#23 and #24

I've finished 2 more books : Written in Blood by Caroline Graham and Daughter of York, by Anne Easter Smith.

The first is a police procedural mystery, and it's part of the Inspector Barnaby series. Midsomer Murders is a BBC TV series, that is taken from Caroline Graham's novels. This novel is the fourth in the series, but the first one I've read. The Amazon review compares her writing to Agatha Christie. I agree that her work is reminiscent of Christie. She details life in an English village and has well-developed characters. Inspector Barnaby and Sargeant Troy feel like real people -- both are good at their jobs, but their flaws are also portrayed. All is not sweetness and light, yet the darkness isn't overpowering as I've found in other crime novels. (I had to return Patricia Cornwell's latest book because I found it so dark, depressing, and almost depraved.) I also did not expect the final twist, and yet, the ending also made sense. I really enjoyed it!

I also finished Daughter of York This one took me a while to get into. I almost took it back unfinished, but stuck with it and it finally clicked. This historical fiction follows Margaret of York, sister to Edward II. She is married to the Charles, Duke of Burgundy, in an effort to secure Burgundy's support against the Lancasters. As a teenager, I read a lot of historical fiction as well as nonfiction about the War of the Roses, and the Plantagents, so that's what drew me to the book in the first place. This was interesting because of the female perspective -- most of the other books I'd read previously were from the male point of view.