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#HistFicThursdays - Dice Games

 Every week we settle down for a family games night. This week was a game called £GREED , which is a variation on the long established dice game 5000 . It's a favourite in this household, as it is a precarious balance between tactics and gambling. Caesar's famous remark that "the die is cast" as he crossed the Rubicon, shows that he knew and acknowledged this balance. Dice are amongst the oldest continually used form of gaming. They have a long history in every single continent, although not always as the cubes we recognise today. Early forms of dice were made from bone, wood, or stones such as agate or marble. They did not always show numbers, but could also be used for fortune telling, with pictures and letters inscribed on them. As a player of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay , I have always known that dice cannot be held at face value. They are regularly used in fantasy stories and situations to denote the power of luck and the ability to hold control over the realms of...
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#HistFicThursdays - The Feathered Nest (The Thornton Mysteries, Book 4) - Ellen Read

 


 This week, I'm delighted to be teaming up with The Coffee Pot Book Club to host Ellen Read's fabulous new book The Feathered Nest on the #HistFicThursdays blog!

But, enough from me... let's meet the book:

Murder comes to Norfolk Island, but is the killer after Alexandra Archer’s Tahitian black pearl or a lost illustration of the rare Green Parrot?

The Thorntons, along with a small team of people, mount an expedition to Norfolk Island, a small island in the South Pacific, to study the Green Parrot and set up research programmes to help protect it and other endangered birds.

As a birthday surprise, Alexandra’s father tells her she is to be the official photographer for the expedition. Her father gives her a black pearl brooch that Alexandra’s great-grandfather had bought off a merchant in Hong Kong in the 1850s. The pearls are Tahitian black pearls.

Before they depart Melbourne, they learn that Norfolk Island has had its first murder. It sends ripples of unease through Alexandra. She hoped she could escape murder on this small island paradise.

Alexandra is astonished to learn that the main inhabitants of Norfolk Island are descendants of the Bounty mutineers and their Tahitian wives. Once on the island, she wonders if this is why her Tahitian black pearl brooch causes such interest.

A chain of events is set in motion, commencing with a threat on the life of one of their expedition members, followed by intrigue surrounding bird smuggling and a lost illustration of the Green Parrot. Then two of their team are murdered.

 Alexandra is determined to find the answers and nearly loses her life in the process.




You can buy The Feathered Nest from: Amazon UK - Amazon US - Amazon CA - Amazon AU - Universal Link - This novel is available on #KindleUnlimited


Now, let's meet the author, Ellen Read...

Ellen Read is the author of The Dragon Sleeps, The Inca’s Curse and The Amber Trap—historical murder mystery romance novels.

Ellen was born in Queensland, Australia. 

She loves to read fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. She particularly loves history and stories of ancient myths and legends. Authors such as Edgar Allan Poe, Agatha Christie, and Victoria Holt, the latter of whom wrote gothic mystery/romances, have influenced her own work.

Other interests include photography, painting, music and musical theatre, and dance. Ellen was a ballroom dancing teacher for many years and has also worked in Performing Arts administration. 


You can find Ellen Read on any of these links:

Follow Ellen's tour by clicking on the banner below:


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Comments

  1. Mary Anne Yarde31 March 2022 at 07:57

    Thank you so much for hosting the blog tour for The Feathered Nest.

    All the best,
    Mary Anne
    The Coffee Pot Book Club

    ReplyDelete
  2. Day's Dying Glory21 April 2022 at 08:48

    You're welcome! I hope it was a success!
    📚

    ReplyDelete

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