Tag: reading

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

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