My November 2024 Reading

My favorites this month were The Law of Innocence about Harry Bosch’s half-brother, Mickey Haller, accused of murder and forced to defend himself from prison, and Mrs. Hart’s Marriage Bureau, a historical novel set between the wars in Britain. I also enjoyed another book about Orphan X and two books by Joan Aiken for Witch Week 2024 – Night Fall is just as memorable as the first time I read it.

Mystery/Suspense

The Law of Innocence by Michael Connelly (2020)(audiobook). Mickey Haller is a defense lawyer with a lot of enemies but it is a surprise to everyone when a former client is discovered – dead – in one of Mickey’s famous Lincoln Town Cars. Mickey is sure he can defend himself in court but that becomes more difficult when a zealous District Attorney opposes bail. Harry Bosch makes a few cameos, helping with Mickey’s investigation.

Third Girl by Agatha Christie (1966). The third girl is Norma, who shares an apartment with two other young women. She visits Hercule Poirot because she is worried about a murder but decides he is too old to understand her situation and tells him so. Stung, Poirot is determined to pursue the investigation, assisted by the eccentric mystery writer, Ariadne Oliver.  My review.

The Amazing Mrs. Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman (1970). Emily Pollifax is a New Jersey grandmother who never expected to be tapped by the CIA for a secret mission. In this second adventure, she is delighted when she gets a phone call giving her 30 minutes to pack for an assignment in Turkey. I intended to read this for the 1970 Club but ran out of time. I recommend this series and it isn’t essential to read them in order.

Prodigal Son by Gregg Hurwitz (2021)(audiobook). Evan Smoak has retired twice – once from his secret career as a government assassin and also from his self-appointed career as a secret, but sometimes violent, champion of the downtrodden. He has received a pardon from the president, so long as he stays retired. Then he is contacted by his birth mother and has to take on another dangerous assignment. I want Evan to be happy but the series is so addictive I don't want it to end!

I Need You to Read This by Jessa Maxwell (2004). Alex finally gets the job of her dreams, writing the Dear Constance advice column for a prominent newspaper. But her predecessor was murdered and now Alex is receiving anonymous, threatening letters that may indicate she is next! My review.

The It Girl by Ruth Ware (2022). Hannah Jones has never got over the murder of her college roommate, especially as she was the one who found the body. But when the convicted killer dies in prison, a reporter contacts her to investigate if the man was really innocent, forcing Hannah to reconsider everything she remembers from that fateful time – even if it puts her into danger.  My review.

Historical Fiction

Mrs. Hart’s Marriage Bureau by Sheena Wilkinson (2023). When April McVey’s father dies, having gambled away the family’s inheritance, she applies for a job working for a marriage bureau. Mrs. Hart, the owner, knows her business needs modernization but she is unnerved by some of April’s innovations. Can their collaboration work and provide HEAs for all concerned? My review.

Play

Present Laughter by Noel Coward (1939). In our October discussion, the Judge for whom the group clerked was surprised some had never heard of Coward, so I suggested we read a play for November. I chose this one because I’d never read it and I remembered it being mentioned in This Rough Magic:

I wondered if it would be tactful to ask after Sir Julian, and this made me remember my borrowed finery. “My things were still wet, so I borrowed your father’s dressing gown. Will be mind, do you think? It’s a terribly grand one.”

“Present Laughter,” said Max. “Of course he won’t. He’ll be delighted.”

Romance

Never Trust a Stranger by Kay Thorpe (1983). Several years ago, my sister asked me if I remembered a novel in which the heroine is trying out for a part in Kiss Me Kate. It didn’t ring any bells so back in 2017 I posed it on the Goodreads What’s the Name of That Book group and occasionally check to see if there were any suggestions. Recently, someone suggested this book, which I read on the Internet Archive. We’ll see if it is the one Clare remembered…

YA and Children’s

Night Fall by Joan Aiken (1969). This one of Aiken’s most memorable thrillers, written for a YA audience. Meg was just nine when her mother and stepfather were killed in a car accident. She returns to England to live with her distant father and is haunted by a nightmare for years. When her aunt suggests this dream could be based on a childhood accident in Cornwall, Meg travels with her cat to the town she visited as a child, only to learn it was the scene of a murder and she was the only witness. My review.

The Serial Garden by Joan Aiken (2008). This is a short story collection I had never read about the Armitage family: Mark, Harriet, and their long-suffering parents who live in an ordinary English town but have frequent encounters with magic. My review.

The Tin Woodman of Oz by L. Frank Baum (1918). In the twelfth Oz book, Baum looks at the Tin Woodman’s backstory and his long-ago romance with Nimmie Amee. Review to come.

Mystery of the Secret Message by Elizabeth Honess (1961). After her father dies, Penny receives his last package: a gift of Japanese art that turns out to contain a secret message. Her new neighbors seem unduly interested in anything Asian in her home and Penny’s suspicions of them are confirmed when she overhears a conversation from the elevator though the walls.  But what is the message and what does it mean?

Date with a Career by Jan Nickerson (1958). When Saphronia Adams is sent to spend her senior year of high school with her grandmother in Massachusetts, she is determined to enjoy the new experience but not be sidetracked from her goal of becoming a fashion designer in New York. My review.