Six Degrees of Separation – from Wild Dark Shore to Bloody Instructions

It’s time for #6degrees, inspired by Kate at Books Are My Favourite and Best. We all start at the same place as other readers, add six books, and see where it ends up. May’s starting point is Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy (2025), an unusual and compelling book in which the main character eventually reveals how a catastrophic wildfire changed her life.

The Paris Novel by Ruth Reichl

Ruth Reichl was the restaurant critic for the New York Times from 1993 to 1999, and although I doubt we frequented the same places, I often followed her reviews and enjoyed reading about the disguises she wore to avoid being recognized. Staff at high-end restaurants used to post pictures of her in the back, hoping not to be caught unawares. Somewhere in this house I have a copy of Tender at the Bone, the first of her five memoirs, but I have never got around to reading it. Last week, I was at my mother’s for dinner and she told me she had just enjoyed The Paris Novel and wanted me to read it because there were certain things I would appreciate. She was right: I started reading that very night and found there were many parts of Stella's travels that spoke to me.

Top Ten Tuesday: Most Memorable Dogs in Fiction

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week has no assigned theme so I decided to write about memorable dogs in fiction:

Lufra, the Baluchistan Hound in Frederica by Georgette Heyer (1965), is not as exotic as he sounds.  Frederica gets into trouble when she takes the family dog for a walk in London and invokes the name of her aristocratic relative to appease those complaining about his behavior. My reviews.

The Harvey Girls in Fiction

Fred Harvey (1835–1901) was an entrepreneur who created the first American restaurant chain, multiple locations that served those traveling on the railroad. Beginning in 1876, he began opening restaurants along the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad. He hired young women between the ages of 18 and 30, known as “Harvey Girls,” who worked as waitresses, wore attractive uniforms, lived under strict chaperonage, and signed a contract not to marry before a year was up (the imbalance of women in the American southwest during this period meant they were in high demand). 

from CowgirlMagazine.com

Devil Water by Anya Seton

This is an old-fashioned family saga of a historical novel by an author whose gift for creating memorable characters was matched by her painstaking research on the 1715 and 1745 Jacobite Rebellions and the families who clung to the dream of the Stuarts regaining the throne. The story begins in 1709, when Charles Radcliffe, barely 16, is getting into trouble with a girl below his station, while he waits for his brother, James, the young Earl of Derwentwater, to return from France.

When Love Speaks by Amelia Elizabeth Walden, for the 1961 Club and Reading the Theatre Month

Walden (1909-2002) was a pioneering young adult author I read frequently as a teen and pre-teen, so in 2010 I was pleased to learn about the Assembly on Literature for Adolescents’ (“ALAN”) Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award.* With some exceptions, her books fell into three categories: girls playing sports, girls/young women involved in theater, or young women drawn into espionage. In the 1940s and 50s when her books were first published, there were very few people writing about girls in sports and there weren’t as many opportunities for girls to play. I was never a good athlete but it was still fun to read about these sporty girls who experienced challenges with teammates, coaches, school, families, and friends. In the 70s, she began writing about young women co-opted into espionage, and these must have been popular because several were published in paperback by Scholastic Book Services.

Marry in Haste, Repent at Leisure! Another 5 star book for the #1961 Club

There is probably a whole fictional sub-genre of governesses-in-jeopardy but few have the immediacy or appeal of Camilla Forest, the intrepid heroine of Marry in Haste. She has been dismissed from her job on a cold spring day and deposited by the side of the road to catch the mail coach to London. 

When a gentleman, passing by in his carriage, thoughtfully stops to tell her the coach is delayed until the following day, night is approaching and she has nowhere to go.

Emily's Runaway Imagination by Beverly Cleary, for the 1961 Club

Beverly Cleary’s only historical novel is about a sensitive girl with big dreams, living on a farm in 1920s Pitchfork, Oregon. The book is based on her own home of Yamhill and childhood experiences. Like Ramona Quimby, Emily Bartlett often gets carried away by her own imagination and (like many of us) is sensitive about being laughed at. 

The Girl in the Cellar by Patricia Wentworth, for the 1961 Club

Most people think of Patricia Wentworth as a Golden Age of Detective Fiction writer whose books fall into the cozy category; however, The Girl in the Cellar opens with a very frightening scene.

The heroine has passed out and wakes up in darkness:

The Ivy Tree by Mary Stewart, for the 1961 Club

My first book for the 1961 Club (in which we read books published in a certain year), hosted this week by Simon at Stuck in a Book and Karen at Kaggsy’s Bookish Ramblings, is The Ivy Tree by Mary Stewart, an enthralling impersonation story set in Northumberland. Mary Grey, recently arrived from Canada, is sitting against Hadrian’s Wall, contemplating the countryside when she is accosted by a handsome man who thinks she is his cousin Annabel.

