A Wytch's Book Review Blog

Edwardian Farm (Period Farms) by Alex Langlands, Ruth Goodman , Peter Ginn

Following on from the hit BBC series Victorian Farm, this book accompanies a new 12-part BBC series. This time, Ruth Goodman, Alex Langlands, and Peter Ginn take a leap forward in time to immerse themselves in an Edwardian community in the West Country. In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Morwellham Quay was situated in a bustling and commercially prosperous region—a stunning rural landscape encompassing rolling farmland, wild moorland, tidal river, coast, and forest, which supported a vibrant and diverse economy. Ruth, Peter, and Alex will spend a year exploring all aspects of this working landscape—restoring boats, buildings, and equipment; cultivating crops; fishing; rearing animals; and rediscovering the lost heritage of this fascinating era as well as facing the challenges of increasingly commercial farming practices, fishing, and community events.

Another tie in with the TV series/DVD, as with the Victorian Farm book this gives a good overview of what the three presenters did during their year on the farm, some of the items that were only touched on in the programme are expanded in the book whilst others things are only mentioned.  Either way a great read and a great companion book for the DVD!

Easter Buried Eggs (Black Cat Cafe #10) by Lyndsey Cole

The smell of burnt cake is not a good omen for Annie when she arrives at the Black Cat Cafe. But little does she know that her Aunt Leona’s cooking disaster is only the first of many problems she’ll be served in a big basket of cracked Easter eggs.

Annie quickly learns that being in charge at the Black Cat Café isn’t all chocolate-covered strawberries and carrot cakes. In addition to the variety of tasty pastries she needs to make for Easter, she stumbles on a body and what appears to be a robbery.

With money disappearing from bank accounts, snooping seniors appearing out of the blue, and clues turning up in the most unlikely places, Annie’s problems sizzle more than Leona’s hot cross buns.

Determined to help her new friends, Annie and her therapy dog land in the middle of a murder investigation. Clues pile higher than a basket of Easter eggs, all pointing to one of the seniors. Annie searches for something to keep her friend from landing in a jail cell but instead, Annie ends up right in the killer’s crosshairs.

Oh my word! Lyndsey Cole has crafted yet another brilliant book, with twists and turns to keep your interest all the way through!

This time Annie suddenly ends up running the cafe as Leona has cracked under the pressure and needs a few days off, the problem is they are catering for an Easter meal at a Senior Residential Home, but Annie and Mia step up and get things sorted, the next problem is the Easter Bunny (aka a young man called Forrest Spring in a rabbit costume) has knocked over some of the food (but they had catered for 2nds and Mia is great at portion control), they hope this is the last of the problems but as often happens they come in threes and the final one is the Easter Bunny dead in the main office!

With one of the seniors (Sylvia) looking in the police department's eyes as suspect #1 Annie, her dog Roxy (now a trained therapy dog), a couple of the other seniors and Annie's elderly friend Thelma are putting their heads together to find out what is rotten at the heart of what should be a happy retirement and find out who bumped off the bunny!

Jingle Buried Cookies (Black Cat Cafe #9) by Lyndsey Cole

Leona’s Christmas cookies are leaving a trail of cookie crumbs that lead anywhere but to a happy holiday.

As soon as Annie and Jason return from a romantic getaway, a Santa-sized sack of problems lands on their doorstep. Jason might be able to pretend it doesn’t exist and just enjoy the upcoming holiday parties, but Annie has to help keep Aunt Leona out of trouble. Again.

Running only on caffeine, the women get ready for the Black Cat Café’s Christmas extravaganza. A last minute change to who will come as Santa Claus threatens to bring the whole event down. But quick thinking and a willing volunteer save the day.

Until that willing volunteer imbibes one drink too many. But that’s the least of the problems that keep piling up faster than the snowflakes of a Nor’easter.

A body, poisonous berries, and competition from a cutthroat competitor threaten to end the Black Cat Café once and for all. Annie tries to sift through the half-baked information to uncover the real motive—and killer—before it’s too late.

