Troubled Blood by Robert Galbraith. This was an audio book, and an exceptionally long one - it filled up the entire month and more besides. I loved every minute. Some people have complained about the length, but I was very happy and didn't want it to end. A very complex and intricately plotted cold case mystery, with lots of interesting stuff about Strike and Robin's relationship. Excellent.
The Artful Dickens by John Mullan. Superb and hugely entertaining analysis, setting out to answer the question 'What is so good about Dickens' novels?'. Review coming soon on Shiny New Books.
Snow by John Banville. A stylish and elegant murder mystery, set in 1950s Ireland. My review is live on Shiny - you can read it here.
The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton. The second novel by the author of the astonishing Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, this is a historical shipboard mystery with more than a hint of the supernatural. Reviewed here.
Father by Elizabeth von Arnim. A British Library Women Writers classic, this 1933 novel is the story of a single woman's bid for freedom following the marriage of her controlling father. Here's my review.
Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim. After I finished Father, I was greedy for more von Arnim and remembered I had an unread copy of one of her most celebrated novels. This story of unsatisfactory lives flowering under the warmth of an Italian spring is, of course, superb. I watched the film afterwards - it's pretty good but not as good as the novel.
Pursuit of a Parcel by Patricia Wentworth. How had I never read Patricia Wentworth before? This charming WW2 mystery was a freebie from Dean Street Press, and made me want to read more Wentworth straight away. However...
Ladies Bane by Patricia Wentworth, which I got straight away after finishing the previous one, was a slight disappointment. It's a Miss Silver novel (the first one I read wasn't) and somehow didn't grab me so much. But I see what an excellent writer Wentworth is, so I shall definitely read more of her numerous novels soon.
After this, I tried a couple of novels which I gave up before the end.
Tea is so Intoxicating by Mary Essex. Another British Library Women Writers novel, written under a pseudonym by the astonishingly prolific Ursula Bloom. It's a sort of quirky comedy about a couple opening a tearoom. It just didn't do it for me, so I didn't finish it.
The Incomparable Rex by Patrick Garland. I like a good theatrical biography so thought I'd enjoy this biography of Rex Harrison. But I didn't. He sounds like a ghastly man, and, though the author was extremely amused by all the anecdotes of his bad manners and rudeness, I very quickly decided this was definitely not for me.
Mr Fox by Barbara Comyns. Luckily the month ended with a bang, with this newly reprinted 1984 novel by the amazing - indeed truly incomparable - Barbara Comyns. Set in WW2, it's the adventures of a young woman with a three-year-old daughter who shacks up with a black marketeer. It's a fascinating picture of the war, seen through the eyes of a typically Comyns narrator. I'm about to review this for Shiny and will be recommending it most highly.