March 2026 Reading

The Sea Child, set in early 19th century Cornwall, was my favorite book this month because of the way it blends historical romance, an atmospheric setting, local folklore, and a journey of self-discovery for its determined heroine.  I also enjoyed the final book in Shannon Bowring's trilogy set in Maine, In a Distant Valley.

WWW Wednesday - Special 1961 Edition

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?

This post is a warm-up for Simon at Stuck in a Book and Karen at Kaggsy’s Bookish Ramblings’ 1961 Reading Challenge, which begins next week. It is always fun to select my books and see what everyone else has chosen!

Six Degrees of Separation – from The Correspondent to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

It’s time for #6degrees, inspired by Kate at Books Are My Favourite and Best. We all start at the same place as other readers, add six books, and see where it ends up. April’s starting point is The Correspondent by Virginia Evans (2025). I enjoyed this book and thought it was an ideal choice for my book group because it was very readable, included serious and lighter topics (Sybil’s surprise when her friends enjoyed Outlander), and there was lots to discuss. My review.

Spring Magic by D.E. Stevenson

Frances Field knows she was lucky to be taken in by an uncle and aunt when she was orphaned at three but whatever she owes them has been amply repaid – she has acted as housekeeper and slaved for her indolent aunt since her late teens, without payment or time off. When the war begins she is eager to do her bit but is forced to go on catering to her aunt’s every demand until a bomb lands near their home, breaking most of the windows in Wintringham Square. 

A Caribbean Mystery by Agatha Christie #ReadChristie26

In this mystery set on a fictional island in the Caribbean, Miss Marple’s quiet vacation is (surprise!) interrupted by murder. Her nephew Raymond had thoughtfully paid for her to travel to the West Indies to recuperate after a bad bout of pneumonia, and now Miss Marple is doing what she does best: listening. 

Hello, Summer by Mary Kay Andrews, who reveals her Betsy-Tacy fandom

Given the challenges newspapers have experienced, investigative reporter Conley Hawkins is thrilled to have been offered a prestigious job in Washington, DC. Then, during her actual goodbye party, in the sort of nightmare situation that would normally only happen to yours truly, she learns her new employer has gone bankrupt – so no job in DC and her job in Atlanta has already been filled. 

The Sea Child by Linda Wilgus - a dramatic adventure in Cornwall

In this captivating historical novel, a grieving widow is drawn back to Cornwall, the location of her earliest memories, where she expects a quiet life but is drawn into friendship with a gang of smugglers. Impoverished after her naval husband’s death and unexpectedly touched by scandal, Isabel Henley flees London for a rustic cottage in Helston after her husband dies at Trafalgar on the HMS Neptune, leaving nothing but debts. 

Other People's Houses by Clare Mackintosh – Reading Wales 2026

In the third mystery featuring Detective Constable Ffion Morgan in Wales and Detective Sergeant Leo Brady just across the border in England, Ffion is investigating a drowned real estate agent while Leo has been summoned to a ritzy neighborhood in Cheshire, the Hill, regarding a string of burglaries. As I learned when visiting Cornwall several years ago (and it is also true on Cape Cod), housing in areas where tourism is a major industry has become too expensive for traditional residents.

Spell the Month in Books - March

For March's Spell the Month in Books I chose several books I read in 2007:

Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin aka Diana Norman (20007). This is the first in a historical mystery series set in 12th-century England about Adelia Aguilar, a female forensic pathologist from Sicily, summoned by Henry II to investigate the murders of children in Cambridge, which have been blamed on the local Jewish community.

The Elements by John Boyne - Reading Ireland Month 2026

In this very dark novel by Irish writer John Boyne, four novellas are connected through the trauma that each character experienced; some are victims and some have turned around to inflict their pain on others. Each segment is named after an element. 

February 2026 Reading

Several books I enjoyed this month - I reread the first book about Fiona Griffiths, which I appreciated in a different way having read the whole series.  I really liked Codebreaker, a debut YA thriller, and was intrigued by Tapestry, although I found the heroine very annoying.

Danger Point aka In the Balance by Patricia Wentworth

If you are experiencing a crisis, running into Miss Silver on the London train is most fortuitous. In her kind, decisive way, she will try to find out what is wrong:

“I came away in a hurry.”

“Why?” said Miss Silver.

“They said he was trying to kill me,” said Lisle Jerningham.

Six Degrees of Separation – from Wuthering Heights to One Night That Changes Everything

It’s time for #6degrees, inspired by Kate at Books Are My Favourite and Best. We all start at the same place as other readers, add six books, and see where it ends up. February’s starting point is Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. The movie is getting terrible reviews - I enjoyed this quote from the Boston Globe:

Emerald Fennell’s overdone adaptation casts Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff, Margot Robbie as Cathy, Alison Oliver as Isabella, and Hong Chau as Nelly. If you don’t know who those characters are, you should have paid more attention to your English teacher. The most positive thing I can say about the umpteenth version of this material is that it continues a grand tradition of cinematic literary adaptations. That is, students will fail the “Wuthering Heights” question on their final exam if they watch this instead of reading the book.

