A March to Remember

Happy Book Release Day! Check out some of the that books came out today. The Book Club Murders by Leslie Nagel; Death by Pumpkin Spice by Alex Erickson; British Manor Mystery by Leslie Meier; Christmas at Promise Lodge by Charlotte Hubbard; Rebecca's Bouquet by Lisa Jones Baker; The Murder of a Queen Bee by Meera Lester; The Semi-Sweet Hereafter by Colette London; It's Your Party, Die If You Want to by Vickie Fee; The Amish Christmas Kitchen by Kelly Long and Jennifer Beckstrand; Shadow Silence by Yasmine Galenorn; High Kicks, Hot Chocolate and Homicide by Mary McHugh; Dandelion Dead by Chrystle Fiedler; By Familiar Means by Delia James; and Christmas Caramel Murder by Joanne Fluke.  All the links will lead you to Amazon.  I will be reviewing several of these books.

A March to Remember by Anna Loan-Wilsey is the fifth book in A Hattie Davish Mystery series.  Hattie Davish is in Washington, D.C. with her boss, Sir Arthur Windom-Greene (a historian and writer).  They are staying with Senator Merriweather Lewis Smith and his wife, Mildred.  Hattie’s beau, Dr. Walter Grice is coming to town to see Hattie and also visit with his sister, Sarah (wife of a congressman).  Coxey’s Army (led by General Jacob Coxey) is heading into town on May Day for a march.  Thousands of unemployed and hungry men are camping outside Washington waiting for May Day.  Hattie is out on an early morning walk when she sees a carriage going too fast.  Inside the carriage is a fallen (bawdy) woman Hattie had seen the previous day. The driver and woman end up in the lake.  The man gets out and takes off.  Hattie dives into the lake to try and rescue the poor woman.  Two men come and assist her.  Unfortunately, the woman (later identified as Annie Wilcox) does not make it.  Hattie knows that the police will not put much effort into looking for her killer (because Annie is not a “lady”).   Then during the march one of the men who assisted Hattie, Jasper Neely, is killed, and Hattie is injured by the police officer’s freely swinging night sticks.  Someone wanted to quiet Jasper and used the march as a cover.  Hattie wants answers and starts digging.  Hattie also has a personal matter that she needs to address with Sir Arthur and cannot seem to get him alone.  Romance may take Hattie away from Sir Arthur.  Join Hattie on her latest adventure in AMarch to Remember.

A March to Remember is an enjoyable novel.  Anna Loan-Wilsey does a wonderful job at capturing the time period and locale.  Anna Loan-Wilsey includes many details on the sights of Washington, D.C. (what it looked like at that time).  The author is a descriptive writer that brings the scenes to life (you can just see them in your mind).  This is the type of book that needs your complete attention when you read it (or you will miss something important).   While this is part of a series, A March to Remember can be read alone.  The author updates the reader on the events in the earlier books.  I did, though, think the mystery was very easy to solve.  I picked out the killer based on his character description (maybe I have read too many mysteries).  I then read the book to see if I was correct.  The reader gets some good, pointed clues that will help solve the crimes.  While I thought that the mystery was easy to solve, it really is quite complicated (the details).  I give A March to Remember 4.25 out of 5 stars (I liked it).  It was interesting to read about Coxey’s army and the march.  It is an interesting historical tidbit that is rarely mentioned or listed in the history books. Anna Loan-Wilsey provided us with a wonderfully crafted story.  I will be reading Anna Loan-Wilsey novels in the future.  It is such a shame that this is our last adventure with Hattie Davish.

The first four books in A Hattie Davish Mystery series are A Lack of Temperance, Anything but Civil, A Sense of Entitlement, and A Deceptive Homecoming.  I received a complimentary copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review.  The comments and opinions expressed are strictly my own.

Thank you so much for visiting.  May all of you have a lovely, relaxing evening.  I am off to finish The Book Club Murders by Leslie Nagel and eat dinner.  I will be back tomorrow with another book review (fair warning)!  Take care and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader