Top Ten Tuesday: Favourite Books since Blogging

With time at a premium nowadays, I hardly get time to participate in memes. But when I saw that the current Top Ten Tuesday post required one to list one’s favourites since one started blogging, I couldn’t resist it.

So, here goes in alphabetical order:

The Clock in the Hat-Box by Anthony Gilbert

The jury is convinced that Viola Ross murdered her husband, Teddy. All except one member, the writer, Richard Arnold, who sets about proving her innocence. But has he taken up more than he can chew?

A Coffin for Dimitrios by Eric Ambler

The writer, Charles Latimer, taking a break in Turkey, is told that the body fished out of the Bosphorus is that of the notorious criminal Dimitrios. Latimer, decides to reconstruct Dimitrios’ life and travels all over Europe. But was there a Dimitrios in the first place?

Death in Kashmir by M. M. Kaye

A skiing expedition goes sour when two unfortunate deaths occur. Sarah Parrish, one of the members, realises that these deaths were not accidental but rather the two women were murdered and that she herself might be the next victim! A spine-tingling tale set in the twilight of the British Raj in India.

Eight of Swords by John Dickson Carr

A mad-cap of a mystery featuring bishops who slide down banisters, murderers who eat dinner of the victims, and vicars who are victimised by poltergeists.

In the Fog by Richard Harding Davis

Four men seated round a table in a club discuss a murder even as the snow falls outside and the fire cackles, but are they all telling the truth?

Inqilab by Khwaja Ahmed Abbas

A magnificent historical novel that chronicles India’s struggle for independence. Best read of 2012 so far.

The Land of Green Plums by Herta Muller

A young woman narrates the chilling reality of life under Nicole Ceausescu.

The Story of Ivy by Marie Belloc Lowndes

Ivy can get the man of her dreams (along with all his wealth). The only hitch is she is married to someone else.

The Whispering House by Margaret Erskine

Inspector Finch loses his way and lands up at a house driven apart by misgivings and murders.

The Tightrope Men by Desmond Bagley

Giles Denison awakes one morning and finds to his horror that he is wearing a different face. Is he really awake or is this a nightmare? Desmond Bagley is in superb form in this thriller.