This was another intriguing mystery for Inspector Littlejohn, who has to investigate how an elderly lady came to fall out of a window while watering hThis was another intriguing mystery for Inspector Littlejohn, who has to investigate how an elderly lady came to fall out of a window while watering her plants. George Bellairs' books never fail to satisfy....more
My first book by this author. Ellie has returned to the village where she grew up having been made redundant. She moves into her parents' house (they My first book by this author. Ellie has returned to the village where she grew up having been made redundant. She moves into her parents' house (they are away for several months), starts a dog-walking business and gets a job at the pub that's been a sort of home-from-home to her in the past. But the pub, despite being the centre is village life, is threatened as the lease is up and the brewery has sold it.
Inevitably, Ellie's meeting with local landowner Max goes badly from the outset - she's covered in mud, he's mocking. So you know that the course of the book will be their series of misunderstandings and miscommunications - it's a familiar pattern, but not the easiest to handle. Some authors do it wonderfully (think Lizzie Bennett and Mr Darcy, mother and father to the whole trope). Here, it's no more than okay - Max charges headlong into things without asking, Ellie is wilfully obstructive a lot of the time. You want to shake them both. Neither really has a satisfactory excuse for their behaviour, but I suppose that's actually fairly typical of people in general.
Overall, it's a feel-good novel that serves its purpose of being comfortable and unchallenging, despite the visit to the refugee camp that's a pressing issue and deserving of more serious handling. But I still enjoyed it, and may well read further instalments (seems to be first of a series of four).
My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Boldwood Books, for a review copy....more
This was a romp of a murder mystery with great characters. The setting, in an old people's home, was satisfying because the residents were intelligentThis was a romp of a murder mystery with great characters. The setting, in an old people's home, was satisfying because the residents were intelligent, articulate and capable people who began to feel like friends. The police, too, became people one cared about. With the action mainly told from the point of view of Joyce, an ex-nurse, we see her blossom with her membership of the Thursday Murder Club.
I was very pleasantly surprised by this book.
Thanks to Netgalley for a review copy (although it was archived before I could finish it, so I had to buy a copy!)...more
I loved this book, which brought together so many threads that I have followed over the years. I may not have been totally convinced by Moffat's constI loved this book, which brought together so many threads that I have followed over the years. I may not have been totally convinced by Moffat's construct of Arthur's origins in the Borders because his reliance on folk memory can never be wholly confirmed, but I think he makes a strong case and one which is in accord with much of my other reading.
Moffat writes so engagingly, and with such a wealth of local knowledge, that I find my travels around the Borders greatly enriched....more
My copy was published in the UK as The Ancient Paths.
Whether Robb proves his theory that the Druids mapped the ancient world is a moot point, but aloMy copy was published in the UK as The Ancient Paths.
Whether Robb proves his theory that the Druids mapped the ancient world is a moot point, but along the way he creates a fascinating synthesis of classical and other texts. There's much in this book to stimulate thought and to dispel much of the Roman view of druidism as savage and barbarian.
Our view of the Celtic world has undergone a good deal of change in recent years, and as a piece of serious historical research Robb's contribution comes somewhat out of left field. My reading left me sceptical but greatly engaged....more
I was slightly surprised to find myself getting really involved with the story, because at first I did find the writing a little too didactic: anotherI was slightly surprised to find myself getting really involved with the story, because at first I did find the writing a little too didactic: another reviewer said it was like reading a textbook, and I could sympathise. I do feel, however, that this was a worthy attempt to inform through the medium of fiction, and that this book could make a real difference for someone who has just has a diagnosis of fibromyalgia or another condition causing chronic pain or fatigue. Or perhaps it might just make a reader empathise with anyone suffering an invisible disability - and heaven knows, we need more of that! Tabitha's reluctance to tell people just how incapacitating her condition can be is all too familiar to other sufferers and the widespread support and sympathy she gets would be little short of miraculous in the real world; here, the vitriol she attracts is because of her cat cafe, and not because she's sat in the priority seat on a bus or parked in a disabled space - problems faced daily by people with fibro or CFS, for example. So, if there's a little too much time spent explaining the unpredictability of fibro, or the "spoons' model which helps people to cope, it's done with the best intentions, and may help newly diagnosed sufferers and/or their families, to understand what can be overwhelming life-changes.
It helps if you're a cat lover, too, because they figure largely in the story, which is set against the background of a community the author has used before, Whitsborough Bay. If you like familiar settings and returning characters then you'll enjoy seeing a handful of familiar faces amongst the Castle Street shopkeepers. And there's Christmas to look forward to, of course, with the sense of family and celebration that it brings.
My 4 star rating is partly in appreciation of an author who is tackling a difficult and not particularly glamorous subject. It may be a rather optimistic view, in the end, but for people in need of hope and support, that's not necessarily unhelpful.
Thanks to Boldwood Books and Netgalley for a review copy....more
I'd read one or two books by this author when A False Pride turned up on Kindle Unlimited. It's a somewhat convoluted plot concerning a famiConvoluted
I'd read one or two books by this author when A False Pride turned up on Kindle Unlimited. It's a somewhat convoluted plot concerning a family inheritance and there's quite a lot of explication, but it's still enjoyable, even if at times it feels a little implausible. There are humorous touches and, on this one at least, a positive heap of bodies. All in all, it lives up to its cosy mystery billing....more
Streatfeild's book shows the early months of WW2 on the Home Front from various points of view and generations. There's Lydia, former miThe Home Front
Streatfeild's book shows the early months of WW2 on the Home Front from various points of view and generations. There's Lydia, former mistress of Levet, who represents the old guard, the Edwardians who believed in keeping up appearances and never letting vulgar emotions show, and Sara, the new wife who has had a professional career as an actress and feels stifled by the demands of running a country house. There are the Vidlers, evacuees from Deptford to whom country life is a mystery, and Nannie and the servants, who know the way things ought to be done.
In this household of women - because the men have their role in the wider world - domestic troubles muddle the established ways and individuals come to know themselves better. And typically of Streatfeild's adult novels, not everything ends in cosiness for everyone - there's quiet tragedy as well as greater self-knowledge, and the war will continue for years to come with all the uncertainty that that will bring.
Streatfeild is a wise and compassionate writer and this novel is social history as well as fiction.
There are one or two attitudes expressed which modern readers may find distasteful; they are, however, entirely in keeping with the characters depicted and should be read in context. They should not detract from appreciation of an excellent novel of its time. ...more
It's becoming something of a cliche to say that a place becomes a character in the story, but the mountain Buachaille Etive Mor does so in this detectIt's becoming something of a cliche to say that a place becomes a character in the story, but the mountain Buachaille Etive Mor does so in this detective story. Supt William Lorimer takes a friend on a trip to climb Daniel's first Munro, but they find the body of another climber, fallen to his death. Then a local teenager finds another body in a disused quarry and Lorimer finds himself back in Glencoe, scene of a historic massacre, to investigate this latest death.
There is lots of detail here - local history, climbing, the Scottish landscape - to make for a compelling read. This is the first of Alex Gray's novels I've read, but I will be looking out for more, and I'm definitely ordering the next in the series, because I want to know what happens next for Lorimer, his wife Maggie, and their friend Daniel....more
A thriller somewhat in the style of the better-known Mary Stewart but a little less serious, this is an engaging romp set on a GreekGlorious nonsense!
A thriller somewhat in the style of the better-known Mary Stewart but a little less serious, this is an engaging romp set on a Greek island. Georgia, a private teacher who has just been sacked for attracting the eye of her employer's husband, answers a summons from her cousin to fill a sudden vacancy at a school run by a rich eccentric, only to find the cousin dead, and various people seemingly intent on making sure she leaves the island immediately. Chaos ensues. As ever, Joan Aiken's storytelling is witty, literate, and great fun....more
Actually I am still only half-way through so it's an interim rating. But it's the middle of the night and I have only just managed to drag myself awayActually I am still only half-way through so it's an interim rating. But it's the middle of the night and I have only just managed to drag myself away. I need some sleep - Adams would understand.
The book's not funny, though not lacking in humour. And it's really great to see DS Adams get all the action to herself. Much as I love the dragons and the ladies of Toot Hansell in the "sequels", this is the best yet. She's turning into a terrific character.
More when I reach the end. Except to add, I love the cover!...more
Set in the 1960s, when the world felt just a bit kinder, this is about a woman who has cared for her mother and is now preparinA rather gentle mystery
Set in the 1960s, when the world felt just a bit kinder, this is about a woman who has cared for her mother and is now preparing to embrace a single life and some peaceful solitude when her 4-year-old niece is thrust upon her. Marian reluctantly agrees to the new arrangement, but it takes an escaped convict to make her see what she values most in life....more
The Cloverly Dragons are just the best! I'm always impatient for a new book from Kim Watt (I'm not quite sure which of her series I enjoy most) and thThe Cloverly Dragons are just the best! I'm always impatient for a new book from Kim Watt (I'm not quite sure which of her series I enjoy most) and this latest one had me laughing delightedly from page 1 as the perpetually anxious Mortimer discovers that his young friend Gilbert has gone missing since his sister accused him of not being a proper dragon. Gilbert's a bit of a new-age dragon - he's a vegetarian and doesn't believe that any animal should be held in captivity. There's been trouble with humans before over Gilbert's liberation of Christmas turkeys. To make matters worse, there are cryptid hunters abroad and a particularly avid journalist who's desperate to prove that there are monsters in the area, so the Cloverly dragons have been keeping their heads down - no visits to their friends at the Toot Hansell WI for tea and scones, which is making everyone miserable.
In the end, of course, the WI ladies have to get involved (try stopping them!), as do police officers DI Adams and Colin, and Dandy-the-invisible-dog (how can I get so worried about a creature who can't be seen by most people?) and the foul-mouthed cat Thompson and even a chicken who may, I suspect, turn up in future books. I hope so, I was getting fond of it.
Best-Laid Plans is pure joy, full of the sort of gloriously rich detail and characterisation which makes you believe in and care about everyone from the outset. If you haven't read any of the series then you have a treat in store, because you really ought to start with Baking Bad so that you can get to know everyone. A warning though: you'll probably want a pot of tea and a home-made cake to hand while you read....more
A good start to a series set in a magical bookshop. My only complaint is that it's very short, but that meant I scarfed all 6 in as many days, and thoA good start to a series set in a magical bookshop. My only complaint is that it's very short, but that meant I scarfed all 6 in as many days, and thoroughly enjoyed them. I'd like more, in fact - perhaps the characters could embark on a new adventure?...more
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