Another great episode in the life of Annie Fisher (sorry now Annie Hunter!), Catfish Cove and The Black Cat Cafe, Annie and Jason are starting to regret having arrived home as Annie's Aunt Leona is planning on a pre-Christmas event to die for, unfortunately the stand in Santa takes that literally! It also turns out there are plenty of people who wished him ill, from the various women he groped (on a regular basis), through his wife and various others.

Oh and add in the fact that a rival bakery is trying to sabotage Leona's business and it looks as though a lot of people will be on the naughty list this year, but then it gets even more serious when Annie is nearly run down, saved by a local young man with learning difficulties - here's hoping Annie and the police can sort it all out so a Merry Christmas can be had by all.

 

The Quick and the Thread (An Embroidery Mystery #1) by Amanda Lee

After the grand opening of her embroidery shop, Marcy Singer finds a nasty surprise - the previous tenant is lying dead in the storeroom, with a message scratched by a tapestry needle on the wall beside him.

A great start to a new series, Marcy has been persuaded by her friend Sadie to pack in her soul destroying job in corporate accounts and do what she has always wanted to, namely open and run a needlework shop, on the opening night everything is going well, people are enjoying the food and drinks (provided by Sadie and her husband Blake) and they are also signing up for stitching classes of various types, but then the previous tenant of the building arrives and he appears to be drunk! The problem is the next day he is found by Marcy dead in her storeroom, and it appears he didn't die of natural causes.  When there is another death Marcy and Sadie appear to be high on the list of suspects.

Now Marcy needs to decide if this is the place for her (and her Irish Wolfhound Angus) or should she cut the threads and go back to Corporate America?

Not A Creature Was Stirring (A Merry & Bright Handcrafted Mystery #1) by Christina Freeburn

Empty nester Merry Winters loves three things: Christmas, crafting and her family. To regain purpose and joy, Merry hits the road to a Christmas vendor event with her furry sidekick Ebenezer in her new mobile crafting sleigh, aka an RV.

But it soon turns into the nightmare before Christmas when Merry unwraps her Scrooge of an ex-husband’s body in one of the RV’s compartments. Add to that his missing winning lottery ticket believed to be stashed somewhere in the RV, leading the homicide detective and Merry’s stepdaughter to believe Merry is the one whodunit.

With visions of prison dancing in her head, will Merry be able to solve this Christmas calamity before she’s locked away?

What a fantastic start to a new series! Death, disaster, pain and joy (hmm sounds like a typical Christmas so far), this is a well crafted crafting story and I love the characters.

Merry and an on-line friend have set up the Merry and Bright Christmas Etsy shop (also selling through various craft shows), Merry has an RV which used to belong to her ex-stepdaughter and she plans on using this to go to the various craft fairs, but also to hopefully use it as a mobile craft room (maybe even do some teaching), when she arrives at the first Craft Fair things go wrong, very wrong, starting with finding her ex-husband dead in the RV, then getting attacked and finally being accused of murder! Now she needs to use all of her crafting skills to find out the truth, and not just about her dead ex! There are various story lines intertwined and it is great to see them being unraveled for our reading pleasure!

 

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January 21 – Carla Loves To Read – REVIEW

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Nine Lessons (Josephine Tey #7) by Nicola Upson

Called to the peaceful wooded churchyard of St-John’s-at-Hampstead, Detective Chief Inspector Archie Penrose faces one of the most audacious and unusual murders of his career. The body of the church’s organist is found in an opened grave, together with a photograph of a manor house and a cryptic note. The image leads Archie to Cambridge, where the crisp autumn air has brought with it bustling life to the ancient university and town.

Mystery author Josephine Tey and Archie's lover Bridget Foley have each recently settled in Cambridge, though both women are not equally happy to see him. One has concealed an important secret from Archie which now threatens to come to light. Meanwhile, the change of seasons has also brought with it a series of vicious attacks against women in town, spreading fear and suspicion through the community.

Soon, another body is revealed, and in the shadow of King’s College Chapel, Archie uncovers a connection twenty-five years old which haunted both victims—as well as some of their living companions. As Archie and Josephine each grapple with savage malefactors intent on making their victims pay, they must race to stop another attack in this beautifully written, intricately plotted mystery.

