Islands in the Blog

In a bid to reduce the list of books waiting to be reviewed and looking for links, tenuous or otherwise sometimes these things are simply staring you in the face.

So islands it is this time.

The first up is the latest novel from Katie Fforde whose writing has perhaps taken a different turn since her earlier novels. This one takes us to the Caribbean and Dominica, via a remote Scottish island.

Cass is an artist, not a photographer like her renowned father. It has been an issue all of her life, but now he has entrusted her with a special map, an old camera and a request to photograph some stone carvings. Surely she can fulfil this one thing for him? However when Dominica is hit by a devastating hurricane, Cass along with Ranaulph who has accompanied her finds her focus is on help and rebuilding this beautiful place. As she starts to embrace all of the changes in her life, can she perhaps see what is obvious to her and everyone around her.

This book is full of the laughter and romance you would accept but also, the mystery of the carvings, the impact and devastation of a natural disaster and the way anyone can rebuild from nothing to forge a life for themselves. If an island can do it, so can Cass and Ranaulph surely?

Another island, closer to home is Bird Island and it is there that Kitty Underhay, or Mrs Bryant as she is now known and her faithful servant and helper Alice find themselves.

Kitty and Alice go to see if the newest hotel is up to being included in the local Hoteliers Association. It all seems too good to be true, and when they are cut off by storms and a body turns up it seems the only answer is for Kitty and Alice to find out the truth.

In this the fifteenth novel in the series, this is very much a theme on the locked room murder mystery and with an overt nod to the great Agatha Christie and Burgh Island. With the clues and the red herrings, I was somewhat pleased with myself when I saw a vital clue and worked out the culprit. Sitting back to watch Kitty, Alice and with some help from Kitty’s husband Matt and the local police force, it was obvious that all was not what is seemed.

Set in the 1930s, these characters and all the stories have a charm about them that you cannot help but enjoy as you wonder exactly how many dead bodies they can keep stumbling across. As the books have progressed, of course so have the main characters lives and it is always nice to see the back stories fleshed out more. Time of course waits for no man and the inevitably about what is happening in this period, is surely bound to start featuring in the books.

Perfect for fans of historical cosy mysteries.

Thank you to the publishers via netgalley for the opportunity to read these books.

All of them are available now in various formats.

March Roundup

Not a bad reading month in all, a good variety of books and I want to say I perhaps made a dent in the reviewing – but as quick as a flash the list grows yet again, but at least I have caught up with reviews with the books I read in 2023!

So where did I go in March? Murder seems to have started me off with this debut novel C.L. Miller – The Antique Hunter’s Guide to Murder. A new series of books with antiques as its backdrop and murder at its core. Interesting and a good way to start and find out about the main players, in this modern cosy mystery.

More familiar terrority when I picked up Helena Dixon – Murder at the Island Hotel, the latest in Kitty and Matts adventures. Very much a homage to the Christie novel and Burgh Island. It worked wonderfully well and really set the scene, I spotted the clue that led me to the culprit and was so pleased with myself. The next book takes us abroad and I will be part of the blog tour. So do come back for that.

Sticking with islands, I went with Katie Fforde – Island in the Sun. Her latest novel and whilst a departure perhaps in some of her previous themes. We are taken to Dominica, via the Shetland Isles and the wonderful descriptions of scenery and landscape and the impact of weather is delightful and draws you very much into the story. I learnt a lot which perhaps made up for the perhaps weaker in parts plot.

The weather is always predominant in lots of books as it so often sets the scene for the plot and the characters. That was the case in Sarah Bennett – Come Rain or Shine, the latest in the Juniper Meadows series. This series goes from strength to strength, the characters, the romance, the setting reminds me of a modern day Downton Abbey – save the estate and all those who work there, including the family. Simply Glorious whatever the weather.

Another author I enjoy reading, and always lucky enough to get advanced copies is Holly Martin – The Cottage on Strawberry Sands. Again this is the next book in the series and we are back watching romance blossom amongst young professionals, who are looking for something in life. the answer it seems has always been home.

