Category: week in books

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: February 12 – February 18

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A pretty good week all in all. Very busy but some good stuff read amid it all. A distinct romance turn to the list though – but then it was Valentine’s Day so that might only to be expected!

Read:

A Surfeit of Lampreys by Ngaio Marsh

Worst Wingman Ever by Abby Jimenez

Death and the Dancing Footman by Ngaio Marsh

Simply the Best by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Colour Scheme by Ngaio Marsh

Grumpy Fake Boyfriend by Jackie Lau

Linda learns to Type by Patricia Baldwin

Started:

The Love Wager by Lynn Painter

Mr Hot Shot CEO by Jackie Lau

Still reading:

The Antiques Hunter’s Guide to Murder by C L Miller*

The Last Action Heroes by Nick de Semelyen

Travellers in the Third Reich by Julia Boyd

Five books bought – two kindle and three paperbacks. And a preorder arrived too, although that was the Susan Elizabeth Philips, which I read immediately so that’s already off the backlog, so maybe it doesn’t count?!

Bonus photo: it’s starting to get lighter in the mornings on the walk to work. If only it was lighter when I get on the train!

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

Book of the Week, books, mystery, new releases

Book of the Week: Knife Skills for Beginners

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I mentioned this on release day the other week, but I really did enjoy it and the list was short last week, so here we are…

When Paul Delamare’s old friend Christian inveigles him into teaching a course at a Belgravia cookery school in his place, he doesn’t expect to end up as the prime suspect in a murder investigation. But that’s what happens when after the first night of the course a body is discovered. And of course it doesn’t help that Paul taught a knife skills class in the first day and everyone knows that chefs are short tempered don’t they? Except that Paul’s pretty sure there are some people with secrets among the people at the school and that they had much better motive and opportunity than he did. And as the course continues alongside the murder investigation, he tries to solve the crime and avoid being arrested for murder himself.

I really liked this. I was hoping it would be good and fun, and it actually exceeded my expectations. And a lot of that is because Paul is a much more interesting character than you expect from the blurb so it makes a change from the usual cozy-crime sleuths. The actual murder mystery plot is also good and plenty twisty enough for me although I’ll admit to having some doubts about the solution. This is written by a cookery writer so it has recipes as well as the murder and .I really liked them too – I know a lot of American mysteries have recipes but they’re often not ones I actually want to cook and of course the measurements are all wrong (how much butter is a stick anyone?) but with these ones I did think “oh that sounds nice”. I hope there is a sequel – there was certainly enough left hanging when it comes to Paul’s life to sustain another book with him at the centre…

My copy came from NetGalley, but as you can see from the photo it’s out in the shops now and should be fairly easy to get hold of in hard copy as well as on Kindle or Kobo.

Happy Reading!

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: February 5 – February 11

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I’m not really quite sure what happened last week to be honest. My brain just wouldn’t concentrate on reading and as I kept falling asleep on the train I’m going to chalk it up to general exhaustion. I’m away a couple of nights this week again, so we’ll see what that does for the list.

Read:

Overture to Death by Ngaio Marsh

Knife Skills for Beginners by Orlando Murrin*

Death at the Bar by Ngaio Marsh

Press Story by Marjorie Riddell

Heartstopper Vol 5 by Alice Oseman

The Exception to the Rule by Christina Lauren

Started:

The Antiques Hunter’s Guide to Murder by C L Miller*

Still reading:

The Last Action Heroes by Nick de Semelyen

Travellers in the Third Reich by Julia Boyd

Four ebooks bought – a couple in a series that seem to be rotating on and off offer and one I’ve had my eye on for a while that’s also gone on offer

Bonus photo: not my photo, but it’s been somewhat damp this last week, although I suppose we should be glad that it’s not snow!

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

Book of the Week, books, Forgotten books

Book of the Week: The Belting Inheritance

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So another year, another British Library Crime Classic BotW pick – but hey I made it into February before I recommended one!

The Belting Inheritance is not a murder mystery. Well it is, but that’s not the main thing it is. It’s the story of a supposedly dead son arriving back home, and the events that ensue. It’s told by Christopher, who is not a son of the house, but whose moved there after the death of his parents when his mother’s aunt swept in and moved him from his old life to Belting. Lady Wainwright reigns over the house with her two remaining sons in residence. Except one day, just her health is failing, a man appears claiming to be her son David who was shot down in the war and reported killed.

This isn’t the first book I’ve read with a plot about someone returning from the dead – I studied Martin Guerre as part of my history degree, and Josephine Tey’s Brat Farrar is brilliant too. This is equally twisty and peopled with characters that you really dislike which adds an extra twist to it all. I raced through it and although I wanted more at the end, that was just because (as ever) I wanted to know more of what happened next. Definitely worth picking up if you see it.

