Spell the Month in Books — August 2025

 

Spell the Month in Books is a monthly meme hosted by Jana at Reviews from the Stacks. The link up post is posted on the first Saturday of each month. Each month one or two themes are suggested for the books that are chosen. The theme for August is “favorite authors.”

Once again, I am getting this post in very late in the month. 

A is for And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

This is one of Agatha Christie's most well-known mysteries. I have read at least 50 of Christie's mystery novels, but I did not read this one until 2020. I knew the general setup but had not watched any film adaptations, and was wondering how it all ends. Could it live up to the acclaim it has always gotten? It did for me. The writing is very suspenseful. I could not help trying to figure out not only who was the killer but how it was all managed. I did at one time suspect the actual culprit but Christie is very competent at making you second guess your deductions.

U is for Unruly Son by Robert Barnard

This book was published in the UK as Death of a Mystery Writer. The main character is an obnoxious and overbearing mystery author who has made many enemies and insulted just about everyone he encounters. His wife and daughter love him, or at least tolerate him, but his two sons don't have much good to say about him. Of course, all of his children would like to inherit his money. So when he dies by poisoning they are the first persons the police consider as suspects. This was a very good read, which I expected because Robert Barnard is one of my favorite authors. He rarely disappoints me. 

G is for Gambit by Rex Stout

Rex Stout is my favorite author of all. He wrote 33 novels and 41 novellas about the private detective Nero Wolfe and his assistant, Archie Goodwin. The books are narrated by Archie. The series began in 1934 and the last book in the series, A Family Affair, was published in 1975, shortly before Stout's death. The Nero Wolfe series is fun to read because Wolfe has so many quirks. He hates to leave his home, thus he needs Archie Goodwin to do the legwork for him. He raises orchids and spends four hours each day in the plant rooms.  Eating and good food are very important to him and he never discusses business when eating. And those are just a few of his quirks. However, Gambit has one of the most straightforward plots of the 33 novels that Rex Stout wrote. Less of the quirks are evident or emphasized. The plotting is intricate and the mystery is especially challenging.

U is for The Unfortunate Englishman by John Lawton

I have been a fan of John Lawton's writing for years. His Inspector Frederick Troy series consists of eight novels published between 1995 and 2017. Those novels are a mix of police procedural and espionage, and are set between 1934 and 1963, with many of them covering multiple timelines. The Unfortunate Englishman is the second novel in the Joe Wilderness series. That series (so far) has focused on English / Russian / German relations in Berlin following World War II. The books in this series are really good spy fiction, but also complex and confusing. I love the focus on Berlin and the wall. This second novel in the series doesn't make as much sense if you have not read the first book.

S is for SS-GB by Len Deighton

SS-GB is an alternate history in which England has been invaded by Germany. The protagonist in this story is Detective Superintendent Douglas Archer of Scotland Yard, working under Gruppenführer Fritz Kellerman of the SS. The story is very complex. Len Deighton is one of my favorite authors, and I especially enjoy his spy fiction novels. I love his writing. This book, which is both a whodunit and a spy story, is no exception.

T is for A Tale about a Tiger and Other Mysterious Events by S.J. Rozan

S.J. Rozan is the author of the Lydia Chin / Bill Smith mystery series, one of my favorite contemporary mystery series. Lydia Chin is an American-born Chinese private investigator in her late twenties who lives in New York’s Chinatown with her mother. Bill Smith is a private investigator in his forties who lives in Manhattan. They are not partners but they often work together on cases. The element that I have always liked about this series is that the narrator of the books alternates. The first book was narrated by Lydia; the second book was narrated by Bill; and so on.

In A Tale about a Tiger and Other Mysterious Events, published by Crippen & Landru in 2009, there are nine stories by Rozan; six of the stories feature either Lydia Chin or Bill Smith or both. 

Books Read in December 2024, Plus Stats for the Year

 

December was a good reading month and three of my reads were Christmas books. I included some notes on my reading in 2024 at the end of this post. 

