pick9-23-25: My 63rd finished book of 2025! Book 4 in the series, this one goes back in time to the late 1950s. HM Elisabeth II is in the midst of a lot of traveling to other countries when in her own backyard, there is a double murder and the police can‘t seem to figure it out. After enlisting Joan, a typist, she finally has someone to bounce her ideas off too. Joan is sent around to find clues that the coos keep overlooking. ⭐️⭐️⭐️📖#️⃣6️⃣3️⃣
so-soA locked room puzzle that harkens back to golden age mysteries both in plot and in explicit references made by Joseph Spector, the titular conjuror.
A Psychiatrist has been murdered behind locked doors and windows after being visited by three of his patients and his daughter. Spector, assisted by the bumbling Inspector Flint finally reveal all in a final chapter complete with footnotes to the clues contained in earlier pages. A bit contrived.
pickA short, quiet novel that shows life on a small, fictional (but historically based) island off the coast of Wales. Set as WWII looms on the horizon, the book is able to touch upon a remote village‘s isolation from (& its responsibility to?) the broader world. As well as individuals‘ relationships with what is provided and/or prevented by the distance.
Several flavors of audacity tied to imperialism & classism are also on full display.
so-soI heard great things about this book but it was just all over the place. I found that I was forcing myself to read this about 3/4ths of the way through. It had great potential but there was just too much going on. Life is just too short to waste your time force reading a book.
pick4.5 ⭐️Arrhhhh Tibb our sweary protagonist, how can you not love ❤️ tibb ? unbelievable this book is a debut ! It is so so good , so much more than historical fiction, it‘s adventurous, it‘s about friendship & all forms of love, survival, it‘s also an easy read page turner as the story just flows so beautifully, tbh I personally think it should have won the women‘s prize I preferred it to safekeep, but that‘s just my little opinion. Finished on a
pickI‘ve know this author for YA works but “Fallen Angels” doesn‘t really fit there. It‘s frequently challenged because of the adult-level language & realistic depiction of the Vietnam War.
I did a search, fun facts from AAVM: African American Veterans Monument (https://aavmwny.org/war/vietnam-war)
Okay yes and “fun” is rather a stretch. I‘ll have to post the full quote below BUT I would recommend this read. It‘s brutal as you‘d expect.
⤵️
pickOkay, I picked this up on a whim and it blew me away! Such a delightful, audacious, and sexy romp of a story!
What starts as mistaken identity leads to adventures in espionage and a fake relationship, as Lydia and Arthur try to track down his brother who has been posing as the Earl. As things heat up, the two are thrust out of their comfort zones and find comfort in each other. I loved both of their character arcs so much! And the audiobook was 🔥
