Spring Magic by D.E. Stevenson (1941). When a bomb disrupts Frances’ lonely life during the Blitz as an unpaid companion to her aunt, she seizes the opportunity for an adventure on her own in Scotland, where she makes friends and starts to enjoy herself. My review.
The Ivy Tree by Mary Stewart (1961). A wonderful impersonation story set in Northumberland that begins when visiting Canadian Mary Grey is mistaken for Annabel Winslow, who disappeared nearly ten years ago. My review.
Historical Fiction
Devil Water by Anya Seton (1962). An emotional family epic set in England and Virginia involving a Jacobite family and its disastrous involvement with the uprisings of 1715 and 1745. My review.
The Harvey Girl by Dana Stabenow ( 2026). In this series launch, Clare Wright is a Pinkerton agent asked to work undercover as a Harvey Girl. I really enjoyed the descriptions of being a Harvey Girl but found the actual mystery hard to follow at the end. My review.
Devil Water by Anya Seton (1962). An emotional family epic set in England and Virginia involving a Jacobite family and its disastrous involvement with the uprisings of 1715 and 1745. My review.
The Paris Novel by Ruth Reichl (2023). When Stella’s mother dies, her last instructions are for Stella to use her small inheritance on a trip to Paris. At first, she is just going through the motions but everything changes when she tries on a glamorous dress from a vintage shop, starts making friends, and seeing the real Paris! My review.
Historical Romance
Marry in Haste by Jane Aiken Hodge (1961). When Camilla loses her job as a governess and is offered a marriage of convenience by an attractive nobleman, out of desperation, she agrees and begins a stressful new life with him in Portugal. My review.
Mystery/Suspense
Dark Horse by Gregg Hurwitz (2022) (audio). Evan is asked to rescue the teenage daughter of a drug cartel leader and he wrestles with the fact that he is helping someone he considers a criminal (look in the mirror much?). Worst of all, after witnessing a traumatic situation, he allows himself to be cruel to his protegee, Joey! Usually, the reader is very sympathetic to Evan’s self-doubt/unwillingness to believe he can be anything but an assassin, but I was annoyed with him in this book.
Still Life by Val McDermid (2020). In the sixth book, DCI Karen Pirie investigates two cold cases: a body found at sea connected to a decade-old missing person case and a skeleton in a camper, which leads to an art forgery case. She is also still coping with the fallout from the death of someone close to her.
The Drowning Ground by James Morrison (2015). An unusual debut - the detective is an Argentinian settled in the Cotswolds trying to link a murder to the disappearance of two girls seven years earlier. Unfortunately, I have to say this was literally forgettable. I did not remember until I was halfway through and checked Goodreads that I had read it when it first came out.
The Girl in the Cellar by Patricia Wentworth (1961). Anne wakes up in a dark cellar with a dead body and no recollection of who she is or how she got there. Luckily, she encounters Miss Silver soon thereafter and she immediately realizes Anne is in shock and needs help. My review.
Historical Romance
Marry in Haste by Jane Aiken Hodge (1961). When Camilla loses her job as a governess and is offered a marriage of convenience by an attractive nobleman, out of desperation, she agrees and begins a stressful new life with him in Portugal. My review.
Dark Horse by Gregg Hurwitz (2022) (audio). Evan is asked to rescue the teenage daughter of a drug cartel leader and he wrestles with the fact that he is helping someone he considers a criminal (look in the mirror much?). Worst of all, after witnessing a traumatic situation, he allows himself to be cruel to his protegee, Joey! Usually, the reader is very sympathetic to Evan’s self-doubt/unwillingness to believe he can be anything but an assassin, but I was annoyed with him in this book.
The Hiding Season by Ava Glass (2026). I was expecting another book about intriguing spy Emma Makepeace (not her real name) but instead got a standalone about down-on-her luck Maya Landry, who takes a job that pays suspiciously too much at a remote resort. When she finds a dead body and reports it to the police, she becomes the target of the killers and has to go on the run. This was very readable but melancholy and not as enjoyable as the other series.
Some Kind of Hero by Suzanne Brockmann (2017). I used to eagerly anticipate every new book by Brockmann and I guess she has stopped writing. This is part of the Troubleshooters series, featuring Navy SEAL Lieutenant Peter Greene, a single father whose teenage daughter goes missing and the attractive neighbor who helps him find her.
The Drowning Ground by James Morrison (2015). An unusual debut - the detective is an Argentinian settled in the Cotswolds trying to link a murder to the disappearance of two girls seven years earlier. Unfortunately, I have to say this was literally forgettable. I did not remember until I was halfway through and checked Goodreads that I had read it when it first came out.
Blood on the Tracks by Barbara Nickless (2016). The main character in this series launch is railroad police officer Sydney Rose Parnell and her K-9 partner, Clyde, both suffering from PTSD from their military service in Iraq. They get involved in a murder involving homeless veterans who ride the trains for free. This had an interesting setting but was too dark and depressing.
Zero Days by Ruth Ware (2023); narrator, Imogen Church (audio). When Jack’s husband is murdered, she is devastated and it is even more painful to realize she is the primary suspect. Like any self respecting heroine, she goes on the run to solve the case faster than the police. I liked the descriptions of her hiding from the police (and other bad guys) as being realistic - for example, she begins to look like a homeless person from sleeping outside and at one point a kind person in a cafe won’t let her pay for food.
Juvenile and YA
Emily’s Runaway Imagination by Beverly Cleary (1961). Cleary’s only historical novel is about a girl who lives on a farm and whose wild imagination results in all sorts of escapades, while her energetic mother fights for a town library. My review.
One of Fred's Girls by Elisabeth Friermood (1970). Tired of her job as a hired girl in Indiana, eighteen-year-old Bonny answers an ad for waitresses in a frontier town in New Mexico Territory and leaves her family to become a Harvey Girl. My review.
When Love Speaks by Amelia Elizabeth Walden (1961). Miranda Welch’s summer at the American Shakespeare Festival helps her recognize that she wants to be an actress. Because it’s 1961, there are two young men who want to help her develop her talent and ultimately she will have to choose between them. My review.
Emily’s Runaway Imagination by Beverly Cleary (1961). Cleary’s only historical novel is about a girl who lives on a farm and whose wild imagination results in all sorts of escapades, while her energetic mother fights for a town library. My review.
When Love Speaks by Amelia Elizabeth Walden (1961). Miranda Welch’s summer at the American Shakespeare Festival helps her recognize that she wants to be an actress. Because it’s 1961, there are two young men who want to help her develop her talent and ultimately she will have to choose between them. My review.
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