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.