Tag: reading

Book of the Week

Book of the Week: A Murder for Miss Hortense

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I previewed this one last week as it came out – and I’ve since finished it so I’m coming back around to give a review because it is a really great set up and a really nice read.

Cover of A Murder for Miss Hortense

And so the set up: Miss Hortense is a retired nurse who lives in a Birmingham suburb after coming to the UK from Jamaica in 1960. When a body turns up in the home of one of her acquaintances, she is drawn into investigating. She’s pretty fearless – she’s had to be to survive more than three decades in nursing and living in an area that wasn’t exactly welcoming when she first arrived. A lot of the signs point to a connection to the Pardner network, which she was instrumental in setting up back in the 1960s soon after her arrival when the Jamaican community were struggling to get help from banks. But she left the pardner under a cloud years ago. For years Miss Hortense has been at the centre of the community, she knows all the histories and a lot of secrets but the investigation leads her into areas she would rather not think about, and dangers that she thought she had put behind her.

I really enjoyed this – Miss Hortense is very independent and self-reliant, and somewhat abrasive at times, but she makes for a fascinating lens to look at a very tight-knit community that is hiding plenty of secrets. I really liked the language and the also the fact that it has a different setting to so many murder mysteries and doesn’t info dump you with stuff, it expects you to be smart enough to figure things out already or go and find out. I went off down a rabbit hole about pardner schemes because I had never heard of them before, which was fascinating, but it’s also such a great (and realistic) device to be causing tension in a community. I read this in less than a day, and would happily return to the world of Miss Hortense – and I hope that there is a sequel. She’s certainly well placed to be able to investigate something else…

My copy came from NetGalley, but this is out now on Kindle and Kobo and in hardback. I will be keeping an eye out in the bookshops to see if I can spot it in person so to speak.

Happy Reading!

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: June 9 – June 15

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So I got two long runners off the list, but at the cost of not finishing two more that I started last week. So the Still reading list remains at four. Just not the same four. Other than that, I’ve been trying to pick my reading from the NetGalley lists because that’s one backlog I really should be trying to get down and that I can do when away from home, and I’ve got all sorts of genres on there so I really should be able to find something to suit my mood there.

Read:

Death on the Prowl by Ann Granger

A Murder for Miss Hortense by Mel Pennant*

The Sweet Dove Died by Barbara Pym

A Body at the Book Fair by Ellie Alexander*

Iced in Iowa by Patti Benning

Wish You Were Here by Jess K Hardy*

Trick or Treat by Kerry Greenwood

Started:

Helle and Death by Oskar Jensen*

Still reading:

A Schooling in Murder by Andrew Taylor*

Sorry for the Dead by Nicola Upson

The Listeners by Maggie Stiefvater*

Abdication by Juliet Nicolson

Two books bought at a book fair.

Bonus picture: filming happening in Fitzroy Square on Thursday afternoon.

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

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: June 2 – June 8

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It’s June and we’ve been down to the seaside, so of course there were flash floods. British summertime everyone. Anyway, on the reading front I finished the Mitchell and Markby reread and then had to figure out what to read next. Which turned out to be more murder mysteries. I mean it almost always does turn out to be more murder mysteries at the moment, it just depends on what type.

Read:

That Way Murder Lies by Ann Granger

These Old Shades by Georgette Heyer

Nine Lessons by Nicola Upson

Deadly Company by Ann Granger

The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side by Agatha Christie

Copper Script by K J Charles

Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q Sutanto*

Started:

A Schooling in Murder by Andrew Taylor*

Sorry for the Dead by Nicola Upson

Still reading:

The Listeners by Maggie Stiefvater*

The Sweet Dove Died by Barbara Pym

Wish You Were Here by Jess K Hardy*

Abdication by Juliet Nicolson

One bought, one preorder arrived – the new Taylor Jenkins Reid.

Bonus picture: Bournemouth pier in June…

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

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: May 25 – June 1

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We’re into June and I’m still playing outfit roulette in the mornings because the weather just can’t seem to sort itself out. But on the bright side, we’ve started to get the summer releases through. And on the even brighter side, I’ve finally finished that Cher Memoir. Admittedly there are still other long runner on that list I haven’t finished, but that’s the one that’s been sitting there the longest, so it’s definitely progress.

