Category: week in books

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week In Books: September 11 – September 17

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 I spent two days painting and a day out watching the touring cars. You can tell…

Read:

The Mothers by Brit Bennett

Wise Children by Angela Carter

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Rivers of London: Detective Stories 4 by Ben Aaronovitch et al

True Love at the Lonely Hearts Bookshop by Annie Darling

Started:

 To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis

Fresh Complaint by Jeffrey Eugenides 

Still reading:

Rotherweird by Andrew Caldecott
Born a Crime by Trevor Noah

The Word is Murder by Anthony Horowitz

The Golden House by Salman Rushdie

One ebook bought. So that’s ok. Sort of. 

Book of the Week, Children's books, detective

Book of the Week: The London Eye Mystery

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This week’s BotW is Siobhan Dowd’s The London Eye Mystery, which I devoured* last week.  This has been on my radar for a while – I read A Monster Calls (Dowd’s concept but written by Patrick Ness) last year before the movie came out and thought I’d like to read more of Dowd’s work and then one of my favourite middle-grade authors Robin Stevens (you’ve all seen how much I’ve written about Wells and Wong before) was announced as writing a sequel to The London Eye Mystery.  That came out last month, so of course I needed to read the first one before reading the second one.  You know me: read series in order, glom on stuff you like, read everything authors you like have ever written.

A copy of The London Eye Mystery
I love the cover of this – and The Guggenheim Mystery has a great one too

Anyway, to the plot: Ted and his big sister Kat take their cousin Salim to the London Eye when he comes to visit them.  They watch him get into the pod and then they watch the pod go around and wait for him to get off.  But he doesn’t get off when they expect him to.  Or from the next pod.  Or the next one.  He’s vanished.  But how does someone vanish from a closed pod on a giant rotating wheel?  The police start looking, but so do Ted and Kat, and it’s not long before they’re following a trail of clues across London to try and work out what happened to Salim.

This is a clever, well-written locked room mystery: all the clues are there for the reader to be able to work out what happened to Salim, if only they can spot them.  But spotting them is not as easy as you think because Ted’s his brain works differently.  Ted says he has a “syndrome” and although it’s never said what it is, it’s clearly a disorder on the autism spectrum, possibly Asperger’s.  Ted has developed his own operating system – with tips and tricks to navigate the difficulties his syndrome causes him.  And he is very adept at dealing with the challenges of social interactions and situations.  But this does still mean that the reader isn’t always getting the whole picture.  Ted notices somethings that other people don’t – but he also doesn’t see somethings that other people would and this adds to the experience for the reader.

I pretty much figured things out at the same time as Ted did – which is great as I read a lot of mysteries and this is a middle-grade mystery and I’m definitely not a middle grader.  In fact I’m old enough to have my own middle grader and not have been a teen mum.  So depressing.  Anyway, I digress.  I loved the London Eye Mystery, will probably be lending this to my niece-in-law and will definitely be bumping the sort-of-sequel The Guggenheim Mystery to the top of my to-buy list.  Although I might wait for the paperback.

You should be able to get hold of the London Eye Mystery from all good bookshops.  My favourite is The Big Green Bookshop who will order it for you and post it out to you because they’re nice like that.  Or you could get it on Kindle or Kobo.  And I’m sure this won’t be the last time that I mention the Guggenheim Mystery here…

Happy Reading!

 

 

 

 

*I started it the week before, but only really got a good run at it at the weekend and basically read it in one big gulp.

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week In Books: September 4 – September 10

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A slow start to the week, but actually in the end, I didn’t do too badly.  Still a lot of books on the ongoing pile – but I’m blaming the building work for that!

Read:

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Vol 2 by Ryan North

This Heart of Mine by Susan Elizabeth Philips

Hortense and the Shadow by Nathalie O’Hara

The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd

The Greedy Queen by Annie Gray

Blood Will Stream by Nick Bryan

Started:

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

True Love at the Lonely Hearts Bookshop by Annie Darling

The Golden House by Salman Rushdie

Still reading:

Wise Children by Angela Carter

The Mothers by Brit Bennett

Rotherweird by Andrew Caldecott

Born a Crime by Trevor Noah

The Word is Murder by Anthony Horowitz

Two ebooks bought – but that’s it.  So a bit better behaved from me!

 

Book of the Week, Series I love

Book of the Week: Rush Jobs

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This week’s Book of the Week is more of  a series recommendation.  I read two Hobson and Choi books last week practically one after the other and  I was going to save my ravings for a Recommendsday post, but I didn’t anything I liked better last week, so it seemed churlish not to pick one of them for my BotW, so I chose Rush Jobs.