The Country Girls by Edna O'Brien - Reading Ireland 2026

O’Brien’s first novel is a coming of age story, with autobiographical elements, about Caithleen Brady and her frenemy, Baba Brennan; two girls from rural Ireland who yearn for something not available at home. Cait’s mother dotes on her but does not protect her or prepare her for life, perhaps because she cannot protect herself from a drunken, spendthrift husband. Cait is conscious that she doesn’t have the possessions her friend does: nice clothes, for example, or a bicycle. Baba always wants more, however, and helps herself in a very unattractive way to what she wants – she takes the flowers Cait picked for their teacher so she can present them, she snatches biscuits from the Bradys’ kitchen although she must know how little the family has, and she ends up with Mrs. Brady’s rings. She is a vivid but unlikable character while Cait is dreamy but annoyingly passive.

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Frequently Recommend

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s theme is a freebie, up to each participant. I had just been thinking about some of the books I most enjoy recommending so that seemed like my topic. 

These are all books of which I snap up extra copies for gift giving and general proselytizing:

And Both Were Young by Madeleine L'Engle

Set in the late 1940s, Madeleine L’Engle’s first book for young people is a boarding school story about an American teen, still recovering from the loss of her mother, and how a friendship with a serious French boy with demons of his own brings both solace. Philippa Hunter, known as Flip, had hoped to travel with her artist father – he is working on illustrations for a book about lost children throughout Europe and Asia, including those from WWII. Instead, his possessive girlfriend, Mrs. Jackman, has arranged for her to attend a boarding school in Switzerland.

Two Recent Crime Novels

I've got behind in my reviewing this month but here are two recent books I'd been anticipating; one of which was a disappointment:

No Rest for the Wicked by Rachel Louise Adams (2025)

Dolores Hawthorne left her small town in Wisconsin twenty years ago and built a new life for herself as a forensic pathologist in Los Angeles, although the recent ending of her marriage has left her raw.

The Golden Collar by Elizabeth Cadell

Henry Eliot isn’t sure exactly how he became engaged to the beautiful and autocratic Marly Stonor, daughter of Sir Bertram Stonor, the CEO of the firm where he is an architect. However, his status as future son-in-law doesn’t spare him from being summoned like a schoolboy when Sir Bertram has an assignment. Sir Bertram has been thwarted in his attempts to purchase some coastal property in the Algarve region of Portugal for his daughter (and, eventually, Henry) and he decides to send Henry to represent his interests because Henry speaks Portuguese, having grown up in Brazil.

The Road to Dalton by Shannon Bowring

Set in 1990, The Road to Dalton takes place in a small, economically depressed town north of Bangor, focusing on a few interconnected families.  The most prominent are two married couples, of which the women, Bev and Trudy, have realized they are in love with each other, not their husbands.  Bev’s son Nate is a newlywed with an infant daughter; his wife, Bridget, is the daughter of the most (only) affluent family in town, owners of the lumber company.  And there is Rose, who works as the receptionist at the police station, got pregnant in high school and has two sons and a resentful, abusive boyfriend.  I heard about this trilogy from Susan at Cue Card and was curious enough to request the first book from the library last week.  

Top Ten Tuesday: Books for Armchair Travelers

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's theme is Books for Armchair Travelers.  I am often reminded of a favorite quote that was on the wall in my first grade classroom:

There is no Frigate like a Book to take us Lands away. . .

Tapestry by Fiona McIntosh

Jane is a pragmatic Brit who met a handsome American in Cornwall five months ago and was swept off her feet. Despite being newly engaged, she has doubts about whether her fiancé, Will Maxwell, is The One, despite his good looks and devotion. When a freak accident leaves him in a coma, she feels guilty for her wavering commitment and tries to compensate by exploring various New Agey solutions, one of which catapults her from 1978 London to 1715 Scotland, married to Will’s ancestor, Lord Nithsdale. 

WWW Wednesday – February 11

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?

Currently Reading:

Six Degrees of Separation – from Flashlight to The Phoenix and the Carpet

It’s time for #6degrees, inspired by Kate at Books Are My Favourite and Best. We all start at the same place as other readers, add six books, and see where it ends up. February’s starting point is Flashlight by Susan Choi, about which the New York Times said, “This is a novel about exile in its multiple forms, and it reads like a history of loneliness.”

Talking to the Dead by Harry Bingham

In this series launch, Bingham introduced one of the most complex characters in crime fiction, Detective Constable Fiona Griffiths. She is a part of the investigative team at the Cardiff Police Department but most of her colleagues give her a wide birth. She is overly intense and doesn’t fit in; she has a degree in Philosophy from Cambridge and her strong analytical skills mean she gets assigned to tedious paperwork instead of the more interesting investigations. 

