A Work in Progress

Random Reading Notes: Mystery Novel Edition

Maybe just random notes. Random reading mystery novels notes.

It has been so long since I have posted here regularly, I am not even sure what I want to share or what might be interesting.  And I definitely need some other photo as a teaser, so this is from a rainy September afternoon in Quebec City, where I was visiting this fall.  It is a gorgeous place and I could happily live there, but I think I would be nervous walking those (sometimes quite steep) cobblestones in the winter.  

While I was there I was reading Louise Penny's Bury Your Dead, which I was quite enjoying (particularly since I went on a Louise Penny tour of places she visited and used as inspiration for this (and maybe other) books.  Perhaps I will share those with you another day.  I have only read the first Gamache mystery, which I enjoyed, but I never seem to reach for the next one.  I did read most of this (it is one of those languishing books on my pile I am trying to sort through and 'finish'), but I got bogged down as events from the previous book weigh on the story in this one.  And being in a beautiful place with so much to see, I spent more time doing than reading.  I feel like I am the only/last person who is a mystery lover who has not read more/all of Louise Penny's books.

What I am reading now (mystery-genre-wise)?

I just finished the second Vera Kelly novel, Vera Kelly is Not a Mystery, which I loved.  The setting is mid-1960s, Vera gets involved with the CIA and then works as a PI.  New York City and then down to Argentina or the Dominican Republic...a blurb calls the book propulsive and indeed it is.  I admit, I had set it down and got distracted but as soon as I returned to it-zip-straight through to the ending.  I am waiting for the third book on order at my favorite indie bookstore.  

I mentioned Ambrose Parry, The Way of All Flesh, in my last post and it is the next book from the languishing pile that I am rescuing and weirdly/amazingly I have fallen right back into the story.  I am a great fan of historical murder mysteries.  

Of late I have been reading and am interested in more classic Golden Age crime novels.  I have picked up the second Ngaio Marsh Inspector Alleyn novel, Enter a Murder (I read the first book ages ago).  I would like to pick an author (just one, is that possible?) to read my way through next year.  (I am nearly finished with Sue Grafton's alphabet series, letter W is next and then only one left after...I have been dragging my feet as I love Kinsey so much).

I recently read E.C.R. Lorac's Death of an Author (with Smithereens who also loves a good mystery) and if you like a good twisty, turny puzzle (I needed a spreadsheet to try and keep track of all the potential movements and solutions of the characters, which I could not figure out on my own) I can recommend this one.  I loved the race to the end (and it was quite literally a race involving trains).

So, what might I read next year.  I have loads and loads of mystery and suspense novels (I have even been dipping my toes in the horror genre where it overlaps).  I would like to finish Nicci French's days of the week novels (next is Waiting for Wednesday), and of course Elly Griffiths and Laurie R. King's series (I might pick up one of those before the year's out to take into 2025).  I have one Andrea Carter novel left, Death Writes, until she decides to publish another book.  I've been thinking of starting (or reading the second one anyway...I tend to read the first book in a series and move on with the intention of returning soon) Nicola Upson's Josephine Tey series.  

But most likely I will start with Dorothy L. Sayers's Harriet Vane books.  Not that I am not fond of Lord Peter Wimsey, but if you know me, you know I like a strong female protagonist and I have met Harriet Vane and would like to read more.  Maybe that is where I will start.

My problem is there are just far too many books and one author alone may have too many in one single series.  How do authors expect you to keep up?

For now, however, my next bookclub book is The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon. I am just a few chapters in and am already sucked into the world of Martha Ballard.  I suspect many of you have likely read it already.  It seems very popular and I am happy booclub gave me the nudge to pick it up sooner than later (I have too many later books).

What are you reading -- if you are a mystery reader?

Things I wanted to do, did(?), and might do.

Where has the year gone?  I really did plan on checking in here more often than I have.  (That is a wanted to do).  I have been reading, though my reading is, as usual, ALL over the place. (Did and doing).  I have lots of ideas of where I would like to go in the coming year.  (Might do?).  How do I possibly catch up now, however.

Last time I was here Typepad was having issues with book/reading lists, so I gave that up.  In reality I have a Lot of books in progress.  I have a lot of carryovers from last year.  Dare I share them here?  Maybe a curated list of what I want to finish or take forward into the new year.  I have been weeding my book collection and trying (very hard) to think about what I would take with me if/when I downsize my life.  Very difficult task.  I have been much better at letting books go that I have read and finished and am likely not going to revisit.  More of that needs to happen and will.  Library books rule!

