BLOG TOUR: Maiden Voyage - Bradley Harper

Three female thieves, a priceless painting, and a Pinkerton agent aboard the Titanic. What could go wrong?

Colette DuVall, a young jewel thief from Canada, follows Mary Carr, the 'Queen' of the criminal gang The Forty Elephants, aboard the Titanic to steal a painting by the French master, Blondell. Her resolve weakens when she meets Harry Worth, a young Pinkerton agent hired to safeguard the wealthy passengers during the ship's maiden voyage. Harry, the son of master criminal Adam Worth, questions his role as a private policeman exacting private justice, and his doubts deepen after losing his heart to the charming Colette. Can two people on opposite sides of the law find love and survive the sinking of the largest object ever made?

Loyalties collide as fiercely as the ship with the iceberg, and as the three struggle to escape the foundering colossus they find that love may be the greatest thief of all.

 

What did I think?

I love stories about the Titanic so I was very excited to read Maiden Voyage and I was not disappointed.  As well as some of the characters being real people who were on the Titanic, Bradley Harper imaginatively includes Mary Carr, the Queen of the Forty Elephants, among the passengers with a cunning plan to steal a valuable painting on board.

The art heist plot is fantastic and it really kept me riveted, especially as the reader knows that time is running out for RMS Titanic but the thieves are still going full steam ahead.  The drama and tension just keeps on ramping up as the ship starts to fill with water and I couldn't read fast enough to see how it was all going to end (spoiler alert: the ship sinks).

Bradley Harper's writing is so very evocative and vivid that I could easily visualise the scenes in my head.  I even had a pretty good idea of what the painting would look like before I even realised it was on the front cover of the book!  Maiden Voyage is Bradley Harper's fourth novel and I will definitely be looking to read his earlier books on the strength of this one.

Imaginative, original and compelling, Maiden Voyage is a stunning novel that gave me goosebumps as I was reading.  It is incredibly entertaining and dramatic as the art heist plays out against the infamous and poignant backdrop of Titanic's fatal voyage.  A very highly recommended read.

I received a gifted digital copy to read for the Paste Creative virtual book tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

Buy it from:

Amazon

Bookshop.org

Indigo.ca

About the author:

Bradley Harper is a retired US Army Colonel and pathologist who has performed over two-hundred autopsies and some twenty forensic investigations. A life-long fan of Sherlock Holmes, he did intensive research for this debut novel, A KNIFE IN THE FOG, including a trip to London's East End with noted Jack the Ripper historian Richard Jones. Harper’s first novel was published in October 2018 and was a finalist for the 2019 Edgar Award by the Mystery Writers of America for Best First Novel by an American Author and won the Killer Nashville 2019 Silver Falchion for Best Mystery. Harper’s second novel, QUEEN’S GAMBIT, was awarded the Killer Nashville 2020 Silver Falchion Award as Best Suspense and Book of the Year. 

MAIDEN VOYAGE is Harper’s fourth book.

ONLINE LINKS

Website:  https://bharperauthor.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bharperauthor

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bharper1888/

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BLOG TOUR: A Library Miscellany - Claire Cock-Starkey

I'm thrilled to be taking part in the blog tour for this fabulous little book: A Library Miscellany by Claire Cock-Starkey.  I've previously read and thoroughly enjoyed The Book Lovers' Miscellany and you can read my review here.

What can be found in the Vatican's Secret Archive? How many books did Charles Darwin's library aboard the Beagle hold? Which library is home to a colony of bats? 

Bursting with potted histories, quirky facts and enlightening lists, this book explores every aspect of the library, celebrating not only these remarkable institutions but also the individuals behind their awe-inspiring collections. 

From the ancient library at Alexandria to the Library of Congress in Washington DC, A Library Miscellany explores institutions both old and new, from the university library to that of the humble village. It opens the door to unusual collections such as herbaria, art libraries, magic libraries and even the library of smells, and charts the difficulties of cataloguing books deemed to be subversive, heretical, libellous or obscene. 

Packed with unusual facts and statistics, this is the perfect volume for library enthusiasts, bibliophiles and readers everywhere.

EXTRACT

I haven't had time to read and review A Library Miscellany but I have something even better for you today: an extract from the book itself.  As someone who is interested in the RMS Titanic, I am delighted to share the extract about the two libraries aboard this iconic ill-fated ocean liner.

