Fiona Mountain

Silva is a housemaid at Chatsworth. When her dad suddenly dies his wish is for Silva to find someone called Molly. Silva knows nothing at all about Molly but is about to find out.

I first discovered Fiona Mountain by book shopping I Hay on Wye some years ago. I picked up a copy of Bloodline for £1 and it was the best money spent. I then went on to read Pale as the Dead, again another good read.

This book follows Silva and her time at Chatsworth and her quest to find Molly. The story goes back in time following Molly and what happens to her. Both stories do come together, and I have to say I did quite easily work it all out. This however did not distract from the story.

The story offers wonderful descriptions of life at Chatsworth and the surrounding area of the Peak District. Molly is a folk singer and one of her songs is about two lovers who are murdered. All this again has a connection in the story. The folklore tale of the murders in Winnats Pass has been used to create a fictional tale of a family mystery.

My only little niggle is I felt this book was a bit too long and I felt some of the story especially the end was a little sugary. I still enjoyed the story however and will read more by the author.… (mais)

I liked this book. Despite it being a decent size, it took me very few reading sessions to get through. And I was kind of disappointed once it was over.

Oddly, it was the middle section of the book that I enjoyed the most. In the beginning of the book, I felt a bit like I was being told a lot about Henrietta's character without being really shown it, which frustrated me. Then towards the end of the book it began to read more like a long epilogue, which is, I guess, a great risk in historical fiction where the characters fail to have a dramatic death and instead grow old away from the action. The middle though, where Henrietta has to learn how to be a queen, not just look like a queen, and to be a woman, not just look like a pretty doll, provides more conflict. There's the tensions in her heart, tensions politically, and tensions religiously which all combined to keep me reading.… (mais)

As soon as I heard about The Keeper of Songs I knew I had to read it. I'd read Fiona Mountain's genealogy novels in the past and enjoyed them and I couldn't resist this new book which appealed for several reasons.

The first is that it's one of my favourite kinds of storylines, the dual timeline kind. In 1967 a young folk singer, Molly Marrison, is about to make it big when she suddenly disappears. In 2002, Silva's father dies and his last words are that she should "find Molly". How are these two strands linked?

Then there's the folk songs themselves, one of which in particular plays a huge part in the story. Silva enlists the help of Robbie, her first love, who she hasn't seen for years.

And the other, probably most compelling, reason for me enjoying this book is the setting of the Peak District and more specifically Chatsworth, a place not a million miles from where I live and one which I have visited many times over the years. Silva works as a housemaid there (which is more about conservation than scrubbing floors). I loved the sense of place, the descriptions of the rooms, gardens, the methods for looking after all the artefacts, and the way that Chatsworth is more than just a stately home, it's a community for everyone who works there. I feel like the author must have done so much research and it really showed. Blue John Stone, which is only found in the caverns of Castleton, also plays a big part and I found it all absolutely fascinating.

This is a really lovely read, tying together local history through folk songs and folklore, with bittersweet love stories that echo down through the generations. As is often the case, I enjoyed the more contemporary story most of all. I think it's because I like the characters to delve into the past and discover long-lost secrets. But I very much enjoyed the book as a whole and thought the author did a wonderful job at bringing it all together and creating a truly enchanting read.… (mais)