The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (1962) by Joan Aiken #WitchWeek2024

🐺 Willoughby Chase is home to Sir Willoughby, Lady Green, and their only daughter Bonnie. Due to Lady Green's illness, Sir Willoughby is taking her to the Mediterranean by ship. They arranged for a distant cousin to take over Bonnie and the estate into her care - Miss Slighcarp's care. Bonnie won't be lonely because her orphan cousin, Sylvia is arriving from London, where she's been living with her poor but proud aunt Jane.

🐺 Sylvia's train journey through snowy countryside to Willoughby Chase is far from uneventful. She was terrified by a pack of wolves that are menacing the train, one even tried to attack Sylvia's compartment when the train's stopped middle way. Fortunately Sylvia's fellow passenger, a man called Mr. Grimshaw, courageously averted the danger. Sylvia had no idea that a more terrifying pack of "wolves" is awaiting her at Willoughby Chase; more terrifying because these are wolves in sheeps' clothing.

🐺 Bonnie and Sylvia, despite of differences in personality and upbringing, soon find themselves best friend to each other. But Miss Slighcarp has her wicked intention. With Mr. Grimshaw's help she planned to take over Willoughby Chase. She dismissed the loyal servants, tampered Sir Willoughby's will, and things like that. When Bonnie and Sylvia hampered her, she sent them to a horrid orphanage owned by equally wicked woman if Miss Slighcarp's friend.

🐺 When things get most nasty for the girls, they plan to run away. Luckily for them, few of the loyal servants don't desert them. The goose boy Simon also proved to be a valuable friend to them. However, what can they do to thwart the enemies plans, if Bonnie's parents were really dead inside the drowned ship?

🐺 I happened to read two books about horrid orphanages almost in a row. However, the one in Thursday's Child felt almost like adventure compared to this one, where Bonnie and Sylvia were most unfortunately put into. I was glad that Bonnie and Sylvia had each other's company to bear their misery. And if there's one blessing in disguise from this hardship, it's the resilient and experiences the two girls now possess as the result. That short experience strengthened them to be wonderful women in future.

🐺 This is my first Joan Aiken, and I'm grateful to have found this wonderful author. It certainly won't be my last read of her.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

Read this book for:

Witch Week 2024 #WitchWeek2024

hosted by Chris @ Calmgrove and Lizzie @ Lizzie Ross

Possible Reads for Novellas in November & Nonfiction November 2024 #NovNov24 #NonficNov24

We are just two months and several days away from the end of 2024; how could time fly that fast!? Reading wise, I'm so grateful that many bookbloggers or booktweeters keep hosting my favorite reading events. Two of them are coming next month, and I've been compiling my lists (and even started reading few of them!) of some possible reads, with emphasize on "possible". I might read more or less, or substitute the titles. Anyway, here they are:

Novellas in November 2024 #NovNov24

hosted by Cathy @ 746 Books and Rebecca @ Bookish Beck

Warrior of the Light: A Manual (1997) by Paulo Coelho - a special read for special occasion, which I will explain in the review.
Wigs on the Green (1935) by Nancy Mitford 
Maud Martha (1953) by Gwendolyn Brooks
The Old Maid (1922) by Edith Wharton
A Single Rose (2020) by Muriel Barbery

Nonfiction November 2024 #NonficNov24

hosted by Liz, Frances, Heather, Rebekah, and Deb

Under the Tuscan Sun: At Home in Italy (1996) by Frances Mayes
The Golden Mole: And Other Living Treasure (2022) by Katherine Rundell
Dead Mountain: The Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident (2013) by Donnie Eichar


Would you join one or all of them? What books you plan to read next month?

The Thief of Always (1992) by Clive Barker #RIPXIX

Book Beginnings on Fridays (hosted by Rose City Reader)

The great grey beast February had eaten Harvey Swick alive. Here he was, buried in the belly of that smothering month, wondering if he would ever find his way out through the cold coils that lay between here and Easter.

