Tag: reading

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

The Week in Books: August 23 – August 29

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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!

Valentino Rossi on the cool down lap

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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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

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