Here is my list of books read:

Fiction

Tom Lake (2023) by Ann Patchett

This was a very good book and an enjoyable read. Basically it is the story of a woman telling her daughters about a summer love affair she had with a famous actor before she married their father. The daughters are in their twenties and all of them are living with their parents because of the pandemic. I like books about families and relationships. From beginning to end I was absorbed in this story.

A Redbird Christmas (2004) by Fannie Flagg

This book is set in Alabama, my home state, in a small town near Mobile. I could not quite figure out what time it is set in, sometime after World War II, but I don't think it really matters. Oswald T. Campbell lives in Chicago but he is very ill, has emphysema, and his doctor says he will have to move to a milder climate if he wants to live much longer. So he finds a place to live in a tiny town in Lost River, Alabama. I have never read anything by Fannie Flagg, but Kathy at Reading Matters recommended this book and December was a great time to read it. It is a Christmas book, but it is about so much more, and it was a wonderful read.

Gothic Horror

We Have Always Lived in the Castle (1962) by Shirley Jackson

This is a classic gothic / mystery or horror story. I had put off reading this for years but the story was not nearly as scary or tense as I expected it to be. There was a sense of foreboding and waiting for something horrible to happen. The beauty of the story was in the way Jackson very slowly reveals small bits of the plot. My review here.

Fantasy

The Wood at Midwinter (2024) by Susanna Clarke

This is a fantasy story about a young woman, Merowdis, who loves animals and nature. She has many dogs and many cats, and a pig, plus other assorted animals. She prefers to spend her time in the woods alone, and she has a sister, Ysolde, who understands her and aids and abets her in her escapes to the woods. The rest of her family wants her to marry and be normal. My review here.

Crime Fiction

Elegy for April (2010) by Benjamin Black

Benjamin Black is a pseudonym used by John Banville. This is the third book in the Quirke series; I read the second book, The Silver Swan, earlier this year. The series is set in Ireland in the 1950s; Quirke is a pathologist in a hospital and gets involves with crimes or possible crimes often. I like the slow pace of the writing and the emphasis on the characters as much or more than the crime investigation. I will be reading the next book, A Death in Summer, in 2025.

The Unfortunate Englishman (2016) by John Lawton

I have been a fan of John Lawton's writing for years. His Inspector Frederick Troy series consists of eight novels published between 1995 and 2017. Those novels are a mix of police procedural and espionage, and are set between 1934 and 1963, with many of them covering multiple timelines. The Unfortunate Englishman is the second novel in the Joe Wilderness series. That series (so far) has focused on English / Russian / German relations in Berlin following World War II. The books in this series are really good spy fiction, but also complex and confusing. I love the focus on Berlin and the wall. You really have to read the first and second books in the series; this one doesn't stand well alone.

Mom Meets Her Maker (1990) by James Yaffe

Between 1988 and 1992, Yaffe wrote four mystery novels about Dave and his Mom. Mom Meets Her Maker is the 2nd of the four novels. Dave is an investigator for the Public Defender's office in a small town in Colorado. The book is set at Christmas, and it was the perfect read for me at this time of year. My review here.

A Bird in the Hand (1986) by Ann Cleeves 

As far as I can tell, A Bird in the Hand was Cleeves' first novel and the first book in the George and Molly Palmer-Jones series. Because I knew that it was focused on birdwatching and birders, I have been looking for a copy to read for years. George is the amateur sleuth. He has retired from the Home Office, which gives him some credibility and access to some records when he needs them. He is a "twitcher," a birder who travels to various parts of the English countryside, following reports of rare birds as they show up. His wife Molly is not that interested in birds but she enjoys the chase. Before retiring she worked as a social worker. The book is not as good as Cleeves' later books, but satisfied me in every way. I liked the characters, the setting, and the birdwatching.

End of Year notes

I read 89 books in 2024. That is very close to the number I read last year. The longest book I read was 834 pages:  The Mitfords: Letters Between Six Sisters. The average number of pages for the books I read was 302, which was about the same as last year. 