🏠 February isn't a beast, the evil monster of this children horror fantasy. It's the dreary cold month when Christmas is behind but Easter is still quite far, and Harvey Swick hated it. So much so, that when a smiley man called Rictus invited him to the Holiday House where one can always have fun, he couldn't resist. He'll just peep in for a while, and would come home immediately, no big deal.

🏠 But it is a big deal - it's a huge one! The Holiday House is a magical place, owned and created by a Mr. Hood. He lured innocent children who are thinking they are only playing truant. True, once they enter the house, they could get everything they ever want - food, toys, and all. But what a price they must pay! Though they only realize this after, when there's no way back. Not only that, the House also steals time. One spend each day in four seasons, spring in the morning, summer at noon, autumn every afternoon, and the day ends in winter. It's not just the weather, each day the children spend one day at the house, they lose one whole year of their times at home, so that, after spending a month there, thirty years have elapsed at home. That's what Mr. Hood is - the thief of always!

🏠 Harvey learned about this powerful magic after he managed to escape the House with his friend Wendel. Only to find that thirty years has elapsed since he left his parents, who has been bitterly thinking he's dead. Harvey realizes that he must return to the House and somehow fight Mr. Hood and his four servants to be free of the magic, to return to their happy lives, and to rescue many children who had came before him. He wouldn't live peacefully thinking he has left them trapped there forever, would he? But how could he do that-a mere boy against those powerful and cunning evil monsters?

🏠 I have never read Clive Barker before, but this is such a perfect horror fantasy a child could have wanted to read. It tackles common problem of children, that of wanting to avoid uncomfortable situation; it also overflowing with pleasant things every children want: gifts, toys, sweets, food, games. Imagine having Halloween and Christmas everyday without having any effort to arrange it, just enjoying!

Quoted for Friday 56 (hosted by Head Full of Books):

There was A Bonfire Night supper waiting for them when they got back into the House.

But it's not just about that, this book also reminded children, that there are a lot of things more valuable than those fun: love and family. It was indeed a wholesome read for this season, which reminds us to be always grateful for each day and season.

"Hopes like birds on a spring branch; happiness like a warm summer sun; magic like the rising mists of autumn. And best of all, love; love enough for a thousand Christmasses."

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

Read for:

R.I.P XIX

A Christmas Murder (2024) by Mary Grand

🎄 I don't usually read something Christmassy in October, but this seemed like a decent cozy mystery, and I ran out of good audiobook, so I dug in. And I'm not disappointed, it is a wonderful murder mystery, which can actually happen anytime during any season. It's not really Christmassy, I think, just a midnight mass, Christmas meals, and some gifts.

🎄 Susan was asked for helping as a host at the Bishopstone Manor hotel by the owner, an Indian woman called Meera. Their upcoming family guests are prominent figures, and this gig is very important for the newly re-opened establishment. Duncan Fern, a newspaper mogul, is now bringing his extended family for annual Christmas holiday. His second wife Kirsten, his famous crime writer son Bryson, his sensitive daughter Hailey are there. Also coming are Bryson's food critics Victoria, Hayley's fitness enthusiast boyfriend Lewis, and the last one is Duncan's second man Antoine.

🎄 Between making sure that their bedrooms are cozy enough at night, and in charge of the music during dinner, Susan has first hand opportunity to get to know (rather too intimately) the family members. How Duncan is mean to his family, using threats against them, for example. He is the victim, by the way, which I knew right from the first. He died of poisoning from his own medication. Susan woke at night witnessing one of them sneaking outside the manor, and into Duncan's room. Her job enables her to snooping around their belongings, leading to finding clues after clues of the murder. Contrary to police's opinion, it was, indeed, murder, because Susan was twice attacked by one of them. It only shows that she is onto the right track. But who is the killer? Everyone had the motive, and seemingly opportunity to commit the murder.

🎄 This is actually quite a proper murder mystery, instead of a sloppy cozy mystery I thought it would be; a psychological soft thriller if you like. Everybody had secret and dark past, and not until near the end did I guess the murderer. Susan cleverly deduced how the crime was done, but not the why or the real motive (cause everyone had prospect), and certainly not the who.

