Books Read in January 2025

 

With the exception of one book, I was very happy with the books I read in January. I read two books for the Japanese Literary Challenge. I read several new-to-me authors and continued some series I had started earlier. 

Fiction

The Travelling Cat Chronicles (2012) by Hiro Arikawa
Translated by Philip Gabriel

This was the first book I read for the Japanese Literary Challenge. It is the story of a man and his cat, which he adopted after the cat was hit by a car. After they have lived together for five years, the man has to find a new home for the cat. They travel to various parts of Japan to visit with several of the man's old friends to see it they can take the cat in. See my review.

Anything Is Possible (2017) by Elizabeth Strout

This book, the second book in the Amgash series, consists of linked short stories. Some of the stories give more information about Lucy Barton and members of her family who still live in Amgash. Other stories are about other residents of Amgash, who are in some way connected to Lucy Barton. I liked it and am ready to start something else by Strout. See my review. 

Crime Fiction

Parting Breath (1978) by Catherine Aird 

Parting Breath is an academic mystery set in Catherine Aird's fictional county of Calleshire, England; it features Detective Inspector C.D. Sloan of the Berebury CID, and his assistant, Detective Constable Crosby. The first book of the series was published in 1966 and the 28th book in 2023. Catherine Aird is one of my favorite mystery writers, and I hope to read all the books in the series. See my review.

The Woman in Cabin 10 (2016) by Ruth Ware

I had not read any of Ware's books, I was curious, and I thought I would like a book about a woman on a cruise.  For most of the book I was not too impressed. There were no characters I cared about, and especially not the main character. But the end was very well done and kept me turning the pages, so I revised my overall opinion a bit.   

The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies (2023) by Alison Goodman

My husband and I were both interested in this book when it first came out; the setting in the Regency period was appealing. The story is a good blend of historical fiction, mystery, romance, and adventure, with the emphasis on adventure. Some of the scenes of life in Regency England, depicting the way the poor were treated and the mistreatment of women in general, are excruciating to read. Overall, I enjoyed the book and expect that I will read the sequel.

Thirteen Guests (1936) by J. Jefferson Farjeon

In mid-January, Neeru at A Hot Cup of Pleasure reviewed five books by J. Jefferson Farjeon. Her post motivated me to read one of Farjeon's books. I found that my husband had a copy of Thirteen Guests in his TBR stacks, so I started reading it. It is a country house mystery and I enjoyed it much more than I expected. I liked the characters and how the author developed them, and there was some romance that did not take over the story. And I especially liked the unusual ending.

Three Assassins (2004) by Kōtarō Isaka
Translated by Sam Malissa

This was the second book I read for the Japanese Literature Challenge. The author also wrote Bullet Train, and the two books are similar in many ways. The main character is Suzuki, who was formerly a schoolteacher but is working for a crime gang. Suzuki is seeking revenge for the murder of his wife by working undercover in the gang. See my review.

Currently reading

I am about a third of the way into Fall from Grace by L.R. Wright, published in 1991. It is the fourth book in a series starring Karl Alberg, a staff sergeant in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Sechelt, British Columbia, Canada. I am enjoying it very much.

In early February, my husband and I had jury duty. Although the trial we were called for was not being tried at the main courthouse, we did visit the beautiful Santa Barbara County Courthouse while we were there. My husband took some photos, and I am sharing two of them in this post. Click on the images for the best viewing quality.

Parting Breath: Catherine Aird

Parting Breath is an academic mystery set in Catherine Aird's fictional county of Calleshire, England; it features Detective Inspector C.D. Sloan of the Berebury CID, and his assistant, Detective Constable Crosby.

The first sentence of the book is:

“The trouble with universities,” pronounced Professor Tomlin, “is the undergraduates.”

A protest by students is threatened because a student has been sent down (suspended or expelled?). The protesters plan to take over the Almstone Administration building for their sit-in.  After the sit-in begins, a dead body on the Quad of Tarsus College is reported. Inspector Sloan is assigned the case and DC Crosby accompanies him to the scene. The dead man is a student and his last words before dying were cryptic: "twenty six minutes". 

Soon after that, the porter locks down the administration building, so that the college and the police know where the students taking part in the sit-in are. This limits the suspects to students who ignored the strike or faculty or staff who were not locked into the building. But there are still a lot of suspects to sift through, and the investigation is very complex.

