Posted November 7, 2023 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
Death of Mr Dodsley
Genres: Crime,
Mystery Pages: 256
Series: British Library Crime Classics Rating: 
Synopsis: Mr Richard Dodsley, owner of a fine second-hand bookshop on Charing Cross Road, has been found murdered in the cold hours of the morning. Shot in his own office, few clues remain besides three cigarette ends, two spent matches and a few books on the shelves which have been rearranged.
In an investigation spanning the second-hand bookshops of London and the Houses of Parliament (since an MP’s daughter's new crime novel Death at the Desk appears to have some bearing on the case), Ferguson’s series sleuth MacNab is at hand to assist Scotland Yard in this atmospheric and ingenious fair-play bibliomystery, first published in 1937.
I found that Death of Mr Dodsley was a bit too slow for my tastes — or at least, too slow in bringing together the strands of the plot and making it clear as to why the book opens in the Houses of Parliament! Much of the novel seems to have little to do with that, and though it’s obvious it will tie in somehow… it never quite did so properly, to be honest. The red herring is only very slightly tinged, and I never believed in it.
All in all, that made it a little frustrating, as the evidence-gathering is rather slow, and it also vacillates about which detective, precisely, it wants to follow (starting with the police and later moving on to MacNab).
It wasn’t a bad read by any measure, but not one of my favourites, despite being focused around a book written by one of the suspects, and set mostly in a bookshop, no less! But alas, that didn’t add enough charm to keep up sparkling.
Rating: 3/5
Tags: book reviews, books, British Library Crime Classics, crime, John Ferguson, mystery
Posted November 7, 2023 by Nicky in General / 24 Comments
It’s been a while since I participated in Top Ten Tuesday, but I’ve been kind of a hermit for a bit and I’d love to get back in touch with the wider blog-o-sphere, so let’s give this a go! This week’s list theme is “titles that could be headlines”. Hmmm…
Well, first up, a lot of mystery novels are perfect for this task. I’ll stick to only a few of those, and see if I can find some other neat ones as well, but to get us started…
- Requiem for a Mezzo, by Carola Dunn. One of the early Daisy Dalrymple novels. I could actually use the titles of this series for quite a few answers — Murder on the Flying Scotsman, Fall of a Philanderer, Death at Wentwater Court, anyone?
- Murder in the Dark, by Kerry Greenwood. I do love the Phryne Fisher series, but I think I’ve only ever read this one once. I should carry on with my reread of this series!
- Post After Post-Mortem, by E.C.R. Lorac. You can just picture a headline with that kind of snappy alliteration and mystery-causing, right? Also, this is a really good book, though personally I found it a bit harrowing due to the themes.
- A Very English Murder, by Verity Bright. I haven’t read this one, but I can still picture it on the front page of some newspaper or other.
- The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club, by Dorothy L. Sayers. I can see a particular sort of “respectable” newspaper choosing something kind of… restrained to refer to a murder.
Now let’s see if we can get a bit more adventurous and grub up some other headlines…
- Black Ops and Beaver Bombing, by Fiona Mathews and Tim Kendall. It sounds kinda weird, definitely like one of those headlines they use to pique your interest. As it happens, it’s about British wildlife. I haven’t read it, so I can’t honestly answer you about what the beaver bombing is about.
- Unmasked by the Marquess, by Cat Sebastian. Okay, this probably isn’t a modern headline… but nobody specified that, right? And the book is fun, too.
- How Long Till Black Future Month? by N.K. Jemisin. A pertinent question, after all.
- Europe at Midnight, by Dave Hutchinson. I haven’t read this one yet, but I can envision this being the big blocky headline of the Daily Mail or whatever.
- The Dos and Donuts of Love, by Adiba Jaigirdar. What headline can resist a pun? Cute book, too.
There, whew, I did it.
Have any of the titles piqued your interest? I’ve reviewed a bunch of these, so let me know if you’re interested in my take and I’ll grub up the links!
Tags: books, Top Ten Tuesday
Posted November 6, 2023 by Nicky in Reviews / 3 Comments
For the Love of Mars
Genres: History,
Non-fiction,
Science Pages: 247
Rating: Synopsis: Mars and its secrets have fascinated and mystified humans since ancient times. Due to its vivid color and visibility, its geologic kinship with Earth, and its potential as our best hope for settlemen, Mars embodies everything that inspires us about space and exploration. For the Love of Mars journeys through the red planet's place in the human imagination, beginning with ancient astrologers and skywatchers and ending in our present moment of exploration and virtual engagement.
