There is nothing more satisfying than reading a book while sipping a hot cup of tea.
I read a number of mysteries for the 1937 Club. Here they are in no particular order: The Elephant Never Forgets by Ethel Lina White The time is the Nineteen Thirties and Anna Stephanovich finds herself in Russia just when the Stalinist purges are beginning and everybody seems to be on the edge. Anna, who … Continue reading #1937 Club: Seven Mysteries
I was so looking forward to the 1937 Club, hosted by Karen and Simon and had read a few books for the same but so many things happened this week that I did not get the time to review them. But as the week draws to a close, here is the first book that I … Continue reading #1937 Club: The Pendleton Fortune by D.C.F. Harding
In 2022, I joined the Classics Club. Though I have read a few books on my list, I have not been able to review them. Here finally is the review of one such that I read soon after joining the challenge. Vega burned near the deep blue zenith, with Altair on his right and Arcturus … Continue reading Classics Club: The Chequer Board by Nevil Shute (1947)
The year is almost done and I have so many books yet to be reviewed so here are brief notes on five mysteries of the silver-age. An Affair of the Heart by Jean Potts (1970) Jean Potts is one of my favourite authors because of her hold on human psychology. In this book, an advertising-agency … Continue reading Silver Mysteries
"I must have freedom," she declared. "My life embraces so much. I have so many interests. While you - you poor little soul - you are merely a - a veritable Cinderella." "Oh well, we know who came out on top in that story," laughed Faith good-naturedly. Faith Norman, the eponymous Cinderella, lives in an … Continue reading Friday’s Forgotten Book: What Came to Cinderella by Curtis Yorke (1926)
My favourite reads are of vintage hue but sometimes I do venture into more modern era, hoping for an author or series I can fall in love with. Here are such reads for this year: The Aosawa Murders (Eugenia) by Riku Onda; Trans. Alison Watts (2005) This Japanese book which is a mystery involving the … Continue reading Modern Mysteries
This Friday's Forgotten Book happens to be an obscure title: Scandal at the Home Office by Frank A. Clement, published in 1937. Chief Commissioner of Police, Admiral Lord Arthur Kippering, has plans of an evening out. First theatre with his wife and daughter, Lady Doddington and then dinner. However, he receives a call from the … Continue reading Friday’s Forgotten Book: Scandal at the Home Office by Frank A. Clement (1937)
The premise of this anthology is very interesting. Apparently before the news on BBC, there used to be S.O.S. read out for people missing from their homes. Eleven authors conjure up eleven scenarios for such people. "Before I read the news here are eleven S O S's" (With acknowledgement to the B.B.C.) The anthology opens … Continue reading SSW: Missing from their Homes (ed.) H.E. Bates (1936)
James Clough, journalist and author, is invited along with his secretary, Sally, to the Scottish island of Rarza by his friend Norma who is the wife of Stuart Drummond, the Laird of the island. Accompanying the two to the island are Clough's old acquaintances, Ernest Hillier, an Oxford don and Geoffrey Conquest an artist. When … Continue reading Friday’s Forgotten Novella: Clough Plays Murder by Luke Parsons (1943?)
British author, Peter Cheyney, is most famous for his creation, Lemmy Caution, an American FBI agent and (later) private detective. However, he also had other series characters like Slim Callaghan, Alonzo MacTavish etc. The present book is a collection of short stories featuring master cracksman, Alonzo MacTavish. MacTavish, despite his profession behaves like a gentleman … Continue reading SSW: He Walked in Her Sleep by Peter Cheyney (1946)
a hot cup of pleasure 