Books 2014, #1 - #20

Light interlude - I was catching up on Knitting on the Green's latest reviews when I realised I hadn't done this for a while. I haven't been reading that much so far this year as I no longer have a commute and there has been so much else to take in. I have waded through more than 40 Japanese craft books from the Library (I take a photo of the cover so I know if I have mined this one already or not because the old memory isn't what it was) as well but that is more looking and learning than reading. Or are the two the same?! Where I have done well is audiobooks. I've clumped these all together at the end. I listen to them while sewing which explains how I've got through so many.

Pictures are amazon affiliate links but are only there to look pretty. No need to click on them unless you really want to buy the book. I've also put books by the same author together even though I read them at different times so the list is not in order.

#1 Death on the Lizard

#2 Death at Dartmoor

by Robin Paige

More cosy mysteries. In the Lizard we have Mr Marconi and his wireless getting into hot water and our heroic couple help sort them out. In Dartmoor we have an escaped convict who Lord Sheridan thinks might be innocent and wants to prove is so using these new fangled fingerprints he's so keen on. In both these books the Sheridans are married and so they're not too soppy. It is interesting how the division of labour is very much along traditional gender lines (Charles goes off to interrogate the prison guards while Kate visits the local gentility) and yet these books still manage to maintain Kate's independence and therefore difference to the other ladies of the age.

#3 Revelations of a Lady Detective
by William S Haywood

This one was mentioned in a BBC documentary (I can't remember now whether it was tv or radio) as one of the first times a woman was the detective in a novel. Published in 1864, it isn't exactly an in depth mystery tale by today's standards. In fact it is a series of short stories which represent cases Mrs Paschal is asked to work on. The fact that the cover shows her smoking, scandalous at the time, shows how much of an innovation it all was. An interesting read though and well worth a look if you are a crime fiction buff.

#4 The Devil's Cave
by Martin Walker

Dear Bruno is involved in another mystery in his small french town. Set during the current period and tinged with current politics and believable red tape, these stories are good fun and it is interesting to see which of the cast of the town and national authorities we have already been introduced to in the previous books will come along and be the focus of different elements. A killing with possible satanic elements takes place and while the Mayor wants to dampen any negative publicity a local tourist attraction seems to be trying to maximise the drama for its own ends. Good stuff. 

#5 O Jerusalem
by Laurie R King

While I am reading these in order, this one goes back to before Sherlock Holmes married (stop laughing if this is news to you) and when his wife to be was about 17 and the two of them were just master and apprentice and hiding out in the Middle East. It links in with the first book and was quite good. I find myself turning to these books when I want to read something that is more gripping than a cosy mystery, but not terribly complicated. 

#6 Murder Underground

#7 Death on the Cherwell

by Mavis Doriel Hay

These two were in my 'recommendations' on Amazon and are part of a republished set called "British Library Crime Classics". I suspect these might stem from the popularity of the crime writing exhibition KnittingOnTheGreen and I went to last year which I blogged about here. Ms Hay only wrote three mysteries between the wars and then got involved in war work and went on to write more about traditional crafts. A lady after my own heart. Both books were well written and had a good pace to them. Two people from the first pop up in the second but both involve a group of about 10 people who could have had a motive for the doings. I would recommend either to anyone who likes a bit of classic crime. 

#8 How To Wash A Cat
by Rebecca M Hale

You know how sometimes you quite like a book but there is one character you cannot stand? Well let me state now that if that guy Monty is in any of her other books there is absolutely no way I can read them. He was intolerable. And the lead's reaction to him was unfathomable. I would have had him arrested at the very least for repeated breaking and entering, never mind telling him to GO AWAY for five frickin minutes and leave me in peace. Apart from Monty...calm down Byrne...this was a very enjoyable and fast read where a woman with two cats inherits an antique shop from her Uncle. Secret passages and buried treasure can only be mere pages away. It looks like this is the first in the series so I may try another, but only if someone has first redacted all mentions of Monty.