My thoughts:

• I enjoy the subtle humor in Catherine Aird's writing. There are jokes and sly comments about education and teaching undergraduates and getting along with the professors. 
• There is not a lot abut the personal lives of the policemen in the Sloan and Crosby series. But in this case, Inspector Sloan's wife is pregnant with their first child. Sloan assumes the child will be a boy, and mulls about which rugby position the child will play while he investigates. He also worries how it will be for a child to grow up as the child of a policeman. This shows the reader another side of Sloan. 
• The only negative element of this one is the complexity with so many characters it is hard to keep track. Other reviewers pointed out that the reader does not have enough information to solve the mystery; too many important clues show up too late. That did not matter to me. I enjoyed the academic setting and the characters very much.
• I have now read eight of the Sloan and Crosby series by Catherine Aird, and I can say that she is one of my favorite mystery writers. The first book of the series was published in 1966 and the 28th book in 2023. Some of the books in this series are more serious, although they all have elements of humor. I would put Henrietta Who? and A Late Phoenix in that category. The Stately Home Murder, on the other hand, is lighter and has some very funny moments.

I finished reading this book on January 1st. After I finished the book, I was doing some research and saw at Martin Edward's blog, Do You Write Under Your Own Name?, that Catherine Aird died on December 21, 2024 at age 94. See his remembrance post about her and his review of Parting Breath.

Curtis Evans of The Passing Tramp blog has also written a RIP post for Catherine Aird, with much information about her life and her writing.

 -----------------------------

Publisher:   Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1978 (orig. pub. 1977)
Length:      186 pages
Format:      Hardcover
Series:       Inspector Sloan #7
Setting:      UK
Genre:       Police procedural
Source:      On my TBR shelves since 2010.

Six Degrees of Separation: From The Optimist's Daughter to Wave Me Goodbye

 

The Six Degrees of Separation meme is hosted by Kate at booksaremyfavoriteandbest. The idea behind the meme is to start with a book and use common points between two books to end up with links to six books, forming a chain. The common points may be obvious, like a word in the title or a shared theme, or more personal. Every month Kate provides the title of a book as the starting point. Last month she did not supply a title and asked us to start with the last book on our previous Six Degrees post. So for me, the starting book will be The Optimist's Daughter by Eudora Welty.

The Optimist's Daughter was published in 1972 and won the 1973 Pulitzer Prize for fiction. Laurel McKelva Hand is a widow, living and working in Chicago. Laurel returns to her hometown in Mississippi for her father's funeral. The story explores her relationship with her father, her mother who died when she was younger, and her new stepmother who is much younger than her father and has inherited the house that Laurel grew up in. It also focuses on her memories of losing her husband during World War II, not very long after they were married. There is a lot of depth to the novel, which is only 180 pages long.

1st degree:

I chose the first book in my chain, Kissing the Gunner's Daughter, because of the title, the mention of a daughter. It is a perfect link, because there are two daughters that figure in the story. This is the 15th book in the Ruth Rendell Inspector Wexford series. A family is attacked at dinner time and a famous author and her daughter and son-in-law are killed. Only the teenage granddaughter lives through the attack. And while Wexford is investigating this horrible crime, he is worried about his daughter Sheila, who is in a relationship he disapproves of. Kissing the Gunner's Daughter is a dark story of psychological suspense.

2nd degree:

My next book, Henrietta Who?, is also a police procedural mystery which features a daughter. Grace Jenkins has been killed in a hit and run accident. When her daughter is called home from college, Henrietta learns that she cannot be Grace's daughter because the woman has never had a child. This is not only the search for a murderer but also the story of a very young woman coming to terms with questions about her parents and her origins.

3rd degree:

My next book in the chain takes me to The Hollow by Agatha Christie, which features another character named Henrietta. This is the 25th book in the Hercule Poirot series although as I remember it, there is not much of Poirot in the book. The story is built around a country house weekend; the characters are interesting, somewhat quirky, and all seem to be hiding something. Henrietta Savernake is a successful sculptor who is in love with Dr. John Christow, who has a wife and children.

4th degree:

Gallows Court is the first book in a relatively new series by Martin Edwards featuring Rachel Savernake, the daughter of a hanging judge, and an amateur sleuth. The setting is London in the 1930s. I have not read this book but the series is doing well and I am eager to try it soon.

5th degree:

My next link is to Perfect Gallows by Peter Dickinson. This book is about a murder that occurs in 1944 in the UK, on an estate occupied by US forces preparing for the invasion of France. It is primarily set during World War II, with a framing story set in 1988. Peter Dickinson was a wonderful writer who has written many books in the mystery and fantasy genres.

6th degree:

Using World War II as a link, my next book is Wave Me Goodbye: Stories of the Second World War. The book is comprised of short stories that take place during the war or the years immediately afterward; the authors are all women and all but one story was written during that time. The stories are mostly home front stories. I have read only a few stories in that book so far.

