cloakanddaggerchristmas

Rabbits | Terry Miles

I forgot to post my #12booksof2021 selections for #November & #December As a mood reader it is extremely rare for me to sign on to any challenge but in Nov I surpassed my goal for #nonficttionNovember of 4 NF books by reading 6 & I also met my goal for the delightful #cloakanddaggerchristmas Honorable mentions for Nov/Dec:Vet's Daughter, B is for Burglar, Girl 11, Dear Reader.

vivastory Although my posts turned into more #120booksof2021 I had a blast reflecting on an otherwise grim year. Thanks @andrew65 6mo

RaeLovesToRead Well done on Cloak and Dagger challenge! Hope 2022 is less grim 🤞🤞 6mo

vivastory @RaeLovesToRead How did you do on the challenge? I added a couple of the books you read to my TBR. Thanks! I really appreciate it. I hope you have a great year too. 6mo

RaeLovesToRead I managed 5 prompts in the end (including watching a mystery on TV) - The Honjin Murders was delightfully convoluted and well worth a read, but I didn't think much of the Real Town murders. My bookspin & doublespin this month are mysteries though, so cloak and dagger January begins now 😄📚🎉 6mo

BiblioLitten Now nonfiction November sounds like a good challenge for me. Might try that this year. 6mo

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RaeLovesToRead

Death in August: A Novel | Marco Vichi

My Bookspin / Doublespin picks! @TheAromaofBooks 💕

Following on from #cloakanddaggerchristmas it looks like I'm going to have CLOAK AND DAGGER JANUARY!!! 🗡

(Sadly, I already know exactly who did The Mirror Crack'd.. there is an absolutely STUNNING version of it starring Julia McKenzie in the series Agatha Christie's Marple which I recommend +++)

Happy with these picks!

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! I love that cover for Death in August!! 6mo

RaeLovesToRead @TheAromaofBooks I know 🥰🥰🥰 Hope it's good! 6mo

Branwen Those covers are ❤❤❤😍 6mo

RaeLovesToRead @Branwen Yes! Especially the Death in August one 💙 6mo

RaeLovesToRead @Branwen (although The Mirror Crack'd is delightfully vintage) 6mo

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RaeLovesToRead

Murder After Christmas | Rupert Latimer

pick

These British Library Crime Classics vary tremendously.

Murder After Christmas was a lively mystery with lots of Golden Age elements thrown in (and delightfully subverted.)

The only problem (and the reason why it's only a ⭐⭐⭐ 3 star read, for me) is that it all felt very long winded.

Also, I couldn't tell if the characters were MEANT to be behaving weirdly.

A decent festive mystery, regardless.

RaeLovesToRead This is also my 5th and final #cloakanddaggerchristmas read 6mo

shanaqui Yes! I felt very similar about this one. Like, it was lively and bouncy all along but omg, it felt so convoluted, and I got really tired of characters talking at length about basically nothing. It was comic at first and then got old... but if the book had been a few pages shorter -- even 30 pages or so -- I think I'd have rated it higher. 6mo

RaeLovesToRead @shanaqui Agree completely! All the elements were there but it felt rather rambling. I enjoyed the twists and clues but it took me way longer to read than it should have done 😅 6mo

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quietjenn

Follow Her Home | Steph Cha

Now that is officially the last of the year, doing some wrap-up posts, like many others! First up is my #cloakanddaggerchristmas finale! What a fun challenge! Thank so much to @merelybookish for bringing it over to Litsy. I read a lot of mysteries anyway, but this was a fun way to be a little more deliberate about the ones I choose and to finally check out (or re-visit) some authors/titles I've been meaning to. I enjoyed pretty much all of them!

quietjenn The tagged book is, I think, the only one I didn't post to Litsy about at the time. I'd originally tapped it for the Kinsey prompt, but Juniper is still an amateur in this one, so it worked for Agatha instead 😁. Would be totally okay if this challenge became an annual tradition! 6mo

Ruthiella I loved Your House Will Pay by Cha. I‘ll have to check this one out. I would also love this to be an annual event. There‘s also March Mystery Madness on YouTube in March. Maybe we could bring that over to Litsy? 🤔 6mo

quietjenn @Ruthiella that one is definitely on my tbr, as well as the other two in this series. I don't know the March Mystery Madness, but would all about bringing it on over this way! 6mo

merelybookish Congrats on finishing 6 prompts and thanks for joining me. Totally up for doing it again next year! 🗡️🎄🕵️‍♀️ 6mo

merelybookish @Ruthiella I also liked This House Will Pay. I think I read it for TOB. 6mo

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vivastory

Later | Stephen King

I have an appointment & then I'm picking up groceries. After I'm done with my errands I will be starting my final book of the year. Since 2019 either my final book of the year, or my inaugural book, has been a King. It's one of my new favorite traditions.

