38: A Little Bird Told Me – Rachael Gray
What a debut! Just when you think you’ve read every type of cosy mystery going, Rachael Gray comes along and pulls the rug from under you.
A Little Bird Told Me reads like a traditional English Village cosy mystery, set in modern day but with an old-school feel, as psychologist Laurel Nightingale moves to the village of Elderwick in North Yorkshire. Along with the quirky characters and hidden secrets, there’s an eerie feel to the village, and while the main mystery is solved by the end of the book, you feel that there is a lot more to uncover.
A wonderful debut novel that surprises, leaves you satisfied but makes you want more.
I read this for the first time last year, but with the audiobook newly out, narrated by Imogen Church, I had to give it another listen, and it stands up well to re-reads.
39: Murder in Portofino – T A Williams
The trip around Italy continues, and retired detective Dan Armstrong’s dreams of a writing career are put on the back burner as his new career as a private detective is going from strength to strength. In this adventure, he’s called upon to investigate the disappearance of a teacher, and finds himself in the glamorous and murky world of the yacht-set in Portofino. A lovely dose of sunshine to banish the mid-winter blues.
40: Murder in Verona – T A Williams
Are we even in Italy if there aren’t fast cars and opera? Contacted by a late Italian opera star’s mother, convinced her son’s fatal traffic accident was murder, retired detective Dan Armstrong heads to Verona to investigate, and is caught up in a plot worthy of an opera itself, with very dramatic characters and secret affairs. Another enjoyable trip – one day I will actually get to Italy myself, but in the mean time, I’ll live vicariously through T A Williams wonderful mysteries.
41: The Garden Club Murders – Jonathan Whitelaw
Away from Italy, and we’re heading to the beautiful Cumbria, where the Sheriff of Penrith – the pensioner with a penchant for sparky shellsuits, Amita Khatri – has gotten herself into another predicament and once again pulled her hapless son-in-law Jason along in her wake. Fabulous book.
Full review: Review: The Garden Club Murders – Jonathan Whitelaw
42: The Antique Hunter’s Guide to Murder – C L Miller
Debut novel from C L Miller. I was expecting a gentle cosy mystery, and that’s how it started out. Protagonist Freya Lockwood is called back to where she grew up, as her Aunt Carole’s best friend, Arthur Crockleford, has been found dead.
What starts out with a dead body in a village antiques shop leads to uncovering a massive international black market antiques operation. In doing so, Freya rediscovers her independence and strength and begins to rebuild her life post-marriage. Now the joint owner of Crockleford Antiques with Aunt Carole, Freya also decides to return to investigating missing antiques; work that she used to do decades ago with Arthur, before they became estranged.
A solid and ambitious debut, setting up the series for much bigger things. I enjoyed reading it, and loved the characters.
43: The Antique Hunter’s Death on the Red Sea
The follow up to The Antique Hunter’s Guide to Murder sees Freya Lockwood and Aunt Carole on the trail of more stolen antiques, on board a cruise to the Red Sea.
We’re taken on a high-stakes adventure at sea and through historic sites on land, as Freya and Carole find more evidence of shady antique dealing and art theft, and the sinister mastermind behind years of high profile thefts could be on board the ship.
Full review: Review: The Antique Hunter’s Death on the Red Sea – C L Miller
44: Date with Mystery – Julia Chapman
The third in the Dales Detective series, opens with a death (by natural causes), leading Samson O’Brien and Delilah Metcalfe digging around in the past – a past that people are desperate to keep hidden. I’m really enjoying re-reading this series – it’s like hanging out with old friends. Samson and Delilah complement each other perfectly and the Yorkshire backdrop and weather are just as important as the story’s characters. Julia Chapman has created such a wonderful community, I love spending time with them.
45: Death in the Arctic – Tom Hindle
“Airborne Assholes” was the subtitle that I invented for this book and it got stuck in my head whilst reading. Some really insufferable characters are onboard an experimental flight on an airship up to the North Pole, being tested before commercial flights can begin. When one passenger is found dead, I was disappointed that it wasn’t the most obnoxious. It’s soon suspected that the death wasn’t accidental or natural, but as the passengers are in a confined space and miles away from anywhere, tensions ramp up and everyone starts to suspect each other. I love that Tom Hindle has created characters that provide strong reactions, and I really did enjoy this new take on a locked room mystery, and couldn’t stop reading it, despite hating everyone!
46: The Case of the Christie Conspiracy – Kelly Oliver
First of all, I loved the premise of this book, taking the real Detection Club formed in 1930, with members such as GK Chesterton, Dorothy L Sayers and Agatha Christie herself. And then we have Christie’s famed mysterious disappearance, which was never explained. And so we have a mystery where a Club member is shot dead in the dark at a Detection Club meeting, and the day after, Agatha Christie goes missing, a handkerchief with her initials found by the body.
There’s competition to solve the case between Eliza Baker – orphan, former war time police officer, now newly appointed assistant to the club Secretary – and her friend Theo Torrent Sharp – aspiring writer. The two regularly hang out at a chess club in London, and both are strong minded and competitive. The novel frequently plays on the contrast of the two characters – Theo being more of a more artistic creature, Eliza favouring more rational logic and science.
It was fun to see the Queen of Crime being under suspicion rather than orchestrating murders in writing, and looking forward to seeing how this series develops.
47: Guards! Guards! – Terry Pratchett
Terry Pratchett’s Discworld is my go-to series when I need a comfort read. Whenever I’m feeling low on spoons, I reach for his books. Guards! Guards! is probably my favourite for this. It’s the first book in the Watch sub-series, introducing us to Captain Vimes, and his crew Fred Colon and Nobby Nobbs. We also see Carrot arrive in Ankh Morpork, causing chaos with his fastidious attention to memorising and enforcing the laws of the city.
Guards! Guards! is probably the book I recommend most as an entry point into the Discworld, as it reads like a mystery, police procedural, but set in a fantasy city. With dragons.
Leave a Reply