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 1929
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.

My January 2023 Reads

Not as much variety in my reading last month as usual.  My favorite book was The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman, second in a mystery series set in an upscale retirement community in Britain.

YA Historical Fiction

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys (2016). Three young people, thrown together by fate in East Prussia at the end of WWII, are among the thousands of refugees are on a desperate trek to reach the Wilhelm Gustloff, a ship that is evacuating civilians from the Russian army.

The Listening Eye: A Miss Silver Mystery by Patricia Wentworth

Title: The Listening Eye: A Miss Silver Mystery
Author: Patricia Wentworth
Publication: Warner, paperback, originally published in 1955
Genre: Mystery/Series
Setting: 20th century England

Description: Paulina Paine goes to an art gallery to see a painting done of her by David Moray, who rents her attic as his studio. The painting is called The Listener, reflecting the thoughtful look when she compensates for her loss of hearing by using other senses.

A Final Post for Dean Street December

This month, Liz of Adventures in Reading, Running and Working from Home has been hosting Dean Street December. As I have not finished my current book, I thought I would highlight some of my reading from Dean Street Press:

My October 2022 Reads

I read several entertaining books for the 1929 Club but the novel that most captured my interest last month was Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin. It is a mesmerizing story of friendship and collaboration spanning three decades, starting when the two protagonists meet in a hospital as teenagers, then reconnect when attending college in Cambridge and starting a venture together. As I was listening to the audio, I found myself telling everyone I encountered about this book, which I picked up because of Nancy Pearl’s recommendation.

Fool Errant by Patricia Wentworth

Title: Fool Errant
Author: Patricia Wentworth
Publication: 1929
Genre: Mystery
Setting: England between the Wars

Description: Hugo Ross is down on his luck - unemployed, no university degree, and has only £5 when he hears about a job as secretary to a well-known inventor, Ambrose Minstrel.

My May 2022 Reads

A busy month of reading - I expect June will include more visits to libraries and bookstores and less reading, but those are equally delightful pastimes!

Mystery/Suspense

She Shall Have Murder by Delano Ames (1948) – Everyone tells Jane Hamish she should write a book about the goings-on at her London law firm but when a client is murdered, she finally starts writing and her boyfriend enthusiastically takes on the investigation.  This is the first of a 12-book series; enjoyable but I am not sure I will pursue it because mostly out of print.  My review.

She Came Back by Patricia Wentworth

Title: She Came Back (UK title The Traveller Returns)
Author: Patricia Wentworth
Publication: Coronet Books, paperback, originally published in 1948
Genre: Mystery
Setting: WWII Britain

Description: After serving in Egypt and Tunisia, widower Philip Jocelyn was wounded and sent back to England. Soon he will begin working at the War Office but in the meantime, he is recuperating at his home, Jocelyn’s Holt, and is on the verge of falling in love with Lyndall Armitage, a quasi-cousin.