In 2021 I read 62 books, of which 39 were mysteries.
Finished the Harriette Ashbook series that I raved about last year.
Read two more E.C.R. Lorac books. Not sure if I have read all the ones available, but will check.
Read the latest in the Lady Hardcastle series by T.E. Kinsey. I see there will be a new one next year.
Read the first two in the Mydworth series by Matthew Costello and Neil Richards, and really enjoyed them! I want to read more this year. I claim to not like "historical" mysteries or fiction but yet I seem to read and like a lot of it!
Another new series I like is the Heathcliff Lennox series by Karen Baugh Menuhin. And yes, you are right in wondering if she is related to Yehudi Menuhin. Her husband is his son. The author has a great website here.
I do like the Inspector Knollis books by Francis Vivian from the 1940s and 50s. In both this series and the mysteries by the Radfords, E. and M.A., there isn't personal information. The detectives just get on with solving cases and they are brilliant at it. No family life, no feelings - just the facts which can be very soothing! Another old book is by Christopher Bush, The Plumley Inheritance, first book in the Ludovic Travers series. This has been out of print for ages and is published by the wonderful, wonderful Dean Street Press. There are a whole lot more available!
For some reason I haven't been able to figure out, I never watched the Grantchester series on PBS. When I heard the new season was coming up, I had my own little TV marathon, and watched them all. Years ago, I read the first two books in James Runcie's series. My little reports on them are here. Since it had been (gulp) seven years, I decided to read them again and then continue with the others. There was a treat in that he wrote a prequel published in 2019, so I read it first and then the rest of the books. I was in reading heaven within the pages of these books. If you have only read the books or watched the television version, they are very, very different. Both are extremely enjoyable but not the same.
And to end my year in mysteries, I read the latest entries in Karen MacInnery's Snug Harbor series; Harriet Steel's Inspector de Silva series; and Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs series. I have written about the Whitstable Pearl series by Julie Wassmer. I just love them. Jack Murray's Kit Aston series (another historical mystery) is very appealing. I read the first and have more ahead of me. Last but definitely not least, are three books in the Devonshire series by Michael Campling with a different and interesting pair of amateur sleuths.
I must check out some of these mystery series especially the historical ones. Am always looking for a good mystery to read. I fall back on Agatha Christie when I just need one to read. Have you read any of the books by Charles Todd (pseudonym for a mother/son writing team) takes place after WWI. Must look to see if they've written anymore of them.
ReplyDeleteI haven't but have heard good things about them.
DeleteWow, you read a lot of different mystery series (most of them I was unfamiliar with.) I hope you have a happy, healthy 2022 and continued reading enjoyment as well.
ReplyDeleteSo very many of these authors are new to me. Such a great time to be able to discover old writers!
DeleteThank you, and I wish the same to you.
Nan, I've both read and watched a lot of my favorite mystery series, and I'm still struck by how different the two can be. Invariably, the books do a better job than the TV or film adaptations when it comes to the actual mysteries being presented, but the shows sometimes make the characters "real" to me for the first time...not always a good thing, though, if I don't take to the actor involved.
ReplyDeleteWe are all so lucky to have so much British television and the PBS stuff available to us these days. Almost too much to choose from.
Yes, we are lucky!
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