Moon over NinieB's Reading in 2025

I'm Ninie (rhymes with shiny) and I'm an avid reader in beautiful upstate New York. I've participated in the Category Challenge since 2019. I love finding books that satisfy the CATs, KITs, and BingoDOG, while trying to read from my groaning shelves (and boxes).

I hope you enjoy the category toppers below. No real theme, just a number of nice pictures of clouds (in some) and the moon (in others). All are public domain.

My categories have expanded some this year. First, as always I have my categories for different time periods, with mysteries separated out. Second, I have the different reading challenges I'm participating in or have set for myself. I've expanded these to include several authors that I've been focusing on and plan to focus on in 2025.

Classics

1. Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens
2. The Vicar of Bullhampton by Anthony Trollope
3. Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell
4. An Editor's Tales by Anthony Trollope
5. The Moorland Cottage and Other Stories by Elizabeth Gaskell
6. Sir Harry Hotspur of Humblethwaite by Anthony Trollope
7. Christmas Day at Kirkby Cottage by Anthony Trollope
8. The Three Miss Kings by Ada Cambridge
9. Ruth by Elizabeth Gaskell

20th Century

1. No Fond Return of Love by Barbara Pym
2. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson
3. Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House by Eric Hodgins
4. The Priory by Dorothy Whipple
5. All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot
6. The Way Things Are by E. M. Delafield
7. Frost in May by Antonia White
8. Greenbanks by Dorothy Whipple
9. A Winter Away by Elizabeth Fair

21st Century
1. Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

20th Century Mysteries

1. Mystery Stories by Stanley Ellin
2. Poirot Investigates by Agatha Christie
3. The Secret of Chimneys by Agatha Christie
4. The Man in the Brown Suit by Agatha Christie
5. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
6. The Mystery of the Blue Train by Agatha Christie
7. The Big Four by Agatha Christie
8. The Seven Dials Mystery by Agatha Christie
9. Partners in Crime by Agatha Christie
10. The Mysterious Mr. Quin by Agatha Christie
11. The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie
12. The Sittaford Mystery by Agatha Christie
13. Peril at End House by Agatha Christie
14. The Thirteen Problems by Agatha Christie
15. Lord Edgware Dies by Agatha Christie
16. The Hound of Death and Other Stories by Agatha Christie
17. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
18. The Listerdale Mystery by Agatha Christie
19. Why Didn't They Ask Evans? by Agatha Christie
20. Mr. Parker Pyne, Detective by Agatha Christie
21. Murder in Three Acts by Agatha Christie
22. My Friend Maigret by Georges Simenon
23. The Hermit of Eyton Forest by Ellis Peters
24. The Glass Village by Ellery Queen
25. The Long Shadow by Celia Fremlin
26. Death in the Clouds by Agatha Christie
27. The ABC Murders by Agatha Christie
28. The Devil's Steps by Arthur W. Upfield
29. The Finishing Stroke by Ellery Queen
30. The Players and the Game by Julian Symons
31. Lady with a Cool Eye by Gwen Moffat
32. The Last Best Friend by George Sims
33. Murder in Mesopotamia by Agatha Christie
34. Cards on the Table by Agatha Christie
35. Wolf in Man's Clothing by Mignon G. Eberhart
36. Dumb Witness by Agatha Christie
37. Dead Man's Mirror by Agatha Christie
38. Appointment with Death by Agatha Christie
39. Murder Among Friends by Elizabeth Ferrars
40. Mirror Mirror on the Wall by Stanley Ellin
41. The Player on the Other Side by Ellery Queen
42. The Dead Ringer by Fredric Brown
43. The Case of the Sun Bather's Diary by Erle Stanley Gardner
44. The Man Who Killed Himself by Julian Symons

21st Century Mysteries
1. Earthly Delights by Kerry Greenwood
2. Closed Circles by Viveca Sten
3. Guiltless by Viveca Sten
4. Tonight You're Dead by Viveca Sten
5. Definitely Dead by Charlaine Harris
6. All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris
7. In the Heat of the Moment by Viveca Sten
8. In Harm's Way by Viveca Sten
9. In the Shadow of Power by Viveca Sten
10. A High Mortality of Doves by Kate Ellis
11. The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood

CATs and KITs

AlphaKIT
January (S): Mystery Stories by Stanley Ellin; The Secret of Chimneys by Agatha Christie; The Man in the Brown Suit by Agatha Christie; The Seven Dials Mystery by Agatha Christie; The Sittaford Mystery by Agatha Christie
January (O): Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
February (G): My Friend Maigret by Georges Simenon; The Glass Village by Ellery Queen; Guiltless by Viveca Sten; Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell
February (L): The Long Shadow by Celia Fremlin; No Fond Return of Love by Barbara Pym; Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson
March (U, A): The Devil's Steps by Arthur W. Upfield
March (A): All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot; An Editor's Tales by Anthony Trollope; The Way Things Are by E. M. Delafield; Murder in Mesopotamia by Agatha Christie; Cards on the Table by Agatha Christie; Frost in May by Antonia White; Dumb Witness by Agatha Christie
April (E): Murder Among Friends by Elizabeth Ferrars; Mirror Mirror on the Wall by Stanley Ellin; The Player on the Other Side by Ellery Queen; Ruth by Elizabeth Gaskell; A Winter Away by Elizabeth Fair; The Case of the Sun Bather's Diary by Erle Stanley Gardner; A High Mortality of Doves by Kate Ellis
April (K): Christmas Day at Kirkby Cottage by Anthony Trollope; The Three Miss Kings by Ada Cambridge; Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver; The Man Who Killed Himself by Julian Symons

ColorCAT
February (gold): Mr. Parker Pyne, Detective by Agatha Christie; Murder in Three Acts by Agatha Christie; Death in the Clouds by Agatha Christie; The ABC Murders by Agatha Christie
March (pink): Lady with a Cool Eye by Gwen Moffat
April (brown): The Dead Ringer by Fredric Brown; In the Heat of the Moment by Viveca Sten (brown cover)

CoverCAT
January (tea party): Earthly Delights by Kerry Greenwood
February (tree): The Hermit of Eyton Forest by Ellis Peters; The Glass Village by Ellery Queen; Guiltless by Viveca Sten; Tonight You're Dead by Viveca Sten
March (farm animal): All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot
April (road): A Winter Away by Elizabeth Fair; A High Mortality of Doves by Kate Ellis

MysteryKIT
January (winter): The Sittaford Mystery by Agatha Christie; Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
February (golden age): Mr. Parker Pyne, Detective by Agatha Christie; Murder in Three Acts by Agatha Christie; Death in the Clouds by Agatha Christie; The ABC Murders by Agatha Christie
March (espionage) The Devil's Steps by Arthur W. Upfield
April (paranormal) Definitely Dead by Charlaine Harris; All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris

RandomKIT
January (eat, drink and be merry): Earthly Delights by Kerry Greenwood; Lord Edgware Dies by Agatha Christie
February (playing with time): Guiltless by Viveca Sten; Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson
March (wish): Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House by Eric Hodgins
April (prime): The Three Miss Kings by Ada Cambridge

BingoDOG



1. (place you've never been {South Africa, Rhodesia}) The Man in the Brown Suit by Agatha Christie
2. ("library" or "thing" in title) The Way Things Are by E. M. Delafield
3. (writing about writers) An Editor's Tales by Anthony Trollope
4. (oldest book on your TBR) Wolf in Man's Clothing by Mignon G. Eberhart
5. (holiday in title) Christmas Day at Kirkby Cottage by Anthony Trollope
6. (long title) The Mystery of the Blue Train by Agatha Christie
7. (nontraditional family) Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens
8. (medical topic) All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot
9. (sun on cover/in title) The Case of the Sun Bather's Diary by Erle Stanley Gardner
10. (child main character) The Hermit of Eyton Forest by Ellis Peters
11. (newly in public domain) The Seven Dials Mystery by Agatha Christie
12. (author has relative's name) Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House by Eric Hodgins
15. (features a birth) Guiltless by Viveca Sten
17. (features winged creatures) A High Mortality of Doves by Kate Ellis
18. (profession in title) Mr. Parker Pyne, Detective by Agatha Christie
19. (travel {Riviera, Corsica}) The Mysterious Mr. Quin by Agatha Christie
21. (set in your favorite season {fall}) The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
22. (published in a language not your own) Closed Circles by Viveca Sten
23. (Hollywood!) Lord Edgware Dies by Agatha Christie
24. (furniture on cover) The Sittaford Mystery by Agatha Christie
25. (features fire) Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell

Keating Mysteries
These are mysteries on H.R.F. Keating's list of the 100 Best Crime and Mystery Fiction. I've read close to 80 of them. I'm hoping to finish reading the list in 2025.

1. Mystery Stories by Stanley Ellin
2. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
3. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
4. My Friend Maigret by Georges Simenon
5. The Long Shadow by Celia Fremlin
6. The Players and the Game by Julian Symons
7. The Last Best Friend by George Sims
8. Murder Among Friends by Elizabeth Ferrars
9. Mirror Mirror on the Wall by Stanley Ellin
10. The Man Who Killed Himself by Julian Symons

Virago Modern Classics and Persephones

1. No Fond Return of Love by Barbara Pym
2. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson
3. The Priory by Dorothy Whipple
4. The Way Things Are by E. M. Delafield
5. Frost in May by Antonia White
6. The Three Miss Kings by Ada Cambridge
7. Greenbanks by Dorothy Whipple

Eighteenth Century Novels
This was previously my Zola project, which I've abandoned as not being the right time. Instead I'm focusing on reading some eighteenth-century novels.

Anthony Trollope
I first read Trollope around 33 years ago. Now I'm on a quest to read his novels through in publication order.

1. The Vicar of Bullhampton by Anthony Trollope
2. An Editor's Tales by Anthony Trollope
3. Sir Harry Hotspur of Humblethwaite by Anthony Trollope
4. Christmas Day at Kirkby Cottage by Anthony Trollope

Ellery Queen
I've been slowly and erratically making my way through Queen's novels and short stories for the past few years.

1. The Glass Village by Ellery Queen
2. The Finishing Stroke by Ellery Queen
3. The Player on the Other Side by Ellery Queen

Elizabeth Gaskell
A new challenge for this year, to read Elizabeth Gaskell's longer works in publication order. I'm following the list of these works on the Gaskell Society's website.

1. Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell
2. The Moorland Cottage and Other Stories by Elizabeth Gaskell
3. Ruth by Elizabeth Gaskell

Special Projects
Where I store reading projects that come up during the year.

Welcome, all! The door is open!

Lovely pictures. I could sky gaze all day in here.

I love your moons and clouds, especially >15 NinieB:. Have fun with your categories in 2025!

Great theme and pics! Good luck with your 2025 reads!

Beautiful pictures! I look forward to following along.

Love your pictures. >1 NinieB: I live on a lake and sometimes see the moon shining on the water. I like your idea of reading authors. Good reading in 2025.

Ooh, love your categories. Of course, the VMC category calls to me. I found some more green Viragos recently, including a quite intriguing one, Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, one of the first science fiction works from Australia.
I am still trying to read/reread all of Dickens, otherwise I would love to turn to Mrs Gaskell too.
Look forward to following along.

Lovely pics. Wishing you great reading and a wonderful year.

Lovely pics. Reading Trollope and Gaskell in publication order should be interesting, I'll be looking out for your comments.

Thank you, everyone!
>17 lowelibrary: Happy to have you skygazing with me, April.
>18 Charon07: That's an interesting one, isn't it?
>19 Tess_W: Welcome, Tess!
>20 VivienneR: And I'll be following along with you, Vivienne!
>21 mnleona: I have lived both near the ocean and on a lake, Leona, and moonlight on water is one of the joys.
>22 JayneCM: That Eldershaw looks super interesting, Jayne. I'll have to keep an eye out for it.
>23 majkia: Great reading and a wonderful year to you as well, Jean.
>24 MissWatson: It's a tactic I've used before, Birgit, and it's so interesting to see how the writer develops.

Gorgeous images! Happy reading, Ninie!

Great pictures! I keep meaning to look at the Keating list to see how many I've read.

Hello Ninie! You have some great challenges :-)

>26 Cecilturtle: Welcome, Cécile, and thank you!
>27 dudes22: Thanks Betty! It's a fun list; lots I would never have heard of otherwise.
>28 susanj67: Hi Susan! With your Victorian reading I hope you'll find some interesting reviews/thoughts here!

Happy reading in 2025. Looking forward to plenty of book bullets from your mysteries and classics categories.

>30 pamelad: Thank you, Pam! I expect I'll be gathering book bullets from your thread as well.

Hi there, Happy Reading in 2025. I loved looking at the pix you posted. Some of them are quite peaceful, and others quite mysterious.

Such lovely photos--so calming. You know I'll be following your Gaskell, Trollope and VMC/Persephone reading, and hope to compare notes.

>32 LadyoftheLodge: Thank you, Cheryl! The photo at the top really set the mood for me, and then I had no trouble finding more that went in good directions.
>33 kac522: Aren't they lovely? Such generous photographers to give their art away for free. I really look forward to comparing notes with you, Kathy!

Enjoy your 2025 reading. I am quite a bit behind you on the Keating List with a total of 47 so far, hopefully I will give it more attention in 205!

Happy 2025 reading, Ninie! I look forward to many mystery and classic BBs from you.

Happy New Year and good luck with your reading.

Hope you have a great year of reading!

>35 DeltaQueen50: Judy, I slacked off on my Keating reading in December but new year, new opportunity!
>36 christina_reads: Thanks, Christina, I'll be checking your thread out for similar BBs!
>37 lowelibrary: Thank you, April--hope yours goes well too!
>38 thornton37814: Thank you, Lori, good luck with your reading!

I love your categories and set-up and am looking forward to following your thread, especially your comments on Gaskell and your mysteries! Happy reading in 2025!

>40 MissBrangwen: Thank you, Mirjam! I'm hoping to get started soon on Mrs. Gaskell!

Happy 2025 reading. Your set up is beautiful and inspiring! I'll be following along.
Find me here this year
https://www.librarything.com/topic/367017#8712413

>42 beebeereads: Thank you, Barb! I'm so happy my setup is a source of inspiration!

I finished a book! Mystery Stories is a collection by Stanley Ellin, and it is one of the books on Keating's 100 best list. These are short stories about (usually) murder. They're very subtle with a twist at the end. It includes Ellin's most famous story, The Specialty of the House. Highly recommended.

I have been reading Agatha Christie, specifically some of her works in the public domain (so easy to just hunker down with my laptop and start reading). This is full-on comfort reading for me, as I just love her books.

Poirot Investigates: a collection of short stories written and published in magazines and then in book form, all by 1924. The usual take is that these aren't very good. Personally I find them very funny and light-hearted; they are all narrated by Captain Hastings.

The Secret of Chimneys: a thriller from 1925. It's all about the succession to the throne of (fictional) Herzoslovakia, and mostly set in London and at a stately home, Chimneys.

The Man in the Brown Suit: a romantic thriller of 1924. Anne Beddingfield, having the sum of 87 pounds to her name, starts investigating the murder at Mill House in Kent (I think), and ends up heading to South Africa aboard the ship Kilmorden Castle. Another one frequently disliked. I find Anne likable even if she does make some foolhardy choices and fall in love with a complete stranger at the drop of a hat.

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd: the detective story that made Christie famous. Not too long ago I saw the question, what book do you wish you could read as if it were the first time? This is that book for me. I don't know how many times I've read it, I know all its twists and turns, and it is always a pleasure to read it and see all the tricky stuff Christie does. A brilliant idea, brilliantly executed.

>45 NinieB: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is one of my favorites, too! I haven't read the other three you mention but will get to them one day.

>46 MissBrangwen: Probably the two thrillers are for Christie completists. If you enjoy the interactions between Hastings and Poirot in the novels, then the short stories are a must!

Another big Christie fan here! And I agree that her works are total comfort reads.

>45 NinieB: I remember the first time I read The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, I was LIVID! I felt betrayed! 🤣 I've re-read it since then, and actually enjoyed it more on a re-read. I also really enjoyed Poirot Investigates--I think Christie's short stories are some of her most interesting writing. I need to re-read that collection.

>48 scaifea: High five!

>49 kac522: Funny! Apparently there was a raging debate when it was published about whether it was fair play. I first read it when I was 10 or 12 years old (somewhere in there). My impulse control wasn't so hot, apparently, because I peeked, and I've never forgiven myself. On the short stories, have you read the Harley Quin stories? Another aspect of Christie's imagination.

>50 NinieB: I've read The Mysterious Mr Quin and Other Stories, and my notes say I liked it, but I don't remember much. I also have The Harlequin Tea Set on my shelf, which I haven't read yet--not sure if this is mostly the same stories or different ones.

I *think* that the title story of The Harlequin Tea Set is a Harley Quin story that wasn't published until around 1970 in an anthology (the other Quins were published in a Christie collection in 1930). Otherwise, that collection is a reworked Poirot and some miscellaneous non-series stories that are sometimes mystery and sometimes supernatural.

I am loving the Christie discussion, and it's reminded me that I should reread one of hers for the "newly in the public domain" Bingo square. I quite enjoyed The Secret of Chimneys -- one of the better thrillers, in my opinion, and a fun read.

>53 christina_reads: If you enjoyed The Secret of Chimneys, then I recommend The Seven Dials Mystery, which is newly in the US public domain. It features characters from Chimneys including Bundle Brent and Bill Eversleigh!

>54 NinieB: I did really like The Seven Dials Mystery also. Superintendent Battle is underrated, I think!

>55 christina_reads: Agreed--I like Supt Battle, too.

>55 christina_reads: >56 kac522: My favorite Superintendent Battle book is Towards Zero.

>57 NinieB: Oh yeah, that's a great one!

Well, another Sunday, another few Christies read this past week. I'm really looking to break out of this quickly developing rut. Surely I could dip into some of this month's challenges or something.

The Big Four is a not-very-good book in which Poirot hunts an international gang, the titular Big Four. There's detection, but mostly it's a thriller. I forgive Christie, though, since she wrote it during the calamitous period in her life when her husband left her and she had a very public nervous breakdown.

The Mystery of the Blue Train is a Poirot plot expanding on a short story. The setting is moved to France and the Riviera and some new characters are added, but the essential plot is the same. This was the last Poirot novel for four years.

The Seven Dials Mystery is a fun thriller involving several of the same characters from The Secret of Chimneys. Bundle Brent and her friends are hunting for the international gang responsible for the deaths of two young men.

Partners in Crime features Tommy and Tuppence as young marrieds. Right when Tuppence is longing for the good old days of hunting down German spies, Mr. Carter shows up and suggests they run a detective agency suspected of some nefarious doings with the Russians. In addition to looking out for number 16, they can solve whatever cases come their way. As an added bonus, Tommy decides to take on the persona of a different fictional detective for each case. Despite some narrow escapes, Tommy and Tuppence have a great time.

Earthly Delights by Kerry Greenwood is an Australian mystery set in Melbourne. Corinna Chapman is a baker with her own business. One morning a girl nearly dies of a heroin overdose in the alley adjoining Corinna's shop. At the same time someone starts making threats to the women living in her building (her shop is on the ground floor of the apartment building where she lives) and Corinna meets good-looking but mysterious Daniel. Junkies keep dying of overdoses and the threats keep coming. While Corinna doesn't intentionally set out to solve the cases, that's what she ends up doing. Sort of a cozy with hard edges, I would try a second volume in this series.

>60 NinieB: I'll have to read this one so I can work out whereabouts in Melbourne it's set. Might be Richmond? I've found the book on KoboPlus.

>61 pamelad: I didn't get a strong sense of place, but I've been in Melbourne only once for a couple of days, so I likely would have missed the more subtle clues. Let me know what you figure out!

The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie was the first Miss Marple novel (a few short stories had already been published). To my mind this is the classic murder-in-an-English-village story. Narrated by vicar Leonard Clement, the story is about the murder of unpleasant Colonel Protheroe. St. Mary Mead is full of nosy old ladies (including Miss Marple) and obvious and not-so-obvious suspects in his death.

The Sittaford Mystery by Agatha Christie is a standalone with the detective being Emily Trefusis, a delightful young woman whose fiance is accused of murder.

It's a very snowy night on Dartmoor when a group of six decide to play at table-turning (kind of like a ouija board). It's just harmless fun until the table tells the group that Captain Trevelyan has been murdered. To everyone's shock, it turns out he has--at about the same time as the spirit knocked out the message.

An enjoyable lesser Christie.

In Peril at End House by Agatha Christie, Poirot tries to prevent the murder of Nick Buckley, a flippant young woman who keeps having potentially fatal "accidents". It's an excellent mystery set in Cornwall in summer.

The Thirteen Problems by Agatha Christie contains Miss Marple's first thirteen short stories. Most were published in magazines before The Murder at the Vicarage, and I kind of wish I had read them in publication order to see how Christie developed the character. But there aren't any spoilers or anything like that, so no big deal. This collection generally maintains a high quality. A couple of the stories are hard to solve now because the solutions don't involve common knowledge 95 years later.

>64 NinieB: I loved the atmosphere of this one! The snowy night is such a great backdrop to the story.

>65 NinieB: My copy was called The Tuesday Club Murders; that one and Partners in Crime (>59 NinieB:) are two of my favorites. I read library copies--need to find copies I can keep!

>66 MissBrangwen: I agree! The snow seems to disappear in the later part of the story--I wanted more!

>67 kac522: Both are fun! Definitely you should find home copies; they are great on re-reading.

Ooh, Peril at End House is one of my faves. I haven't read The Sittaford Mystery in a really long time -- not sure I remember who the murderer is at this point!

>69 christina_reads: Isn't Peril at End House good? I had fun spotting the clues while re-reading it. The Sittaford Mystery is a good read as well, especially if you've forgotten whodunnit.

Lord Edgware Dies aka Thirteen at Dinner is another Poirot novel, set in London. Jane Wilkinson, star of stage and Hollywood screen, tells Poirot that since she has to get rid of her estranged husband, Lord Edgware--she'll just ride up in a taxi and kill him. A few nights later she does, apparently, just that. Lucky for Jane she has an alibi, a dinner at which thirteen sat down to eat.

It's interesting when re-reading Christie to see what Poirot focuses on, and what he quietly ignores!

I'm really enjoying your Agatha Christie reading! Peril at End House is one of the few I haven't read at all, although I have seen the David Suchet adaptation.

>65 NinieB: Some of the common knowledge from those stories is from 95 years ago?! Whoa.

>72 rabbitprincess: Peril at End House was written when Christie was at the top of her game, the 1930s. It's worth reading!

I stated that so awkwardly. Things people would (perhaps) have commonly known when the stories were written are not commonly known now. The stories were published starting in 1927, actually 98 years ago.

The Hound of Death and Other Stories by Agatha Christie is a mixed bag of some ghost and otherwise supernatural stories, a couple mysteries, and that gem The Witness for the Prosecution. According to agathachristie.com, this short story was originally published in 1925. It was later adapted as a play and then made into a famous movie. The short story has very little of the courtroom in it but it's got a great twist at the end.

Murder on the Orient Express is in my personal list of top 5 Christies. Poirot finds himself on a snowbound train in the middle of the Balkans with a dead body, thirteen suspects, and a bewildering array of clues. Christie had a great idea and deployed it perfectly.

The Listerdale Mystery by Agatha Christie is a collection of miscellaneous stories with some kind of mystery or crime in them. Usually they are very light. The title story is really more romance than mystery.

Why Didn't They Ask Evans by Agatha Christie is a great little thriller, in which Lady Frances Derwent and Bobby Jones set out to discover how a stranger ended up dead at the bottom of the cliffs by a Welsh golf course--and why the stranger asked "Why didn't they ask Evans?" before he died.

Mr. Parker Pyne, Detective by Agatha Christie is a collection of stories about the title character. The original title was Parker Pyne Investigates. The first half of the story collection is about Mr. Parker Pyne's business in London, where he advertises in the agony column of the Times: "Are you happy? If not, consult Mr. Parker Pyne." It would be a stretch to call these amusing stories mysteries, although some crime appears. In the second half of the story collection, Mr. PP travels to the Middle East, where he starts to solve thefts and even murder (notably in "Death on the Nile", which has nothing to do with the novel of that name). It's in the London stories that Mrs Ariadne Oliver makes her first appearance in the Christie canon, writing plots which Parker Pyne deploys to make his clients happy.

Closed Circles by Viveca Sten is the second in the Sandhamn murder series. In this police procedural, detective Thomas Andreasson and his colleague Margit Grankvist work on solving the murder of a prominent bankruptcy lawyer in his yacht at the start of a big race. The other lead character in the series is Nora Linde, Thomas's friend and a bank lawyer. In this one, she informally helps Thomas out in solving the murder using her knowledge of the law. We also learn about Nora's marital problems with her husband Henrik. I enjoy Sten's stories, not least because I know very little about Sweden and Swedish life. Note to future readers--be sure to read the first in the series, Still Waters, before reading this one, as it completely spoils the first.

I admire your mystery reads. I've tried and tried to like Christie, in many forms, but I just can't!

>78 Tess_W: Thank you! I've been reading Christie for many, many years, and she is the perfect comfort read for me.

>78 Tess_W: and >79 NinieB: I say all books are not for everyone and one reason I read reviews is because they help but I make up my own mind.

>80 mnleona: Absolutely, Leona, well put!

Our Mutual Friend is one of Charles Dickens' major novels, both in its sweep and in its physical size. Published in 20 monthly installments in 1864-65, it opens with Jesse "Gaffer" Hexam and his daughter Lizzie retrieving a corpse from the Thames. The body is identified as John Harmon, who was returning to England after the death of his father. John was supposed to inherit his father's fortune, but only on condition that he marry Bella Wilfer.

John being dead, the Harmon fortune instead goes to Nicodemus "Noddy" Boffin, a servant of the senior Mr. Harmon. Boffin is the dustman who helped Mr. Harmon build up his fortune by collecting dust and piling it all around the Harmon house ("Harmony Jail"). Noddy and his wife decide to take Bella into their home and provide for her. They also hire a Secretary, John Rokesmith.

Meanwhile, Lizzie has taken rooms with Jenny Wren. Jenny, 13 or so, has "queer legs" but supports herself and her alcoholic father by making dolls' dresses. Soon both Eugene Wrayburn, a briefless barrister, and Bradley Headstone, a schoolteacher, are attracted to Lizzie.

This summary of some aspects of the first part of the book leaves out a lot, but (I hope) leaves out spoilers as well.

I liked Our Mutual Friend quite a bit. I had some trouble taking in all the characters and action in the first part, but gradually the characters and plots sorted themselves out. This was the last Dickens novel I had not read; it was a worthy successor to the ones I was already familiar with.

Murder in Three Acts by Agatha Christie (originally published as Three Act Tragedy) is a Poirot story. He's a guest at a weekend house party hosted by Sir Charles Cartwright, the famous stage actor. The weekend is disrupted when, at the opening cocktail party, the local vicar sips a cocktail and falls down dead. Was it murder, and if so, how?

Poirot is less present than in other books of this era. Instead, we have a group of amateurs doing most of the work. Will you be surprised? Probably!

>82 NinieB: I remember being often confused on my first reading of Our Mutual Friend. I've since re-read it a couple of times, and each time it makes more sense and I enjoy it more. I love Jenny Wren; she's one of my favorite characters in all of Dickens. The BBC TV mini-series is excellent. David Morrissey as Bradley Headstone is creepily unforgettable.

>83 NinieB: I envy your ability to read through Agatha Christie one after the other. Even when I space them out, I get many of them confused. Of course, there are a few stand-outs, but most seem to be a blur in my memory. LT says I read Murder in Three Acts in 2020, but I don't remember a thing.

>84 kac522: While I was reading the first part I also read some short chapter summaries I found online. They certainly helped and after about 60% I didn't need them any more. I agree, Jenny's a great character. I'd love to see the miniseries.

I have read most of the ACs several times, especially the Poirots. And I've seen all the Suchet episodes. So while I forget the twists and turns, I have a general sense of the plots, and I suppose that reduces the confusion!

>85 NinieB: I've never watched the Suchet episodes (seen it advertised, but just never watched). I'm sure that would help, although don't they sometimes combine or change some of the stories?

>86 kac522: They do change quite a bit. They're mostly set in the 1930s; they add standard characters like Miss Lemon (the secretary); they alter the stories; and I think they combined all 12 Labors of Hercules stories into one episode. So no, they're not a reliable guide to the stories. The best part of these episodes is Suchet. He captures Poirot so well in a way that none of the other actors playing Poirot have done.

My Friend Maigret by Georges Simenon (also published as The Methods of Maigret) sees the detective on Porquerolles, an island off the south coast of France. A small-time criminal, Marcellin, has been murdered--after boasting about his good friend Chief Inspector Maigret. In fact Maigret did have something to do with Marcellin at one time, mostly helping his girlfriend Ginette get into a tuberculosis sanatorium. So Maigret's there to investigate, and accompanying him is Scotland Yard detective Mr. Pyke, who is observing Maigret's methods. Thus Maigret is extremely self-conscious throughout the story about his methods or lack thereof. This is handled humorously but for the most part the story is about how Maigret gradually gets the feel of Porquerolles, gathers some evidence, and eventually realizes who is responsible for Marcellin's death.

>88 NinieB: Oh, I have to get back to that series!

>89 MissBrangwen: It's worthwhile, Mirjam! I read this one for my Keating 100 Best challenge, but I have a number of others on my shelf to read.

The Hermit of Eyton Forest by Ellis Peters opens with the natural death of Richard Ludel, father of young Richard, a student at the Abbey. While the deceased confided young Richard to the care of Abbott Radulfus, with the intent that Richard would remain there for schooling until he was older, grandmother Dionisia Ludel is determined to marry her 10-year-old grandson to the much older daughter of the neighboring landowner to combine the properties. Dionisia is determined to have her way, and when Radulfus refuses to give up Richard, coincidentally bad luck keeps striking the Abbey's forest lands adjoining the Ludel land. Also, a hermit has been welcomed by Dionisia to a stone hut in the forest, and he has a young man running errands for him. The young man, Hyacinth, is quite striking--but what has brought him to Shropshire? Brother Cadfael, of course, finds himself involved in murder and mysterious disappearances in the forest.

It's funny, I wasn't taken with the Brother Cadfael books for so long, and now I find them warm and snuggly, like curling up in front of the fire on a cold winter's day. I really like Peters's nature descriptions--I just wish she didn't have so many run-on sentences.

>89 MissBrangwen: Agree! I have bunches of the Maigret novels on my book shelf, and my hubby read them quickly (being a retired policeman, I think he likes the investigations). I enjoyed the ones I read, and I found a boxful of them on ebay for a great price.

>91 NinieB: I read all of them ages ago, and now one of my book groups is getting onto them, though not in order. We are starting with The Virgin in the Ice, which I think is the first one I ever read in the series. I just downloaded A Rare Benedictine for a bargain price this week.

>92 LadyoftheLodge: That's fun that you and your hubby enjoy reading the same books!

I have been reading Brother Cadfael in order, which I think has added to my enjoyment.

The Glass Village by Ellery Queen is the sole first novel written by the cousins who were EQ that does not feature the fictional detective of that name. The novel takes place in a New England town, Shinn's Corners, which has only 36 people living in it. One of them is Aunt Fanny Adams, age 91 and a world-famous artist (think Grandma Moses). When she is brutally murdered, a tramp passing through town is arrested by the townspeople and put on trial.

There's definitely a mystery and detection here. The two main characters and the relationship between them--Johnny Shinn and his much older cousin Judge Shinn--sometimes reminded me of Ellery Queen and his father Inspector Queen, but for plot reasons they would not work in this story.

ETA: Actually they wrote another without the fictional detective.

The Long Shadow by Celia Fremlin is one of the books on Keating's 100 Best Crime and Mystery list. It's about a recent widow who finds herself in a bewildering situation. Her husband's family have all moved into her house uninvited, a young man is stalking her while insisting that she murdered her husband, and someone is making it seem that the deceased husband is still living in her house. The style of writing is curious--the scary factors are not played up, which I liked, but it would likely disappoint some readers.

The Vicar of Bullhampton by Anthony Trollope is a mid-length novel from 1870. As expected it offers several plot lines. Frank Fenwick, the vicar, and his wife Janet live a happy life in Wiltshire. Trouble comes to them, though, from more than one direction. Janet's dear friend Mary Lowther has come to visit and the neighboring squire, Harry Gilmore, has fallen in love with her. The Fenwicks are overjoyed at the idea of Mary staying in Bullhampton, and try to convince her to accept, but Mary is not inclined to accept Harry's proposal, as she does not feel love for Harry.

Trouble also comes in the form of crime. When a neighboring farmer is murdered, local boy Sam Brattle--a favorite of Frank's--is implicated. And it turns out that Carry Brattle, Sam's sister, has some knowledge of the events. Carry has returned to the neighborhood but not to her family home because she is a fallen woman. Frank is firmly convinced that Sam was not involved in the murder. In this he finds himself in disagreement with the major landowner of Bullhampton, the Marquis of Trowbridge. His efforts to restore Carry to respectability also offends the Marquis.

I was surprised that Trollope introduced a murder plot. But this is not a detective novel, despite some uncertainty about Sam's involvement. Rather, the effect of the murder is to put stress on Sam's relationship with his father, the stern miller Jacob Brattle, as well as implicating Carry's relationship with her family. Also notable is Trollope's sympathetic handling of Carry.

I'm not saying much here about Mary Lowther's story, mainly because I wasn't expecting the direction that Trollope took this plot line, and I don't want to spoil it. But this is a major plot line that also raises questions of forgiveness.

>96 NinieB: Great review! I definitely need to read more Trollope. So far I have only read The Warden.

>97 MissBrangwen: Thank you! I love Trollope--he's my favorite Victorian author. Since you've read The Warden, Barchester Towers is your logical next step.

>96 NinieB: That's a good one, isn't it? Murder is unusual in Trollope, although I am in the middle of a re-read of Phineas Redux and there's a murder in this one, too. And I made a note that in The Vicar of Bulhampton Mary and Carry never meet, and yet you would think they might cross paths, or at least I would have liked them to meet.

>98 NinieB: It's already on my shelf and I hope to get to it soon!

>99 kac522: I had completely forgotten about the murder in Phineas Redux. And you're right about Mary and Carry not meeting. I thought that their stories were really quite separate, almost more than usual for Trollope. And yes, this is a good one!

>100 MissBrangwen: I think it was the second Trollope I read, after The Eustace Diamonds.

>82 NinieB: Hooray for reading Our Mutual Friend! I tried it but was so confused I had to return it. It was like he was writing in a foreign language. I should give it another try.

>91 NinieB: I like the Cadfael books too, but LT tells me I've only read the first four. I should get on with them as my library has them all as ebooks.

>96 NinieB: That one sounds good too, although I think The Eustace Diamonds will always be my favourite Trollope :-)

>103 susanj67: That is how I felt when I read The Mystery of Edwin Drood. For Our Mutual Friend, I consulted some online chapter summaries to make sure I was understanding it.

You never know when those library ebooks will disappear! I've been reading Brother Cadfael on Internet Archive.

Oh yes, The Eustace Diamonds is great, at least I thought so when I was new to Trollope. I'm looking forward to re-reading it in a few months.

>104 NinieB: I had the same experience, Ninie. Edwin Drood was indeed a mystery--I had a hard time understanding the language and what was actually happening. Our Mutual Friend was a bit confusing at first, but I eventually got into the swing of it as it went along. It was just keeping the characters straight--a lot are introduced in the first few chapters, especially with the Veneerings and their gatherings.

>105 kac522: Yes, there are a lot of characters. I think my copy of OMF was trying to be helpful by providing a list of characters, but the list included a big fat spoiler. Fortunately I had ignored the list when I first started reading!

No Fond Return of Love is one of Barbara Pym's inimitable novels of manners. Dulcie Mainwaring, at loose ends after her fiance breaks off their engagement, attends a conference of book indexers. There she meets Viola Dace and Aylwin Forbes. Viola has worked with Aylwin and has a passion for him; Dulcie develops one as well. A few months after the conference, Viola ends up moving in with Dulcie, who has a large house inherited from her parents. Dulcie's young niece Laurel, at secretarial school, joins them.

I really liked this one. Pym does such a good job of developing her characters and telling a story (with just a thread of plot) in an engaging way.

Guiltless is the third in the Sandhamn series by Viveca Sten. Right at the beginning of the book, Nora learns that her husband Henrik is having an affair. Fed up with him, Nora takes her sons to the house on Sandhamn, in the depths of winter. There the boys discover an arm, leading to Thomas and Margit (police officers) conducting an investigation on the island. This is a dual timeline book--at the same time we're told the story of Thorwald's unhappy childhood in the early part of the 20th century on Sandhamn.

I mostly like this series for the continuing characters and the novelty (for me) of the modern Swedish setting. The mystery isn't bad either. One thing about this installment--it needs a trigger warning for spousal and child abuse.

>107 NinieB: I really wanted to re-read this one in February, but I think it will have to wait until March, unless I can squeeze it in at the end of the month. I remember it being one of my favorite Pym novels, and I'm so glad you enjoyed it...I'm hopeful it won't disappoint when I get to it.

>109 kac522: Well, February's a short month; it's hard to fit in everything. I will try to work more Pym in this year as I have almost all her books and still a number are unread.

>107 NinieB: I haven't read anything by Barbara Pym so far, but I hope to do so one day. This novel sounds like something I would enjoy.

>108 NinieB: I bought several books of this series in a kindle day some months ago but haven't started it yet. I like crime series with continuing characters, so that sounds promising!

>111 MissBrangwen: I hope you enjoy Barbara Pym when you read her books!

I can't emphasize enough that you have to read the Sandhamn series in order, both because the second book completely spoils the first book, and because of the ongoing character story lines.

>112 NinieB: I will definitely read them in order!

>107 NinieB: I enjoyed Pym when I read her novels. I liked Quartet in Autumn.

>96 NinieB: I enjoyed your review, which prompted me to look for Trollope in Kindle versions. Several of them are free, so I snagged a few downloads. Thanks!

>114 LadyoftheLodge: Quartet in Autumn is my favorite Pym, although I have enjoyed them all.

>114 LadyoftheLodge: >116 kac522: I liked Quartet in Autumn but I respond most to Pym's humor. Both No Fond Return of Love and Crampton Hodnet particularly appealed to me, but honestly I've enjoyed all that I've read.

>115 LadyoftheLodge: Oh, thank you, and I hope you find Trollope enjoyable!

Death in the Clouds by Agatha Christie begins with a commercial flight from Paris to Croydon (outside London). Hercule Poirot and about 13 other passengers are in the rear cabin. (It all sounds quite luxurious--nothing like today's economy class.) As the plane is about to land, the steward discovers that one of the passengers is dead. On the ground, it is quickly determined to be murder, apparently with a blowpipe and thorn poisoned with deadly snake venom.

It had been a very long time since I had read this one, but I did remember correctly who did it, but not the motive. A good solid 30s mystery.

The heroine of Mary Barton (1848) by Elizabeth Gaskell is a poor dressmaker's apprentice in industrial Manchester. Mary lives with her father John, a Trades Union man. 1840s Manchester is a harsh environment. Families scrape by when the factories provide employment and starve when a trade slump and a mill fire lead to widespread unemployment. A pretty girl, Mary is flattered when a factory owner's son starts romancing her, distracting her from her childhood friend Jem Wilson. Meanwhile, the union men, driven to desperation, seek relief from the factory owners.

Gaskell's portrayal of working class life is spiced up with romance, crime, and an extended chase scene. It was Gaskell's first novel, and a very good one. I'm looking forward to continuing to read Gaskell's longer works.

>118 NinieB: I loved the description of commercial air travel (1935!) and the cabin in that one...it was like a time capsule!

>119 NinieB: Arrrgh, I have GOT to re-read this--it's been a long time...it just didn't happen this month....so glad you enjoyed it.

>120 kac522: Did you notice that the airliner had a name--the Prometheus? Different times for sure.

Mary Barton was technically a reread for me, but other than the fact it was set among the working classes, I really didn't remember anything at all. Really glad I reread.

>121 NinieB: No, I did not remember that the plane had a name--sort of like a ship, I guess?! How could they ever have kept that up today!!!

>122 kac522: I would think they never dreamed how common flying would become!

Tonight You're Dead by Viveca Sten is the fourth in the Sandhamn series. University student Marcus Nielsen, an apparent suicide, was doing a school project about a group of middle-aged men in the days before his death. Questions about Marcus's death arise when two of the men are found dead.

I liked this book in the series, although it was definitely on the dark side, as was Guiltless. The series is on Kindle Unlimited, to which I have a 3-month free trial, so you'll see these continue to appear here.

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson is the story of how Guinevere Pettigrew, an increasingly desperate unemployed governess, finds herself in a whirl of excitement when she is sent to Miss LaFosse for a potential post--and she is able to help Miss LaFosse in some surprising ways.

This humorous 1930s novel was fun and enjoyable to read. I have it in a Persephone Classics edition.

>125 NinieB: Such a lovely comfort read! I liked the movie too.

>107 NinieB: Tonight I had to sneak in No Fond Return of Love before the month ends and I am so enjoying it! There are so many wonderful little observations that I am smiling to myself on almost every page. I may devote tomorrow to finishing it, in order to end out the month on a positive note.❤️

>126 christina_reads: It does seem to be a popular one. And now I'm curious about the movie!

>127 kac522: Oh, that's great! So glad you're able to squeeze it in this month!

One last February book . . . The ABC Murders by Agatha Christie is one of her standouts. When Poirot receives a letter boasting about a murder to take place on a certain date in Andover, no one takes it seriously except him--until the murder happens. Poirot and Hastings track a serial killer who leaves the ABC railway guide with each body. But what is the motive?

As always, I enjoyed this clever mystery. Poirot's at the top of his game and Hastings plays his part to perfection.

>124 NinieB: - That's the next one for me. Looking forward to it.

>130 dudes22: Looking forward to your review!

My first March book was Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1946) by Eric Hodgins. If you've heard of this, it's probably in its movie incarnation with Cary Grant and Myrna Loy. The basic plot is that Mr. and Mrs. Blandings, New York City denizens, decide to buy a large piece of land in Connecticut with the intention of fixing up the Colonial house on the property. (Originally they plan to spend $20,000 all in, which seems laughably cheap until you run the numbers through an inflation calculator.) I had high hopes for the book, based on the movie, but I was a little disappointed--somehow it just wasn't as funny as I thought it would be. Nothing I can really put my finger on, just different times I suppose.

The Devil's Steps by Arthur W. Upfield is the 10th in the Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte (Bony) Australian mysteries. In this episode, a dead body is discovered in the ditch by the Wideview Chalet, a guest house in the mountains near Melbourne. It's one of the guests, Mr. Grumman. Then, when the local constable shows up to investigate, he is shot dead by a man he recognizes as Marcus, a known criminal. Fortunately (and not coincidentally), Bony is staying at the guest house, ready to unravel a complicated tale of murder, theft, and espionage.

This was enjoyable enough. It's been awhile since I read a Bony mystery, and he's a character I like. I do wish Upfield or his editor had tightened and shortened a bit, though.

The Finishing Stroke by Ellery Queen is a rather good mystery which, while published in 1958, hearkens back to his 1930s stories. This isn't accidental, as most of it is set in 1929. Ellery has been invited to a Christmas house party in Connecticut hosted by Arthur Craig, guardian of John Sebastian, who is about to come into his inheritance. Altogether, 12 people gather at the house. But things at the house party go sour when the body of an elderly man is found. Then there are the peculiar gifts addressed to John that show up each night. Much mystification ensues, which I enjoyed.

The Priory by Dorothy Whipple is about the Marwood family of Saunby, a fine old house in the Midlands. (Originally a priory stood on the site, and its west front is incorporated into the house--hence the book title.) Major Francis Marwood, a long-time widower, is frustrated with the poor job his sister does of keeping house for him, so he marries Anthea, a spinster in her mid-30s. His daughters Christine and Penelope, who have never moved out of the nursery despite being 19 and 20, make little to no effort to make Anthea welcome. And Francis habitually spends more money than he has on hosting a fortnight of cricket and cricketers every year. Meanwhile Francis's groundsman and chief cricketer, Thompson, is involved with two of the maids.

This is really just the set up in the first 50 or 75 pages. It's a lengthy book of over 500 pages, full of character building and plot, and I loved it. Whipple does an excellent job creating well-rounded characters whom I alternately liked and disliked. The ending is a bit sweet, neat, and tidy, but I was OK with that.

>135 NinieB: So glad you loved it!--it's on my TBR, but first I'm going to read They Knew Mr Knight. I'm trying to read her books in publication order. There is something about the way she writes that just keeps me turning pages.

I've just spent the last 5 days immersed in Trollope's Is He Popenjoy?, coming in at 600+ pages. Not the best Trollope, but I still couldn't put it down. Haven't focused on one book for hours in quite some time; what a luxurious feeling.

>136 kac522: Yes, it's a real page turner! Each time I stopped reading I was so much further along. I have read all the Dorothy Whipples I own now, so I'll have to see about accessing some more.

It will be awhile before I get to Is He Popenjoy?, but it's good to hear it's so readable!

The Players and the Game by Julian Symons is, for this particular author, a relatively straightforward detective novel. Paul Vane is the Director of Personnel at Timbals, a plastics manufacturer. Encouraged by his manager, Paul and his wife Alice move from London to Rawley where a number of Timbals executives live. But things aren't going well between Paul and Alice, and the social life in Rawley ends up dividing them further. Meanwhile, an unnamed man is writing a journal about his relationship with a woman, who calls him Dracula and herself Bonnie (as in Bonnie and Clyde). It becomes evident that they are on the hunt for women to do something to. It takes quite a while for the crime to happen, but once it does, the police take an increasingly large role in the story.

I thought this was OK, certainly much better than the last Symons I read. It's unpleasant what Dracula and Bonnie do to the women but compared to many thrillers these days it is not graphic. Apparently this was based on two real-life serial cases, one British, one American.

Miss Pink is one of four directors of the Plas Mawr Adventure Center in North Wales, setting of Lady with a Cool Eye by Gwen Moffat. What starts out as a human resources problem--the warden is an alcoholic--turns into a crime investigation when the warden's wife Bett disappears. Then there's the issue of all the explosives stored in a nearby mine, especially the issue of all the missing explosives. Miss Pink's good sense and mountain climbing ability save the day.

I quite enjoyed this mystery; Miss Pink is likable and smart, plus she knows how to climb a vertical rock wall. My only complaint is that the climax of the story goes on for far too long.

All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot is one of my favorite books. My aunt gave me the first three volumes of the series in a set when I was about 12 or 13, and initially I was concerned since I didn't really like reading books about animals. Fortunately I gave them a try anyways, because oh, what a delight they are. The memoirs of a young veterinary surgeon starting practice in the Yorkshire Dales in the late 1930s, All Creatures Great and Small is humorous, charming, and totally worth reading.

>140 NinieB: I am not an animal person at all, but I've really enjoyed the current TV series, so last year I read the first book. I'm re-reading it on audio this month for my RL book club. Nicholas Ralph, the actor who plays Herriot in the current series, is the narrator. He's a pretty good reader, especially when he's reading Herriot's own dialogue and some of the Yorkshire farmers.

>141 kac522: I might try watching the new series in a couple of weeks when my husband is out of town. Does Nicholas Ralph have a Scottish accent?

>142 NinieB: Yes. Per Wikipedia he was born in Cape Town, South Africa, but grew up in the Highlands.

The Last Best Friend (1967) by George Sims is a mystery novel set mostly in London, where the novel opens with a man falling from the ledge of a building. Cut to Corsica, where Ned Balfour is vacationing. Surprised when he gets a worried telegram from his good friend Sam Weiss, he is shocked when another telegram announces Sam's death. Back in London, Balfour starts asking questions about what was on Sam's mind before his death.

In the end, this was quite a decent little mystery. It's slow to get started, but at less than 200 pages, I didn't mind.

An Editor's Tales by Anthony Trollope is a collection of short stories narrated by an unnamed editor of a magazine. He tells of encounters with writers, his long-ago participation in a group trying to start a magazine, and the sad consequences of trying to help a degraded scholar get paying work.

I wasn't expecting the stories to actually be about writers, but they are. I've substituted this book for the one I originally chose for the bingo square "writing about writers," since this one is much more appropriate.

The Moorland Cottage and Other Stories by Elizabeth Gaskell contains one short novel (the title story) and eight shorter stories.

Maggie Browne, the heroine of The Moorland Cottage, is generally taken for granted by her mother and brother. Fortunately the Browne family is befriended by the Buxton family, and Mrs Buxton and Maggie form a special bond that does Maggie much good until Mrs Buxton's early death. As Maggie comes of age, she and Frank Buxton, the son of the house, gradually fall in love and become engaged, to Frank's father's great displeasure. Mr. Buxton intended that Frank would marry his (wealthy) cousin Erminia. Nonetheless Maggie and Erminia remain good friends. Things get melodramatic towards the latter part of the novel, and Maggie shows her sterling character.

The eight pieces of shorter fiction are lengthy for short stories. I liked them all. A couple I'll specifically mention--I particularly liked The Manchester Marriage, where character development stands out. Morton Hall was interesting in that it's really three stories, set in a frame narrative of the history of different members of the Morton family living in the house. My French Master also showed character development and went in a direction I didn't expect.

A note on the edition: It's a World's Classics from the 1990s with generally good notes and no spoilers in them (unlike the introduction, which I read at the end).

>146 NinieB: I have that edition--so far I've only read The Moorland Cottage and "The Manchester Marriage". Some people have noticed the similarities between The Moorland Cottage and George Eliot's The Mill on the Floss: two Maggies in love with the wrong boy. "The Manchester Marriage" is one of my favorites--there is comedy and pathos. Gaskell is so good at smoothly going through a range of emotions and characters that surprise you.

>147 kac522: And the obnoxious brother who treats her poorly. The editor, Suzanne Lewis, mentions that in the introduction. I didn't pick up on it myself but it's been a long time since I read The Mill on the Floss.

Just curious, in The Moorland Cottage when did you think that it got melodramatic? For me it was when the ship caught on fire but Lewis thinks the forgery is melodramatic too.

>148 NinieB: Definitely the ship is when it got a bit much for me. And reminded me of the drowning in The Mill on the Floss, which also seemed over the top to me.

ETA: but for whatever reason, I can take it better from Gaskell than I can from Eliot. And yes, the two brothers, Edward (Gaskell) & Tom (Eliot) are similar, too.

The Way Things Are (1927) by E. M. Delafield is about Laura Temple, who lives in Devon with her husband and two young sons. She struggles to manage the servants and the housekeeping. She writes short stories, mainly to help pay the bills. But her marriage is the real heart of Laura's problems, as she was more glad to be married than she was glad to marry Alfred. When a man comes into Laura's life, a man who sees her as a woman and not as a wife and mother, she is swept off her feet.

This story could have been told so many different ways--as a flat-out romance, as a heavy-handed morality tale, as a tragedy. But in Delafield's hands, it is as light as air while treating Laura sympathetically and seriously. Don't think this is another Diary of a Provincial Lady, but do be prepared for light ironic humor. I loved it and am looking forward to my next Delafield book.

Murder in Mesopotamia by Agatha Christie is a tale of murder at an archaeological dig in Iraq. It's told in the first person by Nurse Amy Leatheran, who comes to the dig in her professional capacity to take care of Mrs. Leidner, wife of the dig's director. Louise Leidner has been seeing strange things, like strange faces at the window, and receiving threatening letters claiming to be from her first husband, who is supposed to have died in a train crash many years before. Eric Leidner believes his wife is suffering from nerves. But when Louise is killed in her bedroom under mysterious circumstances, he realizes he was wrong. Fortunately, Hercule Poirot is passing through on his way to Baghdad.

There's no doubt that the common complaint about this mystery, that the solution is far-fetched, is true. But oh, what a narrative voice Christie gives to Nurse Leatheran. It's so much fun to read this story.

In Cards on the Table, Hercule Poirot is presented with a knotty problem: Four people play bridge while their host Mr. Shaitana dozes by the fire. Each of them leaves the table at some point. At the end of the evening, Mr. Shaitana is found dead, stabbed with a dagger. Which of them did it? Poirot works with Mrs. Oliver, Colonel Race, and Superintendent Battle to discover the murderer.

Christie just couldn't stop writing outstanding stories in the 30s. In this one, aside from the great mystery plot, Ariadne Oliver develops into a full-fledged alter ego.

>152 NinieB: I have fond memories of Cards on the Table, though it's been a while since I've read it! I recently listened to an interesting podcast about it: https://theinvisibleevent.com/2021/05/01/spoiler-warning-cards-on-the-table/. The three speakers also cover some other Christie novels in other episodes.

>153 christina_reads: Thank you for the podcast episode! I'll check it out this evening.

>154 NinieB: Hope you enjoy!

Wolf in Man's Clothing by Mignon G. Eberhart features Nurse Sarah Keate. Sarah and fellow nurse Drue Cable are sent to nurse Craig Brent, who has been shot in the shoulder. To Sarah's shock, Craig is Drue's ex-husband. Conrad Brent, Craig's father, is infuriated that Drue has come to nurse Craig. Further complicating matters is the presence of Conrad's wife Alexia, former girlfriend of Craig; Alexia hates Drue. Also present are Craig's school friend Peter Huber and Alexia's twin brother Nicky. When Conrad dies suddenly under suspicious circumstances, Drue is accused of his murder. Sarah sets out to prove Drue's innocence.

As that little summary suggests, there's a lot going on in this mystery set just a few weeks after Pearl Harbor. Eberhart as always spins a good tale, even if it is a little bit long. The solution is a little disappointing, though.

Frost in May by Antonia White was the first Virago Modern Classic. It's a semi-autobiographical account of Nanda Grey's years boarding at a convent school. It's pre-World War I England, and Nanda and her father are recent converts to Catholicism. (It was never clear whether her mother converted as well.) Fascinated by her new faith, and naturally rather obedient, Nanda fits in relatively easily at the Convent of the Five Wounds, despite the nuns' very strict discipline. She makes close friendships (even though the nuns try to prevent such friendships). We see the convent school in the classroom, at meals, celebrating the canonization of the order's founder, and welcoming a cardinal.

I was surprised by the conclusion of the story, but probably shouldn't have been; I don't think it was supposed to be an unexpected twist. I have several other books by White, which I look forward to reading.

Dumb Witness by Agatha Christie (U.S. title Poirot Loses a Client) is about Emily Arundell, an old lady who comes to believe that someone in her family has tried to kill her. She writes to Hercule Poirot. When Poirot receives the letter, to his surprise it is two months old. He is sufficiently intrigued that he and Captain Hastings head off to Miss Arundell's home in Berkshire. But when they arrive they discover the house is for sale because Emily has died, leaving all her money to her companion Miss Lawson--and disinheriting her nieces and nephew.

Since I last read this book, maybe 15 years ago, I saw the Suchet adaptation, which relocates the story to the Lake District and emphasizes some spiritualist happenings. It was nice to revisit the original story. Not one of Christie's greatest, but a good read.

>157 NinieB: Taking a BB on this one! I attended Catholic schools K-12, although not boarding schools. I still like a good boarding school book too.

>159 LadyoftheLodge: I hope you enjoy it!

I don't usually do monthly roundups, but I want to make a note here that I have read 52 books this year. If I were to keep up this reading pace, I would reach over 200 books for the year. Not likely! One explanation--I have read a lot of mysteries, which are usually quick reads for me.

At the same time, in February and March, I read almost everything I planned to read for the month, which for me is highly unusual. Crossing my fingers and holding my thumbs that I can keep reading according to plan.

P.S. Does anyone else hold thumbs? It's a tradition in my husband's family.

>161 NinieB: Wow, that is excellent, but I am not surprised, since it feels like you are posting a review every day! Special kudos for keeping to your plans--I think that's even more impressive.

And, no, I've never heard of "holding thumbs."

>162 kac522: Thank you! This past weekend I did hardly anything but read, since my husband is out of town. And sticking to the plans does make me feel especially good, since I have so many goals I'm trying to keep up with.

>161 NinieB: - My first quarter reading is usually the best because 1 - stuck inside a lot in the winter and 2 - we take a vacation where we lay on the beach and just read for a week or so.

>164 dudes22: On vacations, which recently have been trips home, I always think I will do a lot of reading but in fact I'm usually spending a lot of time talking! Apparently, this quarter has meant lots of reading because no vacations.

Dead Man's Mirror by Agatha Christie is four shorter works featuring Hercule Poirot. The title story is about a death in a country house where the owner/dead man is thought to have committed suicide. This doesn't seem right to Poirot, though. The second story, Murder in the Mews, also is a was-it-murder-or-suicide story, this time with an attractive young widow. The third story, The Incredible Theft, is about missing naval plans, a plot that always seems hackneyed to me. And the fourth, Triangle at Rhodes, is not as similar to a certain novel as some would have you believe. It may be the best of the bunch.

Appointment with Death by Agatha Christie is a novel set at the ancient city of Petra in Jordan. Sarah King, a newly minted physician, meets an American family, the Boyntons, traveling in the Middle East. Mrs. Boynton, the matriarch, for years has enjoyed keeping her daughter and stepchildren under her thumb, and now she is getting a kick out of keeping them on a short leash while they travel. Until one afternoon at Petra, she encourages them to leave her alone. Everyone thinks her death that afternoon is natural, except for Poirot, who happens to be in Amman.

This one gets mixed reviews, and my feelings about it are mixed. The mystery plot is clever, but the psychological conversations of Sarah with a French psychiatrist, Dr. Gerard, about the family are a bit tedious. I didn't buy Sarah's attraction to Raymond Boynton, either.

Murder Among Friends by Elizabeth Ferrars is set in London midway through World War II. While the air raids have ceased, the blackout is fully in effect. Alice Church attends a party where she is a stranger among a group of people who know each other well. One of the intended guests, Aubrey "Rit" Ritter, lives upstairs but doesn't come down; he's found dead and before the night is over, one of the party guests, Janet Markland, is arrested. Over the subsequent weeks Alice talks to the guests about Janet, Rit, and the rest of the group and increasingly she has trouble with the idea that Janet murdered Rit.

This novel, which is on the Keating 100 best list, involves lots of talking, and all kinds of character development occurs, but it's not very dynamic. Then in the last quarter of the book things get a little more active and we actually have a classic little bit of sleuthing to figure out what happened on the night in question.

Mirror Mirror on the Wall by Stanley Ellin was not my cup of tea. Published in 1972, it won the 1974 International Prize of the French Grand Prix de Littérature Policière, and H. R. F. Keating included it on his 100 best list. The narrator, Pete Hibben, finds a prostitute dead in his bathroom and goes into a sort of extended nightmare for the rest of the book. We learn about incidents in Pete's life and there's a surprise ending. The problems for me were that (1) much of what we learn about Pete's life involves sexual encounters with prostitutes and his problems with his ex-wife and (2) the surprise ending is appalling. Two stars, don't read this. (I would not have finished except it was very short; it took me only two hours to read.)

The Player on the Other Side by Ellery Queen, published in 1963, hearkens back to their puzzle mysteries of the 1930s. Here, the four York cousins live in the castles at the corners of York Plaza while they wait for their $11 million inheritance to mature. Secretary Tom Archer and companion Ann Drew help Yorks and flirt with each other. And handyman Walt receives anonymous letters telling him is valued and appreciated. When Robert York is murdered, the reader knows who did it but not who instigated it. Ellery and his father, Inspector Queen, start a desperate--and unsuccessful--effort to keep other Yorks from being knocked off.

I saw where this was going before it got there. The twist is played well, even if it does take Ellery an inordinate amount of time to explain everything.

The Dead Ringer by Fredric Brown is the 2d in the Ed and Am Hunter series of the late 40s. This time Ed is helping his uncle Am run a ball game at a traveling "carney", or carnival, when a naked dead body is found in a sideshow top, or tent. What's notable? the body is that of a midget--but no one in the carney knows him. Meanwhile Am's friend Hoagy has a dying chimpanzee on his hands, and Ed has fallen hard for Rita, a girl from the posing show.

I assume Brown must have worked in a carney at some point as he recreates the atmosphere marvelously. The mystery plot is good, too. And Ed's first-person coming-of-age style narration is great.

Sir Harry Hotspur of Humblethwaite by Anthony Trollope is a Trollope novel in miniature. My copy was a svelte 246 pages. The Hotspur family has suffered a tragedy, the loss of the only son. Now, Sir Harry dreams of marrying off his daughter--heiress to 20,000 pounds per year--to a gentleman who will take the Hotspur name and continue the family at Humblethwaite. The heir to the title, Captain George Hotspur, is unsuitable because of his known propensity for gambling, incurring mountains of debt, and hanging out with actresses. But of course, it is George that Emily (Sir Harry's daughter) falls in love with.

Trollope examines Sir Harry's "duty" to keep Emily from marrying George and Emily's duty to her father. He also carefully examines when a "black sheep" crosses the line from redeemable to irredeemable. Emily becomes rather unbearable towards the end, but all in all a good quick Trollope.

"Christmas Day at Kirkby Cottage" by Anthony Trollope is a short story that was never collected in Trollope's lifetime, so I read it on its own. Maurice Archer is staying with the vicar of Kirkby Cliffe for Christmas, and makes the mistake of saying in the story's first line that Christmas is a bore. Isabel, the vicar's daughter, takes offense at this, and so starts a misunderstanding between them.

I wouldn't say this was either particularly good or bad. But I did want to know a lot more about both Isabel's and Maurice's characters, and there simply wasn't space in the short story format.

>172 NinieB: I found Sir Harry Hotspur interesting; I read it soon after a re-read of Lady Anna and it seemed like a twist on the same theme. Also it did not have a typical Trollope ending.

>173 NinieB: I have that one in the Christmas at Thompson Hall collection:

I've just started Cluny Brown and so far so good, and I'm about half-way through my audiobook re-read of The Prime Minister.

>174 kac522: I have not read Lady Anna yet so that is something to look forward to.

>175 kac522: Come to think of it The Prime Minister also puts another spin on this plot. I remember when I read that I got very irritated with the lead female character.

I liked Cluny Brown and I have some other Margery Sharps waiting for me.

>176 NinieB: Yes, Emily Wharton is a bit much, isn't she? (And Lady Anna is another daughter somewhat like Emily).
But I had forgotten that Frank Gresham, from Doctor Thorne, makes an appearance in The Prime Minister. He is about 20 years older in this one, and makes me want to re-read Doctor Thorne, one of my favorites.

>177 kac522: I may not have recognized Frank Gresham in The Prime Minister--I think when I read The PM, it had been some years since I read Doctor Thorne. And yes, that's definitely a favorite!

The Three Miss Kings by Ada Cambridge is a Victorian-period novel set mostly in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The titular sisters have grown up on a remote headland overlooking the ocean. Now orphaned, they decide to go to Melbourne with the money they have inherited from their parents, with dreams of going to Europe in a year or two. In Melbourne, their friend Paul Brion, son of their lawyer back at home, helps them find their way about, both physically and socially. Indirectly through his efforts they meet wealthy Mrs. Duff-Scott, who recognizes the quality in them. Not long after, the eldest, Elizabeth, meets Kingscote Yelverton, a visiting Englishman. Mrs. Duff-Scott takes them under her wing, spending all her unused maternal energy on them.

This is a charming novel of manners in Australia, with plenty of romance and love interest. And it includes lovingly appreciative descriptions of bush scenery. The author demonstrates a sense of humor, too.

I thought things got a bit slow in the middle but the last third moves like lightning, in a good way. Recommended.

Definitely Dead by Charlaine Harris was the light mystery I needed after reading a couple of Victorian novels and a short story. It's the sixth in the paranormal Sookie Stackhouse series, covering an exciting week in Sookie's always exciting life. Quinn, the weretiger who was introduced in an earlier book, invites Sookie on a date. But in the meantime Sookie is being harassed by the Pelts, whose daughter Debbie has disappeared. No matter how many times Sookie says she has shared all she knows, they won't leave her alone. Then, on the date, Sookie and Quinn are attacked by young Weres who seem to be targeting them. In the latter half of the story, Sookie goes to New Orleans, where strange incidents continue to happen. Sookie is here to sort through the things of her dead cousin Hadley, who was the lover of the Vampire Queen of Louisiana. Adventure, drama, and romance make Sookie's trip to New Orleans lively.

The story doesn't have much of a focus. It's more like an episode designed to bridge between two more well-defined events and carry lots of story arc along with it. It was rather fun to return to this series, which I last read six years ago. Harris has a good sense of humor and Sookie's first-person narration is dynamite.

>179 NinieB: The Three Miss Kings sounds delightful; added to my VMC Wishlist.

>181 kac522: I hope you like it!

I'm also taking a BB for The Three Miss Kings! And you've reminded me that I really need to read more Trollope.

>183 christina_reads: Wonderful! I hope you enjoy The Three Miss Kings. As for Trollope--I find he is endlessly inventive with his plot lines (contrary to what some say). One advantage of Hotspur is it is short!

Ruth by Elizabeth Gaskell was a ground-breaking novel about a fallen woman. Ruth Hilton, 15, lives a miserable life as a dressmaker's apprentice in an English town. When she meets Mr. Bellingham, she is too naïve to discern his intentions towards her, and eventually she runs away with him. He takes her to Wales where, after a bad fever, his mother comes and takes him away. Distraught, Ruth is saved from suicide by a Dissenting minister, Thurstan Benson. It turns out Ruth is pregnant; but Thurstan and his sister Faith decide to take Ruth into their home and pass her off as a widowed relation. Thurstan sees that the baby may well be what saves Ruth from her fall.

This novel is so weepy--Ruth really does cry at the drop of a hat--and yet so good. The Bradshaw family with whom Ruth is intimately involved, is so interesting in their differing approaches to the world. Jemima Bradshaw particularly is a remarkable portrait of a depressed young woman. Her father Mr. Bradshaw is a narrow-minded hypocrite, but eventually he shows some dimensions to his character.

I only wish that my Oxford Worlds Classic edition had had a more accessible introduction.

It was purely coincidence that the next book I finished also featured a "fallen woman". Greenbanks by Dorothy Whipple is about Louisa Ashton, who has raised her large family in Greenbanks, the family home. Now everyone is an adult, and we see the lives of four of them, along with Louisa as she ages. The fallen woman is Kate Barlow, whom Louisa knew before she had an unfortunate affair and a baby.

