Episode 262
I’m still reading considerably less than usual, though I’ve noticed my enthusiasm growing a little again in the last few days, so fingers crossed! Thank goodness for vintage crime, Christie audiobooks and horror stories – my saviours at the moment! So a couple of books out, a couple of books in and the TBR and I remain stuck on 199…
Here are a few more that I should get to soon…
Winner of the People’s Choice Poll
The Crow Trap by Ann Cleeves
Another exciting race this week! Black Water Rising leapt into an early lead, but The Crow Trap snuck up on the inside fence and soon stormed into a unassailable position! Good choice, People! I’m (almost) sure I’ll enjoy this one! It will be a January read…
The Blurb says: At the isolated Baikie’s Cottage on the North Pennines, three very different women come together to complete an environmental survey. Three women who, in some way or another, know the meaning of betrayal…
For team leader Rachael Lambert the project is the perfect opportunity to rebuild her confidence after a double-betrayal by her lover and boss, Peter Kemp. Botanist Anne Preece, on the other hand, sees it as a chance to indulge in a little deception of her own. And then there is Grace Fulwell, a strange, uncommunicative young woman with plenty of her own secrets to hide…
When Rachael arrives at the cottage, however, she is horrified to discover the body of her friend Bella Furness. Bella, it appears, has committed suicide – a verdict Rachael finds impossible to accept.
Only when the next death occurs does a fourth woman enter the picture – the unconventional Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope, who must piece together the truth from these women’s tangled lives…
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Horror
Into the London Fog edited by Elizabeth Dearnley
Courtesy of the British Library. Another anthology from the BL’s Tales of the Weird series, this one taking us on a hopefully terrifying tour of the various districts that make up London. Fog was designed for horror, so the porpy is taking precautionary tranquilisers…
The Blurb says: As the fog thickens and the smoky dark sweeps across the capital, strange stories emerge from all over the city. A jilted lover returns as a demon to fulfill his revenge in Kensington, and a seance becomes a life and death struggle off Regents Canal. In the borough of Lambeth, stay clear of the Old House in Vauxhall Walk and be careful up in Temple—there’s something not right about the doleful, droning hum of the telegram wires overhead…
Join Elizabeth Dearnley on this atmospheric tour through the Big Smoke, a city which has long fueled the imagination of writers of the weird and supernormal. Waiting in the shadowy streets are tales from writers such as Charlotte Riddell, Lettie Galbraith, and Violet Hunt, who delight in twisting the urban myths and folk stories of the city into pieces of masterful suspense and intrigue. This collection will feature a map motif and notes before each story, giving readers the real-world context for these hauntings and encounters, and allowing the modern reader to seek out the sites themselves—should they dare.
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Crime
Grave’s End by William Shaw
Courtesy of Quercus via NetGalley. I’ve only read one book by William Shaw so far and loved it, so have high hopes for this one…
The Blurb says: An unidentified body is found in a freezer. No one seems to know or care who it is or who placed it there.
DS Alexandra Cupidi couldn’t have realised that this bizarre discovery will be connected to the crisis in housing, the politics of environmentalism and specifically the protection given to badgers by the law. But there are dangerous links between these strange, reclusive, fiercely territorial creatures and the activism of Cupidi’s teenage daughter Zoe and her friend Bill South, her colleague Constable Jill Ferriter’s dating habits and long forgotten historic crimes of sexual abuse – and murder.
DS Alexandra Cupidi faces establishment corruption, class divide and environmental activism in this gripping new novel by a rising star of British crime fiction.
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Vintage Crime
Inspector French: Sudden Death by Freeman Wills Crofts
Courtesy of HarperCollins. I’ve loved the couple of Crofts’ books I’ve previously read, so am looking forward to this one, especially since vintage crime has become my slump-busting comfort reading at the moment!
The Blurb says: To mark the publishing centenary of Freeman Wills Crofts, ‘The King of Detective Story Writers’, this is one of six classic crime novels being issued in 2020 featuring Inspector French, coming soon to television.
