Category: week in books

Book of the Week, detective, first in series

Book of the Week: Next Stop, Murder

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A slightly strange week of reading last week due to the trip, so it’s been a strange one to pick something today, but in the end I did come up with something!

Next Stop, Murder is set in a town in the Adirondack Mountains. Celia has moved to Blue Lake with her daughter Katie after a tragedy in New York. Celia’s taken over an ice cream shop, which is a big change from her previous life as a NYPD forensics expert. But when a body is found on a tour bus, Celia finds herself drawn into the investigation.

This did feel very much like a first book in series because there’s a lot of set up work being done alongside the murder plot. It’s got an interesting narrative style though, with the narration moving around as well as diary entries from Katie, and articles from the local press. The mystery isn’t that complicated, but it worked well and I enjoyed the book enough that I’ll be checking out the second in the series to see if those first-book symptoms have cleared up.

This one is in Kindle Unlimited, so it’s not on Kobo (at the moment at least) and I suspect the paperback that’s listed on Amazon is a print on demand one, so I wouldn’t expect it to be in the shops. But if you’re in KU at the moment it’s an easy way to pass a couple of hours.

Happy Reading!

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: July 7 – July 13

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Hello from my sofa back in the UK, where I am safely back after a week in Ghana. It was incredibly busy week and so the list sort of reflects that – especially as the flight home on Saturday was an overnight one. I put an old Bond film on to go to sleep to and it worked a treat – it was Goldfinger and I don’t even remember the card game by the pool! Anyway, I’ve got a couple of days off at the start of this week, but the job list is huge – and we’ve got a super busy weekend as well, so the list maybe similarly small next week…

Read:

Shoe Nuff by Patti Benning

The Spirit Killers by Hugh Morrison

Nemesis by Agatha Christie

Photo Finish by Ngaio Marsh

A Death on Location by Rev Richard Coles

Next Stop, Murder by Hadley K Knox

Barriers to Entry by Ariel Lawthorn

Started:

Crunch Time by Diane Mott Davidson

Still reading:

Finders Keepers by Sarah Adler

Six Sweets Under by Sarah Fox

A Schooling in Murder by Andrew Taylor*

Abdication by Juliet Nicolson

Two more pre-orders arrived – the new Elissa Sussman and the latest Three Dahlias.

Bonus picture: Accra from above on the way home on Saturday night.

Bonus bonus picture: I might not have read a lot; but I did hit a target!

*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

Book of the Week: We Three Queens

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Yes, I’m breaking one of my own rules this week and writing about a book that’s a long way into a series. No I don’t really care. Last week was one of those weeks, and anything that wasn’t rule breaking wasn’t something that I really felt inspired enough to write about. So here we are.

Cover of We Three Queens

This is the eighteenth in Rhys Bowen’s series about Georgiana, a fictious granddaughter of Queen Victoria, who is facing all sorts of troubles in the loose orbit of the Royal Family of the 1930s. As I said in my post when this book was released in November, in this book we have finally reached the winter of 1936 and crunch time for Georgie’s cousin David when it comes to choosing between the Crown and Wallis Simpson. And of course Georgie and her husband Darcy are caught up in it with the woman in question hiding away at their estate. As if that wasn’t enough, Georgie’s former stepfather, who owns the house, arrives home unexpectedly and with a film crew in tow to film scenes in the grounds. And on top of all this Georgie’s brother, his wife and their two children have also invited themselves to stay. And did I mention that she’s a new mum?

There is a murder in this, but it actually happens quite a long way through. But there is a lot going on to get to that point, so you don’t feel like you’re missing out on a mystery plot – in fact if i hadn’t read the blurb to know there was going to be one, I wouldn’t have been surprised if there hadn’t been one, although this is obviously a mystery series.

For the last few books I have been wondering if we were nearing the end of the series, especially as there have been a couple of big moments coming up where it would have been possible for Bowen to sign off from Georgie and leave on a satisfying note, but there is a nineteen book coming in the autumn, so it looks like we’re going to be following Georgie and the family into the reign of George VI as the world hurtles towards World War Two. And without giving you any spoilers, there are still a few hanging threads left to tie up, and as long as Bowen can keep coming up with new adventures for Georgie, I’m happy to read them!

