20 Books of Summer 2024

This is my third time participating in the 20 Books of Summer Reading Challenge, which is hosted by Cathy at 746 Books from June 1 to September 1, and gives me a fun opportunity to prioritize some books for summer and not simply read my library reserves as they come in.  This is a week late but I was busy trying to organize the world, or at least, my particular corner of it (middling success so far). I have enjoyed Cathy’s challenge twice before although last year I just read 11/20.  I added one of those unread books to my list.

The Vanishing of Carolyn Wells by Rebecca Rego Barry (2024). The first biography of one of the “lost ladies” of detective fiction who wrote more than eighty mysteries and hundreds of other works between the 1890s and the 1940s.  My review.

Invitation to Die by Barbara Cleverly (2019). May Balls, punting on the Cam, flirting and dancing the tango are the preoccupations of bright young people, but bright young Detective Inspector John Redfyre finds himself mired in multiple murders in 1924 Cambridge. A short review.

The Ration Book Baby by Ellie Curzon (2023). Nurse Annie Russell finds a baby in a hatbox on her doorstep. She has enough worries coping in WWII England but knows the child and her mother need help.  Curzon's Twitter account @MadameGilfurt features gorgeous costumes and is fun to follow.  My review.

Becoming Madam Secretary by Stephanie Dray (2024). A look at the life and work of Frances Perkins, the first woman to serve in a presidential cabinet. This can’t be renewed so I am reading it first.  My review.

Gunpowder Plot by Carola Dunn (2006). During the winter of 1924, Daisy Dalrymple Fletcher travels to a school friend's house to witness the estate's famous Guy Fawkes celebration and, of course, finds herself involved in a murder.  My review.

The Secret Stealers by Jane Healey (2021). A Radcliffe alumna in Washington DC finds purpose during WWII when she’s recruited into the Office of Strategic Services by legendary Major General William Donovan.  My review. 

Murder at Government House by Elspeth Huxley (1937). Life in a colonial capital in Africa between the wars is relaxed and prosperous, but Olivia Brandeis, a young anthropologist working in the region, senses something is wrong – and soon someone is murdered.  My review.

A Botanist’s Guide to Parties and Poisons by Kate Khavari (2022). Saffron Everleigh, a research assistant in botany, is determined to blaze a new trail at the University College London, but is sidetracked when her mentor is accused of murder.  My review.

Gale Force by Owen Laukkanan (2018). A freak maritime accident has made McKenna Rhodes the captain of the salvage boat Gale Force, but it has also made her cautious. Can she take advantage of an ocean disaster, survive Japanese gangsters and another more predatory salvage boat?

Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane (2023). A tale of revenge, family love, festering hate, and insidious power, set against one of the most tumultuous episodes in Boston’s history, school desegregation.  My review.

The Last Apple Tree by Claudia Mills (2024). When feuding neighbors Sonnet and Zeke are paired up for a class project, they unearth a secret that could uproot Sonnet’s family—or allow it to finally heal and grow.  My review.

The Maplin Bird by K.M. Peyton (1965). An orphaned sister and brother become involved with a wealthy smuggler and his operation on the Essex seacoast in the mid-19th century.  I must have read this as a teen but I don't remember it and was pleased to find a discarded copy recently.  My review.

The Literary Undoing of Victoria Swann by Virginia Pye (2023). Swann is a successful woman author of romance and adventure novels who becomes a champion of women's rights as she takes on the literary establishment and finds her true voice.

Strangers in Carrigmore by Meta Mayne Reid (1958). Colly and Kay McKean, their cousin Charlotte and half-cousin Rosa, become involved in a plot to rob the Museum of Carrigmore Castle of its priceless relics in gold and silver. My review.

Corrupt Practices by Robert Rotstein (2013). When Rich Baxter is accused of embezzling millions from a church, he turns to star trial attorney Parker Stern to defend him – but Stern has not entered a courtroom since his mentor committed suicide.  My review.

Testimony by Anita Shreve (2008). A sex scandal at an exclusive New England boarding school unleashes a storm of shame and recrimination, while the headmaster has to contain the bad publicity before it destroys the school.  My review.

The Song of Hartgrove Hall by Natasha Solomons (2015). A dual-time line novel set at an English country estate about a musical English family and its efforts to save their family home.  My review.

Long Island by Colm Tóibín (2024). This is the story of Eilis Lacey, the heroine of Brooklyn, Tóibín’s most popular work, twenty years later as she copes with the marriage that kept her in New York.  My review.

Good Night, Irene by Luis Alberto Urrea (2023). In 1943, Irene Woodward abandons an abusive fiancé in New York to enlist with the Red Cross and head to Europe, where she is buoyed by the friendships she makes.  My review.

Mrs. Hart’s Marriage Bureau by Sheena Wilkinson (2023). Matchmaker Martha hopes the new hire, a lively Irish girl, will breathe fresh air into a business struggling to keep with the times amid the tumult of 1930s Britain.

Three of these books are autographed – two inscribed to me! Can you guess which ones?

Have you read any of these?  Here is the breakdown, which could have been more well-rounded: one nonfiction, one straight fiction, seven mysteries/suspense, three children’s books, and eight historical novels.  Eight are set in the UK, eight in the US, two in France, one in Africa, and one in the Pacific Ocean.  I added pictures of the books I don’t yet have in my possession.