The Crooked Wreath aka Suddenly at His Residence (1946) by Christianna Brand

🖼️ The Crooked Wreath is book #3 of Inspector Cockrill series. It was originally published in the UK by different title: Suddenly at His Residence. I have ranted before on how publishers annoyingly change titles when publishing cross country. For this book, however, I prefer the US title: The Crooked Wreath. I happened to listen to the audiobook version with the same title. 'Suddenly at His Residence' seems to reveal too much of the book. By reading the title, I immediately guessed the victim-to-be; it must be a wealthy man. The crime is perhaps within the family, and the motive would be inheritance. And so it is what the book is about!

🖼️ Sir Richard Marsh is a wealthy man; the owner of Swanswater estate, but he's turned a bitter man. When his wife, Serafita, was still alive, he had cheated on her. After her death, Sir Richard married Bella, his mistress. But, perhaps out of guilt, he made in his house a shrine for Serafita, complete with her portrait, and a wreath. Her ballet shoes were also kept around the house (she was a ballerina). Every anniversary of her death, he made his family gather around this shrine to do a kind of memorial ceremony. And so, long after her death, Serafita is still 'resided' in her house.

🖼️ This year his grandchildren attend the memorial. There are Philip, with his wife Ellen, Claire (who is having an affair with Philip), and Peta. Those three are his grandchildren by his deceased wife. Also attend the service are Edward, his grandson by Bella; and Sir Richard's young lawyer, Stephen, who is in love with Peta. Annoyed by these young people's lack of respect, Sir Richard threatened to disinherit them.

🖼️ On that fatal night Sir Richard spent the night at the lodge, where, he spitefully stated, he would make a new will. The next morning, the family found him dead of poisoning, while the will was nowhere to be found. No one could have entered the lodge that night because the gravel path was freshly rolled by the gardener. And when his body was first found, the path was still pristine. How, then, the murder could have been done?

🖼️ Inspector Cockrill is investigating the case, however, his role in the story was passive - too passive for a detective story. The deduction was mostly done by the suspects. They alternately come up with solutions of who must have been the murderer, and how it must have been done. It means that we get to suspect each of the family member along the story, and each of them is quite plausible.

🖼️ This story reminds me of Heads You Lose; closed-circle of suspect (within the family); Cockrill's passive involvement and his good relationship with the family; and the psychological suspense in the end. This one's ending is unsettling, though. Cockrill relies too much on the suspects, I think it would've been better had the story been without detective. And the dramatic, theatrical ending is rather unreal for me. It could be good for a Hollywood movie, but rather unsuited for the tone of the whole story.

🖼️ To conclude, it is an intriguing locked-room mystery, brilliantly written, but with unsettling ending, and lack of detective role.

Rating: 3,5 / 5

This book counts for: British Crime Classics Challenge 2023

For Bingo Card: Locked Room Mystery 

Murder in a French Village (2023) by Merryn Allingham (Flora Steele Mystery #7)

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

💙 The seventh instalment of Flora Steele Mystery series - a cozy mysteries set on the 1950s - follows another sleuthing adventure of Flora and Jack Carrington, this time farther away from their little village of Abbeymead. Flora is a bookshop owner, while Jack is a crime writer, and through the previous six books they had been both partners in crime and, ahem... a couple in the making.

💙 The story opens when two women were crossing the busy street of Paris, when a black car suddenly jumped from a traffic light queue, hit one of them to death, then drove away. The survived woman is none other than Sybil Carrington, Jack's estranged mother. She summoned Jack to come to Paris, as she's convinced the incident was a deliberate murder, and SHE was the intended target.

💙 Stunned but intrigued, Jack left for France, accompanied by Flora, who has her own unfinished business of solving the mystery of her parents' tragic death in France when she was a kid.

💙 Sybil lives in Provence with a wealthy Italian count called Massimo Falconi. Lately she's been a victim of various incidents, which she claims, done by the count's family, who want her to leave him. Is this true? Or is it just a woman's paranoia? And Sybil's friend's death, is it not pure accident?

