All of Us Murderers / K.J. Charles

 

3.5 out of 5 stars 

This is my first venture into M/M romance and I was surprised at how similar to straight gothic romance it was. Charles is a woman author, so I would be interested to eventually read a similar romance written by a man.

Isolation in a gothic mansion with horrible family members is Zeb's worst nightmare. Or so he thinks, until he realizes that his former lover, Gideon, is now working for his cousin and is ice cold. I realized during the first chapter that this would be a second chance romance.

Older gothic romances may have an eerie atmosphere but this situation seems more malevolent than eerie. Whoever is behind the shenanigans seems to have a good idea of each person's personal weaknesses and history. Cousin Wynn, who invited Zeb, rules Lackaday House strictly. The grounds are fenced and the gate is guarded. He is determined that his granddaughter Jessamine will marry one of the guests and the couple will inherit the manor and the fortune.

Zeb is horrified on Jessamine's behalf and isn't tempted to marry her despite the fortune attached to the wedding. In fact, he has spent time with a Black cousin, knows how the money was accumulated in the slave trade, and has no desire at all to accept it. It seems that absolutely no one in his family believes his protestations—they all think it's a ploy to appear chivalric and thereby win Jessamine's favour.

I thought the solution to the mystery was telegraphed rather early in the narrative but I still enjoyed reading to discover the details. There were a couple of things that were surprising, a great reward for continuing to read. The writing is not bad, but neither is it exceptional. I've been curious about Charles' fiction for some time and this novel encourages me to consider trying another one.

Some Tame Gazelle / Barbara Pym

 

4.75 out of 5 stars 

Book 3 of the 2026 Read Your Hoard Challenge

I have enjoyed every Barbara Pym novel that I have read to date. This was her very first and already she demonstrates her sharp observations of people, especially relations between the sexes. Belinda Bede is Pym's alter-ego and Harriet is her sister's. I believe that the real life sister did get married and widowed, but this was written to imagine them as spinsters in their fifties.

Many of the characters in Some Tame Gazelle are based on Pym's friends and relatives. Archdeacon Hoccleve is the fictional representation of a former lover who was willing to sleep with Pym but married another woman. Pym managed to stay friendly with the couple, but Belinda's unrequited love for the Archdeacon comes into sharper focus with this knowledge. She uses her claws gently with his depiction. Apparently her circle of friends and acquaintances recognized him and themselves and were highly entertained.

Even in this very first book, there are some references to anthropology. Bishop Grote, who is home from the mission field, gives a lantern slide presentation about the African people among whom he works. Pym was an assistant editor of an anthropological journal and she incorporates this expertise neatly into her writing.

I enjoyed Excellent Women and Less Than Angels so much that I bought a stack of Barbara Pym novels during Covid, but I got distracted by other books and never read them. This is the year that I fix this omission and I am ever so glad that this was such an enjoyable start to the project.

Postern of Fate / Agatha Christie

 

2.5 out of 5 stars 

I learned a new word just from this title. A postern is a secondary door or gate in a fortification. I'm unsure that it will do me any good, but it gives a pleasing feeling to squirrel away a new vocabulary word.

A final visit with Tommy and Tuppence plus reminisces of their previous adventures. The story began with much book sorting, an activity that caused sympathy as I must tackle a similar project this spring. I have to point out that the dialogue in this novel is much inferior to Christie's usual. There’s a circularity to it and so much repetition. Usually Christie is more economical with words. Tommy and Tuppence seem to talk past one another and to be working at cross purposes. Part of the problem is that Tommy doesn't really want there to be a “problem” to be investigated.

Usually Tuppence is like a terrier—she gets a hold on something and doesn't let go until she has figured it out. This is the first book where she flits from one thing to another, seemingly at random. It's enough to make you wonder if she's okay. And poor old Tommy must go to see various semiretired spooks, who all pontificate at length on the state of the world and all their complaints about it. I found myself skimming their long speeches.

I have my reasons for giving this book the 2.5 star rating. It wraps us the Tommy & Tuppence story line, while reminding us of their previous accomplishments. It includes a charming dog, Hannibal. This is Christie saying goodbye to the Beresfords.

