The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle

 

The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle by Matt Cain

Fiction

2021

Narrated by Simon Vance

Finished on July 10, 2024

Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

Albert Entwistle is a private man with a quiet, simple life. He lives alone with his cat Gracie. And he’s a postman. At least he was a postman until, three months before his sixty-fifth birthday, he receives a letter from the Royal Mail thanking him for decades of service and stating he is being forced into retirement.

At once, Albert’s sole connection with his world unravels. Every day as a mail carrier, he would make his way through the streets of his small English town, delivering letters and parcels and returning greetings with a quick wave and a “how do?” Without the work that fills his days, what will be the point? He has no friends, family, or hobbies—just a past he never speaks of, and a lost love that fills him with regret.

And so, rather than continue his lonely existence, Albert forms a brave plan to start truly living. It’s finally time to be honest about who he is. To seek the happiness he’s always denied himself. And to find the courage to look for George, the man that, many years ago, he loved and lost—but has never forgotten. As he does, something extraordinary happens. Albert finds unlikely allies, new friends, and proves it’s never too late to live, to hope, and to love.

Fans of A Man Called Ove, The Guncle, and Meredith, Alone will enjoy this sweet, touching story of self-discovery, friendship, and community. The novel's main theme of being a gay teenager when it wasn't acceptable (and when it was also illegal) is enlightening, and is also presented in the audiobook's bonus material in which the author interviews several men who experienced discrimination as gays in the 1950-1970s. The details of Albert and George's budding romance are handled tastefully, and Albert is an endearing character whom I was cheering on from the very start. His self-acceptance and growth are admirable and heartwarming. There were moments when I was certain I knew how one or two scenarios would play out, and I was pleasantly surprised that my suspicions were incorrect.

I've listened to several books narrated by Simon Vance and he is an absolute perfect reader for this book. Each character is distinguishable from the others, and Vance's ability to switch between male and female characters is remarkable.

Highly recommend. 

I received a complimentary copy from Libro.fm. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Windsor Knot

 

The Windsor Knot by S.J. Bennett

Mystery

2020 William Morrow and Company

Finished on August 12, 2023

Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

The first book in a highly original and delightfully clever crime series in which Queen Elizabeth II secretly solves crimes while carrying out her royal duties.

It is the early spring of 2016 and Queen Elizabeth is at Windsor Castle in advance of her 90th birthday celebrations. But the preparations are interrupted when a guest is found dead in one of the Castle bedrooms. The scene suggests the young Russian pianist strangled himself, but a badly tied knot leads MI5 to suspect foul play was involved. The Queen leaves the investigation to the professionals—until their suspicions point them in the wrong direction.

Unhappy at the mishandling of the case and concerned for her staff’s morale, the monarch decides to discreetly take matters into her own hands. With help from her Assistant Private Secretary, Rozie Oshodi, a British Nigerian and recent officer in the Royal Horse Artillery, the Queen secretly begins making inquiries. As she carries out her royal duties with her usual aplomb, no one in the Royal Household, the government, or the public knows that the resolute Elizabeth will use her keen eye, quick mind, and steady nerve to bring a murderer to justice.

SJ Bennett captures Queen Elizabeth’s voice with skill, nuance, wit, and genuine charm in this imaginative and engaging mystery that portrays Her Majesty as she’s rarely seen: kind yet worldly, decisive, shrewd, and most importantly a great judge of character.

Marvelous! As a fan of The Crown, I could easily envision Imelda Staunton as S.J. Bennett's 90-year-old monarch. I thoroughly enjoyed the glimpse of the royal life inside both Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace. The Queen's APS (Assistant Private Secretary) is a character whom I look forward to seeing more of as I read the next book in this series. Regretfully, the mystery (which involves not one, but three murders) is convoluted, and it wasn't until the denouement that I fully understand what had transpired in the castle. It may be that The Windsor Knot requires more consistent reading time than I allowed. I read it in fits-and-spurts due to a busy week, but was always eager to return to the story to see what the Queen and Rozie were up to. Bennett expertly captures the Queen's voice, and I'd love to see Acorn or Britbox create a series based on these books. 

Highly recommend! 

The Narrowboat Summer

 

The Narrowboat Summer by Anne Youngson

Original Title: Three Women and a Boat

Fiction

2020 Flatiron Books

Finished on July 1, 2022

Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

From the author of Meet Me at the Museum, a charming novel of second chances, about three women, one dog, and the narrowboat that brings them together.

Eve expected Sally to come festooned with suitcases and overnight bags packed with everything she owned, but she was wrong. She arrived on foot, with a rucksack and a carrier bag. “I just walked away,” she said, climbing on to the boat. Eve knew what she meant.

Meet Eve, who has left her thirty-year career to become a Free Spirit; Sally, who has waved goodbye to her indifferent husband and two grown-up children; and Anastasia, a defiantly independent narrowboat-dweller, who is suddenly landlocked and vulnerable.

