The Three Ws are:
What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?
Annabel recently recommended a mystery series set in Finland that sounded intriguing. I was amazed that something so obscure could be available at my library but summoned it at once. Set in 1952, Evil Things by Katja Ivar features a bad-tempered, female murder squad detective, demoted from Helsinki to a remote Lapland village, then sent to a settlement near the Soviet border by her chauvinistic boss to investigate an old man's disappearance.
I have also been reading Gallows Court by Martin Edwards (2019), a historical mystery set in 1930s London. Although I usually enjoy his books, this is full of unlikable characters and I am not sure I am motivated to finish it, although I already have a copy of the sequel.
Recently Finished
The Setons by O. Douglas (1917) was not quite as readable as The Proper Place (a bit too much Scottish dialect) but I did like heroine Elizabeth, the unmarried daughter of an eccentric Scottish minister, who manages her father, an irrepressible younger brother, and her father’s congregation with deft humor. However, the laughter ends when WWI breaks out, and Elizabeth and her contemporaries begin sending their men off to war. The book gets very serious and patriotic in a hurry because the war was taking place as Douglas wrote and there were some very tearful moments for Elizabeth and me! I picked up this very edition in a Cardiff tea shop several years ago.
Next Up
I need to read some of the books that the library wants back! All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham (2023) is about a woman whose infant has been kidnapped while she slept. Desperate for clues, she agrees to be interviewed by a true-crime podcaster but that results in more questions than answers. I enjoyed the author’s first book, A Flicker in the Dark, in 2021.
After my youngest niece played Mary in her school’s Christmas Pageant, I checked out of the library for her The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson, about an infamous group of siblings who turn up and nearly ruin the annual pageant. I keep renewing it, hoping she will pick it up and laugh herself silly, but I need to give up and return it.
I felt the same as you about Gallows Court, though I did get to the end and it was well written by Martin Edwards. And like you I think I have the sequel on my Kindle and not much impetus to read it.
ReplyDeleteI've read one book by Emily Henry, Beach Reads. It was ok. Not wonderful, but fun.
I'm currently reading a book by British TV personality, Kate Humble, about living simply. Doing lots of gardening and throwing out all your clothes and stuff. Also reading Foundation by Isaac Asimov. And would you believer this? It has another 'Seldon' in it. I'm starting to get a bit rattled...
I've had some trouble with O. Douglas lately. One book I read about 3/4 of and couldn't take any more of the dialect and the religion!
ReplyDeleteI was quite taken with your last paragraph. I read it twice to be sure I understood. Is your niece not so much of a reader, and that's why she hasn't read it? My granddaughter is not a big reader. It isn't her first "go to" for quiet time or recreation. I've come to realize that most people seem to be born readers. Maybe people come to it in later life, but in my experience it is either huge in one's life or it isn't. What do you think?
I am eyeing All the Dangerous Things. Here's MY WWW POST
ReplyDeleteI read The Setons years ago, of course the Scots dialect is no problem for me, I'm not so keen on any overtly religious bits. I was just impressed that you bought your copy in Cardiff, you certainly get around!
ReplyDeleteI have so many books out of the library, Cath, that I may return Gallows Court and try it some other time. I still have a huge pile that I bought in the UK and haven't read.
ReplyDeleteNan, I used to think my niece simply couldn't *finish* a book but now I wonder if maybe she just doesn't like having books chosen for her. However, what has been successful is to start reading books to her and then she gets curious about what is happening and does not want to wait for her next visit, so asks to bring it home. But she is certainly not reading her Christmas or birthday books or this library book, which I have to remember to retrieve this weekend!
Constance, Thanks for the mention. I am going to have to get busy in my reading of Anthony Price's books, or you will get further along in your reread than I am in my first read of the series. I have only read 5 of the books so far.
ReplyDeleteLooks like I need to get to reading my copy of Gallows Court soon, also, since you are having problems with it. I have heard so many good things about that book and the one that follows. I hope I am not not disappointed with it.
Evil Things by Katja Ivar sounds interesting.
I may take a Price break for a bit as there are simply too many other books piling up here! I have obviously had much fewer people in my home since the pandemic began but I think I offered to host my book group in April (hoping the weather would permit sitting outside) so I need to start tidying up for company. We went back to Zoom in January which is nice for our friend in New Mexico but not as satisfying for the rest of us, although trying to be sensitive to those who have health concerns.
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