How many weeks?

(what I read in January part 2)

There is a benefit to the month that seems to go on for at least six weeks. Lots more time to read. Dark evenings and wet fields keep this walker indoors and there’s still a hint of resolution in the air.

I continued my January reading with this absolute page-turner. There’s something so restful, isn’t there, about a book that just takes over? Remain awake and keep your eyes on the page and that’s all the effort you need to expend. That’s not to say it was all plain sailing. This was a very moving story of loss and courage all wrapped up in a strong plot with a cloying atmosphere. Unlike those mystery novels where the corpse is little more than a prop, this lost person remained central to the story and the lives of those left behind.

I read Exit by this writer last year and I’ll look for more when the reading list needs leavening.

No hint of Winnie the Pooh or Christopher Robin in this classic Golden Age mystery. Or is there? The hero needs a sidekick who in turn needs tasks and errands, but whose main function is to have crucial plot points explained to his doughty, decent, willing face. Full of great period detail and finely drawn characters. Or did people just look more interesting then? If you like Golden Age and Country House mystery, you’ll enjoy it.

If I hadn’t recorded this in my “list of books I’ve read” notebook I would have forgotten it. I’m not saying it wasn’t a good read. It was funny and very poignant, tear-jerking in fact. Very insightful about friend groups, especially when a friend engages in a complicated life and dies suddenly. In that way, I’d describe it as a very grown-up book. Very clear-eyed and unsentimental. All the softness and love in the book is focussed on a massive dog. Maybe you need to be a dog person?

This was a Christmas present. From me. I borrowed it back once the recipient had read it (I’ve returned it, I’m not a monster.) A great idea by someone in the marketing department of the publisher and a good counterpoint to the new Poirot novels by Sophie Hannah. Marple lends herself to a short story because as soon as she’s worked out which of her neighbours has already behaved like the criminal, she’s done. Jane travels far from St Mary Mead, and it is great fun to see her in New York, on a cruise and in more familiar settings. These vary from excellent to meh but overall they form a delightful confection

Quite coincidentally I ended the month as I started it, with a bright pink cover. This 1930 novel was a highlight of the month’s reading. The heroine (one of the generation of “spare” women between the wars) sees the door to freedom opening for a moment and runs through. Escaping a life of genteel drudgery she finds a new way of living. The scene where – having moved from London – she drags her mattress out into the orchard to lie down under an apple tree is wonderful. Life isn’t easy or fair for her and she is drawn back to her old life. The novel is really a story of misunderstanding, people misreading each other and misspeaking. For someone, the consequences are deadly. Highly recommend it for a charming read with a heroine you’d want to help.