Is it worth now filling in all the books I read this year here on my sidebar (they are listed in Goodreads, of which I have very mixed feelings about). One of the things I started was a physical journal where my plan was to (yes by hand) write out all the books I have read since beginning this blog and continuing on (because in my world paper is not dead).  I think I made it through a few years but it languishes (like so many projects).  And what to do about 'here'.  Is Tyepad and the blogging world becoming obsolete.  Does anyone actually ever pass through here anymore?  I am absent online quite a lot, but how do I connect up with virtual friends, if not here.

First a little housekeeping.  My current reads/books I am dipping into or do want to finish reading.

Bellewether, Susanna Kearsley -- Bit of a slow burn.  Lots of interesting historical information and a dual timeline story.  I think I prefer the historical story over the contemporary one.  Will either of the heroines actually get together with the heroes?  Remains to be seen, but I am going to keep going and find out.

Small Bomb at Dimperley, Lissa Evans -- Post WWII setting and I have heard good things about.  Poor hardcover means I am reluctant to carry it about with me and have been seduced by other books, but I will get back to it.

Tides, Sarah Freeman -- Short paragraphs spaced out and I should have finished a long time ago, but the story deals with some trauma and I find myself not reaching for it as I should.

Remember Love, Mary Balogh -- She is a reliable comfort read for me--in the vein of Georgette Heyer.  Not steamy really, but certainly more intimate than Mrs. Heyer.  

Death of an Author, E.C.R. Lorac -- Oh, now this is a twisty one.  I keep thinking I might know what is going wrong and then the story take another turn.

Only Here, Only Now, Tom Newlands -- This is the last book for my public library reading challenge (one where a character has a disability.  So, this might be a stretch, but the main character (a girl growing up in a broken home in 1990s Scotland) has ADHD.  I really like it, and Cora has such an engaging voice--it is the hardcover I am carrying around with me.  (Library books and last books to complete a challenge get the attention over my own personal books it would seem).

And oh dear, the books I started and what to do about them?  Asterisked books are those I am far enough into that I just need to give them attention to finish.  And the others?  Maybe they will get returned to their spots on the TBR for later reading?  I am a reader of whim as you can see.

*The Dolphin House, Audrey Shulman -- I really do like this book a lot, but I struggle (more so these days) with cruelty to women and animals (in this case the setting is 1960s and we all know how things went in that era).

*Vera Kelly is Not a Mystery, Rosalie Knecht

*The Third Girl, Agatha Christie

*Second Self, Chloe Ashby

*Bury Your Dead, Louise Penny -- I went to Quebec Canada this past summer and it was my takealong book, but I got bogged down, but still very cool to see places mentioned in or inspired in the book.

Girls on the Line, Aimie Runyan

The Way of All Flesh, Ambrose Parry

Hare House, Sally Hinchcliffe

Well, you get the idea.  There might be a few more, but at what point do you just let the book go, even though in theory you want to read it (but must admit to yourself you can't read them all--at least not all at once).

I would like to clear the decks, though, going into 2025.  I have a list of books that are parts of sets that I would like to continue on with.  I think I am going to attempt to read along with the group reading Anthony Powell's A Dance to the Music of Time.  I tried this a long time ago, but didn't manage it.  It looks like the group is going to just read the books over the course of the year.

I'm not (at least it doesn't feel like it is time yet with so much tidying I have in front of me) making real plans for next year, but I do want to spend more time reading my Viragos and Persephones and maybe starting a few new (well classic really) mystery series.

The other reading I have been thinking about is being part of a community of readers who are interested in reading diverse authors, reading about climate change and nature, and current events, social history, etc.  There have been so many changes in the world close by and far away.  There are people who are happy about it and others who are a little more fearful (being in the latter group).  I would be nice to have a group of like minded readers.  If you are interested, please do mention it.

Sorry this is so long.  I guess I don't post often, but when I do I make up for missed opportunities.  Maybe this will be my new year's resolution?  We'll see.  

April 5 Weekend Reading Notes

It's rare that I find new releases that look so interesting on the library's New Books shelves, but when I went to pick up two holds, I found two that jumped out at me.  Almost always now, any new book that you want to get your hands on when they are ready to circulate, you really have to have gotten in line for before the actual publication.  I have learned all the tricks to curating my holds list, my for later lists and how to manage so many holds in order that they don't all arrive at once.  But there is a lot to say about the serendipity of finding a new book that you had not come across just sitting on a shelf waiting to be discovered!