January 2026 Reading

A new year and all my library holds arrived at once, so I even had to return a few without reading! Two mysteries were my favorites this month: Guilty by Definition and Murder Takes a Vacation, and I decided to try Mick Herron’s Oxford Investigation series and enjoyed the first two books. I don’t expect to get much reading accomplished in February because I will be glued to the Olympics but I may get some quilting done . . . .

The Snow Lies Deep by Paula Munier

In this seventh book about Mercy Carr, formerly Army Military Police, she is now settled in chilly Vermont, happily married, and has a nine-month-old baby, Felicity. Although Felicity is too young to recognize the season, Mercy and her mother are obsessed with making the baby’s first Christmas as memorable as possible. This begins with a trip to town for a photo op with Santa, and includes massive holiday decorations, indoors and out, and parties scheduled at Mercy and Troy’s home, Grackle Tree Farm.

The Tall Stranger by D.E. Stevenson

Nell is worried about her friend, Barbie France, who has been very sick and is not getting better. When the doctor she works for accompanies her to the hospital in a thick fog, he recommends that Barbie recuperate in the country. Nell calls Barbie’s aunt, Lady Steyne, and Barbie is sent by ambulance to the Cotswolds to Underwoods to rest. Barbie misses her work for an interior decoration firm but it is wonderful to be spoiled by her Aunt Amalie and her companion, Miss Penney.

Historical Fiction in 2026 and a 2025 Recap

Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres, and there are several books coming in 2026 that I am excited to read:

The Sea Stone Sisters by Eleanor Buchanan – In 1931, after a businessman takes down four historic stones on the Scottish headland, he finds his fortune lost, his wife dead and his four daughters torn apart. The sisters each cling to a ring they inherited from their mother, hoping to be reunited (June)

Down Cemetery Road by Mick Herron

Sarah Trafford is bored and frustrated after losing her publishing job, and is especially annoyed when her husband, Mark, forces her to host a dinner party for a pretentious financier, Gerard, and his trophy wife. Gerard enjoys goading Sarah and he is even ruder to the other guests; an interruption by an explosion in the neighborhood is welcome and they all go outside to see what happened.

Guilty by Definition by Susie Dent - my first five-star review of 2026

What could be better than a mystery set in Oxford that features four amateur sleuths who love words?  In this crime fiction debut, Martha Thornhill had been working in Germany for ten years until she is encouraged to apply for a job back home as the senior editor of the Clarendon English Dictionary. She likes her job but there’s a little tension with her three coworkers: Martha knows elegant Alex Monroe could have led the department as effectively as she while Simon Turner is still disappointed he wasn’t chosen.

Bloody Instructions by Sara Woods

Written later than most of the Golden Age of Mysteries so many of us enjoy, Bloody Instructions is the appealing launch of 48 books about an attractive young barrister, Antony Maitland, who practices with his distinguished (and sometimes curmudgeonly) uncle, Sir Nicholas Harding. Sent on an errand to the firm of solicitors with whom they frequently work, Antony expects nothing more than a cup of tea but is still there when mild-mannered solicitor James Winter is discovered with a knife in his back!

Murder Takes a Vacation by Laura Lippman

Muriel Blossom is both excited and nervous about her forthcoming vacation and cruise in France, and is charmed when a handsome man at the Baltimore airport befriends her as they are upgraded to first class. Since her husband died, she hasn’t looked at another man, but Allan is outgoing and attentive. When it seems as if she won’t make her connection at Heathrow, he insists she accompany him to London to spend the day, helps her get a hotel room, and book the Eurostar for the next day.

Favorite Reads of 2025

I've been working on my Best Books I Read in 2025 list.  I read close to 200 books last year, many of which were memorable, so it was very hard to narrow it down to ten.  I felt bad about some of my Runners-Up (books have feelings, as do their authors) which were very deserving, but here goes:

Miss Pettigrew Lives for the Day by Winifred Watson (1938). Why did I wait so long to read this delightful book? It starts out with the stark reality that an unemployed governess needs employment urgently or she will have to go to the poorhouse. However, when Miss Pettigrew arrives at the home of Miss Delysia LaFosse, a glamorous nightclub singer, it is the beginning of an incredible day of adventure and unexpected friendship.  I later watched the movie which was cute but not nearly as good as the book; a miniseries would have done it better.  My review.

Six Degrees of Separation – from The Horse and His Boy to Ten Little Indians

It’s time for #6degrees, inspired by Kate at Books Are My Favourite and Best. We all start at the same place as other readers, add six books, and see where it ends up. This month’s starting point is a wildcard, the book with which we finished December’s chain – mine was The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis.