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[Karlyne]

What is the NLW, Helen? I've been doing a bit of family research, too, so I'm curious. (I did find one mention of my family name in your link!)

[Ruth]

Great site, Helen, thank-you. NLW = National Library of Wales.

[Penny]

Helen wrote: "thank you to whomever it was that mentioned Barbara Cleverly and the Last Kashmiri Rose - I have just finished it, what a great read. The British raj was known to me, but not in detail of daily lif..."

I've really enjoyed the Sandilands series Helen - they are 'cozy' in a way but seem to have more bite that the knitting/quilting/cooking brigades!!! I enjoyed the era it was set it too and the character and settings change and some characters move through the stories in suprising ways - if you carry on you'll get what I mean!!

[Bionic Jean]

LOL - I prefer novels not including or targeted at the "knitting/cooking/quilting brigade" too, Penny! Could you (or Helen) recommend a starter for the Sandilands series please?

[Penny]

Jean wrote: "LOL - I prefer novels not including or targeted at the "knitting/cooking/quilting brigade" too, Penny! Could you (or Helen) recommend a starter for the Sandilands series please?"

its this one Jean - Well worth a look!

[Bionic Jean]

Thanks very much Penny! It sounds intriguing; I've added it to my TBR shelf :)

[Helen]

as Sarah has said Karlyne, the NLW is the National Library of Wales - good luck in your search. I laughed at this - me too, Penny! <Penny wrote: "LOL - I prefer novels not including or targeted at the "knitting/cooking/quilting brigade"> I shall definitely keep on with the series & now you have made it all the more interesting with your mention of 'continuing' characters.

[Leslie]

Just about to start Michael Innes' second Appleby book, Hamlet, Revenge!. Then it is off to the library to pick up my copy of this month's Inspector Morse book, The Wench Is Dead.

[John]

And having finished the Pickwick Papers, I have just listened to the first two chapters of Michael Innes' erudite Appleby's End (1945) on Audible, and just started reading M C Beaton's not-so-erudite As The Pig Turns (an Agatha Raisin story, 2011) on Kindle. From the sublime to the ridiculous!

[Bionic Jean]

Diversity is the key, isn't it John? I'm not sure I'd mange to struggle through Bertrand Russell's The Problems of Philosophy unless I also had The Wench Is Dead to pick up when my brain starts overheating! LOL

[John]

Jean - I agree, but I'll leave you and others to Bertrand Russell! I'll stick with Agatha Raisin for now!

[Bionic Jean]

Oh I don't blame you at all, John... :D

[Leslie]

Just finished Hamlet, Revenge!, which I thought was an above average English country house mystery. Innes' writing style will probably not appeal to everyone, as it is a bit dry, but I like it & his wit. Looking forward to reading the next book in this series, Lament For A Maker. Next mystery for me will be the Morse book, The Wench Is Dead.

[Ruth]

Leslie wrote: "Just finished Hamlet, Revenge!, which I thought was an above average English country house mystery. Innes' writing style will probably not appeal to everyone, as it is a bit dry, but I like it & h..."

I remember reading Appleby's End many years ago and really enjoying it, but then I tried another one and found it rather obscure. I might give him another go and see how I get on.

[John]

At his best Innes is absurdly fantastical, witty, and academically literary at the same time. As stated above, I'm just listening to/reading Appleby's End again, which starts with a long and whimsical train journey for Inspector Appleby in the company of a flock of Ravens, and in which a prize pig is turned into stone, and a carriage driver found dead up to his neck in a snowdrift. Do read him.

I have just bought, from Audible, The Weight of the Evidence, where an academic in college is murdered when a meteorite falls on him as he's sitting in a deck chair, and From London Far, where a man unknowingly gives a password while in a tobacconist's shop, and is shown down a secret stairway into a bizarre series of adventures.

Just brilliant!

[Ruth]

Oh I like the sound of both those! I'll add him to the list :-)

[Diane]

Sounds like a book by Innes would make a good April book of the month choice.

[Ruth]

Diane wrote: "Sounds like a book by Innes would make a good April book of the month choice."
Good idea - I'd go for that.

[Joan]

I am reading Saints of the Shadow Bible, by Ian Rankin. It features John Rebus AND Malcolm Fox, and the two may even work together this time! This reading experience is the antithesis of the experience I had with the ghastly Just One Evil Act, by Elizabeth George. I can't put it down, the pages seem to be turning themselves, and I'm marveling at how Rankin just gets better and better and better. After bad experiences with the latest Ruth Rendell and the latest Elizabeth George, it's a huge relief to know that not all of my old favorites have gone "off the boil," as Penny says.

