Happy New Year! And December's books

 December was, of course, quite busy, but a few books managed to get themselves read in the cracks in the corners (a shame books aren't quite so quick to get themselves written, but there we are!). Anyway, the snow's on the ground (here, anyway) so see if you can find yourself a good read or two to keep you cosy.

Cecilia Peartree, Death at the Pavilion: another in this excellent and entertaining series set in the dysfunctional town of Pitkirtly and featuring an entire population full of aversions and complex self-confidence issues. Most of our characters by now have rich histories and it’s easy to feel at home even with retired spies and murder suspects. I hope this will not be the last we’ll see of Amaryllis and Christopher.

Simon Bond, Mrs. Pargeter’s Public Relations: This was a great ending to the huge box set … the explanations of UK terms to US readers at the end was, shall we say, idiosyncratic.

Veronica Heley, Murder by Accident: Another entertaining tale (and not quite as dark as the previous episode), with the usual tensions – will the dreadful Diana get the upper hand? Will the subservient Stewart stand up for himself? Problems with the electrics cause more than one shock before the usual satisfying ending.

Gareth Williams, Rescuing Richard: This is such rich fare it needs to be read a little at a time, absorbing the wonderful historical detail and the fine African setting. The complex and political plot takes him eventually to London in the company of a Zulu chief to visit King George IV. Extremely interesting and authoritatively written.

Wendy M. Wilson, Recalled to Life: The second in this unusual series set in late 19^th century New Zealand, with a retired English soldier set up as a private investigator in a town part Maori and part Swedish. Hardy has been arrested by the unpredictable Armed Constabulary for no reason he can establish, until it begins to seem the roots lie in his army service in India. A bit of me was intrigued by the Tale of Two Cities reference in the title, but this doesn't seem to go anywhere, sadly.

Jodi Taylor, Doing Time: My first in the spin-off Time Police series – Max’s son Matthew joins up, for complex reasons, and is teamed up with a timid soul on the run from her grandmother and a brash young man hoping to be thrown out to prove a point to his wealthy father. The characters are of course more complex than that, and we watch them develop through their training and against a background very different from St. Mary’s.

Jodi Taylor, Hard Time: Our Team Weird are in action again, sent on a dreadfully dangerous assignment before their training is properly complete. Extremely witty, tense and moving, this series is just as good as Taylor’s other books – not sure why I’d been avoiding it!

Richard Osman, The Thursday Murder Club: I’d only heard chunks of this on Radio 4’s Book at Bedtime when it first came out, so decided to give a proper chance. Of course I wasn’t keen on the present tense, never am for a narrative, but otherwise I enjoyed it quite well, even if I found it – perhaps it sounds stupid to say far-fetched in a cosy mystery, but yes, I thought it stretched credulity a touch too far. There are similar series I prefer and I wondered if Osman was trying to stuff too much into a cosy plot. Still, I’d probably read another one.

David Gatward, Blood Fountain: Another very good episode in this series with a couple of gory murders and, for a while, yet another dog. I miss Gordy (now down in Somerset) from the team, but the setting is still magnificent and the humour very welcome.

Hm, someone needs to update their covers online! David Gatward, Hatchet Hill: The second in Gordy’s spin-off series set in Somerset, and this is even gorier than Blood Fountain. The team is slowly building up steam and the addition of retired consultant Jameson is a good one. There were a couple of things I wasn’t so keen on in this one, one aspect that was a bit predictable (and that I would not have expected from this author) and one point that I felt could have been followed up again (but perhaps I was over-thinking that). Anyway, a good solid read and I hope to be back for more.

Rhys Dylan, A Body of Water: A man stabbed on the driveway of his remote Welsh farmhouse starts us off on another episode of this very good series, giving us plenty of examples of why one might want to retreat to the back of beyond. But what happened to the victim’s hens??

Carmen Radtke, Murder Makes Waves: The glamorous setting of a cruise ship heading for London gets us off to a good start, and I liked the way Frances’ involvement with the ship’s entertainment allowed us to see two levels of shipboard life. The plot is light and fun and Frances, Jack and Sal are so likeable it’s good to spend time with them. But what next, now they’ve arrived in Europe?

