I Managed to get a copy of Murder Most Vile by Eric Brown from the Library three days before its publication date. Still reading the Fourteenth Letter by Claire Evans at the moment.

Soon to be rereleased.
By Edward Marston AKA Conrad Allen
Slower than the previous book in the series it was just as enjoyable. Although there isn't too much pure detective work, more of a seek and you will find scenario is the norm, the storyline will keep you interested. While the story unfolds you will learn an awful lot about the passengers and what makes them tick, even the ships cat gets scrutinised. A light-hearted cosy read.

By Conrad Allen, AKA Edward Marston.
Slower than the previous book in the series it was just as enjoyable. Although there isn't too much pure detective work, more of a seek and you will find scenario is the norm, the storyline will keep you interested. While the story unfolds you will learn an awful lot about the passengers and what makes them tick, even the ships cat gets scrutinised. A light-hearted cosy read.

This is a story about two brothers. One is to become a nobleman the other a priest. The latter is accused of murder and treason. Believing he is escaping the priesthood with the police in pursuit through Europe he has no idea of the accusations against him. While this tale was slower that the two other Langsford mysteries that I have read it still has an exciting and explosive storyline ending with a lovers kiss while others look on in admiration.

After reading 1888 I realised there were other books in the Langford mystery series which I promptly purchased. I then read 1883 believing this was the series first. I have since discovered that 1884 was the first followed by 86, 85, 83 and 88: 1887 will be the latest book and is due out in mid 2022. I don't understand why a series of books are released out of date order. Eventually it may become clear

Such is my imagination when reading I found one chapter in this book quite terrifying. Tiny Tim from A Christmas Carol is now 23, living in a Brothel and suffering from Erectile Disorder. So begins a tale of transporting very young girls for sex and Tim's involvement in ending the trade. Written in a Dickensian style there is humour & warmth but with sections that are annoyingly unbelievable. Having a satisfying ending it was a pleasure to read.

A style of writing similar to the detective novels that I read in the 1970's I liked this book from the outset. Passengers on the ships maiden voyage were introduced along with their faults in a homely interesting way. The story sailed along at its own pace until the action started just as the passengers stories were becoming a little tiresome. The end was thrilling and with romance in the air it was a thoroughly enjoyable light-hearted read.

An English Lord, his coachman and a former American slave are heading for New York by train. The coachman having purchased a Dime novel the Lord offers to narrate the story during the long trip. With pings for gun shots and the crack of whips so begins the tale of 'The Notorious Black Bart' With great excitement and with special agent Hume closing in on the bandit it is edge of the seat story telling at its best in the style of the old Dime novels

1833 and the 6 days running up to Christmas day. Fezziwig is mudered and his ghost visits Scrooge to warn him that more will die, including Scrooge and that the boy is innocent. During the story which is about solving the crime, prostitution and gross pornography well known characters will appear, the Artful Dodger, Fagin, Mr. Pickwick etc. What should have been a great storyline becomes laborious with its chases and lucky escapes. Truly Humbug.

At a funeral where a person in mourning believes the body in the coffin is still alive, the lid us opened and a new case begins for Insp. Ravenscroft. What follows is several murders, grave robbing and body dissections by an unscrupulous doctor. The mystery will keep you enthralled until the very last page and beyond with the postscript. Ye old Cheshire cheese in London also gets a mention which is where I am having a birthday drink next August.

Beginning in 1793 when a house maid is assaulted the story quickly Jumps to 1813 for the main event although it reverts back to a case that occured 10 years previously plus another case from an earlier novel. The detectives were called in to solve an attempted murder but end up getting involved in an actual murder, smuggling and family affairs. The plot was easy to follow but the family relationships, explained at the end were very complicated

Set mainly in Bristol UK following the great flood (Tsunami) of 1606 the main character has been released from prison to track down a person involved in the November 5th Gunpowder plot. Failure for him would mean a grave punishment. Suspected witchcraft and murders to solve along with proving a man innocent, some graphic torture details and occasional tense moments enhanced the story. The novel was typical of others set during this period.

Everything came to a stop in our household until my partner had finished reading The Memory Box. She absolutely adored it. Things getting back to normal now.

Quite like no other book that I have read before with a shocking finale. Based on actual events this is not a cosy mystery in any sense of the word. There are edge of the seat moments throughout and many times when you believe the culprit has been captured. Even some of the characters don't like each other adding to the tension. There is an obvious clue I overlooked being so engrossed in the storyline. This is a must read if you love this genre

After reading 1888 which I enjoyed I have now ordered 1883, 84, 85 and 1886. There doesn't appear to have been an 1887 published.

The story was set in the USA with the American Museum and it's occupants playing a central role. An establishment set up to help women in need was also key to the story. Basically a Murder takes place and as the police did nothing Miss Barnum had to investigate to find the culprit. The majority of the book involved people travelling around meeting up and relationships. There was little to get the reader excited and sadly not much investigation.

While this book was lacking in text that describes the sites, sounds and odours associated with the streets of Victorian London it more than made up for this by giving the reader an excellent, enjoyable and heartwarming story. There was deception, murder and romance all wrapped up in what could be described as a cosy mystery. I thoroughly enjoyed it. An American author writing about English aristocracy and doing it well.

Reading this book was like walking a Marathon instead of running it. I found the plot overly complicated, slow and really not very interesting. It was a struggle to reach the finish tape and when I got to the end I wished that I had never started on the journey in the first place. If you have read Richard Osman's, The Thursday Murder Club then this story is on the same line but with a different style of writing. I didn't enjoy either book

ISaw the following on FB an thoughtLitsy cat lovers would be amused.
'Several weeks ago the kids and I put on 'Cat TV' to see how Tilly would react. She loved it. Little did we know that we had created a monster!!!
Tilly sat and watched Strictly this evening, clearly waiting for 'her' TV to come on. I felt so guilty that she was waiting so patiently that I put Cat TV on instead. I'm now even behind the cat in who gets to choose the TV programmes!

I nearly placed a pre-order for Murder on The Mauretania by Edward Marston which is due to be published on the 17th February 2022 (PB) only to find that it had been previously published under a pseudonym of Conrad Allen. Deciding to buy the original copy, I then realised that Murder on the Mauretania is the thrid in the series. Obviously I had to purchase books one and two before reading book three. It turned out to be an expensive exercise.

Until the last 2 pages I would have said that this story was far less enjoyable than the previous books in the series. Constable Crabb had little constructive input in solving the crimes, Insp. Ravenscroft did not seem his professional self. Speculation, guess work was the order of the day in solving the crime and my own, early guess proved right although I didn't know the reason. It was the Epilogue alone that lifted this from a so-so to a pick.

The latest reading material for my partner has just arrived. This will keep her going for a couple of weeks.

50,000 copies of this book has now been sold.

My partner's Christmas present from me will be arriving today. I have to secretly transport it to Fuerteventura ready for our first Christmas day on the island.
This piece is called travelling the world.

Publication day for the Christmas Pig by J K Rowling. Received my copy in good time.

This was a story in two parts. The first was a crime to be investigated by Holmes after having received a notification by his enemy Prof. Moriarty. It was written in the style of the classic Holmes that every one knows from some of the great TV and Film produced over the years. Part two takes you back many years before the crime occured. Totally different and absorbing this was storytelling at its very best with a very unexpected outcome. *****

The story was based on one investigation carried out by Brock Adair and Kitty Bradshaw Brennan in 1799 from the journal of Brock which was was written during the 19th Century. It read more like a junior school play script rather than a piece of literature. The style of writing was similar to that one would expect to find in books listed in the under eleven year old section of a library. At 36 pages long, thankfully I quickly reached the end.

This was a story about drugs coming to small towns for distribution, sexual desire, several murders and the resulting police investigation. There was nothing spectacular in the way it was written or the story itself. Throughout I found the plot confusing and unmemorable. Had it not been for the last couple of chapters that gave a full explanation of the crimes, reasoning and resulting court case I still wouldn't have understood what had occurred

The latest books purchased by my partner to read while we are holidaying in Morecambe and Blackpool

If anyone is considering purchasing People of Abandoned Character then you may be interested to know that The Works have taken 78% off the RRP. You can now buy it for £2.00

When I reviewed this book some 10 months ago on Litsy I said this debut novel deserved an award. It has now received one. Well deserved in my opinion.

London, Mayfair 1812. Elderly noble women in relationships with young men, murders, burials that are not all they seem to be, fast paced horse pursuits all make this an intriguing crime story for Woods and Lavender to investigate. The descriptive detail of clothing and furnishings throughout gives you a great sense of the era this book was set in. With the younger family members growing older the blend of characters made this book come alive.

