August Reads

 

August was a good reading-month with eight books from a variety of genres and in two different languages. What's more, there wasn't a bad story among these titles.

MURDER IN AN IRISH VILLAGE (Irish Village Mystery #1) by Carlene O'Connor (3.5*)

After her parents’ untimely death in a car accident, Siobhan O’Sullivan is trying to keep the family’s bistro afloat and her siblings under control when a man is found sitting in the bistro with pink scissors protruding from his chest. When her brother is accused of the murder, Siobhan decides to investigate. I liked the book well enough but didn’t love it. For starters, it could have done with an extra round of editing. It also read like a book written specifically for the American market. The Irishness of the characters and the language they use felt like a parody.

A RECIPE FOR MURDER by G.S. Revel Burroughs (5*)

A clever, well-written, and captivating mystery. I enjoyed the book from start to finish and found it difficult to put my Kindle down.

A SUNLIT WEAPON (Maisie Dobbs #17) by Jacqueline Winspear (4.5*)

Much more than ‘just’ a mystery as what starts out as a local investigation into somebody taking potshots at spitfires and shooting at least one out of the sky meets international intrigue involving Eleanor Roosevelt. As always, I thoroughly enjoyed this Maisie Dobbs story.

ONE BAD APPLE by Jo Jakeman (4.5*)

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The writing is smooth, and the story captured my attention from the start. The characters in this book were recognisable as were the interactions between them. At times reading the book was a little like watching a car crash in slow motion as slowly but steadily relationships and reputations unravel. All of it kept me captivated from the opening paragraphs until the surprising and unconventional ending.

A FRONT-PAGE MURDER (Poppy Danby Investigates #1) by Fiona Veitch Smith (4*)

Previously published under the title The Jazz Files. While this is more a crime caper than a mystery and I did roll my eyes on quite a few occasions while reading A Front Page Murder, I had a hard time putting this book down. This story is pure entertainment for anybody who enjoys their mysteries with a generous helping of shenanigans. And while I think I prefer the Miss Clara Vale mysteries by this author, I’m pretty sure I’ll return to Poppy Denby’s adventures before too long.

FRIENDS OF DOROTHY by Sandi Toksvig (5+*)

I adored this book. It’s almost certainly going to be (one of) my favourite book(s) this year and goes straight to my ‘extra-special’ list. There is so much to love on these pages. Quirky and charming characters, lively dialogue, and not a boring moment, make this a memorable read. Friends of Dorothy is a delightful book! So much so that I want to live in Grimaldi Square, be part of that world, and become one of Dorothy’s friends.

WE WERE LIARS by E. Lockhart (4*)

A story about four teenagers told by one of them, Cadence, as she tries to remember what happened two years previously. As the title of the book indicates, we’re dealing with an unreliable narrator; one who isn’t telling the (whole) truth, even to herself because her memory fails her. When the truth eventually emerges it comes as a huge shock, both to Cadence and to the reader. The writing was a bit flowery and over-descriptive to my liking at times but, given that the story is written from a teenager’s perspective and that teenagers are prone to exaggerating, I guess it fits the story.

GA JE ER OVER SCHRIJVEN? (ARE YOU GOING TO WRITE ABOUT IT?) by Herman Koch (4.5*)

A memoir/autobiography inspired by the author’s diagnosis with terminal prostate cancer but about so much more than just the disease and how he deals with it. I recognised a lot in what he wrote and not just in the passages about cancer but also in those about his parents, grief, and writing to name but a few.

Four of these titles have release dates in September and longer reviews can be found by clicking on the titles.:

A Recipe for Murder - September 9

One Bad Apple - September 19: 

A Front-Page Murder - September 24: 

Friends of Dorothy - September 26: 

 

A Front-Page Murder by Fiona Veitch Smith

 

Poppy Danby Investigates #1

288 Pages

Publisher: Bonnier Books UK | Embla Books

Publishing Date: September 24, 2024

Previously published as The Jazz Files

 

Blurb

London, 1920. Starry-eyed aspiring reporter Poppy Denby emerges from the steam of the Edinburgh-London train onto the platform at King's Cross with nothing but a trunk of old notebooks and a heart full of dreams. She swaps her quiet northern hometown for the Big Smoke to act as companion for her ailing (but ever-sharp) Aunt Dot, a pioneering Suffragette and former West End leading lady.

She may only be twenty-two, but Miss Denby knows what she wants and quickly lands a job at the Daily Globe. She expects she's going to have to pull up her stockings and work twice as hard as her male colleagues, but what she is not ready to deal with is murder.

It's only Poppy's first day on Fleet Street when one of the Globe's senior reporters falls to his death from the highest staircase - just moments after receiving a mysterious note. Poppy is tasked with finishing his article involving the mysterious death of a suffragette seven years earlier, about which some powerful people would prefer nothing to be said. Did old Bert Isaacs get too close to a scoop?