My copy was via Kindle Unlimited, which means it won’t be on Kobo at the moment, but I’ve definitely seen it in the usual bookstore who carry BLCC books so hopefully it’ll be findable if you are interested.

Happy reading!

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: January 29 – February 4

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Well a slightly better list than I was expecting this time last week, but still got some long runners going on. Still this week is looking marginally less busy so I can endeavour to change that (but it’s been going on a while now hasn’t it!).

Read:

Vintage Murder by Ngaio Marsh

Double Shot by Diane Mott Davison

Artists in Crime by Ngaio Marsh

Murder on the Salsette by Edward Marston

Death in a White Tie by Ngaio Marsh

Death in the Stacks by Jenn McKinlay

Lady Thief of Belgravia by Allison Grey*

The Belting Inheritance by Julian Symons

Started:

Knife Skills for Beginners by Orlando Murrin*

Still reading:

The Last Action Heroes by Nick de Semelyen

Travellers in the Third Reich by Julia Boyd

Four books bought – including The Breakup Tour which dropped price on Kindle last week!

Bonus photo: a truly amazing sunset last week, courtesy of my dad!

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

Book of the Week, books, new releases

Book of the Week: The Queen of Poisons

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As I mentioned yesterday, lots of rereading on last week’s list, so options for BotW were somewhat limited – and this is a bit of a rule breaker again because it’s the third in the series. But hey, what can you do.

When the mayor of Marlow drops dead in a council meeting, one of the Marlow Murder club is actually a witness. Suzie’s sitting in the gallery of the planning meeting when Geoffrey Lushington collapses. And not just that – this time the police are using Judith, Becks and Susie as civilian advisors from the start so they don’t have to guess about the details of the investigation. But the mayor seems like a nice guy – who would want to kill him?

These fit squarely into the wave of mysteries that have popped up in the wake of the success of the Thursday Murder Club. I mean it’s even got murder club in the title! But what makes the Marlow lot different is that it’s written by Robert Thorogood who is the creator of the TV series Death in Paradise and who had already written four novels based on that series before he started with Judith, Suze and Becks. I think they’re more straightforward cozy crimes than the Osman’s are, but they’re fun and easy to read and not too dark. Plus they’re set in a place that I used to know fairly well and that’s always fun.

I realise that this is more a review of the series in general than the book, but I can’t say much more about the murder plot without giving too much away (although I found the solution this time less satisfying than the previous ones) and I can’t say too much about what’s going on alongside the murder without giving too much away about the previous books in the series. But I do think you could read this without having read any of the others and not feel like you’ve missed out too much.

My copy came from NetGalley but this came out in hardback ten days or so ago and I think it’ll be fairly easy to find in the shops – the others certainly have been. And of course it’s in Kindle and Kobo. There is a TV adaptation of the first book coming soon as well so if you’re a read the books before you watch the series person, now is your chance.

Happy Reading.

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: January 22 – January 28

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Well as suspected, it was an incredibly busy week and there’s a fair bit of rereading – or more accurately re listening on it because I can do that when I’m on the train or wandering around on the way to the theatre and the like. And because I was away from home for three nights I haven’t made much progress on The Last Action Heroes – because I didn’t have space to take any book with me – let along a large format paperback! And I’m equally busy this week so I fear more of the same this time next week!

Read:

Enter a Murderer by Ngaio Marsh

The Nursing Home Murder by Ngaio Marsh

Fillin’ Up by Patti Benning

Death in Ecstasy by Ngaio Marsh

Breathless by Beverly Jenkins

Queen of Poisons by Robert Thorogood*

Fence Vol 6 by C S Pascal et al

Started:

Murder on the Salsette by Edward Marston

Still reading:

The Last Action Heroes by Nick de Semelyen

Lady Thief of Belgravia by Allison Grey*

Travellers in the Third Reich by Julia Boyd

Didn’t buy anything. A minor miracle and something that is sure not to last.

Bonus photo: there were two theatre trips last week – Ive already mentioned Spymonkey, the other trip was to see one of the last couple of performances of Backstairs Billy, from a very cheap but definitely restricted view seat in the upper circle.

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

Book of the Week, books

Book of the Week: The Golden Hour

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Always an interesting choice for Book of the Week after a holiday week, but actually this time I’ve picked a book that has a bit of a beachy feel about it – in one strand of the story anyway. Sadly my book poor planning means I didn’t take a photo of it on the beach with me, but you’ll just have to trust me that I was reading it there. You also can’t see the sand I shook out of it while I was taking this photo back at home!

