Fidelis Morgan

I fell in love with Fidelis Morgan's writing when I feasted on her Countess Ashby de la Zouche historical mysteries set in London in 1700. Not only were the mysteries first-rate, the settings superb, and the characters so well-drawn that I'd instantly recognize them if I bumped into them on the street, I also found myself howling with laughter time and again. Is it any wonder that I wanted to see what this woman could do with a contemporary mystery?

I'm happy to report that, for Fidelis Morgan, time doesn't matter. She took every convention the mystery genre has to offer and stirred them together to create an absolutely wonderful piece of entertainment. The plot is the thing in The Murder Quadrille, so scarcely anything can be said about it without giving away the game. Suffice it to say that the story twists and turns on itself so often that you may find yourself a bit dizzy from time to time. And-- unlike so many plot-heavy books-- the characters are not static, two-dimensional pieces of cardboard. Just when you think you know where the story is going, Morgan instantly changes speed, direction, and focus, and she does the same thing with her characters. Each dinner party guest has his own point of view (which is definitely not as unwieldy as it sounds), and just when you think you have a character buttonholed, Morgan shows you another facet of personality that has you guessing all over again.

The best thing of all is that, at the most unlikely times, I found myself howling with laughter. Or cheering a character on to get out of danger. Or egging another one on to do something he (or she) shouldn't. The Murder Quadrille isn't a book to be read and dissected in a grim, serious manner. No, this book is quirky and complex and sheer fun. My advice? Just hang on and enjoy the ride!… (altro)

First things first: you HAVE to read this. What a find, I can't believe it's not more of a bestseller, it was so good! Unnatural Fire is the first in a series of mysteries featuring Countess Anastasia Ashby de la Zouche and her former maid Alpiew in Restoration England. It's for you if you like historical crime and it's definitely for you if you like comic mysteries or just want a good laugh really. It's such bawdy, outrageous fun! From the very first lines till the very last, time just flew by.
Let me list here what I absolutely loved about this book:

- The characters are all memorable. They're eccentric and bold and all superbly fleshed-out. The Countess and Alpiew (as well as Pigalle, one of the Countess's friends) are absolutely amazing - so fresh and fun and smart, the book is packed with their wit and all the better for it. I miss them so much already. The friendship between the women is wonderful and this book passes the Bechdel Test effortlessly.

- The sense of the period. When Fidelis Morgan gives you Restoration, she gives you a full picture of the period and the cast of characters as well as the places involved pretty much cover the era. From prison to court, you'll see it all. I learned a lot about alchemy. Since we have two female characters investigating and evolving in Restoration England, we witness the misogyny they suffer from in plenty of areas. Luckily for us the Countess and Alpiew never fail to point out how they disagree with their treatment because of their gender.

- The mystery - I found it completely engrossing. The author really explains it all and the finding of the clues and everything is beautifully put together, it felt absolutely genuine to me and I was never lost, the author makes sure of that. Nonetheless, not a soul can possibly guess whodunit so I was very pleased to have both the satisfaction of going through everything with the characters and being very very surprised with the ending (which I thought was in-keeping with the tone of the book: very unbelievable and yet the themes are very dark).

- The HUMOUR! You know me, that's my favourite part of ANY book and really the author gave me my share of laughter, this book is positively hysterical. Fidelis Morgan uses the humour one can find in Restoration plays (bawdy & physical humour) a lot and the characters are all excellent fun. I dare you not to laugh & be hooked from the first few pages.

I'm just so glad this book is the first in a series for I just can't let go of this world. There are three more books to look forward to. I found out about Unnatural Fire by perusing Felony and Mayhem's catalog - they have yet to reprint the other three but I'll watch out for them. I find the cover of the US edition much more attractive and emblematic of the book than the UK one.… (altro)

The gentle cover really makes me laugh because the book is anything but gentle. So! This is the second installment in the Countess Ashby de la Zouche mysteries series. We're in the company of our old friends the Countess and her former maid Alpiew for another adventure in Restoration England.
First things first - this book wasn't as good as Unnatural Fire, the first book of the series, perhaps because the first book is funnier and the whole introduction makes it so we have to get accustomed to a kind of bawdy and linguistic humour we just don't read about nowadays. Yet, The Rival Queens is engaging and comfortably draws upon the tradition of the Restoration comedy so it's pure entertainment from cover to cover, with as always an impeccable sense of the period and some dramatic irony thrown in for good measure (often they dismiss things or people as irrelevant/useless when we know today they ended up being hugely famous and sought after, which is always pleasant!). Highlights include a scene in a sex shop (even then called 'sex shop') and more heads chopped off than under the guillotine. Pick this one up for a good time!
As far as I'm concerned, it has definitely inspired me to dig deeper into Restoration comedy - I already have a few titles in mind to try later :)… (altro)

'A murder. Finally, Alpiew thought, a proper job.'

Fidelis Morgan delivers once again in this book where we follow Ashby and Alpiew (with a healthy helping of Pigalle) to France. While it wasn't as hysterical as the first two, I thoroughly enjoyed this story and it's always a pleasure to spend time with such entertaining and interesting characters. We touch a bit upon many subjects, including the Man in the Iron Mask, the use of papier maché in art and the kind of life prisoners led at the Bastille prison. The attention to period detail is second to none and the tone is pitch perfect as usual, not a dull moment in this book as we go from adventure to adventure. Such a delight to read!… (altro)