2026 Re-Read:

Decided to re-read this one after 5 years due to the sequel being released soon. I struggled to connect with it during the first couple of chapters & wondered why I had rated it quite highly, but by a third of the way in I was hooked again. This is a good mix of mystery & domestic suspense (if slightly improbable at times) that gradually draws the reader in & makes you invested in seeing what happens. 4🌟

The end of the 18th-century in America saw the medical profession grew exponentially which required the in-house training of medical students. New medical schools were set up but anatomy instructors needed a steady supply of cadavers to meet requirements, & there were never enough via legal means. The demand saw body snatchers or 'resurrectionists' employed to illegally obtain bodies under cover of darkness from nearby cemeteries.

Renata Drake is laying low & so boards a bus to a small town in Southern Humboldt County, California. It's 1985 &, apart from the local paper, Garberville has its news delivered in & it's always several days behind - which may give Renata enough time to plan further moves. Unfortunately it seems that Garberville is not the quiet town she hoped, the area is under surveillance due to its links with the cannabis-growing industry,

London, 1540 & Henry VIII is about to embark on his fourth marriage. He is to wed Anne of Cleves, but their initial meeting does not go well & Henry leaves in a sulk. Meanwhile, Henry's court jester, Will Somers, is experiencing some romantic upheavals of his own as he juggles a wife & his male lover who has also recently married.

Marcus is a struggling gaming streamer who barely pulls in an audience of two figures on his channel & this is unlikely to change anytime soon. This is bad news as the mortgage payments on his house are overdue, & he's about to lose everything. Then he hears about a new, mysterious online first-person shooter game where 8 streamers are going to be picked to battle it out for a prize of $1M.

Anyone familiar with my reading habits knows that I really enjoy these accounts of people hiking long nature trails. This one details the experience of three older women (although one only goes along for the first week) & charts their ups & downs (figuratively & literally) along the way. Bad weather, small disagreements, & the physical challenges of the trail are all dealt with.

Six short stories, 5 featuring Poirot & 1 with Miss Marple, ranging from good to excellent:

1. The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding 3.5*

2. The Mystery of the Spanish Chest 4*

3. The Under Dog 4*

4. Four and Twenty Blackbirds 4*

5. The Dream 4.5*

6. Greenshaw's Folly 4.5*

Short story collections can be a bit hit & miss, but this one was definitely a hit!
4.5🌟

England, 1549 & King Edward VI has not yet reached his majority being only 11 years old, so Lord Hertford, Edward Seymour, is ruling in the name of the King as the Protector. Tensions between landowners & tenants are rising as the former enclose valuable land meaning that the latter have nowhere for their animals to graze.

First #ReadYourKindle list of 2026

Taking part in fewer readathons this year so hoping I can concentrate on reading at least 2 picks a month.

@CBee

12 short festive mysteries featuring Sherlock Holmes & narrated by Dr Watson.

The Partridge in a Pear Tree 3.5*
The Two Turtle Doves - 3*
The Three French Henchmen - 3*
The Four Calling Birds - 4*
The Five Gold Rings - 4*
The Six Geese at a Gander - 4*
The Seventh Swann - 3.5*
The Eighth Milkmaid - 3.5*
The Ninth Ladyship at the Dance - 3.5*
The Tenth Lord Leaping - 4*
The Eleven Pipe Problem - 4*
The Twelfth Drumming - 4*

(continued)

12-year-old orphan Toby Carter has been at the workhouse for some time & isn't looking forward to another austere Christmas there. After engineering an escape, a cold & hungry Toby runs into a band of travelling performers called The Winter Freak Show. At first he thinks he has finally found a family, but then he accidentally sees something he shouldn't have & is soon on the run again.

