The Hanging Wood by Martin Edwards – 10/20 Books of Summer

In the fifth Lake District mystery by crime fiction expert, Martin Edwards, a cold case becomes linked to a present-day disappearance, and Daniel Kind and DCI Hannah Scarlett join forces again to investigate.

Spell the Month in Books – July

Spell the Month in Books is hosted by Reviews from the Stacks and occurs on the first Saturday of each month or maybe later. This month, I chose books I read when I was about sixth grade.

Just Dial a Number by Edith Maxwell (1971). I don’t think any teen who read this book ever forgot it:

“Someone tried to kill me,” Cathy gasped into the phone.

The Demon of Unrest by Erik Larson

In The Demon of Unrest, Erik Larson looks at the months leading up to the attack on Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861, starting with the gallantry of Southern life (for the ruling class only) and the election of Lincoln, which agitated slave owners who assumed he would challenge their way of life and their prosperity.  As revealed in this narrative, the months leading to the attack on Sumter seem like a train careening off the tracks but with many moments when it seems someone should have been able to stop it.

Past Tense by Catherine Aird – 9/20 Books of Summer

Janet Wakefield is very surprised to be notified that her husband’s Great-Aunt Josephine (not known to either of them) has died in a nearby nursing home. Bill is in South America for business so she reluctantly tries to organize a funeral and reception:

Six Degrees of Separation – from Theory & Practice to The Shell Detectives

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 Theory & Practice by Michelle de Kretser (2024).  It won the Stella Prize, which recognizes Australian women's writing but does not get much attention in the US.

Death at the White Hart by Chris Chibnall

Detective Sergeant Nicola Bridge grew up in Fleetcombe, a small village on the English coast, and has moved back there with her family for a new start. When a man is murdered and left on a road in the middle of the night, tied to a chair with a stag’s antlers affixed to his head, even experienced Nicola is puzzled. 

Old Baggage by Lissa Evans – 8/20 Books of Summer

Mattie Simpkin fought valiantly for women’s right to vote as one of Mrs. Pankhurst’s militant supporters: speaking in public, arrested five times, force fed at Holloway Prison, but now, years later, with a small independent income, lives with her devoted friend, Florrie, near Hampstead Heath.

May 2025 Reading

Three books really stood out this month. I had to go to multiple shops in London to find the new book about Maeve Kerrigan, The Secret Room, but it made my flight home from Amsterdam most enjoyable. I also really liked Know Your Newlywed by Hillary Nussbaum and Heather Taylor, a fake relationship romance, and Lost Lorrenden by Mabel Esther Allan.