If I see a Peter Ackroyd book, I'll generally pick it up. This historian (I've recently heard that he's a novelist too) has a nice, anecdotal but informative writing style, and researches his books thoroughly. They are often very long, so when this one arrived, I was surprised that it's about the length of a …
Tag: mystery
Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster
Written way back in 1912 for children or young adults, by Jean Webster, a woman who believed in women's rights and other socially progressive issues, this book has been made into films and stage plays. And for some reason, I had never read it. Which is crazy, because as a kid I was a reader, …
The Black Dahlia by James Ellroy
A fictionalised account of the real life murder of Elizabeth Short in LA in the late 1940's, James Ellroy explores the unsolved case and LA's seedy underbelly in the Golden Age of Cinema. You might recognise James Ellroy's name from his best seller LA Confidential, (which was made into a really good film which I …
Lost Property: the weirdest things left behind on London’s public transport.
Every now and then when I go past Baker Street in London, I stop to take a look in the window of the TFL Lost Property office. It's one of London's odd places. You can't actually go in, but the window regularly changes displaying different things left during the years, from 80's mobile phones the …
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The Quick by Lauren Owen
Although it's well written, capturing the mood and language of it's era, this book failed to really grab me. It follows the lives of a brother and sister, James and Charlotte, who have no one in the world except each other, until time and social circumstances pull them apart. But when something supernatural happens that …
The All Girl Filling Station’s Last Reunion by Fannie Flagg
I think I've read all of Fannie Flagg's books, and loved every one. The most famous is perhaps Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe, which was made into an excellent film. In fact, the author is an actress herself! What I love about her books is that they're about the simple things in life, …
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What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty
There's nothing quite like getting a book in the post from an old friend, with a handwritten note, especially when you're like me, and live on the other side of the world. I am also very lucky to have friends who have excellent taste in books! This book is about Alice, a 29 year old …
221b Baker Street, London: A visit to Sherlock Holmes house.
Certain books were a fixture in our house growing up, and I can remember winters by the fire with illustrated editions of various Victorian novels. Amongst my favourites were the Sherlock Holmes series. (I think everyone in my family loves a mystery story, my mum remembered her Grandmother reading Agatha Christie at the breakfast table …
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Dissolution by C J Sansom
During the political and religious unrest of the dissolution of the monasteries, a commissioner from Thomas Cromwell is murdered at a Benedictine monastery that he was sent to investigate. When Commissioner Shardlake is sent to investigate the murder, he finds murder and corruption, and a race against time to find a killer. But nothing is …
The River King by Alice Hoffman
A dark and charming story of friendship, love and social divides in small town America, this book is Alice Hoffman at her magical best. Carlin Leander, a beautiful swimmer, joins the Haddan school on a scholarship and makes friends with loner and social outcast August Pierce, who is secretly in love with her. When Carlin …
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