I tend to read similar types of books and there is nothing wrong with that. I believe in reading what you enjoy the most, it is not punishment for anything! However thanks to netgalley and social media, I do step out of the comfort zones of such things which is how I come to read Kate Storey – The Memory Library. It features, books at its core, so it is always going to be a winner for me. This book moved me tears and looks at the relationship between mothers and daughters and all that is unsaid.

My other passion is historical fiction, in its many forms and intrigued by Lizzie Pook – Maude Horton’s Glorious Revenge it took me to London in the mid 19th century and to places further afield – The Artic. Fascinating tale of travel and ships and of the weird and wonderful fascinations the Victorians had.

I finished the month with a book I had been dipping in and out of for a couple of months. Peter Kay – T.V. Big Adventures on the Small Screen has the beauty of transporting you back to a time when you got up to change the channel, that you needed two tv magazines to know what was going to be on the television and the world stopped to watch shows that certainly would not be made today. A great look back at someone’s personal history through the medium of television.

So that was March, some real crackers in amongst there and I will endeavour to get reviews up. I am still ambling along and deciding what I want to do when it comes to reviews. It feels a bit too much like work and not enjoyment still, so therefore please bear with me.

How was your March reading? Anything tempt you? What are your plans for April?

February Roudup

As this February had an extra day you would think I would be able to fit more reading in. Compared to last year I managed to fit an extra one in! It has been a strange month which has flown by at a rate of knots and all of a sudden I find myself in March.

However, the mix of books has been good and whilst the reviews are still very much sporadic and dependent on moods, I do hope followers to this blog don’t mind the content as and when it happens.

Normally, I avoid the book that everyone is talking about until much later, but I was ahead of the pack with this debut novel. Jennie Godfrey – The List of Suspicious Things. If you can get a chance to read it, I implore you to. Definitely one of the books of the year for me and probably for a lot of authors. A coming of age story set to the backdrop of murder which in itself sounds horrific, but actually this book is so much a reflection of it’s time. Simply great.

Using real life events or people, is a way of setting books in time and giving them a point of reference. Which is why I was pleased to be back with Queen Elizabeth II in S.J.Bennett – A Death in Diamonds. This time we have gone back to the early days of her reign, with missing jewels and call girls to brighten up a grey day. Of course no one can possibly know who really solves these mysteries.

Murder mystery is always a joy to read in a perverse sort of way. I was a bit nervous in picking up Merryn Allingham – The Library Murders as the previous book in the series had not been up to much. However, I was not to be disappointed and it seems that the author has found her stride again. And what better when you have the owner of bookshop, discovering a dead body in a library with her author fiancée.

Sticking with the library theme, by chance not design took me to the Channel Isles and Kate Thompson – The Wartime Book Club. The second of this authors books set during the Second World War and having books at its heart. This was a rather interesting insight to the German Occupation and the lives that these islanders had to lead to simply survive. The power of books is needed at all times.

As well as loving a bit mystery I also love a bit of history. And this latest novel from an understated author in my opinion was fascinating. Sara Sheridan – The Secrets of Blythswood Square takes us into Glasgow, in 1846 when women had a place. And that place was not taking and developing what were early types of photographs. I learnt the secrets of the beginnings of photography as well as the secrets of what really goes on in big houses with money men and there peccadillos.

With all the grey, wet weather that has dominated the last month it was great to escape to sunnier climes with Julie Caplin – A Villa with a View. To the Amalfi coast, where the residents might be related, the sun always shines and the inspiration is plenty. Simply shone off the page.

So that was February, I am still dipping in and out of the latest Peter Kay, but the reading has been dominated by the kindle. I am not sure where March will take me but it is always interesting to see where I might end up.

How was your February?

Traditional Murder

Of course there is no such thing as a traditional murder – but there is perhaps traditional murder mystery novels that all fit into a genre. One that pays homage to some of our greatest writers. In the main Agatha Christie and I thought it would be another way of grouping a few books that I have read to catch up on some reviews.

