Here is what I've been reading lately, several mysteries and a nonfiction work about the Lost Colony of Roanoke...

Joan Hess – Maggody and the Moonbeams

Joan Hess’ also writes the Arly Hanks series. Hess’ protagonist is a small-town police chief in Maggody Arkansas. Her mysteries are humorous, and her zany town folks get into all kinds of predicaments. Quirky favorites are Raz and his pet pig, Marjorie.

She has a great knack of choosing character and place names that enhance their descriptions. Maggody is a slightly worn, run-down Southern town. Dunkicker is a nearby small town where the murders take place, and Crank Nickle is the cantankerous property owner near the murder site. Hess’ style is a fun, easy read.

Rhys Bowen – The Royal Spyness

I’ve been reading Rhys Bowen’s series lately (Constable Evans and Molly Murphy). Each one is better than the previous. This time, it was The Royal Spyness, the first in her series set in 1930s England. Her sleuth, Lady Victoria Georgiana Charlotte Eugenie (Georgie) is a distant royal relative.

The down-on-her-luck royal, with no means of support, has moved from her half-brother’s Scottish estate to the family townhome in London to find her way. Her attempts at household chores are humorous. The mystery has royals, intrigue, and a young girl battling customs and practicality for survival. Her situation is hindered by her relatives. Georgie’s mother is an American actress, who collects husbands as she flits across Europe, and Georgie’s half-brother’s fortunes were severely reduced by their late father’s gambling debts.

Georgie uses her ingenuity and creativity to make her way alone in the big city. It’s a fun read to curl up with by the fireplace.

James Horn – A Kingdom Strange: A Brief and Tragic History of the Lost Colony of Roanoke

James Horn’s new work is about the Lost Colony of Roanoke (Outer Banks, NC). Horn, the Vice President of Research and Historical Interpretation for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, tracks the planning for England’s presence in the new world. He provides insight into Elizabeth I’s rule and Sir Walter Raleigh’s (spelled Ralegh) rise, fall, and return to glory. He details Governor John White’s history and his travels to the Roanoke Colony with his daughter, who also gave birth shortly after arriving in Roanoke. White’s granddaughter, Virginia Dare, was named after the Queen.

White and some of the colonists left the colony to seek supplies and reinforcements. Timing was not good, and his return to North Carolina was delayed for over three years. There were problems with Ireland and the threat of war with Spain was imminent.

By the time White returned, the colonists were no where to be found. They left some clues carved on trees and doorposts.

Horn’s book also details the settlement of Jamestown in 1607. Exploration by John Smith and others provided clues from encounters with the Native Americans many years later that some of the Roanoke colonists survived and moved inland. There were tales of grey-eyed people living inland who knew how to build two-story English homes.

Horn’s work is an interesting read that gives insight into our colonial mystery and all of the things that were happening around it.

Started, but Didn’t Finish

David Bischoff’s The Tawdry Yellow Brick Road

Currently Reading

Mary McDonagh Murphy’s Scout, Atticus, and Boo: A Celebration of 50 Years of To Kill a Mockingbird