[Lorraine]

I am re-reading Original Sin by P.D. James. I love the idea that the staff are brought to work every day on a launch across the Thames. I also like that one of the characters is a temp. The setting is beautiful - a Venice-inspired mansion on the riverside.

[Sara]

Joan wrote: "I am reading Saints of the Shadow Bible, by Ian Rankin. It features John Rebus AND Malcolm Fox, and the two may even work together this time! This reading experience is the antithesis of the expe..."

I agree completely Joan. I just finished reading Rankin's 'Saints of the Shadow Bible' and found it to be equal to any of his other works, if not a little better. I too was very disappointed with Elizabeth George's last book.

[Susan]

Joan wrote: "I am reading Saints of the Shadow Bible, by Ian Rankin. It features John Rebus AND Malcolm Fox, and the two may even work together this time! This reading experience is the antithesis of the expe..."

At least you can put Ruth Rendell's slippage down to age but Elizabeth George's feels like a betrayal. I've spent so much time with her that I deserve more than crap.

[Yvonne]

Joan, I have requested Saints of the Shadow Bible from my local library so I am anxiously waiting!
I don't often read American mysteries, but am currently reading Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight - a page turner for sure.

[Ellen]

I finished How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny yesterday. It has been nominated for a number of awards and I think it deserves them. I really liked it.

[Penny]

enjoyed this one (by the author of Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter)The Tilted World

anyone interested here is my review
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

am halfway through S J Bolton's Dead Scared - and this author is definitely delivering again - Joan I dont know if you have discovered this author but if not she's worth a look!

[Joan]

@Penny: Thanks. I tried the first SJ Bolton but found it slow. I think it was about horses or the supernatural or some other thing I never can get into. (Actually, there's an exception: I loved reading Dick Francis when I was young but not for the horse talk; he seemed to be able to create all kinds of different professional worlds and make them interesting.) Is there a particularly good S J Bolton in the middle of the series? As we've remarked in this group many times, sometimes it's a mistake to start at the beginning of a series. --JF

[Yvonne]

Folks, I was wrong in my previous assessment of Reconstructing Amelia - called it a page turner, which it is not, but still a very good book - and pretty informative if you have a teenager in the house.

[Penny]

Joan wrote: "@Penny: Thanks. I tried the first SJ Bolton but found it slow. I think it was about horses or the supernatural or some other thing I never can get into. (Actually, there's an exception: I loved ..."

the first one is Now You See Me in Lacey Flint series - which I thoroughly enjoyed.I dont think there are that many in a 'series'. Blood Harvest is a stand alone that has some ghost like parts. I find her writing solid and the mysteries unpredictable so for me they are worth the time. Nearly finished Dead Scared now too!!

[Miss M]

Don't think I've seen this mentioned anywhere - GR has set up one of those 'meet the author' groups for Feb 19, featuring Rhys Bowen, Deborah Crombie, and Charles Todd. Here's the link if anyone didn't get the announcement:

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

[Yvonne]

Miss M, Thank you for the heads up on the 'meet the author' discussion - very interesting.

[Wendy]

Joan wrote: "@Penny: Thanks. I tried the first SJ Bolton but found it slow. I think it was about horses or the supernatural or some other thing I never can get into. (Actually, there's an exception: I loved ..."

I agree, Joan, about Dick Francis. I'm no horse racing fan but his books always kept me turning the pages. The sign of a good author... Better still, the sign of a great author! The ability to hook a reader, whatever the subject matter. Actually I haven't read one of his for a while. Memo to self...

[Wendy]

Penny wrote: "Joan wrote: "@Penny: Thanks. I tried the first SJ Bolton but found it slow. I think it was about horses or the supernatural or some other thing I never can get into. (Actually, there's an except..."

And Penny, I enjoyed SJ Bolton's Now You See Me, too. Thought it was brilliant. I've since read a few of hers but not Dead Scared, yet.

[Joan]

Finished Saints of the Shadow Bible. Thank god for Ian Rankin! The ending wasn't as good as the rest, but all in all my love of detective series has been restored.

[Leslie]

Joan wrote: "Finished Saints of the Shadow Bible. Thank god for Ian Rankin! The ending wasn't as good as the rest, but all in all my love of detective series has been restored."

