The Rose Arbor by Rhys Bowen

Hello everyone.  I hope you're having a great day.

If you visit the United States from England, you might be surprised by how many of our towns or areas carry British names. It isn't unusual to see Norfolk, Warwick, or Isle of Wight, Birmingham or Avon.  I think there are actually over 600 towns that carry British names.  I guess considering our founding, that makes complete sense. What is really surprising is how many cities carry Egyptian names like Cairo, Thebes, even Memphis. Probably we carry the most names from the Native Americans, rightfully so. Since we are such a young country, historically speaking, being named after other areas is logical.  Unless, of course, we made up our own names like the town of Yabadabadoo, but that was already taken by the Flintstones.  Speaking of England, hubby is addicted to Rhys Bowen books, which take place across the pond.  Here are his latest thoughts:

I recently read The Rose Arbor by Rhys Bowen. This mystery is the story of a young newspaper reporter’s embroilment in a search for a missing child. Treading carefully between those advising her not to get involved and a nearly mystical pull to solve the case, she travels around 1968 England. The reader learns of heartbreaking relocations from the World War II era intended to keep children safe from German bombing. The banter between the main character and her policewoman roommate makes the reader chuckle as they meet an interesting batch of characters during the investigation. The flashbacks to the war era are appropriately solemn, but I was hoping to hear a bit about swinging 1968 London by way of a pop culture reference or two. This novel is a nice read and has enough twists to keep the reader guessing. Very enjoyable.

Many thanks to Lake Union Publishing for a copy of The Rose Arbor.  It has been great fun to give you my personal views.