Ben Aaronovitch, Amongst Our Weapons: It’s a while since I’d read one of these so this was a bit of a Christmas treat to myself, and despite its length I whizzed through it. Pete’s narrative voice is really strong and very funny with his sarcastic asides about policing and architecture, and the whole mad world of the Rivers of London (one of whom is, of course, his girlfriend) is a rich, crazy delight with enough links to real life to make it weirdly convincing. I particularly like the talking foxes, but there’s so much here to enjoy that, apart from one uncharacteristic Latin error, it’s hard to fault it at all.

There we are, not too many to choose from! And as regards the very belated The Gowden Wifie (Alec Cattanach II) I can tell you that I've just reached the end of Chapter 44 (out of 50), and I'm pressing on, so perhaps there's hope!

Books in November

 

November was a busy month! Lots of reading done, much of it seasonal, so dip in and see if you can find something new to enjoy (or indeed something old)!

Carmen Radtke, Ghost Conquers the Castle: This charming series continues with an episode set in a Highland castle at Christmas. With the risk of Adriana actually meeting another ghost, and the challenges of several extensive meals each day, being snowed in with a murder victim is not ideal as Genie tries to learn the subtleties of upper class social life. Very entertaining – made me want to head for the Highlands!

David Gatward, The SomersetSlayings: Though I thought the plot here was a bit contrived, I enjoyed the possibilities of this Somerset spin-off with Gordy, one of my favourite characters from the Grimm books. I’m very fond of Somerset and look forward to seeing how this goes – the team already looks promising and the food equally dangerous!

M.W. Craven, The Mercy Chair: Too many Americanisms, like ‘pantsuit’ (horrid word), but although I found Poe really unnecessarily rude to start with, I relaxed back into the whole Poe/Tilly thing and mostly enjoyed it. There’s a slight tendency to have Tilly as the answer to everything, a kind of deus ex machina for anything Poe needs, but she is still very funny and the relationship is a good one.

Susan Hill, The Woman in Black: This is one of two books this month that are basically ghost stories, not my usual genre. It’s also one of two books that I feel I have read but haven’t really. In this case I saw most of a BBC production years ago and heard people talk about the stage production and the film. Of course it’s well-written – it’s Susan Hill – and of course it doesn’t have the jump-scares of the onscreen version. But it’s an insidious, creepy story, filled with malice and deep unhappiness, and I’ll remember it for a long time.

Michelle Paver, Dark Matter: This is the other ghost story, set north of the Arctic Circle on a long sunless winter between the wars, as the narrator, a young, class-conscious man on a scientific expedition, goes steadily mad in the face of a terrible haunting. The atmosphere is terrific and you can really see and feel the place, living his optimism even as you know it’s all going to end very badly. A very chilling read.

S.L. Ireland, The House on Devil’s Lane: And as it happens, another ghost story – this time a young-mother-in-peril style where you’re really not sure from one chapter to the next if it’s ghosts or there’s a rational explanation. There are certainly plenty of secrets to be revealed and fingers to point before it’s all over – if it ever is.

Anna Faversham, Beware the Midnight Train: And oh, my goodness, another ghost story! It must be the season. Set in the 1970s, this one involves a young, jilted woman going to live on her own in the countryside in what turns out to be a haunted cottage. Only by travelling back in time on the Midnight Train can she hope to help the ghosts and allow them to rest – but is it a trap? Funny and tragic (the upstairs neighbours are a joy), this is one of those reads where you dread the ending but have to read on.

Graham Greene, Our Man in Havana: And this is the other book I feel I’ve read but I haven’t. Poignant and funny, this is very familiar: you’ll all know the story of Wormold the vacuum cleaner salesman and his semi-accidental fall into espionage in order to support the ambitious lifestyle of his beautiful daughter, and the consequences. There are lots of beautifully observed details: someone in the audience receives a stripper’s gloves as if they were receiving the contents of an in tray; an old German doctor secretly dresses up in fancy uniform at night, in love with that aspect of the army but appalled by the idea of the actual Wehrmacht.

Various authors, A Right Cosy Christmas Crime: This was a good mixture of cosy crimes, from America to the UK to Nigeria, and a very pleasant light read for the season. This is the first in a serious of cosy crime anthologies edited by Wendy H. Jones – more to follow soon.

