books – Page 46 – Verity Reads Books (lots of them)

Yes I finished this on Monday. So yes, I’m cheating for the second week in a row. I make the rules, so I can break them if I want to. Anyway, you should all just be glad that I didn’t pick another mystery!

Maxine and Hazel meet on a USO tour in the last months of the Second World War. They meet again in New York in the 1950s when Maxine is an up and coming film star and Hazel is an aspiring playwright. Both living in the famous Chelsea Hotel, soon they’re working together on Hazel’s first play which is going to be staged on Broadway. But the red scare is well underway and the production and their careers are threatened by the witch hunt for communists turning its attention to the entertainment industry. As the pressure starts to build what will happen to the women and their friendship?

The Chelsea Girls follows a twenty year friendship between two women forged through a trauma in Italy, through the ups and downs of their careers. They’re both engaging and intriguing characters – Hazel’s mother is always comparing her to her brother who was killed in the war and finding her lacking, while Maxine is using the theatre to build a better life for her and her German immigrant grandmother. And as the red scare comes to Broadway, they both find themselves in the spotlight because of the actions of Hazel’s brother years before. And as well as being tense it’s also a wonderful portrait of the Chelsea Hotel – famously home to artists and bohemians, it becomes Hazel and Maxine’s refuge as they battle the outside forces trying to tear their lives apart.

I’ve been wanting to read this for ages. It came out two years ago and it’s been on my want to read list for about that long – so I’ve no idea where I even heard about it to start with. I read one of Fiona Davis’s other books a year or two back and liked the idea but didn’t love the execution, but this one really worked for me. It took me a day or two to properly get into it, but then I read 200 pages at a sitting because I wanted to see where it was going. I am fascinated with Old Hollywood, in fiction and non-fiction and this lives adjacent to that. I’ve written about some other books in this area before (like Trumbo and Karina Longworth’s Seduction) and this fitted right in to my wheelhouse. Well worth a look.

My copy came from the library, but it’s available now on Kindle and Kobo (and at time of writing is slightly cheaper on Kobo) as well as in paperback, although I’m not sure how easy that will be to get hold of in store – Foyles have stock to order, but not to click and collect.

Happy Reading!

Authors I love, books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: August 30 – September 5

September 6, 2021September 17, 2021 veritywilde

This list looks a little deceptive – because all of those Mindy Kalings are Kindle single Essays that form one single collection – there are six in all and two were on last week’s list. I nearly just put them on here once as a whole – but they count individually in the good reads list so it would throw my whole count out for the year (unless I start keeping separate lists, and we all know that’s not going to happen). Lots of time last week spent reading The Cult of We – which is long and non fiction which always takes me longer, even in times when I’m not mostly drawn to reading mystery novels! And just to recap in case you missed it – we had the mini reviews last week, as well as the stats and all the usual stuff.

Read:

Death at Dukes Halt by Derek Farrell

Please Like Me by Mindy Kaling

Help is on the Way by Mindy Kaling

Searching for Coach Taylor by Mindy Kaling

Once Upon a Time in Silver Lake by Mindy Kaling

The Ape Who Guards the Balance by Elizabeth Peters

First Comes Like by Alisha Rai

A Knife for Harry Dodd by George Bellairs

Death in the Dales by Frances Brody

Started:

The Chelsea Girls by Fiona Davis

Bombshell by Sarah MacLean

Still reading:

A Line to Kill by Anthony Horowitz*

The God of the Hive by Laurie R King

The Cult of We by Eliot Brown and Maureen Farrell*

I went into town on Saturday between getting my brows weeded and my hair done and I accidentally bought four books. What a pity…

Bonus photo: The aforementioned book haul…

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

Authors I love, books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: August 23 – August 29

August 30, 2021September 17, 2021 veritywilde

We’re nearly at the end of August, so this week there’ll be the usual stuff as well as the monthly stats, and the mini reviews. And in case you missed it last week, I threw in a bonus post for you all ahead of the Bank Holiday weekend. I spent most of my bank holiday weekend watching the world’s best motorbike racers at Silverstone, which probably accounts for the fact that I didn’t realise that I was on such an Inspector Littlejohn streak until I came to put this post together. Whoopsadaisy.

Read:

Gaudy Night by Dorothy L Sayers

The Body in the Dumb River by George Bellairs

Murder Will Speak by George Bellairs

Murder of a Quack by George Bellairs

Death of a Busybody by George Bellairs

The Illegal by Gordon Correra

Kind of Hindu by Mindy Kaling

Started:

First Comes Like by Alisha Rai

Still reading:

A Line to Kill by Anthony Horowitz*

Death at Dukes Halt by Derek Farrell

The God of the Hive by Laurie R King

The Cult of We by Eliot Brown and Maureen Farrell*

Bonus photo: It’s pretty much impossible to get a good photo of a motorbike going at speed on a phone. So instead, here is a picture of the GOAT of motorbike racing, Valentino Rossi, on the cool down lap in front of his fan grandstands, complete with a Rossi flag. It’s not great, but I was too busy enjoying the moment (and the weekend to be honest) to get anything better!