In our reading plan, we have two novels remaining, the last books about Poirot and Miss Marple. These, however, were written much earlier (1940s). With Postern, Christie has wrapped up all of her most prominent characters. It must have been a satisfying feeling for the author, to have set their affairs in order, as she was likely getting her own life organized for the inevitable.

The Hermit of Eyton Forest / Ellis Peters

 

4 out of 5 stars 

I always enjoy a Brother Cadfael story. This book was no exception. Despite the murders depicted, Peters writes a comforting sort of mystery which centers on the calm routine of the monastery and the competence of Brother Cadfael.

If I have any criticism of the series, it's that the crimes of the Medieval period are rather repetitive. There are the aforementioned murders, runaway villeins, disguised criminals, cruel lords, and the occasional kidnapping. In this, the 14th book of the series, I could see most of the plot points coming. Despite this, I thoroughly enjoyed the journey to get to those points and there was one twist that delighted me. 

I felt for Brother Cadfael at the end, who admits to his friend the sheriff that he enjoys his extra-monastic activities far too much. He confesses that he extends his time outside the monastery and does not regret it. In fact he doubts he could stick to the religious life without his excursions into crime investigation with Hugh. Cadfael was a Crusader after all—once a man of action, always a man of action? It just felt so real, something that has always lurked in the back of my mind.

Death in Kashmir / M.M. Kaye

 

4 out of 5 stars 

Book 2 of the 2026 Read Your Hoard Challenge

If you read older mysteries as I do, you get quite fond of them and their idiosyncrasies. I owned all of Kaye's mysteries in the 1980s, when they were reissued and sold through a mail order book club that I belonged to. I can't remember why I gave them away, but I have managed to reacquire them, a very satisfying accomplishment.

I smile as all the characters casually smoke their cigarettes and swill their drinks. I watch with amazement as they expect their staff to clean up after them, run errands for them, even pack their bags when they go away for a few days. In so many of this generation's mysteries, there is a pattern of insta-love that we 21st century readers tend to sneer at. How could that actually happen? But the author's note at the beginning seems to indicate that Molly Kaye set aside this manuscript on the day she met the man that she eventually married and did not pick it up again until several countries, two children, and (at last) their marriage had occurred. Her Wikipedia page reports that the husband in question proposed on 5 weeks acquaintance (and while he was married to someone else). So, it was not an unknown phenomenon.

I quite liked the espionage angle to this novel. Agatha Christie's spy stories always seem rather OTT to me, but this one of Kaye's felt more real. Yes, there are emeralds involved tangentially, but we never see them. As it happens, Kaye's father was an intelligence officer in the Indian army, probably giving her a more realistic, less romantic view of the espionage business. She knew there was more danger than glamour.

This was a visit with an old friend and a very enjoyable one. I'll be looking for more excuses to reread Kaye's books in the future.

The Taken / Inger Ash Wolfe

 

4 out of 5 stars 

I got to this faster than I anticipated—I read the first volume just back in the summer during my Canadian mystery binge. I do like Hazel Micallef, despite her rough ways and prejudices. Maybe because of them. Once again, it is the characters that bring me back to Wolfe's work. It's like a soap opera and I need to know what happens to them all.

Hazel seems to be in a better, if sad, place. Her back surgery seems to be successful despite some rough handling during this investigation. Has she beaten her addiction to pain pills? I guess time will tell. She has spent her recovery time in her ex-husband's basement, being cared for by her mother and the new wife. Quite a humiliating situation, but beggars can't be choosers.

We also learn why Quinn left the big smoke of Toronto for the backwater of Port Dundas. He has survived being Acting Chief while Acting Chief Micallef is recovering but he has not enjoyed the experience. Humans are hierarchical creatures and he knows that he is resented because he is so new in the department.

There are also broad hints that in the near future the Port Dundas police are going to be reorganized by those above them and that it's not going to be pretty. Hazel goes to talk to the man in charge who basically tells her that she's a dinosaur and doomed to extinction. Now she must decide whether to retire as they wish her to or if she will fight back. (There are two more books, so I think I know what she chooses.)

