Monthly Summary, May 2020

I read eight books this month and I reviewed five of them before putting up my monthly summary. That is an achievement for me. Probably not one I will continue with, because I have so many reviews from earlier in the year that I haven't done for challenges. Oh well.

I read two books from my Classics Club list, The Master and Margarita and And Then There Were None. Five books were from my TBR pile, two were borrowed from my husband, and one book I bought in March of this year.

And here is my list of books...

General Fiction

The Provincial Lady in America (1934)
by E.M. Delafield

I wrote a post on the first three Provincial Lady books, including this one, here. They are all written in diary form and are a lot of fun to read.

The Master and Margarita (1966)
by Mikhael Bulgakov
Translated from the Russian by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky

This is a Russian classic novel written in the 1930's and finished shortly before the author died in 1940, at the age of 49. The novel was finally published in Russia in 1966. It combines humor with magical realism and was a difficult read for me. My review here.

Science Fiction

The Collapsing Empire (2017) by John Scalzi

This is the first book in a science fiction trilogy about an empire of worlds connected by travel via The Flow. See my review here.

Crime Fiction

The Awkward Squad (2015) by Sophie Hénaff
Translated from the French by Sam Gordon

A police detective, Anne Capestan, has been suspended for six months and expects her superior, Buron, to end her employment. Instead he gives her a new department made up of misfits and rejects from other areas; the mission is to follow up on unsolved cases. This premise sounds similar to that of The Keeper of Lost Causes by Jussi Adler-Olsen (set in Denmark). This one is set in France, and it is more humorous in tone. 

And Then There Were None (1939) by Agatha Christie

Ten strangers are invited to an isolated island mansion by a mysterious unknown person who identifies himself as "U.N. Owen." See my review. When I posted my review I had completely forgotten that I purchased a copy of the facsimile first edition, so I am sharing that image here. 

Fearless Jones (2001) by Walter Mosley

First book in the Fearless Jones series. My review here.

The Accident (2014) by Chris Pavone

In March of this year, I read The Expats by Chris Pavone. I loved that book, and looked for Pavone's second book immediately. I had the same reaction to this book. I liked this book for its insights into the publishing industry. A group of people is  trying to suppress the publication of a manuscript. This isn't specifically spy fiction but it certainly reads like it, and the hunt to track down the manuscript is headed by a CIA operative.

At Risk (2004) by Stella Rimington

Liz Carlyle is an MI5 officer working in counterintelligence. In this first book in the series, she is provided information on possible terrorist activity in her area. The author was director general of MI5, so one assumes that she knows the subject. I liked it and will continue the series.