The Nutmeg Tree (1937) by Margery Sharp

🥜 I think I have found in this book, my favorite (so far) Margery Sharp. The Nutmeg Tree (I loved the title too, though the said tree didn't have focal point to the story - it is an allegory). The story opens with a memorable scene in Julia's bathroom, she's taking a bath, singing the Marseillaise, while surrounded by "some of her possessions" - a table, a clock, and whatnot. The bailiffs were outside, taking some furniture out of the flat, indicating Julia's current hard-up-for-money situation. The cash she received from the furniture - after some rather flirty haggles - she needs it to travel to France, on her estranged daughter's invitation.

🥜 From that opening scene, we were instantly aware of Julia's type of character. The story is set in the 1930s. During WWI, Julia had married very young to a guy named Packett, it's a hasty wedding, which lasted just for a year or two. Packett died in the war, leaving Julia with their daughter Suzanne. But Julia couldn't live with the priggish and wealthy Packetts; they were opposite her Bohemian nature. So Julia left her daughter with them, and started her own life as actress and showgirl in London. The Packetts gave her some money - thinking that she can start a good life with it - but of course, it lasted only a very short time. Julia lived always in need of cash - which she always had by either a little flirtation or deceit - you know the kind. And now, suddenly she received invitation from Susan (she called herself Susan rather than Suzanne), to whom she never had any communication before, to give advice about the man she (Susan) wished to marry.

🥜 Excepting the opening scene, the story is set in a vacation villa in Southern France. Julia is now playing her yet biggest "role", a refined lady, worthy of her mother-in-law and her daughter. The whole story centered in Julia's struggle to maintain her dignity, while obstacle after obstacle threatened to expose her true character. The first obstacle came from Susan's lover Bryan; Julia soon found (in her dismay) that he is of her kind (but worse), and therefore won't be suitable for her daughter. Then, Susan's guardian, Sir William Waring, arrived, and left Julia to be on guard every second of her existence. Many comical scenes derived from the many adventures that came Julia's way, and in her struggles to appear graceful and poised. Margery Sharp did a wonderful job in portraying these, and in the process, we get to know Julia's genuine character which made people like her instantly. Well, people who cherished the good quality in her, despite of her unrefined outer manners. I, for one, loved Julia, and wished for her happy ending. 🥜 What can I say? I loved almost every aspect of this book. The comical scenes are brilliant; humorous but tender; the main characters - Julia and Sir William - are lovely and charming, despite of their flaws (Julia's in this case); and the plot is smart. The only setback for me is the inconclusive ending. You might probably know that I dislike hanging ending. I am 99% sure of the ending, but I still prefer a neat one from the writer. Although in this case, I understand Sharp's choice of the ending; it emphasized Julia's character perfectly - you would never know what she might of might not do the next second you leave her alone. Well played, Margery Sharp! Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

The One and Only Ivan (2012) by Katherine Applegate

 

🦍 The one and only Ivan is a silverback gorilla. He was 'picked' from his kind by humans, and currently lives at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade, where humans can watch him through the glass walls of his 'domain'. Since he grew up in human's home (Mack - the owner of the mall), Ivan has been living like human. His favorite food is yogurt raisin, his favorite pastime is either watching western movies on TV (he has his own TV inside his domain), or working on his art. Yes, Ivan also likes to paint. In short, Ivan is more human than a gorilla should be. He even only vaguely remember about the jungle, and his childhood. Why, he's contented living in his domain (well, a cage really, but her prefers to call it domain). Ivan also lives with his friends - an elderly elephant called Stella, who lives at the next door cage (Ivan's best friend), and Bob, the stray dog, who loves to sleep on Ivan's belly. 🦍 Ivan's favorite human friend is Julia, the keeper's daughter, who also loves to draw and paint. In fact, Ivan gets his art supplies from her. In short, Ivan would have been living contentedly as he is, if Ruby has never come. Ruby is a baby elephant, the Mall's newest 'member', whom they have just taken from her family. They place her together with old Stella. The fact is, Stella is too old to perform anymore with her injured leg, so they need a fresh 'talent' to train. Unlike Ivan, Stella always remembers her previous life in a zoo (elephant remembers, right?), and she's used to tell the others that there are two kinds of human: the kind and the mean; humans in the zoo are the kind one. And when Ruby was 'chastised' by Mack (you wouldn't want to know the details) to learn her actions, something stirred deep in Stella and Ivan's heart. But Stella could do nothing while she's dying, so it's left to Ivan. The question is, what can he do, while he can't even save himself? (Ivan eventually understands what living in a cage means). 🦍 This book is not what I have expected when I picked it up. It has the charming aspects of funny, cute, and tender in it; but it also touches you much deeper. Applegate did a wonderful job of portraying the nature of each animal. And as I was listening to the audiobook, I would also say that Adam Grupper has been equally wonderful in giving each animal character its perfect personification - the sturdy Ivan, the foolish and constantly-chattering Ruby, the graceful Stella, and the laid-back Bob. Ivan is the perfect hero in this alright, but I think I have a soft spot for Bob, haha! On the whole, this is a bittersweet story with a vivid characterization, and also a great way to learn more, in particular, about gorilla. 🦍 I learned an even more intriguing fact from one of Goodreads' reviews, that one and only Ivan was actually derived from a real life story of a gorilla who was also called Ivan. The real Ivan, who was famous as the "Shopping Mall Gorilla", lived - or caged - in a Department Store after being kidnapped from its habitat in Congo. It was then moved - after some protests from some animal protection groups, to Zoo Atlanta, in their Ford African Tropical Forest Exhibit, which mimics the landscape of a natural habitat. You can read more about it here. Needless to say, when I said this is a bittersweet story, I believe the 'sweet' is for the young adult readers' still tender hearts. The reality is much gloomier. When Stella pictured the zoo as a dream place, and also later on when Ruby had been installed safely and happily in a zoo, my thoughts actually were: a zoo is definitely better than a cage, but it's not a place for wild animals. How do we know that they were really happy? They shouldn't have been kidnapped from the first. Now they would never have survived in the wilds. In the end, I had a lot of thinking, and I was not happy. Ah... how I wish I have read this book while I was much more innocent! :( Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