There are so many interesting characters in this novel--Louisa herself, and Kate, a totally different character than Gaskell's Ruth; Louisa's daughter Letty, who has the misfortune to be married to pompous, priggish Ambrose; Letty and Ambrose's daughter Rachel, who ages from 4 to 20 over the course of the story (which covers the years surrounding World War I); Louisa's daughter Laura, who marries and wishes she hadn't; and Louisa's son Charles, who is viewed by brother Jim and Ambrose as a "waster" but is Louisa's favorite child.

I found Greenbanks a little difficult to start reading, as we are introduced to almost everyone in the family (and I haven't mentioned even half of them) right at the beginning, and then not much seems to happen. But once I got about 50-60 pages in, I couldn't stop reading. So good.

>185 NinieB: I enjoyed Ruth quite a bit, although the ending was hard and disappointing...I was hoping for more from Gaskell. What I remember most is the discussions between the minister and his sister about the ethical, moral and practical sides of what they were doing. And the "lie" that Ruth is a widow, which is at the heart of the story (and eventually her downfall) reminds me of the "lie" in North and South that Margaret must tell to save her brother and live with the consequences. Gaskell's moral questions are always so thought-provoking.

I don't remember the intro; I have that edition, maybe I should re-read it. I have Elizabeth Gaskell: A Habit of Stories by Jenny Uglow, and I find her analysis of the novels much easier to understand and insightful.

>186 NinieB: Yep, I ended up loving Greenbanks, too....sometimes Whipple is a bit scattered at first, but once into the story, I just can't stop reading! I've tentatively scheduled They Knew Mr Knight for this month...I'm going to make it happen.

ETA: I just looked at my review of Greenbanks and I wrote: "Not much happens and yet everything happens." Pretty much how I feel about Whipple in a nutshell.

>187 kac522: I agree about Ruth's ending. We are on the side of Charlotte Bronte in this, apparently. Also, this was a re-read for me, which I forgot to mention, so I caught a foreshadowing in Leonard's dream about halfway through--Ruth grows wings and flies away. The specific edition was 2011, Tim Dolin, so let me know if an earlier edition had a more accessible introduction :) At some point this year I'll have to look into Uglow's book.

That's a great review you did of Greenbanks--really sums it up! I got both Greenbanks and High Wages through ILL, but the return date for High Wages was much more generous, so I read Greenbanks first. I'll read High Wages in early May.

In A Winter Away (1957) by Elizabeth Fair, Maud Ansdell has been hired as a secretary by her Cousin Alice's neighbor, Marius Feniston (old M.). So she goes to live in the country somewhere on the South Coast of England with her cousin (and the cousin's companion, Miss Conway) and to work at Glaine, a rundown old mansion. While old M. scares Maud at first, she learns to understand and like him. She also comes to know his son, Oliver, who visits from time to time, and Oliver's cousin Charles, who is not on speaking terms with old M. The Fenistons are all obstinate but charming. Then there's another neighbor, Ensie Martin, who is in love with the curate, Don Crouch.

It took me a while to get Elizabeth Fair's vibe. I don't think she's all that similar to Angela Thirkell--Fair is much more subtle in her humor and doesn't descend into farce, as Thirkell sometimes does. Also, there's no gnashing of teeth about the postwar order, unlike Thirkell. But we are in the same social milieu as Thirkell. Fair has scenes that gradually build in humor--I'm thinking of the Woodfidleys' party, for example--and the book overall gradually builds in humor, too. I knew I was finally sucked in when I was outraged on Maud's behalf by something another character had done.

I have a couple more Fair novels and I look forward to reading them.

>188 NinieB: Yes, the intro I have is by Tim Dolin, and just skimming through it, I don't remember anything about it. That's how big an impression his intro made on me. 😉
>189 NinieB: That's the only book I've read by Elizabeth Fair, which I read last year. I enjoyed it. I tried to read an Angela Thirkell novel years ago, and for some reason her tone just didn't work for me, and I haven't gone back.

>190 kac522: I really liked most of Thirkell's pre-war novels. The Brandons, Pomfret Towers, Before Lunch all were funny and light-hearted. During the war (and after, I think), though, her characters are so . . . meanspirited and full of isms about evacuees from London and Eastern European refugees. I have a number of old paperbacks that I got for 25 cents a pop so I read through the war, but I don't know that I'll ever continue.

The Case of the Sun Bather's Diary by Erle Stanley Gardner begins with a call from Arlene Duvall to Perry Mason. Seems her car and house trailer were stolen while she was nude sun bathing. Arlene's father is currently in San Quentin for a bank robbery she insists he didn't commit; she's been trying to prove him innocent. Perry winds up getting personally involved in the subsequent events, which include a charge of murder against Arlene and a potential charge of perjury against Perry. This was fun with a neat little puzzle at the heart of it. I was bothered, though, that Perry had an obvious conflict of interest with his client.

Just dropping in to say hello! I enjoyed your comments on Agatha Christie novels. I've read everything and have trouble finding one to re-read - again!

Your reviews are excellent. I have Elizabeth Fair's A Winter Away and will push it higher up the tbr mountain.

Hello, Vivienne! I do love reading and commenting on Agatha Christie--so glad you enjoyed my comments. And thank you for your kind words. I try to make my reviews interesting. I hope you get to A Winter Away and enjoy it!

I've been doing some 21st century mystery reading.

All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris was my next in series for Sookie Stackhouse--so nice of my public library to have these available on ebook. After some time in her Louisiana hometown, Sookie goes to a vampire summit up north in the big city of Rhodes. Eighteen vampire kings and queens and their entourages have gathered in a vampire hotel, the Pyramid. Sookie's there as the telepath for the queen of Louisiana, Sophie. Murder soon strikes with the deaths of a contingent from Arkansas, and something else more serious is going on that Sookie and her fellow telepath Barry can't quite figure out. The climactic scene is really a doozy--how will Harris top this in the next book?

Enough of vampires--on to modern Sweden.

In the Heat of the Moment by Viveca Sten is part of the Sandhamn Murders series. It's Midsummer on Sandhamn Island, the place that teenagers want to go to party. Amid the chaos, a girl is passing out on the sand, another girl is asking the police for help, Nora's partner's daughter Wilma is missing--and teenage Victor is found dead in a lonelier part of the island. Thomas, of course, ends up investigating. Sten takes an interesting look at upper-middle-class teenage life in modern Sweden; the teens are in some adult situations and the adults aren't necessarily paying attention. The mystery itself is so-so, basically it's untangled by getting the flashback stories of teens and adults.

The next one in series, In Harm's Way, also features a sulky teen, Alice, whose mother Jeanette dies in the opening scenes on Sandhamn. Jeanette is a famous war correspondent who has spent more time chasing stories in far-flung places than seeing her daughter. The question for Thomas and Margit is, how did Jeanette come to die? And once they find that out, who was close enough to Jeanette to murder her? Sten tackles another modern issue, the tension between far-right nationalists and an increasingly immigrant society. As usual Thomas completely wears himself out investigating. I enjoyed this but wish more had been set on Sandhamn.

I read another Viveca Sten, In the Shadow of Power, in which an ex-pat Swedish venture capitalist builds a large summer house on Sandhamn. The house itself is unpopular, as Carsten has paid only lip service to the approved plans and siting of the house, and it is so much larger than the other houses on the island. When Carsten brings his wife Celia and two little children to the island for the summer, he throws a large housewarming party to win over the neighbors. But the party ends in disaster.

I didn't like this one as much, mainly because Carsten was such an unpleasant individual, and we spend so much time with him and his unhappy family before a crime occurs.

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver was such an excellent book; I'm so glad I read it. Kingsolver took the plot and characters of David Copperfield and turned it into the story of Damon "Demon Copperhead" Fields, growing up in the Appalachians during the opioid epidemic in the late 1990s-early 2000s. Demon of course narrates the story of his coming of age. His narration is raw, true, uncensored, really just fabulous. What an achievement. His is a story of kind neighbors, child abuse, foster homes, supportive teachers, sports glory, addiction . . . .I really could not put this book down and I read it in two days.

Having read David Copperfield a couple of times, I loved spotting the characters and plot lines that originated with Dickens. Demon Copperhead is a remarkable homage to Dickens. I don't think I would have rated the book 5 stars if I hadn't read Dickens fairly recently, because I was so struck with Kingsolver's accomplishment.

A High Mortality of Doves by Kate Ellis is a historical mystery set in Derbyshire in the time immediately after World War I. Myrtle receives a letter from her boyfriend who died in the war, claiming he is still alive, and wanting to meet her in the woods on the outskirts of the village. She goes to meet him and the next day is found murdered. Another similar murder quickly follows. The story is told alternatingly in a first-person narration by Flora Winsmore, the doctor's daughter, and a third-person narration about Albert Lincoln, the Scotland Yard inspector who is eventually sent to investigate.

I really like Ellis's modern day police procedurals, but a few things got in my way here. I didn't really like Flora, for no good reason; some things in the story seemed unrealistic or unlikely; and the twists at the end didn't have any clues for the alert reader. On the plus side, the atmosphere was well done, and I liked Albert. I'm likely to read the next one.

The Man Who Killed Himself by Julian Symons has a great first sentence: "In the end Arthur Brownjohn killed himself, but in the beginning he made up his mind to murder his wife." Really, this is all you need to know about the book. Also, I think it's the best Julian Symons I've read. So there--go read it!

The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood was a delight to read. When Judith Potts overhears an exclamation of surprise followed by a gunshot at her neighbor's house, she quickly calls the police. But they don't take her call seriously and assure her nothing is wrong. Judith goes ahead and investigates for herself, and finds her neighbor dead of a gunshot wound. Still, the police are reluctant to call it murder. Judith decides to investigate for herself. In the course of her sleuthing, she meets Suzie (the local dog walker) and Becks (the vicar's wife), who join her. The three have what can only be called madcap adventures but as the local detective sergeant acknowledges, they make much more progress than the police team. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.