Category: books

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: May 25 – June 1

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We’re into June and I’m still playing outfit roulette in the mornings because the weather just can’t seem to sort itself out. But on the bright side, we’ve started to get the summer releases through. And on the even brighter side, I’ve finally finished that Cher Memoir. Admittedly there are still other long runner on that list I haven’t finished, but that’s the one that’s been sitting there the longest, so it’s definitely progress.

Read:

Beneath These Stones by Ann Granger

Curtain Call to Murder by Julian Clary

Shades of Murder by Ann Granger

A Restless Evil by Ann Granger

It’s a Love Story by Annabel Monaghan

The Bookstore Family by Alice Hoffman

The June Paintings by Maggie Shipstead

Swan Song by Edmund Crispin

Cher: The Memoir Part One by Cher

Started:

Nine Lessons by Nicola Upson

Still reading:

The Listeners by Maggie Stiefvater*

The Sweet Dove Died by Barbara Pym

Wish You Were Here by Jess K Hardy*

Abdication by Juliet Nicolson

Two pre-orders arrived, two ebooks bought and a second hand paperback.

Bonus picture: I’m annoyed I didn’t take a screen grab on day 1500 exactly, but still it’s pretty impressive.

*next to a book book title indicates that it came from NetGalley. ** indicates it was an advance copy from a source other than NetGalley.

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: May 19 – May 25

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It’s another Bank Holiday Monday here in the UK, so I hope those of you who aren’t working have a nice day and that the weather cooperates with whatever your plans are. There are three different football teams celebrating today, two of them with full on parades, so chances are there’ll be rain at some point! I continue to binge my way through the Mitchell and Markbys – and it’s surprising me how much I had forgotten from first time around. It makes them even more of a treat, but also harder to resist just going straight on to the next one! But I’ve still managed to get a few other things read this week – even if I didn’t get that much off the long-running list! Onwards we go…

Read:

A Touch of Mortality by Ann Granger

A Knife to Remember by Jill Churchill

A Word After Dying by Ann Granger

The Beast of Littleton Woods by T E Kinsey

Call the Dead Again by Ann Granger

Amelia’s Shadow by Marie Benedict

On Turpentine Lane by Elinor Lipman

Started:

The Listeners by Maggie Stiefvater*

Still reading:

Curtain Call to Murder by Julian Clary

The Sweet Dove Died by Barbara Pym

Wish You Were Here by Jess K Hardy*

Abdication by Juliet Nicolson

Cher: The Memoir Part One by Cher

Three ebooks and a pre-order

Bonus picture: Rainbows and sunshine at the train station.

*next to a book book title indicates that it came from NetGalley. ** indicates it was an advance copy from a source other than NetGalley.

books

Recommendsday: Books set in Brighton

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It’s Wednesday again and after our trip to Brighton the other week, I started thinking about books set in the seaside town – and the result is today’s Recommendsday. As I hinted yesterday, I’ve got a whole theme thing going on this week – with Brighton and 90s crime the twin things going on through the week. You’re welcome!

And the first book that features Brighton that springs to mind for me is always Georgette Heyer’s Regency Buck. I actually messaged my mum on the way down because I’d seen a sign for Cuckfield from the train and a key scene in the book takes place there. But proabably half of the book takes place during the summer that Judith Taverner and her brother Perry spend at a house on Marine Parade. We didn’t make it to Marine Parade this trip – but I did make Him Indoors walk to the Old Steine where Judith and Perry’s guardian Lord Worth lived. And of course we went to the Pavillion where there is another important moment in the plot. I first read this during my A-Level exams and I remember vividly sitting on the bus on my way home from school after an exam reading the final section and being open mouthed with shock at one of events towards the end. I can’t remember what the exam was – but I can remember where on the route I was when that happened (if you’re reading mum, I was coming around the corners with the nursery on the A508) It’s probably the book where I was most uncertain about who the heroine was going to end up with when you’re reading it first go around and that sticks with you. And yes the Waterstones in Brighton (of which more at the weekend) did have a copy although it wasn’t in a special books set in Brighton section, just the usual romance one:

It’s been a bit of a month for remembering books that I had forgotten about – which takes me to Sara Sheridan’s Mirabelle Bevan series. In the first book, Brighton Belle, it’s 1951 and Mirabelle moves to Brighton to take a job at a debt collection agency. But when a Hungarian woman the agency made a loan to turns up dead, her instincts scream that there’s more to the death than meets the eye. And things only get more mysterious as Mirabelle and her work colleague and new friend Vesta Churchill (no relation as she says) investigate. This is the first in a series that has nine books (although they aren’t all linked together after the first four if you’re looking at Amazon) and I’ve read three of them – all of which are set in Brighton although that doesn’t stay the same – and this reminded me to try and see if I can get book four – at which point I discovered that although I definitely read book one and two on Kindle (and book three from the library) none of them are on kindle any more. Which is frustrating and also weird. One and two are still on my Kindle though so that’s something.

