The No 1 Ladies Detective Agency books by Alexander McCall Smith are set in Botswana around the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency, set up by Precious Ramotswe or Mma Ramotswe, who has been through a bad marriage and then with the support of her father picks herself up. Later with the inheritance he leaves her,…
Shelf Control #198: The Old Nurse’s Story and Other Tales by Elizabeth Gaskell
Wednesday, the 31st of August, and time for Shelf Control once again! Shelf Control is a weekly feature hosted by Lisa at Bookshelf Fantasies, and celebrates the books waiting to be read on your TBR piles/mountains. To participate, all you do is pick a book from your TBR pile, and write a post about it--what…
Book Review: And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
Many nursery rhymes, much like fairy tales, even though they are now largely read by children, have rather dark and sinister meanings and undertones, whether it is ‘Three Blind Mice’ or ‘Ring a Ring o Roses’ or ‘Mary Mary Quite Contrary’ dealing with themes like the plague or religious persecution. Agatha Christie is quite the…
Book Review: Mrs R. Snugglesworth, Attorney-at-Law by Amy Flanagan
26 August is International Dog Day, and what better way to celebrate than review a book featuring a dog? Well, reviewing a book featuring a dog who’s an attorney of course! Mrs R. Snugglesworth, Attorney-at-Law by Amy Flanagan and illustrated by Jon Davis is an imaginative and fun little children’s title which can be enjoyed…
Book Review: The Familiars by Stacey Halls
Lancashire 1612: The trial of the ‘Pendle witches’, twelve accused living around Pendle Hill in Lancashire at the time, most from two families the Devices and Chattoxes who apparently also made allegations against each other, besides others including one Alice Grey. The group was alleged to be responsible for the deaths of 10 people through…
Shelf Control #197: The Foundling by Stacey Halls
Wednesday, the 24th of August--Shelf Control time once again! Shelf Control is a weekly feature hosted by Lisa at Bookshelf Fantasies, and celebrates the books waiting to be read on your TBR piles/mountains. To participate, all you do is pick a book from your TBR pile, and write a post about it--what its about, why…
Book Review: Father Goose by William Lishman
I had received Father Goose (1995) by William Lishman as a present many years ago, but despite it being about a rather interesting person and subject, I never somehow got down to reading it. But this year, having added it to my #10BooksofSummer list, I finally did. Father Goose is an autobiographical account of William…
Book Review: The Dragonfly Pool by Eva Ibbotson
A school story, a Ruritanian adventure, a story rich in nature, a story about friendship and about family, about World War II and standing up to the Nazis, and also about freedom—The Dragonfly Pool (2008) is all of these—a strange seeming combination perhaps, but one that works rather well. In The Dragonfly Pool, we meet…
Shelf Control #196: Murder on Sea by Jane A. Adams
Wednesday, the 17th of August, and time for Shelf Control once again! Shelf Control is a weekly feature hosted by Lisa at Bookshelf Fantasies, and celebrates the books waiting to be read on your TBR piles/mountains. To participate, all you do is pick a book from your TBR pile, and write a post about it--what…
Book Review: The Lost Man of Bombay by Vaseem Khan
My thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for a review copy of this book. The Lost Man of Bombay is book 3 in the Malabar House historical mystery series by Vaseem Khan set in 1950s Bombay around Persis Wadia, India’s first (fictional) female inspector. Persis who as the only female inspector in the police…
Literary Potpourri 