Nemesis (1971) Agatha Christie (Miss Marple #12) As she woke again, her first impression was that which so often follows dreams, a belief that the dream in question had solved everything. “Of course,” she thought, “of course!” His eyebrows were false and that solved the whole thing. He was the criminal. Sadly, it came to […]
At Bertram’s Hotel (1965) Agatha Christie (Miss Marple, #11) We actually have two quite different sets of bedrooms. The English we put in one lot, the Americans in the other. The rooms all look alike, but they are full of actual differences—electric razors, and showers as well as tubs in some of the bathrooms. “One […]
The Man Who Died Twice, Audiobook (2021) Richard Osman narrated by Lesley Manville (Thursday Murder Club #2) That twinkle in his eye was undimmed. The twinkle that gave an entirely undeserved suggestion of wisdom and charm. The twinkle that could make you walk down the aisle with a man almost ten years your junior and […]
A Caribbean Mystery (1964) Agatha Christie (Miss Marple #10) Dancing, lights, the music of a band (even a steel band), all that surely was for youth. But where was youth? Studying, she supposed, at universities, or doing a job—with a fortnight’s holiday a year. … A place like this was too far away and too […]
Shady Hollow, Audiobook (2015) Juneau Black narrated by Cassandra Campbell (A Shady Hollow Mystery #1) I still love the story, but the narration isn’t my favorite. After finishing Blitz, this became the listen-in-the-car book. When I previously suggested Michael might enjoy this series, he scoffed and said it wasn’t for him. He ended up enjoying […]
The Thursday Murder Club, Audiobook (2020) Richard Osman narrated by Lesley Manville (Thursday Murder Club #1) Elizabeth admires suspicion above all else and invited Ron to flick through the file of a scoutmaster found burned to death in 1982 in woodland just off the A27. She soon spotted his key strength—namely, he never believes a […]
The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side (1962) Agatha Christie (Miss Marple, #9) The people, too, looked unreal. The trousered young women, the rather sinister-looking young men and boys, the exuberant bosoms of the fifteen-year-old girls. Miss Marple couldn’t help thinking that it all looked terribly depraved. … Mothers came out on doorsteps calling to […]
That Kind of Guy (2019) Talia Hibbert (Ravenswood #3) In truth, Zach was a messy fucker who resented his own compulsion to fill in other people’s gaps but couldn’t make himself stop. “I like being around you, Zach. Even when you’re not performing.” She’d been taught so thoroughly that standing up for herself was an […]
Untouchable (2018) Talia Hibbert (Ravenswood #2) If you want me to read all of this, it’ll take me a while. And I’ll need digital copies.” “You will?” He glanced up. “Oh, yeah. Turns out I’m dyslexic.” Zach: Want to get a drink? Hannah: No. Zach: Want to eat cookies and bitch about people? Hannah: Meet […]
Blitz, Audiobook (2022) Daniel O’Malley narrated by Moira Quirk (Checquy Files #3) And then there were no more shots, only the unmistakable sound of someone having run out of bullets. Responsible for supernatural security throughout the British Empire, the executives of the Checquy were all horrendously busy and had been even before the nation entered […]
4:50 from Paddington (1957) Agatha Christie (Miss Marple, #8) “You’re getting deaf, Jane.” “Just a little, perhaps. People do not seem to me to enunciate their words as clearly as they used to do. But it wasn’t that I did not hear you. I’m afraid I wasn’t paying attention.” The two boys arrived on the […]
Speculations in Sin, Audiobook (2024) Jennifer Ashley narrated by Anne-Marie Piazza (Below Stairs Mystery #7) Set in London in 1883 “Do you know much about them?” I asked hopefully. “Of course not. Most of these grand establishments of the City won’t let a lady walk into them—at least not one unaccompanied by her father, uncle, […]
