Last review for Jan 2025!

Grace McGill is a cleaner with a difference- she sanitises & makes safe the rooms where people die alone & lie undiscovered for weeks or months. When an old widower named Thomas Agnew dies in bed & is not found for months, Grace is sad that no-one seemed to notice his absence, not even his closest neighbours. (continued)

This informative & interesting book looks back at around 200 London pubs which closed (& were either mothballed or demolished) within the last 25 years. From pubs reputedly dating back centuries to those rebuilt after World War II, this book gives the reader a snapshot of their history & why/when they eventually closed.

This was & well-researched with some great photographs which makes you wish you had had the chance to visit the pubs. (cont'd)

Almost completed the #WinterCleardown Ebooks card. Again, thanks to @Puddlejumper for hosting.

3/4 completed bingo card for #WinterCosy & thank you to @Puddlejumper for hosting as usual.

Sheila Gleeson confesses to killing her husband but Maeve Kerrigan is not so sure. It's her first solo case (albeit being supervised by Josh Derwent) & things aren't adding up.

This (very) short story is a fast-paced whirlwind through the case but Derwent still manages to get in a line of sexual innuendo towards Maeve whilst she is trying to recreate the murderer's position by kneeling on the Gleesons' bed. 4🌟

Ex-Detective Inspector Jess is on her way home from a night out with a former colleague & boards the train home on the London Underground. It's getting late but there are several people in the carriage so it seems safe enough, but when the train comes to an abrupt stop & the lights go out, it may not be safe after all. Especially when Jess finds the driver dead in his cabin, stabbed through the neck & all communication in the cabin cut off.

This is the one I remember the least from the 1980s TV series, I couldn't even remember the basic plot & was getting it mixed up with The Mirror Crack'd. It was a solid murder mystery that has that Christie 'je ne sais quoi' which elevates it above a 3 star. It's a quick read packed full of untrustworthy & unlikeable characters, but thankfully Miss Marple appears from the start in this one. 3.5🌟

TWs: attitudes towards mental illness, xenophobia.

2nd Nov 1952 in Croydon, Surrey & two teenagers, Derek Bentley (19) & Christopher Craig (16), tried to break into a warehouse from the rooftop. Police were called & in the ensuing minutes, one police officer was wounded & another was tragically killed. It's one of the worst examples of the British 'justice' quirk of joint felonious enterprise (continued)

From the Biblical murder of Abel by his brother Cain, assassination has been a drastic solution carried out by many of the millennia. This book takes a look at some of the pivotal assassinations which were either ordered or committed by the rulers of Greece, Rome, & Egypt, plus the less well-known Hittites & Persians to name a few. Some of them were even victims too.

23-year-old student Tadhg Kelly & his twin brother, Declan, are about to head off for a weekend getaway. Declan will be joined by his girlfriend Katie but Tadhg recently split with his boyfriend when he caught him cheating so he will be third-wheeling & not looking forward to it. As they get near to their destination they stop at a rundown petrol station for supplies & the man there is friendly until they tell him where they are headed.

It's been a while since I read this the first time, probably about 20 years. Since the film I find it really difficult not to picture Denzel Washington as Rhyme so I just went with it. I found it a really good read back then, but since I've read a lot more crime fiction now, this time it wasn't quite as good as I remember. The case & the clues were fine but I found Amelia intensely irritating for the first half of the book. (continued)

February book list for #ReadYourKindle

@CBee

Poirot receives a telephone call from Sir Claude Amory, a rich inventor who feels certain that someone in his household has stolen his new scientific formula & asks Poirot to investigate. Shortly before Poirot arrives Amory gives the thief one chance to return the formula anonymously whilst the lights are out, but when they are switched back on, Amory is dead. Everyone was in the same room & no-one heard anything so how was he killed & by whom?

This is not really a straightforward memoir about being a dancer, but a series of average length chapters which deal with the pressures & pitfalls of both ballet & modern life for women & girls. I think many young girls are enthralled with the world of ballet as children - I certainly was, but any dreams were dampened by being markedly above average height.