As Poppy investigates, she is thrown into a world of hard-drinking newspapermen, flappers and jazz clubs, and learns she must tread very carefully indeed. Luckily, she has her new-found friendship with the terribly dashing Globe photographer Daniel Rokeby who seems terribly eager to lend a helping hand...

But first of all, she's got a murder to solve and this might just make the front page.

 

Review

This book was previously published as The Jazz Files.

When Poppy Denby arrives in London to stay with and assist her wheelchair-bound Aunt Dot she meets a dashing young press photographer named Daniel Rokeby in the train station. The encounter makes Poppy wonder what it would be like to be a journalist. So when Aunt Dot and her companion Grace Wilson, who were pioneering suffragettes before the First World War, encourage Poppy to look for a ‘real’ job, Poppy applies to the Daily Globe newspaper. Rollo Robinson, the owner and editor of the paper where Daniel is also employed takes Poppy on as his assistant but what initially was meant to be a secretarial job to organise and clear the files in Rollo’s office soon turns into an investigation when the political editor falls to his death on Poppy’s first day.

Convinced that the fall was no accident and encouraged by Rollo, Poppy dives into an investigation that is connected to her aunt’s past as a suffragette and the events that put her in a wheelchair. It will also take Poppy into London’s theatrical scene, bring her face to face with a lord who detests the suffragette movement, and will see her travel to Paris. And that’s just for starters. Poppy’s opportunity to prove herself as a journalist is a danger-filled rollercoaster both for her and for the reader.

I struggled a bit with that synopsis. There is a lot happening in this story and I’m not sure I could summarize it all without either spoiling the story and/or confusing readers of this review. There are also many characters to keep track of, both fictional and taken from real life. For example, Charlie Chaplin and Marie Curie make a supporting appearance on these pages. So, it is very helpful that the book starts with a list of characters, indicating whether they’re real or fictional, and that at about 70% into the story Poppy and Rollo, her boss, create and discuss a timeline that summarizes all the events both past and present that have come to pass up until that point.

This book is more crime-caper than mystery since most of the villains in this story are obvious from the start. What’s more, Poppy was a bit too much ‘do first, think later’ kinda girl for my liking, but the story flew across the pages and there wasn’t a boring paragraph.

Long review short: while I did roll my eyes on quite a few occasions while reading A Front Page Murder, I had a hard time putting this book down. This story is pure entertainment for anybody who enjoys their mysteries with a generous helping of shenanigans. And while I think I prefer the Miss Clara Vale mysteries by this author, I’m pretty sure I’ll return to Poppy Denby’s adventures before too long.

June reads

THE SECRET LIVES OF BOOKSELLERS & LIBRARIANS by James Patterson & Matt Eversmann (5*) NF/Audio

A fabulous ode to books and reading. I’ve got a suspicion I’ll be revisiting this book several times in the future.

THE PICTURE HOUSE MURDERS (Miss Clara Vale #1) by Fiona Veitch Smith (4*)

Went back to the start of the Clara Vale series since I enjoyed books #2 and 3 so much. Didn’t love this first instalment as much as I did the sequels, but it was still a fun introduction to a captivating character operating in a fascinating historical period (1929). I love the emphasis on female rights and other historical details such as the start of talking movies.

MONA OF THE MANOR (Tales of the City #10) by Armistead Maupin (4.5*) Audio

I can't believe I've reached the end of my Tales of the City journey. Hopefully there's more to come but I fear this may be it. But if it is the last tale of the city, what a perfect way to bow out. This is an action and emotion-packed story that had me captivated from start to finish. I'm going to miss these books and these characters.

CABARET MACABRE (Joseph Spector Locked-Room Mystery #3) by Tom Mead (5*).

A captivating historical mystery filled with impossible murders, victims, and intrigue. I’m in awe of how the author manages to explain that which appears to be impossible. Three books into this series I’m a huge fan and can’t wait for book #4.

Full review: https://helenasheat.blogspot.com/2024/06/cabaret-macabre-by-tom-mead.html

MURDER AT GREYSBRIDGE (Inishowen Mystery #4) by Andrea Carter. (4.5*)

Two suspicious deaths at a summer wedding keep solicitor Ben O'Keeffe on her toes as she tries to figure out what exactly happened and more importantly why. Throw in two potential love interests, and a somewhat gothic setting, and you end up with a fascinating page-turner in which everything is somehow connected. This well-plotted and expertly told mystery kept me intrigued from start to finish.

THE BODY IN THE LIBRARY (Miss Marple #3) by Agatha Christie (5*)

“When there’s anything fishy about, I never believe anyone at all!

What’s not to love about a Miss Marple mystery by the fabulous Agatha Christie. Even the fact that I more or less knew who dunnit and expected the major twist didn’t spoil my fun.