Grey Mask (1928) by Patricia Wentworth

🎭 While I have read a few Patricia Wentworth before, I have yet to start her Miss Silver series. And this time, I prefer to start from the beginning, where Miss Silver was first introduced in Grey Mask. She doesn't, however, appear very often in it. Indeed, it feels like Miss Silver is just a background; like an omniscient protector of the hero and heroine, who involve much more in the actions. It all begins when Charles Moray returns to England, after being abroad for eight years, as a result of being 'jilted at the altar' by his fiancée Margaret. He visits his now abandoned home, which he inherited, only to find that a group of secret criminals have been using it as rendezvous place. The leader is a man with a grey mask. But what astonishes him most, is when he sees the woman he still loves, Margaret, comes and reporting to the grey masked man. 🎭 From his eavesdropping, Charles gets that a girl called Margot is in danger, should some certificates surface. What it is all about, he doesn't understand. What he cares most is why Margaret is involved in it. Apparently, this Margot is a spoiled girl of seventeen, who has just been orphaned after her wealthy father died - drown - at sea, intestate. Moreover, there was either birth certificate nor wedding certificate to be found - or so the lawyer told Margot; that she was literally penniless. Her cousin, to whom the estate would be legally handed down, proposed to marry her. And one the frightful thought on that, she runs away. As you can imagine, she stumbled into Margaret's (and Charles') care and protection, which made them all entangled into this plot. And it was at this point that Charles Moray acquired Miss Maud Silver's service. 🎭 As you can see, Miss Silver's portion of the story is meager. However, we (as well as Charles and co.) always feel her protecting presence. She knows almost everything, even before Charles reports things to her. Sometimes about things that Charles doesn't want to disclose to her. She was portrayed as a lady with her knitting; a woman with brain, who does all the deduction needed, but throws the dirty work, so to speak, to men. She once asked Charles to follow a suspect; and imagining that a detective asking his/her client to do the work he/she supposed to do, was quite hilarious to me. 🎭 As a debut of a series, Grey Mask is a wonderful one. It has the right amount of actions, light-heartedness, mystery, and a pleasant twist with quite surprising villain at the end. Though Charles and Margaret's love story felt rather Victorian, I was entertained enough by Margot's character; a naïve (to naïve for her own good) young girl who always give others consternation, but surprisingly could - mostly by luck - extricate herself from some dangers she had encountered. Her line was so entertaining, and lent this book the light-heartedness, which otherwise would be rather gloomy with that Victorian-ish romance - and plot. Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Read for:

Cloak and Dagger Reading Challenge 2026 hosted by Carol @ Carol's Notebook

They Came to Baghdad (1951) by Agatha Christie: A Reread

🐫 While espionage and political stories don't usually fascinate me much, in term of crime/murder mysteries (my favorite is closed-circle mystery in countryside or manor houses), I found They Came to Baghdad as rather charming and highly enjoyable. It's because the mystery focused more upon a young woman's adventures, than the political side itself - which fell conveniently as mere background. This is a no-detective story, and the heroine is a Victoria Jones, a rather daydreaming-kind of girl who works as typist (not good enough in her job). She met a young man called Edward by chance, attracted to him on first sight, and when he bid her goodbye at the end of the day, because he would go to Baghdad (on duty) the following day, she decided to go to Baghdad herself! 

🐫 Though practically penniless, Victoria somehow procured her way to Baghdad by creating some lies (she's a born liar; and can say deceitful things effortlessly). Fortunately, she read on paper that an archeologist called Dr. Pauncefoot Jones is currently having a dig in Iraq, and since she, conveniently, shares the same surname, Victoria Jones becomes a niece who is traveling to Baghdad to join his archeological uncle. Before she found her Edward, though, strange things happened. A man is dying on her bed in her hotel room - stabbed!; the man was later identified as a top British secret agent, who was carrying a top secret, by which the secret services men tried to uncover and stop a sabotage. Apparently a superpowers summit is going to be held in Baghdad, but a shadowy anti-communist and anti-capitalist group is threatening to ruin the show. The dying man's last words to Victoria was: "Lucifer... Basrah... Lefarge" - or so they sounded to Victoria. Unknowingly, but not without high excitement, Victoria was pulled into the center of this highly dangerous espionage adventure. 🐫 Of course, knowing that Christie's inspiration for this book was her own trips to Baghdad with her archeologist husband Sir Max Mallowan, we were treated with many bits and pieces about its culture, atmosphere, and even the archeological site itself. And what a treat is is, besides, of course, the thrilling adventures. The identity of the villain, is not so much surprising. You'll probably guess it long before our heroine herself realizes it. In short, it's an unusual combination of espionage and lighthearted adventure, that perhaps only Christie could weave into a highly entertaining story.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Read for:

Cloak and Dagger reading Challenge 2026 hosted by Carol @ Carol's Notebook

Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont (1971) by Elizabeth Taylor

🏨 This is my first introduction to the inimitable Elizabeth Taylor, and also the third book for my personal project: #Reading1971, which is the best so far! The previous two were The End of Summer by Rosamunde Pilcher (a pleasant read), and a non fiction by Erma Bombeck: If Life is a Bowl of Cherries, What Am I Doing in the Pit? (a nostalgic memoir that made me chuckling all the time). At first, Mrs. Palfrey gave impression as a light-hearted tale about elderly people on the last stage of their independence life, but the more you read through, the more you realized it has more than what meets the eye.

🏨 After becoming a widow in her seventy-ish, Mrs. Palfrey decided to move to the Claremont Hotel. In the 1970s, it's not uncommon that some hotels reserved some of its rooms to accommodate elderly residents. These were usually widows or widowers who lived alone. Living in a hotel was not only practical (meals, cleanings, and washings were all taken care of), but it also provided what little of independent and freedom the elderly people could get before the "end" arrive (nursery home, hospital). There at the Claremont, Mrs. Palfrey begins to adjust to this new phase of her life - living at close proximity to the same people and endure their eccentricities day in day out; counting the dull hours until meal times (these are usually the most exciting time for them), and reading or discussing the menu from a board on the vestibule to fill in the time in between meals. 

🏨 Of the little freedom the residents of Claremont Hotel could boast of, is the visits of relatives. Sometimes they would dine at the Claremont, or else they would bring the elderly out for a picnic in the country or others. These are usually great events for them - a treat, which they are eagerly looking forward to. And that's what Mrs. Palfrey is lacking of. She has only one grandson - Desmond - but she has invited him without any response. Mrs. Arbuthnot has been pestering her about this relative, that Mrs. Palfrey do something that she would have never dreamt of. She invented a grandson! Ludovic - or Ludo - is an impoverished and handsome aspiring young novelist, who happened to help Mrs. Palfrey when she's fallen on the pavement on her way from the library. His tender care touched Mrs. Palfrey's heart, and what with her gratitude, and Mrs. Arbuthnot's pestering, she blurted out a dinner invitation at Claremont, with the scheme that entailed. In short, Ludo would act as Mrs. Palfrey's charming grandson Desmond, in exchange of some exciting adventures and free dinners. The scheme is successful... until the real Desmond appeared.

