December's reading

 Some books started in November and finished in December - see if there's anything you fancy! There seems to be a generous helping of paranormal and / or cosy this month - I think it's the reading equivalent of hygge.

Carmen Radtke, Heartbreak and Hexes: This village is thick with magic, so if the paranormal is your thing blended with cosy crime, walk straight in. The wry humour doesn’t go amiss, either, so these are the kind of book it’s easy to curl up with when the world outside is a bit too grim. My favourite line: “The plot has thickened so much, it would stick to the pot if you flipped it over.”

M.C. Mackay, The Ballochbrae Book Club: Quite a few characters to take in over the first few chapters, but they all begin to make sense fairly quickly. This is set around Ballater in the fictional village of Ballochbrae and feels authentic, though occasionally it reads like a guidebook. The characters are more memorable than the plot, but perhaps this new series will find its feet quickly.

Aline Templeton, Night and Silence: Another standalone with the complex, realistic characterisation I’ve come to expect from Aline Templeton. There are quite a few characters in this one, including a number of ex-lovers of the unlikeable victim, Willow, a nurse with a sideline in blackmail. Several others are people one would not wish to spend time with, but Cordiner’s wife and son, as well as Cordiner himself, are a bit more likeable and there is plenty going on to keep our interest and sympathy. This is a tight little community but not close-knit, and the tensions between the various people are brilliantly observed.

Nikki Coplestone, Directions for Murder: The next Jeff Lincoln book with a well-designed plot with lots of intriguing, inter-connected characters in a very realistic setting. A few of them needed their come-uppance and not everyone gets it, but it’s still a very satisfying read and Jeff himself, a realistic and likeable detective, is setting off on the next stage of his life, which is great.

A Case of the Claws: Classic Tales of Feline Crime: A pretty little book containing four crime mysteries for cat lovers, by Catherine Aird, Edmund Crispin, Patricia Highsmith and Ellis Peters. This makes a nice little gift, but also a quick and amusing read. The actual cover is great!

Kura Jane Carpenter, Pride and Prejudice and Mice: This absolutely charming little book is very well grounded in the original Jane Austen novel, but with mice as the main characters, as the delightful illustrations show. I gather there’s a colour version planned, but for now the paperback is a joy, with a wit that I’m sure Austen herself would have relished.

Aline Templeton, Death in the Black Isle: I really struggled with the first part of this, because I didn’t want Oriole so put upon, and I didn’t want Perry to succeed, and I didn’t want the trees cut down, and I found it quite upsetting. And I’m still not sure about Cat. Then the first recognised murder occurred, and we were off. As usual the characters were well drawn and the setting very realistic, and Murray is coming into her own very well.

J.D. Kirk, First Among the Dead: This is a novella set in the early career of Tyler Neish, including his first meeting with Hoon. It’s entertaining, of course, but also touching, and very nicely plotted with all the usual laughs.

Jodi Taylor, Murder at Martingale Manor: A Christie-esque murder mystery novella solved by our time travelling holiday makers, Max and Leon – beautifully done, as ever.

Sarah Beth Durst, The Spell Shop: Not my usual fare, but recommended to me as a feel-good read (and I do seem to be reading a few of those just now!). The main characters are a severely reclusive librarian from a library of magic books, and her sentient and rather independent spider plant, Caz. Fleeing from some uprising in their city, they retreat to her long-abandoned childhood home and try to make a new life for themselves, while struggling to ignore their helpful and hunky new neighbour. The fact that they have smuggled (rescued) a few crates of spell books with them, at a time when magic that has helped the locals survive has been restricted to official city-use only, gives them something to do, even if it results in a singing tree and a frolicking cactus. This is very amusing, with some mild and entertaining peril and a happy ending – great fun.

Sarah Beth Durst, The Enchanted Greenhouse: Well, who doesn’t want an enchanted greenhouse? This spins off with a minor character who was only mentioned in The Spell Shop, a librarian in disgrace for casting the spell that made the spider plant, Caz, sentient. Once again, a feel-good romance with magic and plants, and lots of fun. I think I'd agree with others, though, who say they didn't feel the romantic chemistry quite so much in this one.

Val McDermid, The Mermaids Singing: I read this in a day on a couple of railway journeys and came out of it … pretty disgusted at the torture stuff, but very pleased with the plotting and writing, on the whole, though I had guessed a fair bit of the solution. I prefer McDermid’s Karen Pirie series by some distance, as well as some of her stand-alones. These are too dark for me, really. But I've always loved the poem the title comes from!

And what am I up to? I'm working on a couple of things at the moment, one being one of those projects that looks all bright and shiny but might never see the light of day, and the other being research for the next Dr. Robert Wilson book, the sequel to The Business in Blandyce. I've let myself in for quite a bit of reading for this series as he crosses Europe - this one will be set in Paris, so still within my linguistic abilities. Not sure what I'm going to do further east! There isn't even a working title yet, so watch this (rather blank) space ...