The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A lot of fun. A Sherlock Holmes story told from the perspective of his new, female partner. Very engaging, great characters. I'll definitely continue to the second book in the series!

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The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Great intertwined stories of a major public project (the World's Fair in Chicago) and an insane serial killer. Creepy and awesome. And a true story, too!

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The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club by Dorothy L. Sayers

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Loved this one.

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The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic--and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World by Steven Johnson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Urban development, cartography, rogue science, medical mystery, Victorian London. All with a killer epilogue relating it to the world of today (and the future). Loved it.

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Unnatural Death by Dorothy L. Sayers

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Have to quote Sarah's review on this one:

"Fun stuff (aside from of-the-period racism and unaddressed lesbian subtext.)"

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Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wow. This book was fantastic. The way Mantel developed Cromwell into a complete human being with so much depth was remarkable. It was also amazing to see how he slowly evolved over the course of the book.

Seeing the Henry VIII/Anne Boleyn story from a different perspective is great (Thomas More as a bad guy!). I wouldn't really call Cromwell the hero of the story. In fact, he is completely despicable at times. But, you really like him at other times and he is always fascinating.

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Inglorious: a novel by Joanna Kavenna

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a rather frustrating book. It was well-written and often quite interesting. But, it was completely plotless. I normally don't mind that, but it got to be maddening with this one. It was essentially the internal monologue of Rosa, who left her job and broke up with her boyfriend in the first few pages of the book. The internal monologue doesn't get her anywhere after that. She can't pull it together and her friends are all jerks. It seemed like a realistic picture of someone spinning their wheels during an emotional crisis, but as literature, it was tough to connect to it.

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