This past week was simply sensational.
I had the privilege of joining over six-hundred other historical fiction authors virtually at the Historical Novel Society's North American Conference. This is my third experience attending this event, and each time, I have left revved up to write, with a head chock-full of ideas, new techniques for tackling craft, and plenty of networking with other authors. It's a terrific way to link-up with people who write on similar time-periods and there were a zillion session from which to choose. HNS also offers masterclasses, which I always indulge in.
It was another highlight of my summer, along with indulging in some great reading and travel out West. A fellow author in my writer's support group has started a mystery series. After reading her book a couple of months ago, I felt like I wanted to pay this story a little spotlight-time on my blog. Pam Lecky lives in Dublin, Ireland and it's been a joy to connect with her, both on the Coffee Pot Book Club and online for face-to-face chatting when she helped me test my new web-cam and exterior microphone equipment. So, I'd like to introduce my review of No Stone Unturned, which is a fun and entertaining read from page #1 all the way to the back cover!
And be sure to check out Pam's upcoming novel through Harper Collins! Her Secret War will launch in October and is up for pre-sale on Amazon NOW!!!
No Stone Unturned
A Review by Brook Allen
I have great respect for mystery authors. Most importantly, their outlines must be impeccable, providing plots that are believable and well-paced. Lecky's No Stone Unturned fell into this category with ease. Not only was the plot intriguing, but even the perimeter characters were given fair voice and descriptive elements, which creates a well-rounded experience for the reader. And I found it pleasing how Lecky investigates not only crimes committed in the story line, but she steals within the emotional depth of her main character, so her audience comes to grips with whatever the protagonist feels.
No Stone Unturned begins a charming series, featuring a widow--Lucy Lawrence--who discovers (as does the reader) that she has an adventurous and tenacious spirit. Her maid Mary, an altogether fun individual, joins her in tough times and becomes a worthy sidekick for the heroine. Lecky allows her story just enough romance to keep the reader engaged, and the death surrounding Lucy's husband becomes a grand-scale family tragedy in unexpected ways as the mystery deepens. Readers will be aghast at what that entails!
I truly enjoyed every detail of this book. Another friend had told me that the series had been especially well-received in the US, and with the overall fascination we Americans have with all things British, I found that easy to accept upon reading it myself.
Though this particular story nearly fits into a "cozy mystery" sub-genre, Lecky has left herself wiggle room there with a touch of Gothic darkness in her style, which I thought was genius. She has left the door open to go deeper into this character's mystery-solving, which could neatly lead to more graphic depictions and scarier plots in the series' future.
I highly recommend this book and series to those with a mind for mystery, crime-solving, and historical fiction. Lecky is well-versed in late Victorian Age world-building, and this book is proof. I look forward to more from Pam Lecky!
Pam Lecky, Author
Pam is an Irish historical fiction author with Avon Books UK/Harper Collins. She is a member of the Historical Novel Society and the Society of Authors and is represented by Thérèse Coen, at the Hardman & Swainson Literary Agency, London.
October 2021, will see the release of Her Secret War, a WW2 historical thriller with lots of twists and turns. This will be the first book of two with Avon Books UK/Harper Collins and tells the story of an Irish girl who travels to England only to be caught up in the dark world of espionage, where lies and treachery reign.
From an early age, Pam had a particular fascination with all things historical, from food and clothes to architecture and social history, so it is little surprise that her books are set against historical backdrops, from the late Victorian era right up to and including WW2.
June 2019 saw the publication of the first book in Pam’s historical mystery series – The Lucy Lawrence Mysteries. No Stone Unturned is a fast-paced adventure set in 1886 and was awarded the B.R.A.G. Medallion. Footprints in the Sand, the second book, set in Egypt, was published in March 2020 and won a Silver Medal in the Coffee Pot Book Club Book of the Year Awards 2020. Pam is currently working on the third book in the series.
Her debut novel, The Bowes Inheritance, was awarded the B.R.A.G. Medallion and was shortlisted for the Carousel Aware Prize 2016 and longlisted for the Historical Novel Society 2016 Indie Award.
She is also rather fond of short stories and writes both contemporary and historical tales, all of which can be found on Amazon.
Pam can be contacted through her agents, Hardman & Swainson
or directly at pamlecky@gmail.com.
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