This series used to be published in UK paperback editions, but I haven’t seen any of them for some time. So your best bet for this is Kindle or Kobo, although I have a seen some of them occasionally in the Cozy Crime Mass Market shelves at Waterstones Gower Street and Waterstones Piccadilly, but it is a totally lottery which one it is.

Happy Reading!

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: June 30 – July 6

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Happy Monday everyone. I feel like every week I say that it’s been a busy week but this week really has been. And I’m on a work trip at the moment, so it’s only going to get busier. What can you do. I haven’t made much progress at all on the two new books I started last week because I had so many nights away from home and didn’t take them with me.

Read:

Knit, Purl, Die by Anne Canadeo

Murder Must Advertise by Dorothy L Sayers

The Yellow Rambutan Tree by Ovidia Yu

Cooking the Books by Kerry Greenwood

Dear Miss Lake by A J Pearce*

We Three Queens by Rhys Bowen

Murder by Moonlight by Julie Mulhern

Started:

The Spirit Killers by Hugh Morrison

Still reading:

Finders Keepers by Sarah Adler

Six Sweets Under by Sarah Fox

A Schooling in Murder by Andrew Taylor*

Abdication by Juliet Nicolson

Two books bought, one pre-order arrived.

Bonus picture: a fashion show being set up on my route to work. Or at least I assume that’s what 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.

Book of the Week, first in series, historical, mystery

Book of the Week: Death and the Conjurer

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Another mystery book this week, this time a new to me author writing mysteries set in the 1930s.

In Death and the Conjurer, a celebrity psychiatrist is found murdered in his study – but the door was locked and there seems to have been no way for anyone to have committed the crime. The Scotland Yard detective calls in magician turned sleuth Joseph Spector to help solve a seemingly impossible murder.

And this really does seem to be an impossible one. The solution when it comes is clever and well worked out and as the book says the clues are there, even if I didn’t believe it when the book said that! Inspector Flint and Spector are a good duo – they both have their strengths so it feels like a pretty equal relationship rather than a stupid cop and a brilliant amateur. It’s also the first of three so there are two more for me to read now too.

This one is in Kindle unlimited at the moment and so if you’ve got a membership it’s worth a look.

Happy Reading!

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: June 23 – June 29

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Hello from the heatwave. It’s so hot. And Britain isn’t built for this heat. It’s making it very hard to concentrate on anything. Oh and I did two shows last week – one was The Frogs, the less said about the other the better! I’ve got another super busy week this week and it’s only going to get hotter, so who knows what this list will look like next week…

Read:

Five Red Herrings by Dorothy L Sayers

Sorry for the Dead by Nicola Upson

The Dead of Winter by Nicola Upson

Death and the Conjurer by Tom Mead

Fear of Frying by Jill Churchill

Have His Carcase by Dorothy L Sayers

The Chow Maniac by Vivian Chien

Started:

Finders Keepers by Sarah Adler

Six Sweets Under by Sarah Fox

Still reading:

Knit, Purl, Die by Anne Canadeo

A Schooling in Murder by Andrew Taylor*

Abdication by Juliet Nicolson

One ebook bought, one actual book bought, one preorder arrived.

Bonus picture: more Miffy!

*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, mystery, reviews

Book of the Week: Helle and Death

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It’s Tuesday and I’m back with another murder mystery for my book of the Week pick. And it’s a wintery one despite the fact that it’s a heatwave here. Does reading a book about cold weather make you feel better or worse in situations about this? Who knows. Anyway.

The set up here is that Torben Helle and a group of his university friends have been invited for a reunion by the most successful of their group, a man who because super rich after his invention took off. They haven’t really spent time together as a group in the ten years since they graduated but in snowy Northumbria they reassemble. The morning after their arrival they are snowed in and their host is dead in his bed. One of them must of done it – but who? Torben and his knowledge of Golden Age murder mysteries (and his closest friends in the group) set out to solve the crime.

As we all know at this point, I love a murder mystery – and I especially love a country house murder mystery so this was right up my street. The pacing is a little slow, but I liked the characters and the idea of a group of previously close friends brought back together. I saw a few of the twists coming, but I was ultimately pretty satisfied with the way that it all worked out. And I loved all the references to classic murder mysteries – because of course loads of them were books that I’ve read (some of them read multiple times!).