🎄 Like in usual cozy mystery, there is the love prospect for the heroine, and a bit of struggle in her personal life (her ex husband). But I loved that these aspects were just a small background of the main stage, which was the crime mystery. I loved this one, and would like to read more from Mary Grand.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Mini Reviews for #AgathaChristieSS24: October

THE HOUND OF DEATH

A man called Anstruther heard from his friend of an intriguing story about the blowing up of a Belgium convent, when some German soldiers invaded it during WW2. The locals said it wasn't caused by high explosive, but by a miraculous power of a nun who brought down a lightning bolt from heaven. What's left from the building was a wall with powder mark in the shape of a giant hound. The nun now lives with a doctor in Cornwall, and is often haunted by her dreams. Visiting the nun, Anstruther suspects that the doctor, who was medically studying her behavior, might not be fully honest. But the question remains, what had really happened? Has the nun been hallucinating, or does she really possesses supernatural power? The story was ended by another "explosion", and this revealed more or less of what had really happened.

This has prospects to become a gripping and intriguing story, but the end was somehow anti-climactic. It's more of a Halloween story than a mystery.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

THE VOICE IN THE DARK

Mr. Satterthwaite is tasked by his friend, Lady Stranleigh, to investigate her daughter's claim that their house, Abbot's Mede has been haunted. "Luckily" for him, Mr. Quin is staying at the inn nearby, and would be available anytime Mr. Satterthwaite needs a chat.

Margery, the daughter, reveals to Mr. Satterthwaite that the last two months she has often been hearing voices in the dark, while she is alone in her bedroom. The voice tells her to "give back what is not yours; give back what you have stolen".

Her mother's maid, Clayton, was Lady Stranleigh's fellow survivor of a shipwreck that took away her elder sister. She, Clayton, was the key to this mystery, which is not just about voices in the dark, but also a murder, as well as an attempt of murder. It's a wonderful one, actually, and Mr. Satterthwaite solved the mystery by himself, for once.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

The Amazing Mrs. Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman #1970Club

Book Beginnings (hosted by Rose City Reader)

Mrs. Pollifax had attended church that Sunday morning, and her hat--a garden of pale pink roses and green leaves--still sat on her head as she ate lunch in the sunny kitchen of her apartment. She had a tendency to be absentminded lately about hats--in fact since beginning karate lessons she had become forgetful about a number of things--and since she would be going out again soon she had anticipated the problem by placing her hat where it could not possibly be left behind.

👒 If that opening lines can't intrigue you to read on, I don't know what can. Floral hats and karate lessons don't usually go together in one paragraph. But that's what Mrs. Pollifax is - if you haven't familiar yet with the series - unexpected. The first book in the series, The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax, is a strong proof.

👒 Still assuming you haven't read the series - what are you waiting for?? - Mrs. Emily Pollifax is a sexagenarian widow who loves gardening - hence her floral hat - but isn't prepared yet to lead a quite and monotonous life, alone in her apartment. So she went to CIA headquarters and unexpectedly got hired by a Mr. Carstairs to be... a spy! Well, not a proper, as she's unqualified, but she's done her first courier job perfectly in Albania, that Mr. Carstairs, her boss, was quite both surprised and amused.

👒 This time she was tasked to go as tourist to Turkey, to assist Magda Ferenci-Sabo, a defecting Russian spy and double agent to leave the country. She only have to arrive at an hotel at certain time, and be at the lobby with a battered copy of Gone with the Wind as a sign. It's sounds easy, but as usual, Mrs. Pollifax's innocent impulses and affectionate heart brought things to totally different direction; more dangerous, but also more exciting. And along the mission, Mrs. Pollifax found friendship with unlikely people and allies.

👒 Davida @ The Chocolate Lady's Book Reviews has recently reviewed this book, and I agree with her comment that it is even better than the first one. I see Mrs. Pollifax is becoming more adept to her new "profession" - she's been taking Karate lessons anyway - and in more than one occasion she quickly took initiative for further plans or actions. The writer, Dorothy Gilman, also brought more colorful characters to assist Mrs. Pollifax in her mission, including some gypsies. They helped brighten the story and some hilarious moments came from their encounters. But what I loved most is Gilman's picturesque portrayal of Turkey, especially the hilltop caves at Göreme where Mrs. Pollifax and co. used for hiding place, they were gorgeous!