The top two books are my 'discoveries'.

Why Did You Come Back Every Summer by Belen Lopez Peiro, translated by Maureen Shaughnessy -- This is translated from the Spanish.  "A fractured account of family abuse, secrets, and the cost of pursuing the truth."

I do not generally tend to gravitate towards science fiction/speculative fiction, but I am probably missing out on some good reads.  Calypso by Oliver K. Langmead. This one is not only a beautiful book (the endpapers are gorgeous), but there is a cover blurb from Sarah Waters (one of my most favorite authors).  "A ground-breaking, mind-bending and wildly imaginative epic verse revolution in SF. A saga of colony ships, shattering moons and cataclysmic war in a new Eden.  Truly unforgettable and richly lyrical eco-fiction."

And two holds I have been looking forward to: Rowan Beaird's The Divorcees and (actually this just sounded interesting and a recent request) Anna by Mia Oberlander, translated by Nika Knight.  The latter is a graphic novel.  This is what caught my eye: "Drawn with delightful exaggeration and formal inventiveness, Anna is a tongue-in-cheek, modern-day fairy tale about being "too big" for a narrow-minded world."

*************

And a few other reads that I've been hoarding over the course of the week to try and get to this weekend ...

The MIllions Most Anticipated 2024 Spring book preview!  (For an even longer reading list).

Writers Talking Writers (Emily St. John Mandel on Irene Nemirovsky and Sarah Rose Etter on Tove Ditlevson.

Chantal Akerman is one of my favorite film directors, so this looks very interesting (and I will be looking for the books mentioned in the article.

I have long wanted to read Alan Furst's spy novels and here they are ranked by another reader (who has already read all his books).

Have you heard about the sudden closure of Small Press Distribution (SPD) earlier this month?  I find that worrisome since I am a fan of small presses.  They can be very hard to find in bookstores and I am often ordering them specially at my local indie.  Now what happens?  Here is the list that were previously distributed by them.  Maybe this weekend will be a good time to go direct and support them by ordering online from them?

This weekend's watching will include Andrew Scott's Ripley (I have heard many good things about it!) and I cannot wait to see Wicked Little Letters!

Have a great weekend everyone!

A Few Reading Notes . . .

Hello from the beginning of Prize season!  Can you tell what was just announced this week?

This is just a little place holder, interim post, mostly to thank you for comments (always appreciated) and book suggestions (also very appreciated).  I feel like I am again falling behind a bit (aside from being here and adding to the conversation, I owe a few people emails, too).  It is all definitely on my mind and I do plan on catching up very soon.  

I have assembled a few books (I had a few already on my TBR) from the Women's Prize for Fiction longlist--I lucked out and one was a galley copy that the bookstore owner where I help out was kind enough to let me grab and read, and the rest are library copies.  The books I own I, of course, want to read and the others are interesting-sounding and I will peruse.  I did start And Then She Fell by Alicia Elliott as the book is about a young woman of the Mohawk Tribe, which is set in Canada (Toronto, but it works for me!).  That seemed serendipitous!

I finished reading The Road to Belhaven by Margot Livesey and loved it!  I hope to explore more of her work now.  Typepad is still giving me error messages on the backend as I try and do some things, including adding to my book list on the sidebar, but more on my current reads in the next day or two.

I am still interested in reading about the Vietnam War through the eyes of women and their experiences, so I appreciate the book suggestions and I am not averse to male authors, if the stories include women characters (in order to broaden the choices).  I will say progress is being made as I am now at #66 in line!  Since I have a stack of other potential reads staring me down at home, I can afford to be patient.

I hope everyone is reading something really good!  More news very soon from me!

Reading Sets, Series and Authors

I'm not much of a completionist in any sense of the word.  I chip away at mystery series, but only a very few have I actually kept up with or completed.  Sometimes I begin books and then let them linger on my nightstand and then let them go back to their piles or shelves.  I am a firm believer in not pushing myself to finish something I am not enjoying it or if it is just not the right story at the  moment (which means it happens a lot since I am very much a mood reader).  And there are books that are duos or trilogies or quartets that I look at and mean to read in their entirety.  Oh, and then there are all the many authors who I collect because I read one of their books, fell in love and then wanted to read all of them.  I have lots of collected authors waiting to be revisited.