Anyway, to the book: The Golden Hour is a twin timeline story about two women in the first half of the twentieth century. The first (and main story) is Lulu who, newly widowed, heads to Nassau to try and get an interview with the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. It’s 1941, most of the world is at war and the ex-King has been made governor of the Caribbean island. Lulu’s pinning her future on getting an interview with the former Wallis Simpson, but as Lulu gets closer to her, she realises that all is not quite as it seems in the Windsor marriage and in their circle. At the centre of it all is Benedict Thorpe, a scientist who has a lot of charm and even more mystery around him. And then there is a murder. Meanwhile in the very early years of the twentieth century, Elfriede is at a Sanatorium in Switzerland recovering from what would now be known as post natal depression after the birth of her first baby, but while she’s there she meets someone who will change the course of her future.

This is not the first time that I have recommended a Beatriz Williams book – she’s written a bunch of novels by herself and also with Lauren Willig and Karen White, all of which are usually twin timeline type stories. She’s one of the authors that I’m always looking out for – and this book particularly appealed to me because it mentioned Windsors in the blurb and I have always been really interested in the abdication crisis and what happened next – as you’ll know from the fact that Gone with the Windsors is one of my favourite novels and Traitor King was one of my favourite books of 2021. And this is where I need to flag that David and Wallis are leas central to this story than the blurb would have you believe. Yes, they’re there and they’re involved in the story, but the 1940s end of the story is mostly about Lulu and what happens to her and what she gets involved in. But if you want some World War Two espionage and two strands of romance then this is for you. It got me all teary on the beach at the end – and that’s a good thing.

And if you want more books from Beatriz Williams, I would recommend Her Last Flight – which is about a female pilot who disappeared on an attempt to break a flying record or Along the Infinite Sea, which is the third of her linked Schuyler sisters novels but which also has a connection to The Golden Hour. And I should also mention The Lost Summers Newport which is one of those collaborations I mentioned earlier which was BotW back after my last holiday!

I had a paperback copy of this one that came from the to read pile, but you can also get in on Kindle and Kobo. It looks like physical copies might only be in the very biggest of bookstores – Waterstones Piccadilly claims to have click and collect, but none of the Foyles do.

Happy Reading.

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: January 15 – January 21

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Well that was a fun week. We’ve been on holiday – which was delightful but also involved more sightseeing and less sun lounger time than usual, so the reading list is not as long as a post holiday one can sometimes be. This week is looking incredibly busy too, so who knows what next week’s list will look like – it’s all a bit of a lottery really. But still – what more could I have asked for – a lovely sunny week off work and good books to read in it.

Read:

Bustin’ Loose by Patti Benning

Missin’ Out by Patti Benning

Role Playing: The Wedding by Cathy Yardley

Animal, Vegetable, Criminal by Mary Roach

The Golden Hour by Beatriz Williams

A Death in Diamonds by S J Bennett*

Knowing Me, Knowing You by Jeevani Charika*

He Shall Thunder in the Sky by Elizabeth Peters

It Happened One Fight by Maureen Lee Lenker

A May Lay Dead by Ngaio Marsh

Started:

Breathless by Beverly Jenkins

Queen of Poisons by Robert Thorogood*

The Last Action Heroes by Nick de Semelyen

Still reading:

Lady Thief of Belgravia by Allison Grey*

Travellers in the Third Reich by Julia Boyd

Two books bought at the airport, but that was it. Very restrained!

Bonus photo: What else could it be but a picture from the holiday?!

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

Book of the Week, books

Book of the Week: The Cat Who Saved Books

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Making a bit of a change this week, and I’ve got some Japanese fiction in translation for you. I do like to mix it up a little when I can, and today is one of those weeks where I can!

Our hero is Rintaro, a high school student whose beloved grandfather had just died and left him his second hand bookshop. The trouble is, Rintaro is also going to have to close it down because his aunt is his new guardian and wants him to move in with her. Rintaro is shy and would rather be reading books in the shop than talking to other people or going to school. Then a talking cat appears in the bookshop and tells him he needs his help to save books. What happens next sees Rintaro and Tiger entering different labyrinths to try and free the books.

This is about a teenager and a cat and the friends he makes along the way as he tries to rescue books from people who are misusing and mistreating them. Rintaro has to debate the value of books and reading against people who are diminishing them. That might sound a little heavy but it’s actually a charming story about how a love of books and reading can help you in difficult times and is important in a world where things are changing fast. It’s not a massively long book but I read it in one sitting and was very sad it was over so fast. A treat for the bookish and something a little bit different.

My copy was part of my NetGalley back log, so it has been out for a while now. I’m not sure how easy it will be to get a physical copy – I don’t think I’ve seen it in Foyles’s books in translation section – or at least not with the cover. But it is on Kindle and Kobo and in audiobook.

Happy Reading!