(abandoned) cave dwellings at present-day's Göreme
National Park, Turkey

And here I quoted one beautiful landscape at night:

Friday 56 Quote (hosted by Head Full of Books)

They were passing over the Galata Bridge now, and the lights of moving tugs and boats slashed the glistening inky water with long ribbons of gold. Even at midnight the bridge was filled with traffic: miles, trucks, and donkeys bearing fruit and vegetables to the markets and merchandise to the bazaars. Pale moonlight etched out the silhouette of the mosque at the foot of the bridge and touched each passerby with a high light of silver.

👒 Needless to say, I loved this book! It has a perfect balance of mystery, suspense, comedy, love, and friendship, with a touch of cold war and exotic place.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

Read for:

The 1970 Club

hosted by Simon and Karen

The Dead Mountaineer's Inn by Arkady & Boris Strugatsky #1970Club

❄️ Published in 1970 in Russian, this book is a locked room mystery with a touch of science fiction. It follows a police inspector, Peter Glebsky, who is on vacation to the titular inn, in order to stay away from his job and family. Also staying at the remote inn and ski chalet, a bunch of eccentric people. There is a famous magician, Du Bramstoker, with his nephew Brun - an adolescent with indeterminate sex (what is it, a boy or a girl?). Then there's a physicist Simon Simone, a wealthy man Moses who's perpetually drunk, and his beautiful wife.

❄️ Then strange things start to happen. Small items are missing, but other stuffs appear mysteriously, voices are heard where no one had been. Are those only innocence though annoying pranks, or, as the inn owner indicates, a supernatural manifestation? He seems to believe that the dead mountaineer - whose legend inspired the inn's name - is still present.

❄️ Things then begin to get more serious; a murder, no less! The latest guest who has arrived right before an avalanche blocked the mountain pass, is found murdered in a locked room. Glebsky had no other choice than investigating the crime, albeit reluctantly. The deeper he investigates though, the more he's confused. There are too many strange unrelated things happening, which ones were pranks, and which were true? And who's telling the truth, who's been prankster? Was the murder a usual crime? Or was there aliens involved like what some of the guests have been incredulously insisting?

❄️ This is such an eccentric yet entertaining story. It's weird but funny at the same time. You'll keep wondering whether this is a clever and complex murder mystery, a huge joke, or a science fiction? And my advice if you want to read this book is, don't google or read any synopsis or blurb beforehand. Just read the book with open mind. It will be more fun. Knowing what it is before reading would totally ruin it! All I can say that I had fun reading it. The book was well constructed, and represented the vibes of the 1970s - that's why mystery novels of vintage era are always my favorite, when everything was still simple and, therefore, more meaningful.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐1/2

Read for:

The 1970 Club

hosted by Simon and Karen

Thursday's Child by Noel Streatfeild #1970Club

🔶️ Margaret Thursday is an orphan, though, as she always tells people,

"I'm not properly an orphan. I was found on a Thursday on the church steps, with three of everything, all of the very best quality."

🔶️ She's actually a daughter of a respectable lady who had stubbornly eloped with her lover. When Margaret was a baby, the lady left her on someone's doorstep, inside a basket with those three of everything of the very best quality, which we will be reminded over and over again throughout the book. It's not that she's boasting, as I first was inclined to think, but it's the lady's way to plant in her daughter's heart that, despite of her demise, she is a special child who deserves respect from others. And this seemingly foolish way did work out. Margaret grows as a up high spirited girl with strong self confident, always believing she can become anyone she wants, that she can be a famous person, even. And most importantly, it gives her self respect and courage to stand on her own against people who would bully and belittle her throughout her adolescence.

