I feel like it was rather a self-indulgent month in the sense that I read a lot of sequels or books in a series or by a favourite author although there were a few different books. What did I think of them
Let's find out!
Madame Pamplemousse and the Time Travelling Cafe - Rupert Kingfisher
The name of this book appealed to me on in all sorts of ways when I spotted it in the Save the Children bookshop in Haltwhistle. It is the sequel to another book. The cafe in question takes on the idea that a taste can take you back to a certain place in time through memory and so special coffee is served in the time travelling cafe. BUT, the president of France is a nasty individual with advisors who wish to change things and make them not at all fun so they are trying to find Madame Pamplemousse and try to shut her down. It means that a little girl (talented cook) named Madeleine and MP's cat, Camembert are the only ones who can help to try and fetch special ingredients for a potion to change the President and all and revive the spirit of France again! They must travel back in time to fetch ingredients like a Sphinx's tear and T-rex drool!
This was a quick read, great fun and rather silly. It was very imaginative though although I found the ending rather abrupt.
A colourful death -Carola Dunn
If you want a Gentle Whodunnit that isn't too taxing on the brains full of nostalgia, gentle and slightly eccentric people and a gorgeous location, look no further than the Eleanor Trewynn Cornish mysteries. In this book, Eleanor is meeting her Artist neighbour, Nick Gresham at the train station and takes him back to his studio which he left in charge of a fellow artist. But when they get back, he finds his works of arts ruined and the artist gone. He suspects it is her competitive Boyfriend Geoffrey Monmouth and goes to have it out with him, only to find him dead!!! Immediately, Nick finds the finger pointed at him, despite Eleanor having been with him. Eleanor gets involved much to the chagrin of DI Scumble and her own niece, Megan Pencarrow!
This was as enjoyable as the previous books in the series- I love a good Carola Dunn book- easy and quick to read and not at all taxing on the little grey cells!
Heirs of the body - Carola Dunn
And if you enjoyed the other Carola Dunn, then try her more established series, the Daisy Dalrymple mysteries. I always liken these to a mixture of Agatha Christie and the Famous Five when I recommend these to people. Again, the deciding of 'Whodunnit' is not taxing in this series and the characters are very likeable and readable. In this story, Daisy's cousin, the current Lord Dalrymple realises he needs to find his heir to the Dalrymple and has set motions in place to trace the line of descendants from the black sheep of the family a few generations back. Three and a last minute fourth come forward to be invited to the family estate but of course that spells trouble that will ultimately result in murder. Can they find the true heir?
I enjoyed this one, there are some good old-fashioned rotters and jolly-good sports in here and a good deal of suspense and action. Perfectly enjoyable. Thank you to the library for putting it in such a prominent position!
The jewelled moth - Katherine Woodfine
I really enjoyed the first book in the Sophie Davidson mysteries, The Clockwork sparrow. The story is set in the 20's and Sophie works for the wonderful department store Sinclair's. She and her best friend and fellow workers helped to find Mr Sinclair's clockwork sparrow and foil a plot to blow up the store but now their fame has led to a request to help them find a brooch given to a debutant by a very successful man who is suspected to be going to propose to her. The BARON, who is the ultimate Moriarty-type character, is somehow involved in this book and it means there is severe danger involved. There is a link to a guardian of a temple and a moonstone diamond and East London Chinese family.
This was very exciting but in a not-too-scary way!
The roaring boy- Edward Marston
I absolutely love Edward Marston's historical Whodunnits. This one comes from his Lord Westfield's Men series which follows the fates and adventures of an Elizabethan theatre company in London under the guardianship of Lawrence Firethorn. Our hero is Nicholas Bracewell, the Bookholder for the company and general sensible fellow (who travelled with Sir Francis Drake). In this play, the company is worried as Edmund Hoode, the playwright of the company's muse seems to have dried up. At the start, an actor dies on stage mid play which means the characters have to alter the plot to reach the end unscathed.
However, salvation lies in the audience in the hands of a mysterious stranger who has come to offer them a very topical play about the recent death of a mathematician and the subsequent hanging of his wife and her lover.The anonymous author wishes the play to work as a catalyst to get the authorities and people to realise a wrongdoing has been done. BUT, it seems someone will go to any lengths to avoid the play going ahead and the company face dark times.