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

Authors I love, books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: August 16 – August 22

August 23, 2021September 17, 2021 veritywilde

So a shorter list again this week. It’s been another busy one for various reasons, but also I ended up rereading – or starting to reread a lot of old favourites, so that hit the list of completed stuff somewhat. Also, Gaudy Night is very long, especially if you’re both reading it and listening to it at the same time. But I needed a bit of Peter and Harriet this week and it’s been a long time since I read it. It’s still wonderful and I’ve nearly finished it – only a couple of hours left of the audiobook now, which is almost making me sad to think about it being over.

Read:

Clouds of Witness by Dorothy L Sayers

Guardians of the Horizon by Elizabeth Peters

The Language of Bees by Laurie R King

Half-Mast for the Deemster by George Bellairs

Battle Royal by Lucy Parker

The Two Hundred Ghost by Henrietta Hamilton*

Started:

The God of the Hive by Laurie R King

The Cult of We by Eliot Brown and Maureen Farrell*

Still reading:

A Line to Kill by Anthony Horowitz*

Death at Duke’s Halt by Derek Farrell

I bought myself the new Lucy Parker this week as a treat after a particularly bad few days, and I regret nothing. But that’s it. Another one of my preorders is on its way though – should arrive in my sticky little hands this week sometime.

Bonus photo: I know, it’s not that long since I last posted a photo of me, but after 18 months of doing not a lot and going almost nowhere, we went to a wedding on Sunday, so here I am in all my finery at an event with actual people. It was lovely.

Verity (me) in a pretty dress for a wedding!

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

Authors I love, books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: August 9 – August 15

August 16, 2021August 16, 2021 veritywilde

Well. If you’ve been paying any attention to the news, you’ll know that it’s been a very big and difficult week of news. And that means my day job has been very busy. Consequently the reading list is short. And as we’ve just finished Seeing a Large Cat on the latest Amelia Peabody re-listen, I ended up comfort reading the key points across the next couple of books as they refer to the Ramses situation (if you know the series, you’ll know what I mean) and that always cheers me up, but as I didn’t read the whole books (and they’ve already been on the list once this year already!) they don’t get included.

Read:

A Third Class Murder by Hugh Morrison

Seeing a Large Cat by Elizabeth Peters

Corpse at the Carnival by George Bellairs

Death at Leper’s Hollow by George Bellairs

How to Make the World Add Up by Tim Harford*

Started:

Half-Mast for the Deemster by George Bellairs

A Line to Kill by Anthony Horowitz*

Death at Duke’s Halt by Derek Farrell

Still reading:

The Language of Bees by Laurie R King

Another pre-order turned up this week and I think I forgot to mention two more pre-orders that I put in at the start of the month, but so far they’re the only books I’ve bought this month. Yay me.

Bonus photo: No this is not my puppy, but it is a puppy in my extended family and it is eating my shoelace. I got some quality puppy time on Sunday and it brightened up my week.

A puppy trying to eat my shoe lace

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

Book of the Week, crime, Forgotten books, mystery, new releases

Book of the Week: The Man Who Wasn’t There

August 10, 2021August 10, 2021 veritywilde

Honestly I nearly started this with “another week, another crime pick” but then I got such bad deja vu that I realised I did that last week. But it’s still true. For the third week in a row, I’m picking a murder mystery book for my BotW. But as I said yesterday, I’m in a distinctly murder mystery mood so I don’t know how surprising this news is!

Sally and Johnny Heldar have helped solved mysteries before, so when the woman that Johnny’s cousin Tim wants to marry finds herself caught up in a murder case, it’s only natural that Tim turns to them for help. Prue’s employer has been murdered and as a result she’s called off their engagement. Tim is desperate for Sally and Johnny to clear Prue’s name and win her back for him; but the more they investigate, the more complicated the mystery gets, with infidelity and blackmail and wartime treachery to contend with.

I read a previous Heldar mystery, Answer in the Negative, last year and really enjoyed it. I like Sally and Johnny as characters in both books – they have a nice relationship where they both get to do investigating. This is a previously unpublished entry in the series that the author’s nephew discovered in a stash of manuscripts. It’s not known when exactly this was written, but I would guess around the time that it was set – which is the early 1950s. The introduction says it went unpublished because tastes changed, which makes me sad because it’s too good to have only come to light now.

I’ve read a lot of mysteries with roots in the First World War and a lot set in the Wars but not a lot in set in the fifties with links to the Second World War. So this is a nice change. It’s also interestingly twisty, but follows the rules that the clues are there if you know where to look. On the basis of this, I’m hoping that more of the unpublished Heldar books find their way into the light soon.