Before they quite know what they’ve done, Sally and Eve agree to drive Anastasia’s narrowboat on a journey through the canals of England, as she awaits a life-saving operation. As they glide gently – and not so gently – through the countryside, the eccentricities and challenges of narrowboat life draw them inexorably together, and a tender and unforgettable story unfolds. At summer’s end, all three women must decide whether to return to the lives they left behind, or forge a new path forward.

Candid, hilarious, and uplifting, The Narrowboat Summer is a novel of second chances, celebrating the power of friendship and new experience to change one’s life, at any age.

I have always loved being on or near the water, whether that be sailing on a lake, cruising on a river, or simply sitting by the ocean. My husband and I have cruised the San Juan Islands (on my dad and stepmom's boat), and I took a fabulous two-week cruise (on the Rhine, Main and Danube rivers) with my mom a few years ago. Each of these excursions involved traveling through locks, so I was interested to read Anne Youngson's novel, The Narrowboat Summer, which centers around two strangers (who become great friends) traveling the canals of England on a narrowboat. It took me a few chapters to get fully immersed in the story, but once I did, I couldn't put it down. I came to care about Eve and Sally, as well as Anastasia and her goofy dog Noah. With Youngson's attention to detail, I felt like I was on the journey with this motley crew.

On the towpath of a canal in a town not far from London, not far from the coast, is moored a narrowboat pained dark blue with the name Number One picked out in red lettering on the prow. It is tethered tightly to the bank with ropes made wet by the rain and slimy with age, wrapped around pegs bent out of shape by the misaimed blows of a lump hammer. It is still in the water. At either end the doors are fast shut and the windows along the side are latched. On the roof is a skylight, cantilevered up to let the fresh air into the cabin below. Puddles of water on the deck and roof show that it has been raining, but at this moment it is not. 

I had hoped for a happy ending, and I wasn't disappointed. If you're looking for a feel-good read (which is neither cloying nor sentimental), The Narrowboat Summer is just the ticket. I not only want to read it again, but I'm looking forward to trying Youngson's previous work, Meet Me at the Museum.

In addition to this uplifting story, I fell in love with the cover art illustration. You can find more information about the artist, Sarah Maycock, here and here. 

Eve drove the Number One through the first ten locks and Sally thought that, when she took over, there would be time to talk in the dripping gloom of an empty lock while that waited for it to fill up. This, however, proved impossible. It was necessary to keep the boat steady in the lock, avoid it drifting too far forward, where the nose could become trapped on a beam of the gate, or too far back, where the sill could foul the rudder, and the concentration needed, plus the noise, the engines and the roar of the water coming into the lock, meant that nothing could be said that needed consideration, until the last, calm moments as the lock filled right to the top, when the Grimm's crew swapped over. 

The following photos are from the Great Rivers of Europe Cruise. We traveled through 66 locks (many while we were sleeping) over the course of two weeks. 

Inside the lock

Gate closing

Water rising

These photos (below) are of the Ballard Locks in Seattle. The locks connect Puget Sound with Lake Union and Lake Washington.

Click here for more information about the operation of canal locks.

The Shell Seekers

The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher

Fiction

1987 Thomas Dunne Books

Finished on April 27, 2022 (first read in 1988)

Rating: 5/5 (Excellent!)

Publisher's Blurb:

An instant bestseller when it was first published, The Shell Seekers is an enduring classic that has touched the hearts of millions of readers worldwide. A novel of connection, it is the story of one family--mothers and daughters, husbands and lovers--and of the passions and heartbreak that have held them together for three generations. This magical novel--the kind of reading experience that comes along only once in a long while--is the perfect read, whether you are returning to it again or opening the cover for the first time.

At the end of a long and useful life, Penelope Keeling's prized possession is The Shell Seekers, painted by her father, and symbolizing her unconventional life, from bohemian childhood to wartime romance. When her grown children learn that their grandfather's work is now worth a fortune, each has an idea as to what Penelope should do. But as she recalls the passions, tragedies, and secrets of her life, she knows there is only one answer... and it lies in her heart.

I was not yet thirty when I first discovered Rosamunde Pilcher's beloved classic, The Shell Seekers. Not my typical genre (my nightstand stack usually included John Grisham, Stephen King and Sidney Sheldon), I wonder what prompted me to read a novel centered around the life of a divorced woman, sixty-four years old, an elderly woman in my twenty-six-year-old's mind. (And now I'm a mere four years shy of Penelope's age...). But I found such a wonderful story that spoke to me more deeply than anything I'd ever read. Recently remarried and raising my young daughter, I found happiness in the simple pleasures of creating a comfortable home, appreciating the beauty and peace found in nature, all of which was inspired by Pilcher's lyrical prose; the sort of which I had yet to discover in my usual reading. The simple act of preparing a cup of tea, enjoying it as I read the daily mail, or tending to my rose garden in the quiet hours of a Saturday morning, brought me joy. 

The Shell Seekers made its way to my list of lifetime favorites and for over thirty years, I longed to read it again, but I was concerned it wouldn't live up to my first impressions. Last year, I decided to reread Winter Solstice (another wonderful novel by Pilcher) and enjoyed it immensely. I convinced myself that I would have a similar reaction with a reread of The Shell Seekers and I was right. It was a marvelous read and such a joy to revisit Penelope's story after all these years. 