🏨 If you think this a comical novel - a Wodehouse with more subdued tone, perhaps - you're totally wrong. It has a much deeper meaning than just a scheme gone wrong. The major themes are loneliness and boredom that old age bring. It's something young people hardly understand, until they too grow old.

"As one gets older life becomes all take and no give. One relies on other people for the treats and things."

"It was hard work being old. It was like being a baby, in reverse. Every day for an infant means some new little thing learned; every day for the old means some little thing lost. Names slip away, dates mean nothing, sequences become muddled, and faces blurred. Both infancy and age are tiring times."

🏨 The loneliness has nothing to do with the presence of others, but the sense of helplessness, uselessness, that the elderly must endure. To watch how their independence slip away from them; that they become more and more burden for the youngsters; the way people treat them like little child, and worse even, treat them as nonentity. I have been witnessing these in my parents. and now I realize that growing old is a painful business - and it's much mentally as is physically - and that scares me not a little. I wish we have that kind of establishment like Claremont Hotel here in Indonesia, though I doubt if I would be able to afford it - it sounds quite expensive...

🏨 The issue of love or affection is also prominent in Mrs. Palfrey. Elderly people always long for loving care and attention from their relatives, and although Mrs. Palfrey is a sensible and independent woman, she, too, couldn't resist the caring and attention Ludo has been providing her. From the beginning, I have sensed that Ludo's feeling towards Mrs. Palfrey is balanced between amusement, boredom, affection, and professional gain (finding in her a wonderful material for his novel, which he titled "They Weren't Allowed to Die There", from Mrs. Palfrey's own remark. Whether Ludo is exploitative or not, is debatable. I personally think it's normal. Anyway, when you encounter an old lady you didn't know, who knits you a sweater, and gives you money when you need it, do you instantly love her? It depends on so many things, right? And nobody would blame you if you don't. The fact that Mrs. Palfrey truly loves Ludo and thinks he loves her as much, well... it's good for her, and she's not very wrong. Ludo is much kinder (as kind as an artist can be) than her grandson Desmond, anyway. 🏨 As a literary creation, Mrs. Palfrey is definitely a brilliant novel, beautifully written. It was shortlisted for the 1971 Booker Prize, but it's a shame it didn't win one. Taylor's character drawing is flawless; she managed to convey each of their personalities through dialogue, mannerism, as well as their inner thoughts. In the end, I felt like knowing them all for a long time. Of the elderlies, my favorite is Laura Palfrey her self. I loved her no-nonsense and strong character - I hope I turn like her in my old age.. :) I also liked Ludo; he is quite a lovely person. He cared about Mrs. Palfrey in his own way, and I can understand if not all what he'd said or done were genuine; she was nobody of him, anyway. And I understand enough that he's half afraid she would become his burden - which is perfectly understandable. So, you see, this seemingly sweet and unassuming (if you judge from the cover) little novel, turned out to be keeping layers of surprising depth underneath each page. If this do not turn up to be one of my favorites this year, I would be very surprised.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Ivy Tree (1961) by Mary Stewart #1961Club

 

🌳 My third and last read for #1961Club is another Mary-Stewart-success. The Ivy Tree is a slow-paced psychological thriller about double identity, deception, greed, and, of course, a bit of romance. It is centered upon a young woman who calls herself Mary Grey - and who finds herself one day in the Roman Wall countryside in Northumberland, looking on to the ruin of a beautiful old house, and is identified by an angry farmer as Annabel Winslow. The farmer, a hardworking man called Connor "Con" Winslow. He is now the manager of Whitescar Farm. Eight years ago, Connor, who was a scheming and greedy young man, wanted to marry his second cousin, Annabel Winslow. But Annabel rejected him and fled away from Whitescar, to the disappointment of Matthew Winslow, her grandfather who adored her and wanted to make her his heir (hence Con's marrying her).

🌳 Several days after Mary Grey convinced Connor that she's not Annabel Winslow - despite of her uncanny resemblance to the disappeared woman - Connor's devoted sister Lisa Dermott visited Mary and proposed her to impersonate Annabel Winslow, and "come home" to Whitescar, to which Mary agreed. The inheritance money, after being divided between her and Connor, of course, would save her from her current poverty. There are two things, however, that could imperil their scheme: Mary Grey's fear of horses (against Annabel's love of the equine creatures), and Annabel's secret love affair with the Winslow's neighbour: Adam Forrest. Could Mary and Connor work through with these deception, and succeed in inheriting Whitefarm in the end?

🌳 The psychological thriller aspect I'm speaking about lays in Mary Grey/Annabel Winslow's true identity. Throughout the story Stewart threw hints and insinuations, that makes us - along with other characters in the story - continually wondering whether the woman is an impersonator, or Annabel Winslow herself; is this a deception or, well, a double deception? It is this aspect that sparks high level of excitement throughout the reading - beyond, of course, the success or failure of the scheme. Naturally, the first half of it was rather slow in pace. Mary Grey's "lessons" about Whitescar and the Winslows, which ran for three months, acted also as the background to the situation. The condition of the old grandfather (his end is near), and the upcoming arrival of Julie (Annabel's cousin, whom could change their whole scheme). 

🌳 On the whole, this was an exciting thriller/romance to read. And, knowing Mary Stewart, I have been expecting some car-speeding and/or horse-prancing scenes - and Stewart didn't disappoint me - both were there to enlivened the thriller aspect. Of course, there's romance too, but I won't talk much about it. It happened near the end, anyway. What a fascinating book to close my #1961Club chapter this April. I can't wait to know which year Simon and Karen would pick for October!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

Read for:

The 1961 Club

hosted by Simon and Karen

The Body in the Dumb River (1961) by George Bellairs #1961Club

🎪 My second read for #1961Club is a far cry from my first; this one is a typical Golden Age murder mystery, introducing Superintendent Littlejohn of Scotland Yard as the detective. He was aroused from a deep sleep at 3 am, by a telephone call, informing him that a body has been found swept away by torrential flood in the Dumb River. It was identified as of late James (Jim) Teasdale of Yorkshire. Everyone said he is a decent man with no enemy; yet, he was stabbed to death, and his body was dumped in the river near Ely, Cambridgeshire, miles away from Yorkshire.

