Random Jottings

The Strange Case of Harriet Hall by Moray Dalton

As an addition to my post on crime reading may I direct you to the link below where I review The Strange Case of Harriet Hall by Moray Dalton. A reprint by Dean Street Press and well worth your attention.

http://shinynewbooks.co.uk/the-strange-case-of-harriet-hall-by-moray-dalton/?fbclid=IwAR3k2MiROXNKPfKWZUKQR0Xol7E6n3IqjhdHazg0pAR85x1M5muUP5_-ho8

And if you like it there are others available on Amazon. They are listed in the review.

Reading round up - a Crime week

I really do not know where the time goes. I make up my mind to post a bit more regularly and then find with Easter and the family and grandchildren a week has gone by again. My apologies so I am doing a catch up.

I cannot say I have read anything earth shattering over the last week.No Booker, nothing of huge literary standards but all very enjoyable.   My last post was on Michael Gilbert, two more classics from the British Library, which I really liked.  There are a lot more to track down and this is why I am enjoying this series as it gives me authors to read which I had hitherto ignored.

I do love a good crime story as you know by now and a few years back I read Unwanted by Kristina Ohlsson, another scandi mystery writer and enjoyed it very much.  Good tight plotting and characterisation. Then I did not read any more, I am at a loss to know why, I have a feeling I just forgot her name which sounds a bit careless of me. Anyway, I read The Disappeared and suddenly realised Oh this is the writer who I liked. This story features Detective Inspector Alex Recht and investigator Frederika Bergman - there are five so far with these two central characters - the body of a young woman is discovered and turns out to be that of a missing student who vanished five years ago. Further investigation unearths more bodies and it is clear that somebody has been using it as a burying ground for years.

I then did my usual when I find an author I liked and binge read and got hold of The Chosen. A pre-school teacher is shot dead in front of parents and children at the Jewish School in Stockholm. A few hours later two Jewish boys go missing on their way to tennis practice.  Not a straightforward case as it gradually becomes clear that the deaths of these children have their roots in an incident in Israel some years earlier.

Both of these titles are intricate, sometimes a bit too intricate you have to concentrate, but the writing is excellent and I found them unputdownable. I have downloaded another two so more goodies to come.

I then turned to my To Be Read heap and fished out a Harry Hole story by Jo Nesbo - The Leopard.  I thought I had read all the Hole books but this one had passed me by and I was pleased to pick this up for £1 at a charity shop. Big, fat and, I have to admit, a bit grisly, it kept me occupied for a day.  I like Harry, he reminds me a bit of another Harry in the Michael Connelly books featuring Bosch, but as I said they are a bit grisly. The murders can be a bit visceral and described in some detail. 

A serial killer is on the loose (I must say the number of serial killers around in books these days is a bit worrying) and kills in a pretty revolting manner. I will not go into detail.  Harry Hole is hiding out in Hong Kong drinking himself into oblivion and trying to get away from his memories of his last case (The Snowman).  His old boss sends somebody to bring him back to help solve the murders.  Harry immediately comes up against Bellman, an old adversary, who is trying to merge police forces and head them up and politics starts to get in the way of the investigation.

Note:  this happens in so many detective stories I am sometimes surprised anything gets solved at all.

The Moor - L J Ross.  This is No 12 in the series featuring the rather gorgeous DI Ryan. The novels are set in the North of England and they are well plotted and fairly rattle along.  At the end of each story there is a cliff hanger so you have to get the next one to find out what happens. As the author writes them pretty quickly you do not have to hang around too long which is just as well.  I have downloaded all of these onto my Kindle as they are published and then settle down with a cuppa and do not move until I have read the latest.  If you read these, and I do hope you will, I think it is best if you read them in order as they are linked.

Cruel Acts - Jane Casey. The latest in the Maeve Kerrigan series which I have read since they started. There has been a gap since the last one as I gather the author moved publishers but it was worth the wait.

