Episode 230
Well, after last week’s dramatic rise, an even more dizzying drop this week – down SIX to 212! (Five finished, one abandoned.)
(No, this isn’t me – but I kinda wish it was…)
Here are a few more I’ll be dipping into soon…
Scottish Classic
Flemington by Violet Jacob
One from my Classics Club list. I know nothing about either book or author other than that this turns up frequently on Best Scottish Novels lists. I see it’s about the Jacobites again – clearly we still have some work to do to get that episode of history out of our systems! I may or may not read the included short story collection… I’ll see how I get on with the novel before deciding!
The Blurb says: Violet Jacob’s fifth and finest novel is a tragic drama of the 1745 Jacobite Rising, tightly written, poetic in its symbolic intensity, lit by flashes of humour and informed by the author’s own family history as one of the Erskines of the House of Dun near Montrose. Drawn back to these roots in her later years, Violet Jacob also wrote many unforgettable short stories about the people, the landscapes and the language of the North-east. In this volume fourteen of these stories are re-collected and re-edited as Tales from Angus.
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Dalziel and Pascoe
A Killing Kindness by Reginald Hill
Continuing my very slow re-read of my favourite crime series, this is book 6, by which time Hill was really getting into his stride…
The Blurb says: When Mary Dinwoodie is found choked in a ditch following a night out with her boyfriend, a mysterious caller phones the local paper with a quotation from Hamlet. The career of the Yorkshire Choker is underway. If Superintendent Dalziel is unimpressed by the literary phone calls, he is downright angry when Sergeant Wield calls in a clairvoyant. Linguists, psychiatrists, mediums — it’s all a load of nonsense as far as he is concerned, designed to make a fool of him. And meanwhile the Choker strikes again — and again!
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Crime
The Guesthouse by Abbie Frost
Courtesy of HarperCollins, who occasionally send me books I haven’t specifically requested and probably wouldn’t. I love this, because it tempts me to keep a toe in the water of contemporary crime, which regulars will know I’ve been struggling with recently. I’m guessing this one is a deliberate take on Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None…
The Blurb says: Seven guests. One Killer. A holiday to remember…
Not all the guests will survive their stay…
You use an app, called Cloud BNB, to book a room online. And on a cold and windy afternoon you arrive at The Guesthouse, a dramatic old building on a remote stretch of hillside in Ireland.
You are expecting a relaxing break, but you find something very different. Something unimaginable. Because a killer has lured you and six other guests here and now you can’t escape.
One thing’s for certain: not all of you will come back from this holiday alive…
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Christie on Audio
The Thirteen Problems by Agatha Christie
I’m pretty sure I’ve read all Agatha Christie’s mystery novels but I think there are some short story collections I’ve missed over the years, and this may be one of them. I know I’ve come across some of the individual stories in anthologies but I don’t think I’ve read them all together. The narrator is again the wonderful Joan Hickson…
The Blurb says: When her friends from the Tuesday Night Club visit Miss Marple’s house, the conversation often turns to unsolved crimes. Trying to solve these 13 mysteries are Raymond West, a young writer; the artist Joyce Lemprière; Dr Pender, the clergyman, who claims to know the hidden side of human character; Mr Petherick, a lawyer who is only interested in the logical approach; and Sir Henry Clithering, whose experience as commissioner of Scotland Yard speaks for itself. Then, of course, there is Miss Marple, who has observed enough about human nature to be more than a match for the most perspicacious investigator.
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NB All blurbs and covers taken from Goodreads, Audible UK or Amazon UK.
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I blame Walter Scott! 200 years on from his books, and everyone still thinks the Jacobites make for good romantic novels 🙂 .
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Haha! I know! Mind you, it is about the only exciting historical event to have happened in Scotland in the last 500 years, if you discount Nessie sightings… 😉
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I think I need the further tempting from a good review for each of these 🙂
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I can guarantee positive reviews for the Reginald Hill and the Agatha Christie, but the other two could go either way… 🙂
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Tempted? Yes. Am I likely to read any? Probably not because of my own massive TBR wall… But looking forward to your reviews, and maybe one will convince me to dip my toes!
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Just one… hmm! Then I’ll have to try to tempt you with the Dalziel & Pascoe novel then, I think… then you can add all 22 books in the series! 😉
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I’m too upset to be tempted by anything 😭
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😂 I’m sorry! The postie arrived on Friday though…
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Down 6!! Result! I’m sure it’ll be going up again soon though 😉I love rereading favourite books/series. At the moment I’m squeezing in the Pike and Cole series whenever I can.