My copy came via NetGalley (yes, I know, I know, I know) but it’s out now in Kindle and Kobo. I’ve seen the sequel in the shops and would definitely give it a read to see if the pacing improves when there isn’t so much heavy lifting to do in the set up.

Happy Reading

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: June 16 – June 22

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A really, really busy week. A trip to the theatre, plus the arrival of series 2 of America’s Sweethearts plus a busy weekend means not as much progress on some of the long runners as I would have liked, but I did get one more off the list. Also it’s been so hot and it’s so hard to concentrate (and to sleep) when it’s that muggy. Fingers crossed that it’s warm but not humid this week…

Read:

Helle and Death by Oskar Jensen*

Strong Poison by Dorothy L Sayers

Forbidden Fruit by Kerry Greenwood

The Listeners by Maggie Stiefvater*

Death and the Decorator by Simon Brett

A Wild Rose by Fiona Davis

The Forgotten Chapter by Pam Jenoff

Started:

Knit, Purl, Die by Anne Canadeo

Still reading:

A Schooling in Murder by Andrew Taylor*

Sorry for the Dead by Nicola Upson

Abdication by Juliet Nicolson

Three books and one ebook bought.

Bonus picture: Summer in full bloom in Bloomsbury

*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

Book of the Week: A Murder for Miss Hortense

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I previewed this one last week as it came out – and I’ve since finished it so I’m coming back around to give a review because it is a really great set up and a really nice read.

Cover of A Murder for Miss Hortense

And so the set up: Miss Hortense is a retired nurse who lives in a Birmingham suburb after coming to the UK from Jamaica in 1960. When a body turns up in the home of one of her acquaintances, she is drawn into investigating. She’s pretty fearless – she’s had to be to survive more than three decades in nursing and living in an area that wasn’t exactly welcoming when she first arrived. A lot of the signs point to a connection to the Pardner network, which she was instrumental in setting up back in the 1960s soon after her arrival when the Jamaican community were struggling to get help from banks. But she left the pardner under a cloud years ago. For years Miss Hortense has been at the centre of the community, she knows all the histories and a lot of secrets but the investigation leads her into areas she would rather not think about, and dangers that she thought she had put behind her.

I really enjoyed this – Miss Hortense is very independent and self-reliant, and somewhat abrasive at times, but she makes for a fascinating lens to look at a very tight-knit community that is hiding plenty of secrets. I really liked the language and the also the fact that it has a different setting to so many murder mysteries and doesn’t info dump you with stuff, it expects you to be smart enough to figure things out already or go and find out. I went off down a rabbit hole about pardner schemes because I had never heard of them before, which was fascinating, but it’s also such a great (and realistic) device to be causing tension in a community. I read this in less than a day, and would happily return to the world of Miss Hortense – and I hope that there is a sequel. She’s certainly well placed to be able to investigate something else…

My copy came from NetGalley, but this is out now on Kindle and Kobo and in hardback. I will be keeping an eye out in the bookshops to see if I can spot it in person so to speak.

Happy Reading!

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: June 9 – June 15

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So I got two long runners off the list, but at the cost of not finishing two more that I started last week. So the Still reading list remains at four. Just not the same four. Other than that, I’ve been trying to pick my reading from the NetGalley lists because that’s one backlog I really should be trying to get down and that I can do when away from home, and I’ve got all sorts of genres on there so I really should be able to find something to suit my mood there.

Read:

Death on the Prowl by Ann Granger

A Murder for Miss Hortense by Mel Pennant*

The Sweet Dove Died by Barbara Pym

A Body at the Book Fair by Ellie Alexander*

Iced in Iowa by Patti Benning

Wish You Were Here by Jess K Hardy*

Trick or Treat by Kerry Greenwood

Started:

Helle and Death by Oskar Jensen*

Still reading:

A Schooling in Murder by Andrew Taylor*

Sorry for the Dead by Nicola Upson

The Listeners by Maggie Stiefvater*

Abdication by Juliet Nicolson

Two books bought at a book fair.

Bonus picture: filming happening in Fitzroy Square on Thursday afternoon.

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