🔶️ Margaret Thursday got her surname from the good people who had found her on a Thursday. It follows a nursery rhyme titled Monday's Child:

Monday's child is fair of face,
Tuesday's child is full of grace.
Wednesday's child is full of woe,
Thursday's child has far to go.
Friday's child is loving and giving,
Saturday's child works hard for a living.
But the child that is born on Sabbath day,
Is bonny and blithe, good and gay.

🔶️ At first regular fund kept coming every year for her upkeep, but one day it had stopped. And the good people had no choice except sending her to an orphanage. It was supposed to be a good one - recommended even by the Archdeacon. But of course it's as bad as in Dickens' stories, with evil and greedy mistress, who starved the children, punished them severely, and all. But Margaret also found new best friends at the orphanage in Lavinia, Peter, and Horatio - siblings from a broken family.

🔶️ When things turned from bad to worse, Margaret arranged an escape from the orphanage with Peter and Horatio. Lavinia, meanwhile, had gotten a job as scullery maid at the manor house. But what could these little children do to save themselves? What would happen to them? Plenty of Interesting things, it turns out, from working as leggers in a canal boat, to performing in a theater!

Horse-drawn canal boat [pic: from Wikipedia]

🔶️ Their canal boat career is what interested me most. I didn't know that horse-drawn canal boats are mode of cargo transportation in England from mid 19th century to mid 1960s. The horse walked on the canal bank. A strong rope around its head was connected to the boat. The horse need someone to supervise and lead it along the journey, to walk beside it. This person was called a legger. Margaret and the two brothers shared many shifts to do this. And Streatfeild described the beauty but hard canal boat life with the simple but lovely people so vividly I felt like living there myself.

🔶️ On the whole, it's a beautiful and wholesome book, vividly written by Noel Streatfeild. This is my first children novel from her, but certainly not the last.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Read for:

The 1970 Club

hosted by Simon and Karen

Mr. Niyogi's Last Audit (2024) by S.N. Rao #Netgalley

Thanks to Copperplate and NetGalley for providing me review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Book Beginnings on Fridays (hosted by Rose City Reader):

I was feeling cold, so I opened my eyes to find myself in a cold room. It was unfamiliar room, and I could not recollect how I got here. The room was dimly lit. I did not know what time it was; the curtains were open, and it was dark outside. I needed to pee. I took a deep breath, turned onto my left side and pushed myself into a sitting position. My arms trembled with the effort, and I felt a pain in my left shoulder.

👴🏼In his 77 years of age, Mr. Vikram Niyogi is struggling with Parkinson's - the same disease my late father had had in the last years of his life (he passed away last year). That was the main reason I picked up this novel in the first place, a story I could surely well relate. Moreover, my father was also an accountant like Mr. Niyogi, before retirement. And it is a way, I hoped, to better understand the extend of what my father must have had through - something I hadn't fully appreciated at that time, as those were quite distressing times for me and my mother.

👴🏼 Mr. Niyogi is a retired accountant for an airline company of Bengaluru branch, India. He had been an invaluable member of the enterprise before retirement. Now that Parkinson's is eating away his movement as well as his dignity - causing him more dependent on his wife, daughter, and a caretaker - he felt more desperate to be useful in life. But what can he possibly do, when, even for basic activities like eating, walking, and peeing he can't do without help?

👴🏼 The answer came in two ways. His former company faced a serious money embezzlement, and only a senior accountant like Mr. Niyogi could trace it. Then his daughter Archana has a friend, whose son was hopelessly stranded on a small island in Maldives with 200 other miners, when their employer went bankrupt, with no one able to help as most institutions are focusing in recovery after Covid-19. It should not be of Mr. Niyogi's concern, however he starts hearing the stranded young man's voice, urging him to send for help. But what can he do? Maybe if he helps Saran airlines in his last audit for them, they in turn might be persuaded to send boats for the stranded miners. But that would be an impossible task for Mr. Niyogi - or is it?