• Of the 89 books I read, 68 books were from my TBR pile, which surpassed my goal of 48 books. I will continue to aim at 48 books from my TBR in 2024. 
• I read less mysteries than last year, 48 as compared to 65 in 2023. Seven of the mysteries were espionage novels, and I enjoyed all of those. Eight of the mysteries were published before 1960.
• I read eight nonfiction books. Two were books about books, two were memoirs, and one was a travel/adventure book.
• I read eight books in the science fiction or fantasy genres, so I did better in that area than I thought I would. Three of those books were about time travel.
• I read 15 novels that I categorize as general fiction. And four short story books. 

The photos above and at the top of the post are from a couple of photo excursions. The bird was at the Santa Barbara Zoo, but we don't know the location of the other two photos. Click on the images for the best viewing quality.

Books Read in September and October 2024

I read 12 books in September and October. I enjoyed all of them. Seven of the books were mysteries; five were in other genres.

Humor / Cartoon Collection

A Wealth of Pigeons: A Cartoon Collection (2020) by Harry Bliss and Steve Martin

In this book, Steve Martin partnered with the cartoonist Harry Bliss to create a collection of cartoons and comic strips. Steve provided caption and cartoon ideas, and Harry created the artwork. It was a fun read.

Fiction

My Ántonia (1918) by Willa Cather

The story, which is narrated by Jim Burden, focuses primarily on Ántonia Shimerda, the daughter of Bohemian immigrant parents who have settled on a farm on the Nebraska prairies. Jim and Ántonia were both children when they arrived in Nebraska, on the same train. See my review here.

Where'd You Go, Bernadette (2012) by Maria Semple

Bernadette Fox and Elgin Branch have promised their daughter a trip to Antarctica if she makes excellent grades. She succeeds, but unfortunately Bernadette get so mired down in the preparations that everything falls to pieces in their already precarious marriage. This is a real mishmash of a book, and there were many times that I was totally lost. Fortunately, it was worth the effort getting to the end. Bee Branch, their daughter, was my favorite character. The story is told partially through emails and documents.

Orbital (2023) by Samantha Harvey

Although I did have a few nitpicks when reading this book, I loved it. I was very pleased and surprised when it won the Booker Prize. It depicts one day in the life of six astronauts on the space station, watching the sunrises and sunsets and monitoring a typhoon threatening inhabited islands. The reader is privy to their thoughts, and watches their activities and their regimen. It is short, about 200 pages, and very meditative. It inspired me to read more about the space station, and I wish it had been longer.

Fiction / Short Stories

Ladies' Lunch: and Other Stories (2017) by Lore Segal

This book of short stories was published by Lore Segal in 2023 on her 95th birthday. Ten of the sixteen stories in the book are about a group of older women, now in their 90s, who have been meeting for lunch for thirty years or more. See my review here.

Crime Fiction

The White Lioness (1993) by Henning Mankell

This is the third book in the acclaimed Kurt Wallander series. Henning Mankell is a Swedish author. This book is set mostly in Sweden but there are also sections of the book set in South Africa. See my review here.

Silent Voices (2011) by Ann Cleeves

This is the fourth book in the Vera Stanhope series. DI Vera Stanhope is relaxing in the spa of a health club, after swimming laps in the pool. I know this doesn't sound like Vera at all but her doctor has strongly recommended some exercise, and this is what she can manage. She discovers the dead body of a woman in the spa with her. This series has great characters; I like Vera's relationship with Sergeant Joe Ashworth, her 2nd in command, and the way she works with her team of investigators. The setting is very nice too.

The Mayors of New York (2023) by S.J. Rozan

I am a big fan of Rozan's Lydia Chin and Bill Smith series, totaling 15 books; this is the newest one. The first book was published in 1994. I started reading the books in 2008; since then I have read all the books in the series. See my review here.