One of the joys of rereading an old favorite, particularly after the passage of more than thirty years, is that the book feels both familiar and new at the same time. I was surprised that while I remembered Penelope Keeling, her cozy cottage called Podmore's Thatch (in Gloucestershire, a county in South West England) and the young gardener she hired after her heart attack, I had long forgotten most of the details of the book, giving it the feeling of a new book of which I'd only read a synopsis.  Another reason that I kept putting off a reread is due to the heft of the novel, which is over 600 pages (in paperback). It took me a little over two weeks to read, but it was time well spent. I enjoyed every page, never feeling impatient to finish, and eager to curl up with it each evening, anxious to learn more about Penelope's life in Cornwall and the Cotswolds.

The Shell Seekers has twice been adapted to film. A Hallmark Hall of Fame television production, starring Angela Lansbury, was nominated for an Emmy in 1989, and in 2006, a mini-series was developed starring Vanesa Redgrave. I have not watched either and don't think I will since books-to-movies are typically disappointments.

Readers of family sagas and historical fiction are sure to love this popular novel. I've returned it to a bookcase devoted to my favorites, and I look forward to revisiting it again when I'm in need of a comfort read. I love escaping into a big, fat book and I'm already looking forward to reading Coming Home, the only novel by Rosamunde Pilcher I've yet to read.

I have the trade paperback of The Shell Seekers, but I love the cover art for the original hardcover, which I used to own. I wonder whatever happened to that edition...

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson

Fiction

2010 Random House Audio

Narrated by Peter Altschuler

Finished on January 18, 2022

Rating: 3/5 (Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

You are about to travel to Edgecombe St. Mary, a small village in the English countryside filled with rolling hills, thatched cottages, and a cast of characters both hilariously original and as familiar as the members of your own family. Among them is Major Ernest Pettigrew (retired), the unlikely hero of Helen Simonson's wondrous debut. Wry, courtly, opinionated, and completely endearing, Major Pettigrew is one of the most indelible characters in contemporary fiction, and from the very first page of this remarkable novel he will steal your heart.

The Major leads a quiet life valuing the proper things that Englishmen have lived by for generations: honor, duty, decorum, and a properly brewed cup of tea. But then his brother's death sparks an unexpected friendship with Mrs. Jasmina Ali, the Pakistani shopkeeper from the village. Drawn together by their shared love of literature and the loss of their respective spouses, the Major and Mrs. Ali soon find their friendship blossoming into something more. But village society insists on embracing him as the quintessential local and her as the permanent foreigner. Can their relationship survive the risks one takes when pursuing happiness in the face of culture and tradition?

It's been over a decade since I first read Major Pettigrew's Last Stand. I listened to the audio in 2011 and decided to go that route again when my book group selected the novel for our January discussion. I enjoyed Peter Altschuler's excellent narration, but the story fell flat and I continued listening only in order to refresh my memory for the upcoming meeting. Once again, I found myself comparing Major Pettigrew with Lyle (Geoffery Palmer) from As Time Goes By. Both men are opinionated and share a dry sense of humor, which was the best part of the book. 

You can find my first review of this book here.

Winter Solstice

Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher

Fiction

2000 Thomas Dunne Books

Finished on January 4, 2022

Rating: 5/5 (Excellent)

Publisher's Blurb:

For millions of readers around the world, a new Rosamunde Pilcher novel is a cause for celebration. Her clear-eyed and sharply observed stories have captivated readers for a generation, and with Winter Solstice she proves herself to be at the height of her powers by creating people and places so real, we feel we have known them for years.

The December solstice is a turning point. For some it represents a time of darkness, the shortest day of the year. But for others this events--just a few days before Christmas--is about hope, renewal, and rebirth. In a story both deceptively simple and effortlessly complex, Rosamunde Pilcher brings together five very different people, ranging in age from the teens to the mid-sixties, each of whom must confront very different challenges or losses. 

When Elfrida Phipps abandons London for a quaint country village, she settles in quickly. She has a tiny cottage, her faithful dog, Horace, and the friendship of good neighbors, Oscar, Gloria, and their little girl. Perhaps, at last, she can exorcise the pain of the past and find peace.

But it is not to be.

Tragedy upsets Elfrida's newfound tranquility, and she takes refuge in a rambling house in the north of Scotland called Corrydale. Almost like a magnet, Corrydale attracts various waifs and strays, each of them escaping difficult personal pasts. As the holidays approach and the weather turns foul, the scene seems set as a perfect recipe for disaster.

But somehow the group proves to be greater than the sum of its ill-suited parts, and as the solstice passes and Christmas approaches, the healing power of love, even on the most troubled human spirit, begins to work its magic.

Once again, Rosamunde Pilcher reminds us all that friendship, compassion, loyalty, and love can come together and renew us all--even when the days seem darkest.