👴🏼 I applauded S.N Rao for the writing. Either he has been dealing with Parkinson's patient before, or he has done a thorough research; painful dealing with Parkinson's disease were captured vividly throughout the story and become one of the strong points of this book. Mr. Niyogi's meal, for instance, was pictured in minutest detail from preparing the liquified food to the injection to his feeding tube. Or the procedure of various treatments given to Mr. Niyogi to ease his rigid muscles, were described in chronological detail that I felt like being trained as a nurse. It might bored some of you who dislikes medical or uncomfortable scenes in a book, but it's interesting if you want to know more about Parkinson's disease, and felt relatable for you who have dealt with it.

Quoted for Friday56 hosted by Head Full of Books :

I was nervous. Ever since I got Parkinson's, I hadn't been confident or sure of myself. I was not sure how I would do here, but I decided to give it a try nonetheless.

👴🏼 Most of Mr. Niyogi's symptoms were also experienced by my father. Once he came back from a grocery store (he went alone as he could still walk at that time) with treacle of blood flowing from his eyebrow, without remembering what had happened. I think he had experienced a combination of one-second blackout and muscle-freeze. Luckily it happened right in front of the store's glass door, so his forehead bumped the door instead of completely falling over. We never let him go alone after that incident.

👴🏼 Hallucination had also happened once to my father, he saw flowers everywhere, on the wall, on the bed, on the floor. He's really freaked out that he's going crazy, but luckily it never happened again. Mr. Niyogi's hearing the minor's voice is hallucination, by the way, if you've been wondering. My father also had throat muscle rigidity that his diet was limited to only very soft porridge and steamed egg custard (chawanmushi) or soft tofu during his last year. Thank God, except during his last days in the ICU, he never needed feeding tube. I can't imagine the trouble and cost we'd have to bear if it happened.

👴🏼 All in all, it is an intriguing novella about struggles and resilience, sacrifices and humanity, with an elaborate theme of Parkinson's disease. The writing style is a bit too formal to be an entertaining novel, but other than that it has quite a perfect balance on all sides.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐1/2


** Mr. Niyogi's Last Audit has been published in August 15th, 2024 **

A Telegram from Le Touquet (1956) by John Bude

📬 The titular telegram from Le Touquet is indeed a center point of this mystery by John Bude. I have thought from the first that the telegram must be something to complicate the case - and it is. But the telegram is also the turning point for Inspector Blampignon from Surete to solve the murder of a wealthy widow called Gwenny.

📬 The story opens with Nigel Derry, who is vacationing at Aunt Gwenny's house, where he would find the girl he has wanted to marry: Sheila. Also coming for holiday several of Gwenny's lovers, for she's been notoriously picking up a lover after another. There are no less than three whom Nigel meets: two of her old lover/friend, and the latest one, a Frenchman. The atmosphere soon gets tensed - there's a knife fight, and Gwenny suddenly, and without specific reason, thwarts Nigel and Sheila's marriage. Nigel's vacation is abruptly cut short when Gwenny leaves for her cottage in France.

📬 But Gwenny never reaches her cottage. Or technically, her body reached the cottage, found inside her own big trunk, but she's been dead for three days. It's at this point that Inspector Blampignon steps in. After a couple days of interviews and investigations, he gets no further than the first day. The telegram which Nigel received from Gwenny, sent from Le Touquet makes things more complicated still. It's clear that the murderer is a man, and one who's close to her. But which one?

📬 The most interesting thing about this book is the denouement. Blampignon knew the murderer near the end, but I think, not how it was performed, nor the motive. We get to know that from the murderer himself. And it's such a clever elaborated effort that might puzzle many amateur sleuths. In fact, the motive is so simple I wonder if it's worthwhile considering the great effort the murderer has taken. I think, psychologically, it's not the suitable kind of murder he would have taken for the motive anyway. And the murderer was quite predictable, it's no surprise when Blampignon revealed it. But still, it's an entertaining mystery with an intricate method of murder, and listening to the audiobook had been fun.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐1/2

#MurderEveryMonday: Two Stories with Same Title

Murder Every Monday was created by Kate @ Crossexamining Crime and @ArmchairSleuth. Put simply, the plan is for readers to take a photo of a crime fiction book (novel or short story collection) which meets a given week’s theme criteria and to then share it online, using the hashtag #MurderEveryMonday.