A surprise gift for my partner when it is released on the 11th November 2021.

Readers who adored The Nightingale, The Notebook or The Rainbow will love to unlock The Memory Box... Jenny Tanner opens the box she has cherished for decades.

The Christmas pig has a RRP of £20 but Amazon has it on offer to pre order at £10 or less. I've reserved a copy as my Grandson wanted it for his birthday in November.

Ordered lots of books for my Grandchildren this week. The first three from Amazon have arrived today.

This was the 17th book that I have read which was written by Chris Nickson. Brass Lives is the latest in the Tom Harper Mystery series. A series which gets better with each story that is published. The majority of the story is police procedural with occasional action. Totally engrossing and heartwarming but with a sad undertone it is a literary must for those who like historical crime. On a par or better than many other crime writers of the past.

All these books will be travelling with me when I return to Fuerteventura in October. All but one are by authors that are new to me. Luckily each one was in the Amazon bargain section.

This is only the 2nd book in my lifetime that I have read cover to cover in one sitting such was the enthralling way that it was written. Set in 1889 it was another of the Inspector Ravenscroft series. Dealing with child abduction, infanticide and wrongful incarceration in a lunatic asylum one would think this was a gruesome story. However it was also about love and happiness with some joyful moments. A stupendous, enjoyable police procedural*****

After joining a Library, the first time since I was a boy the book I wanted to take out on loan was the 'Droitwich Deceivers' by Kerry Tombs. There wasn't one copy stocked in any Library in the whole of Caerphilly. Filling out a book suggestion form the Library not only purchased the book but held it for me while I was overseas for a four week period. I've just picked it up this morning.

This was a story about a reporter who was drawn back from the USA to report about an area of London UK that was rife in crime but is now law abiding. Due to her helping to put a psychotic criminal behind bars on her arrival her life is in danger. There was lots of graphically described murders and the book was a really good read. The ending wasn't quite as spectacular as the build up led the reader to believe but it was still quite thrilling.

62 chapters in a 130 page book the story was quite enjoyable at the start. During a house viewing/inspection a Murder takes place. The emotions and frustrations of those affected were captured by the author in word that I could relate too and were understandable. Due to a storm the police couldn't arrive immediately. In the intervening period accusations and arguments were in abundance, the story became depressing, unenjoyable and frustrating.

Today while on the Ferry between Lanzarote and Fuerteventura I saw my very first Turtle and Flying Fish. Not having seen a Flying Fish before it was quite scary and it took me a while to figure out exactly what it was.

L.C. Warman. My first read by this Author. Let's hope it is interesting and enjoyable. The book along with my partner Liz will be travelling with me on the Fuerteventura to Lanzarote ferry tomorrow where I will be spending a few days. I have actually put some Tweets on Twitter recently not that I get any likes. Leigh@blueroseis It's going to be another hot day today. 9.30am and already 28.4 Deg C.

The story mostly takes place in GCHQ, Cheltenham which is where the Autistic Detective Jonathan Roper has been employed. Hitting a mental block he asks for help from his old partner from book 1. Despite the first three pages indicating this would be an exciting gruesome story the interesting bits are all in the last forty odd pages. An awful lot of time is spent ordering, eating, or describing food. A lackluster, disappointing uneventful read.

I've just started reading 'I can see you' the 2nd in the Autistic Detective Jonathan Roper Investigates series. After three pages which were quite gruesome I am already having to take a break while I build up courage to continue with the story.

A fictional book based on true events and actual charactors of the time the story was very educational. Fast paced with moments of reflection this was a tense and thrilling read. The quality of writing will keep you enthralled and bring the period around 1812 London to life. You won't need to stretch your imagination as the written word will paint a vivid picture in the readers mind. A very obvious trap later in the story is the only real spoiler.

Another author passed on.

A complete disaster. Sentences were jumbled up, wrong words used, incomplete words or words were completely missing. On one occasion a complete paragraph had been repeated two pages apart. To show the Inspector was Jamaican several words starting 'th' were replaced by the letter 'D' However this wasn't consistent throughout the book. With a ridiculous storyline followed up with an unbelievable end I was surprised two other books were published.

Author passed away.

I came across this Cat picture with captions today which I thought I would share as it is😂