Tag: reading

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: March 10 – March 16

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Well I can confirm that I am in a full on binge of the Ruth Galloway series. I read three this week, but I also spent a couple of hours tramping around central London after work one day looking for the next in the series at a sensible price (new and secondhand shops, from Charing Cross Road to St Pancras. It was good exercise and in one shop another customer liked my bag (from Strand Books in New York) so much he asked if he could take a picture of it. So that was fun. Anyway, we’re halfway through March, I’m not halfway through my NetGalley books for the month, and I’m acquiring books at a rate of knots. But I’m having fun doing it and I did make some more progress on Cher’s memoir, so I’m not too cross at myself.

Read:

Singing in the Shrouds by Ngaio Marsh

A Dying Fall by Elly Griffiths

False Scent by Ngaio Marsh

The Outcast Dead by Elly Griffiths

The Ghost Fields by Elly Griffiths

My Big Fat Fake Marriage by Charlotte Stein

The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie

Started:

To Catch a Raven by Beverly Jenkins

The Rest of Our Lives by Benjamin Markovitz*

Still reading:

Murder Below Deck by Orlando Murrin*

Abdication by Juliet Nicolson

Cher: The Memoir Part One by Cher

Well as you could tell from Books Incoming, quite a few. That is to say four paperbacks bought and a pre-order arrived plus one ebook and another book preordered.

Bonus picture: the rather delightful wool display system in a haberdashers store in Soho.

*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: March 3 – March 9

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Another busy week in life and reading – complete with a migraine in the middle to add to the mix. Anyway, a good proportion of actual books, even if some of them were new purchases rather than from the shelf. And I did get another one off the long running list. Yay me.

Read:

Off With His Head by Ngaio Marsh

The Ten Teacups by Carter Dickson

Death at the Bar by Ngaio Marsh

The House at Sea’s End by Elly Griffiths

Show Don’t Tell by Curtis Sittenfeld

A Room Full of Bones by Elly Griffiths

A Traveller in Time by Alison Utley

Started:

Murder Below Deck by Orlando Murrin*

Still reading:

Abdication by Juliet Nicolson

Cher: The Memoir Part One by Cher

Ummmm. Quite a few books acquired. And it’s not just the Kindle offers post that’s responsible – there were also a couple of actual books…

Bonus picture: out by the canal in the lovely spring weather at the weekend

*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, crime

Book of the Week: The Crossing Places

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Happy Tuesday everyone. A couple of weeks back I was asking for new mystery series to read and given that I have remembered about the Stephens and Mephisto series, I thought I should try some of Elly Griffths’s modern set series. And so here we are.

The Crossing Places is the first in Griffiths’s series about Dr Ruth Galloway, who is a forensic archaeologist and professor at a university in Norfolk . This first book sees her called in by the police when a body is discovered in nearby marshland, where she has previously worked on an Iron Age excavation. The investigating officer, chief inspector Nelson was hoping that the body is that of a missing child who vanished a decade earlier. But when a second child goes missing Ruth finds herself drawn into a decade old investigation into the disappearance of a small child.

So I think I have maybe been ignoring these because the covers are quite dark and bleak and thinking they were going to be more psychological than I can cope with. But actually they’re not. This is maybe slightly darker in terms of the actual crime than Ann Granger, but no worse, although I would say that Ruth’s personal life looks set to be more complex than those are. I enjoyed this and read it fast – and then tried to figure out how to get the next one (the answer ended up being Waterstones Carlisle as Bookcase only had Stephens and Mephistos second hand and a much later book in the series new in Bookends. And this is a completed series, so if I keep enjoying them I can binge my way through, book budget permitting.

I bought this on Kindle – and it was on offer – but this should be super easy to get hold of in a bookshop with a sensible crime selection.

Happy Reading!

*I bought other stuff in Bookcase, don’t worry

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: February 17 – February 23

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A good solid week in reading. Two off the long runners list, although the easier too as they are the ebook ones, but it’s still progress. And as we’re hurtling towards the end of February I needed a good week! This week coming looks like it’s going to be a busy one, so we’ll see how that all goes.