In this, the 7th outing for Josephine Tey, we have two major crime waves interlocking, Scotland Yard (in the shape of Archie Penrose) is investigating a series of complex and bizarre murders, and in the course of his investigations he goes to Cambridge where there is a viscous rapist at large.  Marta has rented a house in Cambridge and Josephine is staying there whilst Marta is with the Hitchcocks in the US.  Josephine ends up being involved when the next door neighbour (a nurse from the local hospital) is the latest victim, and as well as that Archie asks her to do some research on crimes from 24 years previous as a dying man gives that as the only hint to the murders.

With deception in their own lives, and deception in their professional lives Josephine and Archie need to work quickly to stop anything else from happening.

London Rain (Josephine Tey #6) by Nicola Upson

Intrepid writer and amateur sleuth Josephine Tey returns in this sixth installment of Nicola Upson’s popular series—perfect for fans of Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot and Jaqueline Winspear’s Maisie Dobbs—that unfolds in 1930s London as England prepares to crown a new king.

London, 1937. Following the gloomy days of the abdication of King Edward VIII, the entire city is elated to welcome King George. Just one of the many planned festivities for the historic coronation is a BBC radio adaptation of Queen of Scots, and the original playwright, Josephine Tey, has been invited to sit in on rehearsals.

Soon, however, Josephine gets wrapped up in another sort of drama. The lead actress has been sleeping with Britain’s most venerable newsman, Anthony Beresford—and his humiliated wife happens to work in the building. The sordid affair seems to reach its bloody climax when Beresford is shot to death in his broadcasting booth at the deafening height of the coronation ceremony.

Josephine’s dear friend, Detective Chief Inspector Archie Penrose, has the case wrapped up before long. But when a second, seemingly related murder throws Penrose for a loop, it falls to Josephine to unravel a web of betrayal, jealousy, and long-held secrets… caught all the while in a love triangle of her own making.

Charming and provocative, thick with the atmosphere of prewar England, London Rain is a captivating portrait of a city on the edge—and an unforgettable woman always one step ahead of her time.

Intrepid writer and amateur sleuth Josephine Tey returns in this sixth installment of Nicola Upson’s popular series—perfect for fans of Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot and Jaqueline Winspear’s Maisie Dobbs—that unfolds in 1930s London as England prepares to crown a new king.

London, 1937. Following the gloomy days of the abdication of King Edward VIII, the entire city is elated to welcome King George. Just one of the many planned festivities for the historic coronation is a BBC radio adaptation of Queen of Scots, and the original playwright, Josephine Tey, has been invited to sit in on rehearsals.

Soon, however, Josephine gets wrapped up in another sort of drama. The lead actress has been sleeping with Britain’s most venerable newsman, Anthony Beresford—and his humiliated wife happens to work in the building. The sordid affair seems to reach its bloody climax when Beresford is shot to death in his broadcasting booth at the deafening height of the coronation ceremony.

Josephine’s dear friend, Detective Chief Inspector Archie Penrose, has the case wrapped up before long. But when a second, seemingly related murder throws Penrose for a loop, it falls to Josephine to unravel a web of betrayal, jealousy, and long-held secrets… caught all the while in a love triangle of her own making.

Charming and provocative, thick with the atmosphere of prewar England, London Rain is a captivating portrait of a city on the edge—and an unforgettable woman always one step ahead of her time.

Nicola Upson has written an evocative story taking us on a roller coaster of emotions from pain, betrayal and anguish, through joy and acceptance.  With the uncertainty of the abdication behind them people are looking forward to the coronation of King George, the still young BBC is putting on a radio production of Tey's Queen of Scots but there are tensions bubbling beneath the surface, Josephine and Marta need to talk to Lydia about their relationship, the lead actress in the performance is having an affair and then there is murder, and another murder, and another! Whilst the first one is wrapped up quickly, the second (which is linked) Archie is taken off the case and told to stay away from it, apparently the BBC and the powers that be at Scotland Yard just want it all neatly taken care of and charging the same person for both crimes does that.  With Josephine linked through her play and the fact that she found the second body, she at least is going to try and see justice is done.

