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.

not a book, streaming

Not a Book: Hillsong Documentaries

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After writing about Scamanda a couple of months ago, this week we’re in another one of my special interest/fascination areas – mega churches. And the mega church in question here is Hillsong. Firstly for those of you who haven’t come across them before, Hillsong is a charismatic megachurch that started in Australia and spread through the world. They had a very successful music arm which wrote Christian pop and contributed to the church’s success, and then gained fame when one of their pastors, Carl Lenz became spiritual advisor to celebrities like Justin Bieber.

Hillsong first came to my attention when Vanity Fair ran an article about them in 2021 when a scandal blew up around the church’s charismatic pastor. And soon after a documentary popped up – and then in 2023 a second Vanity Fair article about them after a documentary series on Hulu. And as at the moment I’ve got both Disney+ and Discovery+ I’ve watched both of them and I’m here to give you my thoughts!

So the Discovery+ doc was the first one to come out – and covers the founding of the church, the rise and fall of Carl Lenz and other current day scandals and then the historic child sex abuse allegations. It has a final episode which came out six or so months after the first three and covers the fallout to the original three episodes.

The Secrets of Hillsong came out in 2023 and covers a lot of similar ground in terms of the founding of the church, the Carl Lenz scandal and the historic child sex abuse scandal. But what it has that the Discovery+ one doesn’t is interviews with Carl and his wife as well as the latest on the downfall of the church’s founder Brian Houston.

If you’re only going to watch one of these – and given that each is four parts, we’re talking about eight hours of your life if you watch all of both – then The Secrets of Hillsong is probably the one. And that’s mostly because of actually hearing from Lenz but also the fact that it covers some of the later allegations made against Brian Houston. But each of them had stuff that the other didn’t – so if you’re going to watch both, do it chronologically and watch Mega Church exposed first and then do Secrets of.

And if you’ve got any more documentaries (or podcasts) about mega churches or cults and their scandals, drop them in the comments for me, because I’m still fascinated!

book round-ups, bookshops

Books in the Wild: Spotted in Foyles

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So I wandered into Foyles on the way to a West End theatre last week and spotted a few interesting things and so here I am.

The first was the third in Andrew Cartmel’s Paperback Sleuth series, Like a Bullet, which was out on the shelves a little early. Sidenote: I both love and hate when that happens. I love it when it’s not something I’ve pre-ordered, I hate it when it is, especially when it’s a day or two before release and I’m in London and the pre-ordered copy is going to arrive at my house while I’m away. This has happened more than once. Anyway, this was out on the shelves super early because it’s still not officially out (the publication date is Tuesday coming) and yet I still managed to resist it, despite the fact I love reading something early, because I still haven’t read book two in the series, and I like to read in order as you know.

Next up is the new book from Alicia Thompson, Never Been Shipped. And I want to say that her publishers are doing a great job with her covers because at this point I think I own three of her books and I haven’t read any of them and I had to resist buying this one hard on that front. And it’s because the covers are so gorgeous they just make you pick the books up and then the blurbs are great too. This one came out at the start of June and once again I am tempted!

I also managed to resist this Dan Jones. I hadn’t seen it before; but it looks like Summer of Blood is actually a much older book of his and possibly getting a fresh lease of life because of his successful historical fiction books. And in fact the final book in that trilogy is out at the end of July. Anyway, the fourteenth century is a bit earlier than my main areas of interest when it comes to history, but Dan Jones is so good that I do often make an exception for him. But there are huge numbers of nonfiction books on the tbr pile at the moment so I stayed strong.

As you know, I’m always looking for new mystery series to read (thank you for those recommendations last week by the way) and this was the book that stood out to me in the crime and thriller section this time. It’s got a gorgeous cover and the plot summary is also intriguing: it’s set I. The 1920s and has a bank clerk trying to solve a murder while trying not to get in trouble with the law himself because of his sexuality. The blurb says it’s perfect for fans of Nicola Upson’s Josephine Tey series and given that I read the final three of those that I hadn’t read last month that is clearly me.

And finally here’s that new paperback of the first Tuga book in the flesh. It definitely feels like a tropical holiday and it’s a style I like but I also think it’s a better representation of what the vibe of the book is than the original one did, even if that was pretty too. that’s the lot for now. In some ways the bookshop trip was better than the show I went to afterwards. It was certainly cheaper!

Have a great weekend everyone.

books, stats

June Stats

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Books read this month: 31*

New books: 22

Re-reads: 9 (5 audiobooks)

Books from the to-read pile: 5

NetGalley books read: 6

Kindle Unlimited read: 5

Ebooks: 10

Audiobooks: 5

Non-fiction books: 0

Favourite book: maybe A Murder for Miss Hortense of the new stuff, but I’ve really enjoyed the re-reads too

Most read author: Nicola Upson with the three Josephine Tey books I hadn’t read because they were on offer and Anne Granger with the last two Mitchell and Markbys and the new Campbell and Carter.

Books bought: 4 ebooks, about four book-books and also a pre-order arrived

Books read in 2025: 188

Books on the Goodreads to-read shelf (I don’t have copies of all of these!): 795

A pretty solid month all in. The heatwave made it a bit hard to concentrate towards the end of the month and I’m still behind on the new releases but I read a lot of stuff I enjoyed and at least I finished the Mitchell and Markby reread so there’s a fighting chance I might read some more new stuff in July.

Bonus picture: the crowd (and me) outside the Palladium to watch Rachel Zegler so Don’t Cry for Me Argentina from the balcony. I could see her arm and her side profile at best – but I only got there ten minutes before. When I had walked past an hour earlier there were already more than a hundred people in the prime spots and I wasn’t prepared to wait that long!