Read:

Beneath These Stones by Ann Granger

Curtain Call to Murder by Julian Clary

Shades of Murder by Ann Granger

A Restless Evil by Ann Granger

It’s a Love Story by Annabel Monaghan

The Bookstore Family by Alice Hoffman

The June Paintings by Maggie Shipstead

Swan Song by Edmund Crispin

Cher: The Memoir Part One by Cher

Started:

Nine Lessons by Nicola Upson

Still reading:

The Listeners by Maggie Stiefvater*

The Sweet Dove Died by Barbara Pym

Wish You Were Here by Jess K Hardy*

Abdication by Juliet Nicolson

Two pre-orders arrived, two ebooks bought and a second hand paperback.

Bonus picture: I’m annoyed I didn’t take a screen grab on day 1500 exactly, but still it’s pretty impressive.

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

Book of the Week

Book of the Week: On Turpentine Lane

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Amid all the murder mysteries last week there were a couple of other books – one of which was my first Elinor Lipman novel which is now my first non-mystery BotW in nearly a month – dragging the ratio of mystery to non-mystery so far this year up to 13 mystery to seven others!

Our heroine is Faith Frankel, 32 years old and back in her home town working in fundraising at a private school. Not in town (or answering her messages) is her boyfriend/fiancé Stuart, who has taken off on a cross country walk to find himself. In his absence Faith has bought herself a house – a fixer-upper bungalow – and is trying to get her life on track. But the history of the house may be less than peaceful – for starters the police turn up to search her basement for bloodstains. And her family life is less than peaceful too – her father is having a midlife crisis and has has left her mother to pursue his a new career as a painter of fake Chagalls and one of his new benefactors.

I know I said this wasn’t a mystery – and you’ll have noticed in that summary that there is a mysterious element to this, but really it’s not the main thrust of the plot – which is a delightful and some what madcap romantic comedy. It’s a bit chaotic and the plot developments just keep coming, making the pace really high and keeping you turning the pages. I was a little bit perplexed as to why someone as sensible as Faith was with such a freeloader as Stuart to start with, but I just gave up and went with it because he wasn’t really a presence in the book – but he did provide plenty of humour and acted as a catalyst for other events in the book. I would happily have read another 100 pages of the madness – but Lipman did tie it all up very neatly at the end so I can’t really complain too much.

This is in Kindle Unlimited and Kobo Plus at the moment, I’m not sure how easy the paperback woudl be to get hold of, because I’ve never really looked for Elinor Lipman in the shops. But of course this does give me an excuse…

Happy Reading!

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: May 19 – May 25

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It’s another Bank Holiday Monday here in the UK, so I hope those of you who aren’t working have a nice day and that the weather cooperates with whatever your plans are. There are three different football teams celebrating today, two of them with full on parades, so chances are there’ll be rain at some point! I continue to binge my way through the Mitchell and Markbys – and it’s surprising me how much I had forgotten from first time around. It makes them even more of a treat, but also harder to resist just going straight on to the next one! But I’ve still managed to get a few other things read this week – even if I didn’t get that much off the long-running list! Onwards we go…

Read:

A Touch of Mortality by Ann Granger

A Knife to Remember by Jill Churchill

A Word After Dying by Ann Granger

The Beast of Littleton Woods by T E Kinsey

Call the Dead Again by Ann Granger

Amelia’s Shadow by Marie Benedict

On Turpentine Lane by Elinor Lipman

Started:

The Listeners by Maggie Stiefvater*

Still reading:

Curtain Call to Murder by Julian Clary

The Sweet Dove Died by Barbara Pym

Wish You Were Here by Jess K Hardy*

Abdication by Juliet Nicolson

Cher: The Memoir Part One by Cher

Three ebooks and a pre-order

Bonus picture: Rainbows and sunshine at the train station.