Oh, what a wonderful book. When Diane (Bibliophile By the Sea) first mentioned that she was going to listen to the audiobook in December, I considered reading it as well, but I was in the middle of another novel and didn't give Winter Solstice another thought, especially since it's one I'd already read. Well, I finished the aforementioned book on December 21st and took that as a sign to begin Pilcher's novel on the winter solstice. I was a little distracted with our holiday preparations, so it took me a few chapters to finally get interested in the story. However, once I acquainted myself with the cast of characters, I couldn't stop reading. As I mentioned, this is one that I've previously read, but I don't know when that was and I've yet to locate that journal entry. When I do, I will be sure to link back to this review for comparison.

I have read several books by Rosamunde Pilcher, the first of which was The Shell Seekers, which I absolutely adored. I have always intended to read it again, but worried that it might not be as enjoyable as the first time I read it. Having now reread Winter Solstice, I should not let that concern me. I believe Pilcher's novels are marvelous comfort reads, which stand the test of time. I loved this book!

In the Market for Murder

 

In the Market for Murder by T.E. Kinsey

Lady Hardcastle Mysteries #2

Mystery

2016 Brilliance Audio

Read by Elizabeth Knowelden

Finished on September 11, 2021

Rating: 3/5 (Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

Spring, 1909, and Lady Hardcastle, amateur sleuth and all-round eccentric, is enjoying a well-deserved rest. But a week after a trip to the cattle market, Spencer Caradine, a local farmer, turns up dead in the pub, face-down in his beef and mushroom pie. Once again, it is up to Lady Hardcastle and her maid, Florence, to solve the case.

Armed with wit and whimsy, not to mention Florence’s mean right hook, the pair set out to discover what really happened and why. Was it poison or just ill luck?

As they delve further into their investigation, they encounter a theft where nothing is stolen, a séance with a troubled ghost and an ever-increasing number of Spencer’s family and friends who might just have motive for murder. One thing’s for sure: Lady Hardcastle has a mystery on her hands.

I didn't care for this second installment in the Lady Hardcastle series nearly as much as A Quiet Life in the Country. The mystery (there are actually three mysteries) wasn't terribly interesting and I missed the humorous bantering between Lady Hardcastle and Flo that I so enjoyed in Kinsey's debut. There are five more books in this series and I'm not sure if I'll continue, although Elizabeth Knowelden is a delightful narrator of the audiobooks. Cozy mysteries may just not be for me.

A Quiet Life in the Country

 

A Quiet Life in the Country by T. E. Kinsey

Lady Hardcastle Mysteries #1

Mystery

2016 Brilliance Audio

Read by Elizabeth Knowelden

Finished on March 9, 2021

Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

Lady Emily Hardcastle is an eccentric widow with a secret past. Florence Armstrong, her maid and confidante, is an expert in martial arts. The year is 1908 and they’ve just moved from London to the country, hoping for a quiet life.

But it is not long before Lady Hardcastle is forced out of her self-imposed retirement. There’s a dead body in the woods, and the police are on the wrong scent. Lady Hardcastle makes some enquiries of her own, and it seems she knows a surprising amount about crime investigation…

As Lady Hardcastle and Flo delve deeper into rural rivalries and resentment, they uncover a web of intrigue that extends far beyond the village. With almost no one free from suspicion, they can be certain of only one fact: there is no such thing as a quiet life in the country.

A Quiet Life in the Country is a delightful book and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Elizabeth Knowelden's performance of this cozy mystery. It was an especially nice change of pace after the heavier books I've recently read.

The mystery (or mysteries, as there are actually two murders to solve) wasn't terribly interesting, but I loved the bantering and exchange of dry wit between Lady Hardcastle and Flo, which is very much like my husband's sense of humor. I chuckled out loud on more than one occasion and had I read the print edition rather than the audio, I'm certain I'd have several passages to share. I didn't waste any time downloading the second installment and look forward to more of the duo's antics, as well as (hopefully) the return of a couple of the supporting characters. 

Highly recommend.

Dear Mrs. Bird

Dear Mrs. Bird by AJ Pearce
Fiction
2018 Scribner
Finished on June 27, 2019
Rating: 2/5 (Fair)

Publisher's Blurb:

A charming, irresistible debut novel set in London during World War II about an adventurous young woman who becomes a secret advice columnist—a warm, funny, and enormously moving story for fans of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and Lilac Girls.

London 1940, bombs are falling. Emmy Lake is Doing Her Bit for the war effort, volunteering as a telephone operator with the Auxiliary Fire Services. When Emmy sees an advertisement for a job at the London Evening Chronicle, her dreams of becoming a Lady War Correspondent seem suddenly achievable. But the job turns out to be typist to the fierce and renowned advice columnist, Henrietta Bird. Emmy is disappointed, but gamely bucks up and buckles down.

Mrs Bird is very clear: Any letters containing Unpleasantness—must go straight in the bin. But when Emmy reads poignant letters from women who are lonely, may have Gone Too Far with the wrong men and found themselves in trouble, or who can’t bear to let their children be evacuated, she is unable to resist responding. As the German planes make their nightly raids, and London picks up the smoldering pieces each morning, Emmy secretly begins to write letters back to the women of all ages who have spilled out their troubles.