Rome 58 AD, & young Gnaeus Julius Agricola's widowed mother arranges for a banquet where she can call on all outstanding favours to obtain her son a commission in the Roman army. Things look bleak but he is finally offered the posting of senior tribune in far-off Britannia, serving under Suetonius Paulinus. (Continued)

2025 Re-Read:

18-year-old Chloe Emery unexpectedly returns home from her father's house. Inside the house is covered in blood & the cat has been confined to one room for several days but is otherwise OK. Chloe's mother meanwhile is nowhere to be seen but no-one can survive losing that much blood. Newly promoted DS Maeve Kerrigan is one of those investigating the case, & soon learns that the missing woman, Kate Emery, had made a lot of enemies.

Ever since Theo Mackey's mother died in a house fire, Theo has been living with the guilt of a secret only he knows - he lit the match that accidentally caused the fire although he can't remember it clearly. Now his father is also dead, & his grandfather is drinking himself into a stupor most nights. Still, Theo is keeping it together: good grades & captain of the school's diving team, (continued)

The village of Chipping Cleghorn is surprised by a very unusual newspaper announcement. This week, amongst the furniture for sale, the local gazette's announcement page contains an advertisement which reads: ‘A murder is announced and will take place on Friday October 29th, at Little Paddocks at 6.30 p.m.‘

Unsure if it is a practical joke or one of those new 'murder mystery games', the neighbours gather at the house on Friday evening (continued)

The offbeat friend group from the first book consisting of reluctant medium Claire, the ghost of her forever-17-year-old murdered friend Sophie, nonbinary Alex, & gay ex-police detective Sebastian (aka Bash) go on a cheap minibreak to Spike Island, off the Irish coast. There they encounter a second group of friends on a yoga retreat who aren't particularly happy that the accommodation has been double-booked. (continued)

30th Sept this year is the 70th anniversary of the tragic death of James Dean at just 24 years old. This book is a look back at his short life & career, a reminiscing & a wondering of what could have been.

Even though Dean died several decades before I was born, one of my favourite films ever is 'Rebel Without a Cause' & I've always been fascinated with him. This book has some fantastic photographs of Dean & reproduced some handwritten (cont'd)

Growing up, one of my weekly TV viewing highlights were the repeats of 'Moonlighting' shown on British tv. The quick wit back-&-forth between David Addison & Maddie Hayes was a treat, until they brought Bert Viola onto the scene. I decided to read Shepherd's autobiography on a whim & it was OK.

'Moonlighting' itself takes up a very small part in the book (a couple of chapters at the most) & the majority of it is about Shepherd's love life.

2025 Re-Read Review:

I've changed my mind about characters 'going through the motions' from my first review. Reading this book again, Maeve is obviously struggling with recent events but one of the situations will be dealt with by the end of this book. Now I'm not blinded by Derwent-hate, I can see that he clearly has feelings for her however much he tries to say he doesn't. (continued)

Short Review: This was an odd Poirot book for me, he doesn't appear for the first few chapters & when he does he seems to be more of a side character to Katherine Grey. The mystery itself was textbook Christie but it just didn't seem to work as well as some of her other books. I think the problem for me is that I just didn't like Katherine Grey. Don't know why, just didn't. 3.5🌟

TWs: racism/xenophobia, internalised misogyny.

Short review: The storyline alternates between the past & the present so we start to see what happened back in 1988 bit by bit, & the narrative also cycles between several of the characters but the reader mainly hears from Andy. The boys were not particularly nice teens, especially to frogs. As the story progresses you get the feeling that there's something not quite right with what you are being told. No spoilers so I won't say more than that.

Short review: This is the third in the series but the first one I've read & for me it worked just as well as a standalone. I think because each one is set in the court of a different wife of Henry VIII, it didn't feel as if I'd missed huge amounts. If you have a rudimentary knowledge of Tudor history, you should be fine. I also adored the character of Somers' dog, Nosewise.

Full Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6920085535

My pick for favourite book of December for #12Booksof2024

A creepy YA horror which was unexpectedly rather good.

@Andrew65

Out of Churchill, Hitler, & Stalin, I know the least about Stalin so decided now would be the perfect time to read this first book in the two part series. How did Joseph Dzhugashvili from Georgia become the megalomaniac ruler of Russia & preside over millions of deaths of his own people?

My pick for favourite book of November for #12Booksof2024

Miss Marple at her absolute best.

@Andrew65

My pick for favourite book of October for #12Booksof2024

A nice mix of local history & spooky goings-on which was a perfect read for Halloween month.