💙 Staying at the count's chateau in a small village in Provence, Flora and Jack feel the hostile atmosphere of the household. Then small incidents start to happen. Even Jack and Flora are now targeted for some of them. Are they just coincidences? Or is there a murderer lurking inside the chateau? And what is the motive? Jealousy from the ex-wife? Or inheritance?

💙 This was my second read of the series. I've read the first one: The Bookshop Murder in June, which I loved very much, and ready to read more. But ever since, I couldn't find any e-book of the rest (book 2 to 6). I don't know why, but it's pretty annoying! I wish the publisher Bookouture would soon make the digital edition available.

💙 Anyway, Murder in a French Village is a very engaging read. First of all, due to several minor incidents that scattered along the story, we are provided with a handful of suspects. Moreover, with each incident, more clues are revealed itself. It was exciting to keep guessing who could have done this and that, as we know little by little. more secrets of everyone. Then another thing would happen, that the one we were currently suspecting couldn't have done it, so we suspected another one, and so on. Each suspect is equally explored, which made it more difficult to guess whodunnit until the climax. At least, I couldn't guess, though I have suspected the murderer earlier, along with the others.

💙 I also love how Allingham explores Flora's personal struggle about her late parents. It adds a deeper touch to this cozy mystery, and made me connected more with Flora and Jack. Speaking of the couple, I love how their relationship also develops along the story. I loved them from book one, they have a strong chemistry from the start.

💙 Although I would've preferred the mystery to be set in Abbeymead - a cozy mystery in a cozy English village is always superb, n'est pas? - it is probably quite refreshing (and necessary for the series development) to see Flora and Jack going abroad and have more time with each other alone. Now I can't wait to read the next book, which, judging from an exciting news that came in the end, would most probably be set in Abbeymead, with a literary touch! I miss seeing Flora riding Becky (her bike) to deliver books to her customers, or Jack typing manuscript for his next book!

Rating: 4,5 / 5


**The Murder in a French Village (Flora Steele Mystery #7) will be published on 30th October 2023.

 

Shelf Control #5: My Side of the Mountain (Jean Craighead George)

Shelf Control is a weekly feature created by Lisa at Bookshelf Fantasies, and celebrates the books waiting to be read on your TBR piles/mountains. Since early January 2023, Shelf Control has moved base to Literary Potpourri.

This week I pick an e-book I've been keeping for a while:

My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George

Summary from Goodreads:
"Every kid thinks about running away at one point or another; few get farther than the end of the block. Young Sam Gribley gets to the end of the block and keeps going--all the way to the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York. There he sets up house in a huge hollowed-out tree, with a falcon and a weasel for companions and his wits as his tool for survival. In a spellbinding, touching, funny account, Sam learns to live off the land, and grows up a little in the process. Blizzards, hunters, loneliness, and fear all battle to drive Sam back to city life. But his desire for freedom, independence, and adventure is stronger. No reader will be immune to the compulsion to go right out and start whittling fishhooks and befriending raccoons."

I am a bird-lover, and most recently started to compile a list of bird-theme books. It's not much, as I prefer novels with birds as character, rather than how-to-non-fictions of birdwatching or its kind. Right now, I'm just excited to read this one.


Have you read this book? Or do you know bird-theme books I might like?

 

The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie (A Re-read)

📚 Retired Colonel and Mrs. Bantry are a respectable couple in the little village of St. Mary Mead. When a body of a stranger (a young woman) was found in their library, Mrs. Bantry was afraid that scandal will hit her husband hard. So, she quickly asked her friend, Mrs. Marple, to investigate the murder.

📚 The young woman isn't the regular set of village girl. She's rather extraordinary - with heavy make-up, platinum-blonde hair, and silver-spangled dress. Does she have something to do with Basil Blake, a film worker who's just moved in? No, he said he didn't know her. She was finally identified as Ruby Keene, a dancer, by her cousin. But who murdered her? And how and why did her body appear in Colonel Bantry's library?