Prepare to fall head over heels with Emmy and her best friend, Bunty, who are spirited and gutsy, even in the face of events that bring a terrible blow. As the bombs continue to fall, the irrepressible Emmy keeps writing, and readers are transformed by AJ Pearce’s hilarious, heartwarming, and enormously moving tale of friendship, the kindness of strangers, and ordinary people in extraordinary times.

I wish I could remember where I first read about this novel, as I would like to go back and read whatever it was that inspired me to buy a copy for my mom for Christmas last year. I was eager to read it once she was finished and after seeing that it was recommended to fans of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and Lilac Girls, I was looking forward to a great read. Unfortunately, it was all I could do to finish Pearce's trite story. The writing lacks depth and the overabundant use of capitalized phrases (Bunty said rather too quickly that the army always let you know if something awful had happened so No News Is Good News and then Bill took up the baton and said Don't You Worry, Emmy, Edmund is Made of Very Stern Stuff) was not only a distraction but an annoying method to emphasize a thought or statement. Too sweet, too predictable and dare I say too boring. I couldn't wait to finish and move on to something more compelling.

Shadow Over the Fens

Shadow Over the Fens (DI Nikki Galena, #2) by Joy Ellis
Mystery
2016 Tantor Audio
Read by Henrietta Meire
Finished on November 18, 2018
Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

Someone terrible from DS Joseph Easter’s past is back . . .

DI Nikki Galena’s friend and neighbour meets a tragic end but there’s more to his death than meets the eye . . .

A man is found executed on a piece of wasteland in Greenborough town. The cold-blooded murder triggers terrible memories for DS Joseph Easter. Just when things seemed to be going well for DS Easter, he realises that the nightmare is coming back, threatening his career, his sanity, and maybe his life.

In a breath-taking conclusion even DI Galena begins to doubt him [DS Easter] as he faces a race against time to save someone very close to him.

Set in the Lincolnshire Fens: great open skies brood over marshes, farmland, and nature reserves. It is not easy terrain for the Fenland Constabulary to police, due to the distances between some of the remote Fen villages, the dangerous and often misty lanes, and the poor telephone coverage. There are still villages where the oldest residents have never set foot outside their own farmland and a visit to the nearest town is a major event. But it has a strange airy beauty to it, and above it all are the biggest skies you’ve ever seen.

Shadow Over the Fens is another entertaining installment to the Nikki Galena series. I figured out whodunit early on, but that didn't spoil the book and I'm eager to start listening to Hunted on the Fens. I'm enjoying the series and the audio reader (Henrietta Meire) is very good. This book held my interest quite a bit more than those in Elly Griffiths' Ruth Galloway series (another mystery series I've been listening to) and I was inspired to go on longer walks just so I could continue listening.

Crime on the Fens

Crime on the Fens (DI Nikki Galena, #1) by Joy Ellis
Mystery
2016 Tantor Audio
Read by Henrietta Meire
Finished on August 29, 2018
Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

THE DETECTIVE DI Nikki Galena: A police detective with nothing left to lose, she’s seen a girl die in her arms, and her daughter will never leave the hospital again. She’s got tough on the criminals she believes did this to her. Too tough. And now she’s been given one final warning: make it work with her new sergeant, DS Joseph Easter, or she’s out.

HER PARTNER DS Joseph Easter is the handsome squeaky-clean new member of the team. But his nickname “Holy Joe” belies his former life as a soldier. He has an estranged daughter who blames him for everything that went wrong with their family.

THEIR ADVERSARY is a ruthless man who holds DI Galena responsible for his terrible disfigurement.

The town is being terrorised by gangs of violent thugs, all wearing identical hideous masks. Then a talented young female student goes missing on the marsh and Nikki and Joseph find themselves joining forces with a master criminal in their efforts to save her. They need to look behind the masks, but when they do, they find something more sinister and deadly than they ever expected . . .

THE SETTING
The Lincolnshire Fens: great open skies brood over marshes, farmland, and nature reserves. It is not easy terrain for the Fenland Constabulary to police, due to the distances between some of the remote Fen villages, the dangerous and often misty lanes, and the poor telephone coverage. There are still villages where the oldest residents have never set foot outside their own farmland and a visit to the nearest town is a major event. But it has a strange airy beauty to it, and above it all are the biggest skies you’ve ever seen.

I had never heard of Joy Ellis (or this series) until I read about her books on Kay's blog last January. Kay reads A LOT of mysteries and has written reviews for several of the books in this series. Since I love listening to this genre on audio, I decided to give Crime on the Fens a try. Henrietta Meire turned out to be a great reader for this book! I enjoyed this first installment so much that I went on and listened to the second one right away. As with most of the mystery series I read (as opposed to thrillers), it's less about the actual mystery and more about the main cast of characters. Nikki and Joe are becoming two of my favorite duos. Thanks, Kay!

The Uncommon Reader

The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett
Fiction
2007 Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Finished on February 19, 2018
Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

From one of England's most celebrated writers, the author of the award-winning The History Boys, a funny and superbly observed novella about the Queen of England and the subversive power of reading.