Winter Work (2022) by Dan Fesperman

I regret not having the time to review Winter Work. This is the third book to feature Claire Saylor, an agent for the CIA. Safe Houses was the first book in the series, set in 1979 (Berlin)and 2014 (US), and it was fantastic. The second book, The Cover Wife is set in 1999. This book goes back to 1990; it is set in Berlin after the fall of Berlin Wall. The trilogy features strong female characters and intelligent plots.

The Hamlet Trap (1987) by Kate Wilhelm

Kate Wilhelm, who wrote both science fiction and mysteries, published her first novels in the 1960s and published her last novel in 2017. She was married to Damon Knight, a well-known science fiction author. This book is the first one in the Constance Leidl and Charlie Meiklejohn mystery series. The story is set in Ashland, Oregon and the story revolves around preparation for a play to be performed there, and the people involved in creating it, the author, director, set designers, etc. The story is excellent, very complex, with lots of characters. I have two more books in the series to read.

Then We Take Berlin (2013) by John Lawton

This is the first book in the Joe Wilderness series. Wilderness's real name is John Holderness; he is sometimes an agent for MI6 and sometimes a con-man and thief. I learned a lot about Berlin during the time immediately following World War II, when the city was divided up into four sectors. It was a good, although very confusing, story up until the end, which was a cliffhanger. I will be reading book 2 in the series.

Big Sky (2019) by Kate Atkinson

This is the 5th book in the Jackson Brodie series. Reading mysteries by Atkinson can be confounding. They just seem to meander along and several unrelated threads come together to resolve themselves. Nevertheless, I love them. The fourth books in the series, Started Early, Took My Dog, was published in 2010, and I read it in 2011. Big Sky did not come out until 2019, and I just read it this year, so after 14 years I had forgotten a lot about the series. But I settled into Atkinson's quirky approach very easily, and was certain that I would be satisfied with the experience and the ending. It was a wonderful book full of eccentric characters and I have bought the 6th book, Death at the Sign of the Rook, to read sometime in 2025.

Currently reading

A Darker Domain by Val McDermid, the second book in the Inspector Karen Pirie series. Karen Pirie investigates cold cases. I am about a third of the way in, and I am loving the book. It grabbed me immediately. In 2007, a woman reports that her father has been missing for over 20 years, from the time of the Miner’s Strike of 1984. At the time he left, the family thought that he had deserted the family and did not look for him, but now she needs to find him desperately because her son is dying. 

The three photos at the beginning and end of this post are ones my husband took while we were walking around in downtown Santa Barbara. The ones directly above are from a bridal shop in 2014. The top photo was taken in 2010. Click on the images for best viewing quality.

Reading Summary, June 2019

This has been a pretty good reading month for me. I was concentrating on reading from my 20 Books of Summer List. I also read mostly more contemporary fiction, unusual for me, because my 20 Books list was slanted that way.

Mystery reference

Historical Noir: The Pocket Essential Guide to Fiction, Film & TV (2018) by Barry Forshaw

I know that historial crime fiction is a popular sub-genre now. I enjoy reading that type of novel. But I was surprised at how many authors write that sort of mystery. And the book does not cover every author in that area, of course. My favorite sections cover the early 20th century through the 1950s. There is a good overview of this book at Crime Fiction Lover, if you are interested. And a very interesting post at the Rap Sheet, with lots of details and an interview with the author.

Historical Fiction

Crooked Heart (2014) by Lissa Evan

This is a dark comedy, beautifully told, very moving. Noel Bostock, aged 10, is evacuated from London to escape the Nazi bombardment, shortly after the death of his godmother, with whom he had been living. He is assigned to Vera Sedge, a small time con artist, mostly unsuccessful. 

Transcription (2018) by Kate Atkinson

I wasn't quite sure what category this fits in. I consider it spy fiction; the New Yorker refers to it as a "spy novel." But on Goodreads it is overwhelmingly shelved as Historical Fiction. It doesn't matter. I loved the book, I am sure it will be one of my top reads this year. The story is set in 1940 and 1950, with a brief framing story in 1981.