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Haha – the postman may have made a small delivery on Friday… 😉 I used to re-read all the time but it’s another thing that keeps getting shoved aside for review copies these days. *BloggerProblems*
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Funny…I had one of those on Friday too 😄
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Bah… those posties ought to be banned… 😂
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😂
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Interesting selection this week. I hope Flemington doesn’t fall into the trap of romanticising the Jacobites, but I’m not convinced from the blurb. The Dalziel and Pascoe sounds good though, I always like the fact that they are so different as characters, and that the focus is fairly evenly spread between them. I dare say I have come across most of these Christie short stories too, but the title of this particular collection doesn’t ring any bells.
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The Flemington blurb isn’t appealing to me at the moment – I assume it must have done when I put it on my Classics Club list though! I love the Dalziel and Pascoe books, and thought they got better and better as the series went on. I loved when he included Wieldy more too. The Christie turns out to be fab! I definitely haven’t read it before and have been enjoying it thoroughly the last few days. Hickson’s on top form too!
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. That’s an impressive drop FF 👍 But I’m intrigued by what has been abandoned! 😲 Are we in for another excoriating review very soon? (S rubs hands together in glee… 😂)
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Haha, I fear it was a boring history book that didn’t even inspire a ripping review! I seem to have got into the habit of abandoning bad books too early to review recently – good for my reading pleasure, but bad for blog fun! I shall try to read something truly appalling soon… 😉
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Well, I am most impressed, FictionFan! Down by 6! That clearly calls for a reward and some self-pampering. To me, the Dalziel and Pascoe series is always worth (re)reading, so I’m glad you’ve got one of those on the list. I’ve heard mixed things about The Guest House, so I’ll be very interested in what you think of that one. And, of course, there is the Christie to listen to – always a worthy addition to your TBR, I think…
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I have been pampering myself with the Christie collection – turns out I definitely haven’t read it before, and I’ve been enjoying it thoroughly the last few days! I don’t know about The Guest House – it does sound like a rip-off of And Then There Were None, and there seem to be an awful lot of books doing that at the moment. It would be difficult for them to come up to the standard of the original. But we’ll see. And at least I’m guaranteed to enjoy the Hill… 😀
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A great batch of books this week!! I’m tempted by all.
Congrats on that book drop. A few more Steinbeck-like books and you’ll be down to one book on the TBR list in no time!
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Hahaha – I just abandoned another one, so I’m beginning to think I must have less patience these days! This is a nice crimey week, so fingers crossed they’ll all be fun… 😀
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Semi-tempted, but not enough to rush out and add any of these to my TBR. Glad yours is dropping! I’d be worried about my glasses flying off my face on that roller coaster ride! Might be better all around to remove them and not see what’s going on! 😉
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I’ll be trying hard to tempt you to add the Dalziel and Pascoe books, unless you’ve already read them! Hahaha – I must admit I was hoping she either had her own teeth or that her dentures were a very tight fit… 😉
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I have not read any of them and no, no! I do NOT need to start another series!! (she said as she heads off to see how many there are)
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I can’t remember if it’s 22 or 24… not many! 😉
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I’m tempted by all but the classic. I’ve only read On Belulah Height of the Dalziel and Pascoe! Will get to the rest someday….
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I love On Beulah Height – it may be my favourite crime novel of all time! But actually I love the whole series, so will do my best to tempt you to read more of them… 😀
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Very tempting selections this week, FF! Drat, you know my propensity toward crime/mystery selections, and you’re deliberately taking advantage of my weakness, aren’t you?!? And here, your TBR has dropped by SIX (no, I’d definitely NOT want to be on that roller coaster!)
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I know – suddenly my TBR has filled up with contemporary crime, none of which I’ve chosen for myself but all of which look tempting! Fingers crossed I’ll love at least some of them. Haha – I’m not a roller coaster fan but she does look as if she’s having fun! 😉
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The Guest House would tempt me if it wasn’t in second tense. The Agatha Christie collection is tempting. Congratulations on the huge drop in the TBR, so impressed!
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Goodness! Is it in the second tense? I presumed that was just the blurb. Urgh! If it is, then I suspect it will end up on the fire pretty quickly! The Christie collection is great, and Joan Hickson is on top form! Haha – we’ll see if the drop continues… 😉
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Down six?! You and I are going to have a falling out FF, unless this situation is remedied very soon 😀
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Well, fortunately the postman arrived on Friday, so can we please still be friends? 😉
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Go on then … 🙂
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I am most tempted by the Dalziel and Pascoe. Are you writing a review when you reread? If so, I’m sure you will tempt me even more by then.
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Yes, I’ve been reviewing them as I go and the series is just getting into its stride now! I’d always recommend with this series starting a few books in since the first couple, though quite good, aren’t nearly as good as they became later. So I’ll see if I can tempt you… 😀
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