The Cover of Rush Jobs
I love the tube line theme to the covers for this.

The set up: John Hobson is a private detective with a Past.  Angelina Choi is his work experience intern.  In the first book, she starts her two week placement by tweeting that they’re going to solve a high profile murder case.  #HobsonvsWolf goes viral and soon Hobson has to try to solve a case he’s not being paid for and possibly face off against a giant wolf.  In Rush Jobs, we rejoin the duo at the start of Angelina’s second and final week of her work experience. And after all the online buzz from the last case, they’re in demand.  This leads to a lot of smaller crimes to solve (or not) along with some running story lines from the first book.  I can’t really say too much more about the plot because it gives away too much* but it’s a lot of fun.

I raced through this – and then immediately bought book three.  It’s dark and seedy but very funny which takes the edge off the grim bits.  Hobson is an intriguingly flawed character – we’ve found out a few bits about what he has going on in his past and it’s not pretty.  Choi is young and idealistic and although she has reasons of her own for taking an internship at a detective agency, she’s still quite innocent and some of the goings on in Hobson’s world are a bit of a shock to her.

I’ve mentioned cozy crime adjacent novels before – and this is another of them. Theses aren’t psychological thrillers, or gore-fests, or chillers and they have some things in common with classic detective stories of the Golden Age. But if you need your detectives to always do the “right” thing, the legal thing, to have no darkness in their pasts then maybe don’t read these. But if you like stories where things can’t be tied up neatly in a bow at the end and handed over to the police to unwrap and where your detective inhabits a slightly shaky middle ground between the law and the criminals then try this series.

I picked up the first book as an actual book from The Big Green Bookshop, but have read the other two on Kindle. I have book four lined up for my train journeys home from work this week. But do start at the beginning. It’ll make more sense that way.

Happy Reading!

*NB this is why I usually talk about first books in mystery series because you have more to say without ruining running storylines for people who haven’t already read the series!

 

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week In Books: August 28 – September 3

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Well, the combination of four nights away from home for work and then a lot of work on the house means not a lot read.  As predicted really.  What wasn’t predicted was the mass of books that I’ve got on the go at once because I’m so tired and my brain’s not working properly…

Read:

Nursing a Grudge by Diana Orgain

Rush Jobs by Nick Bryan

The Case of the Poisoned Chocolates by Anthony Berkley

Miss Seeton Quilts the Village by Hamilton Crane

Trapped in the Bargain Basement by Nick Bryan

Started:

The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd

Still reading:

The Greedy Queen by Annie Gray

Wise Children by Angela Carter

The Mothers by Brit Bennett

Rotherweird by Andrew Caldecott

Born a Crime by Trevor Noah

The Word is Murder by Anthony Horowitz

Two actual books bought and one ebook.  Never mind.

Book of the Week, graphic novels

Book of the Week: The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl

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Chaos continues. I mean honestly. I have words for my own incompetence in setting my Week in Books as ready to publish without adding my Sunday reading. I’m surprised I’m allowed out alone. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed your Bank Holiday Monday if you had one. Anyway, on to another (quite brief) BotW.

The digital cover of Unbeatable Squirrel Girl 1
The world needs more Squirrel power…

Doreen Green is off to college. Her first task is to keep her secret identity as Squirrel Girl under wraps.  But that’s easier said than done when you have a tail, your squirrel sidekick has followed you to campus and the world is under threat from all manner of bad guys.

I loved Doreen. She’s feisty, smart and a little bit nutty and she’s going to save the world. I don’t read a lot of super hero comics, but I picked this up as my Super Hero Comic with a Female Lead for the Read Harder Challenge.  I’d heard a lot about it and it totally lived up to the hype. Doreen is the hero (or heroine) we need: she’s Unbeatable because she’s got a solution to everything and it’s often not to beat her enemy to a bloody pulp, but something smart and clever.  Considering that I’d had a stressful week, this really hit the spot for me.

I love stories with strong, smart women at their centre and this ticks all those boxes. My only problem with this – as it is with all graphic novels – is that I read them too fast, and they’re expensive.  But they’re also art, and labour intensive and so I give them a bit of a pass, especially as I really enjoy going into my local comic book store. I think I’ll be passing my copy on to my older niece (she’s 9) because I think she’d love this too.

You can get Unbeatable Squirrel Girl from all the usual places that sell comics, and at time of writing, the Kindle version for a very bargainous £3. I’m not a reader of comics on tablet, but Volume 2 was also super competitively priced, so I’ve got bought it and I’m going to give it a go. I’ll keep you posted. But visit a comic book store.

Happy Reading!