As you all know I’ve just finished a binge of Elly Griffiths’ Dr Ruth Galloway series, but the first book of hers I read was The Zig Zag Girl which is the first in her Brighton Mysteries series. They’re set in the 1950s and feature a policeman and a magician who worked together during the war in a special unit. I’ve mentioned them before in my books set in theatres and then the quick reviews the other month and I’m four books into the seven book series, with books five and six already on the pile for when I’m ready, but I am trying to be good and space out the Elly Griffiths, not least because I need other authors to write about!

Death on the Pier by Jamie West is a murder mystery set in the theatre (now sadly gone) on Brighton Pier. Our main character is a playwright who is in town to see a production of one of his plays, only for an actress to be killed on stage in the middle of the opening night performance. Luckily the friend he is watching with is a Scotland Yard detective, so Bertie gets to (reluctantly) help with the investigation. I did have the culprit worked out before the end (and they why of it) but it was a good read and I liked the characters and so I went straight on to the sequel! There is also recent BotW The Fan Who Knew Too Much which is largely set in Brighton – including scenes of extras recreating the cult TV series running through the Pavilion Gardens.

And of course although Lizzie never goes there, Brighton is the scene of Lydia’s bad behaviour in Pride and Prejudice – so if you need an excuse for a re-read, here you are!

Happy Humpday!

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: May 12 – May 18

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Well I said on Friday that I was on a mega-binge of Mitchell and Markby books, and you see the results of that here – in the read list and in the purchases because I had to buy them to keep reading. We had a lovely trip away at the weekend and it was a busy week at work so I’m choosing to blame that for the increasing length of the still reading list…

Read:

A Farewell to Yarns by Jill Churchill

Where Old Bones Lie by Ann Granger

Men at Arms by Terry Pratchett

A Fine Place for Death by Ann Granger

Flowers for his Funeral by Ann Granger

Masqueraders by Georgette Heyer

A Candle for a Corpse by Ann Granger

Started:

N/a

Still reading:

The Beast of Littleton Woods by T E Kinsey

Curtain Call to Murder by Julian Clary

The Sweet Dove Died by Barbara Pym

Wish You Were Here by Jess K Hardy*

Abdication by Juliet Nicolson

Cher: The Memoir Part One by Cher

Five books bought.

Bonus picture: Another photo from a sunny Sunday afternoon in the countryside. Just glorious.

*next to a book book title indicates that it came from NetGalley. ** indicates it was an advance copy from a source other than NetGalley.

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: May 5 – May 11

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So here’s the thing, despite the fact that I have a tonne of books waiting to be read, at the start of last week all my brain wanted to do was re-read Mitchell and Markby books. Now this started because I bought the first one second hand a few weeks back as you know, and started reading it on Sunday night. And then I ended up buying the next few on kindle so I could read on because when I read them originally I had borrowed them from a friend and I gave them back like the good girl I am. And then I really struggled to get started on anything new to me and so moved on to more familiar old friends – with new books in series that I like and a dash of Terry Pratchett. We will see where this week takes us…

Read:

Say it With Poison by Ann Granger

A Season for Murder by Ann Granger

The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer

Cold in the Earth by Ann Granger

Murder Among Us by Ann Granger

Underscore by Andrew Cartmel

Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett

Started:

A Farewell to Yarns by Jill Churchill

The Beast of Littleton Woods by T E Kinsey

Still reading:

Curtain Call to Murder by Julian Clary

The Sweet Dove Died by Barbara Pym

Wish You Were Here by Jess K Hardy*

Abdication by Juliet Nicolson

Cher: The Memoir Part One by Cher

Four books bought and one pre-order made. And of course another preorder arrived.

Bonus picture: we have a flower on the new(ish) arrival!

*next to a book book title indicates that it came from NetGalley. ** indicates it was an advance copy from a source other than NetGalley.

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: April 28- May 4

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It’s a Bank Holiday in the UK today so if you have a day off work, I hope you’re enjoying it and sorry that the nice weather didn’t last. It’s also May, which means hopefully the nice weather will come back at some point, although we’re all bound to spend the next month getting our outfits wrong as we try and predict whether we need to be dressing for heat or cold. Anyway, continued progress on some fronts on the reading, and less so on others as there’s been a lot going on in real life. But I seem to be saying that a lot at the moment, so maybe this is just normal now? What a worrying thought.