When her corgis stray into a mobile library parked near Buckingham Palace, the Queen feels duty-bound to borrow a book. Discovering the joy of reading widely (from J. R. Ackerley, Jean Genet, and Ivy Compton-Burnett to the classics) and intelligently, she finds that her view of the world changes dramatically. Abetted in her newfound obsession by Norman, a young man from the royal kitchens, the Queen comes to question the prescribed order of the world and loses patience with the routines of her role as monarch. Her new passion for reading initially alarms the palace staff, and soon leads to surprising and very funny consequences for the country at large.

Oh, this is one every book-lover and Anglophile should own! It's a quick read and quite witty. Having recently watched The Crown, I could hear the Queen's distinctive voice as I read. Here are a few favorite passages:

"Pass the time?" said the Queen. "Books are not about passing the time. They're about other lives. Other worlds. Far from wanting to pass, Sir Kevin, one just wishes one had more of it. If one wanted to pass the time one could go to New Zealand."

and

The appeal of reading, she thought, lay in its indifference: there was something undeferring about literature. Books did not care who was reading them or whether one read them or not. All readers were equal, herself included. Literature, she thought, is a commonwealth; letters a republic. Actually, she had heard this phrase, the republic of letters, used before, at graduation ceremonies, honorary degrees and the like, though without knowing quite what it meant. At that time talk of a republic of any sort she had thought mildly insulting and in her actual presence tactless, to say the least. It was only now she understood what it meant. Books did not defer. All readers were equal, and this took her back to the beginning of her life. As a girl, one of her greatest thrills had been on VE night when she and her sister had slipped out of the gates and mingled unrecognised with the crowds. There was something of that, she felt, to reading. It was anonymous; it was shared; it was common. And she who had led life apart now found that she craved it. Here in these pages and between these covers she could go unrecognised.

and 

It was this sense of making up for lost time that made her read with such rapidity and in the process now making more frequent (and more confident) comments of her own, bringing to what was in effect literary criticism the same forthrightness with which she tackled other departments of her life. She was not a gentle reader and often wished authors were around so that she could take them to task.

"Am I alone," she wrote, "in wanting to give Henry James a good talking-to?"

"I can see why Dr. Johnson is well thought of, but surely, much of it is opinionated rubbish?"

It was Henry James she was reading one teatime when she said out loud, "Oh, do get on."

I'm going to treat myself to a copy for Christmas. This is one to be read more than once!

The Janus Stone

The Janus Stone by Elly Griffiths
Ruth Galloway Series #2
Mystery
2010 AudioGO Ltd.
Reader: Jane McDowell
Finished on March 21, 2015
Rating: 4/5 (Very Good!)



Publisher’s Blurb:

It’s been only a few months since archaeologist Ruth Galloway found herself entangled in a missing persons case, barely escaping with her life. But when construction workers demolishing a large old house in Norwich uncover the bones of a child beneath a doorway—minus its skull—Ruth is once again called upon to investigate. Is it a Roman-era ritual sacrifice, or is the killer closer at hand?

Ruth and Detective Harry Nelson would like to find out—and fast. When they realize the house was once a children’s home, they track down the Catholic priest who served as its operator. Father Hennessey reports that two children did go missing from the home forty years before—a boy and a girl. They were never found. When carbon dating proves that the child’s bones predate the home and relate to a time when the house was privately owned, Ruth is drawn ever more deeply into the case. But as spring turns into summer it becomes clear that someone is trying very hard to put her off the trail by frightening her, and her unborn child, half to death.

I read The Crossing Places (Elly Griffiths’ first installment in the Ruth Galloway series) in early March and couldn’t wait to move on to the second in the series (The Janus Stone), as soon as I finished. Once again, I listened to the audiobook and found myself completely absorbed in the mystery, enjoying Jane McDowell’s excellent delivery of the story. I didn’t mark any passages to share, but since the third book isn’t available on audio from my library, I’ll probably wind up reading the print copy of that installment in the series. Perhaps I’ll find more inspiration to include quotable passages with that book. And, as with most series of this genre, I care more about the characters than the actual mystery. As my friend Kay says, “If you like books about bones and digs and interesting settings, legends and the sea, a protagonist that is not a size 0 and a regular person that you could share a coffee with, this is the one.”

Final Thoughts:

I enjoyed this second installment in the Ruth Galloway series even more than the first. The mystery was suspenseful and kept me guessing up until the very end. I’m anxious to see what’s in store next for Ruth. She has quite a lot going on in her personal life and it will be interesting to see how things play out with her and her ongoing (and complicated) friendship with DCI Harry Nelson.

The Crossing Places

The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths
Ruth Galloway Series #1
Mystery
2009 AudioGO Ltd.
Reader: Jane McDowell
Finished on March 5, 2015
Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

 

 Publisher’s Blurb:

When a child’s bones are found on a desolate Norfolk beach, Detective Chief Inspector Harry Nelson calls in forensic archaeologist Dr Ruth Galloway. Nelson thinks he has found the remains of Lucy Downey, a little girl who went missing ten years ago. Since her disappearance he has been receiving bizarre letters about her, letters with references to witchcraft, ritual and sacrifice.

