Tag: books

Book of the Week, detective, Forgotten books, reviews

Book of the Week: Smallbone, Deceased

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So after a week of old favourite authors and only a few new things, I find myself back in the realms of classic mysteries for this week’s BotW pick.

So Smallbone Deceased is a murder mystery set in the offices of a firm of London solicitors. Horniman, Birley and Crane is a well established and prestigious firm – who have just lost their senior partner, Mr Horniman. Some weeks after his death, when his son has taken over his share in the firm, a body is discovered in a deed box and the firm is thrown into turmoil. Inspector Hazlerigg is sent to investigate what strongly seems to be an inside job, and receives some assistance from Henry Bohun, the newest solicitor of the firm – newly qualified and arrived after the body must have been placed in situe.

Michael Gilbert was a solicitor by training, and this is a wonderfully drawn picture of the characters of the law firm and the way the wheels of the legal profession turned in the late 1940s. I think I’ve mentioned before how much I like all the details about the advertising company in Dorothy L Sayers’s Murder Must Advertise, and this does the same sort of thing for a solicitors office. The mystery itself is very clever, although a little slow to get started, the pace picks up nicely and by the end its tense and fast paced as Hazlerigg and Bohun race around (not together!) trying to catch the killer.

I’ve read a lot of British Library Crime Classics now and written about a fair few of them here (like Murder by Matchlight, The Sussex Downs Murder and The Division Bell Murder). I find them such a reliable series for discovering new-to-me Golden Age murder mysteries. They may not all be to my precise taste, but they’re always well constructed – even in the ones when the writing style doesn’t appeal to me. And they also have a habit of rotating their titles through Kindle Unlimited so if you’re smart you can work your way through them quite nicely.

My copy came via the wonders of the aforementioned Kindle Unlimited, but it’s also available to buy in the Crime Classics edition on Kindle for £2.99. Kobo has a slightly different looking version, for a slightly higher price. The Crime Classics version is also available in paperback – and if you get a big enough bookshop you should be able to get hold of it fairly easily. You could also buy it from the British Library shop direct – where they’re doing 3 for 2 on their own books so you could also grab

Happy Reading!

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

The Week in Books: July 19 – July 25

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What a week. We had a heatwave which made everyone hot and sticky and unable to concentrate. The Olympics have started. And most importantly, my little sister and her boyfriend are safely back from their two years in China and currently quarantining. So yes, the list is probably a little shorter than it would have been had the weather been cooler and there had been no Olympics, but may yet be shorter next week – as although the weather maybe cooler, the Olympics is still going AND  I’ve got a big weekend of catching up with Little Sis planned as soon as they get the ok to leave quarantine…

Read:

Hana Khan Carries On by Uzma Jalaluddin

Death in a White Tie by Ngaio Marsh

Death in the Fearful Night by George Bellairs

A Pho Love Story by Loan Le*

The Lock in by Phoebe Luckhurst*

The Hippopotamus Pool by Elizabeth Peters

Started:

Surfeit of Suspects by George Bellairs

How to Make the World Add Up by Tim Harford*

Still reading:

Locked Rooms by Laurie R King

Bonus photo: It’s only fitting that this week’s bonus picture is a screen grab of me tracking my sister’s flight as it headed across Russia on Friday night – as their plane headed towards Tomsk, a place I first head of because there’s a Womble named after it… I fell asleep before I could see how close they got as they flew over!

Flight tracker screengrab

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, new releases, non-fiction

Book of the Week: Bring Your Baggage and Don’t Pack Light

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The reading list yesterday was a little shorter than usual, and with some relistens and old favourites on it but the pick for today was actually easy because as I mentioned the new Helen Ellis essay collection arrived last week – and of course I read it!

Copy of Bring Your Baggage and Don't Pack Light on a bookshelf

Bring Your Baggage and Don’t Pack Light is a series of essays examining friendship between adult women and what it’s like to be a woman pushing 50. There’s stories of Middle Aged sex, a trip to a psychic and what happens when one of your friends has a bad mammogram. And there are so many characters: bridge ladies, cat lady plastic surgeons and platinum frequent fliers. It’s the first book in a while I’ve found myself reading bits of out loud to Him Indoors – and the first time in even longer that he didn’t tell me to shut up! Sample response: “is this real? Do her friends know she’s writing this?” (Answer: yes, and yes). It’s witty and wise and I want Helen Ellis to be my friend too.