The crime in this book that requires solving is convoluted and bloody. I give Wolfe points for a twisty plot, but I wonder about the likelihood of such a thing happening in such a small centre. I had to consciously suspend my disbelief, much the same way I dealt with the serial killer in the first book. The crimes he devises are just over the top and I hope that small town police officers aren't receiving bloody hands delivered to their desks.

A peek ahead at the description of the third book confirms my suspicions about political shenanigans, so I will shoehorn it into my reading queue ASAP.

2025 In Review

 This year has been the Year of the Virus for me. In August, I contracted Bell's Palsy, causing the right side of my face to droop. A great ER doctor got me set up on antivirals and it cleared up. December brought Influenza A and several days in hospital. I am lucky to be alive and I am grateful to our health system and my family. My reading life is very important to me, but it is nothing without good health. Nevertheless, here are my Wanda Award winning books for 2025.

Favourite Audiobook: Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera is perfect for the audio format, as a podcast is featured. My book club was very divided on this title, but the combination of mystery and dark, sarcastic humour was perfect for me. Told by two narrators, the amnesiac suspected murderer Lucy and the true crime podcaster Ben. I couldn't stop listening!

Favourite American Espionage Novel: The Spy Coast by Tess Gerritsen. Partly because of an interesting plot, but largely because of an older woman protagonist. As an older woman myself, I do love a story where an older woman shows that she's still got what it takes.

Favourite British Espionage Novel: Clown Town by Mick Herron. If you follow current events in the UK at all, you will appreciate Herron's caustic observations on the politics of the day. Plus, he has provided a wonderful cast of characters, each with fascinating personal damage. As a reader of the Slough House series, I am invested in each and every one of them.

Best Blast From My Past: She by H. Rider Haggard. One of the formative books of my adolescence and a wonderful reread. Ayesha, She Who Must Be Obeyed, and the long lost ruins of Kor have haunted my imagination for decades. In a time filled with adventure novels featuring men, Ayesha gave teenage me a female character to appreciate.

Favourite Historical Mystery/Romance: Thus With a Kiss I Die by Christina Dodd. I am loving these mysteries featuring Rosaline Montague, daughter of Romeo and Juliet. Yes, that Romeo and Juliet. Dodd's sense of humour, combined with her talent for scripting a mystery appropriate to old Verona, kept me reading and smiling all the way.

Best Unexpected Mystery: Black Ice: A DreadfulWater Mystery by Thomas King. King has said that he isn't writing any more and then has produced several books. This one features my favourite depressed detective, Thumps DreadfulWater. Once again, it is the cast of loveable, quirky characters that delight me in this series. King manages to comment on our current circumstances while producing snappy dialogue and a mystery that holds the attention.

Best Cozy Mystery: The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman. You guessed it, because I love the characters. The mystery plot was good too and gave the characters a reason to do their thing. My last book of the year, so 2025 went out with a bang.


My Science Fiction and Fantasy Reading Project: I took a break from this project this year. I only read 8 titles that counted toward it. I feel more enthused about it as a result. My favourite books were Salvage Rightand Ribbon Dance, both recent offerings in the Liaden Universe by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller.

My Shakespeare project: No progress this year. My total plays seen remains at 21. I did attend a performance of Much Ado About Nothing in June, but I have seen it before. It's a fun play.

Reading My Hoard: I read 20 books from my own physical shelves this year. My health concerns this year have me thinking about moving and if that is to happen, my book collection must be whittled down. Reading and weeding them will be a 2026 goal.

Agatha Christie project: 2026 will be the year that I finish reading all of Christie's novels. With the Appointment with Agatha group, I've been reading one per month for several years. Only three left.

Plans for the New Year: I have several goals. Firstly, I want to read my collection of Barbara Pym novels. I bought them during Covid but got distracted by other books. Secondly, I want to read more non-fiction. I think my concentration is back up to the task now. I have been taking Medieval history courses and have chosen some books to supplement and reinforce that learning. Thirdly, I hope to get refocused on my Science Fiction and Fantasy Reading Project.

Happy New Year, friends. I hope 2026 brings good things and good health to you all.