This week's theme is:

Two crime fiction stories which share the same title

This title is the only one I remember, I have only read the one from Robin Stevens. But maybe it's time to take on the Daisy Dalrymple for the upcoming Christmas?
 

Have your read any of them? Which cover(s) do you like most?

If you want to participate, here's the list of the weekly theme.

Six Degrees of Separation, from Long Island to Vintage 1954

Six Degrees of Separation is a monthly meme, now hosted by Kate @ books are my favorite and best.

On the first Saturday of every month, a book is chosen as a starting point and linked to six other books to form a chain. Readers and bloggers are invited to join in by creating their own ‘chain’ leading from the selected book.

This month we start from yet another book I haven't read, though I have read the previous book in the series:

0. Long Island by Colm Tóibín

Long Island is the long awaited sequel to one of Tóibín's most memorable novels: Brooklyn. We are following again the fate of the heroine, Ellis Lacey. From Goodreads: "From the beloved, critically acclaimed New York Times bestselling author comes a spectacularly moving and intense novel of secrecy, misunderstanding, and love, the story of Eilis Lacey, the complex and enigmatic heroine of Brooklyn, Tóibín’s most popular work, twenty years later." This reminded me of another book whose heroine name is also Lacey, though it is the first name, not surname, of the heroine.

1. Pretend You Didn't See Her by Mary Higgins Clark

Lacey Farrell is the heroine of this thriller - a murder witness placed in a witness protection program by the police, with new identity and new life. But originally she is a young woman works as real estate agent. Lately I have read another book, whose heroine shares the same occupation.

2. The Girl Who Reads on the Metro by Christone Féret-Fleury

Julie leads a boring, unwholesome existence in Paris as a real estate agent. She struggles to follow her routine life, because deep inside, she's an imaginative girl. And that's why her daily métro journey is the one sparkle in her otherwise dim existence. Her imagination brings life to her fellow passengers as if they are characters in her book. Julie instantly reminded me of another imaginative girl I have read about long ago.

3. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Francie Nolan is a little girl who comes from a poor family in Brooklyn. Excerpt from my review: "In a way, her ‘dreamy’ father had a contribution to Francie’s imagination quality, and fortunately, she also inherited her mother’s toughness and practical way of living. With all these, Francie became the first of the Rommelys who could go to college and had a decent career." There is a very strong tree near the Nolans' house. "Now here is the resemblance of Francie and the strong-built Tree of Heaven. Throughout the story, you would be taken to witness how Francie strove from the poverty, the loneliness of being unique, and the strong need of love." This tree reminded me of another tree in another title which also becomes a crucial point of the story.

4. The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury

Six boys prepared to go for trick-or-treating, and found in front of a haunted house, a huge tree with branches, laden with Jack-o-lanterns - The Halloween Tree! That Halloween would be the one they'll never forget. Last year I have read another book by Ray Bradbury with adolescent boys as main character, about a summer one of the boys will never forget.|

5. Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury

Dandelion Wine is Ray Bradbury's remembrance of his childhood. Quoting from my review, "[...] summer is Douglas' favorite season. During summer holidays Douglas and Tom, his little brother, used to stay at their grandfather's house, and help him preparing bottles of Dandelion wines. In Douglas' view, each bottle contains the essence of every event that had happened during that summer holiday, that he wishes not to forget." Another book where certain wine transported the characters to a unique experience is...

6. Vintage 1954 by Antoine Laurain

I'm glad this chain ended with one of my favorite authors. "The year 1954, wine and UFO. These are three elements that Antoine Laurain had woven into a fantastic time-travelling story set in Paris." Here is my complete review if you're intrigued.


Have you read those books? If you do #sixdegree, how it worked out for you this time?

The Upcoming #1970Club

October is here, and it means that the biannually reading club week is back! These fun weeks of reading are hosted by Simon @ Stuck in a Book and Karen @ Kaggsy's Bookish Ramblings. This time they picked 1970 as the year we will be delving into! I was hoping 1971 would be picked up (it is my birth year), but 1970 is close enough. So, this post is a welcoming the upcoming #1970Club, which will be happening on 14 - 20 October 2024.