I got an advance copy of this, but it’s actually out on Thursday in Kindle and Kobo.

Happy Reading!

Authors I love, books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: August 2 – August 8

August 9, 2021August 10, 2021 veritywilde

Another week dominated by classic crime, with just a dash of romance reading thrown in too. I don’t know why, but I’m back in a headspace where I mostly just want to read mysteries. I’m also having a struggle to concentrate again, so leaning towards the genres I know will provide a satisfying pay off if I do manage to keep my concentration going!

Read:

Two-Way Murder by E C R Lorac

Accidentally Engaged by Farah Heron

Five Red Herrings by Dorothy L Sayers

Death Sends for the Doctor by George Bellairs

Hang the Moon by Alexandria Bellefleur

The Man Who Wasn’t There by Henrietta Hamilton**

More Work for the Undertaker by Margery Allingham

Started:

A Third Class Murder by Hugh Morrison

Corpse at the Carnival by George Bellairs

Still reading:

How to Make the World Add Up by Tim Harford*

The Language of Bees by Laurie R King

Bonus photo: I am nothing if not ambitious, so I’ve decided to commit and try and read all the Inspector Littlejohn books. I’m already at 20 out of 57 so it’s less daunting than it could have been, but I also haven’t done any searching to see how easy they all are to find. Wish me luck…

A list of Inspector Littlejohn books with the ones I've read ticked off.

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

Book of the Week, crime, detective, Forgotten books

Book of the Week: Black Plumes

August 3, 2021August 3, 2021 veritywilde

Another week, another classic crime Book of the Week pick. And this time it’s a Margery Allingham that’s *not* an Albert Campion. On to that in a second, but first a reminder that there will be Mini Reviews tomorrow, and that if you missed the July Stats you can find them here.

Black Plumes starts with the slashing of a painting at a prestigious art gallery. Then the owner’s son-in-law is murdered. At the centre of the mystery is 90-year-old Gabrielle Ivory, formerly a society beauty, now side-lined by the younger generation who think she’s past it. But as the mystery develops it becomes clear that she may know more than they think she does – and she’s not going to let them ignore the threat to the gallery and chalk it up as a practical joker – even if there is a risk that the person behind them may be rather close to home.

This is a clever and atmospheric murder mystery. There are a lot of unlikeable characters in this, but also a lot of suspects – not all of whom are the unlikeable ones! You see this story mostly by following Frances, youngest of the Ivorys. At the start of the book her brother-in-law is pressuring her to marry the unpleasant co-owner of the gallery and artist and family friend, David Field, proposed a fake engagement to her as a way of getting out of it. Frances is convinced that something is wrong at the gallery but her concerns are dismissed by other members of the family – even after the murder has happened. David – whose painting is the one that is slashed at the start of the novel – is one of the only people who listens to her, but he is a bit of a rogue and some of the clues seem to point at him. I really enjoyed it – and if you haven’t read any Allingham before, this wouldn’t be a bad place to start – especially as the Campion series takes a while to settle in, which can make it tricky for people who like to start series at the beginning.

My copy came from Kindle Unlimited but it’s also available to buy on Kindle where they also have a modern paperback edition, which Foyles also has available to order but not in store pickup. This was originally published in 1940 so there are likely to be second hand copies around – but I can see from some reviews mention of racially offensive language, which as I didn’t notice it in my Kindle edition has presumably been edited out in the newer versions but which will be in old editions

Happy Reading!

Authors I love, books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: July 26 – August 1

August 2, 2021August 2, 2021 veritywilde

Frantically busy week at work, plus the Olympics plus the long awaited reunion with my sister and actually I didn’t read that much last week. And you know what, I don’t mind. I had a wonderful weekend of catching up, junk food and trashy TV. And of course the Christmas dinner I mentioned in yesterday’s stats. Coming up tomorrow: Book of the Week, and on Wednesday there will be Mini Reviews.

Read:

Overture to Death by Ngaio Marsh

Surfeit of Suspects by George Bellairs

The Hellions Waltz by Olivia Waite

Locked Rooms by Laurie R King

Black Plumes by Margery Allingham

Started:

Accidentally Engaged by Farah Heron

Two-Way Murder by E C R Lorac

The Language of Bees by Laurie R King

Still reading:

How to Make the World Add Up by Tim Harford*

Bonus photo: One of the things Little Sis has really missed while she’s been in China was Park Run. So on Saturday I did my first Park Run as I gave her a lift to a local one and it seemed silly not to. It was fun. And no, I’m not telling you my time!

A park on Saturday morning

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

	Reading Stats: Janua… on December Stats
	Reading Stats: Janua… on 2026 Reading Resolutions
	Reading Stats: Janua… on Book of the Week: Totally and…
	Reading Stats: Janua… on Book of the Week: Meet the…
	Books in the Wild: N… on Series Redux: Marlow Murder…