My chain starts out in Mississippi in the US but moves to the UK after that. Was there any connection between the first book and the last? Only the tenuous connection to World War II because the death of Laurel's husband was connected to that conflict.

Have you read any of these books? And where did your list take you, if you participated in this month's Six Degrees meme?

The next Six Degrees will be on March 2, 2024, and the starting book will be Tom Lake by Ann Patchett.

Books Read in June 2022

In June I read seven books, six of them from my 20 Books of Summer list. I enjoyed all of them, so it has been a good reading month.

And here are the books I read...

General Fiction

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine (2017) by Gail Honeyman

I loved this book. Most reviews talked about how funny it was; I found it much more serious. It is about a woman who is socially awkward, in this case as a result of traumatic events in her past. It was set in Glasgow, and I felt that the setting was used very well.

Historical Fiction

The Assault (1982) by Harry Mulisch

This was a great read, brief and straightforward. Set in the Netherlands, it starts with a horrendous event that occurs near the end of World War II in the Netherlands. This novel takes that one event and shows how it affected the people who were involved.  It continues up to 1980. The story is based on a real event that happened during the war. My full review here.

Fantasy

Lincoln in the Bardo (2017) by George Saunders

I am not very comfortable describing this book as fantasy, I think it is more a blend of historical fiction and magical realism. And it is full of supernatural elements. But that is the problem with labeling books and a topic for another day. The story is set in 1862 in the first year of the Civil War in the US. President Lincoln's eleven-year-old son, Willie, has died and Lincoln visits his body at the crypt several times. As I understand it, one definition of the bardo is a transitional stage between death and rebirth. I liked reading the book, but I am sure I missed a lot and much of it mystified me.

Crime Fiction

The Long Goodbye (1953) by Raymond Chandler

We recently purchased a Blu-ray version of The Long Goodbye starring Elliott Gould, and I wanted to read the book before watching the film again (after 20 years). This is one of the best books in the Philip Marlowe series; I liked it nearly as well at The Big Sleep. It is the sixth book in the series and it seemed more aimless than the other three I have read. Marlowe is more cynical and there is more social commentary. All of which I enjoyed. And the writing is beautiful.

Some Die Eloquent (1979) by Catherine Aird

This is the eighth book in Catherine Aird's police procedural series; I enjoyed all the previous books in this series and this was no exception. This one is about a chemistry teacher who has died at 59 of complications from diabetes. The police get involved when they realize she has just come into a lot of money. Of course there are plenty of suspects, mostly family members. (And I love this cover. Look at the colors of those gorgeous flowers.)

A Quiet Life in the Country (2014) by T. E. Kinsey

This is a historical mystery series with a lot of humor. I was attracted by the premise of a lady and her maid solving mysteries, but I was not sure how that would work given the class differences in England in 1908. Lady Hardcastle and her maid Flo are more friends than mistress and servant, and each has skills that complement the other. The early 1900s is a time that I haven't read much about (in fiction or nonfiction). I really like the characters. Cath at Read-warbler recommended this book, and I am so glad I read it. I have already started reading the second book in the series. 

A Pitying of Doves (2015) by Steve Burrows

The second book in the Birder Murder Mystery Series. The protagonist is DCI Domenic Jejeune and the setting is the Norfolk town of Saltmarsh. At this point, DCI Jejeune is still new to the area. He originally came from Canada, then worked in London. He clashes with his immediate superior quite often. So not a lot different from the usual police procedural series except for the emphasis on birding and the beautiful surroundings. I will be continuing this series.

Currently reading

At this point in July I am reading:

• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• In the Market for Murder by T. E. Kinsey
• Agatha Christie: A Mysterious Life by Laura Thompson

None of those are on my 20 Books of Summer list. The Great Gatsby is my Classics Club Spin book.

The photos at the top and bottom of the post are of chalk paintings at the I Modannari Italian Street Painting Festival at the Santa Barbara Mission this year. Click on the images for best viewing quality.

Reading Summary for March 2022

 

I read seven books this month and every one of them was very good. Five books of crime fiction, one historical fiction, one general fiction. Two books published between 2000 and 2020, three books published between 1960 and 2000, and two books published in the 1950s. Five books by women, two by men.

General Fiction

Watermelon (1995) by Marian Keyes

Claire found out that her husband wanted a divorce on the day her first child was born. Claire had no clue that her husband was unhappy with the marriage and was having an affair with a woman that they both know. Her reaction is to leave London, where she works and lives with her husband, and go to Dublin and stay with her parents for a few months. My review here.

