Murder of a Lady

Title: Murder of a Lady Writer: Anthony Wynne Publishing House: British Library Crime Classics Date of Publication: January 4th 2016 (first published 1931) Rating: 5 stars ”Autumn was dressing herself in her scarlets and saffrons; already the air held that magical quality of light which belongs only to diminishing days and which seems to be…

Death of a Bookseller

Title: Death of a Bookseller Writer: Bernard J. Farmer Publishing House: British Library Crime Classics Date of Publication:  March 17th 2022 (first published 1931) Rating: 5 stars A book collector is found murdered in his study, surrounded by valuable volumes. His friend, Sergeant Wigan, helps in arresting the alleged murderer. But what if the wrong…

Black Narcissus

Title: Black Narcissus Writer: Rumer Godden Publishing House: Virago Press (UK) Date of Publication: February 1st 2013 (first published 1939) Ratings: 5 stars ‘’Look at the eagles,’ he said. In the gulf eagles were flying, circling round one small spot in the air. Higher and higher they flew, but still they could not reach the…

The Cornish Coast Murder

Title: The Cornish Coast Murder Writer: John Bude Publishing House: British Library Crime Classics Date of Publication: April 15th 2014 (first published 1935) Rating: 5 stars ‘’It was raining fitfully and gusts of wind from off the Atlantic rattles the window-frames and sought dismally among the sprinkling of gaunt pipers which surrounded the Vicarage. It…

The Port of London Murders

Title: The Port of London Murders Writer: Josephine Bell Publishing House: British Library Date of Publication: October 10th 2020 Rating: 5 stars ‘’It was quite dark now, but lights twinkled everywhere, making bright oath across the black water. And far away on all sides, a red and orange glow covered the sky, shining steadily on…

The Santa Klaus Murder

Title: The Santa Klaus Murder Writer: Mavis Doriel Hay Publishing House: The British Library Date of Publication: October 1st 2015 (first published 1936) Rating: 5 stars “I have often found that the best way to persuade anyone to do something they suspect is to explain that they really need not do it.”  Sir Osmond Melbury,…

Mystery In White

Title: Mystery In White Writer: J. Jefferson Farjeon Publishing House: British Library Crime Classics Date of Publication: September 28th 2014 (first published 1937) Rating: 5 stars ‘’The horrors on the train, great though as it may turn to be, will not compete with the horror that exists here, in this house.’’ It is Christmas Eve…

The Great Fortune (The Balkan Trilogy 1)

Title: The Great Fortune (The Balkan Trilogy 1) Writer: Olivia Manning Publishing House: Penguin Random House UK Date of Publication: July 30th 2020 (first published 1960) Rating: 4 stars ”A pine forest came down to the edge of the track: the light from the carriages rippled over the bordering trees. As she gazed out into…

At Bertram’s Hotel

Title: At Bertram’s Hotel Writer: Agatha Christie Publishing House: Harper Date of Publication: 2002 (first published 1965)\ Rating: 5 stars ‘’The children of Lucifer are often beautiful.’’ Hotels are fascinating places. Well, they can be quite a nightmare if you’re careless while booking or if the residents are a bunch of barbarians (which is often…

Russian Short Stories (1918 – 1941)

Τitle: Ανθολογία ρωσικού διηγήματος του μεσοπολέμου Writer: Various (selected and translated by Tania Rahmatoulina Publishing House: Πλέθρον Date of Publication: December 2005 Rating: 5 stars *All extracts translated by me, taken from the original edition translated by Tania Rahmatoulina* ‘’All beauty in this world was born out of the love for a woman.’’ During the turbulent years in the…

Home In The Woods

Title: Home In The Woods Writer: Written and illustrated by Eliza Wheeler Publishing House: Nancy Paulsen Books Date of Publication:October 1st 2019 Rating:5 stars ‘’Snow falls in a blanket of diamonds all around the shack. The jack pines sway above as we fall asleep close together. But Mum stays awake into the night, whispering to the stars…’’ Wisconsin,…

The Last Séance: Tales of the Supernatural

Title: The Last Séance: Tales of the Supernatural Writer: Agatha Christie Publishing House: William Morrow Paperbacks Date of Publication: September 24th 2019 Rating: 5 stars ”As we entered the grove of trees a curious oppression came over me. I think it was the silence. No birds seemed to nest in these trees. There was a feeling about it of desolation…

In the Full Light of the Sun

Title: In the Full Light of the Sun Writer: Clare Clark Publishing House: Virago Date of Publication: February 28th 2019 Rating: 1 star ‘’You think knowing you can never change that the rottenness is too deep – rooted in you, that it’s part of who you are, you think that makes anything better, that it stops the guilt, the…

A Gentleman In Moscow

Title: A Gentleman In Moscow Writer: Amor Towles Publishing House: Penguin Random House Date of Publication:  September 6th 2016 Rating: 5 stars ‘’On Saturday, the twenty-first of June 1946, as the sun rose high over the Kremlin, a lone figure climbed slowly up the steps from the Moskva River embankment, continued past St.Basil’s Cathedral, and made his way onto…

The Muse

Title: The Muse Writer: Jessie Burton Publishing House: Picador Date of Publication: July 26th 2016 Rating: 4 stars ‘’…and that’s all that matters, isn’t it? What people believe. It doesn’t matter what’s the truth; what people believe becomes the truth.’’ I finally found the time to read Jessie Burton’s sophomore novel and I am very glad to conclude a wonderful…