*includes some short stories/novellas/comics/graphic novels – including 3 this month!

Authors I love, Book previews, Series I love

Out Today: New Rivers of London

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Happy New Rivers of London Week! Book 10 in Ben Aaronovitch’s series, Stone and Sky, is out today and I am very, very excited! It’s three years since we last had a full length novel in the series – since Amongst Our Weapons in 2022 we’ve had two novellas, both set in the US but one in the present day with Agent Reynolds, and one in the past with Nightingale in Jazz Age New York. Now they were both great, but I am so excited to see what’s happening to Peter. We’ve had a few hints in the graphic novels because the last three have been beyond the end of Amongst Our Gifts, but it’s not the same as a proper novel. My copy has already arrived – early in fact, except I was staying in London (and it was hot hot hot) and so the only problem is I’m off on a trip for work tomorrow and I don’t dare start it because I’m not sure I’ll get it finished before I have to leave and I don’t want to trek it away with me part finished and when I know I’ll buy books at the airport…

book round-ups, Recommendsday

Recommendsday: June Quick Reviews

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It’s July so I’m back with the quick reviews from last month.

The Sweet Dove Died by Barbara Pym

I love the way that Barbara Pym looks at slices of normal (or normal-ish) women’s lives and relationships in ways that are witty and also sad. Leonora is a middle-aged woman who is attractive and knows it. She’s got a collection of male admirers, but her latest are an antiques dealer and his nephew. She prefers the nephew, James, although the uncle (Humphrey) is more “suitable” and plays the two of them off against each other, whilst trying to detach James from his other relationships. It’s darker than some of Pym’s earlier novels, but it’s very good.

Copper Script by K J Charles

The new book from K J Charles has Aaron, a Met Police Sergeant, who is trying to figure out how Graphologist Joel is able to tell people’s lives and personalities from their handwriting. Aaron is convinced it’s a con, but Joel’s skills are very real. And soon the two of them are trying to solve some crime. I read this in single day and enjoyed it a lot. If you like K J Charles, this will probably work for you.

The Chow Maniac by Vivian Chien

I read the first two in this series a few years back (I bought the first one back when I was in Washington) and spotted this eleventh and most recent in the series in Foyles last week so took the opportunity to check in again as they’re quite hard to get hold of over here. And Lana’s life has moved on quite a bit – she’s still got the boyfriend but she’s much more established in her sleuthing. This sees her investigating whether a series of deaths among the Asian community in Cleveland might actually be murder, and connected to a secret society. Lana is still verging on too stupid to life, but I enjoyed reading it.

And that’s your lot this month

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.

not a book, theatre

Not a Book: Sondheim Shows

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I did two Stephen Sondheim shows in just over a week and I have thoughts. I mean I always have thoughts, but I particularly do this time. You may remember from my post about Old Friends (which coincidentally has just finished up a run on Broadway) that I have seen a lot of Sondheim documentaries and love a lot of his music.

The first of the duo was Here We Are, Sondheim’s final show which he was working on for about the final decade of his life. It’s based on two Luis Bunel films and is as bonkers as you might expect considering that. It’s also, as you can probably tell from the video below possibly Peak Sondheim. There were a bunch of moments where the music reminded me of other Sondheim shows, which I don’t remember ever thinking at one of his shows before. I would not suggest you pick this for your first experience of Sondheim, but if you like him you will probably enjoy this – even though it has a lot less singing than I was expecting. The production at the NT had a brilliant cast – Jane Krakowski, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Rory Kinnear, Martha Plimpton, Paulo Szot and Tracie Bennett have got five Oliviers, three Tonys and an Emmy between them – and they were great. I am so glad I saw it, but I won’t be running back to see it again the way I did with Follies.

The second show was the Southwark Playhouse revival of The Frogs, which is Sondheim’s musical based on the ancient Greek comedy by Aristophanes from 405BC. Sondheim’s version premiered in the mid 1970s and was described as “freely adapted” from the original, and then in 2004 Nathan Lane “even more freely adapted” it to the current book and Sondheim wrote a bunch of new songs for it. The plot is that the god Dionysus and his slave Xanthius are going to Hades to bring back George Bernard Shaw to raise the standard of drama being produced. If you’ve watched the recorded version of the original Old Friends concert or the Sondheim 80th birthday concert, the song from this that you will know is Invocation and Instructions to the Audience.

And it was such a good night. The cast was great, especially the ensemble who were rotating through different roles as well as acting as a chorus and the dynamic between Kevin McHale (of Glee fame) as Xanthias and Dan Buckley as Dionysus was great. I laughed a lot and came away humming the music. I definitely liked it more than I liked Here We Are – if another production of Frogs come around in a few years time I would go and see it again, and this is the one that I would be recommending to people of the two.

From my observations the night that I saw it, there was a considerable amount of the audience who were there to see Kevin McNally, rather than because they love seeing Sondheim shows. But that’s fine. Sondheim can be a hard sell, and a plot based on an Ancient Greek comedy might also not appeal to the casual theatre goer, but this was so good and so much fun hopefully they all went away as happy as me and might give another Sondheim production a go in future. I hadn’t actually been to Southwark Playhouse since it moved to it’s current location (which is more than a decade ago so shame on me) and so I was playing seat roulette a little bit but my front row spot on one of the sides was great and you really were quite up close and personal with the cast!

Both of Here We are and The Frogs finished yesterday, so it’s already too late for you to go and see them so sorry about that. And as ever with Sondheim who knows when they will be put on again. Oh and by the way, I’m still hoping for a DVD of the National Theatre Follies…