Historical Fiction

The Spies of Shilling Lane (2019) by Jennifer Ryan

This is historical fiction set during World War II. However, I was not sure how to categorize it because there are elements of spy fiction in the book; some of the characters are intelligence agents for the government. There is a mystery, and many characters who may or may not be who they seem. The main character is a middle aged woman divorced by her husband, who goes looking for her daughter living in London, and gets mixed up with Fascist spies. I did not find that part of it terribly realistic, but I still liked it. 

Crime Fiction

A Most Contagious Game (1967) by Catherine Aird

This was Aird's only standalone novel. Thomas Harding and his wife Dora have moved from London to a manor house in Easterbrook. Harding retired early because his health was bad, and he doesn't like the quiet life he is leading... until he finds a skeleton in a hidden room in his house (which turns out to be a priest hole that had been plastered over). This mystery was not a police procedural like Aird's Inspector Sloane series, but there is a death in the village about the same time. The story of Harding's research into the skeleton's origins and his settling into the small town with his wife was excellent. 

Death Likes It Hot (1954) by Edgar Box

Edgar Box is a pseudonym of Gore Vidal. Vidal used it at a time when he was having a hard time getting books published. This book is the third of three books featuring Peter Sargeant, a publicist and amateur sleuth. This one is set in the Hamptons. I have an omnibus edition published in 2010 with introductions for each book by Gore Vidal. I loved the book.

Monk's Hood (1980) by Ellis Peters

This is the third book in the Brother Cadfael series. The setting for the books in the series is between 1135 and 1145 in England and Wales, primarily. I love this series; Brother Cadfael is a wonderful character. My review here.

Once a Crooked Man (2016) by David McCallum

This book by actor David McCallum was published in 2016 and is a thriller. A crime family decides to go straight but first they have a few people they want to silence so they won't be going to jail for past crimes. An actor who survives on small parts in TV episodes and movies and stage plays overhears what they are plotting and get mixed up in all the mayhem, mainly because he wanted to do a good deed and warn one of the victims. This was the perfect read for me at this time, and I enjoyed it a lot. There are a lot of very short chapters and they move from character to character, which some readers might find distracting. I like this style of writing so it worked well for me. It kept the tension level up. Nicely paced with a lot of humor.

The Gazebo (1955) by Patricia Wentworth

Patricia Wentworth's books are my go-to comfort read. The Gazebo, the 7th book in the Miss Silver series, was published in 1955 and is a story about a woman who had to drop her plans to marry her fiancé to take care of her invalid mother for five years. Now he is back in the village and they are going to find a way to get around her controlling mother and get married. Then the mother is murdered and the fiancé seems to be the obvious culprit. The plot is complex, there was more romance in the story than usual, and I enjoyed it. And there are some really bad guys, which is sort of unusual for the Miss Silver series.

Status of my reading:

Most of my reading in March was based on spur of the moment decisions, not much planning. Watermelon was read for the Reading Ireland event at 746 Books, which always takes place in March. Death Likes It Hot was read for the 1954 Club run by Simon at Stuck in a Book and Kaggsy at Kaggsy's Bookish Ramblings. The other five books were just for fun, and I enjoyed that.

In April I have read three books at this point, and all of them are for a challenge or similar blogging event. I read another book for the 1954 Club (Go, Lovely Rose by Jean Potts)and I finally read a book for the TBR Pile Challenge (Dog On It by Spencer Quinn). I read my book for the Classics Club Spin, Beast in View by Margaret Millar.

The photo at the top of the post shows a succulent among overgrown Santa Barbara daisies. The two plant photos immediately above are geraniums and an overgrown Dusty Miller. The photo of the Dusty Miller looks like a black and white photo, but it is just that the plant is all white. If you look closely you can sent tints of light green here and there. All of the plant photos were taken in early April in the front garden beds that I have been working on cleaning up.  As usual, my husband took those photos. Click on the images for best viewing quality.

Reading Summary, October 2018

I read eleven books this month. One book was a re-read. One book was a fantasy, the rest were crime fiction. About half the books I read were vintage mysteries. I started one new (to me) series, and continued a few more recent series that I am glad I returned to.

FANTASY FICTION

The Halloween Tree (1972) by Ray Bradbury

This book is described as being both as fantasy and horror fiction. I would  categorize it more as spooky, not so much horror. I was initially attracted to this book because of it cover. It is a  charming children's book that I can see myself re-reading every Halloween. My thoughts are here.

CRIME FICTION reads in October:

Behind That Curtain (1928) by Earl Derr Biggers

My first book in October was a return to the Charlie Chan series. Although there were many Charlie Chan movies released in the 1930's and 40's, there were only six novels in the series. This one is set in San Francisco, and Charlie meets a retired Inspector from Scotland Yard, Sir Frederic Bruce, who has come to the US to continue the investigation of a case he was never able to solve. My husband and I are both fans of this series.  