I first discovered Helen Ellis through a proof copy on the Magic Bookshelf at work. The Magic Bookshelf is now a thing of the past, but when it existed it was a library trolley full of books that lived near the entertainment and arts teams. It had a label on it telling you that you could take them – as opposed to all the other bookshelves up there which has labels telling you absolutely not to take the books. It’s where I was introduced to Curtis Sittenfeld (via Eligible), Brit Bennet (The Mothers) and Lissa Evans (Crooked Heart) – all of whom are now on my preorder list because of the books I read from the shelf. I miss the shelf – because I wonder what I’m missing out on because I don’t stumble across new (to me) books there any more. But still, I already have more books waiting to be read than some people own to start with so I really can’t complain. Anyway, every now and again I recommend an essay collection. Yes, it’s often one from Helen Ellis, but if you like Nora Ephron, or fiction like Katherine Heiny, this is the essay equivalent. You’re welcome.

Here is a confession: I preordered this from Amazon, in hardback and it’s the American edition. That’s how much I love Helen Ellis. I regret nothing because it is wonderful. But that does mean it’s a little expensive and might be harder to get hold of over here for now at least. It’s available in Kindle and Kobo – at the pricier end of the e-book scale, and Foyles say they can get hold of it in a week, but I wouldn’t expect to find it in a store – not yet anyway.

Happy Reading!

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

The Week in Books: July 12 – July 18

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A busy week in life and reading. It’s also so hot here it’s hard to concentrate on reading anything. But hey ho, that’s the summer in England – if it’s hot it’s also muggy and some how it’s just not the same as lying on the beach on holiday! Also when you’re on holiday, there’s often air conditioning in your room – which I definitely don’t have in my hundred year old house…

Read:

Vintage Murder by Ngaio Marsh

The Camelot Caper by Elizabeth Peters

Subtle Blood by K J Charles

Enter a Murderer by Ngaio Marsh

Connect by David Bradford and Carole Robin*

Bring Your Baggage and Don’t Pack Light by Helen Ellis

Started:

Locked Rooms by Laurie R King

Death in the Fearful Night by George Bellairs

Still reading:

A Pho Love Story by Loan Le*

The Lock in by Phoebe Luckhurst*

I didn’t actually buy any books last week – although the pre-order of the Helen Ellis turned up which was a lovely treat.

Bonus photo: So I got out of the house this week – to somewhere other than the park! We took the nieces to to Thorpe Park for a birthday treat. It was the most people I’ve seen in one place for a long time, but it was a lot of fun, and I only got a little patch of sunburn on my neck.

Part of The Swarm rollercoaster at Thorpe Park

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, fiction, new releases, reviews

Book of the Week: The Guncle

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As I said yesterday, there were two books in contention for this, and to be honest the only reason I dithered about this is because the cover fits in better with the covers of the other books in the Summer Reading post than the others do. But I have more to say about this than a round up post will allow, even if there is a slight hiccup about how easy The Guncle is to get hold of in the UK at the moment.

When Patrick is asked to look after his brother’s kids for the summer he thinks it’s a terrible idea. He likes spending time with then when they visit him in Palm Springs, he likes being Gay Uncle Patrick (GUP!) but he’s not cut out for being in charge of them full time for weeks on end. But the kids have just lost their mum and their dad has problems of his own he needs to deal with, so he says he’ll do it – mostly because his sister thinks he can’t do it. But it turns out that a summer with them might be exactly what he needs as well as what they need. He’s been drifting since the end of the TV show he starred in and this might be the kick he needs.

