Library Loot (93) & review copies

Library

Betrayal by Grace Cavendish (aka Patricia Finney) (I enjoyed Assassin so I'm carrying on with the series until the next reading group meeting.)

In the court of Queen Elizabeth I, Maid of Honour Lady Grace, the Queen's favourite and her very own Lady Pursuivant, investigating intrigues at court. When Grace's fellow Maid of Honour, Lady Sarah, disappears after a trip to meet the Queen's fleet in the docks, Grace knows she has to find out what's going on. She believes Sarah has run away to be married to the handsome Captain Drake – but is she right? With the help of her acrobat friend Masou, Grace leaves the court in disguise in an attempt to track down Lady Sarah and try to save her honour. But this time Grace may be taking on more than she can cope with, as she faces life at sea, and the dangers of pirates! Will Grace and Masou ever return from their ill-fated voyage?

TimeRiders: The Doomsday Code by Alex Scarrow (This should nudge me to read #2!)

Liam O’Connor should have died at sea in 1912.

Maddy Carter should have died on a plane in 2010.

Sal Vikram should have died in a fire in 2026.

But all three have been given a second chance – to work for an agency that no one knows exists.

Its purpose: to prevent time travel destroying history . . .

In 1993 British computer hacker Adam Lewis finds his name in a coded manuscript that is almost one thousand years old. How did Adam's name get in there . . . and why?

Confronted by Adam in 2001, the TimeRiders travel back to Sherwood Forest in 1193 to discover the origins of the ancient message. But when a strange hooded man appears interested in the same thing, they begin to wonder what terrible threat this cryptic link from the past holds for the future . . .

Review

Prisoner of the Inquisition by Theresa Breslin (Carnegie Medal 2011 shortlisted)

Zarita, only daughter of the town magistrate, lives a life of wealth and privilege. Indulged by her parents, she is free to spend her days as she pleases, enjoying herself in the company of an eligible young nobleman, horse riding, or leisurely studying the arts.

Saulo, son of a family reduced by circumstances to begging, witnesses his father wrongfully arrested and dealt with in the most horrifying way. Hauled off to be a slave at sea and pursued by pirates he encounters the ambitious mariner explorer, Christopher Columbus. Throughout his hardships Saulo is determined to survive - for he has sworn vengeance on the magistrate and his family.

As Zarita's life also undergoes harsh changes the formidable and frightening Inquisition arrives in the area, bringing menacing shadows of suspicion with acts of cruel brutality - and ultimately, amid the intrigues of the court of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand in the splendid Moorish city of Grenada, betrayal and revenge...

One Seriously Messed-Up Week: in the Otherwise Mundane and Uneventful Life of Jack Samsonite by Tom Clempson (2 June, ATOM)

Our hero? Jack Samsonite His mission? 1) pass his GCSEs 2) get the girl (to notice he exists) 3) survive the week without a serious face punching Good thing he's got a plan. Well, half a plan...