Let us Talk of Many Things; of Books and Queens and Pirates, of Mystery and Kings...

Friday, 3 April 2026

Rachel's Random Resources Book Tour of: M.J.Porter - Storm of Mercia

Rachel's Random Resources
Book Tours

Welcome to my Blog!
Wander through worlds
real and fictional,
meet interesting people,
visit exciting places
and find good books
to enjoy along the way!

About the Book

Storm of Mercia (The Eagle of Mercia Chronicles Book 9)

Wessex has never been Mercia’s ally, neither has it been her only enemy.

Wessex, AD836

The Viking raiders' devastation has been halted once more by the shields of Mercia as opposed to Wessex. But their whereabouts are unknown.

King Wiglaf of Mercia is keen to ensure the Viking raiders are swept from his shared border with Wessex but these Viking ships are quick and difficult to track and Icel is once more deployed with Ealdorman Ælfstan warriors to do his King's bidding. However, Icel’s quest is beset with many more obstacles and it's not all about the seax and shield.

Worrying news from home overshadows Icel’s every deadly encounter. Will the storms of war keep him away or has he time to make one more desperate journey back to Tamworth?

With raging seas driving him ever further from Mercia’s shores, and the threat of a new conspiracy against the Mercian kingship will Icel overpower the sands of time, or will he be defeated by his deadliest nemesis yet?

Purchase Link - https://mybook.to/StormofMercia

Author Bio –

MJ Porter is the author of many historical novels set predominantly in Seventh to Eleventh-Century England, and in Viking Age Denmark. Raised in the shadow of a building that was believed to house the bones of long-dead Kings of Mercia, meant that the author's writing destiny was set.

Social Media Links –

Facebook: @MJPorterauthor

Twitter: @coloursofunison

Instagram: @m_j_porter

Newsletter Sign Up: https://bit.ly/MJPorterNews

Bookbub profile: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/mj-porter

My thoughts

M.J. Porter has a talent and a reputation for writing very good novels about Mercia, Wessex and Anglo-Saxon England. She gets her facts right, her characters right, the pace and plot right, and the right level of 'readability' - and this latest installment is no exception.

If you are interested in Anglo-Saxon history (or want to find out more about these pre-conquest Viking years!) then I heartily suggest you try M. J. Porter's books. I would suggest starting at the beginning of the series, though, to get maximum pleasure from the well-drawn characters and competently written The Eagle of Mercia Chronicles.

**** 4 stars

https://www.rachelsrandomresources.com/
@rararesources
#RachelsRandomResources

via https://ofhistoryandkings.blogspot.com/

< PREVIOUS POST

scroll down to leave a comment

thank you!

You might also like books written by Helen Hollick

Website: https://blog.helenhollick.net/

Amazon Author Page:

https://viewauthor.at/HelenHollick

cosy mysteries : historical fiction
nautical supernatural adventure

1066 : King Arthur
ghosts : non-fiction

anthologies

2025 annual award winner

THANK YOU!

Tuesday, 31 March 2026

My Coffee Pot Book Tour Guest: A Taste of Evil by N. L. Holmes

Welcome to my Blog!
Wander through worlds real and fictional,
meet interesting people, visit exciting places
and find good books to enjoy along the way!

About the Book

Book Title: A Taste of Evil

Series: The Hani’s Daughter Mysteries

Author Name: N.L. Holmes

Publication Date: October 30, 2025

Publisher: WayBack Press

Pages: 247

Genre: Historical Cozy Mystery

Any Triggers: Incest is passingly mentioned

In Tutankhamen's Egypt, the vizier's head cook dies suspiciously, and it looks like murder to Neferet and Bener-ib. Only, who would want to kill a cook, a man admired by all?

Perhaps he has professional rivals or a jealous wife. But she is the longtime cook of Neferet's family, a dear retainer above reproach. Was her husband the good man he seemed to be, or did he have the shady past our two sleuths begin to suspect?

They'd better find out soon before the waters of foreign conspiracy rise around Neferet and her diplomat father. If they can't find the killer, it could mean war with Egypt's enemy, Kheta -- and someone else could die. Maybe one of our nosy sleuths...

Buy Links:

Universal Buy Links:

Ebook: https://books2read.com/u/mlV2w7

Paperback: https://books2read.com/u/mYXjYW

Author Bio:

N.L. Holmes is the pen name of a professional archaeologist. She has excavated in Greece and in Israel and taught ancient history and humanities at the university level for many years. She has always had a passion for books, and in childhood, she and her cousin used to write stories for fun.