The Case of the Weird Sisters (1943) by Charlotte Armstrong

I picked up quite a few books by Armstrong at the 2017 Planned Parenthood book sale, but I had not read any of them. Colm Redmond's review at Clothes in Books motivated me to read this one. I remember Armstrong's books as being just a bit more creepy and weird than I like but this one was "pleasantly creepy" as described on the cover.

The Book of the Dead (1944) by Elizabeth Daly

I remember Elizabeth Daly as one of my favorite authors from the 1940's, but it had been a long time since I had read one of her books. I was glad to find that I still enjoy her writing. My review here.

The Mirror Crack'd (1962) by Agatha Christie

This is a Miss Marple mystery and I always enjoy a visit with that elderly sleuth. This time Miss Marple is really feeling her age, which made me sad. But her wits are just as sharp as ever and I liked the picture of the changing times in St. Mary's Mead, with a new housing development and more modern shops.

The Water Rat of Wanchai (2011) by Ian Hamilton

This is the most current book that I read this month. Ava Lee is a forensic accountant who works for a family friend, Mr. Chow, who she calls Uncle. Ava is Chinese-Canadian, living in Toronto, but Uncle is based in Hong Kong. Together they track down large sums of money for their clients. I found this story to be a bit over the top but it engaged me so much I will be coming back for more. A book by a Canadian author with a setting initially in Toronto, but later the action moves to many other parts of the world. 

And Be a Villain (1948) by Rex Stout

This book, the 13th in the Nero Wolfe series, is the first in a trilogy that features Wolfe's archnemesis, Arnold Zeck. This is a re-read for me, of course. In this case, the characters are a radio talk show host, Madeline Fraser, and her entourage. A guest on the show dies from poisoning, and Wolfe investigates. An enjoyable read, as always.

His Burial Too (1973) by Catherine Aird

This is the fifth installment in the Inspector C.D. Sloan book series by Catherine Aird. The novels are set in the fictional County of Calleshire, England, and also feature Sloan's assistant, Detective Constable Crosby. Although Sloan usually tries to avoid working with Crosby because he is generally inept. There is always an element of humor in the stories, although it is not prominent. I must mention here that this is a locked room mystery, since I forgot to say that in my review.

A Colder Kind of Death (1994) by Gail Bowen

The fourth mystery in the Joanne Kilbourn series. This book won the Arthur Ellis award for Best Novel in 1995. At this point in the series, Joanne is a widow, with older children, but now raising an adopted child, the daughter of a close friend who died. She is an educator who is deeply involved in politics. In this book, the man who killed her husband a few years earlier has been shot and killed while in prison, and the fallout from that event reveals secrets and surprises for Joanne. Another book by a Canadian author, set in Saskatchewan.

The Shortest Day (1995) by Jane Langton

The 11th book in the Homer Kelly series. This story is set in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where Homer and Mary Kelly are teaching a class at Harvard University. Mary is participating in the annual Christmas Revels when a young singer in the event dies in an automobile accident. When other deaths follow, Homer resists getting involved, even though he was once a homicide detective. This book centers around the production of the Revels and an activist group seeking housing for the homeless; the author illustrated the story with her own pen and ink drawings. 

Blood and Rubles (1996) by Stuart M. Kaminsky

The Inspector Rostnikov series began in 1981 when Russia was still part of the USSR; the 16th and  last book in the series was published in 2009. I am now at book 10 in the series. The protagonist is Moscow detective, Chief Inspector, Porfiry Rostnikov. Per the book cover: "Crime in post-communist Russia has only gotten worse: rubles are scarce; blood, plentiful. In the eyes of Inspector Porfiry Rostnikov and his metropolitan police team, newfound democracy has unleashed the desperation that pushes people over the edge, and has emboldened those already on the path to hell. ...A trio of nasty cases confirms their worst fears."

His Burial Too: Catherine Aird

Richard Tindall, of Strothers and Tindall (Precision, Investigation, and Development Engineers), is missing. He wasn't in his bed when his daughter got up and it looked like he never returned home the night before. He isn't at his office. And then a body is found in a church tower under the wreckage of a huge sculpture which had been temporarily stored in the tower. And thus begins a mystery with a very complex solution.

Inspector C.D. Sloan is sent to investigate, and takes along Detective Inspector Crosby, who often (always?) features in these stories. Crosby is generally inept and not much help in the investigation; he is good with cars but that is about all. Sloan is unusually grumpy with Crosby's foibles in this book, or so it seemed to me.