A Pocket Full of Rye (1953) Agatha Christie (Miss Marple, #7) Miss Grosvenor was an incredibly glamorous blonde. She wore an expensively cut little black suit and her shapely legs were encased in the very best and most expensive black-market nylons. Where was there a doctor near here? Nobody knew. Miss Bell seized a telephone […]
The Secret of Bow Lane, Audiobook (2022) Jennifer Ashley narrated by Anne-Marie Piazza (Below Stairs Mystery #6) Set in London in 1882 Characters: Mrs. Kat Holloway, Mr. Davis, Mrs. Redfern, Mrs. Bywater, Mr. Bywater, Tess, Lady Cynthia Clifford, James McAdam, Daniel McAdam, Mr. Errol Fielding, Caleb Constable Greene, Mr. Thanos, Grace Holloway, Nettie, Bobby Lady […]
They Do It With Mirrors (1952) Agatha Christie (Miss Marple, #6) Everyone’s life has a tempo. Ruth’s was presto whereas Miss Marple’s was content to be adagio. A man who with shrewd business acumen and perfect honesty had built up a fortune so colossal that really philanthropy had been the only solution to the disposal […]
Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories (1985) Agatha Christie The Thirteen Problems (1932) 1. The Tuesday Night Club (1927) 2. The Idol House of Astarte (1928) 3. Ingots of Gold (1928) 4. The Bloodstained Pavement (1928) 5. Motive v. Opportunity (1928) 6. The Thumbmark of St. Peter (1928) 7. The Blue Geranium (1929) 8. The […]
Death at the Crystal Palace (2021) Jennifer Ashley narrated by Anne-Marie Piazza (Below Stairs Mystery #5) Set in London in 1882 Characters: Mrs. Kat Holloway, Mr. Davis, Mrs. Bywater, Mr. Bywater, Mrs. Redfern, Tess, Mrs. Millburn, Mr. Elgin Thanos, Mr. Errol Fielding, James McAdam, Daniel McAdam, Lady Clifford, Lord Clifford, Lady Cynthia Clifford, Bobby Lady […]
An Unsuitable Heir (2017) KJ Charles (Sins of the Cities, #3) Set in London and Norfolk England in 1873 I do like Mark. “Gone back off home now to bring down the Empire, trzymajmy kciuki.” He tipped his glass. “What was that?” “Polish. Means ‘Let’s keep our fingers crossed.’?” “Did you just drink to the […]
A Murder Is Announced (1950) Agatha Christie (Miss Marple, #5) “I do wish you wouldn’t read that horrid paper, Edmund. Mrs. Finch doesn’t like it at all.” “I don’t see what my political views have to do with Mrs. Finch.” “And it isn’t,” pursued Mrs. Swettenham, “as though you were a worker. You don’t do […]
An Unnatural Vice (2017) K.J. Charles (Sins of the Cities #2) Set in London and Norfolk in 1873 He looked like the sin of angels, like the sweetest fruit at the goblin market, and Nathaniel despised everything about him. “Oh, for— What did you think I was doing?” “Didn’t have a clue.” “It might work,” […]
Murder in the East End, Audiobook (2020) Jennifer Ashley narrated by Anne-Marie Piazza (Below Stairs Mystery #4) Set in London in 1882 “Daniel and I were raised together, and he tells me you know under what circumstances. We refer to each other as brother, but we were no such thing, though as close as. After […]
An Unseen Attraction (2017) K.J. Charles (Sins of the Cities, #1) Set in London in 1873 This is one of my favorite queer historicals. It’s the first book in a series, and I’ve read just this book, or just the first two, because I adore Clem and Rowley. Look me in the eyes, boy! had […]
Death in Kew Gardens, Audiobook (2019) Jennifer Ashley narrated by Anne-Marie Piazza (Below Stairs Mystery #3) Set in London in 1881 I always met the beggars exactly between the streetlamps, where the darkness was greatest. The poor things feared the light, knowing they could be arrested for being unemployed and hungry. “Why didn’t you tell […]
The Body in the Library (1942) Agatha Christie (Miss Marple) Mrs Bantry reflected a minute and then applied an urgent conjugal elbow to her sleeping spouse. ‘Arthur, Arthur, wake up.’ Colonel Bantry grunted, muttered, and rolled over on his side. ‘Wake up, Arthur. Did you hear what she said?’ ‘Very likely,’ said Colonel Bantry indistinctly. […]
The Moving Finger (1942) Agatha Christie (Miss Marple) ‘I can see you are a very clever young man—but not quite enough confidence in yourself. You ought to have!’ Joanna gave a loud hoot. ‘For goodness’ sake don’t encourage him to feel like that. He thinks quite enough of himself as it is.’ ‘Be quiet, Joanna,’ […]