🎪 It's later found out that Teasdale had been leading a double life. He had made huge mistake of marrying a girl from a snobbish, social-climbing family, who was always pestering him to be a successful man, which he was not. He failed at several attempts (an art store, photography store, and whatnot), and one day made an impulse of taking over a hoopla game at travelling fairs, on which, astonishingly, he made quite a success. Of course, he couldn't tell his wife and in-laws that he's running a hoopla; hence he told them that he's travelling much for a company, and would only come home every weekend. During his absence on these weekends, the hoopla was managed by a woman he's hired, who eventually became his mistress.

🎪 I have suspected from the beginning that this double life of his would probably be related to his murder. But is it? Is it his family who've done it? Or is it a blackmail case? Either way, this mystery has had a good and promising beginning. I instantly liked Superintendent Littlejohn, with his no-nonsense but gentlemanly manner - just the kind of police/detective I always prefer. I liked also the slowly revealing of facts upon facts, by way of Littlejohn's painstaking interviews with either suspects or people who could provide clues. I always love a slow-building of mystery. However, after such a perfect pace with a promising dramatic scene near the end, the end itself felt underwhelming. The 'drama' during the denouement was too long for an ending scene, and the red herring felt unimportant. I was surprised too to find out that this was actually the 35th book in the series - you'd have expected a smoother one than this! I wouldn't probably continue reading the series, unless you can convince me that one of the previous books is much better than this one.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Read for:

The 1961 Club

hosted by Simon and Karen

Cloak and Dagger Reading Challenge 2026

hosted by Carol @ Carol's Notebook

Owls in the Family (1961) by Farley Mowat #1961Club

🦉 Farley Mowat is one non-fiction writer I have newly 'found' two years ago; Never Cry Wolf was one of my favorite non-fictions I have read for #NonFicNov. So, when I found out, when I was searching something to read for #1961Club, that he also wrote children fictions, how could I resist? And I'm glad I have picked this one (over others on the list), since it proved to be a delightful read; just the one to kick off #1961Club! 🦉 Billy lives in Saskatoon, Canada, near a prairie. He's a boy who loves animals, and he already owns so much pet (dogs, cat, pigeons, rabbits, and gophers - oh, and rats also). But does it mean he could resist adding owls into his menagerie? Of course not! Billy asked his French teacher, who loves animals (besides photography and prairie), to help him catching an owlet from its nest up on one poplar bluff, but that ended in a hilarious flop, which was written perfectly in Mowat's style I remember from Never Cry Wolf. So, Mr. French is out of the picture, but Billy eventually found a way of catching an owlet by himself, whom he calls Wol. 🦉 Wol is a young horned owl. Billy found the nest when he's having a stroll, with his pals Bruce and Maurice, right after a great storm. Two of Wol's siblings had died, and it was when Billy & co. were working on a funeral for the dead siblings, they found Wol - the only survivor. Apparently owls hatched one day after another (not at the same time), and Wol is the biggest, and most probably the strongest of the three - hence he's survived. It's information like this which makes Mowat's books fun to read - he combines knowledge, good narrative skill, and sense of humour into wonderful books. I wouldn't have known that crows and owls are enemy if I didn't read this book, for instance.

🦉 Wol grew up as a pet owl, meaning that he can't fly (no one teaches him to), but mimicking the boys' actions. Although he eventually flew when accidentally fallen off a branch, but he only does it when needed. Wol doesn't haunt, except for skunks. Horned owls seem to hate skunks, they're the only owls family who eat skunks. Hilarious moment it was when Wol brought skunk home for dinner (he used to dine with the family), and the family avoided him after that for days. It ended up with the father bathed him in tomato juice.

🦉 Wol likes to tease Mud, the family's old dog, like hiding his bones or dinner. Occasionally Wol would also playing the tail-squeeze game, which used to enrage Mud - poor old dog! But that's not the only funny scene between Wol and other animals in the book. I don't know which scene is funnier, the one when Wol is mad when he's almost drawn in the river, or when the Prairie chicks were just hatched, and went between Wol's foot thinking he's their mother. Wol then resignedly lower his feathers to warm the chicks. It would surely be a silly yet sweet thing to watch! Later on, another owl named Weeps was added to the menagerie - another owl to accompany Wol. In short, this is a charming book to read - children or adult. Hilarious and refreshing, but also provides some knowledge about animals and nature.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

Read for:

The 1961 Club

hosted by Simon and Karen

What to Read for the Upcoming #1961Club

The 1961 Club is just around the corner - it runs from 13 to the19th of April 2026!; and I have been preparing for it for a while. As usual, the event would be hosted by Simon and Karen. For one week we will be sharing books we have been reading that were published in 1961. 

As a warming up, here are books published in 1961 which I have read before:

PREVIOUS READS

Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck

A travelogue of Steinbeck's road trip 'in search of America', along with his old French poodle Charley. "For me, the travels provided a first hand glimpse to America in the 1960s, but what pleased me the most is John Steinbeck's writing - incisive, eloquent, and witty." [excerpt from my review, here's the complete one]

The Agony and the Ecstasy by Irving Stone 

Irving Stone has been one of my favorite historical fiction writers. His books are always written vividly, bringing some of the greatest personages the world ever seen to life. I admire his thorough researches, that make you plunge into the time and the person's life so smoothly. My first read of Stone was The Agony and the Ecstasy - read during pre-blogging era, so here's the Goodreads' review if you need to have a look at it. It's a biographical story about Michelangelo's life and his masterpieces.

The Pale Horse by Agatha Chirstie

I have read this ages ago - when I was still in school, I believe. So, no review is available, but here's one from Goodreads. I also can't remember what the mystery is about, but it's one of not-many Ariadne Oliver's mysteries.

Five Go to Demon's Rock by Enid Blyton

I've been saying this over and over, that I have grown up reading Blyton's children adventures. Though it has been a long time since I read them, I still remember that Five Go to Demon's Rock was one of my favorites back then. It's a fun one with a lighthouse and a treasure hunt. Here's the Goodreads' review if you (still) need a clue about it. 


Next, what am I currently reading for #1961Club?