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

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: May 12 – May 18

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Well I said on Friday that I was on a mega-binge of Mitchell and Markby books, and you see the results of that here – in the read list and in the purchases because I had to buy them to keep reading. We had a lovely trip away at the weekend and it was a busy week at work so I’m choosing to blame that for the increasing length of the still reading list…

Read:

A Farewell to Yarns by Jill Churchill

Where Old Bones Lie by Ann Granger

Men at Arms by Terry Pratchett

A Fine Place for Death by Ann Granger

Flowers for his Funeral by Ann Granger

Masqueraders by Georgette Heyer

A Candle for a Corpse by Ann Granger

Started:

N/a

Still reading:

The Beast of Littleton Woods by T E Kinsey

Curtain Call to Murder by Julian Clary

The Sweet Dove Died by Barbara Pym

Wish You Were Here by Jess K Hardy*

Abdication by Juliet Nicolson

Cher: The Memoir Part One by Cher

Five books bought.

Bonus picture: Another photo from a sunny Sunday afternoon in the countryside. Just glorious.

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

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: May 5 – May 11

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So here’s the thing, despite the fact that I have a tonne of books waiting to be read, at the start of last week all my brain wanted to do was re-read Mitchell and Markby books. Now this started because I bought the first one second hand a few weeks back as you know, and started reading it on Sunday night. And then I ended up buying the next few on kindle so I could read on because when I read them originally I had borrowed them from a friend and I gave them back like the good girl I am. And then I really struggled to get started on anything new to me and so moved on to more familiar old friends – with new books in series that I like and a dash of Terry Pratchett. We will see where this week takes us…

Read:

Say it With Poison by Ann Granger

A Season for Murder by Ann Granger

The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer

Cold in the Earth by Ann Granger

Murder Among Us by Ann Granger

Underscore by Andrew Cartmel

Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett

Started:

A Farewell to Yarns by Jill Churchill

The Beast of Littleton Woods by T E Kinsey

Still reading:

Curtain Call to Murder by Julian Clary

The Sweet Dove Died by Barbara Pym

Wish You Were Here by Jess K Hardy*

Abdication by Juliet Nicolson

Cher: The Memoir Part One by Cher

Four books bought and one pre-order made. And of course another preorder arrived.

Bonus picture: we have a flower on the new(ish) arrival!

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

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: April 28- May 4

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It’s a Bank Holiday in the UK today so if you have a day off work, I hope you’re enjoying it and sorry that the nice weather didn’t last. It’s also May, which means hopefully the nice weather will come back at some point, although we’re all bound to spend the next month getting our outfits wrong as we try and predict whether we need to be dressing for heat or cold. Anyway, continued progress on some fronts on the reading, and less so on others as there’s been a lot going on in real life. But I seem to be saying that a lot at the moment, so maybe this is just normal now? What a worrying thought.

Read:

Death on the Pier by Jamie West

The 4.50 from Paddington by Agatha Christie

Death at the Matinee by Jamie West

Murder on Line One by Jeremy Vine*

Tea on Sunday by Lettice Cooper

Death at the Playhouses by Stuart Douglas

Regency Buck by Georgette Heyer

Started:

Curtain Call to Murder by Julian Clary

The Sweet Dove Died by Barbara Pym

Still reading:

Wish You Were Here by Jess K Hardy*

Abdication by Juliet Nicolson

Cher: The Memoir Part One by Cher

Two books bought – one in Quinns, one in Oxfam.

Bonus picture: the narrow alley down to Quinns bookshop – which I always expect to be higher up the hill than 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.

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: April 21 – April 27

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Another pretty solid week of books. I’ve got one of the long running list and I’ve made progress on some of the others too. Perhaps not quite as much progress as I wanted but it was a very busy week in real life and there’s nothing you can do about that.

Read:

A Clutch of Constables by Ngaio Marsh

Barking! by Grace Smith

A Pocket Full of Rye by Agatha Christie

Fell Murder by E C R Lorac

The Oscar Wars by Michael Schulman

Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree

Murder Will Out by Alison Joseph

Started:

Wish You Were Here by Jess K Hardy*

Death at the Playhouses by Stuart Douglas

Still reading:

Murder on Line One by Jeremy Vine*

Abdication by Juliet Nicolson

Cher: The Memoir Part One by Cher

Three books bought.

Bonus picture: a misty morning on the train. It’s nearly impossible to get a good photo from the train but I keep trying because it can be so beautiful.

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