Anne Day is the new housekeeper at Frayle, the home of Mr Grinsmead and his invalid wife. To Anne’s horror, her intuition that something is very wrong in the house culminates in an unexpected death. With the police jumping to devastating conclusions, Inspector French arrives to investigate. With the narrative switching between Anne’s and French’s perspectives, giving alternately the outside and inside track of an ingenious and elaborate investigation, will tragedy strike a second time before the mystery is solved?
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NB All blurbs and covers taken from Goodreads or Amazon UK.
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Grave’s End sounds really good, FictionFan. I hope you’ll enjoy that one, and I look forward to your review of it. I’ll admit, I didn’t vote for The Crow Trap, but I think you’ll like it, and I’m glad that it won. Hopefully we’ve guided you right this time! The Inspector French series is a really good example, in my opinion, of crime fiction of that time, so even if you don’t end up particularly liking that one (although, of course, I hope you do), I think it has something to say about the era.
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I have high hopes for all of these – carefully selected to appeal to my easily distracted brain! I will still get to Black Water Rising at some point – this is why I need to stop adding to my TBR… 😉 I think I’ll enjoy The Crow Trap – I enjoyed the first book in the Shetland series. And the Inspector French is calling to me… I have a feeling it might be up next… 😀
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I was going to say I’m going to stop talking to you until your TBR hits the 200 mark again but I’m not sure if that works as an incentive. 🤔
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Hahaha, but that’s so mean! I shall invest in the entire Fifty Shades series to sit on my shelf unread for ever, just so I can get over the magic total… how’s that? 😂
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Pleased to hear your slump is easing. I’ve been very fortunate not to have been hit by this (yet).My partner seems to be mainlining thrillers and crime as a way of staving one off. Still trying to get him too sample a few British Library editions as he’s going so fast he’ll run out of favourites soon!
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I think my usual habit of planning my reading ahead is part of the problem – I had too many heavyweight classics lined up. So I’ve put them back on the shelf and am sticking with crime for a bit – a good murder always cheers me up! 😉 Haha, there’s nearly a hundred of the BL crime classics now so that should keep him going for a bit… 😀
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Partner considerably perked up at the prospect of a hundred crime classics!
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😂
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That’s good your slump is kind of easing again, I’ve stopped reading fiction altogether now, but am getting through loads of Non-Fic, so its kind of balancing out. I didn’t vote for the Crow Trap either, but I think you might quite like Vera if you’ve not encountered her before, she seems fairly robust and not too self-pitying.
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I’ve gone the other way – I’ve more or less given up on non-fic and heavyweight classics, and am sticking to crime and adventure for a bit – it seems to be working, more or less. I’m hopeful about The Crow Trap since I enjoyed the first book in her Shetland series, and Vera sounds like a more interesting character…
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Well, I won’t vote this time, since my choice didn’t win, sulk, sulk! However, I always enjoy Ann Cleeves, and The Crow Trap does sound interesting. I can never remember if I saw a TV episode of each of her books or not, as they do jiggle them about a bit, don’t they.
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Haha, but the good thing about the losers is that they still stay on my TBR so will get their chance to shine one day! 😉 Yes, I think with most TV series they quickly run out of books to adapt and start writing their own plots – it can make things very confusing if you’re trying to follow both the written and TV versions.
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Hope you enjoy the Crow Trap, it was my choice 😉 Definitely recommend Grave’s End. I’m loving this series.
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I shall remember that, if it all goes horribly wrong… 😉 I loved the one book of William Shaw that I’ve read – in fact, I think it may have been my crime book of the year that year! Of course I meant to read all the rest, but you know how that goes… 😉
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I was just kidding about the Crow Trap….honest….
I know, all good intentions….
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Too late… 😈
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😅
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All these look really good, FF, and I’m happy your reading slump seems to be a thing of the past. I’m still chuckling over the notion of the Porpy taking “precautionary tranquilizers”!! If these turn out to be as enjoyable as they sound initially, I suspect he’s going to need a bit of calming!
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I’m hoping if I stick to crime and adventure for a bit that I won’t keep slumping – can’t deal with heavyweight stuff right now! Hahaha, the poor Porpy thinks I’ve gone overboard this year with all these terrifying anthologies – I think he might have a protest march soon… 😉
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I might get around to reading Ann Cleeves’ books sooner than I thought I’d.