Leo Stone is a ruthless killer – or the victim of a miscarriage of justice. A year ago, he was convicted of the murder of two women and sentenced to life in prison. But now he’s free, and according to him, he's innocent. DS Maeve Kerrigan and DI Josh Derwent are determined to put Stone back behind bars where he belongs, but the more Maeve finds out, the less convinced she is of his guilt.  Then another woman disappears in similar circumstances. Is there a copycat killer, or have they been wrong about Stone from the start?

The thing I love about these books, apart from the excellent writing and the plotting, is the relationship between Maeve and Josh. From book One they have butted heads and argued and fought but they have each other's backs and, quite frankly, it is clear that there are strong feelings there. Jane Casey is teasing her readers but they are getting closer and closer and I cannot wait to see what happens.

I also read the latest Stephanie Plum book by Janet Evanovich about which nothing needs to be said because they are all the same and I love them.

ok that is it for now. I will try and get back a bit quicker next time.

 

The British Library Classic Crime - Michael Gilbert

I am delighted to say that the books being rediscovered and reprinted by the wonderful British Library keep on coming. So many of the author's names are familiar to me from my days working in the library system when I used to shelve yards of books. I remember Michael Gilbert well and can even visualise the covers of some of the titles. Odd how things stick with you.

Three of the Gilbert stories arrived on my doorstep. I have read two and rather than wait until the third decided to post about them now as I am not sure when I will get round to the last one of the trio.

Smallbone Deceased.

Horniman, Birley and Craine is a highly respected legal firm with clients drawn from the highest in the land. Therefore, when a deed box is opened to reveal a corpse, the threat of a scandal promises to cause them severe problems, particularly as it soon becomes clear that this is an inside job.

I found myself immediately delighted with the wit and style with which this book is written. "It was commonly believed in the office that once, just before the turn of the present century, one of Abel Horniman's leases had the signature eaten off by a mouse, a mishap which gave rise to expensive litigation in the Chancery Division. Accordingly, he sat down and devised the Horniman dust proof, moisture proof, air proof and, indeed, mouse proof deedbox"

An investigation into the books of the firm uncovers irregularities which is is likely that Smallbone discovered and made his removal a matter of urgency.

The policeman in charge of this investigation is Inspector Hazelrigg and he is assisted by Henry Bohun, an acquaintance of his who just happens to have started working at the firm and is very pleased to be his Watson. Another murder takes place, as in all good mysteries and the list of suspects narrows to just a few partners/employees.  I have to say that I usually guess the identity of the murderer in detective stories as I have read so many, but this time I did not and was totally surprised when the culprit was unmasked.

 

Death has Deep Roots

I just finished this yesterday, in fact sat up late to finish it.  Victoria Lamartine, a hotel worker and ex French Resistance fighter is the only suspect for the murder of her supposed lover Major Eric Thoseby, who once escaped from the clutches of the Gestapo. They arrange to meet at the hotel where she works and she is discovered standing over his body and a knife covered in her fingerprints shoved down the side of a chair.

When Victoria discoveres that her Counsel has based their defence on the fact that she was seduced and abandoned by the victim and leniency should be offered, she changes her lawyers as she is deterimined to plead Not Guilty with no extenuating circumstances.

Now I love court room scenes and there are plenty in this story. I love the elegantly phrased opening statements "I will now run briefly through the course of events reminding you first that the facts which I shall set out are not simply my version of my opinion of what hppened................if I make any statement that is not supported I feel confident tht eminent counsel for the defence will be the first to draw you attention to my oversight.  Mr Summers inclined his head graciously"

Wonderful stuff.   The ins and outs of the motive and its discovery lead back to war time France and it all gets a bit convoluted towards the end and I had to concentrate like mad to keep abreast of what was going on but it was worth it.  As with Smallbone Deceased written in an ironic and slightly sardonic style which I really enjoyed.