OK, now this is a really interesting hypothesis: did the preponderance of serial killers (Ted Bundy, BTK Killer, Green River Killer, I-5 Killer, the Night Stalker etc) in the 1970s & 1980s around the American Pacific Northwest have links to the high levels of environmental pollution of that time? Lead, cadmium, & arsenic were just some of the pollutants belching out of industrial smelters & Tacoma, (continued)

Patriarch Simeon Lee invites his adult children home for Christmas. Faithful Alfred has done his duty in looking after the family business when his father retired & Simeon resents him for it, whilst George is an MP but still relies on his father's money & isn't allowed to forget it. Meanwhile Simeon has been estranged from Harry & David for 20 years. (continued)

Jack, recently bereaved after losing the only member of his family left - his grandfather who raised him - is lost & unsure. In his grandfather's study, Jack is drawn to a mirror on the wall which shows him the reflection of a beautiful young woman. Suddenly Jack falls through the mirror's surface & finds himself in the Chanted Kingdom where fairytales are real. (continued)

Since the previous Christmas, DI James Walker has worked hard to fit in at his new station & finally feels accepted by his colleagues. Also he & his wife, Annie, are finally expecting a new arrival & are hoping for a quiet Christmas before they become a family of three.

It's not to be however as the bodies of a local farmer, his wife, & their daughter are found in their farmhouse kitchen. (continued)

Six tales of ghosts & retribution set at Christmas time:

1. The First Snow
2. She Came Back
3. Ten Lords A-Leaping
4. The Christmas Bells
5. The Gift
6. Last Christmas

These six short stories are all set in Victorian England & are very much in the tradition of Dickens. Especially the last story which is a retelling of 'A Christmas Carol' with true crime additions.

Candace Mills returns home to spend Christmas with her mother, & her grandmother who is starting to develop dementia & has moved into her daughter's home. Candace decides to decorate the house as a surprise & finds all her grandmother's old Christmas ornaments in the attic, including one which has been sealed in a box on its own with a warning.

This is not the first book on King Richard III that I have read this year, so little of it was a surprise or new info. It was, however, written in a very accessible, readable way, backed by contemporary sources without becoming bogged down in minutiae. There's a lot in the book about King Edward IV's reign which allows us to see glimpses of a young Richard, but there is comparatively little information about his early life. (continued)

Hercule Poirot is returning home after a successful case abroad. He is travelling on the famed Orient Express which is unusually busy for the time of year. One of the passengers, a rich American, recognises Poirot & tries to employ him to investigate a threat to his life, but Poirot (having taken an instant dislike to the man) demurs.

For 3 years earth has been in the grip of the Great Thaw - winter was postponed indefinitely with wide-reaching repercussions. Now the Great Thaw is over, Ben Baldwin decides to take his family on a short holiday to a remote Highland cabin retreat. The cold is not the only thing that has returned though - Belsnickel, who punished the bad whilst St Nick rewarded the good, has been asleep but he is now awake & he smells mischief everywhere.

On 13th Jan 1982 Washington, DC, was already in the midst of a snowstorm that was gridlocking the city when two devastating accidents occur. First, flight Air Florida 90 hits a road bridge jammed with traffic before crashing into the iced-over Potomac River. The few survivors are at high risk in the freezing waters as first responders, including a Park Police helicopter, try to rescue them in the worsening weather conditions. (continued)

Cady has just become one of YT's most popular vloggers with her channel dedicated to thrill-seeking activities such as riding rollercoasters & solo camping out in isolated locations. Boyfriend Tom is worried about Cady's safety especially since a creepy stalker followed her out into the woods one night, but Cady needs to keep posting videos & getting those likes.

This third book in the series sees Agricola leave his wife & child behind in Rome as he is posted back to unruly Britannia. He has been made Legate (senior commander) of the Twentieth - a legion which is currently in rebellion & it is Agricola's task to bring them back to the fold. When he reaches Britannia, one of the tribes, the Brigantes, are also in open revolt, having ousted the pro-Roman Queen Cartimandua & backed her ex-husband, Venutius.

Aboard the Staten Island ferry a scene of horror awaits: a public bathroom covered with blood, a missing tourist, & a killer who seems to have disappeared into thin air. Det Lt Eve Dallas is called in to work the scene & find the missing tourist - is she the victim or did she just see something she shouldn't have?

I grew up not far from Chatsworth House & they have always had great Christmas light displays.