A MAN LAY DEAD (Roderick Alleyn #1) by Ngaio Marsh

Strictly speaking a re-read but considering that it is 40+ years since I read this book for the first time it might as well have been a new-to-me story. And now that I've reconnected with Roderick Alleyn I am pretty sure I'll revisit other books in the series even if I'm not 100% sure that Ngaio Marsh plays completely fair with the reader when it comes to clues and the resolution of the mystery.

A VERY BRITISH MURDER by Lucy Worsley (4*) NF

Blurb: In A Very British Murder, Lucy Worsley explores this phenomenon in forensic detail, revisiting notorious crimes like the Ratcliff Highway Murders, which caused a nation-wide panic in the early nineteenth century, and the case of Frederick and Maria Manning, the suburban couple who were hanged after killing Maria's lover and burying him under their kitchen floor. Fascination with crimes like these became a form of national entertainment, inspiring novels and plays, puppet shows and paintings, poetry and true-crime journalism. At a point during the birth of modern Britain, murder entered the national psyche, and it's been a part of that ever since.

Interesting and easy to read. While the book covers 200 years of crime writing and all of it was fascinating, I much preferred the section dealing with the golden age of crime. My one concern is that I f Lucy Worsley can get a fact like the number of children Agatha Christie had wrong, I can’t help wondering if there are other mistakes in this book. Thankfully Mrs Worsley didn’t repeat her mistake when she wrote Agatha Christie’s biography. A Very British Murder was based on a three-part TV documentary with the same title and in what came as a huge surprise to me, I preferred the series over the book.

The IT Girl by Ruth Ware (4*)

An intriguing mystery in which Hannah, a young, pregnant woman revisits the murder of her best friend and roommate when the man convicted for the crime dies after a decade in prison. He claimed to be innocent until the day he died. But if he didn’t do it, who did? Can Hannah uncover the truth without putting herself and her unborn child in danger? I enjoyed this story although I do feel it could probably have been about 100 pages shorter without losing any vital plot points.

GUILTY BY DEFINITION by Susie Dent (5+*)

Guilty by Definition is a fascinating, original, and well-plotted mystery as well as an ode to words set in the offices of the Clarendon English Dictionary. This title will almost certainly make it into my top 10 reads for 2024.

Full review: https://helenasheat.blogspot.com/2024/06/guilty-by-definition-by-suzie-dent.html

The Pyramid Murders by Fiona Veitch Smith

#3 Miss Clara Vale Mysteries

 Pages: 300

Publisher: Embla Books

Release Date: June 13, 2024

 

Blurb

A night at the museum, a dead body and a trail to Cairo. Sounds like a case for Miss Clara Vale!

1930: Miss Clara Vale, chemistry major turned detective, is taking a night off from sleuthing to attend the launch party of a new exhibition at the Hancock Museum in Newcastle. But when the piece de resistance, a rare ornate sarcophagus, is finally opened and it turns out the mummy inside it is a fake it looks like there is no rest for Clara after all...

Later that night, she is summoned back to the museum and asked to investigate a series of stolen Egyptian artefacts. Using her scientific and forensic prowess, Clara, with her trusted assistant Bella in tow, embarks on a trail that will lead from Newcastle to London and along the river Nile to Cairo.

But she is not the only person hunting for stolen antiquities and when she uncovers an international smuggling ring with a penchant for murder, it becomes clear that Clara's own life is in danger too.

Can Clara catch the smugglers before they get away with another murder among the pyramids?

Review

This is my second Miss Clara Vale Mystery. Last year I read and reviewed The Pantomime Murders. I ended that review with the words: ‘I’ve got a feeling I’ll be spending more time with Miss Clara Vale in the future’, and what do you know, just over six months later I find myself solving mysteries with the spunky lady investigator once again.

The year is 1930 and Clara, our heroine, has donated some of her deceased uncle’s Egyptian artifacts and papers to a local museum. But what should have been a joyous occasion soon turns sour when she discovers a mummy that is very recent as well as a selection of Egyptian jewels that shouldn’t even be in England, never mind in her local museum.

When she’s asked to investigate it isn’t long before she finds herself on a journey to Egypt where she soon encounters danger as the plot thickens.

There is so much to enjoy in this book. The mystery is intriguing, Clara Vale is a wonderful MC, as is Bessie her assistant and there isn’t a dull moment in the story. This story is properly set in 1930. For example, there is mention of Dr. Fleming and penicillin, the start of (commercial) air travel, and most delightfully, Agatha Christie makes an appearance when Clara is in Egypt. The author’s biography states that Fiona Veitch Smith is a huge fan of the Golden Age of Mystery stories, and her books show that clearly.

I love Clara Vale’s independence which was still rare and mostly unheard of in the early decades of the 20^th century.

The Pyramid Murders was well written and filled with detail without ever dragging. The characters are vivid, and the mystery is very well-plotted. Which means I’ll end this review as I did my review of The Pantomime Murders. I will be spending more time with Miss Clara Vale in the future. And while I wait for book #4 to be published, I'll go back and read The Picture House Murders, the first title in this series.