A quick round-up of the few books I bought in the second half of the month. I was a good girl. Mostly.
Lights Go Out in Lychford by Paul Cornell
The borders of Lychford are crumbling. Other realities threaten to seep into the otherwise quiet village, and the resident wise woman is struggling to remain wise. The local magic shop owner and the local priest are having troubles of their own. And a mysterious stranger is on hand to offer a solution to everyone’s problems. No cost, no strings (she says). But as everyone knows, free wishes from strangers rarely come without a price . . .
The fourth and penultimate entry in the well-regarded Witches of Lychford series.
Five Little Pigs by Agatha Christie
Beautiful Caroline Crale was convicted of poisoning her husband, yet there were five other suspects: Philip Blake (the stockbroker) who went to market; Meredith Blake (the amateur herbalist) who stayed at home; Elsa Greer (the three-time divorcee) who had roast beef; Cecilia Williams (the devoted governess) who had none; and Angela Warren (the disfigured sister) who cried ‘wee wee wee’ all the way home.
A classic Christie novel which I decided to re-read following some comments in a recent book about her writing process (I’ll be talking about that soon). Unfortunately I couldn’t find my physical copy so decided to get a Kindle version.
No Name by Wilkie Collins
After the tragic deaths of their parents, Magdalen and Norah discover the devastating news that they are both illegitimate and not entitled to any inheritance. Norah is forced to become a governess to earn her keep but Magdalen has grander plans and embarks on an elaborate scheme of revenge against her cold-hearted relatives.
I recently saw a Tweet which commented on the tendency to sensationalise classic novels when they are being adapted for TV because they have been done so many times, and why wasn’t more Wilkie Collins being adapted because the sensation was right there on the page. So having read the usual suspects in Wilkie’s catalogue I decided to broaden my horizons and got a copy of this.
The Late Show by Michael Connelly
Detective Renée Ballard works ‘The Late Show’, the notorious graveyard shift at the LAPD. It’s thankless work for a once-promising detective, keeping strange hours in a twilight world of crime. Some nights are worse than others. And tonight is the worst yet. Two shocking cases, hours apart: a brutal assault, and a multiple murder with no suspects.
I’m a late convert to Connelly’s work through finally getting to watch the Bosch TV series. While the Book God is starting the Bosch book series from scratch, I decided to get into Connelly’s new series on the ground floor.
Athena’s Choice by Adam Boostrom
Athena Vosh lives just like any other teenager from the year 2099. She watches reality shows with her friends, eats well, and occasionally wonders to herself: what would life be like if men were still alive? It has been almost 50 years since an experimental virus accidentally killed all the men on earth. However, a controversial project is currently underway to bring men back. There’s just one catch. The project has been sabotaged.
I can’t remember where I saw this but both the premise and the cover caught my attention, and I couldn’t resist.
Bride of the Book God 2 