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week In Books: August 21 – August 27

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Oh the chaos.  The first phase of plastering is done.  And as I went to the MotoGP on Saturday and Sunday (it was amazing) I didn’t get caught up on my reading at the weekend either.  But I don’t care! Or at least I’m trying not to.  Decorating starts next weekend, so expect more of the same next week.  Hey ho.

Read:

Heaven, Texas by Susan Elizabeth Philips

Hollywood Homicide by Kellye Garrett

Holiday in the Hamptons by Sarah Morgan

Calling You Home by Daniela Sacerdoti

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl by Ryan North et al

Started:

Born a Crime by Trevor Noah

The Word is Murder by Anthony Horowitz

Still reading:

The Greedy Queen by Annie Gray

Wise Children by Angela Carter

The Mothers by Brit Bennett

Rotherweird by Andrew Caldecott

No books bought though – although one preorder did turn up.  But that’s already been accounted for in the list, so it doesn’t count this week!

Book of the Week, cozy crime, detective

Book of the Week: Death around the Bend

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It’s renovation chaos here: half of the contents of our house is in storage and we’re camped out in one room.  So this week’s BotW is going to be short and sweet I’m afraid.

The cover of Death around the Bend

Death around the Bend is the third in the Lady Hardcastle cozy crime murder mystery series by T E Kinsey.  I read the first one a few weeks back and picked up the third on a Kindle deal, and read it on the commute last week.  The set up for the series is that Lady Emily Hardcastle is a widow with a somewhat more exciting past than is usual in the Edwardian era.  She and her trusty maid Florence have moved to the English countryside for a bit of peace and quiet and relaxation but don’t seem to be getting much of it.

In book three, Emily and Florence have been invited to a friend’s estate for a weekend of racing – but it’s car racing, not horses.  Lord Ribblethorpe has gone mad for motor cars and has set up his own racing team, complete with a track in the grounds of his estate.  When a driver is killed during a race, the police think it’s an accident but Emily and Florence aren’t convinced and can’t help but try and solve the crime.  With Emily asking questions above stairs, Florence is sleuthing below stairs.  Then another body is found.

This is fun and fast moving (and not just because of the cars).  I like the dynamic between Emily and Florence – and particularly that the story is told by Florence.  I picked up the first one as part of my ongoing quest to find other series that scratch my Phryne Fisher and Daisy Dalrymple itch and it does this quite nicely – although it’s set earlier than either of those two series.  Unfortunately there are only three books in the series (at the moment at least) so I only have one left to read, but hey ho, you can’t win them all.

All three Lady Hardcastle mysteries are on Kindle Unlimited if you’re a member (I’m not) but the two I’ve read have come around on discount deals at various points too (that’s how I got them!). You can find them all here.

Happy reading!

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week In Books: August 14 – August 20

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As suspected, real life intruded on reading time this week, so not a huge amount read compared to some weeks.  Hey ho, I’m sure it’ll sort itself out in the wash.

Read:

Designer Dirty Laundry by Diane Vallere

The Adventuress by Tasha Alexander

The Man in the Queue by Josephine Tey

Intrigue in Capri by Ashley Weaver

Death Around the Bend by T E Kinsey

Started:

Hollywood Homicide by Kellye Garrett

Rotherweird by Andrew Caldecott

Still reading:

The Greedy Queen by Annie Gray

Wise Children by Angela Carter

The Mothers by Brit Bennett

One book and seven ebooks because there were a whole bunch of deals.  Oops.

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week In Books: August 7 – August 13

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Slightly rejigged posting schedule this week – if you’re looking for this week’s BotW post, click here to read about Derek Farrell’s Death of a Devil (or here for my interview with him) but normal service will resume tomorrow for Recommendsday.

Anyway, quieter week of reading last week, but I was quite busy in real life (I know, what a pain) and that got in the way.  We’ve got some building work coming up at home, so I fear this week may be quieter too, but I’m telling myself that a bit less reading time is worth it to have the work done at home…

Read:

Death of a Devil by Derek Farrell

Motor Mouth by Janet Evanovich

Blue Flame by Jill Shalvis

One Snowy Night by Jill Shalvis

Rescuing Dr McAllister by Sarah Morgan

Started:

The Adventuress by Tasha Alexander

The Mothers by Brit Bennett

Still reading:

The Greedy Queen by Annie Gray

Wise Children by Angela Carter

I was really quite well behaved this week – and didn’t buy anything. A miracle has occurred.  And as the books are about to be packed into boxes, I’m hoping I can resist the urge to buy more until I have an actual bookshelf to put them on again.  Of course that doesn’t help with my ebook buying problem, but you know, baby steps!