The Murder at the Vicarage (1930) Agatha Christie (Miss Marple) ‘I’m evidently not a housekeeper by nature. I find it better to leave things to Mary and just make up my mind to be uncomfortable and have nasty things to eat.’ Miss Marple is a white-haired old lady with a gentle, appealing manner – Miss […]
Scandal Above Stairs, Audiobook (2018) Jennifer Ashley narrated by Anne-Marie Piazza (Below Stairs Mystery #2) Set in London in 1881 I renewed my conviction that he was not married as I viewed his rumpled frock coat and noted a missing button on his waistcoat. No wife would let her husband be seen like that unless […]
A Dangerous Madness (2014) Michelle Diener (Regency London, #3) Set in London in 1812 “You don’t . . . have the time for it?” Her words seemed to be coming from far, far away. “No. I’m . . . well, soon I’ll be in a bit of bother, m’dear. Or I think I will. And […]
Banquet of Lies (2013) Michelle Diener (Regency London #2) Set in London in 1812 “He reacted without thinking.” “How can you send someone out to starve without thinking?” Iris asked, her voice soft. “We’ve been fattening Mavis up,” Iris said, and something in the way she said it made Gigi go very still. If this […]
The Masquerades of Spring, Audiobook (2024) Ben Aaronovitch narrated by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith (Rivers of London) Set in New York City in 1926 I do love Kobna Holdbrook-Smith. But most of his American accents are just the slightest bit off and not quite right. Otherwise, I utterly adore everything about this novella. the show, which was […]
The Emperor’s Conspiracy (2012) Michelle Diener (Regency London #1) Set in London in 1811 After being annoyed by the last regency mystery, I wanted to reread a favorite, and of course had to start at the beginning of the series. (H)e was looking at her hands again. “Should I put the gloves back on?” Her […]
Confounding Oaths, Audiobook (2024) Alexis Hall narrated by Nneka Okoye (The Mortal Follies #2) Set in London in 1814 I really love Nneka Okoye’s narration. And of course Alexis Hall’s snark. And whereas in the enlightened twenty-first century the marriage of a British aristocrat to a Person of Colour is a wholly unremarkable thing that […]
Posthumous Education, Audiobook (2022) Drew Hayes narrated by Kirby Heyborne (Fred the Vampire Accountant Book 8) “I’m surprised you even want to step back.” “It’s more that I have to, for the good of the company overall.” I struggled to find the right words for my concerns. They were difficult to explain to anyone who […]
A Kiss for Midwinter (2012) Courtney Milan (Brothers Sinister #1.5) Leicester, England 1864 This is one my my favorite historical novellas. He hadn’t chosen to become a doctor so that he could foretell the death of children. He’d been seduced by the stories—the stories of John Snow saving hundreds of lives by careful observation, of […]
The Countess Conspiracy (2013) Courtney Milan (Brothers Sinister #3) Set in Cambridge in 1867 “…the chance that a male cat will show tortoiseshell coloring is so small we cannot calculate it—one in a thousand, perhaps. My theory provides no explanation for such smallness.” The woman’s voice was beginning to rise in pitch, something Violet would […]
The Heiress Effect (2013) Courtney Milan (Brothers Sinister #2) Set in Cambridgeshire, England, 1867 She asked Whitting about his studies, and when he made a wry comment about preferring to concentrate his efforts on the study of liquids, she stared at him. “How surprising.” Her eyes were very round. “I had not thought you to […]
The Duchess War (2012) Courtney Milan (Brothers Sinister #1) Set in Leicester, England in 1863 “Your Grace,” Stevens finally said, “your concern does you justice.” The man’s toad-eating did him none. Robert met Stevens’s eyes. “No, it doesn’t. It’s called basic human decency, and I deserve no credit for doing what every man should.” “You […]