The bones actually turn out to be two thousand years old but Ruth is soon drawn into the Lucy Downey case and into the mind of the letter writer, who seems to have both archaeological knowledge and eerie psychic powers. Then another child goes missing and the hunt is on to find her. As the letter writer moves closer and the windswept Norfolk landscape exerts its power, Ruth finds herself in completely new territory – and in serious danger.

My friend Kay (of Kay’s Reading Life) is a voracious reader of mysteries. She has recommended many, many titles on her blog and I find that I am constantly jotting down authors and lists of series to explore, thanks to her. Susan Hill’s Simon Serrailler series is one of those recommendations which I have enjoyed immensely. I have also started the Deborah Crombie series (many of which Kay sent to me), but I need to get back to it, as it’s been a year or so since I last read one of the Gemma James books. The latest addition to my mystery reading is Elly Griffiths’ Ruth Galloway series, which I began listening to late last month. The Crossing Places introduces us to Ruth Galloway and Chief Inspector Harry Nelson, as well as several supporting characters, many of whom I’ve since seen in the second book, The Janus Stone. In addition to a wonderful cast of characters, Griffiths’ mysteries have a great sense of place. I could practically smell the Saltmarsh.

They get out of the car and walk across the rain-sodden grass towards the marsh. The wind is whispering through the reeds, and here and there they see glimpses of still, sullen water reflecting the grey sky. At the edge of the marshland Ruth stops, looking for the first sunken post, the twisting shingle path that leads through the treacherous water and out to the mudflats. When she finds it, half-submerged by brackish water, she sets out without looking back.

Silently, they cross the marshes. As they get nearer the sea, the mist disperses and the sun starts to filter through the clouds. At the henge circle, the tide is out and the sand glitters in the early morning light.

I can also picture the view of the marshland from Ruth’s kitchen:

The kitchen barely has room for a fridge and a cooker but Ruth, despite the books, rarely cooks. Now she switches on the kettle and puts bread into the toaster, clicking on Radio 4 with a practiced hand. Then she collects her lecture notes and sits at the table by the front window. Her favourite place. Beyond her front garden with its windblown grass and broken blue fence there is nothingness. Just miles and miles of marshland, spotted with stunted gorse bushes and criss-crossed with small, treacherous streams. Sometimes, at this time of year, you can see great flocks of wild geese wheeling across the sky, their feathers turning pink in the rays of the rising sun. But today, on this grey winter morning, there is not a living creature as far as the eye can see. Everything is pale and washed out, grey-green merging to grey-white as the marsh meets the sky. Far off is the sea, a line of darker grey, seagulls riding in on the waves. It is utterly desolate and Ruth has absolutely no idea why she loves it so much.

Care to learn more about Ruth Galloway? (From the author’s website):

Ruth is Head of Forensic Archaeology at the University of North Norfolk. How she came to be interested in archaeology, much less forensic archaeology is a bit of a mystery. She was born and brought up in Eltham, South London, and the nearest she ever came to pre-history was listening to her father’s endless stories of his childhood in Margate.

Then, when Ruth was ten, her parents found God. They became Born Again (their capitals) and embarked on an enthusiastic career of Going to Church and Praying for People (especially for Ruth for whom God remained resolutely hidden).

Ruth took refuge in her books and, after excellent A Levels, went to University College London to study archaeology. She graduated with a first and went on to do an MA at UCL and a PhD at Southampton University. It was at Southampton that she first met Erik Anderssen, the charismatic Norwegian academic who became a great influence in her life. On Erik’s recommendation, Ruth got a job teaching at the new University of North Norfolk and was present at the scene of Erik’s greatest triumph – the discovery of a Bronze Age wooden henge on a Norfolk beach.

The Henge Dig, as it became known, changed Ruth’s life forever. Not only did she meet Peter, the man who was to be her partner for ten years, but she uncovered secrets which were eventually to lead to murder.

Ruth lives alone on an isolated stretch of coastland called the Saltmarsh. She has two cats.

Final Thoughts:

I was able to figure out who was responsible for the crimes fairly early, but that didn’t detract from my enjoyment of this audio production. I enjoyed getting to know Ruth and Nelson, both of whom are very likeable characters, as well as learning a little bit about archaeology and Norfolk, England. I’ve now read the second book in the series and am anxious to continue with The House at Sea’s End (#3).

Note:

If you opt for the audiobook, be sure to take a glance at a copy of the print edition. The author has included a drawing of a map of the Saltmarsh and the surrounding area. I wish I had found it prior to listening to the book.

The Various Haunts of Men

The Various Haunts of Men by Susan Hill
Mystery
A Simon Serrailler Crime Novel (#1)
2011 Blackstone Audio
Reader: Steven Pacey
Finished on February 22, 2015
Rating: 4.5/5 (Terrific!)