Alison Joseph, Thou Shalt NotKill: Another outing for fast-driving, fine dining Sister Agnes, this time involved in road protests and sabotage as she tries to help a young girl re-establish relations with her father and investigate two deaths. 

Simon Brett, Mrs. Pargeter’s Principle: My one qualm with this is that Mrs. Pargeter agrees to travel in a grand 4x4 instead of her usual Bentley. I can’t easily see Mrs. Pargeter in what I picture to be her usual wardrobe managing to climb into a grand 4x4. However, the rest of the plot is great fun, as we unravel more and more of Mr. Pargeter’s past and his team’s histories.

Simon Brett, Mrs. Pargeter’s Point of Honour: The return of stolen works of art to their rightful owners at the behest of a dying woman proves more challenging that she expects for Mrs. Pargeter, and very funny for the reader.

Fiona Veitch Smith, The Pantomime Murders: Despite occasional anachronistic jolts, this was a very enjoyable read set round about December Newcastle and York. The theatrical setting felt right and I do enjoy spending time with the main character. Less cosy, though, and more traditional.

Fiona Leitch, The Cornish Wedding Murder: Cosy and fun, with our heroine an ex-cop turned events chef in her childhood home, crossing swords with an unreasonable and unreasonably good looking local police inspector.

T. Kingfisher, A Sorceress Comes to Call: Kingfisher’s books are deeply written, her characters strong and beautifully developed. Within pages, you can find yourself crying for them, even when the situation is still not clear. The whole book is perfectly constructed and very funny, and would make you beg for more if it weren’t rounded off so well.

Bernard Cornwell, Sharpe’s Assassin: The last book in the Napoleonic War part of the Sharpe series, and as excitingly written as all the others. Sharpe’s occasional discomfort with his rank, his dissatisfaction with those who do not face up to their responsibilities, his conflict between finishing a job and his own responsibilities to his wife and son, all these feed into some cracking battle scenes and clever tactics, and the usual witty asides.

Claire Keegan, Small Things like These: Not my usual fare but this is beautifully written and at probably close to novella length it would make a lovely Christmas read. A family man is faced with a moral dilemma that causes him to reflect on his own birth and upbringing, and on the small Irish town around him.

And finally, an update - at last I seem to be writing again and am now over 3/5 through the first draft of The Gowden Wifie, Cattanach 2. It feels as if it's going quite well - hard to tell! I just hope it will keep going and make some kind of sense in the end.

October reading

 

Again, a relatively light reading month but very enjoyable! See what you might fancy:

Pat McIntosh, The Rough Collier: a fine complex plot, archaeological discovery leading to accusations of murder and witchcraft and a detailed investigation across a swathe of Scottish geography. The descriptions are realistic and lovely, and the relationship between the newly-wedded Gil and his wife is delightful. It’s a while since I’ve read one of these, and I was very pleased to return to them.

Carmen Radtke, Murder on theAirwaves: A good cosy mystery for this time of year, set in a quiet American community at Hallowe’en. Eve is visiting her father and stepmother but finds herself involved in investigating the murder of the local community radio host and bringing harmony back to a disrupted neighbourhood. Very readable and charming.

Simon Brett, Mrs. Pargeter’s Plot: A peculiarly devious mystery, this, as the detective is impeded by an old lag trying to make good on his previous mistakes while educating himself in humour – and a marmoset is involved, too. Very entertaining.

J.M. Dalgleish, The Cuillin Dead: This could do with a bit of tightening up in terms of typos and so on, and barring the Skye landscape I can’t really visualise much in the book, certainly not the people, all of whom seem a bit thin. Perhaps it’s me. There’s also a weird habit of putting place names into italics – maybe because they’re Gaelic, but not all of them are, and it’s not even consistent. And there’s a great deal of ‘scoffing’. I really didn’t enjoy this as much as previous ones, and I’m not particularly drawn to Duncan, the main character. Perhaps I just wasn’t in the mood.

David Gatward, Dark Harvest and See No Evil: very enjoyable as always, as the overarching relationship between the characters continues to develop and more murders and mysteries are solved against the lovely backdrop of the Dales. It’s just a little too easy to race through these books, though!