@Andrew65

After an incident nearly derails her career, Eve Wren finds herself working at the Crown Prosecution Service in London. Eve is keeping her head down at her new job, when she is suddenly taken off the case she was working on & moved to the biggest case at present. Cult leader Patrick Nye & his followers, known as 'The Seven', are standing trial after unexpectedly pleading not guilty to detonating a bomb in a London theatre killing 43 people.

My pick for favourite book of September for #12Booksof2024

Two men disappear from inside a locked gatehouse years apart never to be seen or heard from again. Part of the 'Rachel Savernake' series this is a great mystery.

@Andrew65

This made me laugh. My mood map from The StoryGraph showing if you prefer lighter fun reads (high) or darker reads (low) compared to your friends. Its not even close 😂😂

#WinterGames2024 #XmasChaCha #ChristmasChapterChasers @staycurious

My total points haul for this year. Really enjoyed it. Thank you for hosting.

#WinterCosy bingo card so far. @puddlejumper

My #WinterClearDown for ebooks so far. @puddlejumper

Managed to get lines on 5 of @thearomaofbooks bingo cards this time.

Managed one line for #ChristmasAtoZ this time.

@Texreader

Maeve & Derwent are on the team to investigate a spate of attacks on police officers. Maeve is also struggling with her knowledge of Superintendent Godley's corruption & boyfriend Rob's preoccupation with something or someone else.

Re-reading this in a clearer state of mind than being angry at the author throwing Rob 'under the bus', I can see more nuance this time but Derwent's predatory behaviour in this one still rankles.

My pick for favourite book of August for #12Booksof2024

This is a slow burn historical fiction novel about a woman who marries a doctor who promises to cure her mother of TB. They travel to the asylum where rich patients are given the run of the place but something is not quite right.

@Andrew65

My list for January's #ReadYourKindle

@CBee

My pick for favourite book of July for #12Booksof2024

Again quite a poor month for really good reads. This was the best of them.

@Andrew65

A fictional imagining of the life of Mary Jane Kelly, known to history as the fifth & final victim of Jack the Ripper in 1888. Little is definitively known about Kelly - we are even unsure as to whether that was her real name - so there's a lot of scope.

This started off a little 'Catherine Cookson' but I was quickly drawn into Mary's story which covers her early years up until leaving the village in Wales where she was born (in this story).

DC Becky Greene receives some odd post at work - an advent calendar but behind every door is a photo from a crime scene. Is it a prank or is it real? An investigation into the photos reveals that they are real scenes & crimes & it seems someone has been killing for 20 years - one death a year in the month of December. Greene is paired with DS Eddie Carmine who has a link to one of the crimes. Can they catch the killer?

My pick for favourite book of June for #12Booksof2024

I love a good book about the Kennedys & this one was very good.

@Andrew65

Day 29 Prompt - Naughty

#ChristmasCheer @alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @eggs
#WinterGames2024 #XmasChaCha #ChristmasChapterChasers @staycurious

Took a while to find a book with Naughty on the cover that wasn't erotica!

Day 28 Prompt - Ice Skating

#ChristmasCheer @alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @eggs
#WinterGames2024 #XmasChaCha #ChristmasChapterChasers @staycurious

Childrens book.

My pick for favourite book of May for #12Booksof2024

This novella from Mel Torrefranca's 'Belladonna' series about the students of Nightshade Academy is practically perfect. The second full-length book in the series is due out May 2025.

@Andrew65

My pick for favourite book of April for #12Booksof2024

It seems April was a low point for books in my reading of 2024 & I struggled to pick something that stood out. I finally went for this book in JD Robb's 'In Death' series as I love the series & the characters, even if this one wasn't one of my favourites.

@Andrew65

A fictional take on the life of Hedy Lamarr, born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler, up to the WWII. As a young woman, Hedy stars in a play onstage & gains an admirer. He is a powerful Austrian arms dealer, & may be the key to allowing her & her family to evade Nazi persecution despite their Jewish heritage. Her husband turns out to be controlling & jealous & when Hedy overhears the Third Reich's plans at a dinner party one night, she decides to flee.

Day 27 Prompt - Cards

#ChristmasCheer @alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @eggs
#WinterGames2024 #XmasChaCha #ChristmasChapterChasers @staycurious

Christmas romance.