most engaging way; he clearly knows and understands the 17th Century era well, the time of the English Civil Wars, I have learnt more about through the narrative and dialogue contained in the books, including the political climate of the time. Historians, particularly interested in this period, are sure to enjoy Walker’s works.
If you’re looking for books with pace, intrigue, plot twists and a few surprises along the way then these books will give you all of these and more. They are easy to read, have fully-rounded and personable (and not so personable) characters that I found myself rooting for and, by the end of each book, so relieved all ended well for the two ladies.
Both books are available on Amazon and across online bookstores worldwide.
Thank you so much for joining me and until next week,
Happy Reading and stay well.
With much love, Soulla xxx
