The Mother of All Controversies.

Book Review for “MUV: The Story of the Mitford Girls' Mother” by Rachel Trethewey. Summary: "Everyone knows about the six flamboyant Mitford girls but in fact there were seven remarkable women in the famous family—the seventh was "Muv," Lady Sydney Redesdale, the mother of the notorious sisters. Too often portrayed as different from them and … Continue reading The Mother of All Controversies. →

Verbal and Literal Bombs.

Book Review for “Table Two” by Marjorie Wilenski. Summary: "Marjorie Wilenski’s only novel, as biting and funny as Barbara Pym at her crankiest, follows an office of women translators at the fictional Ministry of Foreign Intelligence in London as they bicker, manoeuvre, and shift allegiances just before and then in the thick of the London … Continue reading Verbal and Literal Bombs. →

A Golden English & Irish Mashup.

Book Review for “Golden Girls on the Run” by Judy Leigh. Summary: "When octogenarian sisters-in-law Sadie and Bronagh find themselves at the centre of a scandalous (and slightly explosive) bake-off fiasco, there’s only one thing to do – steal Sadie’s grandson’s gleaming red Ferrari and make a run for it. Sadie is the practical one, … Continue reading A Golden English & Irish Mashup. →

Shrimps and Sink Pits.

Book Review for “Seascraper” by Benjamin Wood. Summary: "Thomas lives a slow, deliberate life with his mother in Longferry, working his grandpa’s trade as a shanker. He rises early to take his horse and cart to the grey, gloomy beach and scrape for shrimp, spending the afternoon selling his wares, trying to wash away the … Continue reading Shrimps and Sink Pits. →

A TCL #ShortStorySunday post – The Quin-Essential Ending!

Review for the last eight Short Stories in “The Mysterious Mr. Quin” by Agatha Christie. Goodreads Summary: "A conjurer of skill with an instinct for detection, Mr. Harley Quin has an almost magical flair for appearing at the scene of the most remarkable crimes. But is it just a trick of light that haunts his … Continue reading A TCL #ShortStorySunday post – The Quin-Essential Ending! →

A Real Crime for Female Fiction Writers.

Book Review for “The Queens of Crime” by Marie Benedict. Summary: "London, 1930. The five greatest women crime writers have banded together to form a secret society with a single goal: to show they are no longer willing to be treated as second-class citizens by their male counterparts in the legendary Detection Club. Led by … Continue reading A Real Crime for Female Fiction Writers. →

A TCL #ShortStorySunday post – Also Quin-Essential!

Review for the second two Short Stories in “The Mysterious Mr. Quin” by Agatha Christie. Goodreads Summary: "A conjurer of skill with an instinct for detection, Mr. Harley Quin has an almost magical flair for appearing at the scene of the most remarkable crimes. But is it just a trick of light that haunts his … Continue reading A TCL #ShortStorySunday post – Also Quin-Essential! →

All the Single Ladies (& Gents)!

Book Review for “Miss Plum and Miss Penny” by Dorothy Evelyn Smith. Summary: "Miss Penny is a middle-aged spinster living a cheerful, contented life, complete with perfect housekeeper, in an idyllic English village. Her romantic life consists of an annual Christmas card from her old flame George, and her social swirl involves Stanley, a prissy … Continue reading All the Single Ladies (& Gents)! →

Quizzical TXT MSG Mysteries!

Book Review for “The Killer Question” by Janice Hallett. Summary: "Sue and Mal Eastwood run an isolated rural pub called The Case is Altered where a weekly trivia game has revived its flagging fortunes—that is, until a body is found in the nearby river. Soon after, a mysterious new team arrives and shakes up the … Continue reading Quizzical TXT MSG Mysteries! →

A TCL #ShortStorySunday post – Quin-Essential.

Review for the first two Short Stories in “The Mysterious Mr. Quin” by Agatha Christie. Goodreads Summary: "A conjurer of skill with an instinct for detection, Mr. Harley Quin has an almost magical flair for appearing at the scene of the most remarkable crimes. But is it just a trick of light that haunts his … Continue reading A TCL #ShortStorySunday post – Quin-Essential. →