Historical suspense -- GIVEAWAY

A PLACE OF SECRETS by Rachel Hore

My rating:  3 of  5 stars

The term "historical fiction" is a fairly broad one, encompassing everything from stories set in Tudor England, to Ancient Egypt, World War II, the Vietnam era, and everything in between.  In addition to the disparate time periods, these books can have different emphasis:  some are heavy on the historical details, others feature suspense, a mystery or a romance, and still others combine several such elements.  I suspect that I am not alone amongst those fans of historical fiction in having favorite time periods to read about (mine are the two World Wars).  I also love reading books that have unique settings, or that spotlight an obscure aspect of history.  In A Place of Secrets, British author Rachel Hore offers a suspenseful story that centers on a facet of history that is not often explored in popular literature:  the science of astronomy in the late 1700's. 

Antiquarian book expert Jude Gower is working for an English auction house when she fields a request to value a collection of scientific books and instruments.  The materials are located in Scarborough Hall, an old countryside estate house where her grandmother Jessie lived as a child in the gatekeeper's cottage.  Upon learning that Jude will be going to the estate, Jessie hints that she is harboring a secret that is linked to "the folly," a tower that was used for stargazing by Anthony Wickham, an amateur astronomer who owned the estate in the late 18th century.  As Jude explores Wickham's library, she begins to unravel the story of Esther Wickham, a foundling adopted by Anthony, who helped him record his observations.  Slowly, the journals reveal secrets that are linked to Jude's own familial past and suggest that the nightmares Jude suffered as a child and currently plague her young niece Summer, are the reflection of an otherworldly connection spanning two hundred years.  When Summer goes missing near the Hall and her family fears the worst, the centuries converge in an exciting conclusion.

This was a book that worked in many respects for me, and in other ways, did not.  First, the positives.  I was very interested in the astronomy  -- an unusual subject matter for historical narratives.  As set forth in the afterword, Ms. Hore used, as a template for her story, the events surrounding the discovery of Uranus by a scientist and his sister.

I loved Esther -- she was such an interesting character, strong and wise beyond her years, and I felt like I was inside Esther's mind as Jude read Esther's journals.  In addition, a gamut of human emotions is set forth through the pathos of Jude's widowhood, her knotty relationship with her older sister, and her budding romance with a man who occupies a cottage on the estate.

I was intrigued by Ms. Hore's explication of the Romany (gypsy) culture and their place in English history, which she achieved by weaving the stories of two young Romany girls, one of whom was a contemporary of Esther's, the other a friend of Jessie's.  As a whole, I thoroughly bought into the device of the tantalizing connection between the past and the present -- the thread running from Esther to Jessie to Jude to Summer. 

So what did not work as well.  Essentially two things.  I felt that the book was about fifty or so pages too long, and as a result, at times my interest would lag.  In essence, this was not a book that I "couldn't put down."  The other negative is the fact that there were numerous threads to the narrative that are all resolved ever so conveniently in the last few pages of the book.  In both these respects, I think that less would have been more.

Because I did enjoy the book in many respects, not the least of which was the quality of the writing, I would certainly be open to reading this author again.

 I received an advance reader's edition of A Place of Secrets from the publisher, Henry Holt.  A Place of Secrets  will be released in February of 2012.

Thanks to the generosity of Henry Holt, I have two copies of A Place of Secrets to give away to two lucky readers of this blog. To enter, please leave a comment on this post indicating you wish to enter. Entries must include an e-mail address either in the comment, or by e-mailing me at
Bookgirlblog@hotmail.com. Followers of this blog will receive an additional entry. Entries limited to US/Canada residents only, and no P.O. Boxes please.  Books will be mailed by the publisher.  Winner will be notified by e-mail, and will have 72 hours to respond. If the winner does not respond within that time, another winner will be selected. Contest ends at 11:59 p.m. e.s.t. on February 17, 2012. Good luck to all!