So in the last couple of years I have been trying to pick up a set of books or an author to try and read (and complete) over the course of the year.

In 2022 I read all of M.M. Kaye's "Death in ..." series.  I had read one or two many years ago and felt like revisiting one of the books.  I had managed to collect the five she had published, so what the heck, I would try and read them all and indeed, I did.  Most I loved and some a little less so, but it was fun reading my way through them.  I have a couple saved on my Audible wishlist for later listening.  And they are keepers for maybe another reread.

Last year I picked up (again ... I had read the first volume at least twice, and the second once, but never the whole set) Elizabeth Jane Howard's Cazalet Chronicles.  I loved what I had read, but somehow just run out of steam each time to continue on.  However, I managed to read the original four volumes by the end of the year save for the fifth volume, All Change, which is currently on my nightstand and I am slowly enjoying chipping away at.  Since she published the last book many, many years after the first four, I have given myself a break and consider it a tying up of the stories.  (By the way, she is an author I have read and would like to read all of her books eventually).

I felt it was an accomplishment I am pleased with still, that I read Elena Ferrante's quartet of books beginning with My Brilliant Friend.  I admit the read was at times challenging, and the politics occasionally seemed over my head, but it was a really wonderful experience and I loved the stories.  There was something very raw and real about them and I was constantly conflicted by what I felt about the characters and their interactions, but there was a complexity in them that felt so real to me and I loved them for that.

In the last few years I feel like I am looking back more and more and appreciating books published earlier in the last century (aside from my ongoing love of interwar year novels) almost more than contemporary fiction (though there is a lot of great books out there and I have a constantly maxed out library queue of forthcoming books).  When I was young, maybe middle school age, I read some of Constance C. Greene's Al books.  I remember saving my allowance and going to the mall where there was a newsstand with many magazines and a variety of mass market books (oh, those were the days!) and I recall buying A Girl Called, Al.  The books are set in 1970s NYC and narrated by Al's best friend.  The series begins when they are in 7th grade and the story has stayed with me.  I decided to revisit the books and read all of them, and they were a delight.  Maybe a little dated for today's middle schoolers, but I loved going back in time.

So, what to choose to work on this year?  I have many sets of books.  Perhaps I will add a tab up top and begin a list of sets and series (though not mystery series, since that is a rabbit hole to dive down into and I dabble in a lot of different mystery series), but groups of related books or authors I collect.

At the moment I am considering reading Martha Grimes's Emma Graham books, which begins with Hotel Paradise (a favorite book of mine that I have read several times and am happy to revisit again).  Grimes manages to present a young girl in a small town just pitch perfect in my opinion.  There are four books.  I have read the first two, but never read the whole set together.

I've also got the Habits of the House trilogy by Fay Weldon, which is her nod towards Downton Abbey (which I thoroughly enjoyed). The first book is Habits of the House, and is an upstairs/downstairs story, which I am fond of and have not read in a while but it might just match my mood.

I think I will likely add other possibilities later, but if you have a favorite set or series, do share!

Moving Forward in 2024 - Books & Blogging

I took this photo at a local botanical garden before the holidays (this was part of the holiday display, though you can't really tell from this angle).  This was before the really awful weather we had.  January, here, like many other places, was pretty dismal weather-wise.  I think we are over that particular hump and are enjoying a nice respite from winter, so I am trying to enjoy it while it lasts.  Seeing the hanging vines and green leaves makes me happy.

I knew that as soon as February arrived, I had to decide what to do about this little place on the web that I, in the past, spent so much time at.  I have been absent for some time--nearly all of last year and a good portion of the year before.  Right before covid and then during, life was pretty awful in a variety of ways, and I just stopped doing things that I enjoyed and never seemed to go back to some of them (here included).  And after that hiatus I find many people have moved on to other places, other social media platforms perhaps, but I haven't felt the pull of them.

I am hoping to track my reading here, once again, in some regular fashion.  I won't make any promises or resolutions.  If I can share my reading adventures here and track my ambitions (of which I have plenty when it comes to reading), it might help with the funk I have fallen into.  If I haven't been here, I have still been reading a lot and am in the middle of several really wonderful books.

I have started a little cleaning and weeding process here.  Eventually I would like to move to a different (maybe free? do such places exist still?) service.  I believe Typepad no longer allows new people to use their service and I feel like they have not, perhaps, moved with the times.  Some things feel clunky to me and I really do not like their partnership with Amazon to provide links/cover images.  I have started to cull links that appear to be dead (and hopefully none that are active were removed accidentally).  Maybe I'll change the template and remove some of the tags and try to keep them tidier.  It'll hopefully be an ongoing process.

For now, however, let me mention a few of the books I have on my reading pile at the moment.

I am rereading Colm Toibin's Brooklyn. I loved it the first time I read it and liked the movie equally as well.  (I am a great fan of Saoirse Ronan).  I picked it up in anticipation of his forthcoming novel, Long Island, which is a sequel to Brooklyn.  I'm very curious about the new novel, but a little wary since I loved Brooklyn so much.

Have you read Nicci French?  She (or they, since I believe this is a wife/husband writing team) is amazing.  I loved (!)  Blue Monday.  I waited a while before picking up Tuesday's Gone (again, would the second book possibly be as good as the first?--this is a set that takes the day so of the week for each book).  I love mystery and crime novels and am a fan in particular of psychological crime, but somewhere along the line in the last few years suspense can almost be too much for me to take.  I want to read, but I don't want bad things to happen, if that makes sense.  The books are so well written and tightly plotted, it is easy to turn the pages.

Someone here, some time ago, recommended this book, Red Ruby Heart in a Cold Blue Sea, by Morgan Callan Rogers, to me and whoever you were ... thank you!  I Love this story.  It is beautifully written and a little heartbreaking.  It is a coming of age story told from the POV of a thirteen-year-old girl whose mother one day just disappears.  The setting is a small Maine town on the coast in 1963.  I think it might be the author's only book and it came out back in 2012.  I love the setting, the time period, the voice of the girl.  

These three books are just stellar for me right now.  I find that I am attracted to older books lately than newer.  In some cases the writing just feels different to me.  It's really good, really thoughtful.  Maybe the times feel gentler (though they were not, perhaps).  Of course, that is not to say I have been finding very good, very recent novels, too.  But more about those later.

Thinking about Second Half of 2023

Hello friends.  It has been a long while.  Longer than I realized actually.  I'm here and reading away, as many books on the go as usual.  (Which for me can be a pile).  It's so easy to be offline when you start (or maybe stop is the better word).  I've got a bit more than half a year of my Typepad subscription left and it seems a shame to ignore it when it has been paid for.  I guess it's time to think about whether to try and be more present or just let things go (here that is).  My intentions are always good and the idea of a semi- or even just weekly post seems manageable, but then it never seems to materialize.  I wonder how many of my virtual book blogging friends are still around (feel free to raise your hands and say hello).

While I ponder these questions, I do keep up my bookishness in the background (or rather, in real life).  I am not very present in general on social media, though I do read a lot of online newsletters and newspapers/magazines.  I keep an occasional eye on Twitter by way of a daily digest.  When I think about things or reach out and click on an outside link I do quite enjoy being a lurker at least.  So, one more try, and I'll see how it goes.  I have not wanted to let things go entirely and lose all the content (some of the reviews and many of the lists) from my previous postings here, but as I seem to refer to them less and less, maybe it would not matter to let them just disappear from the ether?

As I contemplate whether to discontinue blogging, I can finish out this year and share a little of what I have been up to; or rather today, I will share some ideas of where I hope my rest of 2023 reading will take me.  Last year I read/reread M.M. Kaye's romantic suspense novels, her "Death in . . ." series of books.  This year I am rereading/reading Elizabeth Jane Howard's Cazalet Chronicle series of five books.  I have read the first two multiple times (usually thinking I need to read the series through but not quite completing the task), but this year I am finally into volume three, Confusion, so I am about halfway through with two volumes left.

I love Sue Grafton's alphabet mysteries, but the last couple of years have not seen me pick up more than a book or so a year.  I am at letter V (V is for Vengeance) and I feel it is time to see Kinsey through to letter Y.  I have all the books, and I can (and just may) revisit them later, but I want to finish out the series.

This year is definitely one to try and complete or make progress (okay, and maybe start) some favorite series.  I have been spending time with Ruth Galloway (Elly Griffiths) and solicitor Ben O'Keeffe of Inishowen (Andrea Carter).  I plan on getting back to Alan Parks's Harry McCoy novels and read the second and third Vera Kelly books by Rosalie Knecht.  I've been keeping up with Jacqueline Winspear (has Maisie finally retired?) and Ashley Weaver's newest Electra McDonnell novel is one of my current reads.  I've tried a Deborah Crombie mystery (and hope to read more) and now am trying something entirely different, the first Falco mystery by Lindsey Davis!