I have originally planned to read four books - had been switching off from title to title, but stuck eventually to these four. But, alas, approaching the time I need to start reading, I have only found out that only three were possible. If you haven't known yet, due to my eyesight problem, I've been limiting my reading from e-book and audiobook only. It came much cheaper option too, as I've been struggling for several years to make ends meet. Subscribing to Everand (formerly Scribd.id), therefore, is a Godsend! However, I just learned that at certain point (and I couldn't figure out the threshold), Everand would disabled our access to some titles until the next payment date. We can still access many other titles, of course, but it's still annoying when you have a certain reading plan. Hence, I am forced to abandon my plan of reading The Woods in Winter by Stella Gibbons for #1970Club, for I couldn't find any copy in Google Playbooks either.

But no worry, I still have the other three to have fun with. Actually I have read two of them - and loved them - and am now on the third. I won't reveal the titles yet - you would know only by my reviews when the time come! Meanwhile, here are some books I have read years before, if you need inspiration or encouragement to join the club...


Books published in 1970 that I have read before:

📖 Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (Dee Brown) - (non fiction) an eloquent history of the American Indian systematic destruction, beginning from Christopher Columbus’ arrival at San Salvador on 1492 to the massacre at Wounded Knee at the end of 1890.

📖 84, Charing Cross Road (Helene Hanff) - (non fiction), a beautiful but unexpected friendship between a freelance writer (Helene Hanff) and a second-hand book dealer in London. Written in correspondence style, it is short but deeply touching.

📖 The Naked Face (Sidney Sheldon) - a crime thriller by the inimitable Sidney Sheldon, read it when in high school or college. Can't remember the story, but it's fast-paced and satisfying.

📖 Passenger to Frankfurt (Agatha Christie) - a Christie I am sure I have read during high school, but as always with her less famous works, I don't remember what it's about. I would've reread it if I had time...

📖 The Second Lady (Irving Wallace) - read this before blogging era, a rather steamy, spy thriller consisting of high-level double identity - an actress substitution with American first lady.

📖 Man, Woman, and Child (Erich Segal) - again, read this before blogging era, and remember nothing of the story. Only remember I have read it because of the title.


If you wish to join the #1970Club, here's the first announcement. All that is required is just reading books published in the year, post your reviews during the week, then submit the link either in Simon's or Karen's blog. Have fun! ;)

Agatha Christie Short Stories 2024: OCTOBER #AgathaChristieSS24

The two stories we are going to enjoy this month are especially chosen to match the Halloween mood which will be coming soon. Hope you'll enjoy them!

THE HOUND OF DEATH

The first story is a non detective one. A young Englishman visiting Cornwall finds himself delving into the legend of a Belgian nun who is living as a refugee in the village. Possessed of supernatural powers, she is said to have caused her entire convent to explode when it was occupied by invading German soldiers during World War. Sister Angelique had been the only survivor. Could such a tall story possibly be true?

Occult and science fiction are two interests developed by Agatha Christie at that time. In an interview with Nigel Dennis in 1956, she professed her keen interest in science fiction. And there is that touch in this story. Interesting, right? Hopefully it's not one of Christie's zonk stories...

The story was first published in the Oldhams Press edition of The Hound of Death in 1933, available only by collecting coupons from a magazine entitled The Passing Show. It was included in the US collection The Golden Ball and Other Stories in 1971, and was adapted for radio in 2010 by the BBC.

THE VOICE IN THE DARK

For our second story, we are back with Mr Satterthwaite, whose old friend, Lady Barbara Stanleigh, asks him to investigate her daughter's claim that the family seat is haunted. She appears to be hearing voices. Is it her imagination or is the sinister demand for something stolen a warning?

Mr Quin glides into the picture, dropping clues and setting Satterthwaite's thoughts along the right path, as always leading him towards a resolution. The story was first published in book form in the collection The Mysterious Mr Quin, published by Collins in 1930. 


How excited are you to start reading them? Have fun! ;)