This book isn’t really about the science of Mars — though that comes into it — but is more of a cultural history: an attempt to understand what Mars has meant to people, the framework in which people have understood it in different ages, and how that has shaped how we understand Mars now and the kind of assumptions we hold about it.
I found it a surprisingly slow read for the length, comparatively speaking; it was perhaps a bit drier than I expected for a book about Mars (which just goes to show how we think about Mars, I suppose), and spent rather a long time recounting the stories that people told about Mars, e.g. a detailed explanation of Dante’s Paradiso.
I did expect a cultural history from the blurb (though it seems other people were misled), but I suppose I’d expected something focusing more on the modern part of it. I did really enjoy the chapter that discusses the Mars rovers and people’s intense, surprisingly emotional reactions to them.
Rating: 3/5
Tags: book reviews, books, history, Matthew Shindell, non-fiction, science
Posted November 5, 2023 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments
Luke & Billy Finally Get A Clue
Genres: Historical Fiction,
Romance Pages: 102
Rating: 
Synopsis: Billy Reardon’s spent the past five years trying and failing to keep his teammate Luke Novak at arm’s length—or at least a normal, friendly distance. Or, failing that, he’d like to not make a fool of himself. But a month after getting seriously injured by a wild pitch and disappearing off the face of the earth, Luke shows up at Billy’s isolated house in the mountains just as a storm’s about to roll in. Now that they’re stuck together in the middle of nowhere, Billy can’t even pretend not to have feelings that go beyond what he ought to feel for a teammate.
Meanwhile, Luke’s acting strange and Billy doesn’t know why. And Billy can’t seem to fight the urge to make Luke sandwiches and hot cocoa, lend him cozy sweaters, and watch him play with the dogs. It’s all pretty terrible, and the one thing Billy’s sure of is that things between them are going to be different after all this is over.
This is cute and basically exactly what I needed when I read it. Billy and Luke are kind of assholes, each in their way, and they’ve been gravitating together for longer than either would care to think about. They’ve been part of the same team, ending up an integral part of each others’ lives, and it’s really sweet to watch them edge around that, and gradually move together.
It’s a fairly claustrophobic story, mostly just the two main characters, so it works at this length as an exploration of two guys (somewhat hampered by external homophobia and the fact that they’re in sport where that’s potentially even more dangerous for them) getting together and figuring out how to make it work.
And hey, it’s kinda cute to get a grumpy/grumpy relationship instead of grumpy/sunshine! Not that Luke is always grumpy, but he has a grumpy side that he allows himself around Billy.
Rating: 4/5
Tags: book reviews, books, Cat Sebastian, historical fiction, romance
Posted November 4, 2023 by Nicky in Reviews / 3 Comments
The Man Who Tasted Words
Genres: Non-fiction,
Science Pages: 326
Rating: Synopsis: Vision, hearing, taste, smell, and touch are what we rely on to perceive the reality of our world. Our senses are the conduits that bring us the scent of a freshly brewed cup of coffee or the notes of a favorite song suddenly playing on the radio. But are they really that reliable? The Man Who Tasted Words shows that what we perceive to be absolute truths of the world around us is actually a complex internal reconstruction by our minds and nervous systems. The translation into experiences with conscious meaning—the pattern of light and dark on the retina that is transformed into the face of a loved one, for instance—is a process that is invisible, undetected by ourselves and, in most cases, completely out of our control.
In The Man Who Tasted Words, neurologist Guy Leschziner explores how our nervous systems define our worlds and how we can, in fact, be victims of falsehoods perpetrated by our own brains. In his moving and lyrical chronicles of lives turned upside down by a disruption in one or more of their five senses, he introduces readers to extraordinary individuals, like one man who actually “tasted” words, and shows us how sensory disruptions like that have played havoc, not only with their view of the world, but with their relationships as well. The cases Leschziner shares are extreme, but they are also human, and teach us how our lives and what we perceive as reality are both ultimately defined by the complexities of our nervous systems.
The Man Who Tasted Words sounds like it’s going to be about a lexical->gustatory synaesthete, and the blurb also calls out that part, so I just want to say up front that it’s not really like that. There’s one chapter that discusses synaesthesia, and it doesn’t give it an especially long consideration or something.