Murder Most Actual (2021) Alexis Hall These are desperate times, Miss Blaine. And desperate times call for desperate measures.” “Desperate measures that mostly cause problems for people who aren’t you?” “People who aren’t me,” said the colonel, “aren’t really my concern at the moment.” Marriage was getting to the end of the serial and hearing […]
Mortal Follies (2023) Alexis Hall narrated by Nneka Okoye (The Mortal Follies #1) Set in Bath in 1814 I am that knavish sprite that frights the maidens of the villagery. I am Oberon’s jester—was Oberon’s jester, that’s rather the issue. I am called hobgoblin by some and, contrary to what certain people might have told […]
Secrets in the Mist (2016) Anna Lee Huber Set in East Anglia in 1812 It was balm for my bruised pride to hear him apologize, but it did not change what had happened. The hurt did not miraculously vanish, nor did the discomfort his presence caused me. I knew what was coming, like following a […]
System Collapse, Audiobook (2023) Martha Wells narrated by Kevin R Free (Murderbot Diaries #7) I still felt radically off my game and I was hoping for reassurance rather than statistics that confirmed that I was correct in thinking that everything sucked right now. (According to Martyn, ART is of course capable of doing its own […]
A Sanctuary for Soulden (2021) J.A. Rock & Lisa Henry (The Lords of Bucknall Club #4) Set in alternate England during the Napoleanic Era he caught sight of Lord Christmas Gale, on his hands and knees, searching under a table in the near-empty Green Room. This was a bit unusual, even for Christmas. Soulden walked […]
Jericho Candelario’s Gay Debut (2018) R. Cooper “Hey.” Susanna’s voice was sharp. “You mean a lot to me. Stop thinking whatever you’re thinking.” Lincoln must have been snacking on frosting all day and gone without real, solid food. His eyes were very bright. The words in those books weren’t always meant for him, but they […]
Out of House and Home, Audiobook (2021) Drew Hayes narrated by Kirby Heyborne (Fred the Vampire Accountant Book 7) “My apologies for the presumption. I knew this only as Deborah’s number.” “It is, but no one picks up their damn phones anymore unless they know the number.” “I called you here to discuss the employment […]
A Power Unbound (2023) Freya Marske (The Last Binding Book 3) Set in England in 1909 Spinet House was a young thing, built by a master carpenter-thaumoluthier and his energetically creative wife. It was a fortress. It was a musical, magical puzzle box. It was a fucking headache. When Alan had written up his fawning, […]
Daydream (2022) A.M. Rose (Daydream, Colorado #0.5) There are a few corners of the world where magic lives and thrives. Little nooks straight out of fairytales, full to the brim with wonders and oddities. Daydream, Colorado is one of those places. Never heard of it? It’s not surprising. The residents like to keep their town […]
Fugitive Telemetry, Audiobook (2021) Martha Wells narrated by Kevin R Free (The Murderbot Diaries #6) I guess if you were really determined, you could find a way to get yourself killed by exposing the power connectors under the panels and shielding and, I don’t know, licking them or something, “What controlled circumstances?” I said, “Isolated […]
Undeading Bells (2019) Drew Hayes narrated by Kirby Heyborne (Fred the Vampire Accountant #6) “You’ve got a whole day to be anxious, so don’t use it all up tonight. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.” The anxious, worried nature I was born with would go wild if every test I had to take was more […]
A Restless Truth (2022) Freya Marske (The Last Binding, #2) Set in England and across the Atlantic Ocean in 1909 There was a parlour game: one stared at a tray of objects before it was taken away, adjusted, and placed back in front of one’s eyes. Some things added. Some things removed. Robin was excellent […]
The Holy Thief (1992) Ellis Peters (Chronicles of Brother Cadfael #19) Set in Shropshire, England in 1144 At first glance a lovely innocent, as open as his wide eyes, and with the silken pink and whiteness of a girl, but a more penetrating study revealed that this childlike colouring was imposed upon an oval face […]