Read:

Death on the Pier by Jamie West

The 4.50 from Paddington by Agatha Christie

Death at the Matinee by Jamie West

Murder on Line One by Jeremy Vine*

Tea on Sunday by Lettice Cooper

Death at the Playhouses by Stuart Douglas

Regency Buck by Georgette Heyer

Started:

Curtain Call to Murder by Julian Clary

The Sweet Dove Died by Barbara Pym

Still reading:

Wish You Were Here by Jess K Hardy*

Abdication by Juliet Nicolson

Cher: The Memoir Part One by Cher

Two books bought – one in Quinns, one in Oxfam.

Bonus picture: the narrow alley down to Quinns bookshop – which I always expect to be higher up the hill than it is…

*next to a book book title indicates that it came from NetGalley. ** indicates it was an advance copy from a source other than NetGalley.

books, stats

April Stats

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Books read this month: 30*

New books: 22

Re-reads: 8 (5 audiobooks)

Books from the to-read pile: 10

NetGalley books read: 6

Kindle Unlimited read: 5

Ebooks: 4

Audiobooks: 5

Non-fiction books: 1

Favourite book: Tough – but I’m going to go with The Last Remains because I thought it finished the Ruth Galloway series off so nicely

Most read author: Probably Kerry Greenwood – with three Corinna Chapmans, but it would be tight on page count with the two Elly Griffiths and Sally Smiths’ two Gabriel Vine books.

Books bought: still too many

Books read in 2025: 124

Books on the Goodreads to-read shelf (I don’t have copies of all of these!): 789

Lots of stuff going on in the real world too but still pretty solid month in reading all in. Onwards to May!

Bonus picture: House plant progress with a flower coming on a new plant

*includes some short stories/novellas/comics/graphic novels – including this month!

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: April 21 – April 27

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Another pretty solid week of books. I’ve got one of the long running list and I’ve made progress on some of the others too. Perhaps not quite as much progress as I wanted but it was a very busy week in real life and there’s nothing you can do about that.

Read:

A Clutch of Constables by Ngaio Marsh

Barking! by Grace Smith

A Pocket Full of Rye by Agatha Christie

Fell Murder by E C R Lorac

The Oscar Wars by Michael Schulman

Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree

Murder Will Out by Alison Joseph

Started:

Wish You Were Here by Jess K Hardy*

Death at the Playhouses by Stuart Douglas

Still reading:

Murder on Line One by Jeremy Vine*

Abdication by Juliet Nicolson

Cher: The Memoir Part One by Cher

Three books bought.

Bonus picture: a misty morning on the train. It’s nearly impossible to get a good photo from the train but I keep trying because it can be so beautiful.

*next to a book book title indicates that it came from NetGalley. ** indicates it was an advance copy from a source other than NetGalley.

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: April 14 – April 20

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A really, really lovely week. I was off work and it has been really productive and just generally delightful. I’ve read some really good stuff too – a train journey to Brighton and back really helped with that! I have made some more progress on the long runners, but maybe not as much as I would like. I will get there though. I will. I have, however, had a good week on the NetGalley front, so I’ll take my wins where I can get them!

Read:

Devil’s Food by Kerry Greenwood

The Witching Hour by Catriona McPherson

Miss Caroline Bingley, Private Detective by Kelly Gardiner and Sharmini Kumar*

Death at the Dolphin by Ngaio Marsh

A Case of Mice and Murder by Sally Smith

A Case of Life and Limb by Sally Smith*

The Mystery at Rake Hall by Maureen Paton*

The Cat Who Saved The Library by Sosuki Natsukawa*

Started:

Fell Murder by E C R Lorac

Murder on Line One by Jeremy Vine*

Still reading:

The Oscar Wars by Michael Schulman

Abdication by Juliet Nicolson

Cher: The Memoir Part One by Cher

Two books bought, because I can’t resist a bookshop…

Bonus picture: Brighton Beach on Thursday, looking out at the remains of the West Pier.

*next to a book book title indicates that it came from NetGalley. ** indicates it was an advance copy from a source other than NetGalley.

books, historical, series, Series I love

Series I Love Redux: Dandy Gilver

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After reading Catriona McPherson’s new book last week, I went back and checked where I was at with the Dandy Gilver series – and lo and behold there was a sixteenth book in the series out in paperback for me to read to complete the set. It’s been three years since I last wrote about Dandy – at which point I was one down on the then fifteen books in the series. We’ve now followed Dandy’s adventures from 1923 all the way through until 1939 and seen her go from a bored wife at home with her boys away at school through to a grandmother worrying about the likelihood of her sons being killed up to fight in another war. And given that there are a bunch of throwbacks her first case in this one, it does feel like this could be the last book in the series, but who knows. I would definitely read about Dandy taking on the Home Front, but I don’t want her boys to be killed – so maybe it’s best to stop? Anyway, you can go back and read my previous posts about the series – consistently darker than you expect them to be, and with far too many different cover designs!

Have a great weekend.