Rivers of London Volume 5: Cry Fox (Peter Grant/Rivers of London graphic novels #20-23) by Ben Aaronovitch and Rivers of London Volume 6: Water Weed (Rivers of London: Water Weed) by Ben Aaronovitch

Child kidnapping is already an appalling crime, but in the latest case for Detective Constable Peter Grant--newly promoted in the ranks of London's Metropolitan Police, but with a lot still to learn about wizarding--things take a truly dark turn when the victims become prey in a homicidal hunt that Grant and the members of the Folly must stop!

When two of the less well-behaved River goddesses, Chelsea and Olympia, decide to earn a few quid on the side, Peter and Bev find themselves drawn into a sordid cannabis-smuggling operation, controlled by London's new queenpin of crime - the brutal and beautiful Hoodette!

All of the Rivers of London books, novellas and graphic novels are fun, I like the graphic novels as they fill in slots in the Rivers of London timeline and also they are quick and easy to read at the end of the day! 10 out of 10 :D

The Death of Lucy Kyte (Josephine Tey #5) by Nicola Upson

In this atmospheric, intriguing historical mystery brimming with psychological tension, an unexpected inheritance plunges beloved British mystery author Josephine Tey into a disturbing puzzle of dark secrets eerily connecting the present and the past

When Josephine Tey unexpectedly inherits Red Barn Cottage from her estranged godmother, the will stipulates that she must personally claim the house in the Suffolk countryside. But Josephine is not the only benefactor-a woman named Lucy Kyte is also in Hester's will.

Sorting through the artifacts of her godmother's life, Josephine is intrigued by an infamous death committed on the cottage's grounds a century before. Yet this old crime-dubbed the Red Barn murder-still seems to haunt the tight-knit village and its remote inhabitants. Is it just superstition, or is there a very real threat that is frightening the locals? Could the truth be related to the mysterious Lucy Kyte, who no one in the village admits to knowing?

With a palpable sense of evil thickening around her, Josephine must untangle historic tragedy from present danger and prevent a deadly cycle from beginning once more.

Nicola Upson has turned the life of Josephine Tey and a local (to Ms Upson) murder history/story into a wonderful and complex tale, we have a true tale of murder linked to a village where Josephine has been left a cottage, she needs to overcome the distrust of the locals (Josephine's Godmother had managed to put the backs up of a lot of the village) and get the cottage habitable.  Add in a possible paranormal twist and this turns into a real page turner of a book (and luckily the Sapphic link between Josephine and Marta is not rammed down the throat so much in this book!), roll on #6 in the series!

Spectacles by Sue Perkins

When I began writing this book, I went home to see if my mum had kept some of my stuff. What I found was that she hadn't kept some of it. She had kept all of it - every bus ticket, postcard, school report - from the moment I was born to the moment I finally had the confidence to turn round and say 'Why is our house full of this shit?'

Sadly, a recycling 'incident' destroyed the bulk of this archive. This has meant two things: firstly, Dear Reader, you will never get to see countless drawings of wizards, read a poem about corn on the cob, or marvel at the kilos of brown flowers I so lovingly pressed as a child. Secondly, it's left me with no choice but to actually write this thing myself.

This, my first ever book, will answer questions such as 'Is Mary Berry real?', 'Is it true you wear a surgical truss?' and 'Is a non-spherically symmetric gravitational pull from outside the observable universe responsible for some of the observed motion of large objects such as galactic clusters in the universe?'

Most of this book is true. I have, of course, amplified my more positive characteristics in an effort to make you like me.

Thank you for reading.

Oh My Word what a great book, there is sadness in here but the overwhelming note is joy and laughter (note to readers do NOT attempt to read this when you have a cough, coughing and laughing at the same time doesn't work!), some of the funniest bits are where Sue Perkins shows a situation how it should have gone in an ideal world, closely followed by what happened, this is a page turner, a delight and well worth a read!