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At the age of fourteen, Catherine de Medici, last legitimate descendant of the Medici blood, finds herself betrothed to the King Francois I’s son, Henri. Sent from her native Florence to France, humiliated and overshadowed by her husband’s life-long devotion to his mistress, when tragedy strikes her family Catherine rises from obscurity to become one of 16th century Europe’s most powerful women.

Patroness of Nostradamus and a seer in her own right, accused of witchcraft and murder by her foes, Catherine fights to save France and her children from savage religious conflict, unaware that her own fate looms before her — a fate that will demand the sacrifice of her ideals, her reputation, and passion of her own embattled heart.

From the splendors of the Loire palaces to the blood-soaked battles of the Wars of Religion and haunted halls of the Louvre, this is the story of Catherine’s dramatic life, told by the queen herself.

*** Ah what perfect timing for this book to arrive on my doorstep. As I’ve decided to read one historical fiction book for every book I read in another genre The Confessions of Catherine de Medici showed up today right as I was finishing a police procedural. I really hadn’t decided which historical to read next but Confessions solved that little problem. I’ll probably have it read by the time my Mailbox Monday posts pops up on Sunday. And for those of you possibly coveting my copy it already has a new home, sorry.

Title: Judas Kiss (Taylor Jackson, book #3) Author/website(s): J.T. Ellison 410 pages Publisher: Mira Publication date: January ’09 Genre: Police procedural Review book or pleasure reading: Pleasure reading New-to-me author: No Would I recommend this book: If you love this genre than a resounding yes Would I read more from this author: Yes, book #4, The Cold Room is sitting on my review shelf right now. Journal notes: Pleasure reading – no review.

It was a murder made for TV: a trail of tiny bloody footprints. An innocent toddler playing beside her mother’s bludgeoned body.

Pretty young Corinne Wolff, seven months pregnant, brutally murdered in her own home. Cameras and questions don’t usually faze Nashville Homicide Lieutenant Taylor Jackson, but the media frenzy surrounding the Wolff case is particularly nasty… and thorough.

When the seemingly model mommy is linked to an amateur porn website with underage actresses and unwitting players, the sharks begin to circle.

The shock is magnified when an old adversary uses the sexy secret footage to implicate Taylor in a murder – an accusation that threatens her career, her reputation and her relationship.

Both cases hinge on the evidence – real or manufactured – of crimes that go beyond passion, into the realm of obsessive vengeance and shocking betrayal.

Just what the networks love.

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Very good

Very good

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Good

OK

DNF @ pg. 102

Very good

Very good

Good

DNF @ pg. 131

A favorite

DNF @ pg. 148

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VG/Excellent

Very good

A favorite

A favorite

Good

It was a murder made for TV: a trail of tiny bloody footprints. An innocent toddler playing beside her mother’s bludgeoned body.

Pretty young Corinne Wolff, seven months pregnant, brutally murdered in her own home. Cameras and questions don’t usually faze Nashville Homicide Lieutenant Taylor Jackson, but the media frenzy surrounding the Wolff case is particularly nasty… and thorough.

When the seemingly model mommy is linked to an amateur porn website with underage actresses and unwitting players, the sharks begin to circle.

The shock is magnified when an old adversary uses the sexy secret footage to implicate Taylor in a murder – an accusation that threatens her career, her reputation and her relationship.

Both cases hinge on the evidence – real or manufactured – of crimes that go beyond passion, into the realm of obsessive vengeance and shocking betrayal.

Just what the networks love.

Title: Secrets of the Tudor Court: The Pleasure Palace Author/website(s): Kate Emerson 400 pages Publisher: Pocket Publication date: February ’09 Genre: Historical fiction Review book or pleasure reading: Pleasure reading New-to-me author: Yes Would I recommend this book: Probably Would I read more from this author: Yes Journal notes: Pleasure reading – no review.

Jane Popyngcourt was brought to the English court of Henry VII as a child to be a companion to his daughters—the princesses Margaret and Mary. With no money of her own, Jane could not hope for marriage, but as she grows into a seductively beautiful young woman, she receives flattering attention from virile young courtiers and even from the handsome new king, Henry VIII, who has recently married Catherine of Aragon. Then a dashing French prisoner of war, cousin to the king of France, is brought to London, and Jane finds she cannot help giving some of her heart—and more—to a man she can never marry. The Tudor court is filled with dangers as well as seductions, and there are mysteries surrounding Jane’s birth that have left her with deadly enemies. She must follow a perilous path in her search for answers and risk even more to have a chance at happiness.

Title: Daughters of Witching Hill Author: Mary Sharratt Release date: April ’10

Daughters of the Witching Hill brings history to life in a vivid and wrenching account of a family sustained by love as they try to survive the hysteria of a witch-hunt.

Bess Southerns, an impoverished widow living in Pendle Forest, is haunted by visions and gains a reputation as a cunning woman. Drawing on the Catholic folk magic of her youth, Bess heals the sick and foretells the future. As she ages, she instructs her granddaughter, Alizon, in her craft, as well as her best friend, who ultimately turns to dark magic. When a peddler suffers a stroke after exchanging harsh words with Alizon, a local magistrate, eager to make his name as a witch finder, plays neighbors and family members against one another until suspicion and paranoia reach frenzied heights.

Sharratt interweaves well-researched historical details of the 1612 Pendle witch-hunt with a beautifully imagined story of strong women, family, and betrayal. Daughters of the Witching Hill is a powerful novel of intrigue and revelation.

Jane Popyngcourt was brought to the English court of Henry VII as a child to be a companion to his daughters—the princesses Margaret and Mary. With no money of her own, Jane could not hope for marriage, but as she grows into a seductively beautiful young woman, she receives flattering attention from virile young courtiers and even from the handsome new king, Henry VIII, who has recently married Catherine of Aragon. Then a dashing French prisoner of war, cousin to the king of France, is brought to London, and Jane finds she cannot help giving some of her heart—and more—to a man she can never marry. The Tudor court is filled with dangers as well as seductions, and there are mysteries surrounding Jane’s birth that have left her with deadly enemies. She must follow a perilous path in her search for answers and risk even more to have a chance at happiness.

Title: 14 Author/website(s): J.T. Ellison 416 pages Publisher: Mira Publication date: September ’08 Genre: Police procedural Review book or pleasure reading: Pleasure reading New-to-me author: No Would I recommend this book: Yes Would I read more from this author: Definitely, book #4 (The Cold Room) is sitting on the review shelf right now. Journal notes: Pleasure reading – no review. If you’re a fan of police procedurals J.T. Ellison is a must read.

Ten victims, each with pale skin and long dark hair. All have been slashed across the throat, the same red lipstick smeared across their lips.

In the mid-1980s the Snow White Killer terrorized the streets of Nashville, Tennessee. Then suddenly the murders stopped. A letter from the killer to the police stated that his work was done.

Now four more bodies are found, marked with his fatal signature. The residents of Nashville fear a madman has returned, decades later, to finish his sick fairy tale.

Homicide Lieutenant Taylor Jackson believes the killings are the work of a copycat killer who’s even more terrifying. For this monster is meticulously honing his craft as he mimics famous serial murders…proving that the past is not to be forgotten.