Publisher’s Blurb:

A woman vanishes in the fog on "the Hill," an area known locally for its tranquility and peace. The police are not alarmed; people usually disappear for their own reasons. But when a young girl, an old man and even a dog disappear no-one can deny that something untoward is happening in this quiet cathedral town. Young policewoman Freya Graffham is assigned to the case; she's new to the job, compassionate, inquisitive, dedicated and needs to know - perhaps too much. She and the enigmatic Detective Chief Inspector Simon Serrailler have the task of unravelling the mystery behind this gruesome sequence of events. From the passages revealing the killer's mind to the final heart-stopping twist, The Various Haunts of Men is a masterly crime debut.

From Amazon:

When Susan Hill first introduced us to the city of Lafferton, to its meticulously crafted cast of characters, and to its chief police inspector Simon Serrailler, readers went wild. When it was released in hardcover, The Various Haunts of Men was named a BookSense Pick and was immediately on the must-read list of every mystery fan. Now out in paperback, Hill's intricate and pulse-pounding novel will reach an even wider audience. 

As the story begins, a lonely woman vanishes while out on her morning run. Then a 22-year-old girl never returns from a walk. An old man disappears too. When fresh-faced policewoman Freya Graffham is assigned to the case, she runs the risk of getting too invested--too involved--in the action. Alongside the enigmatic detective Chief Inspector Simon Serrailler, she must unravel the mystery before events turn too gruesome. 

Written with intelligence, compassion, and a knowing eye--in the tradition of the fabulous mysteries of Ruth Rendell and P.D. James--The Various Haunts of Men is an enthralling journey into the heart of a wonderfully developed town, and into the very mind of a killer.

This is a marvelous book! I accidentally read The Shadows in the Street, which is the fifth installment in the Simon Serrailler series, a couple of years ago and enjoyed it immensely. After reading Kay’s review for another book in the series, I remembered that I wanted to get back to this author’s books and decided to see if I could borrow The Various Haunts of Men from my library. I was able to get it on audio and it was top-notch listening experience. I got so caught up in the narration, I found myself holding my breath, anxious to hear what was about to happen next. One of the nice things about listening to an audio book is that I am never really sure where I am or how much further it is to the last chapter. I find that this intensifies the suspense more than when I’m reading a print edition of a mystery or thriller. On the negative side, I missed out on a two-page detailed map of Lafferton, which is presented at the beginning of the book and which I only happened to stumble upon while looking up a couple of passages to share.

I don’t remember too much about the mystery in the other book I read, but I do remember that I liked the characters, so it was nice to start at the beginning of the series and get some background history on the main cast. Hill’s characters are fleshed out and the dialogue rings true, although I had to laugh at one point when one of the characters was referred to as middle aged. She is 53. Seriously? I don’t think I’ve ever considered myself middle aged!

I love a good mystery and Hill kept me guessing up until the end of the book, but I also enjoyed the domestic details (reminiscent of Rosamunde Pilcher’s) of the narrative.

On simple comforts of home:

Simon went into the kitchen but Cat did not follow, not yet, she wanted to luxuriate in this room. It ran the length of the house and had long windows. From the kitchen there was a glimpse of the Hill. 

The white-painted wooden shutters were folded back. The polished old elm floorboards had two large good rugs. Light poured in, on to Simon’s pictures and his few carefully chosen pieces of furniture which mixed antiques and contemporary classics with confident success. Beyond this one huge room, he had a small bedroom and a bathroom tucked out of the way, and then the galley kitchen. Everything centred here, in this one calm room, where Cat came, she thought, for almost the same reasons she went to church—peace, quiet, beauty and spiritual and visual recharging of her batteries. Nothing about her brother’s flat bore any relation to her own hugger-mugger farmhouse, always noisy and untidy, spilling over with children, dogs, wellington boots, bridles and medical journals. She loved it, that was where her heart was, where she had deep roots. But a small, vital nugget of herself belonged here, in this sanctuary of light and tranquility. She thought it was probably what kept Simon sane and able to do his often stressful and distressing job as well as he did.

On house calls and death:

She prayed that her phone would not ring. Spending some time now with a dying patient—doing something so ordinary as making tea in this kitchen, helping an ordinary couple through the most momentous and distressing parting of all—put the hassle and increasing administrative burden of general practice in its place. Medicine was changing, or being changed, by the grey men who managed but did not understand it. A lot of Cat and Chris Deerborn’s colleagues were becoming cynical, burned out and demoralized. It would be easy to give in, to process people through the surgery like cans on a conveyor belt and palm the out-of-hours stuff on to locums. That way you got a good night’s sleep—and precious little job satisfaction. Cat was having none of it. What she was doing now was not cost-effective and no one could put a price on it. Helping Harry Chater through his dying, and looking after his wife as well as she could, were the jobs that mattered and as important to her as to them.

Excellent British series! I can’t wait to return to the cathedral town of Lafferton to see what’s in store for DC Simon Serrailler. Next up The Pure in Heart. British actor Steven Pacey is a wonderful reader and it appears that he is the reader for all the audio books in this series. If I can’t download the remaining seven from my library, I may have to break down and join Audible.com.

Go here to read Kay’s excellent review of The Pure in Heart.

You can find my review of The Shadow in the Streets here.