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They do sound good, so I hope we both enjoy her!
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For some reason, I’m interested in horror this week. Could be I need something to temper the real terror I’m feeling about the upcoming election.
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I know! I wish I could feel confident, but after the true horror of 2016 I won’t be comfortable till old Joe is firmly in the Oval Office. After it’s been fumigated, of course… 😉
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That Ann Cleeves book definitely sounds tempting! Hope you get some reading inspiration soon. I’ve also been in a reading slump recently and waiting to get to a good 5 star book to get me out of it!
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The world is such a mess it’s hard to concentrate on books right now – I’m finding these anthologies of short stories are working well, since I can fit a story or two in whenever the mood hits me! Hope you find something to pull you out of your slump soon… 😀
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I am, Inspector French sounds like a winner! And I’m glad to hear you’re getting over your reading slump, good old vintage crime; it’s horrible when something we take for granted (like our ability to always be found with our noses in books) disappears.
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I’m looking forward to the Inspector French – yay for vintage! Yes, I think the habit I’ve fallen into of planning my reading months ahead is making things worse, since I can’t concentrate on heavyweight classics and suchlike at the moment. So I’ve thrown out my list and am seeing if a bit of mood-reading works better for a while!
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I like the look of everything featured here this week. Glad to know they’ll be working their way off your TBR and we’ll be treated to your reviews of them. 😀
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I’m trying to stick to crime, horror and adventure for a while, since I haven’t got the concentration for heavyweight classics. So expect these posts to be filled with vintage crime for the next few weeks! 😀
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I like the sound of Graves End – glad to hear your enthusiasm is creeping back.
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It does sound good, and I loved the only other book of his I’ve read so far, so fingers crossed! Yes, I think I’ll just have to stick to a light diet of crime and horror for a bit… 😀
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Oh! Not sure what to make of the Ann Cleeves coming up. As you probably know, I am a fan of both the Vera and Shetland series, but I didn’t particularly like The Crow Trap. It felt like a “warming up” to the series, already from the second book, I thought the series improved. Anyway, hope you’ll find it ok, I don’t want you to have another bad experience, which may put you off Cleeves for good (and that would be a shame).
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Oh, interesting – it’s good to be warned, and I’ll bear that in mind when reading it. Quite often the first in a series can be the weakest – it’s why I’m always warning people off the first in my beloved Dalziel and Pascoe books, since it’s nowhere near as good as the later books become. So if I don’t enjoy The Crow Trap, I’ll try one of the later ones – I don’t mind reading series out of order… 😀
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Quite tempted by Into the London Fog! The incorporation of the maps sounds like such a great bonus!
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The British Library are doing some great horror and sci-fi anthologies at the moment, and foggy old London is an excellent basis for a theme!
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I love that cover of Sudden Death! It looks like a vintage crime novel!
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I love these HarperCollins vintage covers too – they have a whole series of them and just vary the colour scheme. Still prefer the BL ones though… 😉
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Unsurprisingly the Inspector French appeals to me! My dad and his wife both really rate the Vera series though, so I think the people made a good a choice 🙂
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Each of the crime books are of interest to me (though I’ll wait for your review of the Cleeves before finally committing). I like the William Shaw book I’ve read and have another on my TBR. London Fog appeals as a concept but I’ll have to be convinced about the horror aspects 😉
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London Fog is not turning out to be my favourite anthology sadly – it’s a strange mix of horror stories and extracts from books about London. I’m looking forward to all three of the crime books though – just as soon as this pesky US election is over and I can calm down enough to read… 😉
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I’ve been meaning to read the Vera books for ages so I think the People chose well too! And vintage crime is my saviour at the moment so Inspector French might find himself at the top of my priority list… 😀
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Like you, I’m inspired when I make my to-read lists. You picked some dark reads, I hope you enjoy all of them.
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I think I enjoy making book lists nearly as much as I enjoy reading the books! Haha, yes, crime is my comfort reading in times of anxiety – odd! Maybe subconsciously it makes me feel things could be worse… 😉
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