April 2026 Reading

My best reads in April were The Paris Novel by Ruth Reichl and three rereads - Spring Magic by D.E. Stevenson (the ultimate in comfort reads as April was chilly and reading required a cozy blanket) and The Ivy Tree and Marry in Haste for the 1961 Club.

The Girl in the Cellar by Patricia Wentworth, for the 1961 Club

Most people think of Patricia Wentworth as a Golden Age of Detective Fiction writer whose books fall into the cozy category; however, The Girl in the Cellar opens with a very frightening scene.

The heroine has passed out and wakes up in darkness:

WWW Wednesday - Special 1961 Edition

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?

This post is a warm-up for Simon at Stuck in a Book and Karen at Kaggsy’s Bookish Ramblings’ 1961 Reading Challenge, which begins next week. It is always fun to select my books and see what everyone else has chosen!

Danger Point aka In the Balance by Patricia Wentworth

If you are experiencing a crisis, running into Miss Silver on the London train is most fortuitous. In her kind, decisive way, she will try to find out what is wrong:

“I came away in a hurry.”

“Why?” said Miss Silver.

“They said he was trying to kill me,” said Lisle Jerningham.

Six Degrees of Separation – from Flashlight to The Phoenix and the Carpet

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. February’s starting point is Flashlight by Susan Choi, about which the New York Times said, “This is a novel about exile in its multiple forms, and it reads like a history of loneliness.”

October 2025 Reading

This month's reading mostly focused on books published 100 years ago for the 1925 Club.  However, it was fun to see Lisa Scottoline and Maureen Corrigan in conversation, sponsored by a local library, and caused me to check out her second book.  I also spent a weekend in Deep Valley, MN for the Betsy-Tacy Convention, always a good time.

Mystery and Suspense

Grime and Punishment by Jill Churchill (1989). Jane Jeffry, recently widowed and raising three children, is busy with car pools and community commitments (and gossip).

The Dower House by Patricia Wentworth, for the #1925Club

Amabel Grey, a young widow living on a tiny income, is anguished when her daughter Daphne demands £200 so she can travel with friends to Egypt. She simply doesn’t have it. But when she visits her lawyer, she overhears an old acquaintance, Mr. George Forsham, complaining that three sets of tenants have left the Dower House he owns, claiming it was haunted. He asks the lawyer to find a caretaker who will stay for six months and, after he storms out, Amabel takes on the assignment, securing payment in advance.

April 2025 Reading

This post is much later than usual because of my trip to England, Belgium, and the Netherlands! I didn’t get much reading done once I got off the plane at Heathrow, but I did manage to acquire several books, which I will share later.

My favorite books in April were The Wedding People by Alison Espach and Wild Dark Shore, a haunting, angst-filled story set in an exotic location.  Whether or not you liked it, it was the sort of book that captures your attention even after you finish reading it. I also enjoyed The Far Country by Nevil Shute.

Ladies' Bane by Patricia Wentworth, for the #1952Club

It’s time for the 1952 Club, featuring books published that year and hosted this week by Simon at Stuck in a Book and Karen at Kaggsy’s Bookish Ramblings. The inimitable Miss Maud Silver, along with a young woman fighting for her sister’s happiness, are featured in my first selection, Ladies’ Bane.

March 2025 Reading

My favorite books this month were The Lost Passenger, which is much more than a Titanic story, a reread of The Heart Speaks Many Ways, and Just for the Summer, a contemporary romance set in Minnesota. I appreciated Prophet Song, the 2023 Booker winner, and its depiction of an authoritarian state but it was hard to enjoy something so much like our daily life and worries.

Lonesome Road by Patricia Wentworth - Miss Silver's third appearance

The third book about governess-turned-sleuth Miss Silver begins, as several do, with an individual who is nervous about seeking help; she hesitates at the very ordinary Montague Mansions building and regrets having come, yet musters her wits to continue and is encouraged by Miss Silver’s quiet confidence to share hitherto secret worries.

My December 2024 Reading

Somehow in a busy December, I read 12 adult books and four children’s or YA books (two of which were rereads), plus listened to three audio books (all crime fiction) driving back and forth to various places.  A few of these were intended as Christmas presents so I was trying to vet them first!  Overall, it was an outstanding reading year (see my Best of 2024 list).

The Astonishing Adventure of Jane Smith by Patricia Wentworth #DeanStreetDecember24

Jane Smith is alone in the world and down to her last two shillings and eleven pence when a strange young man mistakes her for her cousin Renata. Jane and Renata have never met but they are the daughters of identical twins – and are virtually identical themselves, at least in looks. 

My April 2024 Reading

Lots of good books in April, including some for the #1937Club, a spine-tingling Orphan X book, a book by Nicholas Stuart Gray I’d always wanted to read, and Mrs. Quinn’s Rise to Fame, which was the most delicious read of the month - I'm surprised I didn't gain weight just reading it!

The Case is Closed by Patricia Wentworth – a Miss Silver mystery for the #1937Club

Title: The Case is Closed
Author: Patricia Wentworth
Publication: Warner Books, paperback, originally published in 1937
Genre: Mystery/series
Setting: London and environs

It's the first day of the 1937 Club, hosted by Simon at Stuck in a Book and Karen at Kaggsy’s Bookish Ramblings to feature reviews of books published in that year.

My December 2023 Reads

Holiday shopping and planning prevented me from as many December reviews as I had planned but I read some good books, although none that made my top ten for the year.  The two best were The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena and Babbacombe's by Noel Streatfeild, writing as Susan Scarlett:

The Annam Jewel by Patricia Wentworth #DeanStreetDecember23

Title: The Annam Jewel
Author: Patricia Wentworth
Publication: Dean Street Press, paperback, originally published in 1925
Genre: Mystery
Setting: England

Description: Several years previously, James Waring partnered with two other unscrupulous men to steal the Annam Jewel from its shrine in a holy place in Asia. He did not survive for long but managed to tell part of his story and give the jewel to his brother, Henry.

Silence in Court by Patricia Wentworth

Title: Silence in Court
Author: Patricia Wentworth
Publication: Hodder & Stoughton, hardcover, originally published in 1945
Genre: Mystery
Setting: WWII London

Description: For three years during the war, Carey Silence worked as a secretary for a Member of Parliament, until a train they were on was machine-gunned by enemy aircraft.

My April 2023 Reads

April was a busy and varied month that I nearly forgot to share (I guess I did forget my March summary!). One book, in particular, stayed in my mind. I did not have a chance to review Wrong Place, Wrong Time, which I listened to while commuting and found somewhat compelling as the heroine finds herself reliving previous days in her life in a desperate attempt to change something that happened. My sister Clare read it about the same time (unplanned, as sometimes happens) but did not like it much. However, this is one that grew on me and I decided it was well done.

Grey Mask by Patricia Wentworth - introducing Miss Silver!

Title: Grey Mask
Author: Patricia Wentworth
Publication: Warner, paperback, originally published in 1928
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.