#9 An Expert in Murder (Audiobook)
by Nicola Upson

This is the first of the 'Josephine Tey Mysteries' which it is a bit odd to be reading because I didn't like Ms Tey's actual work when I read it. However, this listen was enough to make me think I should give it another go, as I very much enjoyed this story. This is a series Knitting on the Green has reviewed several times and has the author as one of the main characters although she doesn't butt in - it is the police who do the actual detection while she has her own thing going on in the background. Admittedly she reaches the solution before they do but that is kind of accidental. I really enjoyed this and would recommend it. 

#10 The Case is Closed (Audiobook)
by Patricia Wentworth

I usually love Miss Silver books but this one was a real downer to start with. Endless prose about how hard a woman's life is after her husband, who claims his innocence, is convicted of murdering his uncle. It takes her plucky friend to pluckily contact her plucky ex-fiance who in turn pluckily contacts Miss Silver to discover the truth. There's a lot of pluck in this one. Once you wade past the doom of a beginning this is actually very good with lots of investigating by Miss S and a few near misses for the plucky lovely. I won't spoil things by saying whether she is reconciled with the ex or not... 

#11 Lestrade and the Gift of the Prince (Audiobook)

#12 Lestrade and the Mirror of Murder (Audiobook)

#13 Lestrade and the Sign of Nine (Audiobook)

by MJ Trow

I hadn't realised quite how many of these books there were until I started reading/listening to them. The three above are all very good although the Sign of Nine stands out in my mind as having a particularly devillish plot and many comedic moments, the like of which you come to expect from these books. As audiobooks they also have the benefit of having been read by the Author. This is not always a good thing but in this case it really works and he is brilliant at bringing the long suffering and much injured Lestrade to life. If you haven't read one I would strongly recommend them - no knowledge or even liking of Sherlock Holmes required. 

#14 Dead in the Water (Audiobook)

#15 Murder on the Flying Scotsman (Audiobook)

by Carola Dunn

I absolutely have to stop listening to these audiobooks. An american woman called Mia Chiaromonte reads them and she has no idea how to pronounce words. There are so many examples I could give because I curse out loud each time she does it, but the one that sticks in my head is when she stated a young, teenage character was sleeping in her commies. 

Those commie bastards...them and their combs. Because what she was actually sleeping in were her combies (with the b pronounced, unlike the word comb, which Mia is apparently up to pronouncing) as in combinations, an old fashioned type of underwear. A small thing I know but when she is doing it with any word not usually found in your average Sesame Street episode it gets a bit galling. Therefore if you are going to read what are perfectly adequate, but not great, stories I'd get them as actual books. 

#16 Stop Press (Audiobook)

#17 A Night of Errors (Audiobook)

#18 Appleby and Honeybath (Audiobook)

by Michael Innes

Wow, those publishers sure weren't breaking the cover illustration budget when they brought these out. Those people who are attracted by covers wouldn't give these a second glance. Which is a shame, because this is more of the, just like Lestrade, seemingly never ending Inspector Appleby series. As far as I can tell, Appleby was only an Inspector for about 3 books, then the rest were when he was a Commissioner or retired. I guess that gives him more flexibility. In any case these were all good but of particular note was 'Appleby and Honeybath' where Honeybath finds a body in the library except that by the time he's told Appleby it has vanished.

#19 The Norfolk Mysteries (Audiobook)
by Ian Sansom

I downloaded this on a whim when it popped up in Audible's new releases and so the paperback isn't due out until July. Ian Sansom also writes the mobile library series, which I don't like, and not the Matthew Shardlake series (by C J Sansom) which I do like, which is what I was thinking of when I bought it. I mean to say - there was a sex scene! A realistic one! For a woman who is used to Dame Agatha simply not going there this was rather odd. The premise is that Sefton has been hired by a famous writer to help him compile guides to each of the counties and they are starting with Norfolk. I need to listen to it again to work out exactly who did what to whom but the idea of going through the sex scene again is putting me off. This is clearly the start of a new series but I'm not going to be following it up in future. 

