More or less, including what’s coming up in what’s left of March.

Not a bad beginning to the month. I managed to finish two books and made significant progress on one other, a chunky non-fiction that I’ve been reading on and off for what seems like centuries, but I’m determined to finish it this month. Determined I tell you!

Books read:

Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke by Eric LaRocca

Sadomasochism. Obsession. Death. All of the above are included in this set of three long short stories. I absolutely loved the title of this collection, though interestingly the main story isn’t the strongest one for me – everything in it happens so quickly and for once the email/message structure isn’t the most effective, though the ending was very creepy. The other two worked better for me, especially You’ll Find It’s Like That All Over (another great title). I will definitely be reading more of this author’s work in the future.

Written in Bone: Hidden Stories in What We Leave Behind by Sue Black

Or Dame Professor Sue Black as I like to acknowledge. She is one of my absolute heroes and this book doesn’t disappoint. Working her way through the human skeleton from head to toe each section is a mixture of anthropological insights, personal experience and heaps of anecdotes, many from criminal cases on which she has worked. I learned such a lot from this book and my admiration for her keeps growing.

Currently Reading:

Three books currently on the go – Moonflower Murders by Anthony Horowitz which I’ve kind of set aside for now but want to get moving on; ditto for Excellent Intentions by Richard Hull, a British Library Crime Classic by an author I don’t know and which I may have purchased because I really liked the cover; and Global Crisis which is a chunkster on 17th century world history and the impact of climate change during that period, which has popped up on this blog many times in the past and I WILL finish this month.

Coming up in March:

The TBR reduction challenge is to start a series I’ve never read before, with a stretch goal of completing the series this year. I’ve decided to choose the Love & Inheritance Trilogy by Fay Weldon, in honour of the fact that she died recently, starting with (obviously) book one Habits of the House.

Yes, it could be argued that a trilogy isn’t a series in the spirit of the challenge but I don’t care, I’m including it anyway. Don’t at me.

I also wanted to mention the passing of Christopher Fowler, author of the Bryant & May series, lots of creepy short stories and some fabulous standalone horror. I was lucky enough to meet him several times and he was a smashing person. He will be missed a great deal.

I have several books on pre-order which will be dropping into my reader this month:

• Red London by Alma Katsu – Why? Female CIA operatives, Russian oligarchs and London.
• Nothing but the Rain by Naomi Salman – Why? I’m from the west of Scotland where rain was a way of life when I was a child, so the idea that being out in the rain can wash away your memories sounds intriguing
• The White Lady by Jacqueline Winspear – Why? OK, it’s not a Maisie Dobbs story but it is about a female ex-spy, corruption in Scotland Yard and organised crime in London. There is possibly a pattern here…..
• A House with Good Bones by T Kingfisher – Why? It’s a “haunting Southern Gothic” family saga.
• Rubicon by JS Dewes Why? First line of the description: “Sergeant Adrienne Valero wants to die. She can’t.“
• Games for Dead Girls by Jen Williams – Why? I love Jen’s work and this has urban legends, macabre secrets, and has been described as a propulsive read so I. Am. In.

That’s it so far!