Another two gems.  Thank you British Library!

 

Random at Greenway - the home of Agatha Christie

I have wanted to visit Greenway for a long time. I hesitate to say it was on my bucket list as I have no intention of kicking the bucket just yet, but it was certainly on A List.  There are various ways to get there but I decided to drive. I ignored the fact that I think my satnav seems to be suffering from a nervous breakdown whenever we arrive at a destination and we set off. It appeared to be a 25 minute drive.  It took us an hour. I am slightly puzzled at my relationship with Hildegarde (I am calling her that as the satnav is of German origin and pronounces names in a most peculiar manner) as she seems to have a habit of telling me to take a turn up a street just as I sail past. When we are lost and she needs to ‘calibrate’ the route she takes her time and leaves me driving I know not where and swearing madly.  

I will draw a veil over the drive except to say that I now now the surrounding countryside on the way to Greenways very well indeed. And, quite frankly, even if we had taken the straightest route we would still have gone down a long windy curly hair raising narrow road to get there. Meeting something coming the other way tested my driving skills to the limit.

Well we arrived and yes it was worth it.  The house overlooks the River Dart and the views are wonderful. It was a lovely day, the sun had come out, a slight breeze so walking was a pleasure and I just loved it all. I had wanted to go for so long that I had wondered if I might feel a bit of a let down but not so.

The house is a comfortable homely sort of place. It feels like a home and that is not always the case when you visit a National Trust property. You cannot imagine kicking off your shoes and collapsing on a sofa. You could here. The cupboards full of china and knick knacks she and her husband Max collected added to this. Yes, there was fine china around, but also a lot of stuff that was probably bought because they liked it. I recognised a few cups and saucers in there as I had some the same. It all added to the ambience.  But I will let the pictures below give you an idea...

The view coming up the hill from the river. Such a familiar frontage from those of us who have watched the Poirot series with David  Suchet.

 

River Dart and the pleasure boat coming up the river

Here I am sitting on the wall of hte Battery. It was here that Amyas Crale painted his portrait of Elsa Greer and then died of poison. This was in my favourite Agatha Five Little Pigs.

And here is the river from the Boat house where the body of Marlene was found in Dead Man’s Folly

 

And some photos of the glorious grounds.  I walked down to the Boathouse and the Battery and back. It took me an hour with rests on the way but so glad I did it.

A glorious place to visit. I would go again next week if I could but it is a long long drive to Torquay........

 

Random in Torquay

 

Whenever my friend and I drive off on holiday we have awful journeys. Road works, diversions etc. This time we set off in optimistic mood and all was going beautifully. Perhaps we are going to be lucky this time I thought. NOT so. Trouble began at the A303 at Stonehenge. The dual carriageway turned into a single one and we had a tailback. Then we cleared that and it went back to a dual carriageway. Ten minutes later turned back into a single lane and so it continued. I had heard horror stories about the A303 and now I know they are true. I will be plotting an alterntive route home.

The four hour journey turned into six and then down came the rain and the wind and the sleet and it was horrid. My satnav which seems to cope most of the time seems to suffer a brain fade when we get to our final destination and needs to navigate through a town. The nice voice kept telling me to turn up roads which were (a) not marked so I missed them or (b) told us when to turn after we had passed them. We eventually got to our destination and got out the car to be hit by a wind which Emily Bronte would have approved of. My friend, who is slightly dodgy on her feet and walks with a stick, was nearly blown over.  It was not a good arrival, both of us bad tempered, wet and fed up.

So dinner and bed.

Next day the sun shone and the wind had died down and all looked so much better. Here are pics of where we are staying.

I actually was able to sit out in the sun and look out at the view which was gorgeous

Today was windy and cool again but we went for a walk and watched the sea crashing in. I love the sea in all shapes and forms.

Tomorrow we go to Greenaway, the home of Agatha Christie and I am really looking forward to that. Photos will be taken that I can guarantee.