In the end, it’s a book in the vein of many other similar books: the author’s a neurologist, and he draws stories from his practice to illustrate how the brain works, and how it fails to work. It’s always fascinating to read that kind of thing, but at the same time, this isn’t new at all. It has all the predictable beats (here’s the patient he failed, here’s the worst thing he’s ever experienced as a doctor, here’s the fascinating case), and the stories don’t particularly illustrate anything surprising and new.
So if you don’t read a lot of these, or conversely if you absolutely love them and read every single one you can get your hands on, this might be worth some time. I thought it was just OK, though.
Rating: 3/5
Tags: book reviews, books, Guy Leschziner, non-fiction, science
Posted November 3, 2023 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
Undertow
Genres: Fantasy,
Mystery,
Romance Pages: 90
Series: Whyborne & Griffin #8.5 Rating: Synopsis: Shy secretary Maggie Parkhurst knows there’s nothing special about her. She’s neither sorceress, nor fighter, nor scholar. What could she possibly have to offer Persephone, the chieftess of the inhuman ketoi — and the woman Maggie’s fallen in love with?
After Maggie’s friend Irene goes missing under mysterious circumstances, she has no choice but to turn to Persephone for help. When the trail leads to a shadowy acting troupe, they discover a plot that stretches much farther than a single vanished woman.
But when a dark truth is revealed, Maggie must choose between a man from her past… and the impossible yearnings of her heart.
Undertow gives us the story of Dr Whyborne’s secretary, Maggie, and her friendship with his sister, Persephone. It’s a short one, but it has a nice action sequence, and shows us a slightly different side of Widdershins society.
I do think it’s funny that Maggie still hasn’t worked out that Whyborne’s in a relationship with Griffin. All the signs are there, she sees them, and… doesn’t clock on.
It’s nice to spend time with a character other than Whyborne, and also to see Maggie find happiness instead of mooning after him. I enjoyed it, and I enjoyed Persephone’s efforts to woo Maggie. Dead squid, indeed.
Rating: 3/5
Tags: book reviews, books, Jordan L. Hawk, romance, SF/F
Posted November 2, 2023 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
The Paddington Mystery
Genres: Crime,
Mystery Pages: 187
Rating: Synopsis: When Harold Merefield returns home from a nightclub in the early hours, he is startled by the gruesome discovery of a corpse - on his own bed! Who is he, and how did he get there?
Unconvinced by the inquest's verdict of 'death from natural causes', Harold determines to investigate the matter for himself and seeks the help of Professor Priestly, an academic with a reputation for solving curious affairs by the simple but unusual method of logical reasoning...
Apparently this is one of the first of John Rhode’s mysteries, so I was pretty intrigued: I’ve enjoyed his work, especially as Miles Burton, in a very classic mystery sort of way — perhaps not too enlightening about characters or even places, but a fun puzzle, and a satisfying sense of the world being put more or less to rights.
This book has those things, with actually a reasonable amount of character: Harold’s a bit of a mess, but cleaning his act up, and the Professor comes across quite sympathetically given that his daughter is tangentially involved in the mystery. I remember I’ve read one of the others starring Priestly, but couldn’t remember a single detail about him: this is a bit more memorable.
The mystery wasn’t too surprising, and I figured out some chunks of it quite quickly, but it was still satisfying to unravel and to see how Priestly gets things straightened out. I enjoyed it.
Rating: 3/5
Tags: book reviews, books, crime, John Rhode, mystery
Posted November 1, 2023 by Nicky in Reviews / 1 Comment
Kraken: The Curious, Exciting, and Slightly Disturbing Science of Squid
Genres: Non-fiction,
Science Pages: 223
Rating: 
Synopsis: Kraken is the traditional name for gigantic sea monsters, and this book introduces one of the most charismatic, enigmatic, and curious inhabitants of the sea: the squid. The pages take the reader on a wild narrative ride through the world of squid science and adventure, along the way addressing some riddles about what intelligence is, and what monsters lie in the deep. In addition to squid, both giant and otherwise, Kraken examines other equally enthralling cephalopods, including the octopus and the cuttlefish, and explores their otherworldly abilities, such as camouflage and bioluminescence.
Kraken was okay, but I felt the lack of numbered footnotes and felt it was all pretty slight, relying on personal interview and recounting of encounters between people and squid, rather than focusing on squid directly. There are endnotes with a few pages of sources, but it’s impossible to match up anything said in a specific chapter with the sources, which are just alphabetised.