I have this loose plan on reading all of Annie Ernaux's memoirs/novels, but that may carry over to another year.  I like her writing very much.  And I have been revisiting a series of childhood favorite books by Constance C. Greene featuring "Al"-Alexandra.  They are just as delightful as the first time around.  

That's a few highlights.  I do want to read more literary fiction in general and much more literature in translation, too.  

However, I have finally planned a short real, away from home, vacation and will be traveling to New York City in August.  I would love any New Yorkers or those familiar with the city to share any must-sees and must-dos particularly that have to do with books, bookstores, library, literary-related places and also places for film lovers (next to books I am a film lover and spend most weekends seeing as many movies (old and new) as I can at a local indie cinema.  

I am also in need of a really good quintessially-NYC novel to read this summer.  (Well, maybe more than one, but at the moment I am thinking I will pick up a Betty Green novel--I have already read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, so maybe another of her books).  I want a book that is as much about the place as the people and the plot.  Suggestions welcome.  

I know I say this every time I post (which is hardly never these days), but I do want to check in here more often.  If nothing else, there is a lot of clean-up and catching up that must be taken care of.  

Happy reading everyone.

Reading Notes: Autumn Inspiration

An (almost) new month (is upon us), a new season and cooler weather.  All good reasons for (another) fresh start.  How long does it take to form (or reform) a new habit?  I make no promises, but I would very much like to post somewhat regularly (more than once a season, maybe?!), so we'll see how it goes.

Since finishing the novel, Three by Valerie Perrin, I have read more than a dozen or so books, many very good, others pretty good (and a few 'discards' along the way), and now I am set to pick up some books with a little seasonal atmosphere.  I think autumn is my favorite time of the year and the weather is finally very comfortable and enjoyable to be outside or inside with windows open.  I hope it lasts and of course I have a stack of books that I pulled out to choose from to match the mood. Possibilities:

A Sleep and a Forgetting, William Dean Howells -- The story centers on a young alienist--a psychologist--who meets a young woman who, at subsequent encounters, has no recollection of him. 

The Quickening, Rhiannon Ward -- For fans of The Silent Companions, The Little Stranger and The Familiars, an exquisitely crafted and compelling mystery that invites the reader in to the crumbling Clewer Hall to help unlock its secrets.

House of Glass, Susan Fletcher -- June 1914 and a young woman - Clara Waterfield - is summoned to a large stone house in Gloucestershire. Her task: to fill a greenhouse with exotic plants from Kew Gardens, to create a private paradise for the owner of Shadowbrook. Yet, on arrival, Clara hears rumours: something is wrong with this quiet, wisteria-covered house. Its gardens are filled with foxgloves, hydrangea and roses; it has lily-ponds, a croquet lawn - and the marvellous new glasshouse awaits her. But the house itself feels unloved. Its rooms are shuttered, or empty. The owner is mostly absent; the housekeeper and maids seem afraid. And soon, Clara understands their fear: for something - or someone - is walking through the house at night. In the height of summer, she finds herself drawn deeper into Shadowbrook's dark interior - and into the secrets that violently haunt this house. Nothing - not even the men who claim they wish to help her - is quite what it seems.

O Caledonia, Elspeth Barker -- Author Elspeth Barker masterfully evokes the harsh climate of Scotland in this atmospheric gothic tale that has been compared to the works of the Brontës, Edgar Allan Poe, and Edward Gorey. Immersed in a world of isolation and loneliness, Barker's ill-fated young heroine Janet turns to literature, nature, and her Aunt Lila, who offers brief flashes of respite in an otherwise foreboding life. People, birds, and beasts move through the background in a tale that is as rich and atmospheric as it is witty and mordant. 

The Uninvited, Dorothy Macardle -- A gothic, bone-chilling Irish ghost story first published in 1941 and now brought back into print. The title benefits from an introduction by well-known academic Professor Luke Gibbons and Martin Scorsese and various critics, including William K. Everson and Leonard Maltin, regard The Uninvited as one of the best ghost stories ever filmed.