TrishB A great tradition 👍🏻 6mo

vivastory @TrishB I figured you'd approve. I was hoping to read Needful Things this month, but just didn't have the time w/ #cloakanddaggerchristmas (edited) 6mo

TrishB I‘m excited for you that you still have it to look forward to! 6mo

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vivastory @TrishB Having read IT, Dark Tower, The Stand etc sometimes I think that I have all of his best books behind me & then I remember that I still have at least half of his bibliography to read 😍 6mo

TrishB You still have some fab reads to look forward to! 6mo

sprainedbrain This will be a great last book! 6mo

Addison_Reads Great tradition. Enjoy! 6mo

vivastory @sprainedbrain I've been looking forward to it! 6mo

vivastory @Addison_Reads It's a great way to end the reading year. I hope your final book of the year is a great one! 6mo

Leftcoastzen That‘s a nice tradition! I liked this one! 6mo

LeahBergen Fun tradition! 6mo

Cathythoughts Nice tradition 👍 I enjoyed this one 6mo

LKK526 I liked this book. Don‘t miss “Billy Summers” also by King 6mo

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batsy

Death in the Stocks | Georgette Heyer

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Did a switch for my final #cloakanddaggerchristmas prompt & went with this for the Golden Age mystery. It's a bit of a Bright Young Things escapade, though published in 1935, with a lot of zinging wit & repartee, murders, & romance. I enjoyed it though it's by no means perfect.

I really enjoyed this challenge; murders are perfect for December! Lol. Completed 6 prompts:
Inspector Bucket
Gamache
Tommy & Tuppence
Agatha Raisin
Hercule Poirot
Columbo

batsy @merelybookish Thanks for getting us excited about this challenge 😁 6mo

merelybookish @batsy 6 done! I think we both exceeded our expectations. Murder is the perfect counterbalance to Christmas cheer! 😁 6mo

Reggie @merelybookish ☝🏽lololol 6mo

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batsy @merelybookish 😆😆 6mo

Cathythoughts 👏👏👏I love Colombo 🕵️‍♂️ 6mo

charl08 👍🎄Definitely a good time for some crime. 6mo

batsy @Cathythoughts It's a good show! 😁 6mo

batsy @charl08 🎄🕵🏽‍♀️ 6mo

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merelybookish

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead: A Novel | Olga Tokarczuk

And that's a wrap on #CloakandDaggerChristmas. I managed 7/9 prompts! It was a fun December project! Turns out my favourite mystery books are not really about the mystery. The tagged book was definitely my favourite of the bunch, although I do very much enjoy Flavia. Thanks to everyone who joined me!

RaeLovesToRead Nice work! I'm on 4.5 prompts! Do I have until the end of December? If not, I'm going to pretend I have til the end of December 😄 6mo

Ruthiella Good job! I managed two. I think it‘s interesting, your observations on what kind of mystery you like. I‘m tempted to recommend Tana French‘s books to you. They are mysteries, but really more characters studies than anything... 6mo

merelybookish @RaeLovesToRead I think you can take as long as you want! I've just had my fill of mysteries for now. 😉 6mo

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merelybookish @Ruthiella Thanks! I definitely prefer a more character driven story. I tried reading one Tana French, but I baile. It was just too long. But it was one of her later ones and I wondered if her earlier books would be better. In general I don't love super plotty and mysteries by default are pretty plotty. 😁 This is the Tana French I tried.

The Witch Elm

6mo

Ruthiella @merelybookish French‘s novels do tend to move slowly. Maybe take it under advisement and try her first book when you are next tempted to read a mystery

In the Woods (Dublin Murder Squad, #1)

6mo

batsy Well done! I'm almost finished with my last book and might not have hit all my prompts but it was fun. 6mo

BiblioLitten The tagged book was one of my top reads from last year. Brilliant writing! 6mo

merelybookish @BiblioLitten I loved it. I loved all her theories and the way her mind worked! 6mo

vivastory I'm thrilled you loved Drive Your Plow etc It's a personal favorite 6mo

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Bookwormjillk

Candy Slain | Chelsea Thomas

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I‘m beginning to really like this series. They‘re lightheaded and funny, and feature all sorts of delicious sounding baked goods. In this one our sleuths must come to the rescue when Santa is found stabbed by a candy cane at the village‘s tree lighting ceremony.

#wintercosy #Verymerryreadathon #Cloakanddaggerchristmas #holidayhorrorsreadathon #wrapitupreadathon #christmasmyway #bookspinbingo #wintergames #mistletoemaniacs

DieAReader, Clwojick, TheSpineView, keys_on_fire, Patchshank, TheAromaofBooks, PuddleJumper, GHABI4ROSES

TheSpineView Awesome! 6mo

keys_on_fire Sweet! (Pun intended! 🤣🤣) 6mo

Bookwormjillk @keys_on_fire 😂🤪😂 6mo

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 6mo

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Bookwormjillk

Blood Hollow: A Novel | William Kent Krueger

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I got my booster yesterday and slept off and on until 2 pm today 🙀 Then I woke up and read this entire book. All in all not a bad day.

This book from the Cork O‘Connor mystery series is a wild ride that starts with a murder on New Year‘s Eve. I really like this series.

#wintergames #mistletoemaniacs #wintercosy #averymerryreadathon #cloakanddaggerchristmas #holidayhorrorsreadathon #wrapitupreadathon #christmasmyway #bookspinbingo