It’s pretty readable, and there are some interesting anecdotes, but it feels like the author didn’t really had enough material — even padding out the book with a chapter on octopodes, instead of staying focused on squid. (Of course they are related, but the chapter wasn’t about the similarities/differences so much, just spent time describing a specific encounter with an octopus and such.)
So overall, it was okay, and there was some new-to-me information, but… ultimately, nothing too surprising, and no moments where I wanted to turn to someone and say “hey, did you know…?”
Rating: 2/5
Tags: book reviews, books, non-fiction, science, Wendy Williams
Posted October 31, 2023 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
A History of the Roman Empire in 21 Women
Genres: History,
Non-fiction Pages: 336
Rating: Synopsis: Here’s how the history of the Roman Empire usually goes… We start with Romulus, go on to Brutus overthrowing Tarquin, bounce through an appallingly tedious list of battles and generals and consuls, before emerging into the political stab-fest of the late Republic. From there, it runs through all the emperors, occasionally mentioning a wife or mother to show how bad things get when women get out of control, until Constantine invents Christianity and then Attila the Hun comes and ruins everything. But the history of Rome and empire is so much more than these Important Things.
In this alternative history, Emma Southon traces the story of the Roman Empire through women: Vestal Virgins and sex workers, business owners and poets, martyrs and saints. Each gives a different perspective on women’s lives and how they changed, across time and across class lines.
Received to review via Netgalley
Emma Southon has a particular style that I imagine some people really hate: conversational, chatty, often even flippant. When she doesn’t know something, because no one knows, she says so. When she’s painting a picture from imagination to fill in the gaps, or choosing one interpretation of many, she says so very frankly. I find it very readable, and I appreciate how clear she is about when she’s using sources, how she’s using sources, and when she’s just having to make things up — or choose one option above others because there’s nothing particular to tell them apart. She’s interested in telling a story here, and it shows.
That said, I can understand why those who are just looking for facts would rather she stop it; for all that she’s clear about sources vs imagination, it’s really not formalised. Don’t let that fool you, though: there’s an extensive bibliography at the back.
I really liked Southon’s plan to discuss events through women: I was kind of surprised Livia wasn’t a choice, for example, or Cleopatra, or Agrippina (who Southon has written a whole biography of!) — but instead Southon makes a harder decision, and often picks less well-known women.
I found it really enjoyable, though I still prefer her book on murder in Ancient Rome.
Rating: 4/5
Tags: book reviews, books, Emma Southon, history, non-fiction
Posted October 30, 2023 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
Post After Post-Mortem
Genres: Crime,
Mystery Pages: 300
Series: British Library Crime Classics Rating: Synopsis: The Surrays and their five children form a prolific writing machine, with scores of treatises, reviews and crime thrillers published under their family name. Following a rare convergence of the whole household at their Oxfordshire home, Ruth – middle sister who writes ‘books which are just books’ – decides to spend some weeks there recovering from the pressures of the writing life while the rest of the brood scatter to the winds again. Their next return is heralded by the tragic news that Ruth has taken her life after an evening at the Surrays’ hosting a set of publishers and writers, one of whom is named as Ruth’s literary executor in the will she left behind.
Despite some suspicions from the family, the verdict at the inquest is suicide – but when Ruth’s brother Richard receives a letter from the deceased which was delayed in the post, he enlists the help of CID Robert Macdonald to investigate what could only be an ingeniously planned murder.
I normally love E.C.R. Lorac’s books, and I think this was a very fine example of her work… without being one that I, strictly speaking, enjoyed. She has a way of describing characters and places that can make you love them and feel their goodness — and in this book, the nastiness of murder feels particularly prominent. It’s less “good people overcome” and more “good people are overcome”, and it just hit wrong for my current mood, despite being well handled.
Those who read it should be warned that the setup has the murder being taken to be suicide at first, and that the family react accordingly, with shock and horror and the sense that the world is upended. And that isn’t the end to their sorrows.
It’s a good thing that Lorac writes such a sensitive, humane detective in MacDonald, because his sympathy also helped to make this book as powerful as it is.
In the end, the solution was also a sad one, and the whole thing just left me with a sense of melancholy. Beautifully written, perhaps among Lorac’s best — but perhaps not one that I’ll visit again.
Rating: 4/5
Tags: book reviews, books, British Library Crime Classics, crime, E.C.R. Lorac, mystery
