The Deadly Hours

It's not a secret that I am a bit of a Susanna Kearsley fangirl, and I have been for a long time. It was therefore inevitable that when I saw that there was going to be a short story collection that included one of her stories, of course I was going to want to read it. It didn't matter that I hadn't read any of the other authors.

It was only until later that I actually realised that this story includes characters from The Firebird, A Desperate Fortune and also The Rose Garden, which means that it was super cool to revisit these characters.

In A Weapon of Choice, a young couple with Jacobite connections are on their way to Italy to meet the Duke of Ormonde and protect him from an assassin. Before they can reach their destination they are caught up in a massive storm and forced to take refuge in Portofino, along with two other groups of travellers. Before the storm is over, a man will be dead.

One of the travellers is in possession of La Sirene, a watched that has been been cursed after being crafted from gold sacked from Cartagena. It is engraved with a mermaid, and the outer case has a ship in a storm, and it is inscribed with the motto "Je suis le seul maître de mon temps" , which means I am the only master of my time. Legend has it that whoever has the watch will be cursed with bad luck, until the curse is lifted. The only way for that to happen is that the watch must pass through the four elements: water, earth, air and fire.

The next time we see the watch we are in Edinburgh in 1833. In Anna Lee Huber's story In a Fevered Hour, a mysterious illness is sweeping Edinburgh and Lady Darby and her new husband find themselves investigating at the behest of a master criminal. For a short story, this had quite a lot going on and This is part of the Lady Darby series. Normally I don't like to jump in a series part way through, but I enjoyed this story and I would be more than happy to read more.

We then move forward to Christine Trent's story A Pocketful of Death, set in the 1870s. When lady undertaker Violet Harper is commissioned to move the bodies of a newly minted noble family into their new crypt. In one of the graves, she finds a watch so she returns it to the family. It isn't long before there are a number of deaths in their street. Is it because of the curse or is there something else at play? Once again this is part of an existing series which I haven't yet

The final story is called The Sirens Call by CS Harris and is set in a small coastal town in England. The Home Office has observed that there have been a number of coded messages sent to the Germans from the area around the town and so two officers are sent to investigate. When Rachel Townsend-Smythe find her long time friend Major Crosby dead, she notices that one of his prized possessions is missing: a gold watch. As the finger of blame is pointed at various people in town, Rachel helps one of the investigators to find the truth. While I haven't read this author before, I have had the first book in the Sebastian St Cyr series sitting on my bookshelf for many years. Maybe I should actually read it!

I enjoyed following the watch through time and it's a good premise for a short story collection, although it did take a minute to adjust to each new story. While I picked up the book for Kearsley, I stayed for the other stories!

I am counting this as a read for this year's RIP XV challenge.

Rating 4/5

Goodreads

A stellar line-up of historical mystery novelists weaves the tale of a priceless and cursed gold watch as it passes through time wreaking havoc from one owner to another. The characters are irrevocably linked by fate, each playing a key role in breaking the curse and destroying the watch once and for all.
From 1733 Italy to Edinburgh in 1831 to a series of chilling murders in 1870 London, and a lethal game of revenge decades later, the watch touches lives with misfortune, until it comes into the reach of one young woman who might be able to stop it for good.
This outstanding collaboration of authors includes:
Susanna Kearsley – New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of compelling time slip fiction.
C.S. Harris – bestselling author of the Sebastian St. Cyr Regency mystery series.
Anna Lee Huber – award-winning author of the national bestselling Lady Darby Mysteries.
Christine Trent – author of the Lady of Ashes Victorian mystery series.

Reading Reflections: August 2020

I a little bit surprised to see that I read quite so many books this month. But I do need to be honest and confess that a couple of these were quite short!

You Were Made for Me by Jenna Guillaume - 4/5 (Australian)

A super fun read where a couple of young girls create the perfect boy!  Read my review here.

The Switch by Beth O'Leary - 4/5 (Audiobook)

As soon as I saw that this was available as part of Netgalley's new offering of audiobooks and their app. I enjoyed the book and the performance but the app was a bit glitchy. Read my review here.

The Roommate by Dervla McTiernan - 4/5 (Australian Authors)

This is a prequel to the Cormac Reilly series, featuring a young garda Cormac Reilly as he investigates a murder in Dublin. This one is/was available from Audible for free for members.

The Secrets of Saffron Hall by Clare Marchant - 4/5

Ooopss. I swear I had posted the review for this book but it seems that maybe I only wrote this in my head. Must get onto writing it for real. I love a good dual timeline, and a story of a building with a long hidden history and this book had both!

Matilda Next Door by Kelly Hunter - 4/5 (Australian author)

I really enjoy Kelly Hunter's books at the best of times, and I have previously enjoyed all the books set in the small town of Wirralong. This is the first book in the new quartet called the Outback Brides Return to Wirralong. I am really looking forward to reading the last two books!

Maeve's Baby by Fiona Macarthur - 3.5/5 (Australian author)

No I didn't make a mistake in the last paragraph. I already read the second book in the quartet. I actually completely forgot that I preordered this entire series so it was something of a surprise when this one dropped onto my Kindle, but I did enjoy reading both off these stories over the course of one weekend.

The Last Charm by Ella Allbright (3.5/5)

This is one where I knew that I haven't yet finished the review. I mean I have an opening paragraph, I have a bit near the middle and some of the ending. Just need to fill in the gaps really! Watch this space.

The Deadly Hours by Susanna Kearsley, Anna Lee Huber, Christine Trent and CS Harris (4/5)

This is a collection of  4 stories that follows a cursed watch through history from the 1700s through to the 1940s. I read this because I love Susanna Kearsley, and this story actually feature characters from a couple of her previous books. I enjoyed the last two books but the Anna Lee Huber was the one I enjoyed the most. It clearly is part of a series, and I don't read series out of order but still!

I am linking my post up to the Monthly Wrap up which is hosted at Feed Your Fiction Addiction