House of Odysseus by Claire North
This “powerful, fresh, and unflinching” reimagining from the award-winning author of the Penelope trilogy breathes life into ancient myth and gives voice to the women who stand defiant in a world ruled by ruthless men (Jennifer Saint). On the isle of Ithaca, queen Penelope maintains a delicate balance of power. Many years ago, her husband Odysseus sailed to war with Troy and never came home. In his absence, Penelope uses all her cunning to keep the peace—a peace that is shattered by the return of Orestes, King of Mycenae, and his sister Elektra.
Orestes’ hands are stained with his mother’s blood. Not so long ago, the son of Agamemnon took Queen Clytemnestra’s life on Ithaca’s sands. Now, wracked with guilt, he is slowly losing his mind. But a king cannot be seen to be weak, and Elektra has brought him to Ithaca to keep him safe from the ambitious men of Mycenae.
Penelope knows destruction will follow in his wake as surely as the furies circle him. His uncle Menelaus, the battle-hungry king of Sparta, longs for Orestes’ throne—and if he can seize it, no one will be safe from his violent whims.
Trapped between two mad kings, Penelope fights to keep her home from being crushed by a war that stretches from Mycenae and Sparta to the summit of Mount Olympus itself. Her only allies are Elektra, desperate to protect her brother, and Helen of Troy, Menelaus’ wife. And watching over them all is the goddess Aphrodite, who has plans of her own.
Each woman has a secret. And their secrets will shape the world.
Mystery in the Highlands by Lydia Travers
When members of a choir start dropping dead in the Highlands, Maud McIntyre and her lady’s maid Daisy go undercover to discover the inharmonious culprit. But will they uncover the killer before another murder takes place?
Edinburgh, 1911 : When Maud and Daisy receive a letter from Daisy’s cousin, Clara , sharing her fears that two sudden deaths in her local choir weren’t accidental, at first Daisy thinks her cousin is overreacting. But Maud’s detective senses tell her something is afoot, and so they make haste to the Highlands to investigate.
As soon as they arrive, Maud and Daisy go undercover in the choir to find potential suspects. But with one murder deemed a heart attack, and the other declared an unfortunate drowning, Maud and Daisy have their work cut out when it comes to persuading the local police that perhaps the choir isn’t as perfectly in tune as everyone thinks…
But finally they receive a clue in the form of an anonymous letter. Enclosed is a rhyme which they’re certain holds the key to the next murder…
With the clock ticking down to another death, they know they can’t miss a beat – but will Maud and Daisy solve the mysterious rhyming verse before another singer is silenced, or will this case lead to their own untimely swan song?