You'll Never See Me Again, Lesley Pearse -- Betty is running for her life.  When Betty's husband returns from the war broken and haunted, she knows her marriage is doomed.  Taking a fleeting chance to escape, she goes on the run armed with a new identity. Yet penniless and alone, Betty quickly finds that starting again is much harder than she thought.  And she never imagined it could end in murder . . .  But sometimes you have to keep running if you want to survive.

A Tidy Ending, Joanna Cannon -- ...a delightfully sinister novel about a married woman living a nice, quiet suburban life--but things aren't always what they seem...

The Drowning Kind, Jennifer McMahon -- A woman returns to the old family home after her sister mysteriously drowns in its swimming ​pool...but she's not the pool's only victim.  (Not in the photo--but in my stack).

I am starting with Susan Fletcher's novel as I have read and enjoyed her work, but I am sure I will be reaching for other books in this pile.  Have you read any of these or have any good recommendations of autumn spooky reading?

A Few Summer Reading Notes

It's too hot where I live (and maybe where you live, too) for reading in the garden, but it is a nice idea.  Maybe closer to fall, which I am looking forward to greatly!  My porch chair has sat empty all summer. 

I guess we are officially into the dog days of summer.  And maybe time to catch up a bit on what I have been reading, or trying to read.  As is my current trend, my reading is all over the place with more than a few misses but a number of hits as well and plenty of books in progress.  My reading continues to be motivated mostly by my mood, which seems to change daily.  But I have not given up on the very few reading plans and projects on which I set forth a month or so ago.  

First a mention of a book kindly sent to me from Europa Editions that I thoroughly enjoyed and found pretty captivating last month, Valerie Perrin's Three.  Last year I read and loved her novel Fresh Water for Flowers, and had I shared a 'best of' list (I don't think I ever got around to it) it would have made it high on the list.  I was thrilled to see another book translated and being published this year (and I hope another will be coming next year?).  I have been wary of big, chunky books of late.  Not through their fault, but if there is such a thing as a 'long hauler' 'my reading is still off kilter' mode of being--I am still there.  I was assured, however, that this was a perfect summer read that I would find engrossing and indeed I found that to be the case.

The novel follows the friendship of three young people as they navigate growing up in a small French town.  Nina, Adrien and Etienne are inseparable growing up.  They are as close as siblings and nothing can come between them until one summer tragedy strikes in ways that will mark them all for life.  There is a bit of a mystery to the story and twists that you don't expect, that are more about growing up and becoming an adult and recognizing the person inside rather than unraveling the puzzle always hovering in the background.  It was a story that I became completely involved in.  The characters are not perfect, but they felt so real and I became invested in their lives in a way I have not in a long time in my reading.

Yes, friends, I started this post in the heat of summer and am now revisiting it in the coolness of a fall morning.  Maybe it was the draining humidity of the summer or dealing with family issues, or just a lack of energy, but I am sorry I have been so absent for so long.  (I seem to say that quite often here, don't I).  And I expect I am talking aloud to an empty room (all on me, sadly).  I have been absent so long that I only discovered that Typepad is no longer (since 2020?) accepting new subscribers and next month will be migrating data, which somehow does not seem to bode well.  I need to get my (not really empty) room in order and decided what to do, whether to move on or move elsewhere.  Are blogs a thing of the past now?  Maybe everyone has left me for TikTok?  

I will do some cleaning up while I decide.  I have a little time left on my subscription.  I have read a number of good books, set aside quite a few that were not working for me.  Summer has turned to fall and I am happy with cooler mornings and sunny afternoons.  My (see post below) summer reading plans started okay, but I did not manage as well as I had hoped, which is okay.  It is always nice to have a stack of books that appeal and choose some to see if they click or not.  I have made a pile of autumn books that I will share, too.  I am sorry this sat so long in draft mode.  I wonder where my online bookish friends are hanging out these days?

Summer Reading: Thrills and Chills

Lately a number of my reading selections have been guided less by my own choice and more by a couple of book groups I belong to.  While I love the groups and especially the members whose enthusiasm for reading is very infectious, I do feel like I have wandered away from the books I most feel like reading. 

A friend asked if I had a summer reading project in the works, which in previous years I have planned and looked forward to enormously.  I had not given it much thought this year, however.  I have been feeling limited in my reading time, and as a slow reader in general, book club books (some I have really enjoyed and others less so) take away from my own reading piles.  I think I am going on hiatus from the book groups this summer and going to indulge in a very loosely themed (and rather last moment) summer reading project.  