I found the story especially interesting because Tindall's company is involved in research and development in the scientific area, there are other businesses competing to buy the company, and the staff is somewhat eccentric. There are many suspects and red herrings. I did not catch any clues to the killer but I did have an inkling who it was, probably just because I read so many mysteries.

The writing itself is not spectacular but I enjoyed the story all the same. It must be the characters, her way of developing the plot, and the humor that keeps me coming back for more.

There were some good clothes descriptions also, that tell the reader something about the characters. Here Inspector Sloan meets Fenella, Richard Tindall's daughter, for the first time.

There was something a little unexpected about her appearance—almost foreign. ... 

It was high summer in England and this girl was wearing brown. Not a floral silk pattern, not a cheerful cotton, nor even a pastel linen such as his own wife, Margaret, was wearing today. And dark brown. It was a simple, utterly plain dress, unadorned save for a solitary string of white beads. 

He was surprised to note that the whole effect was strangely cool-looking There was the faintest touch of auburn in the colouring of her hair which was replicated in the brown of the dress. A purist might have said that her mouth was rather too big to be perfect but ...  

Sloan wasn't a purist. He was a policeman. On duty. He took a step forward. 

I have now read five of the Sloan and Crosby series by Catherine Aird, and I can say that she is one of my favorite mystery writers. Some of the books in this series are more serious, although they all have elements of humor. I would put Henrietta Who? and A Late Phoenix in that category. Also The Religious Body which I read before blogging. For that book, see this Spotlight by Margot at Confessions of a Mystery Novelist... This book and The Stately Home Murder are more on the lighter side,  emphasizing the wit and humor more.

See other reviews at Clothes in Books, Tipping My Fedora, and Classic Mysteries.

 -----------------------------

Publisher:   Rue Morgue Press, 2009 (orig. pub. 1973)
Length:      159 pages
Format:      Hardcover
Series:       Inspector Sloan #5
Setting:      UK (Calleshire, fictional county)
Genre:       Police procedural
Source:      I purchased this book.

A Late Phoenix: Catherine Aird

From the summary at Rue Morgue Press:

Young Dr. Latimer has no sooner opened his surgery on Lamb Lane in Berebury than he is called upon to examine a dead body. Actually a skeleton, it was discovered during the excavation of the bomb site across the street, now in the process of redevelopment, and it belonged to a young woman who was apparently trapped in a cellar during the June 1941 bombing which leveled the houses on the site. ... First published in 1970, it's the author's fifth book and the fourth to feature her durable Inspector Sloan.

I have read the first four books in the Inspector Sloan series by Catherine Aird, and I am a fan of this author. I like the police procedural aspects. In addition, each book I have read so far has a different theme or setting. The Stately Home Murder is about a death in a 300-room estate that has been open to the public for tours. It is humorous and pokes fun at the Golden Age country house mystery, but in a nice way. The second book in the series, Henrietta Who?, concerns a young woman who discovers that the woman who has raised her is not really her mother. Thus it addresses the theme of identity within the framework of a murder investigation.

This book is different because it is about the investigation of a death that occurred during World War II. The book was written in and takes place in 1970, but Inspector Sloan is forced to learn more about history, the war, and events in the village during the war. Clearly Sloan must have been fairly young during the blackouts because he has to rely on the library to help him with some of his investigation of events that took place 30 years earlier. It is like investigating a cold case, but not, since no one even knew about the death until the body was discovered.

Reading this book was a bonus for me because I love books about World War II. Although the book was not set in that time, the investigation concerns the events of the war and addresses effects that the war had on communities for years afterwards.

Some reviews complain about the lack of characterization in the Sloan novels. Aird is given more credit for her plotting than her character development. Yet I did not find that to be true. No one character -- other than Sloan -- is prominent. Yet some of the secondary characters are very interesting. The young Dr. Latimer is new to the community and is enjoying his job and striving to fit in. His office manager is adjusting to working under a new doctor and misses the previous doctor, who she had worked with for decades. I also liked the picture of relationships within the small community.

Of course, when I was looking for book covers with skulls, and happened upon the next book in this series with this gorgeous cover, I had to get a copy.

 -----------------------------

Publisher:   Doubleday and Company, Inc., 1971 (orig. pub. 1970)
Length:      179 pages
Format:      Hardcover
Series:       Inspector Sloan #4
Setting:      UK
Genre:       Police procedural
Source:      I purchased this book.

Henrietta Who?: Catherine Aird

Henrietta Who? is a police procedural, set in the small village of Larking in England, published in 1968 by Catherine Aird. Her protagonist is Inspector C.D. Sloan of the Calleshire C.I.D. The locations are fictional but so well described that they feel real.