What I love about this series and Marston's skill, is the way he gets across the gritty reality, seediness, squalor and difficulties of life in the Elizabethan era. No sense of Whimsical 'isn't it lovely' romance but you realise how difficult life was and the fragility of those in the arts field and indeed most of the lower and middle classes. The characterisation is excellent. I love the characters greatly with their foibles and he cleverly manages to keep the tension there- some little clue, some action, some crucial detail is yielded at every turn. You hear from the perspective of the baddies and there is certainly a fighting chance of guessing whoddunit!
Hamish and the never people - Danny Wallace
I bought this from Forumbooks Corbridge as it was their Kids Bookclub read of the month and thus Cheap!!! And I will admit that the decorated sides of the book were a big pull too!
This is the second in a series about Hamish and his friends who faced some Worldstoppers, some dastardly aliens who stopped everyone in the world, only foiled by Hamish and pals.
In this book, Hamish and his friends are excited to hear the quirky Primeminister is coming to Starkley town for the filming of Question me Silly. BUT, something odd is afoot as the Prime Minster appears to lose his mind (if he wasn't a bit mad before) and seems to only be able to repeat nonsense. And then it seems to be spreading all over important people in London and abroad. Hamish and his gang decide they need to get up to London to see the Prime Minster (after all, his advisor Mysterio told them to get in touch). But, they find themselves called by a mysterious lady who leads them to an alternate London and the Nowhere people who are the you you might have been, had you been a girl (if a boy) or brave rather than cowardly. And then it seems, the old enemies, the Terribles, are back in a new guise...
I admit, this book was rather silly but it was also rather entertaining. I was giggling at all the opposites in the alternate London- such as Fathercare and Wagapapa and King Les! Danny Wallace is very fun and although I think some kids would miss some of the clever alternates and references, that they would love the silliness of this book. Plus, it has some old unused tube stations in it so must be good!
Moriarty - Anthony Horrowitz
I have yet to read an Anthony Horrowitz book I haven't loved so I was rather excited to read something adult by him.
This book tells the story of the time after Holmes and Moriarty fell into the Reichenbad falls until Holmes returned for the Empty House.
The story begins in Reichenbach where one Frederick Chase from the Pinkerton's detective agency is urgently seeking the body of Moriarty to find a message. He meets with one Athelney Jones of Scotland Yard who has been despatched to see the body of Moriarty and to find out about Holmes. The two join forces when it seems that a new criminal Mastermind is seeking to fill the vacuum created by the death of Moriarty, an American criminal who seems a million times more evil than Moriarty. The two set out to try and find him and to try to find a way to seek him and rid London of him.
This had the action and excitement I have come to expect from this author and I was compelled to read on, stumbling to try and read on, so eager was I to reach the denouement. I really enjoyed the characters of Athelney Jones and Chase and was really rather fond of them by the end of the book. The book is very dark in places, some horrid descriptions of violence but really clever. As with any sort of book of this genre, there is a certain amount of guessing about things and I was pleased to be right in my conclusions, if not a bit sad about it. This was very VERY good and I MUST read House of Silk now!
28. Chocolatina - Erik Kraft
This is a super quick kid's book picture book with writing which is one of a number of books I've read that uses the King Midas story in a sort of Chocolate context. Chocolatina is a girl who is obsessed with chocolate. There is a cautionary tale involved in this book about being careful what you wish for but it's all good fun. I'll be reading this to my year 1's soon!
The pursuit of love - Nancy Mitford
This is one of those classics which I find it hard to countenance only having just read so thank you to my mother-in-law for her great choice! In it, Fanny describes the eccentric life of her upper class Uncle, Aunt and Cousins who live in the country on an old family estate. The story centres of her cousin Linda and the obsession of the young cousins with love and relationships and the bizarre experience of growing up. It is delightfully eccentric describing the activities of growing up, such as sitting in the airing cupboard (known as the Hons Cupboard) for chats and trying to save animals from cruelty whilst revelling in the delights of the Hunt. Linda, without a proper education, is obsessed with the idea of love and quickly becomes embroiled in marriage to a Scottish Tory obsessed with money. It seems that this is a disaster and after running off with another man, Croesig ending up in France, it is only until she is in Paris just before the outbreak of WW2, that there is a possibility that she has found love with Fabrice (who picks her up in the railway station).
The book is delightfully quirky and I adored the idiosyncrasies of the characters which Mitford so skilfully describes. They are all rather odd and yet you accept them. She is wonderfully witty and I found myself smiling lots.
9 books this month. Almost 10, bar 50 pages, so not a bad month all in all!
Have you read any of these? What did you think?
Let me know in the comments if you've enjoyed any good books this month?
xxxboo