Margot Arnold (1925–2016)

I would like to give this book four stars. It's certainly very engaging. The biographical sketches are informative and detailed without being too long. The author makes each of these women come alive for the reader, and finds interesting facts to share about each one.

However, I was quite disturbed by the number of inaccuracies in the section on the Tudors. No serious historian believes that Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn's mother were lovers, or that Catherine of Aragon was poisoned, and other show more things mentioned as facts in the book, such as Henry VIII having syphillis, are only theories with little evidence to support them. The Tudors are the only English dynasty I know a lot about, and seeing so many mistakes in that section makes me wonder how accurate the other sections are.

It's a good read, but don't consider it serious history. Double-check everything this book says before you believe it. show less

When his colleague, Bill Pearson, disappears from his archaeological dig in Israel, Sir Toby Glendower is asked by Bill's wife, Valerie, to find out what happened to him. Toby convinces his friend Penny Spring to accompany him, keep an eye on Valerie and do some research in Jerusalem, while he goes out to the dig. Toby retraces Bill's last trip into the desert and finds Bill's tortured body, encounters some hostile Bedouins, and discovers a potential 'treasure.' Several people at the dig are show more possibly the murderer and additional murders occur putting Toby in danger. Penny makes some interesting discoveries of her own in town while looking into the background of the dig members and their contacts. I found the two main characters intriguing and the info on the site interesting. The story was originally written in 1979, so I had to look up the Middle East situation at that time to get a feeling for the politics behind the scene. I will look for more in this series. show less

This was the first book I had read by Margot Arnold, and it was an underwhelming experience. The secondary characters were confusing; I had trouble keeping them straight. This was probably because none of them had much personality. Too many one-dimensional men, too many wishy-washy women. The dialogue was often stilted. There were some silly subplots, such as one of the non-entities' husbands running off with a farmer's daughter and his prize bull. This was near the end of the book, and show more neither the aggrieved farmer, the trampy daughter or the bull had even been mentioned before. However, since I could barely remember who the runaway husband was or what his story was, I didn't care. Just blah. This one is being registered & released on BookCrossing in the hope that it finds a reader who likes it better than I did. show less

The book opens with Penny wondering what to do over her summer vacation. Just as she's making up her mind, she gets a phone call from an old college friend inviting her to stay with her in a Scottish castle. Penny is happy enough to go, but it turns out that the friend is counting on her to investigate the mysterious sounds and events around the castle. She thinks it must be supernatural in origin, but Penny is convinced it's a more tangible force at work. And when a neighboring landowner is show more murdered, Penny is sure she's right. She enlists Sir Toby's help and the action is underway.

I like this one as a change from their usual adventure. Plenty of suspects. Not their very best, but still a good read.

CMB show less