#20 Miss Tonks Turns to Crime
by MC Beaton

This was a present from my cousin and very welcomed. It brought me safely back into my comfort zone since it does contain kissing but of a strictly above the waist variety so that was ok. This is a new series to me but definitely not a new series since there already seem to be at least 5 titles. The concept is that a band of 'poor relations' have clubbed their resources together, along with the proceeds of a robbery, and started a top notch hotel. Sadly as the book opens they are low on funds and it is Miss Tonks's turn to drum up the reddies. We then meet a dashing highwayman, hungarian nobility and a con artist husband and wife before everything turns out thoroughly nicely and well for all concerned, even the con artists. I am definitely going to be reading more of these. 

Final Books of 2013 #35 - #53

Click on the 'Book Review' label in the left menu for the other reviews. My others this year have been January, April and July so not exactly very frequent, but I have been reading the whole time so get ready for a motherload. Pictures are linked to am amazon affiliates account, but I just want them for illustrations so don't worry about the clicking through to buy thing.

#35 One Block Wonders Encore

An interesting way of making hexagonally tessellated quilts using triangles cut in strips based on the repeat of the fabric. You need a multiple of 6 repeats so depending on the length of the repeat and the size of your triangle this could eat up a lot of fabric. This is the technique used on one of my favourite quilts from this year's Festival. A la this one:

The technique being basically what I just said, this book adds a few curve balls with ways to create 3-d effects and then fills up the rest with patterns. Good read but not really needed if you're just looking for instructions. 

#36 Bruno, Chief of Police

by Martin Walker

#37 Dark Vineyard

#38 Black Diamond

#39 The Crowded Grave

#40 Bruno and the Pere Noel (A Kindle freebie short story)

A series recommended by Liz and something I am very glad I followed up on. Plus only £1.20 ish on Amazon as a kindle download. Bruno is the town policeman in a small french town with a history of wine, truffles and resistance fighting. This first book in the series introduces all the people you get to know during the series and the various relationships, good and bad, between them. It all reminds me of where my cousin lives in France and the stories she has told me about local politics and goings on. I really enjoy the books, as you can see from my having gobbled four of them in six months. The seasonal short story isn't great but is a nice gift to people who are already keen on the series. 

#41 The Moor 

by Laurie King

This is the latest in the series focusing on Sherlock Holmes' wife (hmph) with this one harking back to the hound of the baskervilles and the way the same house and area has developed some 20 (?) years later. I do find these books rather compelling, despite the whole nonsense of this woman being Holmes' wife. Mind you some aspects of their relationship do remind me of Pooch and I which makes me think the author has a rather trying partner in a background. Despite all this they are well written and if you are a Sherlock aficionado and know all the real stories backwards they do pick up on details within them rather cleverly. 

#42 Japanese Fairy Tales

by Yei Theodora Ozaki

My copy was a kindle freebie and had no illustrations but it looks like for 61p you now get a proper cover and drawings so that seems like a bargain. I downloaded this when the move to japan was first mooted and read it on the DLR over about 2 months. Each story is a few pages long and they vary from the "and then he died which was a good thing" type ending to "and they lived happily ever after". There were many serpents, dragons and centipedes. There was also a king who lived under the sea who came up quite a lot. A lot of people wanted children but couldn't have any and many others worked very hard and were kind to their neighbours even though they were mingers. Overall it gave a lovely insight into the traditional values of the japanese and was well worth a read if you are interested in their culture. 

#43 Death in Hyde Park

by Robin Paige 

Another in this never ending series of cosy mysteries. This one brings in anarchists and a bit of women's lib all against the background of the king's coronation. Naughty policeman and vanishing editors abound. These are really nice to read. Relaxing and enjoyable. 

#44 Cocaine Blues

by Kerry Greenwood

Although I am a big fan of the australian tv series (you get used to the accents) which is now at the end of the second series, I had not experienced any of the books until this one. This, the first in the series, was an unabridged audiobook and I listened very intently as it really was rather good. This isn't high art and probably falls quite nicely into the same category as the Paige series at #43 - these are books that aren't going to shock you despite the fact they have moderate sex and, in this case, drugs in. They hold your interest but you won;t be compelled to stay up all night to see what happens next. I'll definitely be putting the rest on my wishlist for the future. 

