My May 2022 Reads

A busy month of reading - I expect June will include more visits to libraries and bookstores and less reading, but those are equally delightful pastimes!

Mystery/Suspense

She Shall Have Murder by Delano Ames (1948) – Everyone tells Jane Hamish she should write a book about the goings-on at her London law firm but when a client is murdered, she finally starts writing and her boyfriend enthusiastically takes on the investigation.  This is the first of a 12-book series; enjoyable but I am not sure I will pursue it because mostly out of print.  My review.

The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis #Narniathon21

Title: The Magician’s Nephew
Author: C.S. Lewis
Publication: Collier, paperback, originally published in 1955
Genre: Juvenile fantasy/series

Description: Digory is staying with his uncle and aunt in London so they can look after his mother, who is very ill. Luckily, there's a girl his age, Polly Plummer, next door, and the summer holidays are enlivened for both with indoor exploration when the weather is bad.

The Twelfth Day of July by Joan Lingard

Title: The Twelfth Day of July: A Novel of Modern Ireland
Author: Joan Lingard
Publication: Thomas Nelson, hardcover, 1970
Genre: Middle-grade fiction
Setting: Belfast, Northern Ireland, 20th century

Description: Sadie and Tommy are Protestants, Kevin and Brede are Catholics – they live just a few streets apart but attend different schools, shop in different stores, and have different attitudes about the forthcoming July celebration.

WWW Wednesday – May 25, 2022

WWW Wednesday is hosted by Taking on a World of Words.

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

She Came Back by Patricia Wentworth

Title: She Came Back (UK title The Traveller Returns)
Author: Patricia Wentworth
Publication: Coronet Books, paperback, originally published in 1948
Genre: Mystery
Setting: WWII Britain

Description: After serving in Egypt and Tunisia, widower Philip Jocelyn was wounded and sent back to England. Soon he will begin working at the War Office but in the meantime, he is recuperating at his home, Jocelyn’s Holt, and is on the verge of falling in love with Lyndall Armitage, a quasi-cousin.

The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles

Title: The Lincoln Highway
Author: Amor Towles
Publication: Viking, hardcover, 2021
Genre: Historical Fiction
Setting: 1954, United States

Description: Emmett Watson has just served fifteen months in a juvenile facility for involuntary manslaughter but is released early when his father dies so he can care for his precocious eight-year-old brother Billy.

I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys

We stood, feeling others nearby, but unable to see them. I was alone with Liliana, in a private wrapper of darkness.

“Cristian,” she suddenly whispered. “Do you ever wonder . . . if any of it’s real?”

“If what’s real?”

“The things we see in videos – in American movies.”

It was an odd question. Or maybe it felt odd because I had wondered the same thing but never had the courage to say it out loud. But it also felt . . . suspicious somehow. Too honest.

The Art of Alice and Martin Provensen

Title: The Art of Alice and Martin Provensen

Authors: Alice and Martin Provensen
Editor and Art Director: Gloria Fowler
Publication: Chronicle Books, hardcover, 2022
Genre: Nonfiction/Children’s Books/Art

Spell the Month in Books – May 2022

Can you #SpelltheMonthinBooks? What books would you use?

Spell the Month in Books is hosted by Reviews From the Stacks and occurs on the second Saturday of each month.

The Glass-Blowers by Daphne du Maurier – for DDM Week

Title: The Glass-Blowers
Author: Daphne du Maurier
Publication: Doubleday & Company, hardcover, 1963
Genre: Historical Fiction
Setting: 18th and 19th century France

Description: In this historical novel, du Maurier tells the imagined story of her actual ancestors, the Busson family, glass-blowers in rural France, and how they were affected by the French Revolution.

Six Degrees of Separation – from True History of the Kelly Gang to Crooked Heart

It’s time for #6degrees, inspired by Kate at Books Are My Favourite and Best. We all start at the same place, add six books, and see where we end up. This month’s starting point is Peter Carey’s True History of the Kelly Gang, about an Australian bushranger/outlaw.

She Shall Have Murder by Delano Ames

Title: She Shall Have Murder
Author: Delano Ames
Publication: Rue Morgue Press, paperback, originally published in 1948
Genre: Mystery/series
Setting: 20th century London

Description: Jane Hamish is a law clerk for a firm of London solicitors that seems to specialize in real estate. It was the frequent visits of the paranoid Mrs. Robjohn and the urging of her boyfriend that inspired Jane to consider writing a thriller in her spare time, although she had not got round to it when an actual murder takes place.

My April 2022 Reads

Historical Fiction

The Rose Code by Kate Quinn (2021) – Historical fiction set at Bletchley Park during WWII which follows three unlikely friends during the war and beyond. I had been saving this for months, so was pleased when my book group decided to read it. For once, everyone seemed to enjoy our choice!  I did not review this because many had already done so very eloquently!