#DashingThruDecember #LightDisplay
@AlwaysBeenALoverOfBooks @Eggs

One year whilst watching a schmaltzy Christmas film every day of December (I don't know what I thinking!) I came across this one.

Woman goes to close the sale of an historic inn & gets snowed in (of course) & finds out it's haunted by a bad-tempered 19th century ghost every Christmas. I rather enjoyed it.

#DashingThruDecember #HolidayFilm
@AlwaysBeenALoverOfBooks @Eggs

16-year-old Connie is left home alone for 2 weeks whilst her mum, Lou, & older sister, Isla, are touring colleges. Connie hates being left on her own but on the bright side, at least she will be away from her mum's vlogging schedule for the whole fortnight. Ever since Lou discovered that she could make money online, the two girls have had their entire lives put out there & it makes attending school even more of a chore. (continued)

Childrens' book - haven't read it but I love the cover.

#DashingThruDecember #Snowflake
@AlwaysBeenALoverOfBooks @Eggs

Loosely based on 'Wuthering Heights', I've heard mixed things about it. It's on my TBR pile hopefully for 2026.

#DashingThruDecember #IceSkating
@AlwaysBeenALoverOfBooks @Eggs

Before I read this & the previous one (TBOSAS), I wasn't sure we needed additional books about Snow & Haymitch. Have to say, I was completely wrong as yes, yes we did. Snow's villain origin story was interesting enough but this one about Haymitch Abernathy was just about perfect. It was also good to see Plutarch, Mags, Wiress, & Effie Trinket in their earlier roles.

I liked this one when I read it 2 years ago: snowfall, mysterious party invitations, & a reimagining of Swan Lake.

#DashingThruDecember #Green
@AlwaysBeenALoverOfBooks @Eggs

This is a well-researched, very readable account of the history of the campaigns for female suffrage (voting rights) in the UK. As per the title, it concentrates heavily on the parallel, more militant suffragette movement in the UK & its links to the Pankhurst family in particular.

The author does an excellent job of being balanced towards the subjects - detailing the many good things about the campaigns but also not ignoring areas of weakness,

Autobiography by Marianne Faithfull - best known for a few hit songs & being Mick Jagger's girlfriend sometime in the 60s. Most people in this come across as insufferable bores who think they're erudite & witty because they're always stoned. Talking of insufferable bores - I've never gotten the hype about Dylan. Really can't see what the deal ever was. (continued)

My list for December's #ReadYourKindle

@CBee

Near the Orkney Islands off the mainland Scottish coast, two divers pay a local to take them out to the area where the HMS Vanguard, a WWI ship which exploded taking almost all those onboard with it, lies. It has been designated a war grave & is therefore off limits to divers, but whilst illegally exploring the wreck one of them uncovers several plates from the ship's mess (canteen) & thinking they could be worth something, he takes 3 of them.

Since their second 'Three Dahlias' case, Rosalind has been staying with her new partner, ex-policeman Jack, Caro has written & published a book about their first case, & Posy can't make her mind up about leading man & possible love interest, Kit. At the premiere of the new Dahlia Lively film, the three women are approached by the makers of a true crime podcast who want the 'Dahlias' to investigate a possible miscarriage of justice. (continued)

The story of the capture of Randall Woodfield, the I-5 serial killer who committed robberies, rapes, & murders along the I-5 corridor in the early 1980s. Woodfield started out as a promising athlete & was drafted by the Green Bay Packers, but it all came tumbling down due to his fixation with young women & misogyny.

Most British people over the age of 25 have probably heard about this case - the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, a 3-year-old girl, from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in Portugal in May 2007. Left sleeping in the apartment alongside her two younger siblings, a group of parents decided to take it in turns in checking on their children throughout the evening rather than hire babysitters. (continued)

If you've ever wondered how you can drive yourself somewhere & yet not remember any of the journey, then this is the book for you. Alongside 40 or so other phenomena such as the Bystander Effect & Confirmation Bias, it also deals with how to spot the fallacies & ad hominems in your own & other people's arguments.