Read:

The Kings Loot by Richard Wallace

Final Curtain by Ngaio Marsh

Big Shot by Julie Mulhern

Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie

To Catch a Griller by Patti Benning

The Favourites by Layne Fargo*

Swing, Brother, Swing by Ngaio Marsh

The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths

Murder in the Dressing Room by Holly Stars*

Started:

The Janus Stone by Elly Griffiths

Still reading:

A Traveller in Time by Alison Utley

Cher: The Memoir Part One by Cher

Four books bought. Because I was in Carlisle and you all know where I went…

Bonus picture: snowdrops and crocuses in Carlisle this weekend

*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: February 10 – February 16

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Yeah, so the reading list is being held up by the audiobooks and I’m not really sure why, because it felt like an ok week in reading. The Kings Loot is nearly finished though, and I’m not making bad progress on the Holly Stars. But that still reading list is looking a little long, so I need to do a bit of work on that front this week, or at least try to.

Read:

Death and the Dancing Footman by Ngaio Marsh

Poppy Harmon and the Pillow Talk Killer by Lee Hollis

Colour Scheme by Ngaio Marsh

Metropolitan Murders edited by Martin Edwards

Died in the Wool by Ngaio Marsh

Murder in the Afternoon by Frances Brody

Started:

The Kings Loot by Richard Wallace

Still reading:

Murder in the Dressing Room by Holly Stars*

The Favourites by Layne Fargo*

A Traveller in Time by Alison Utley

Cher: The Memoir Part One by Cher

No books bought, which is probably a good thing really things considered.

Bonus picture: Filming in Fitzroy Square on Friday

*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: February 3 – February 9

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Well it all went a bit downhill this week after Ballet Shoes – work was insanely busy and I had a cold. And I didn’t even stay up for the start of the Super Bowl – which tells you something about how tired and grotty I was feeling! Fingers crossed for a better week this week…

Read:

A Victim at Valentines by Ellie Alexander*

A Surfeit of Lampreys by Ngaio Marsh

Indignant in Indiana by Patti Benning

Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild

Fatally Flaky by Diane Mott Davidson

Charred to Handle by Patti Benning

Death Upon a Star by Amy Patricia Meade*

Started:

Murder in the Dressing Room by Holly Stars*

Metropolitan Murders edited by Martin Edwards

Poppy Harmon and the Pillow Talk Killer by Lee Hollis

Still reading:

The Favourites by Layne Fargo*

A Traveller in Time by Alison Utley

Cher: The Memoir Part One by Cher

One book bought. That’s it. Restrained.

Bonus picture: the National Theatre and South Bank complex looking over towards St Paul’s after Ballet Shoes

*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 round-ups, Recommendsday

Recommendsday: January Quick Reviews

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The first month of 2025 is over and so I’m back with another whistle-stop tour through a couple of books that I read last month that I didn’t already tell you about.

Vanishing Box by Elly Griffiths

Let’s start this month with a rule breaking mid-series book. But there’s a reason for this I promise. Vanishing Box is the fourth in Griffiths’ series set in Brighton in the early 1950s. It’s been five years since I read the third book but my mum’s book club picked the first one just before Christmas and it reminded me that I had forgotten to go and read any more of them. And this is a good instalment in the series. The general premise is that Edgar Stephens is a police detective but in World War 2 he worked in a shadowy unit with Max Mephisto who is a magician. They fall back into each other’s orbit during the first book (The Zigzag Girl) and have stayed there since. This book sees Max performing on the bill of a variety show in Brighton and Edgar investigating the death of a flower shop worker who happened to be living in the same boarding house as some of the other performers on the bill with Max. You could read this without reading the rest of the series, but it will definitely work best if you’ve got the background.

Natural Selection by Elin Hilderbrand

A short story on the list this month – this is an Amazon Original that follows Sophia, a New Yorker who has finally found a man she can see herself settling down with, but who finds herself on a couples trip alone after an emergency means he has to bail on her as they’re about to board the flight. This sends Sophia on a journey of self discovery – the holiday was his choice – so Sophia finds herself the fish out of a water on a once in a lifetime trip to the Galapagos Islands – without her boyfriend, without her phone signal (most of the time) and too embarrassed to talk to anyone about what’s going on. Hildebrand packs a lot into just over 50 pages and I found it surprisingly emotional as well as satisfying.

Not in My Book by Katie Holt*

As I previewed this when it came out, I thought I ought to follow up now I’ve read it. This is an enemies to lovers romance about two writers who are forced to write a book together after they take their classroom rivalry one step too far for their professor to let slide. If New Adult was still a thing, I would say that this is squarely in that area, but it’s not really any more so I don’t really know what to call it. And I think for some people this is going to work really well. It’s being compared to Sally Thorne‘s The Hating Game in the blurb and I think that’s pretty fair, but I think these two are maybe meaner to each other than those two. And that was my problem: they’re awful to each other and although I enjoyed it once they started getting along, as soon as there is any hint of conflict they revert to saying the most hurtful things they can to each other, and that’s just not my thing. Maybe it’s the age of the main characters and I’m just too old for that now – but it ended up being the end of the trope that I find hard to get on board with.

And that’s your lot for this month – a reminder of the Books of the Week from January: White House by the Sea, Deadly Summer Nights, Dark Tort and The Paradise Problem.

Happy Reading!

Book of the Week

Book of the Week: The Fan Who Knew Too Much

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I’ve got one of my recent purchases for this week’s pick – I love it when a bookshop wander turns up something good that you didn’t know about before, and that’s exactly what happened with The Fan Who Knew Too Much.

When a podcaster is murdered live on air when about to reveal a secret about cult 1980s TV show Vixens from the Void, fellow fan and friend Kit finds herself dragged into an investigation disguised as a Blu Ray extra documentary. Was Wolf killed because he had discovered something new about the disappearance of an extra on the show 40 years earlier – and is there as yet undiscovered trivia to be found from reuniting the original stars of the show?

Nev Fountain is a writer on the sketch show Dead Ringers and this has got blurbs from Andrew Cartmel, Ben Aaronovitch and Jenny Colgan if that gives you a clue about the sort of end of the mystery and fiction spectrum this falls into. I would also say it’s pretty British and has got a lot of references to British culture (beyond that of old TV series) that might be lost on you if you’re not someone who grew up watching low budget TV and setting the video for your favourite shows.

I’m not a massive Doctor Who fan, but I was a big viewer of Star Trek and also of shows like Buck Roger when they were repeated when I was little. I’m also not a stranger to the world of online fandom and communities so this really appealed to the nerd inside me. And it’s not perfect – some times it’s just too, too bonkers – but I think that’s part of the point. If you want to follow a group of professional fans trying to recreate some low budget sci fi in Brighton while corralling a group of aging actors and their egos, this delivers on that in spades. Some of the murder plot is frankly insane and it could have used being slightly shorter, but I forgave it because it had enough hilarious moments that they’re the bits that stick with you.

I bought my copy in Waterstones, but it’s also available on Kindle and Kobo – where it also looks like it’s in Kobo Plus. And there’s a sequel coming later in the year too.

Happy Reading!

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: January 27 – February 2

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Another busy but solid week in the end. Slightly more novellas than usual, but a few things crossed my path and it was a bit of a difficult week so they suited what my brain could cope with. Hopefully this week will be better.

Read:

The Bookstore Sister by Alice Hoffman

The Bookstore Wedding by Alice Hoffman

Death in a White Tie by Ngaio Marsh

Murder as Fine Art by Carol Carnac

Vexed in Vermont by Patti Benning

Overture to Death by Ngaio Marsh

Oddities in Ohio by Patti Benning

The Fan Who Knew Too Much by Nev Fountain

Tune in Tomorrow by Melanie Benjamin

Started:

A Victim at Valentines by Ellie Alexander*

Still reading:

Fatally Flaky by Diane Mott Davidson

The Favourites by Layne Fargo*

A Traveller in Time by Alison Utley

Cher: The Memoir Part One by Cher

One book, one pre-order. Restrained.

Bonus picture: another jigsaw finished. The Discworld Emporium ones are really tricky. Lots of similar colours in different areas.

*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 round-ups, Recommendsday

Recommendsday: January Blues selections

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It’s the tail end of January. It feels like a long time since Christmas. You could be forgiven for having a bit of the blues at the moment. So I’ve got a bit of a recommendsday supercut for you, of suggestions to try and help you through the gloom and towards the spring.

First of all I have a whole list of novels about fresh starts – not to be confused with the non fiction post of self help books. I’ve also got a lot of recommendations for books about house renovations- which are a sort of fresh start aren’t they? – whether it’s this recommendsday post or the Fixer Upper mysteries, the Real Estate Rescue ones or a romance with Maggie Moves On?

I find small town romances very comforting but also cheering – so how about Happily Inc or Blessings? But maybe you want to escape away to somewhere tropical. Obviously The Paradise Problem was book of the week the other week but there’s also The Unhoneymooners. And finally if you want to go completely the other way there’s ski resort action with the O’Neil Brothers.

Happy Humpday!