First up is definitely a homage as it actually is endorsed by the Christie estate and features none other than Hercule Poirot himself.

Hercule Poirot is looking forward to a peaceful, Christmas as is Inspector Catchpool of Scotland Yard. With less than a week to go, Catchpool’s mother turns up at Poirot’s and demands that he and her son come and solve the mystery at the Norfolk house she is staying at.

Her host is convinced that when her husband goes into hospital he will be the next person to be killed, as recently a man was murdered in the ward where her beloved husband is about to be admitted. Add to this a cast of stranger relations and even stranger servants and Poirot and Catchpool find themselves very much in the tradition of the big house setting for a crime which is so popular in these novels.

The question is though, will they solve it and be back in London for their own planned quiet Christmas!

Very much in the spirit of Christie, perhaps with a slight modern perspective but certainly as if Poirot is in the room (and David Suchet is playing him in my mind!)

One thing Christie did was set out her novels in interesting ways – told from different perspectives, different characters, from bridge playing cards to nursery rhymes. Sometimes others try to emulate this and it does not work – others it does and they actually become fantastic authors in their own right. No more so than Janice Hallett.

Here in her latest short story, we are returned to the Fairway Players who we first met in her debut novel. It is Christmas, so it must be Pantomime season and the chosen production of Jack and the Beanstalk, doesn’t necessarily go to plan when it appears that the Beanstalk is holding a secret of its own.

Told in the format of transcripts, emails, letters, messages and the two young lawyers notes who we met in the first novel we discover what exactly is going on in Lower Lockwood. Why there appears to be drug deals going down, the class system alive and well on who is or isn’t allowed to attend the pantomime, let alone be in it. Plus exactly what has happened to Celia’s son?

A delightful pantomime of a book which is the perfect antidote to Christmas and all those who take amateur dramatics a bit too seriously! I do enjoy seeing what Hallett can come up with next.

Marlow Murder Club is a great series of books to get stuck into, more so as I understand the first is to be televised too. This is the third novel to feature three very different quirky women who do love to investigate.

When the mayor dies suddenly in a town council meeting, it happens that Suzie was there to witness it. Poison was the choice of weapon, but who exactly administered it and more importantly how, right in front of everyone. Along with Judith, the crossword setter and Becks the local vicar’s wife they are seconded to the police to add to the investigations.

It was aconite – the Queen of Poison and as for the victim, no one has had a bad word to say about him. Then who would want him dead? Where is the sugar bowl? And what secrets are the rest of the Town Council hiding?

As ever the three women, work well together to come to the truth. I love the acerbic wit of Judith, the almost downtrodden of Becks who doesn’t want to be involved, but somehow always is. And of course Suzie, always trying to make more money and lurches from accusing one person and within a page having a change of mind once she listens to the evidence and most importantly her friends!

Great series and long may it continue.

Another series which probably fits that cosy type of traditional murder is this by S.J.Bennett. Don’t be alarmed that the main protagonist in these novels is the late Queen Elizabeth II. This time we are going back in time to 1957, very early on in the reign and where we perhaps first start to see the Queen’s passing interest in what is really going around her. And more importantly what she is or isn’t being told by the ‘the men in moustaches’ that surround her every day.

When a call girl is found dead, wearing a Tiara that is well known in a number of circles and when there seems to be a connection to the Palace as well. It is of course something which is going to interest the Queen. But what can she do, step forward Joan, a war spent at Bletchley and with an interest in unpicking riddles, she seems to be able to assist the Queen quite ably, much to the annoyance of all the men around her.

Of course it doesn’t all go smoothly, and it seems that Joan could be in danger. But will the answer be as obvious as we all think? 

What more of a tribute to the late Queen than to feature her in a cosy mystery series! I am sure she would have loved it.

This roundup of books comes from as far back as October and as recent as end of January. I am still behind with reviewing but just loving the books I am reading, so everything is probably still in a state of flux!

Thank you to all the publishers who provided copies via netgalley for the opportunity to read these books.

