feather_ghyll

The Enigma Game: Elizabeth Wein Bloomsbury, 2020

In the author’s note at the end, Wein herself describes her books as World War Two thrillers, I suppose I’d just add the descriptor ‘young adult.’ This is the fourth book in the Code Name Verity Cycle, following ‘The Pearl Thief’ chronologically, and about events that precede ‘Code Name Verity’ and ‘Rose Under Fire’. I don’t believe you have to have read all the others to appreciate this, but knowing about various characters and relationships mentioned in passing and what’s coming for some of the characters added depth to me. Also, if you have read all those (excellent) books, you will know that the ‘game’ in the title is a misnomer, really. ( Read more... )

Speaking From Among the Bones: Alan Bradley. Orion, 2014

It’s been a while (I checked, and it’s been over seven years), but I have returned to the Flavia de Luce murder mystery series. My motivation was that I'd bought other books from later on in the series second hand, so I thought I’d better get and read this. This, the fifth book is set during Easter (fun to read just after Christmas.) Our heroine is ( Read more... )

Manners & Mutiny, Finishing School Book the Fourth: Gail Carriger. Atom, 2015

And so the finishing school series ends, ( Read more... )

I've changed the style of the journal. Who knows if it will stick, although I can be very lazy!?

Princess Candida: Katharine Oldmeadow, Collins

I wonder if the publishers or someone suggested that Oldmeadow ought to write her own version of ‘A Little Princess’, for there’s a flavour of that to ‘Princess Candida’, although it’s more in the girls own vein, and written with Oldmeadow’s style. ( Read more... )

Two Joans At The Abbey: Elsie J. Oxenham Collins. This reprint 1949.

The two Joans are of different generations, and I will say that one of the strengths of this book is that it has time for all the generations of ‘Abbey girls’, from one of the original ones, Joan, to Joy’s twins, Elizabeth and Margaret. I suppose that I should also note that I’ve read books in the series set after this one (as you can see if you click on the tags), and will reference some events from the latter in this review.

( Read more... )

The Thursday Murder Club: Richard Osman. Penguin, my copy was published in 2021.

Yes, years after everyone else, I have read ‘The Thursday Murder Club’ ( Read more... )

Treasure at Amorys: Malcolm Saville. Collins, 1969, revised edition.

This is a reread because I bought this without realising I already own a copy. On the one hand, that was annoying – I’m going to make more of an effort to acquire the Lone Pine books I haven’t read and/or got – but on the other, this is a hardback, and the copy I already own is a paperback.

This book is full of ( Read more... )

The Star of Kazan: Eva Ibbotson, Macmillan, 2004.

I didn’t remember much about this book (only the fate of Rocco the horse, really) so rereading this almost felt like reading a new book, except it had that sense of things proceeding as they ought as so much of Ibbotson’s writing does, and some of that came from some dim memories of first reading it. (This was the my post about it at the time, which also discusses ‘Blue of the Sea’ by L.T. Meade.)

This is the story of ( Read more... )

Barefoot on the Wind: Zoe Marriott, Walker Books, 2016

We meet Hana, the teenage heroine, successfully hunting for her family. But she is hunting alone, which is rare for the hunters of her village, and we slowly learn that ( Read more... )

[Lightly edited 5/4/25.]

The Documents in the Case: Dorothy L. Sayers and Robert Eustace, Hodder & Stoughton, 2016

I got it into my head that I should reread all the Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries in order. You see, I stumbled across ‘Whose Body?’, I think, at university and read them as I came across copes thereafter. This meant I was disappointed by the non-appearance of Harriet Vane in several. Before proceeding to do that, because I’m a completist, I decided to read ‘The Documents in the Case’ (for the first time), which does not feature Wimsey and ( Read more... )