Jodi Taylor, A Bachelor Establishment: a lovely Regency romance with a family mystery wound in – will our hero and heroine recognise love despite the rift between their families? Will Lord Ryde survive the invasion of his home by countless women? As always, Jodi Taylor’s writing is historically lovely, touching and very funny.

G.G. Collins, Editor Kill Fee: Again, the setting is wonderful but threatening as we venture down Devil’s Road, where people have been known to disappear into the forest and never be seen again. There are problems at the publishing house and at a local crime book club, and chiles are also involved – this is irresistible! These books make me, an inveterate Scottish moor and mountain non-traveller outside the UK, make me want to visit Santa Fe quite badly.

Joy Margetts, The Stranger: There is a great sense of place and time here, and we are drawn quickly into Silas’ world and his mental struggles. Silas runs away from his monastery feeling he has failed in trying to establish its daughter house in a hostile environment. On his travels he is the stranger, stealing a coracle (with great incompetence), living with a carpenter’s widow and helping her find her feet, learning from a lonely charcoal burner … though he seemed humble enough he learns a proper humility as those he thinks less religiously educated than himself teach him something else about his faith. While he is a stranger to them, he has tried to make himself a stranger to God, too, but God, of course, does not take this lying down. Silas’ service to others is a strong theme – having felt he failed in this at Grace Dieu, he goes on to help everyone he meets quite unselfconsciously, though he also learns how to accept help from others. Though we can take Silas as the stranger of the title, one character, Cennad, who leads him and encourages him at one of his lowest ebbs is also a key stranger, not seen to speak to anyone but Silas, moving mysteriously and vanishing just when he has seen Silas to safety. This is a lovely and encouraging story, grounded in its historical setting, woven in with appropriate Biblical quotations and insights, particularly from Brother Hywel who has appeared in previous books. It is a delight to see Silas re-encounter God, the God who reminds him, surprisingly, that Silas loves Him (not the other way around, which is the more obvious statement!). A joy to read.

Well, there we are. The Gowden Wifie, Cattanach 2, is at last showing some signs of being a book one day, and if you're around Auchterarder, Perthshire, on 9th November or Montrose's George Hotel on 17th, I'll be making appearances at book fairs at both - pop in and say hello! Now I'm off to continue to work my way through the season's tomato glut - passata, anyone?

September's books

 September is always a really busy month for me so there are only a few books here, unfortunately! But still, quality counts.

Elly Griffiths, The Man in Black: I’m not a huge fan of short stories, but I really enjoyed this collection which interwove all kinds of bits from Elly’s writing, Ruth, Nelson, Max Mephisto, Justice and Harbinder. It was clever and great fun.

Simon Brett, Mrs. Pargeter’s Package: Our heroine is off to Corfu with a friend who does not long survive to enjoy her holiday. The cast of Greek villagers is a little muddling but the setting is good and the plot entertaining.

Simon Brett, Mrs. Pargeter’sPound of Flesh: Mrs Pargeter is now at a health farm, not, of course, for her own benefit as she is perfectly at ease in her body, but she does discover some dark dealings behind the scenes. These are well-written and engaging, though it might be best not to read too many in a row!

J.D. Kirk, A Killer ofInfluence: Another excellent episode, this time with the plot based in Logan’s past and some fun with social media influencers. The usual mixture of humour and pathos and a cracking good plot.

Rhys Dylan, Burnt Echo: Rather a tragic but very satisfying plot here and the team all acting well together as always. I did enjoy what they did to Byron, and I was very relieved to see the biscuits back. Young Rhys needs his food!

Guy Gardner, The Mirror Game: Mostly very good, and the period atmosphere is lightly evoked even with a few anachronisms in the language. I found the plot a bit unlikely, but it was interesting enough to go along for the ride.

G.G. Collins, Looking Glass Editor: I couldn’t resist a return to Santa Fe, this time in skiing season, to follow Taylor the editor with her new cat (no, the old one is not happy) and her new eccentric author to manage. G.G. has a talent for an exciting ending, too! Good cosy books in a very attractive setting.

And indeed there has been very little progress in writing, either. The second Cattanach book should have been finished by now, and it's barely started! Maybe October will give me a chance to catch up a little!