This was another short book (about 150 pages), with a very interesting premise. Grace Jenkins is the victim of a hit-and-run, initially assumed to be an accident. Her daughter Henrietta is called home from college but it turns out that she cannot be Grace's daughter because the woman has never had a child. Thus, all that the young woman thought she knew about her identity, and her parents, may be in question.

This is the story of the quest for a murderer where not much is known about the victim. But it is also the story of a very young woman coming to terms with questions about her parents and her origins. And a lovely picture of a village as described in this excerpt from the book:

   An outsider would have said Larking was typical of a thousand other English villages. And, as it happened, this was true, though the people of Larking wouldn't have liked it. It had all the appurtenances of a normal village and the usual complement of important-and self-important-people: two different groups.
   Spiritual leadership was provided by the Reverend Edward Bouverie Meyton (his father had been an admirer of Pusey). He lived at the Rectory on the green by the church (one Diocesan leaflet, three appeals, a Missionary newsletter, the quarterly report of the Additional Curates' Society and an interesting letter from the Calleshire Historical Association).
   Secular leadership came from James Augustus Heber Hibbs, Esquire, at The Hall (an assortment of bills, two closely typed pages of good advice from his stockbroker, a wine list, a picture postcard from his cousin Maude, and a letter from Scotland about a grouse moor).
   Harry Ford, postman, was not deceived. He knew as well as anyone else that real power-as opposed to leadership- was vested behind the counter at the Post Office cum General Store in the vast person of Mrs. Ricks (one seed catalogue: Mrs. Ricks rarely committed herself to paper).
   Larking shared a branch of the Women's Institute with the neighbouring hamlet of Belling St. Peter (Mrs. Hibbs was president) and a doctor with a cluster of small communities round about.
   And everyone thought they knew everything about everyone else.
   In which they were very mistaken.

A review of Aird's only non-series novel, A Most Contagious Game, in the book 1001 Midnights, by Bill Pronzini and Marcia Muller, has this to say about Aird's Inspector Sloan series:

   Catherine Aird excels at portraying the English countryside’s village life with all its petty prejudices, the gentry and near-gentry, and the castles and ruins that dot the landscape.
   Her series sleuth, Inspector C. S. Sloan, deals with them in the fond yet frustrated manner of a native. Sloan is competent yet low-key, a good foil for the oddities of the suspects.

I liked this book a lot and I recommend it.  The search for the murderer, and why behind the murder, is well plotted. There are clues, although I missed them. I suppose the culprit may have been easy to guess for some, but I wasn't close to guessing the solution.

The characters were interesting, and for the most part likable. Sloan is often irritated with the ambitious but plodding assistant assigned to him, and his chief is aggravating, but I found all of them entertaining characters. I don't want to gush, but I found Aird's writing witty and charming, without being sentimental or silly.

This is the 2nd book in a series that now includes 23 books. I have read the first one, The Religious Body, published in 1966, and the third, The Stately Home Murder (aka The Complete Steel).  I liked both. The last book (so far) in the series was published in 2013.

Other resources:

• Catherine Aird is the pseudonym of Kinn Hamilton McIntosh. The website of Rue Morgue Press, the publisher of the edition I read, has a detailed article about the author, if you would like to know more.
• There is a nice review of Henrietta Who? at Mystery File, which has a great cover image and an image of a map included in the original hardback edition (which I wish I could afford to own).

Reading in April and Mystery Pick of the Month

In the month of April I read eight books. I read two books that are not in the mystery genre. I read The Princess Bride by William Goldman. Also one non-fiction book, Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss.

I read six mysteries in April. Two vintage mysteries this month. Two mysteries written after 2005. And two mysteries written in between. A good balance. No historical mysteries this month, but some coming up soon.


The mysteries I read this month are:

1. The Stately Home Murder by Catherine Aird
2. The Ransom Game by Howard Engel
3. The Chinese Parrot by Earl Derr Biggers
4. Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie
5. Chinatown Beat by Henry Chang 
6. The Dark Winter by David Mark

The Crime Fiction Pick of the Month meme is hosted at Mysteries in Paradise. Bloggers link to summary posts for the month, and identify a crime fiction best read of the month. Check out the link here to see the other bloggers picks.

Once again I had trouble narrowing down my choice for Pick of the Month. I enjoyed all of the books, and it was hard to make comparisons because of the variety of mysteries I read. But this month I did pick one favorite.

My Pick of the Month is The Stately Home Murder by Catherine Aird. This is an unusual pick for me because it has a lot of humor, and I like my mysteries on the serious side.