#45 Raising Steam

by Terry Pratchett

The fortieth Discworld book and as everyone says, surely one of the last to appear considering wonderful Sir Terry has Altzheimers. As I read the first few pages I almost groaned as this was not the quality I had grown to love in the previous 39 books. However, it quickly picked up and then it was like being on a rollercoaster as we sped through the story which brought in lots of favourite characters doing little cameos as well as lots of the Patrician and Moist Von Lipwig who, although he usually annoys me, was actually rather good in this. Clearly the railway has come to Ankh Morpork and it coincides with a dwarf civil war. Train spotters abound and it all comes down to an impressive chase and battle at the end. Like all the best books, I was saddened that it ended, but happy that I'd read it. 

#46 Beware of the Trains

by Edmund Crispin

#47 Fen Country

Two classics from the golden age of crime fiction. Short stories which can be read as diy puzzles or just as simple stories, which is the way I like to approach them. Gervase Fin appears throughout helping the police and being all intelligent and so on. Great stuff. 

#48 The Viaduct Murder

by Ronald Knox

This was an experiment for me since I don't know this series but thought I'd give it a whirl. Four friends find a member of the golf club dead on the course. The police call it an accident but they are sure it can't be. It was quite funny in places as they all try out their detective skills. 

#49 Operation Pax 

by Michael Innes

This was a very odd and unsettling book. A small time crook gets desperate and seems to try and rape a girl in the middle of the countryside. To his surprise she beats him up and when he seeks help from a local house he ends up really in the poo. You have absolutely zero empathy for this guy, but meanwhile we're introduced to war refugees, kidnapping, biological warfare, animal cruelty, human experimentation, star-crossed lovers, helicopters, fast cars and more. It was all together unlike any previous Inspector Appleby stories. Not one to start with if you want to try this series. 

#50 Lestrade and the Sawdust Ring

by M J Trow

These books are really quite bizarre. It is Lestrade from the Sherlock Holmes stories but as a real man, not the idiot he is portrayed as in those stories. In all these books he picks up a large number of fairly serious and painful injuries in the course of his duty. Here he goes undercover with a circus for reasons I can't remember now but it is all highly unorthodox. I do love this series - another one Liz introduced me to - and look forward to the next. 

#51 Lonesome Road

by Patricia Wentworth

Good old Miss Silver. This is what Miss Marple would have been like had she had to work as a Governess for 30 years or so. Adorable stories - their only downside tending to be how the women want nothing more than to be crushed in a strong man's arms until it bruises them. Great cosy mysteries. In this one Miss Silver must prevent the murder of her hostess who, although lovely, is disliked by most of her relatives. 

#52 Bertie and the Tin Man

by Peter Lovesey

The premise of this series is very silly. King Edward is a secret detective, as well as a real legover merchant, and goes about solving crimes. In this one he is convinced a jockey friend was murdered although the police are happy that it is a natural death. To solve the crime he has to have sex with a number of women and put on various lowly outfits to disguise himself as a commoner. Silly but harmless. 

#53 Bryant and May and the Invisible Code

by Christopher Fowler

The tenth in the series and I swear they keep getting better. The plot turns in this one are fiendish. Bryant and May are two elderly detectives who head the Peculiar Crimes Unit in London which answers to the home office. In this story they get an SOS from their former arch nemesis, Oscar Cassavian, who is worried about his wife. There follows all sorts of ups and downs and wrong turns before the secret is finally revealed. As I have said before, I love the London settings of these books as well as the peculiar flights of fancy that end up bringing in witchcraft and clairvoyance. Brilliant, modern detective series. 

It seems sad to end the year on an odd number so I shall endeavor to finish my current read (another of the Robin Paige books) before the end of the year. For more intelligent book reviews do head over to Liz's blog as she reads a much wider selection of things than me, as well as being a demon knitter!