Post-apocalyptic Fiction

Station Eleven (2014) by Emily St. John Mandel

The apocalyptic event in this story is the Georgia Flu, a strain of the swine flu that wipes out 99% of the world's population. The story is set primarily in Toronto, Canada and northern Michigan. My thoughts on the book are here. 

Crime Fiction

My Mother, the Detective: The Complete Mom Short Stories (1997)
by James Yaffe

The eight short stories in this book were originally published in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, between 1952 and 1968. They are a lot of fun. Dave, a policeman, visits his mother every week and over dinner they discuss one of his cases. 

Friends and Traitors (2017) by John Lawton

This is the 8th book in the Inspector Troy series, one of my favorite series. The novels are a mix of police procedural and espionage, and are set between 1934 and 1963, with many of them covering multiple timelines. This one is set in 1958, but does have flashbacks to earlier times.

London Rules (2018) by Mick Herron

This is the 5th book in Herron's Slough House series about spies who have been demoted due to some disgrace or screw up in their jobs, and are now working under Jackson Lamb. I have liked each book in the series more than the last.

Out of the Deep I Cry (2004) by Julia Spencer-Fleming

This is the 3rd book in a series featuring Clare Fergusson, an Episcopal priest, and Russ Van Alstyne, the police chief of Miller's Kill, New York. This time the story features two timelines, one in the present and one that starts in the 1920's during Prohibition. This is another series that gets better with each book I read.

Perfect Gallows (1988) by Peter Dickinson

A story about a murder that occurs in 1944 on an estate in the UK; the estate is occupied by US forces preparing for the invasion of France. See my thoughts here.

20 Books of Summer 2019

This is my fourth year of joining in the 20 Books of Summer reading challenge. It is very flexible. You can go for 15 Books of Summer or 10 Books of Summer if 20 is too much to commit to. Books can be substituted along the way. And that is fine.

The event is hosted by Cathy at 746 Books. The description is here. This is her list.

This year, for this event, summer starts June 3rd and ends September 3rd. I finished my list last summer so I will go into this optimistically. Of course, part of it is reviewing the books and I did not get all of them reviewed last year, but still, I enjoyed reading them all.

Here is my list:

The Keeper of Lost Causes (2007) by Jussi Adler-Olsen

Set in Copenhagen, Denmark. The first book in the Department Q series.

Pearls Before Swine (1945) by Margery Allingham

The twelfth book in the Albert Campion series. I am rereading this series in order.

 Transcription (2018) by Kate Atkinson

I like this author's books. I don't know a lot about this book (and I want to keep it that way) but it does involve espionage, a favorite subject of mine.

Perfect Gallows (1988) by Peter Dickinson

Peter Dickinson is one of my favorite authors. This book takes the reader back to a death in World War II, with a framing story set in 1988.

Crooked Heart  (2014) by Lissa Evans

Historical fiction about the homefront in the UK during World War II. Ten-year-old Noel Bostock is evacuated from London to escape the Blitz.

Out of the Deep I Cry (2004) by Julia Spencer Fleming

Third book in the Reverend Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne series. Clare Fergusson left her job as a military helicopter pilot to become an Episcopal priest in the small town of Miller's Kill, New York. Russ Van Alstyne is the police chief. An interesting combination.

City of Shadows (2006) by Ariana Franklin

Set in 1920s and 1930s Berlin, Germany. Features a policeman, Schmidt, and Esther, a Jewish refugee from Russia.

Death in Amsterdam (1962) by Nicholas Freeling

First novel in a mystery series set in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Main characters are Piet Van Der Valk, a police inspector, and his wife Arlette, a gourmet cook.

Broken Harbor (2012) by Tana French

Fourth book in the Dublin Murder Squad series set in Ireland. Each book features a different detective in the squad.

China Lake (2002) Meg Gardiner

The author is originally from Santa Barbara, California; the female protagonist of this novel, Evan Delaney, is a lawyer in Santa Barbara. So I have to give the series a try.

