Saturday, April 29, 2023

Grey Mask by Patricia Wentworth - introducing Miss Silver!

Title: Grey Mask
Author: Patricia Wentworth
Publication: Warner, paperback, originally published in 1929
Genre: Mystery
Setting: English countryside
Description: Charles Moray has been out of the country for four years, having left with bitterness when his fiancé, Margaret Langford, broke their engagement with no explanation right before the wedding.

Wednesday, April 26, 2023

WWW Wednesday – April 26

WWW Wednesday is hosted by Taking on a World of Words.

Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?


Currently Reading
I just started Fallen by Linda Castillo, the 13th book in her Kate Burkholder series.

Monday, April 24, 2023

A Game of Snakes and Ladders by Doris Langley Moore

Title: A Game of Snakes and Ladders
Author: Doris Langley Moore
Publication: Dean Street Press, paperback, originally published in 1938
Genre: Fiction
Setting: 20th century Egypt and London, between the wars
Description: Lucy Kendon was the second lead in a second-rate theatrical company touring overseas, now in Egypt. With help from kind-hearted Lucy, Daisy Joy joined the company in Australia when a cast member dropped out.

Saturday, April 22, 2023

Sparkling Cyanide by Agatha Christie #ReadChristie23

Title: Sparkling Cyanide
Author: Agatha Christie
Publication: Thorndike, hardcover, originally published in 1945
Genre: Mystery
Setting: 20th century London
Description: Beautiful Rosemary Barton died tragically during a dinner party nearly a year ago. The coroner concluded it was suicide: self-administered cyanide in her drink, due to depression.

Thursday, April 20, 2023

Two Nights in Lisbon by Chris Pavone

Title: Two Nights in Lisbon
Author: Chris Pavone
Narrator: January LaVoy
Publication: Macmillan, audio, 2022
Genre: Suspense
Setting: Lisbon and New York
Description: When Ariel Pryce wakes up alone in her Lisbon hotel room, she knows almost immediately that something is wrong. Her husband is missing and she is sure he would not have gone anywhere without leaving a note, plus he left his phone behind.

Sunday, April 16, 2023

Betsy-Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace – for the #1940Club

Title: Betsy-Tacy
Author: Maud Hart Lovelace
Publication: Thomas Y. Crowell, hardcover, 1940
Genre: Juvenile historical fiction
Setting: 1900s Deep Valley, Minnesota
This week, Karen of Kaggsy’s Bookish Ramblings and Simon of Stuck in a Book hosted the 1940 Club in which we all read and write about books published that year.  Naturally, I could not ignore a book by one of my favorite authors, however many times I may have read it.

Saturday, April 15, 2023

England Was an Island Once by Elswyth Thane – for the #1940Club

Title: England Was an Island Once
Author: Elswyth Thane
Publication: Harcourt, Brace and Company, hardcover, 1940
Genre: Memoir/History
Setting: England just before WWII
This week, Karen of Kaggsy’s Bookish Ramblings and Simon of Stuck in a Book are hosting the 1940 Club in which we all read and write about books published in the same year.

Friday, April 14, 2023

The Naughtiest Girl in the School by Enid Blyton – for the #1940Club

Title: The Naughtiest Girl in the School
Author: Enid Blyton
Publication: Armada, paperback, 20p. Originally published in 1940.
Genre: School story
Setting: 20th century England
This week, Karen of Kaggsy’s Bookish Ramblings and Simon of Stuck in a Book are hosting the 1940 Club in which we all read and write about books published in the same year.

Thursday, April 13, 2023

Surfeit of Lampreys by Ngaio Marsh – for the #1940Club

Title: Surfeit of Lampreys
Author: Ngaio Marsh
Publication: Felony & Mayhem, paperback, originally published in 1940
Genre: Mystery
Setting: 20th century London
This week, Karen of Kaggsy’s Bookish Ramblings and Simon of Stuck in a Book are hosting the 1940 Club in which we all read and write about books published in that year.

Tuesday, April 11, 2023

Blue Willow by Doris Gates – for the #1940Club

Title: Blue Willow (a Newbery Honor Book)
Author: Doris Gates (1901-1987)
Illustrator: Paul Lantz
Publication: Viking, hardcover, 1940
Genre: Juvenile fiction
Setting: Depression-era California
This week, Karen of Kaggsy’s Bookish Ramblings and Simon of Stuck in a Book are hosting the 1940 Club in which we read and write about books published in the same year.

Monday, April 10, 2023

The Corinthian by Georgette Heyer – for the #1940Club

Title: The Corinthian
Author: Georgette Heyer
Publication: Bantam, paperback, originally published in 1940
Genre: Historical Romance
Setting: 19th century England

It’s time for the #1940 Club, hosted by Simon from Stuck in a Book and Karen from Kaggsy’s Bookish Ramblings, featuring books published in a particular year.

Saturday, April 8, 2023

Spell the Month in Books — April

Spell the Month in Books is hosted by Reviews From the Stacks and occurs on the second Saturday of each month. This month I chose from books I read in 2013:

Monday, April 3, 2023

Capital Kaleidoscope: The Story of a Washington Hostess by Frances Parkinson Keyes

Title: Capital Kaleidoscope: The Story of a Washington Hostess
Author: Frances Parkinson Keyes (1885–1970)
Publication: Harper & Brothers, hardcover, 1937
Genre: Memoir
Setting: Washington, DC
Description: Keyes, who became a bestselling author in the first half of the 20th century, was married to a New England politician 22 years her senior. He served in New Hampshire as Selectman, Representative, Senator, and on several state commissions before being elected Governor of New Hampshire from 1917-19, then was elected to the U.S. Senate as a Republican for three terms from 1919-37. FPK was very conscious of the expense of public service, which she felt ordinary people did not appreciate: the cost for senators of maintaining two homes as well as entertaining and being entertained while raising a family.

Saturday, April 1, 2023

Six Degrees of Separation – from Born to Run to Many Years From Now

It’s time for #6degrees, inspired by Kate at Books Are My Favourite and Best. We all start at the same place, add six books, and see where we end up. This month’s starting point is Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen (2016).