I think it is time to get back to my favorite genre--mysteries and thrillers.  Some of these are authors or books I have long had on my shelves.  Some are newish releases and some are older authors just discovered.  In any case mysteries seem the perfect distraction this summer.  I love a good puzzle.  Some of the books are not straightforward puzzles/mysteries, I think all of them will fit nicely into the psychological realm.

Search the Shadows, Barbara Michaels -- "Abandoning her carefully planned future, Haskell Maloney seeks the truth behind her past: Who is her real father? Was her mother's fatal car crash really an accident? Her search leads her to the study of Egyptology, where watching from the shadows of a cold museum, a ruthless killer waits to strike."

Lonely Hearts, John Harvey -- "In this detective story two women are murdered after having a blind date with a man contacted through the personal column in the local paper. Inspector Resnick soon discovers that the likely murderer is an academic at the university who follows him and his girlfriend to the most unlikely places."

Goodnight, Irene, Jan Burke -- "When a fellow reporter is blown up while investigating an unsolved murder from 1955, Irene Kelly is determined to solve the mystery despite the threat of death."

The Hours Before Dawn, Celia Fremlin -- Virago Modern Classic!  "This novel, one of the "Virago Crime Classics", combines humour with a look at the danger and suspense in the tyranny of motherhood. It also explores the redeeming power of love."

Rock, Paper, Scissors, Alice Feeney -- "Things have been wrong with Mr and Mrs Wright for a long time. When Adam and Amelia win a weekend away to Scotland, it might be just what their marriage needs. Self-confessed workaholic and screenwriter Adam Wright has lived with face blindness his whole life. He can't recognize friends or family, or even his own wife.Every anniversary the couple exchange traditional gifts--paper, cotton, pottery, tin--and each year Adam's wife writes him a letter that she never lets him read. Until now. They both know this weekend will make or break their marriage, but they didn't randomly win this trip. One of them is lying, and someone doesn't want them to live happily ever after.Ten years of marriage. Ten years of secrets. And an anniversary they will never forget."

Cecile is Dead, Georges Simenon -- "In the dreary suburbs of Paris, the merciless greed of a seemingly respectable woman is unearthed by her long suffering niece, and Maigret discovers the far-reaching consequences of their actions."

Signs of Life, Anna Raverat -- "Ten years ago, Rachel had an affair. It left her life in pieces. Now, writing at her window, she tries to put those pieces together again.  She has her memories, recollections of dreams, and her old yellow notebook. More than anything, she wants to be honest.  Rachel knows that her memory is patchy and her notebook incomplete. But there is something else. Something terrible happened to her lover.  Her account is hypnotic, delicate, disquieting and bold. But is she telling us the truth?"

The Lamplighters, Emma Stonex --"Inspired by a haunting true story, a gorgeous and atmospheric novel about the mysterious disappearance of three lighthouse keepers from a remote tower miles from the Cornish coast--and about the wives who were left behind."

The King of Fools, Frederic Dard -- "A fiendish tale of passion, betrayal, and murder in Edinburgh, Scotland--from the master of French noir."

Strong Poison, Dorothy L. Sayers -- "The classic mystery that first featured Harriet Vane, companion sleuth to the dashing, perennially popular private investigator, Lord Peter Wimsey, from the mystery writer widely considered the greatest mystery novelist of the Golden Age."

The Heights, Louise Candlish -- "The Heights is a tall, slender apartment building among warehouses in London. Its roof terrace is so discreet, you wouldn't know it existed if you weren't standing at the window of the flat directly opposite. But you are. And that's when you see a man up there--a man you'd recognize anywhere. He may be older now, but it's definitely him.But that can't be because he's been dead for over two years. You know this for a fact.Because you're the one who killed him."

Nightshift, Kiare Ladner -- "A riveting debut novel of complex female friendship and obsession, following one young woman's decision to abandon her normal life and join the otherworldly, nocturnal existence of London's nightshift workers."

Not shown (am waiting for my copy to come in the mail) A Tidy Ending, Joanna Cannon -- "Linda lives on a nice, normal street.
She has a nice, normal husband and a nice, normal life.  But Linda isn't entirely satisfied. And then the murders start."

A proper baker's dozen of very enticing reads.  I always dream big with books, so my pile is larger than what I can realistically read.  My goal is to read 6-7 over the course of the summer.  I am starting with Nightshift, which I was so excited to get months ago!