You can buy a copy of the book from Amazon UK here and you can find out more about the author on her website www.nonfictioness.com and by following her on Twitter @nonfictioness 

For those of you lucky enough to be in the Oxford area on March 20th 2018, you can hear Claire Cock-Starkey talking about A Library Miscellany (and The Book Lovers' Miscellany) at Oxford Literary Festival on March 20th at 12pm - click here to find out more.

Follow the tour for more great content from A Library Miscellany:

The Captain's Daughter - Leah Fleming

The secrets in a woman's heart are deeper than the ocean…

For May Smith, travelling with her husband and baby girl Ellen, stepping foot on the Titanic marks the start of an incredible journey, one which is destined to take her from the back streets of Bolton to the land of opportunity: the United States. 

But when the 'unsinkable' Titanic hits an iceberg one cold dark night, May's dreams are instantly shattered. Jumping from the sinking ship at the last minute, May loses sight of Joe and Ellen. Distraught, she is pulled into a lifeboat. Minutes later, the real-life Captain Smith swims to the lifeboat and hands May a baby swaddled in blankets. 

Beside herself, and in virtual darkness, May believes the baby to be Ellen. This rescue is witnessed by fellow survivor, Celeste Parkes, married to an American industrialist who is on her way back to Ohio after her mother's funeral. 

In horror, they both watch the death throes of the mighty ship; May traumatised, knowing her husband has drowned, Celeste wishing her bully of a husband had been on board and out of her life. 

As the dawn comes up, and the two women are rescued by the Carpathia,a friendship is formed, one which is destined to transcend the Atlantic and social differences between them and last a lifetime. Then May makes a shocking discovery and a split-second decision which will change the lives of so many.

What did I think?

I've always been fascinated by the story of the Titanic so Leah Fleming's The Captain's Daughter made it straight onto my radar and into my virtual shopping basket when it was released by Simon & Schuster in 2012.  It has, however, sat on my bookshelf for 4 years so I finally picked it up and, although I did expect an emotional read, it was even more emotional than I ever imagined.

May Smith (not related to Captain Smith despite the title of the book), her husband, Joseph, and young daughter, Ellen, are setting off for a new life in America.  They have managed to secure a place in steerage on the maiden voyage of the Titanic.  On the same voyage, travelling in first class, is Celeste Parkes.  Celeste is originally from Lichfield but is married to an American and is returning back to Ohio after attending her mother's funeral.  In the early hours of 15 April 1912, the two women find themselves in a lifeboat; Celeste after being given the opportunity to board the lifeboat and May after being fished out of the water, much to the chagrin of the other first class inhabitants of the lifeboat.  When somebody resembling Captain Smith hands a baby into the lifeboat, May thinks that she has been reunited with her daughter, but the baby isn't Ellen.  When rescued by the Carpathia, May gives the other rescued passengers a chance to claim the baby but when nobody comes forward she has no option but to keep the baby herself.  She knows she isn't her baby, Ellen, so in order to not arouse suspicion she calls the baby Ella and returns to England.

Meanwhile, Angelo Bartolina is searching for his wife and daughter who were on the Titanic and were coming to join him in New York. He finds a lace shoe on the docks when the Carpathia arrives and he is sure that it belongs to his baby daughter, Alessia.  The lace is so intricate it had to have been made by his wife, Maria, but perhaps she sold it or it was stolen on board.  Angelo never gives up hope that one day he will be reunited with his daughter.

I absolutely adored this book.  I was disappointed at first that the Titanic episode was over very quickly in the first few chapters, but the link that May and Celeste formed on the lifeboat was unbreakable, as were my eyes from the page.  It's an epic story that spans the period from the Titanic sinking in 1912 to the late 1950's, encapsulating two world wars.  The characters are well rounded, warm and bound together by tragedy; we know their secrets and their fears so it was no surprise that I was in floods of tears at the end of the book.  I had shed a few tears part way through and even had a gasp-out-loud moment as the journey came to the end for one of the characters.

The Captain's Daughter is an outstanding family saga, written in such a way that you are immediately drawn into the book and embraced by the characters.  I heartily recommend this book; it's both emotional and beautiful.

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon