January and February Reading, 2024

 

It used to be that most of the books I read were published before 1975; I also read many books published from 1976 to 2000. A smaller percentage of the books I read were published after 2000. As I looked back on my reading in the first two months of this year, I realized that 10 out of the 12 books that I read were published after 2000.  Since I enjoyed almost every book I have read this year, I don't think that is a bad thing. I am just wondering why and when my tastes changed and whether that will continue. I did read two books published in the 1950s, one by Graham Greene and one by Seichō Matsumoto, and both were excellent books.

So here are the book I read...

Nonfiction / Nature

Vesper Flights (2020) by Helen Macdonald

This is a collection of Macdonald's essays, mostly about nature, but sometimes delving into her personal life. Many of the essays focus on birds (which is what I was looking for) but not all. The book was educational, in a fun way. Some of the essays that I especially I enjoyed: "Field Guides," about the evolution of field guides;  "High Rise," about bird watching on the top of the Empire State building, at night; "Ants," about the mating flight of queen ants and drones; "Swan Upping," about mute swans on the River Thames.

Nonfiction / Memoir

Wait for Me! (2010) by Deborah Mitford

I found this book to be a fantastic read, but maybe that is because I enjoy reading about the Mitford sisters so much. The author has a gift of telling short interesting anecdotes. The two other books I have read about the family were biographies and they focused mainly on Nancy (16 years older than Deborah) and Diana (10 years older). Because Deborah was the youngest child (of seven), her view of the family came from a different perspective. The book is divided between her childhood and young adult years with her family and her life as the Duchess of Devonshire. Both were equally of interest to me.  

Fiction

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow (2022) by Gabrielle Zevin

This book is about two young people who create video games. The story starts when Sam Mazur and Sadie Green are about 12 years old and covers the next 30 years in their lives. It does focus on video gaming and the process of creating them, but it is about many other things: relationships, families, judgement and misunderstandings, and ambition. I liked the writing, and I was caught up in the story. My one complaint is that the book is too long at 400 plus pages.  

Days at the Morisaki Bookshop (2010) by Satoshi Yagisawa

I read this book for the Japanese Literary Challenge and for the Bookish Books Challenge. A young woman goes to work in a bookshop owned by her uncle after a romantic relationship ends abruptly. The book is definitely not a romance; there is a lot of emphasis on human relationships, in addition to books and reading. See my review.

A Man Called Ove (2012) by Fredrik Backman

Ove is an older man, nearing sixty, who has fixed ideas about life and often doesn't fit in with societal norms. He often seems cranky or rude. His wife has recently died. Their relationship had its ups and downs, but they were a devoted couple, and she was undoubtedly the most important thing in his life. He has decided that he does not want to go on living without her. This story alternates between very funny episodes and very sad episodes, but it does lean toward the sadder ones. Some chapters tell about the three weeks after his new neighbors move in next door; others describe key times in his earlier life: his childhood, meeting his wife, and his work. I liked the structure and the way the author gradually reveals more and more about Ove and his life. It was a great read and I will be looking for more books by this author.

Crime Fiction

Chilled to the Bone (2013) by Quentin Bates

This is the third book in a police procedural series set in Iceland. The main character is a female policewoman working in the Serious Crime Unit in Reykjavík.  See my review.

Tokyo Express (1958) by Seichō Matsumoto

This was another book I read for the Japanese Literature Challenge. It was Matsumoto's first novel, published in 1958, and was first published in English translation as Points and Lines. See my review.

A Darkness Absolute (2017) by Kelley Armstrong

This is the second book in the Rockton series, and it was just as appealing as the first, City of the Lost, which I read about 3 years ago. Rockton is a small town in the Yukon wilderness, so isolated that most modern conveniences are lacking. Most of the residents are hiding from something in their past. See my review.

Wanting Sheila Dead (2010) by Jane Haddam

Book 25 in the Gregor Demarkian series. The main character is a retired FBI profiler who sometimes does consulting jobs for various police departments. This book is mostly set in the Philadelphia area where Demarkian lives. A reality show is being filmed in the very elaborate home that his wife Bennis grew up in. When a body is found at the house he agrees to check into it. See my review.

Gallows Court (2018) by Martin Edwards

This is the first book in the Rachel Savernake series. It is a departure for Edwards, both a historical mystery (set in the 1930s in London) and a thriller. I did end up liking the book, but it took me 150 pages of 350 pages to get into it, which is not ideal. I liked the way it ended and I thought it was a brilliant mystery, but I wasn't really enjoying it too much as I read it. I also wonder where the next book, Mortmain Hall, will take the main character, so I will definitely be reading it, maybe later in the year.

Judas 62 (2021) by Charles Cumming

This is the second book in the BOX 88 espionage series. BOX 88 is a covert spy agency that is not officially attached to the CIA or MI6, but has contacts in both groups that Box 88 agents can work with. In JUDAS 62, Lachlan Kite is assigned to extract a Russian chemical weapons scientist defector. He goes to the city of Voronezh in Russia as an English Language teacher. That section of the book is set in 1993. The second section is set in 2020 in Dubai. I loved the first book, BOX 88; this one was very good also. 

The Quiet American (1955) by Graham Greene

I have been wanting to read more by Graham Greene and this was a great choice. This book was published in 1955 and the events in this book took place in the early 1950s. The story is set in Saigon, Vietnam and surrounding areas when the French Army and the Viet Minh guerrillas are fighting each other. See my review.

Status of challenges

Back in November 2023, I joined the Wanderlust Bingo Challenge at Fiction Fan's Book Reviews. Five or six of the books I read since the first of the year could work for that challenge, but I still have to work out which squares they would fit best.

I read two books for the Japanese Literature Challenge at Dolce Bellezza, which ran January - February. I will continue reading books translated from Japanese throughout the year. 

I have now formally joined the Bookish Books Reading Challenge at Bloggin' 'bout Books and have completed one book so far. 

The only other challenge I have joined is the Mount TBR Reading Challenge on Goodreads. Every book I have read this year so far (15) counts toward my goal of 48 books so I may have no problem meeting that goal.

Currently reading

I just finished Your Republic is Calling You by Young-ha Kim last night. Published in 2006, the setting is South Korea. It was a different kind of spy fiction and I liked it very much.

Next I will be reading A Beautiful Place to Die by Malla Nunn. The blurb on the book describes it as a "darkly romantic crime novel set in 1950s apartheid South Africa, featuring Detective Emmanuel Cooper." It has been on my shelves for 6 years. 

The photos at the top and bottom of this post were taken at the Santa Barbara International Orchid Show that we attended last week. See the previous post for more photos. Click on the images for the best viewing quality.

Wanting Sheila Dead: Jane Haddam

 

This book is the 25th in Jane Haddam's Gregor Demarkian series. Gregor Demarkian is a retired FBI profiler who spent many years tracking down serial killers. When he settles down in his old Armenian-American neighborhood in Philadelphia, he ends up doing consulting jobs for various police departments. The crimes he investigates are interesting but less gruesome than serial killers. The books were initially described as a cozy mystery series but over time I think it has developed more of an edge. 

In Wanting Sheila Dead, Gregor reluctantly gets involved with two cases (one set in his neighborhood, the other related to the filming of a reality show), but he is not officially working on either one. Sheila Dunham is the famous but loud and offensive host of the reality show. The first crime that occurs is an attempt on Sheila's life, during the judging of the contestants on the show.

Usually Gregor works as a consultant to the police, and they are very pleased to have his help. In both of these cases he has no standing with the police, and some of the detectives resent his interference. Plus he has just (finally) gotten married and he is adjusting to the changes. His new wife Bennis has been a part of the series from the beginning, but she is more in the background this time. I find it interesting that the author shares so much of Gregor's thoughts about what is happening in his life: not just about his marriage, but about getting older, his confusion about not being an official part of the investigations, even about his dreams.

I like this series because the books have engaging, sometimes quirky, characters and the stories are often centered around interesting issues. I usually find that the author presents the issues from both sides, although it may be clear which side she favors. Each book begins with a few chapters at the beginning setting up some of the characters that will be involved in the events, providing some idea of where they fit in. I have always liked this approach and it is one of my favorite aspects of Haddam's books. This time, the vignettes of the characters were less successful because there were so many of them.

From the beginning of the series, Gregor is often described as the Armenian-American Hercule Poirot in newspapers and on TV news shows. This irritates him to no end, even though he has never read any books about Poirot. In this book, for the first time Gregor has read some mysteries by Raymond Chandler and Agatha Christie and he contrasts the two authors and philosophizes on Christie's approach to detecting. I found that part especially interesting and amusing. 

Although I am a big fan of this series, I am not really recommending this book or the series; it would not be everyone's cup of tea. Having said that, the first book in the series (Not a Creature was Stirring) would be on my top favorites list of books read, across all genres. I have read all the previous books in the series and plan to read the remaining five books. The earlier books in the series are my favorites and I have reread several of them. 

Jane Haddam is a pseudonym for Orania Papazoglou. She was the wife of William L. Deandrea, author of mysteries and Encyclopedia Mysteriosa, a mystery reference book.

Books Read in December 2022

The first three books I read in December were Christmas mysteries, and I enjoyed that very much. I wish I could have reviewed them all. In addition I finished up an anthology of Christmas stories that I have been reading off and on for several years. Three other books I read had connections to Christmas but that was unintentional—a pleasant surprise.

Fiction

O Caledonia (1991) by Elspeth Barker

This book is short, about 190 pages long, and the only novel that Barker published. It is set in Scotland in the 1950s.  The story is about a young girl, part of a large family, who is willful and stubborn, and won't be molded into what others want her to be, even from a very early age. It is a sad story but a wonderful read, written so beautifully that it makes me sad that the author did not write any other novels. 

Crime Fiction

Not a Creature Was Stirring (1990) by Jane Haddam

This is the first book in the Gregor Demarkian series by Jane Haddam. The story in this book is set at Christmas, and has a Christmas theme throughout. My review here.

Smoke Without Fire (1990) by E.X. Ferrars

This book is #6 in the Andrew Basnett series and I read it out of order, usually a no-no for me. Andrew Basnett is a retired botanist, widowed, in his mid-seventies. He is visiting friends for the Christmas holidays, but I would not really call it a Christmas mystery. I have enjoyed every book I read by this author, whose books are published under Elizabeth Ferrars in the UK. My review here.

Murder After Christmas (1944) by Rupert Latimer

This is a book from the British Library Crime Classics series, and only became available in the US in October 2022. It is most definitely a Christmas mystery and it is about the strangest family I have ever met in fiction (or otherwise).  It was a bit too long, too humorous in a screwball comedy way for me. But overall I enjoyed it a lot. I liked the policemen involved especially. And it was written and set during World War II, an extra bonus.

A Death of No Importance (2018) by Mariah Fredericks

There were a lot of things I liked about this historical mystery set in 1910 New York. This is the story of a young woman who works as a lady's maid for the two daughters of a rich family. There is an unfortunate romance, a death, and the maid is the one who finds the body. The police want to pin the murder on anarchists who have been sending threatening notes. The maid narrates the story and I liked that part of it especially. It is a good picture of New York at that time and I liked the way it ended. 

Mistletoe Mysteries (1989) edited by Charlotte MacLeod

This is an anthology of Christmas stories published in 1989. All of the stories have a copyright date of 1989 and were first published in this anthology. I liked all the stories in this book. In 2020, I posted a review of three stories from the book.

The Mysterious Mr. Quin (1930) by Agatha Christie

The short stories in this book feature Mr. Quin and Mr. Satterthwaite. Mr. Satterthwaite is an elderly man, quite well off financially, a bit of a snob, and loves good food and comfort. Mr. Quin is more mysterious, often showing up unannounced to help with a puzzle. How and where this happens is what provides the variety in the stories. I read the first eight stories in the book in January and reviewed them HERE. I read the remainder of the stories in December.

Death in the Off-Season (1994) by Francine Mathews

This is the first novel in the Merry Folger Nantucket Mystery series, and the first novel she wrote. Merry is a new detective in the Nantucket police, working under her father. The death of Rusty Mason, whose family was prominent in Nantucket years before, is her first murder case. This book was on my list of top ten novels in 2022. See my review here.

Snow (2020) by John Banville

I liked this much more than I expected, especially the setting, Ireland in 1957. See my review here.

Currently reading?

I am happy to say that I finished reading Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy in early January. It only took me four months. I ended up enjoying most of the second half much more than I liked the first half. Now I am reading The Six: The Lives of the Mitford Sisters by Laura Thompson. I have only read bits and pieces about the Mitford sisters and I want to know more.

End of Year notes

I read 88 books in 2022. The shortest book was a mystery, Dead in the Water by Ted Wood, at 136 pages. My longest book was 752 pages, although I suspect at least 50 of those pages were end notes, etc. The book was Carry Me Home: Birmingham, Alabama, a nonfiction book about civil rights struggles in Birmingham in 1963. I lived in B'ham at the time, but I was a teenager and don't remember much. I am about the same age as the author, Diane McWhorter, who lived in a much more affluent part of the Birmingham metropolitan area at the time. Later she realized the extent to which her family and family friends had been involved, and wanted to learn more about it. A very good book, well researched, but depressing to read.

Of the 88 books I read, 48 books were from my TBR pile, which was my goal. I am only aiming at 60 books this year in my Goodreads Challenge, and still aiming at 48 books from my TBR pile, so we will see how that goes. 

The images at the top and bottom of the post were taken on a recent visit to Rocky Nook Park, in the Mission Canyon area. Mission Creek runs through the park and has been dry for a long time; I wanted to see how much water was in the creek. Water was rushing through the creek and it sounded wonderful. We had a lovely walk.

My husband took the photos. Click on the images for the best viewing quality.

Not a Creature Was Stirring: Jane Haddam

Not a Creature Was Stirring is the first book in the Gregor Demarkian series by Jane Haddam. The series has 30 books, the last one published after Haddam's death. The first ten books in the series were set around holidays, and the books were sort of cozy. Later books were darker and more focused on issues. I have read the first 24 books in the series.

The story in this book is set at Christmas, and has a Christmas theme throughout. I have read this book three times, and it is my favorite book in the Gregor Demarkian series. Demarkian is a retired FBI agent, with a good reputation. 

The story begins a few days before Christmas when Demarkian is invited to dinner on Christmas Eve by Robert Hannaford, the immensely rich head of a large family in Philadelphia. Demarkian does not know Hannaford, nor does he know the reason for the invitation. When he arrives for dinner, Hannaford is dead in his study. Demarkian is eventually invited to consult with the police to investigate the crime.

The characters in this book are interesting and complex. Demarkian is a widower and recovering from his wife's death. Although he is retired, he is now finding that he misses the work. Robert Hannaford did not like any of his six children, but was devoted to his wife, who is very ill. When he dies, it is pretty clear that at least one of his children killed him. 

It had been long enough since the last time I read this book that I had forgotten who killed Robert Hannaford. I did know that one of the children continues throughout the series, but I still was wondering what the solution was up until the very end. 

This book was published as a paperback original in mass market format in December 1990. It has a very nice two page spread of a floor plan for the main level and the 2nd floor of Engine House, the Hannaford Estate. I love additions like that in mysteries.

 -----------------------------

Publisher:  Bantam, 1990. 
Length:     287 pages
Format:     Paperback
Series:      Gregor Demarkian, #1
Setting:     Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Genre:       Mystery
Source:     I purchased my copy.

Top Ten Tuesday list: Mysteries with an Academic Setting

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week's Top Ten Tuesday topic is a School Freebie (come up with a topic that somehow ties to school/education). I am keeping it simple, a list of my favorite books with a school setting.