CURRENT READS

I have originally picked eight books as possible reading list. These included Jon Godden's Told in Winter,  Lucy M. Boston's A Stranger at Green Knowe, and My Thirty Years Backstairs at the White House by Lilian Rogers Parks. The latter was what I had really wanted to get into the final list. However, I could not find a copy to read, so, I must turn to the other five from the list. At the last moment, I dismissed A House for Mr. Biswas (V.S. Naipul), as it wasn't appealing to me at that time (I'm a moody reader), and though the next book is in my Classics Club list, I didn't think I would have enough time for Where the Red Fern Grows (Wilson Rawls), so I had to dismiss it too.

And it leaves me with these final three, which I have read (and am currently reading):

1. Owls in the Family by Farley Mowat

2. The Body in the Dumb River by George Bellairs

3. The Ivy Tree by Mary Stewart

I am pleased with my final choices, and have been enjoying all three very much. They are of different genres, and provide different satisfaction in my reading - just what I need in the present time. Can't wait to share my reviews with you next week!

So, what about you? Will you participate in the #1961Club? What will you be reading? And have you read books on my list?

Minor Disturbances at Grand Life Apartments (2023) by Hema Sukumar

 

🏬 I picked up this book in the first place because it has double appeals to me. First of all, I myself live in an apartment, and any book about apartment dwellers almost always attracts me. Secondly, this debut novel of Hema Sukumar is set in an Asian country, which I'd feel most related, as I am also an Indonesian. As a debut novel, I'm quite surprised to find this book as perfectly balanced in depth and its cultural background. It's not overly done - like many others Asian books might - and it is neither too light nor too heavy to read. It is a pleasant slice-of-life book with plausible story-line and amiable but realistic characters.

🏬 Grand Life Apartments is located in the beautiful coastal city of Chennai, India, and is owned by Mr. Mani, who had changed his ancestor's home to be a modern and comfortable middle-class apartment building. It is never mentioned how many residences it originally has, but the main characters in the story are three of them: Kamala (a widow-dentist), Revathi (a single thirty-ish career woman), and Jason (a young British chef). Each of them currently has their own struggles. Kamala's daughter, Lakshmi, had 'thrown a bomb' when she told her mother that she's a lesbian. Like most Asian mothers (I am terribly lucky that my mother isn't in this category), Kamala has been fretting and chasing Lakshmi to have a boyfriend and married properly, probably since she graduated college. It's a typical problem faced by most Asian girls. 

🏬 Similar to Lakshmi's previous ordeal, Reva has also been 'terrorized' by her mother to marry soon. This including sending possible candidates every now and then, continually asking updates on her dates with the respective candidates, and tons of hints about marriage. Reva, also typical of Asian daughters, is always torn between obeying her mother and making her happy, and pursuing her own choice of living - a suitable career and a partner she really wants to get married with. Jason, on the other hand, is a 'fish-out-of-water', so to speak. He fled from England following a painful break with his girlfriend, and just picking Chennai to be his temporary dwelling. His struggles is in burying the painful past, and adapting into his new surroundings. I loved it that both Kamala and Reva, as well as Mani, are accepting him with warm affection, that he soon finds his bearing, and starts to feeling himself again in no time (while cooking more and more Indian cuisine, which won Kamala's approval).

🏬 In the midst of their personal struggles, though, there looming another problem that will have had bigger impact on all of them. A big construction company has been pestering Mani to sell the apartment building, as they wanted to build more modern ones. Mani refused to do that, and now they are throwing threats. A lawyer (Kamala's best friend) is bringing the case to the court, and now they are just waiting nervously for their future. Would Kamala have to leave this apartment she has been staying for years, and must she find a new one in her age? Would Jason, who has just found his bearing in this apartment, have to be moving again? Amid these restless moments, Kamala, Reva, and Jason are always affectionately supporting each other. Could they save Grand Life Apartments in the end?

🏬 Like I said, this book turned out to be not like typical Asian novels. We are entertained by many Indian cuisines and cultural manners, as well as the most-related (to me personally) atmosphere of hot sunny days, mosquitoes, and the ceiling fan humming. But Sukumar could weave the story around it beautifully, that it never felt overwhelming. It is a gentle, heartwarming story, and Hema Sukumar is definitely my new favorite Asian writer!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

The Ten Teacups (1937) by Carter Dickson

☕ Although I'm a fan of simple but ingenious murder mysteries - such as what Agatha Christie had often delivered - every now and then I could also enjoy the impossible and intricate ones. The Ten Teacups was one of those. Moreover, it's written by John Dickson Carr - whose pen name of Carter Dickson was too obvious to be hidden from public. And this was my first introduction to Sir Henry Merrivale, the brain of this murder-series, who was accompanied by Chief Inspector Humphrey Master from Scotland Yard, and the young and bright Detective-Sergeant Bob Pollard. Merrivale is an old barrister and head of military intelligent of war office in England. 

☕ The mystery begins with an anonymous letter that Masters received, bearing the message that "There will be ten teacups at number 4, Berwick Terrace, W.8, on Wednesday, July 31st, at 5 p.m. Precisely. The presence of the Metropolitan Police is respectfully requested." Masters' immediate action is to consult Sir Henry Merrivale (or HM, as people usually call him), because the letter reminded Masters of another similar letter the Scotland Yard had received two years previously, which ended on an unsolved locked-room murder mystery. The police had then found ten teacups (empty) laid on the table near the body. This time, though, Masters is more prepared; he instructed his men to watch the house (number 4, Berwick Terrace, which was an empty house on-sale), and Sergeant Pollard to get the key from the agent, and hide himself inside. Despite of these precautions, Vance Keating was dead after having been shot twice, and ten teacups were found near his body, although the police never saw any other person entering the house.

☕ The most interesting part of a locked-room mystery is always the technicality of the murder. How was it performed while there's no one possibly inside the room? But here, the police were also struck by the similarity of it with the previous ten teacups mystery. Were the two connected, or even committed by the same murderer? One thing that they could connect was that both the houses were belonged to the same person. And this man, along with his wife, are the victim's friends. They are the suspects, along with three other friends. What puzzled HM and Masters at the early stages, was why had the murderer not brought the ten teacups with him when he left the place? Were they meant to be a symbol, perhaps? Was there even a ten-teacups-secret society perhaps? What ensued from these, were a combination of theories, interviews, and some actions in the end - the theories (presented by HM) are rather the dominant part compared to the rest.

