My September 2024 Reading

A few books stood out this month, including Radio Girls, about the early days at the BBC, and The Trap, the newest book about Emma Makepeace. I also enjoyed The Night in Question by Susan Fletcher, which follows what seems like a recent trend in senior citizen sleuths but features an appealing heroine who is both vulnerable and resilient. I couldn’t decide if I liked or disliked The Second Lady by Irving Wallace but I couldn’t stop reading! There were also some disappointments.

Mystery/Suspense

Ordeal by Innocence by Agatha Christie (1958). Jacko Argyle’s family hasn’t recovered from his having murdered his adoptive mother when a witness comes forward two years later to say he was Jacko’s alibi! It’s too late for Jacko, who died in prison, to get justice but now the rest of the family falls under suspicion. My review.

Buried Secrets by Joseph Finder (1992)(audio-narrator Holter Graham). This is the second in a series about Nick Heller, a smart-aleck, private security expert, recently relocated to Boston. He has a complicated history involving a father imprisoned for white collar crime when Nick and his brother were teens. The businessman who gave their mother a job years ago when everyone else ignored the family’s plight now needs Nick’s help to rescue his abducted teenage daughter. This was somewhat over the top with multiple villains and the girl being elaborately buried alive.

The Night in Question by Susan Fletcher (2024). Florrie Butterfield has always believed in adventure and, although she is 87 and confined to a wheelchair at her new assisted living facility, she will not let that slow her down when a friend dies under mysterious circumstances. Florrie decides to ask a few questions but it could be dangerous if she gets too close to the truth. My review.

The Favor by Nicci French (2022)(audio-narrator Imogen Church). If your first boyfriend ever appears out of the blue asking you to go to a mysterious destination without telling a soul, please be advised that this favor will get you in serious trouble with the police when he gets murdered. If you are merely reading about it, you will also regret learning about all the sordid people in his life, just as Jules does. Jules makes so many bad decisions I lost all respect for her as a character. I liked the author’s series about Frieda Klein but this book was dreadful.

The Trap by Ava Glass (2024).  This is a fast-paced and very entertaining series about an English-born spy of Russian heritage, determined to avenge the death of her father, who was killed by his countrymen as an informer.  Emma is right not to tell her mother what her real job is! My review.

The Last Word by Elly Griffiths (2024). Natalka and Edwin, from The Postscript Murders, are running a detective agency in Sussex so are excited when a local writer dies and her family asks Edwin to investigate. Unfortunately, the local police are not thrilled by their interference. When they get stuck, they ask for help from their friend, detective Harbinder Kaur, now working in London. The characters are not as endearing as those in her Ruth Galloway books and I got a little lost in connections between all the murders.

The Betrayal of Trust by Susan Hill (2011). In this sixth book about detective inspector Simon Serrailler, torrential rains hit the Cathedral town of Lafferton, dislodging the skeleton of a teen missing for years. Distracting Simon from his investigation is a sudden infatuation for a married woman he meets at an obligatory fundraising dinner. His stress makes him unkind to his sister, still recovering from losing her husband, and he neglects the nephew who needs him. Simon is fairly unlikable in this installment but this has not prevented me from bringing book 7 with me to my conference in Philadelphia.

What Have You Done? by Shari Lapena (2004)(audio-narrators January LaVoy, Jorjeana Marie, Barrett Leddy). When a local farmer finds a deceased teen in one of his fields, he is shocked to recognize Diana Brewer, a popular senior at the high school. There are plenty of suspects: her possessive boyfriend, a sleazy teacher, the construction worker who hit on her when she worked at Home Depot, and it turns out there are lots of secrets in the small town of Fairhill, Vermont. I guessed the murderer but it was still entertaining, although I could have done without the ghost of Diana floating about, trying to remember what had happened.

The Girl Beneath the Sea by Andrew Mayne (2020). Sloan McPherson is a police diver in Florida whose job is finding evidence for water related crimes, many of which involved drug smuggling and/or treasure hunting, in which Sloan’s father and uncle have been illegal participants. When she discovers the body of a young woman she grew up with, local authorities assume it is no coincidence and wonder if Sloan is as crooked as the rest of her family. Clearly, she has to investigate to clear her name . . . Thanks to Cath for recommending this book.

The Second Lady by Irving Wallace (1980). This is an interesting impersonation story in which the KGB has plotted to substitute an actress with the First Lady of the United States when she visits Moscow. The substitute has practiced for three years: the President suspects nothing; however, the journalist writing the First Lady’s memoir is suspicious. Will anyone believe something so improbable?

Historical Fiction

Radio Girls by Sarah-Jane Stratford (2016). London in the 1920s is an exciting time for the development of radio at the BBC. American Maisie Musgrave was desperate for a job, any job, but securing a secretarial position for the dynamic Hilda Matheson changes her life, allowing her to develop as a journalist and discover her voice. I enjoyed this historical novel although I found Hilda, a noted pioneer in broadcasting, more interesting than fictional Maisie. My review.

Romance

Falling for Provence by Alison Roberts (2024). What better way to recover from tragedy than to inherit a house in Provence that needs TLC? Ellie Gilchrist and her sisters plan to sell their uncle’s house but once Ellie sees it, she is intrigued and decides to stay and supervise the renovations. A handsome widower next door with a small son make Ellie’s recovery predictable but it’s fun to daydream about living in Provence. My review.

Juvenile

The Scarecrow of Oz by L. Frank Baum (1915). The Scarecrow is one of Dorothy’s beloved companion from The Wizard of Oz but it takes a while for him to appear in this ninth book in the series. The story is primarily about Cap’n Bill, a grizzled sailor, and his companion, Trot, an intrepid little girl. A boating disaster lands them near but not in Oz, and they have various adventures before Ozma offers them a home in the Emerald City. My review.

Conrad’s Fate by Diana Wynne Jones (2005). Conrad’s uncle has persuaded him he has only a year to live unless he goes undercover to Stallery Mansion to find and destroy an unknown enemy. On the way to apply for domestic service, twelve-year-old Conrad encounters Christopher Chant (using a pseudonym) who is searching for a missing friend. The two boys have different goals but need to work together to solve all the mysteries Jones is juggling in this book. My review.

Off the Blog: Look! It’s the Liberty Bell, across the street from my hotel in Philadelphia.