December Roundup

I think nine books to end the year is no to be sniffed at, even if it did mean I still didn’t get to my total for 2023 of 100. But do you know what, ‘so what!’. It is about the books, it is about the process of reading and the joy that gives me. That still means I will aim for 100 next year, because it is a nice round number!

As for December’s books, it was rather a mix as a few Christmas themes but like most years as I get to December, I am rather Christmas booked out! Having read the second of the books only a few weeks previous, I decided to plough on with book three and picked up Alexandra Benedict – The Christmas Jigsaw Murders. Ironically I still haven’t got round to reading the first and I don’t think perhaps I will. It is not a book to set the world on fire, and is a good type of crime mystery, one step up perhaps from the cosy world that I sometimes inhabit.

Without a doubt, currently at the tip of the tree is Janice Hallett – The Christmas Appeal whose books continue to delight and fascinate me. This delightful short story, was devoured in a day and goes a long way to remind readers of how cleverly structured and plotted all her novels are. Simply perfect.

Short stories was this little compendium Angela Thirkell – Christmas at High Rising. I was most interested in the ones that were relevant to High Rising and the delightful Tony and his mother Laura Morland. There were some which passed me by and perhaps require a reread at some point. That said, I am reminded of Thirkell’s humorous writing and will hope to read more in 2024.

Shorter books are sometimes a blessing at this time of year and no more so than Agatha Christie – Murder is Easy which I wanted to read before it was shown on the television this Christmas period. Not one of Christie’s best, but good nonetheless. The adaptation was certainly not one of the best. Another ticked off the list.

Always good to catch up with the residents of Heartcross with Christie Barlow – The Library on Love Heart Lane and I am always disappointed that I then have to wait until the next one comes out! This one is set in a library and with a mysterious author to discover and a rather good looking one too!

Returning to series and places can be reassuring with books and help the reader as it did when I went to the wonderful Scottish island of Mure. Jenny Colgan – An Island Wedding is one of the Mure series, and I have read this out of order as I seemed to dip in and out of Colgan’s oeuvre. That said I recognised some of the characters and it was lovely to be transported away.

Second book syndrome need not apply to Sally Page – The Book of Beginnings which is a book full of mystery and history. A book set in a stationery shop and with visits to Highgate cemetery and a runaway vicar, this book has it all. Certainly an author to watch and I look forward to her next book.

A new to me author with Pip Williams – The Bookbinder of Jericho. This is a quiet book, a sad tale to tell set in the backdrop of the Great War, of Women’s emancipation, of death and destruction and of finding yourself. I think for me this book was one that will come back to me as time passes since having read it. Interesting premise and I learnt a lot about bookbinding.

And as 2023 closes, I go back to Nancy Revell – The Widow’s Choice who is an author I have enjoyed with her Shipyard series. This time we move forward and I found myself back with a familiar character and get to see what happens to her next. I look forward to seeing where she might take us next, here writing is a delight.

I am still in a transition point of where I want this blog to go if it goes anywhere at all. I hope to look at what books I have read in 2023 and see which stood out for me. Thank you very much for stopping by and reading and commenting and generally supporting. So in the meantime, Happy New Year and I hope 2024 is a wonderfully book filled year for you

October Roundup

Quite a lot of Octobers in the past have been dominated by Christmas reading and this year’s October has been no exception. Thank goodness because they have brought me joy in what has been a rather trying month for various different reasons.

I am some what behind on the reviews for all books, Christmas or otherwise so it might be a while before they appear on the blog. In the meantime here is a whistle stop tour of what I have read.

Bella Osborne – The Perfect Christmas Village is the perfect start to anyone’s Christmas reading. It will get you in the festive spirit as we join the residents of the mot festive village in the country!

Of course not everyone spends Christmas at home, some like to venture abroad. Perhaps take in a bit of skiing too. Annabel French – Christmas at the Chateau is where Naomi goes to mend her broken heart and avoid Christmas. Little does she know how much she is goign to become involved in Christmas and an old flame.

Going back in time for a Christmas which has disaster and trauma to face is the latest in the series, with Lesley Eames – Christmas at the Wartime Bookshop. Times are a changing for some of the main characters we have grown to loved and war is coming closer to the village.

Sensing a theme the final Christmas book for October and with a main character who is avoiding Christmas is the latest Heidi Swain – That Festive Feeling. Back to Nightingale Square where previous books have been set, sees someone else nursing a breakup and trying to find her next path in life whilst avoiding Christmas. Becoming involved in the Christmas play is probably not the best way to avoid it!

Rereading books is as familiar as re-watching films and is how I decided to revisit Daphne du Maurier – Rebecca and wanted to see what it was like reading it some years later. Strangely enough when I got to the place where the second Mrs De Winter is about to come downstairs in her costume for the ball, I set the book aside. I knew what she was going to wear and I knew the fall out. Bravely I picked the book back up and continued. Reminding myself of the well written ending and the possibility of how I felt about the book the second time of reading.

Going back to the past is a favourite genre of book for me and I was pleased to be able to continue my journey with Merryn Allingham – Murder in a French Village, the seventh book in the series. This time Flora has ventured abroad and perhaps she might realise where her home and her heart now lie.

All of the above authors have been on my list for a while and it is always nice to discover new ones. That was the case with Laura Pearson – The Last List of Mabel Beaumont. A beautifully written book which had me in the mind of Rachel Joyce and brought together an eclectic mix of characters to make friends as they all found new paths in life.

So that was October and I enjoyed all the books I read in the time it took me to read them. The aim for 100 in the year still looms large as we get closer and maybe as the nights draw in and its warmer and cheaper to go to bed than put the heating on, there might be some more reading. Then again there might be more sleeping!

How was your October? Any more reading plans for the rest of the year? Have you reached your target yet?

The Raging Storm – Ann Cleeves

We are back with DI Matthew Venn in Devon, the third in the new series from Ann Cleeves, who is better known for Vera and Shetland. But Venn is certainly earning his stripes and will be up with there with Stanhope and Perez.

When legend adventurer and sailor Jem Rosco suddenly arrives back in Greystone, Devon the local residents are as much excited as they are intrigued. However as quick as he arrived he disappears.

His body is washed up in a dinghy in a place where local legends have been talked about for years. Venn is the investigating officer with his colleagues, Jen and Ross. The storm that is building not just with the case and discovery of the body but the elements of the weather which means the team have to stay in Greystone.

Venn is logical, facts and information, not supposition and superstition. Greystone a place he visited as a child with a community that he has since removed himself from.

Jen is balancing being a working mother of teenagers with a desire to succeed.

Ross simply wants to be better than them all and prove he is worthy of a place in the team.

An interesting trio of detective’s whose relationships with each other develop through this novel as well as their determination to find out exactly what has really happened to Jem Rosco. As they dig deeper it all becomes more complicated as rumour and superstition still seems to be behind it all according to the residents.

Someone will know the truth and it is up to Venn and the team to find it.

A perfect example of a what they call a police procedural novel. It is not full of bodies and graphic images, it’s slow pace in parts reflects that not all crimes are solved in the space of a book or television series. It shows that real life has a lot more twists and turns.

A classic mystery novel which will leave you intrigued and suitably satisfied when you get to the end. Perfect as far as I am concerned!

Thank you to the publisher via netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.

The Raging Storm is out now.

September Roundup

There goes September and whilst I had caught up with my reading and was on target, that has all fallen by the wayside . Work does have a strange tendency of getting in the way! For followers of my blog, the reviews are quite slow and I am behind considerably. I don’t seem to have had the motivation to do them and that is not because I haven’t enjoyed the books. It is the thought of having read the book of then having to review it. I only really get chance at a weekend when I can get access to a computer other than when I am at work. I am very fortunate to get a lot of books from netgalley, but I feel guilty that I am not reviewing them in a timely manner. New season, new month, new priorities and I think I need to reassess everything going forward.

