The It Girl by Ruth Ware

It’s been ten years but Hannah Jones has not recovered from the tragedy that ended her first year at Oxford – when her beautiful, charismatic roommate, April Clarke-Cliveden, was murdered. 

Date with a Career by Jan Nickerson

Like many of the books I enjoyed growing up, Date with a Career is about a girl starting school in a new place; however, it is also about her determination to become a fashion designer. Saphronia Adams has spent most of her life in Manhattan with her mother, a successful actress, but now her mother is performing in Australia, so Saphronia has is spending her senior year in New England with the grandmother for whom she was named. 

Mrs. Hart’s Marriage Bureau by Sheena Wilkinson 18/20 Books of Summer

In this historical novel set between the wars, an outgoing young woman finds a new career as a matchmaker. When April McVey’s father dies, she and her mother are disgraced and practically penniless and leave Ireland to live with an aunt in Manchester. It’s a roof over their head but April knows she needs to establish her independence and applies for a position with Mrs. Hart’s matrimonial bureau, a short train ride away. 

WWW Wednesday – November 20

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

Third Girl by Agatha Christie #ReadChristie2024

Very little can dent Hercule Poirot’s self-confidence but he is surprisingly distressed when a young woman comes to him for help, worried that she “might have committed a murder,” then says sadly that he is too old to help, and leaves.

Isaac’s Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History by Erik Larson #NonfictionNovember

Isaac's Storm details the events leading up to and following the infamous 1900 Galveston hurricane. At the time, Galveston was a bustling port in Texas, a rival of Houston in its importance to the area’s economy. Isaac Cline was the chief meteorologist at Galveston’s office of the US Weather Bureau from 1889 to 1901 and warned about the hurricane too late for residents to evacuate, so thousands were drowned. By total coincidence, I checked this out of the library and started listening to this at exactly the same time Hurricane Helene was causing terrible damage to North Carolina and Florida, adding to the poignancy of the narrative.

I Need You to Read This by Jessa Maxwell

Alex Marks is a solitary, lonely young woman in New York City, grateful for a remote copywriting job, although it barely pays the rent, and her daily breakfast at the Bluebird Diner, where she has two friends, sarcastic waitress, Janice, and retired policeman, Raymond. Although it happened months ago, she is still devastated by the unsolved murder of Francis Keen, who wrote the popular Dear Constance advice column for the New York Herald.

My October 2024 Reading

My favorite books this month were Northern Spy, a thriller about an innocent young woman, dragged into an IRA conspiracy, and Abigail, an unusual boarding school story with a distant background of WWII intrigue. Abigail was one of several books I enjoyed for the 1970 Club.

Suspense

The Unwedding by Ally Condie (2024) (audio). Ellery Wainwright is despondent after her husband demands a divorce so her best friend persuades her to go on what was supposed to be an anniversary trip to Big Sur - and was already paid for (otherwise the ex and his new girlfriend would go and that would be even worse!).

Night Fall by Joan Aiken #WitchWeek2024

It’s Witch Week, hosted by Chris of Calmgrove and Lizzie Ross to honor Diana Wynne Jones’ Witch Week, and this year they are celebrating the work of Joan Aiken. Several of my favorites have been featured by some talented bloggers but the week would not be complete without a lesser-known but one of my favorites: Night Fall, a suspenseful novella set in London and Cornwall.

The Serial Garden by Joan Aiken #WitchWeek2024

Those who only know Joan Aiken from the beloved The Wolves of Willoughby Chase and later books in the series or her much admired adult regency historicals may not realize she was also a gifted writer of short stories. This collection contains 24 stories about the quirky Armitage family, not published in one place previously, and includes introductions from Aiken’s daughter Lizza and by author Garth Nix. I am not sure how I missed the Armitages. 

Six Degrees of Separation – from Intermezzo to First Lie Wins

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 Intermezzo by Sally Rooney, an Irish author who is very popular at the moment, although I didn't care for Conversations with Friends.  This has a cool cover, doesn't it?