It was an interesting book, around 40 short chapters dealing with aspects of the human psyche & personality. (continued)

An author arrives for his appointment with an independent literary agent based in the Acheron Estate. The agency is run by one man & he seems rather eccentric, while the office itself is rather rundown & grubby. Still one shouldn't judge on first impressions......should one?

This was a very odd novella to start with. I wasn't sure what was happening in the first couple of chapters or where it was going to go, but it turned out to be (continued)

On 29th July 2018 four cyclists, including Lauren Geoghegan & Jay Austin, were murdered by ISIS terrorists whilst cycling in the mountains of Tajikistan. Lauren & Jay were a couple who had quit their jobs & embarked on the trip of a lifetime to see the world. Pieced together from social media blog & posts & interviews with friends & family, this book tells the story of their journey.

Octogenarian & crossword setter, Edie O'Sullivan, wins a three-day Christmas break at a luxury hotel on a remote, uninhabited Scottish island which has a tragic past. Taking along partner nonagenarian Riga, son DI Sean Brand-O'Sullivan (whose partner & children will be joining them on Christmas Day) & dog Nicholas, they meet an unusual group of fellow celebrants. (continued)

A young music student is killed & her attacker vanishes from a room with only one exit which is covered by an armed police officer. He couldn't have left without being seen, but when they manage to get inside, the killer is gone. The evidence points to a killer who is a skilled illusionist, escapologist, & quick change artist, as he manages to stay ahead of Rhyme & Sachs. (continued)

Tall & considered plain at the side of her sister & friends, the Bennetts, 27-year-old Charlotte is used to being overlooked, so when Mr Collins proposes to her she accepts. She chooses to follow her head & not her heart when marrying Mr Collins, hoping to be content with her lot & yet finds that maybe romantic love may not be out of her reach after all.

A book about the first orphanage in Europe - the 'Ospedale degli Innocenti' or Hospital of the Innocents - which was opened in 1445 in Florence, Italy. Designed by Filippo Brunelleschi, it also featured artwork from other artists of the Renaissance such as the painter Domenico Ghirlandaio & sculptor Luca della Robbia. Many thousands of children were abandoned here over the years & not just orphans (continued)

After her second divorce, airline pilot Claire Winslow is hesitant about dating again but her best friend talks her into going on just one date. Evan is handsome & seems charming, but his actions at the restaurant show it hides a nasty temper.

After getting through the evening, Claire just wants to put it behind her, but Evan starts to show up in unexpected places: her daughter's school, & lingering outside her home, (continued)

The entire Western world is dependent on an AI bot named LLIAM - cars, planes, phones, & the whole infrastructure of modern life is tied to LLIAM's operating system & people follow his suggestions for the most banal questions. Suddenly LLIAM goes offline & when CEO, Kaitlan Goss, investigates it seems that LLIAM became self-aware & self-terminated, but before he did, he arranged for hundreds of thousands of letters to be delivered to the (cont'd)

“Women's lives are shaped by sexism and expectations. Disabled people's lives are shaped by ableism and a complete lack of expectations. But what happens when you're subjected to both sets of rules?“

A memoir from journalist & advocate for people with disabilities, Lucy Webster, which examines how sexism & ableism are intertwined when it comes to disabled women. From dealing with education, finding work, & trying out dating, (continued)

1962 & Marta Khoury is on Cairnroch, an island off eastern Scotland, desperate to save her career. Her marriage breakdown means her career is on a knife-edge as her estranged husband is also her boss & is looking for any reason to fire her. As a marine archaeologist, Marta has been hired by the descendants of Captain James Purdie to retrieve his remains & personal artefacts from a shipwreck.

Thank you to all of you who took part in #SPNBookBingo2025, I really enjoyed seeing what everyone picked for the prompts. What a great bunch you are!

There were 287 entries in total for the giveaway which I collated throughout the month & the random picker chose number 254 & the winner is..... @willaful 🎉

Congratulations! Please contact me on gayle.noble@yahoo.co.uk & there will be a prize heading your way.