:-) Glad to hear that Joan!

[Lorraine]

Ellen wrote: "I finished How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny yesterday. It has been nominated for a number of awards and I think it deserves them. I really liked it."

I love this series too and am to happy to hear Louise Penny is writing another Gamache mystery!

[Carolien]

I've just finished Nemesis which is the final book in the Falco series. I feel like I have lost a good friend, Falco has been part of my reading life for so long.

Not wanting to leave Italy, I pulled Beastly Things off the shelf. Donna Leon is another author I seem to have been reading for about 20 years (and unlike Elizabeth George, the later works of both authors are still well worth reading).

In fact, I seem to be having a European week. I completed The Man with the Lead Stomach last weekend. I really enjoy this series. The time period is interesting, the author's fact checking is meticulous and the translations are well done.

Anybody has any good Roman recommendations for me? I enjoy Ruth Downie and read Pompeii last year. So will probably start reading Robert Harris' Roman books as well.

[Leslie]

Carolien wrote: "I've just finished Nemesis which is the final book in the Falco series. I feel like I have lost a good friend, Falco has been part of my reading life for so long.

Not wanting to le..."

Have you read the Michael Dibdin books featuring Aurelio Zen?

[Carolien]

Leslie wrote: "Carolien wrote: "I've just finished Nemesis which is the final book in the Falco series. I feel like I have lost a good friend, Falco has been part of my reading life for so long.

..."

Yes, I really enjoy them.

[Mark]

I got hooked on the Falco series after listening to the first few books on BBC 4 extra. Anton Lesser played Falco, so as a result it's his voice I hear in my head when read the books.

I've really enjoyed Ruth Downie's books as well. I'm looking forward to reading "Tabula Rasa" when it's released in August. And Robert Harris' books were also pretty enjoyable reads.

Bruce MacBain's "Plinius Secundus" series is pretty good as well.

Although not Roman, I've been enjoying Paul Doherty's "Brother Athelstan" series.

[Carolien]

Mark wrote: "I got hooked on the Falco series after listening to the first few books on BBC 4 extra. Anton Lesser played Falco, so as a result it's his voice I hear in my head when read the books.

I've really..."

I'll look out for Bruce MacBain. I read some Paul Doherty a long time ago. I'll try him again I think.

[Leslie]

Jean-Luke wrote: "I finished Murder at the Vicarage today, and followed it up with the Joan Hickson adaptation. Through I like Joan Hickson as Marple, I felt that the adaptation was missing a lot of the humor that w..."

Interesting - I am a Hickson fan but I have never watched right after reading the book. Miss Marple is a hard character to capture, apparently!

[Penny]

Carolien wrote: "I've just finished Nemesis which is the final book in the Falco series. I feel like I have lost a good friend, Falco has been part of my reading life for so long.

Not wanting to le..."

I havent read that many Roman style mysteries (apart from the kids ones that is!!) but I read which is the first of a series and I thoroughly enjoyed it - I will definitely read more of him. I think he is more well known for some other books but also writes crime.

[Jemidar]

Penny, I enjoyed the first in Saylor's Gordianus series and quite liked the second one as well, though not as much, but am struggling to finish the third one. Way too much exposition about historical stuff and not enough mystery!

[Kaye]

Just finished Raven Black by Ann Cleeves (new to me author) and really enjoyed it. Plan on reading White Nights,next one in the Shetland series

[Susan]

I love the series and read all five of them. I just love the peek they give you of life in the Shetland Islands.

[Kaye]

Susan wrote: "I love the series and read all five of them. I just love the peek they give you of life in the Shetland Islands."

There's ONLY 5? I'll have to savor them. I love the way Cleeves writes and the setting is fantastic.

[Susan]

Yes, only five. She was going to stop after 4 but we were lucky to get another one. I'm keeping my fingers crossed to get another one.

[Carolien]

The Anne Cleeves series has been on my TBR list for a while. You've now encouraged me to put it higher on the pile!

I'm currently reading Mallory's Oracle which is a bit more of a hard core American detective novel than usual. I am enjoying it very much and if anybody enjoys Linda Fairstein or Sue Grafton, I'd highly recommend it.

[Ray]

Underworld, by Reginald Hill. Good so far.

[John]

Just into Maigret And The Old Lady by Georges Simenon from 1951 - the lady's maid has died, possibly in place of her mistress, but which, if any, of the mistress's family might have done it? Brilliant picture of a cross-section of French society as usual.