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Madeleine

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    Madeleine's Book Log - ongoing

    in Book Blogs - Discuss your reading!

    Posted

    "Ryan's Christmas" by L J Ross - this is a sort of stand-alone, companion novel to the regular series and is set just before Christmas. DCI Ryan is off duty for once and goes to Edinburgh for the day with his wife Anna, and colleagues Frank and Denise, who are now married (I'm a bit behind on the main series). On their way home ,they hit a snowstorm which closes the main road, and when they turn off onto the smaller country roads they run into a snowdrift and have to walk to the nearest property, which happens to be Chillingham Castle, a real life castle which is also, reputedly, the most haunted castle in England, and which happens to be running a ghost weekend which is just about to start when the foursome turn up. They're duly invited to join in, and in true country house murder fashion it's not long before a scream rings out and the body of the housekeeper is found outside in the snow - but with only one set of footprints leading towards the body, and none leading away from it. Snowed in and with no chance of any outside help for the immediate future, Ryan and his team have to do their best to preserve the crime scene, and find out the identity of the killer. This was a lighter read than is usual in this series, and is almost a gentle pastiche of similar country house style murder mysteries. Thoroughly enjoyable. 7.5/10

    British Library Crime Classics

    in Crime / Mystery / Thriller

    Posted

    I've got a lot of these, and have read a few, like Budgie mainly Xmas ones, and I wasn't that keen on Mystery in White, but the Santa Klaus Murder was much better.  They are very collectable though, some of the covers are stunning.

     

    I keep meaning to read more of them!  I suspect they're probably a bit variable in quality, and some definitely feel a bit dated, which is inevitable. 

    Frequenty Asked Questions

    in Using the Board

    Posted

    Hi, I seem to be having trouble accessing some threads, mainly the book blogs and Group 
    reads (and also Ask A Mod).  This is only since the New Year, and happens on both my home pc and the work pc.

     

    Any advice would be lovely, thank you!

    Madeleine's Book Log - ongoing

    in Book Blogs - Discuss your reading!

    Posted

    An Island Christmas" by Jenny Colgan - this is the latest in the Mure series of novels set on a tiny Scottish island, and as the title says the close-knit community are preparing for Christmas, but other events are overshadowing the festivities, such as Flora's pregnancy by her troubled boyfriend Joel, and the serious illness of US businessman Colton, who has relocated to the island and opened a new hotel, but is sadly in the final stages of cancer, and being nursed by his partner, Flora's brother Fintan. Then there's Flora's best friend Lorna, who is in love with the local doctor Saif - a refugee from Syria, who is trying to settle on the island with his two young sons, but is desperate for news of his missing wife, and there are also various members of Flora's family who drift in and out, including the dog Bramble! It's a gentle of a close knit community, but the author also shows how claustrophobic such a setting can be, even if the locals are as well-meaning and caring (mostly) as the residents of Mure. But matters escalate when a terrible storm hits, and it looks like more than one issue will be resolved, or have to be faced. This is a warm and witty book, and the little community is actually very believable, as is the setting - a small rock out in the Atlantic! Enjoyable, and I look forward to reading the first two books in this series. 7/10

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