☕ All in all, this was a solid intricate and impossible locked-room murder mystery. The one which, when you passed one solution, and then the second one, you would forget the previous one. I could remember the murderer, all right. Though I have expected Dickson Carr had given the murderer's more "stage" to elaborate on their motive, rather than reading HM's long-stretch of denouement - a dry explanation that made you a bit sleepy. And my problem with these impossible locked-room mysteries is the technicality. I couldn't possibly know, for instance, whether if you pointed a particular type of gun to a particular angle, it would produce a shot at a certain point, could I? No, it is much simpler to follow the technicality of how human psychology works than these weapons and what not. Nonetheless, this had been a quite entertaining one, though the solution was not what I have expected.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Read for:

Cloak and Dagger Reading Challenge 2026

hosted by Carol @ Carol's Notebook

Dim Sum of All Fears (2018) by Vivien Chien

 

🥟 Following Vivien Chien's debut series of Death by Dumpling, which was okay. I have bigger expectation for the second book, but unfortunately, this has been a little off for me. Our sleuth, Lana Lee, has plan for her future career, which does not involve waiting tables at the family restaurant of Ho Lee Noodle House, located in the Asian Village business complex. However, just days before her coming interview at a professional office, her parents announced that they would go to Taiwan visiting an ailing old aunt. And, they wanted Lana to be in charge of the restaurant, instead of her sister Anna May, who's studying for her law school - which is more important than Lana's current idle existence. And so, like a dutiful Asian child, she relented.

🥟 Lana has just been befriended another bookworm like herself. A few months ago, a newlywed couple opened a souvenir store next door, and the wife has been a kind and gentle person, with whom Lana liked to book-shopping with. However, a terrible thing happened; one night the couple was brutally murdered inside their shop. So, once again, Lana couldn't stop herself from meddling and snooping into the murder case; intending to find the murderer of such a kind woman who was her friend. Of course, her new boyfriend, Detective Adam Trudeau, scolded her for snooping, but how can she resisted anyway? Not when 

🥟 First of all, there's too many dramas around the sleuthing. And I always hate drama! Well, a few dramas to spice up is still okay, but in this case, a lot of Lana's sleuthing came from these dramas. The dead husband turned out to have not one, but two ex wives (and possibly one ex-lover - I have lost count). And 'miraculously' these ex wives, as well as the wife's sister, suddenly wanted to have heart-to-heart conversations with Lana. That must have been every detective's dream, I guess. I still can't imagine how strangers would want to speak with a friend of the deceased (after a murder, no less). And they even answered some of Lana's questions, which would have seemed suspicious to normal people. But there you are. These ex wives even turned tantrums at times. :( Maybe too many women in a crime story is a bad idea after all!

🥟 What I would have expected from this second book of the series, are, first, more noodle dishes to be mentioned, in particular the dim sum that the writer put in the title. Where is the dim sum?! And secondly, I would love to see more of Adam Trudeau, the detective, in the investigation, rather than only as possible boy friend to the sleuth, and who would later on appear when she was in danger, saved her, while saying: I've-told-you-not-to-snoop-look-what-you've-done' kind of thing. Which what I assumed to have happened, because - a confession - I ditched the book right after the murderer was revealed. I lost interest of the final outcome. So, that's how this series turned up for me. A promising one at first, but unfortunately, a disappointing sequel. Another series I won't continue in the future. If only Vivien Chien had put some dim sums into it, I would probably change my mind, because I love noodles and dim sums, and that had been my reason of picking this series in the first place.

Rating: ⭐⭐1/2

Read for:

Cloak and Dagger Reading Challenge 2026

hosted by Carol @ Carol's Notebook

Cooking with Fernet Branca (2004) by James Hamilton-Paterson

 

🍷 Imagine reading a P.D. Wodehouse, but move the setting to Tuscany, then reduce the usual slapstick moments - just a tiny bit, and add a lot of cooking and unusual recipes - there, you'll get Cooking with Fernet Branca. The story revolve around two foreign neighbors in a secluded hilltop cottages in Tuscany. Both the rather snobbish English man Gerald Samper, and the Voynovian (a crime-riddled ex-Soviet Republic country) Marta, had bought their cottages from the same agent, who promised them both that they could live peacefully. A promise, which, with time, proved to be broken. Through a series of misunderstandings and, a Wodehousian miss-timing, the two neighbors found themselves struggled to maintain harmony.

🍷 Gerald "Gerry" Samper is a ghostwriter in need of a secluded place to write about the lives of celebrities - from sportsman to boyband singer. When he's in a foul mood, Samper turns to experimental cooking - creating eccentric dishes - with questionable delectability - with unusual ingredient-pairings. Indeed, one time, when he heard someone said "cats among the pigeons", Samper literally thought of cooking with cat's and pigeon's meat. Ugh! He even "shares" some of his recipes in the book. One particular ingredient that later on becomes his staple is Fernet Branca, a distinctive liquor first introduced by his new neighbor, Marta. Marta is a songwriter, who is currently hired by a famous Italian movie director named Pacini. When the unlikely neighbors first met, both thought the other ridiculous persons who's bragging about his/her profession. And these 'misunderstandings' continually formed hilarious moments throughout the book.

🍷 What makes this book more distinctive, is the structure. The story is told from both Gerald and Marta's point of view. They told it alternately, describing most of the scenes from their perspectives. While Gerald's parts are mostly read like a diary with additional cooking recipes, Marta's contains of diary and letters to her sister. From these, we gather little by little of her social and familial background, which spices up the story a bit. I won't describe the plot in details, for not spoiling it for you, because the comedic quality of this book depends on the plot and timing. In short, it's a delightful and hilarious book, with quirky characters, more quirky dishes, and with the rural Tuscany summer vibes - sprinkled with tiny glimpses of the glamourous world of celebrities, movie making, and helicopters.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

A Single Thread (2019) by Tracy Chevalier

 

🧵 I always love reading historical fictions about cathedral. Ken Follet's The Pillars of the Earth has started it all; I have read it twice so far, and my favorite part isn't the drama, but the cathedral. It has become a character in itself. One the other hand, Tracy Chevalier is one of my all time favorite historical fiction writers. Her Girl with a Pearl Earring is on another level; she is a tremendous writer, and I love her themes, which is usually around art or craft. A Single Thread even combines two of these - art and craft - as its main theme: embroidery and bell ringing. Both are related to the cathedral, and they have similarity too; both produce something that people might disregard as mere accessories in their worship and prayers. However, both need precision and focus in order to produce something beautiful. And the people who work on it took their efforts seriously, it's not a mere pastimes or hobby, but more of a second career. 

🧵 In the 1930s of Winchester, there are women who dedicated their times and energies to gather every Tuesday and Thursday night to embroider kneelers, bench cushions, alms bags, etc. They formed an embroidery club, and each has her own task to embroider. The end product would then be presented during a mass, and would be placed in the cathedral. Violet Speedwell, a spinster of thirty eight years old, was  the newest member. After losing, first her brother, then her fiancé during WWI, Violet has been living alone with her forever-criticizing mother. And when she's having had enough, she moved out from her home, and worked as typist for insurance company in Winchester. On one of her strolls, she entered the cathedral, and joined the embroidery club.

🧵 The embroidery club wasn't the only one Violet found in the cathedral. She became fascinated by the bell-ringers, especially the one called Arthur Knight - a sixty year old man, whose wife had been suffering from losing their only son in the WW1. The bell-ringers added more charm to this story, besides the main attraction of the embroidery club. Church bell is something you'd never think much of. You just hear it, and know someone - or some people - must have rung them on certain hour. But who would think bell ringing is such an intricate operation that needed focus, discipline, and dedication of a group of people? That the bells weren't just pulled at randomly, but forming some intricate patterns to produce a beautiful and harmonious sound? Both the broderers (that's what women who embroidered were called) and the bell-ringers were wonderful people who dedicated their time and efforts for the glory of God, and I really admired them.

🧵 Besides these themes, the story is also layered with more serious stuffs like freedom (and the lack of), independence, forbidden love, and rebellion (from convention). Like many other women post WW1, Violet could be put into the 'surplus woman' category. Neither she nor her family, or the society, knew what must be done for her future. For example, she couldn't go out alone, or else people (men) would either frown upon her, or worse, turn violent towards her. When she's going out with Arthur (okay, a married man, but surely one could go for lunch with one's friend without harm?), people gossiped. But when Violet befriended Gilda and Dorothy - fellow broderers who loved each other - people scorned at her. The 1930s was surely hell for single women to live in, for sure!

🧵 Like all Tracy Chevalier's I've read before, A Single Thread also started very slow. But that's what I liked from Chevalier. She put efforts in setting the atmosphere, then letting us readers to be immersed into the world she created, and lived with the characters, feeling both their triumphs and struggles. Although I didn't agree with Violet's act of rebellion - I think she put herself in a more vulnerable position than before - I could understand her frustration; her longing of total freedom. In a state of under-pressured, one could make reckless decision. I think that's what Violet had done. Anyway, this has been a lovely read. Though not as cheerful as you might expect, the arts of embroidery and bell-ringing are quite entertaining; not mentioning the atmosphere around the cathedral. I don't think I would listen to church bell quite the same way after this, although nowadays, there's only one bell and one ringer (at least at my local cathedral). But still, I don't think I would take the sound for granted any more.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Evening Class (1996) by Maeve Binchy

 

🛵 Reading Maeve Binchy's is always a blissful moment. Well, this is only my second read (the first one is Scarlet Feather - a lovely one), but I know I can always count on Maeve Binchy's whenever I need a soothing and delightful reading. This one is no exception. If book is food, this has been a scrumptious dessert. The good news is, Binchy's are always a long reading (usually more than 400 pages), and she's a prolific writer. Meaning that I can never run out of Maeve Binchy's whenever I need one.

🛵 Evening Class is about some dozen of Irish people, whose lives seemed to be on a dead end, and then found relieves after joining an evening class on Italian. Each chapter telling the story of one character after another, how he or she ended up joining the evening class. Interestingly, their lives are intertwined with one or some of the other characters. The story then reached a climax when all the class joined up on a dream trip to... of course... Italy. A good structure, in my opinion, so that even when there are (too) many characters involved, the story never feels disjointed. 🛵 It all begins with a Latin teacher in the Mountainview College called Aidan Dunne. What with a failing marriage - that made him stranger in his own house - and a dead-end career, his only indulgence is in everything Italian - a subject very dear to his heart. Luckily, the teacher who became the new principle (the position Aidan had been certain were to be his) fell in love with Aidan's daughter, and to help her father from humiliation, he offered Aidan chance to propose anything he felt worth for the college. Hence, the idea of an evening class, subjecting to Italian course. The teacher recruited was another 'lost' soul. Nora O'Donoghue - everybody calls her Signora - is a spinster. She's been living in Italy, following the love of her life - who ended up marrying another woman, following his family's choice. She lived alone near this man's home for years, until the man died, and she was asked to go away. 🛵 Bitter and penniless, but with a loving nature and love for Italy, Signora is the perfect teacher for the evening class. The students love her, with her childish eccentricity and mystery. She transforms the Italian course into a fun adventure, every Tuesday and Thursday evening. They don't just learn about language, but also the food, art, culture, etc. Signora's lifelong passion for Italy really made the class sparks with joy. The students - thirty of them - consist of people from various background. One of them had been involved with shady activities; another had been in a disastrous marriage; while the other had a shock of a huge scale. They have one thing in common though, a struggle and unhappiness in life. The evening class helps lightening up the burden, and little by little, it becomes their source of happiness. The evening class, in one way or another, had been catalyst for happier changes to all of them.
🛵 I loved everything about this book. The writing is obvious - Maeve Binchy was a marvelous writer who could always tell stories that pull us into it. Once you start a chapter, you wouldn't be able to put it down. The characters are mostly relatable, although there were too many of them that some of them weren't developed enough. But the star character here, which I only realized near the end, was Signora. And hers' happened to be my favorite storyline of all. I loved, too, the Italian side of the story. Their visit to Italy was the 'star of the show' for me; the vibes permeated the last part of the story. What a delicious, charming book, that I could enjoy to the last drop!
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Six Degrees of Separation, from A Gothic Classic to A Historical Mystery

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, for a change, we are starting from a book I have actually read:

0. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

I read Wuthering Heights fifteen years ago - here's my review in Bahasa Indonesia, if you care to read - and this has always been one of those universally-beloved-but-I-hate books. Wuthering Heights is a Gothic tale of 'unhealthy' passionate love and tragedy, between Heatcliff and Catherine Earnshaw. It was set in a bleak Yorkshire moors, and though some put this into 'romance' category, there's nothing romantic in it. To this day I fail to understand why people love it, but that's that. There are such books that always bring mixed emotion to the readers - either you adore it or hate it. And that instantly reminded me of similar reaction I have had to this book in the next chain....

1. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

Also a book that falls to my category of universally-beloved-but-I-hate, Murder on the Orient Express is often daubed as most favorite mystery from Agatha Christie. Indeed, it has become one of the The Guardians' Top Ten Agatha Christie Mysteries. I have first read it during school years - not liking it - and then reread it in 2020 (just to see if I'd like it a bit more) - but still not liking it; I even hated it. You can see why in my review. Beware of the spoiler though - if you haven't read it yet - but I have placed a spoiler alert for you, don't worry. This was one of those crime novels which are set on trains, which are almost always fascinating. Another one which I liked much more is....

2. The Wheel Spins by Edna Lina White

Set mostly on a train, this is a psychological thriller about an innocent young girl who boarded a train, befriended a spinster, to find the next day that her fellow passenger was missing. On a train which didn't stop anywhere, and no other passengers seemed to have noticed the missing woman. Was it only the girl's imagination, or something sinister was going on? Whatever it was, she's alone who can solve it. You can read my complete review here.
Helpless heroine in thriller always promises a good read. So, here's another one from the queen of thriller...

3. Where Are You Now? by Mary Higgins Clark

Caroline is the helpless heroine in this thriller. Ten years after her brother was missing, his name was linked to the murder of a missing girl. So, Caroline determined now to seek the truth about his missing (is he still alive? or...) and to clear her brother's name. Quite a nice thriller! Here's my complete review. I don't know about you, but for me, books with interrogative sentence titles always piqued my interest. And so, here's another book in that category, but of different genre...

4. How Do You Live? by Genzaburo Yoshino

This is a wonderful use of interrogative sentence title in a philosophical novel. It's a nice lecture on life for middle-graders, packed in a fun way, without making it boring. Excerpt from my review: "One day Copper and his Uncle are on top roof of Ginza, looking down on the busy street of Tokyo. At that moment Copper realized how tiny his existence was, just like a single molecule within the wide world. And that's when his Uncle starts writing a letter-like notes to Copper in a notebook. His topic ranges from science (Coppernicus - that's whom Copper got his nickname from), philosophy, ethics, to culture (Buddhism) and history (Napoleon)." And this is the complete version, if you're interested. Genzaburo Yoshino wrote this book in response to a friend's request - job offer, really - of editing ethics textbook series for younger readers. Since he thought such book would be too boring, hence this novelized version.

5. Death Comes as the End by Agatha Christie

Death Comes as the End was also Agatha Christie's work in response to a friend's request. It's more of a challenge from her friend to write a mystery in Ancient Egypt (2000 BC), while the friend provided facts and knowledge of the daily household and cultural background. You can read my review here. And what would be a better way to end the chain than with another mystery book set in Egypt?

6. Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters

Excerpt from my review: "First of all, there are no crocodile involved in this light mystery, set in Victorian era. 'Crocodile on the sand bank' was a jargon used by Egyptian locals to indicate that a problem is underfoot. When thirty something spinster of Amelia Peabody - an unorthodox English woman, intelligent, and independent - decided to have a long journey to Cairo, she's never expected that any 'crocodile' would be on her sand bank." Here's the link to the complete review. And so, the chain started with a gothic classic, and ended up with a historical light mystery. Have you read any of the books? And if you do Six Degrees of Separation, what book you ended up with?

Death Around the Bend (2017) by T.E. Kinsey

 

🏁 Having been through four books in this Lady Hardcastle Mysteries, a historical cozy mystery series by T.E. Kinsey, I can say it now for certain, that this is, by far, my most favorite in the sub genre. In case you're not very familiar with it, this cozy mystery is set in the early 1900s, where Lady Hardcastle and her lady's maid Florence Armstrong are the amateur sleuths. They have become inseparable and an unconventional pair before the series began, having met dangerous escapade in the past - the past that we did not know all the detail when starting the series, but which were unfolding throughout the series - a little in the first, a bit more in the second, and so on. What makes this duo most interesting is their relationship - companionable but with due respect. They live in a small village of Littleton Cotterell, and are usually assisting Inspector Sunderland - who becomes their friend - investigating local murder cases.

🏁 In this book, however, Lady Hardcastle and Flo are invited to the country estate of a Lord Riddlethorpe, who had been building a motor racing company. There will be motor racing and parties, and it would have been a jolly time for both ladies - who've been having fun with riding car - had there not been a series of murders. This time Lady Hardcastle and Flo couldn't work together with the charming Inspector Sunderland - though he still assists them in little ways. Instead, they're dealing with a surly police officer who arrested people without enough evidence. The first murder happened in the midst of excitement of the first day of the race. Lord Riddlethorpe owns three racing cars, and there's another one brought by a guest. The car number three had been tampered with, crashed, and killed the driver. 🏁 And so began the snooping and sleuthing for Lady Hardcastle and Flo. They're snooping at the garage (and found how the racing car must have been tampered, but by whom? And why?), and they are 'recruiting' a lazy footman to do more snooping. Flo herself mingles with the servants, and listens to things. The murderer must be one someone staying in the house. Is it Lord Riddlethorpe (but that is foolish, isn't it?), or Lady Lavinia, his sister? Or one of the guests - Harry (Lady Hardcastle's brother), Mrs. Beddows (a bullying woman), Herr Kovacs (Lord Riddlethorpe's competitor), Miss Titmus (a timid young woman, school friend of Lady Lavinia and Mrs. Beddows, who loves photography), or Mr. Waterford (a racing expert and partner of Lord Riddlethorpe)? The motive is surely related to the car racing, or is it? 🏁 As usual, the book begins in leisurely pace, Lady Hardcastle and Flo's usual bantering and teasing, then their visit to Lord Riddlethorpe's, the exciting car racing and summer parties ahead. Then suddenly a murder took place, then a second one, and the atmosphere changed into a gloomy and more intense one. Lady Hardcastle and Flo are gathering titbits of evidences and suspicions, but they haven't got any clue of the whats and whos. Until very suddenly, something clicked, and Lady Hardcastle instantly knew the answer, saw the immediate danger of another would-be victim, and the actions and denouement which follow. In the end, it proved to be a very delightful cozy mystery to read - lighthearted and sometimes funny at the start, but full of thrills and actions in the end. The plot is a good one too, with the final twist. I couldn't guess the murderer (which is always a sign of a good mystery). I also loved how Kinsey always puts in a bit of revelations of Lady Hardcastle's or Flo's pasts. In this one, we learned more about Flo's childhood - her circus life, and she had entered it, very interesting. Last but not least, there's the motor racing! As a former F1 lover, I cherished the racing scene near the end - that would cement this book as one of my favorites from the series! Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

Read for:

Cloak and Dagger Reading Challenge 2026 hosted by Carol @ Carol's Notebook