This is Steven Rowley’s third book and I absolutely loved it. Patrick is funny and a bit broken and infuriating and endearing. Maisie and Grant just about hit the sweet spot for children in books – funny but not sickly or too good to be true. The relationship that the three of them build is a wonderful blend of exasperated and snarky and loving. This is a book about dealing with grief but it’s also campy and funny. The cover really captures the feel of it all. I haven’t read any of Rowley’s other books – and although Lily and the octopus has great reviews it sounds a bit too much like it’s going to break me for me to want to read it at the moment – but although this did give me the sniffles, the death is already over by the start of the book and there’s enough funny bits to keep it from being a four alarm snot bomb.

My copy of The Guncle came from the library, but it seems like it’s a tricky one to get hold of in the UK – Amazon only have a hardback copy that is priced like it’s a real import or a library edition (which ditto on the price), and Foyles and Kobo aren’t listing it at all. They do have Steven Rowley’s other books though, which is perhaps a sign that it’ll come along at some point later this year – as both Lily and the Octopus and The Editor have Kindle editions.

Happy Reading!

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

The Week in Books: July 5 – July 11

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Well I’ve already told you about one book on this list, because as previously discussed last Week’s BotW was somewhat cheaty. But I’m not beating myself up because last week I also did quite a good job of reading some of the books from this month’s NetGalley list and we all know that I’m traditionally not great at that. However I have not a clue what I’m going to pick tomorrow because two of the books could be a BotW or feature in my summer reading list (still coming very soon I promise). It’s going to be one of those weeks where I just start writing and see what happens isn’t it?

Read:

Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe

The Guncle by Steven Rowley

Death and Croissants by Ian Moore*

Meet the Georgians by Robert Peal*

The Idea of You by Robinne Lee*

Skincare by Caroline Hirons

The Snake, the Crocodile and the Dog by Elizabeth Peters

Rosaline Palmer Takes The Cake by Alexis Hall

Started:

The Lock in by Phoebe Luckhurst*

Still reading:

A Pho Love Story by Loan Le*

The Camelot Caper by Elizabeth Peters

Bonus photo: so this last week in the England was very much dominated by football. And for about 65 minutes on Sunday night it looked like football might be “coming home”. But as ever, it all went to penalties and ended in tears. But this week’s photo is a picture of Wembley stadium that I took from my speeding train on my way home from work on Friday night when there was still the hope that England mighty win a major tournament for the first time in 55 years. Only 18 months until the World Cup I guess…

Wembley stadium, as seen in the distance from a train...

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: June 28 – July 4

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Such mixed week of reading last week – three of the titles on this list are audiobook relistens (The Wimsey, Alleyn and Amelia Peabody) but I also got a long way through the Patrick Radden Keefe, which is a really, really fascinating read, and if I finish it today may be the Book of the Week tomorrow (I’m only about 30 page out from the end, but I had to go to sleep last night before I could finish!). Obviously in the real world, it was a stunning week for English football – who knows what the situation will be by this time next week. I can dare to dream.  Coming up on Wednesday is the Mini Reviews for last month, and if you missed it the stats are already up.

Read:

Mrs England by Stacey Halls*

Happy Endings by Thien-Kim Lam

Murder Must Advertise by Dorothy L Sayers

Shirley Flight, Air Hostess and the Diamond Smugglers by Judith Dale

The Nursing Home Murder by Ngaio Marsh

The Last Camel Died at Noon by Elizabeth Peters

Blueberry Muffin Murder by Joanne Fluke

Started:

Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe

The Camelot Caper by Elizabeth Peters

Death and Croissants by Ian Moore

Still reading:

Rosaline Palmer Takes The Cake by Alexis Hall

A Pho Love Story by Loan Le*

A couple of ebooks and a cookbook. Very restrained!

Bonus photo: I mean this is the furthest from home that I ventured last week. I was going to say that I would have a more exciting photo for next week – but actually the exciting thing that I was due to be doing has now been cancelled, so may be I won’t!

the park - again

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: June 21 – June 27

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Well well well. June is nearly over, it’s proper summer and we’ve had the longest day etc. My week was marked by sunshine, rain, wind and some very muggy weather. My reading was an eclectic mix of historical fiction, cozy crime, women’s fiction, boarding schools in various guises and some non fiction to boot. Quite a lot of fun to be honest and lots that I want to write about. Expect to hear more etc!