That said I do like my round up posts for the month as I take you on a sojourn through my reading. Comfort reading would be a good answer for September. Going back to those authors you know will deliver.

No more so than Sarah Bennett – In From the Cold in her second book in the series, which takes me back to Juniper Meadows, the hotel, the gin distillery, the lodges and this time the family secrets. Pure delight.

Another visit to Heartcross with the latest Christie Barlow – A Winter Wedding at Starcross Manor where it is Christmas and wedding fever has gripped the hotel, but there seems to be something strange going on. Not all the couples are what they seem.

Sticking with the Christmas theme took me to Phillipa Ashley – Four Weddings and a Christmas. It seems you can be a runaway bride at any age and it always will come back to haunt you. Surely Christmas can bring everyone together?

That was enough for Christmas for so early on, there are plenty more on my to read list thanks to netgalley, so more no doubt in the coming months. Returning to authors I have read before sums up the whole month, but whilst I know what I am getting from the first three mentioned above. You never know with the second novel.

Sara Nisha Adams – The Twilight Garden is that such second novel. A wandering novel through the seasons in one particular garden which has such a place in the community and its people. I think this author has the ability to use community as the main stay through her books.

Second novel this time and a dollop of crime in the month goes to Tom Hindle – The Murder Game. The premise is simple – what if there was a real murder in the middle of a murder mystery dinner? Very Agatha Christie, skilfully written and whilst it required a bit more concentration it was a wonderful distraction.

The last book for the month was Sophie Green – The Bellbird River Country Choir, an author I have read before and enjoyed. This book not so much, but I am not sure if that was me or the book. I enjoy the setting of Australia with this author, but the characters were a bit too weak for me.

So that was my September, how was yours?

Morning Frost – James Henry

Going back to 1982, when you could get away with much more than you can some thirty years later, puts this book into almost the historical crime genre. For those unaware, Frost was Detective Inspector created by R.D. Wingfield and then subsequently made famous by national treasure David Jason on screen.

James Henry has picked up Frost, and taken us back to when he was a Detetcive Sergeant and almost gives us a particular background to him.

In this novel, Frost has just buried his wife.

We are at the wake, where everyone from Denton is gathered. Support from the police force.

Although one officer isn’t there, she is working. She has been summoned to a hand in a field. No body, just a hand.

Then a local businessman is shot.

And a painting goes missing.

It seems that Frost is not able to grieve at all. And the imitable Superintendent Mullet who is reluctant to tell Frost that he is to be promoted is very keen to get all of this solved.

This book for me was tightly plotted, and sticks faithful to the character of Frost with his random methods of extracting information and his ability to keep avoiding Mullett. His loyalty to his team is never in doubt and he does understand everyone and everything even if he does not give that impression. The dark witty humour is present and the bleakness of the time is paramount. The Nineteen Eighties are really a different time.

Plenty of twists and turns, before it is all wrapped up towards the end where the pace picks up to the dénouement. Perfect for fans of English police procedurals, especially as some references are specific to the UK.

Thank you to the publisher via netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Morning Frost has been out for a number of years and is available in all formats.

Murder at the Village Fair – Helena Dixon

Kitty Underhay is now more known as Mrs Kitty Bryant and along with her new husband, Matt and their faithful dog, Bertie have travelled to Yorkshire for a summer break and a bit of a honeymoon. Surely murder will not follow them and they can have a well deserved rest?

Of course if that was the case there wouldn’t be a book. Kitty and Matt discover the body of the fortune teller at the local Village Fair, seemingly poisoned by something in her tea?

Knowing everything about all the villagers, but not what might happen to them, surely someone there has the answer?

Will this Inspector be more amenable to Kitty and Matt looking into things, than the one they have left behind in Devon?

Another cosy mystery in this series and it was nice to see Kitty and Matt away from their normal setting, but I did miss Kitty’s relationship with her amid and friend Alice.

If you want something light, that is relatively paced and has something terribly British about it, then this series of books is just for you. I look forward to continuing my adventures with them.

Thank you to the publisher via netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Murder at the Village Fair is out now.