The Stately Home Murder, published in 1969, is the third book in a twenty-two book series which is still being published. The author is definitely poking fun at many elements of country house mysteries in this book, but it is quite a good mystery in itself. As far as solving the crime, I did have some inklings along the way, at least regarding the why, but I am not sure I ever guessed who. I was entertained by the banter between various policemen and how some of them did not take all of the pomp of the stately home so seriously. The humor was dry and witty.

The Stately Home Murder: Catherine Aird

The Stately Home Murder by Catherine Aird is the third mystery in the series featuring Sloan and Crosby. It was originally published in 1969 in the UK as The Complete Steel. It is considered one of the best books in the series, and also the funniest. Since I have only read one other book by this author (within memory), I cannot speak to that. I can say that it is very entertaining.

The setting and the crime?
The thirteenth Earl of Ornum has reluctantly opened his home, Ornum House, to the public. His home is a 300-room estate with fine collections of china, art and antique weaponry. One young visitor has disappeared to the armory, which was not often visited because of poor access and lighting. He opens the visor on one of several suits of armor and finds a dead body.

The body is found to be that of Osborne Meredith, the Earl's archivist. Apparently he had recently made some disturbing discoveries and someone wanted to shut him up. Permanently.

Who is detecting?
Detective Inspector C. D. Sloan and his assistant, Detective Constable Crosby, are the policemen investigating the crime in this mystery.  The plot centers mostly on the progress of the police investigation, once the crime has occurred.

Crosby and Sloan are part of a small department in Berebury, headed by Superintendent Leeyes...

The information was not exactly welcomed at the nearest police station. In fact, the Superintendent of Police in Berebury was inclined to be petulant when he was told. He glared across his desk at the Head of his Criminal Investigation Department and said:
"You sure it isn't a false alarm, malicious intent?"
"A body in a suit of armour," repeated Detective Inspector C. D. Sloan, the bearer of the unhappy news.
"Perhaps it was a dummy," said Superintendent Leeyes hopefully. "False alarm, good intent."
"In Ornum House," went on Sloan.
"Ornum House?" The Superintendent sat up. He didn't like the sound of that at all. "You mean the place where they have all those day trippers?"
"Yes, sir." Sloan didn't suppose the people who paid their half crowns to go round Ornum House thought of themselves as day trippers, but there was no good going into that with the Superintendent now.

The series is often referred to as the Sloan and Crosby series, indicating that Crosby continues to help Sloan with his enquiries throughout the series. At the author's website, the series is called The Chronicles of Calleshire. Calleshire is a fictional location.

The other characters?
There are too many to list them all, but the primary players are the family and the Earl's employees. The Earl, of course, and his wife, Lady Millicent. The son and heir, Henry, and the daughter, Eleanor. Two nephews, one a black sheep in the family, the other the second in line in succession (and his wife). Two elderly, eccentric aunts. Gertrude, cousin to the earl, who tends to the china and porcelain. Not to forget the Earl's steward and the butler.

My take?
This book has a list of characters at the beginning. I often don't refer to such lists, but I like them anyway. And this time, I did find it useful a couple of times. I confess to getting the members of the household and their guests confused at times.

The book is definitely poking fun at many elements of country house mysteries, but is quite a good mystery in itself. I did have some inklings along the way, at least regarding the why, but I am not sure I ever guessed who. I was entertained by the banter between various policemen and how some of them did not take all of the pomp of the stately home so seriously. The humor was dry and witty.

I definitely plan to read more in this series. I previously read The Religious Body, which I remember as having an interesting mystery plot. I want to see how the series progresses from the late 1960's through each decade. There are currently twenty two books in the series, the last one published in 2010. There is a new book coming out in late April of this year, in the UK.

Other tidbits:
The title in the UK comes from a Hamlet quote:

"That thou, dead corse, again in complete steel
Revisit’st thus the glimpses of the moon..."

The explanation for the US title is fairly obvious.

Catherine Aird is the pen name of Kinn Hamilton McIntosh, born in 1930. There is a very detailed and interesting page about Catherine Aird at the Rue Morgue Press site, which has reprinted some of her mysteries.

This post is an entry for the Crime Fiction Alphabet for 2013.  Please visit the post at Mysteries in Paradise to check out other entries for this letter.

This year, I plan to stick to the theme of authors or books in the sub-genre of police procedurals. At Wikipedia, this is broadly defined as "a subgenre of detective fiction which attempts to convincingly depict the activities of a police force as they investigate crimes."

I was aware that I have a preference for mysteries where the detective is in the police force, but I was surprised to find how many mysteries I own that feature such detectives. This is a good opportunity to feature such stories I really like or read the ones I haven't gotten to yet.