Read:

This is not a F**king Romance by Evie Snow

Yours Cheerfully by A J Pearce*

The Stepsisters by Susan Mallery*

Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P Manansala

The Last Party by Anthony Haden-Guest

Fence Vol 4 by C S Pacat and Johanna the Mad

Tommy Cabot was Here by Cat Sebastian

Started:

A Pho Love Story by Loan Le*

Still reading:

Mrs England by Stacey Halls*

Rosaline Palmer Takes The Cake by Alexis Hall

I may have added another Shirley Flight to my collection, as well as a couple of ebooks and a crime preorder or two. Positively restrained – but I haven’t been into a bookshop since the reopening so it can only be a matter of time.

Bonus photo: I could have posted another picture of the park to mark the 10 k I slogged around it on Sunday, but you’ve seen a lot of the park over the last year because it’s the only outings I’ve had. So instead have some of my cooking. This is the oven paella from The Roasting Tin Around the World.

Casserole full of paella

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: June 14 – June 20

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Massively busy week and then at the weekend we Went Somewhere and Did Something, and rather than reading books I was drinking wine and catching up with people. What I’m going to write about tomorrow, I do not know.

Read:

A Theatre for Dreamers by Polly Samson

The Game by Laurie R King

The Meet Cute Club by Jack Harbon

Still Knife Painting by Cheryl Hollon

The Larks of Jubilee Flats by Marjorie A Sindall

A Few Right Thinking Men by Sulari Gentill

Started:

The Last Party by Anthony Haden-Guest

Rosaline Palmer Takes The Cake by Alexis Hall

This is not a F**king Romance by Evie Snow

Still reading:

Mrs England by Stacey Halls*

Yours Cheerfully by A J Pearce*

Bonus photo: Slightly cheating because this is from late last week, but as we had a scorcher for most of the week (and then a muggy weekend) here’s a rare (for the blog) sighting of me in my garden hammock enjoying some sunshine.

Me in a hammock

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

American imports, Book of the Week, romance, romantic comedy

Book of the Week: Second First Impressions

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After yesterday’s little essay at the start of my Week in Books I feel a little bit like I’ve already talked way too much this week. But I’ve got plans in my head for a summer reading post and a couple of last weeks books are likely to feature in that. So this weeks BotW is a fun and frothy romance, perfect for reading any time of year, not just in a sunny garden in summer.

Ruthie has been working at Providence Retirement Villas for six years. That’s her whole adult life – and she’s turned the job into her entire life. She’s shrunk her world so that it revolves around the residents (human and turtles) and maintaining the place. She is nervous, risk averse, acts way older than her age and her latest fear is what the property developer who has just bought the site might do to up end her life. It turns out that the first thing he’s going to do is land Providence with his son. Teddy has run out of places to stay and needs to raise money for his share of the tattoo parlour he wants to open. He’s tall, dark and handsome – and dangerous for Ruthie’s self control. So she sets him up with the one job no one has ever lasted at: personal assistant to two rich, 90 year old trouble making ladies – who get most of their enjoyment from setting their assistants fiendish tasks. But Teddy looks set to be the one who stays the course – but is his charm for real or is is all just an act?

That’s quite a long plot summary and makes this sound way more complicated than it is. It’s a charming opposites attract romance with a sweet but wary heroine and a charming people pleaser hero who have to do a lot of figuring out about what they both want in life. The retirement village provides an excellent cast of supporting characters to make you laugh as you watch Ruthie and Teddy do some cautious getting to know each other. It does suffer a little bit from the end wrapping up too quickly (oh a common theme returns to my reviews) but I sort of forgive it because it was just so charming for the rest of the book. I’ve been hearing good things about Sally Thorne for a while, but this is the first time I’ve managed to get around to reading one of her books – even though I think I may own the Hating Game. I am annoyed that it’s taken me so long. But again: what is new there. In summary: charming escapist reading.

My copy of Second First Impressions came from the library but it’s out now on Kindle and Kobo and in (very expensive) hardback. No paperback (in the UK at least) until next year.

Happy Reading!