Cold Comfort Farm (1932) by Stella Gibbons

From the description at goodreads: "Winner of the 1933 Femina Vie Heureuse Prize, COLD COMFORT FARM is a wickedly funny portrait of British rural life in the 1930s."

Death Knocks Three Times (1949) by Anthony Gilbert

Anthony Gilbert (pseudonym of Lucy Beatrice Malleson) was an English crime writer. The Arthur Crook series is comprised of over 50 novels, and this one is #21.

The Disciple of Las Vegas (2011) by Ian Hamilton

The second book in the Ava Lee series, starring a young Chinese-Canadian forensic accountant.

London Rules (2018) by Mick Herron

The fifth book in the Slough House espionage series; I read Spook Street in May, loved the book, and am eager to get to the next in the series

Innocence or, Murder on Steep Street (1985)
by Heda Margolius Kovály

Mystery novel set in Prague, Czechoslovakia in the 1950s.

Friends and Traitors (2017) by John Lawton

I read the seventh book in this series in 2012. Now I want to read the most recent novel in the series.

The Summons (1995) by Peter Lovesey

The third book in the Peter Diamond series. 

Station Eleven (2014) by Emily St. John Mandel

I read two post-apocalyptic novels in May, now I want to read another one. 

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1943) by Betty Smith

An American classic about a young girl growing up in Brooklyn in the early 20th century.

The Axeman's Jazz (1991) by Julie Smith

The second in Smith's Skip Langdon series. Set in New Orleans.

Allmen and the Dragonflies (2011) by  Martin Suter

I don't know much about this book except that it is about an art heist set in Switzerland.

Six Degrees of Separation: from The Dry to Bluffing Churchill

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 other books, forming a chain. Every month she provides the title of a book as the starting point.

The starting point this month is The Dry by Jane Harper. I know very little about this book except that it is a crime fiction book that was incredibly successful for a debut novel. And it is set in Australia.




My first link is to another book set in Australia, On the Beach by Nevil Shute. I just finished reading that book last night, and it was a fantastic read. This is a post-apocalypse story, a sub-genre I do enjoy reading now and then. The book was published in 1957 and was set just a few years later than that.

My next book in the chain is another apocalyptic story, but this time with a contemporary  setting. The Last Policeman is the story of a policeman, Detective Hank Palace, pursuing a homicide case in a pre-apocalyptic world. It has been confirmed that an asteroid heading towards earth and human life on earth will end. In a world where many people are abandoning their jobs or changing their entire lives, Hank is stubbornly investigating an incident that every one else thinks is suicide.

That book leads me to another book with a similar title.  Dangerous Davies: The Last Detective by Leslie Thomas is about an alcoholic, bumbling detective, who is assigned a cold case that he pursues with determination. Davies lives in a boarding house, where his best friend Mod also has a room. Davies' wife also lives there but they are in different rooms. Davies has a dog (large, old and cranky), that lives in the back seat of his car. It is a very weird and humorous story, published in 1976.

There are many other mystery series that feature a detective and his dog, but I have read none of them. However, in Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson, Jackson Brodie rescues a dog from a man who is abusing him. I read this one back in 2011 and don't remember a lot of the story, but there are several threads that come together in the end.

My next book is by the same author: Life after Life. This book, published in 2013, is not a mystery, and it has an unusual structure. Ursula, the heroine, lives her life over and over. Sort of like the plot of the film Groundhog Day, but not. Ursula is born in 1910 and the book continues to some point in the 1960s; thus, the reader experiences the Blitz and Germany under Hitler.

My final book in the chain is Bluffing Mr. Churchill by John Lawton, set in 1941 London during the Blitz. This fourth book in the Inspector Frederick Troy series combines espionage and World War II. Published as Riptide in the UK.

So my chain took me from Australia to London, England during World War II, by way of two post-apocalyptic novels. And two books in the chain were not crime fiction, so a little variety.

Next month the starting book for the chain will be Murmur By Will Eaves.