I'm not sure how I only read these few books in November! It felt like more, but then there was a fair bit of driving done here and there which is an annoying waste of good reading time. Still, here we are:
A Right Cozy Historical Crime:
Obviously I’m in this, but it’s a good read, nevertheless! My particular
favourites: Olga Wojtas’ chilling story, Gareth Williams’ clever Cambridge
setting, Meg Woodward’s mediaeval tournament, Sheena MacLeod’s Highland big
hoose mystery, and Barbara Stevenson’s story from her Stone Age Orkney series
(prize at least for the oldest historical setting! These are great young adult
books which she writes as B.K. Bruce), as well as Lisa Harkrader’s entertaining
tale set round a school play. A lovely variety, and very entertaining. It was fun
launching this during Book Week Scotland in a bookshop in Montrose.
J.M. Prior, Tea Time Tales:
Not a book, this, but zines – an A3 piece of paper folded to A6 to contain a
short story, with artwork, just long enough for a short bus journey or work tea
break. The ones I bought from Jane’s beautifully written and well-produced
selection were ‘Eradicating Parasites’ (deeply disturbing – that’s going to stay with me!),
‘Liam Patterson’s Cause for Concern’ (spooky but touching), and ‘Starry, Starry Night’ (a
slow-build chill with a tragic feel). They would also make lovely stocking-fillers
or quick little gifts for a busy book-lover. It’s a clever idea and Jane is so talented – take a
look at her website at https://www.miscellanyjane.com/zine-catalogue.
Carmen Radkte, Death under Palm Trees: This is a slightly
different setting for this series, with Frances and Jack, and Uncle Sal, all
pretending to be someone they are not in a grand Riviera villa in order to root
out someone stealing state secrets. When death intervenes it’s hard to know who
is on which side, but it’s fun finding out!
Aline Templeton, Death at St. Abb’s Head: Really good local
conspiracy which turns out to be a proper whodunnit, with, as always, a great
sense of place and interesting characters. I’m not sure how I feel about the
Cat business, but it looks as if her mother is the redeeming feature here –
let’s see how it goes, but oh! poor Livvy!
Aline Templeton, Shades of Death: One of those useless, unmemorable titles possibly suggested by a publisher. Separate from the Kelso Strang
series, this starts with a body in a cave and a woman subjected to coercive
control, so if you’re the kind of person who likes trigger warnings, there are
two to be getting on with. The quotation, if you know your Flanders & Swan,
is from Gerard de Nerval and not Baudelaire, but that’s me being picky (and a
show-off!). The mystery is a good one and the ending very satisfying, with the
proper consequences.
Rhys Dylan, The Light Remains: A particularly enjoyable episode
in this series. I love the dry humour of the ‘stairwell of conversation’ and
the organs for transplant box, as well as the close relationships between the
team. Two dysfunctional families feature in this one, one of them including the
misjudged national rugby hero whose death precipitates the case. Evan also has
concerns regarding his colleague Jess and her daughter, which I hope will be
resolved in a satisfactory fashion in some following book.
And finally, The Shadowed Blade, Hippolyta 8, is out - out in paperback, and the Kindle version on pre-order. It's taken ages!!
Hope you find some good Christmas reading!