And here's my list:

Murder is Academic by Christine Poulson

Poulson set her debut novel at St. Etheldreda's College at Cambridge. Cassandra James is a professor of English, and she finds the head of her department drowned in a pool, surrounded by exam papers. In Murder is Academic, in addition to the college setting, we have plagiarism, séances, and the pressures to publish research. And the characters are well-done and believable. The UK title of this book is Dead Letters. Published in 2002. She has published two more books in this series and three books in the Katie Flanagan series.

The Secret Place by Tana French

This is the fifth book in Tana French's Dublin Murder Squad series. The setting is primarily a girls' boarding school in the suburbs of Dublin. The case is the death of a teenage boy who was found murdered, a year before, on the grounds of the girl's school. The action all takes place in one day. The story is told in alternating narratives. The first narrative is from the point of view of a policeman working on the case. The second narrative (in third person present tense) follows the eight girls, boarders at the school, in the year leading up to the crime. Published in 2014.

Cat Among the Pigeons by Agatha Christie

This novel in the Hercule Poirot series is set primarily at the prestigious Meadowbank School for Girls in England, but the action begins with international intrigue in the fictional country of Ramat. I loved the girls school setting, but the espionage story was a bit too unrealistic for me. Julia Upjohn and Jennifer Sutcliffe, two students at the school, are very good characters, and I liked their letters home which moved the plot along. Julia is clever and notices things, Jennifer is more focused on herself, but together they are a good pair. Published in 1959.

The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths

There are three main characters who share the narration of the story. All three are interesting, with very different points of view on life. Clare is an English teacher at a high school; a close friend at work has been brutally murdered. Harbinder Kaur is a policewoman working on the investigation of the death of Ella Elphick, Clare's friend. Georgia is Clare's fifteen-old-daughter, who is a student at the high school that her mother teaches at.  Some of Clare's sections are told via entries from her diary, which does play an integral part in the story. Published in 2018.

Quoth the Raven by Jane Haddam

Quoth the Raven is the 4th book in a 20-book series about Gregor Demarkian, retired FBI agent, living in Philadelphia. This one is set in rural Pennsylvania at a small college, where Gregor has been invited to give a lecture. Halloween is a major event at the college and there will be the annual lighting of the bonfire the same night. The story takes place in the two days before that event; thus this is the perfect book for fall and the Halloween season. I liked the academic setting, and the mix of students and faculty as characters. Published in 1991.

Publish or Perish by Margot Kinberg

This is the first book in Margot Kinberg's Joel Williams series. The setting is academia: a university in Pennsylvania. I know that the academic setting is a competitive one, although I have no first-hand knowledge of this. Williams is an ex-policeman who now teaches in the university's Department of Criminal Justice. There is a good subplot about a group of students investigating the murder. Published in 2008.

A Killing Spring by Gail Bowen

A Killing Spring is the 5th book in a mystery series about Joanne Kilbourn, a political analyst and university professor who gets involved in criminal investigations. The setting is Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. This story begins as the head of the School of Journalism at the university where Joanne Kilbourn teaches is found dead, in embarrassing circumstances. Then a student in Joanne's class complains of sexual harassment and stops coming to class. Published in 1996. 

The Shortest Day by Jane Langton

This is the 11th book in the Homer Kelly series. This story is set in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where Homer and Mary Kelly are teaching a class at Harvard University. This is a quirky and humorous mystery in an academic setting. Mary is participating in the annual Christmas Revels when a young singer in the event dies in an automobile accident. When other deaths follow, Homer resists getting involved, even though he was once a homicide detective. The author illustrated the story with her own pen and ink drawings. Published in 1995.

Last Seen Wearing by Hillary Waugh

The story starts with the disappearance of a young female college freshman, Lowell Mitchell. The college she attends is in Bristol, Massachusetts, a fictional small town near Boston, Massachusetts. She goes missing on a Friday in early March 1950 after attending a morning class. Once the college dean ascertains that she is missing, the police are called in to investigate. The small police department in Bristol has less resources and less men to assign to the case than a big city police force. The press and the public are soon pressuring them for a solution, and Lowell's distraught parents also come to town. Published in 1952.

A Novena for Murder by Sister Carol Anne O'Marie

This is a very cozy mystery starring a nun as an amateur sleuth. Sister Mary Helen has retired at 75 and is sent to Mt. Saint Francis College for Women in San Francisco. Shortly after she arrives the body of a professor at the school is found, following an earthquake. The police blame the wrong person, in Sister Mary Helen's opinion, so it is up to her to find out what happened. The setting in San Francisco is nicely done, and there is an interesting subplot involving Portuguese immigrants who have been helped to enter the US and are now students or workers at the college.

Reading Summary for October 2021

This month I read seven books. Five of them were in the crime fiction genre, although some of those were more suspense than mystery, with the crime in the background. Most of those books were picked specifically for R.I.P. XVI. For that event, I also read a fantasy novel that borders on horror by Ray Bradbury. The last book I read this month was from my Classics Club list.

This month the communal driveway for our condominium has been torn up and inaccessible. The work started on September 20th and was supposed to be finished in no more than 4 weeks. This was what it looked like on October 22nd.

General Fiction

The Moviegoer (1961) by Walker Percy

This was my pick for the Classic Club spin, and I am glad I finally read a book by this author. It is set in the South, in New Orleans.  Binx Bolling is from a rich family, is a veteran of the Korean War, and has been set up as a stock broker by relatives. He likes going to movies, making money, and going out with his secretaries. He also has a lot of existential angst. Family members pressure him to pursue other careers and get more serious about life. This is one of the few books set in the South where I had some recognition of my own feelings and experiences. We were at a much lower socioeconomic level than the characters in this book, though. I was on the fence about this book until the ending, which I loved.

Fantasy / Horror

Something Wicked This Way Comes (1962) by Ray Bradbury

A traveling carnival brings evil to a small town in late October. See my review here.

Crime Fiction

The Thirteenth Tale (2006) by Diane Setterfield

If I had to pick a favorite book for this month, this would be it. It grabbed me emotionally and I enjoyed every page. See my review here.

A Little Local Murder (1976) by Robert Barnard

This is a light, humorous satire about the residents of an English village. The ending packs quite a punch. See my review here.

The Quickening (2020) by Rhiannon Ward

Rhiannon Ward is a pseudonym for Sarah Ward, who wrote four British police procedural mysteries previously. Three of those I read and liked a lot. This is a suspense novel with gothic elements, spooky and sort of creepy, not my usual type of reading. It is set in 1925 and highlights how many families lost sons and fathers to World War I. The main character is a female photographer who is documenting the contents of an estate that is in disrepair and being sold. There is an excellent subplot about a séance that took place back in 1896, and its continuing effects on the family, but I did not care for the overall emphasis on spiritualism. 

Skeleton Key (2000) by Jane Haddam

I read this book in October because the story is set at Halloween. It is the 16th book in the Gregor Demarkian series. This was a reread and it was a good choice from the series. See my review here.

Fête Fatale (1985) by Robert Barnard

This book has a lot in common with A Little Local Murder by the same author, which I also read this month. This story is set in a small English village, and many of the characters are quirky and somewhat unlikeable. But, unusual for Barnard's books, the story is narrated by a woman, the wife of the local veterinarian. She claims that the village is run by women and she is unsympathetic to the control they wield and how they use it. Some of the villagers are in a tizzy because a more orthodox vicar is being brought in to take the place of the previous incumbent of that position.

Currently Reading and More

This month I am reading novellas for Novellas in November. I have read four so far and enjoyed all of them.

Currently I am reading Train Dreams by Denis Johnson, a historical novella that starts in 1917 and follows events in a man's life through several decades. Set in Idaho and Washington, mostly.

We still don't have access to the driveway, at least for driving, although now we can walk on it. In this photo, taken yesterday, you can see that the pavers have been installed all the way to the street but entry is still blocked. 

This last photo, also taken yesterday, shows the driveway at our end of the drive. A lot of finishing still needs to be done. Click on the images for best viewing quality.

Reading in November 2017

In November I read nine books; only six of them were crime fiction. In the non-crime related group, we have:

The 13 Clocks (1950) by James Thurber

This book is sort of a fairy tale, but not really. I don't think it was written for children specifically but I am sure that it has been read to many children. I am also sure I will be reading this again a couple of times before I try to write about it.

The best way to introduce this book is with a quote from the beginning paragraph:

Once upon a time, in a gloomy castle on a lonely hill, where there were thirteen clocks that wouldn't go, there lived a cold, aggressive Duke, and his niece, the Princess Saralinda. She was warm in every wind and weather, but he was always cold. His hands were as cold as his smile and almost as cold as his heart.

I am grateful to Joan at Planet Joan for sending me her copy of this book after she read it.

Northanger Abbey (1818) by Jane Austen

This was my fourth book by Jane Austen this year, which I read as a part of the Jane Austen Read All A-Long at James Reads Books. My thoughts on the book are HERE.


Doomsday Book (1992)  by Connie Willis

The first novel in the Oxford Time Travel series. I have been wanting to read this book for a while and was determined to read it before I get to Black Out and All Clear by the same author. Now that I have read this book, I will read To Say Nothing of the Dog before the other two books.

The events are set at Christmas; thus I read it in preparation for the Christmas season. I loved it.




And these are the crime fiction books I read in November, which spanned the years from 1944 to 2017.

A Patient Fury (2017) by Sarah Ward

This is the third DC Childs mystery, written by Sarah Ward.  The series is set in the Derbyshire Peak District where the author lives. I have been a fan of the series since it started and this book did not disappoint. One of my favorite reads this year. My thoughts are HERE.

Death Wears Pink Shoes (1952) by Robert James

This book is difficult to describe and I hope to do better in a later post. The events center around a motley group of tenants at No. 17 Crane Street in New York. The story and the way it is told reminds me of the Inspector Schmidt books by George Bagby. It was a very fun read.

Moira at Clothes in Books generously sent this book to me, since she knows my love for books with skeletons on the cover.

Banking on Death (1961) by Emma Lathen

This is the first in a series starring John Putnam Thatcher, senior vice president of Sloan Guaranty Trust. I have been rereading books from this series of 24 books and have enjoyed each one. This one is covered in my most recent post.

Feast of Murder (1992) by Jane Haddam

The cover of this book says this is a Gregor Demarkian Holiday Mystery. The story is set around Thanksgiving and involves a holiday cruise on a replica of the Mayflower. Later the series (now 29 books long) moves away from the holiday themes and takes on darker topics. I enjoyed this book, another reread. My thoughts on this book and the series are HERE.

The Clock Strikes Twelve (1944) by Patricia Wentworth

The 7th book in the Miss Maud Silver series. James Paradine, the patriarch of the Paradine family, announces at a family dinner on New Year's Eve that he knows that one of his guests has betrayed the interests of the family. He also states that he will wait in his office until midnight to meet with the guilty person and discuss terms for handling the betrayal. Of course, by 12 o'clock he is dead. Just about everyone in the family is considered a suspect, some more than others, and one of the heirs brings in Miss Silver to clear things up.

This was the first Miss Silver book I had read in years and I think it was a very good book to get back into the series with. I found it very entertaining.

These Bones Were Made for Dancin' (1995) by Annette Meyers

This was the second book by Annette Meyers I read this year, and I like this one much more than the first one. Previously I read The Big Killing, the 1st book in the Smith and Wetzon series  This month I skipped ahead to the 6th book in the series. Leslie Smith and Xenia Wetzon are headhunters on Wall Street. Smith was a dancer on Broadway many years back, and she and a friend are producing a revival of a show for charity. The skeleton of a woman is discovered in the basement of a brownstone, and it may be the remains of one of the dancers from the original show.