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.
