Sunday, January 18, 2026
Guilty by Definition by Susie Dent - my first five-star review of 2026
What could be better than a mystery set in Oxford that features four amateur sleuths who love words? In this crime fiction debut, Martha Thornhill had been working in Germany for ten years until she is encouraged to apply for a job back home as the senior editor of the Clarendon English Dictionary. She likes her job but there’s a little tension with her three coworkers: Martha knows elegant Alex Monroe could have led the department as effectively as she while Simon Turner is still disappointed he wasn’t chosen. 
Wednesday, January 14, 2026
Bloody Instructions by Sara Woods
Written later than most of the Golden Age of Mysteries so many of us enjoy, Bloody Instructions is the appealing launch of 48 books about an attractive young barrister, Antony Maitland, a barrister, who practices with his distinguished (and sometimes curmudgeonly) uncle, Sir Nicholas Harding. Sent on an errand to the firm of solicitors with whom they frequently work, Antony expects nothing more than a cup of tea but is still there when mild-mannered solicitor James Winter is discovered with a knife in his back!
Sunday, January 11, 2026
Murder Takes a Vacation by Laura Lippman
Muriel Blossom is both excited and nervous about her forthcoming vacation and cruise in France, and is charmed when a handsome man at the Baltimore airport befriends her as they are upgraded to first class. Since her husband died, she hasn’t looked at another man, but Allan is outgoing and attentive. When it seems as if she won’t make her connection at Heathrow, he insists she accompany him to London to spend the day, helps her get a hotel room, and book the Eurostar for the next day. 
Tuesday, January 6, 2026
Favorite Reads of 2025
I've been working on my Best Books I Read in 2025 list. I read close to 200 books last year, many of which were memorable, so it was very hard to narrow it down to ten. I felt bad about some of my Runners-Up (books have feelings, as do their authors) which were very deserving, but here goes:
Miss Pettigrew Lives for the Day by Winifred Watson (1938). Why did I wait so long to read this delightful book? It starts out with the stark reality that an unemployed governess needs employment urgently or she will have to go to the poorhouse. However, when Miss Pettigrew arrives at the home of Miss Delysia LaFosse, a glamorous nightclub singer, it is the beginning of an incredible day of adventure and unexpected friendship. I later watched the movie which was cute but not nearly as good as the book; a miniseries would have done it better. My review.
Miss Pettigrew Lives for the Day by Winifred Watson (1938). Why did I wait so long to read this delightful book? It starts out with the stark reality that an unemployed governess needs employment urgently or she will have to go to the poorhouse. However, when Miss Pettigrew arrives at the home of Miss Delysia LaFosse, a glamorous nightclub singer, it is the beginning of an incredible day of adventure and unexpected friendship. I later watched the movie which was cute but not nearly as good as the book; a miniseries would have done it better. My review.
Saturday, January 3, 2026
Six Degrees of Separation – from The Horse and His Boy to Ten Little Indians
It’s time for #6degrees, inspired by Kate at Books Are My Favourite and Best. We all start at the same place as other readers, add six books, and see where it ends up. This month’s starting point is a wildcard, the book with which we finished December’s chain – mine was The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis.
Wednesday, December 31, 2025
December 2025 Reading
You’ll have to wait a little longer for my Best of 2025 list (I'm having a hard time narrowing it to ten) but here is my December reading. I think my favorite was the newest installment of the Thursday Murder Club. Osman's gift for conveying what his characters are thinking is impressive. That is why I think a voiceover would have made the Netflix adaptation even stronger (also it should have been a multi-part series).
Suspense
The Charity Shop Detective Agency by Peter Boland (2022). Several months ago, I started listening to this mystery about three friends who volunteer at a charity shop somewhere near Dorset. They are upset when a favorite client is murdered and decide to (somewhat ineptly) help the police with their investigation. When my library canceled its Hoopla subscription, I was left stranded mid-story and it took quite a while to find a print copy from ILL. Probably not worth the effort but I hate not finishing a book.
Suspense
The Charity Shop Detective Agency by Peter Boland (2022). Several months ago, I started listening to this mystery about three friends who volunteer at a charity shop somewhere near Dorset. They are upset when a favorite client is murdered and decide to (somewhat ineptly) help the police with their investigation. When my library canceled its Hoopla subscription, I was left stranded mid-story and it took quite a while to find a print copy from ILL. Probably not worth the effort but I hate not finishing a book.
Tuesday, December 30, 2025
The Star and the Shamrock by Jean Grainger - a final WWII novel for the year
In the first book of this WWII trilogy, a desperate mother in 1939 Berlin sends her children to what she hopes is safety in Britain. Ariella Bannon is a German Jew, married to Peter, a Catholic who was arrested five months ago for defending an old lady from Nazi thugs. She is afraid her husband is dead and is worried for her children: Liesl (10) and Erich (7). There is a chance to get them out of Berlin: a humanitarian effort, Kindertransport, is rescuing children from Nazi-controlled territory and bringing them to Britain. 
Sunday, December 28, 2025
The Night of Fear by Moray Dalton, for Dean Street December
This is my third entry for Dean Street December, and it seems appropriate for it to be a mystery by an author I’d never heard of until Dean Street Press reprinted 15 of her books. Starting in 1924, Moray Dalton published 29 mysteries, most of which feature two detectives, Scotland Yard inspector Hugh Collier and private inquiry agent Hermann Glide. I thought I had chosen the first in the series but as it is set at a Christmas house party in the country, it was still very suitable.
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