These days she lives in France with her husband, two cats, geese, and chickens, where she gardens, weaves, dances, and plays the violin.

Author Links:

Website:

https://www.nlholmes.com/

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/nlholmesbooks

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/n-l-holmes/

Twitter:

https://www.twitter/nlholmesbooks

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/n l.holmes/

Tumblr:

https://www.tumblr.com/blog/nlholmes

Pinterest:

https://www.pinterest.com/nlholmesbooks/

Amazon author page:

https://www.amazon.com/N-L-Holmes/e/B0858H3K7S

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20117057.N_L_Holmes

BookBub:

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/n-l-holmes

All Author:

https://allauthor.com/author/nlholmes/

read an excerpt

“Let’s get back to the dispensary and organize ourselves. Then we can return to the vizier’s house when we have specific things to ask. Besides, Grandfather was going to wait there for us, remember? He must think we’ve fallen down a well.” As they approached the gate of the little property, they could hear the wild whoops of the orphans playing in the garden. “You know,” said Neferet to Bener-ib, “Qen and Shu-roy are getting old enough to be apprenticed. We need to talk to In-hapy.”

“Poor In-hapy.” Mut-tuy cast her eyes to the heavens. “Three of those snot-nosed turds.”

“Your brothers aren’t turds, Mut-tuy,” Bener-ib said. “And certainly Hu-may isn’t. In-hapy says he’s a serious boy and a very good worker. She lets him do a lot of grown-up jobs. You should be proud of him.”

The adolescent made sniffy noises of disbelief, but a reluctant smile twitched at her mouth nonetheless. As they pushed their way inside the yard, the four dogs swarmed them joyfully. Brute looked reproachful.

“I don’t think they would’ve appreciated you in the kitchen, boy. They would’ve thought you’d be stealing food. But we know you better than that, don’t we?” Neferet ruffled his ears back and forth.

From within the house, Grandfather called, “Are you finally back, then?” He appeared in the doorway. “I’ve performed several surgeries in your absence. I hope that’s all right.”

Neferet threw back her head and whooped with laughter. “Better you than me, Grandfather.” She led the way into the salon, which was fortunately empty of waiting patients. “We talked to Neb-ma-ra. He’s totally disagreeable and very ambitious, so I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he killed off the man who was in his way. And guess what? Until two years ago, he worked for Lord Ptah-mes. I didn’t even know it, but there he was, under our roof.”

Grandfather raised his thickety eyebrows. “And no one was poisoned? You got off lightly, my girl.”

“But here’s the thing—the infamous date paste wasn’t poison. What did Int-ef eat after all that killed him? Something nobody else seemed to touch. We’re sure it was his lunch.”

Everyone looked up as the four kittens entered in a line, like a donkey train from the desert. The sunets had named them for the Sons of Haru—Im-sety, Hapy, Dua-mut-ef, and Qebeh-sen-ef—but as far as Neferet was concerned, they were deceptively adorable creatures of darkness. Nothing was safe from their depredations. They knocked off jars of balm and broke them, pulled down drying herbs, and unrolled bandages. The old dogs wagged their tails in greeting—perhaps afraid of what the little thugs would exact from them otherwise—but Brute eyed them severely as the feline foursome approached him, and they turned away.

“I see they’re still alive.” Neferet stretched out a hand, and one of the four approached to sniff then capered off.

“Yes. I kept an eye on them. No convulsions. No vomiting. Behavior perfectly normal,” Grandfather said. “Why don’t I accompany you to the vizier’s kitchen next time you go, ladies?”

“Bored, Grandfather?” Neferet shot him an evil grin. “Just taking care of the infirmary not exciting enough?”

“I can vouch for that,” grumbled Mut-tuy.

My thoughts

This made a nice change to travel to Ancient Egypt (and bask in a bit of sunshine during a few very cold and wet days here at home!) Not having read any of the previous mysteries in the series, though, it took me a while to work out who was who, where and why - but the writing was good, the plot was intriguing and the historical detail, as far as I could tell, was well tackled. The characters were also realistic and believable - which goes a long way to make a cosy mystery immersive and interesting. I did rather pick suspiciously at my food a bit while reading this one! *laugh*

A good series for readers interested in Egypt and mysteries - but I suggest start at the first book for ultimate enjoyment.

**** 4 stars