📚 Ruby's missing was first reported by Conway Jefferson, a crippled wealthy man who's in the process of adopting Ruby, as he's disappointed with his own nearest family (son-in-law, daughter-in-law, and step grandson). Is this the murder motive the police (Superintendent Harper) is looking for

📚 In order to investigate, Mrs. Bantry and Miss Marple is staying at Hotel Majestic, where Ruby worked, and Conway Jefferson stayed. It was here that most of the investigations are going on. Then a second murder happened. A women's body was found inside a burnt car. The car belongs to a man who's staying in the hotel. Are the two murders connected?

📚 This mystery seems simple at first, but it gets more complicated along the way. Miss Marple takes quite an active role in the investigation, thanks to her sharp observation. Small trifles like the dead girl's bitten fingernails proved to be one of the key-clues to this complicated mystery with few twists. An enjoyable read for fans of Golden Age detective stories.

Rating: 4 / 5

This book counts for: British Crime Classics Challenge 2023

For Bingo Card: Re-Read

For Monthly Theme: Books by Agatha Christie

 

Away with the Penguins (2020) by Hazel Prior

🐧 First of all, Away with the Penguins is the same book as How the Penguins Saved Veronica; the first is the UK title, the latter, the US one (isn't it annoying how publishers keep changing titles? I think they should keep the original one, except for translation - and they, too, should translate from the original title). But let's put that aside, and let the book itself shines, because it is quite marvellous!

🐧 Veronica McCreedy is eighty-five years old lady - a curmudgeonly tough old nut who lives alone with an assistant in Scotland. Though physically declining, her spirit still brightly shines. She is rich but doesn't have any family left to bequeath it to. Or so she thought.

🐧 Now what she needs is to transfer what's left in her into a worthy cause, like what her father had always taught her. And she's found one: penguins! But first thing's first: she needs to make sure she didn't have any family left. A hired agent gave her the confirmation: she has a grandson she never knew, the son of her longtime estranged and dead son!

🐧 Patrick Fuller grew up hating his father for leaving his vulnerable mother in the lurch, when Patrick was a baby. Now he's an unkempt young man without purpose, semi-addicted to dope after his girlfriend left him for another man. It is in this condition that Veronica McCreedy suddenly entered his life as a grandmother he never knew he had.

🐧 Their first meeting is very awkward. Two opposite people from two very different generations, who keep their own bitter secrets, with only one thread connect them: a Joe Fuller, or Enzo, the son Veronica must give up long ago, and a father Patrick grew up hating - well, it's almost impossible to unite them. But nature always has its unique healing quality. In this case, it is represented by the penguins.

🐧 Three scientists do research on how to save Penguins in a colony in Antarctica, but they are in financial difficulty. Veronica is eager to leave her money for this research, and despite the scientist team's warning that their quarter is by no means adequate to accommodate an elderly, Veronica stubbornly comes to Antarctica to see the penguins. What'll happen next? Will Veronica change the penguins? Or is it her life that will be changed by the penguins? And how about her relationship with Patrick?

🐧 This is one of the most wholesome, heartwarming books I've read lately. I loved how the story is told alternately from Veronica's and Patrick's views. It provides the reader outlets to get to know each character more intimately. Then, Terry's (one of the scientists) blogging about penguin adds a charming aspect of the penguin's cause. One of interesting things I learned is that penguins are used by scientists as indicator of ecosystem changes. On the whole, it is a refreshing and entertaining novel, beautifully written - sometimes touching, sometimes funny. Oh, and I adore Pip, the little penguin. Prior wrote the novel so vividly that I felt like seeing cute Pip alive, while occasionally petting him! ❤

Rating: 5 / 5

 

Blogger-Inspired Wishlist, Ep. 8: A Little Something for Everyone

Blogger-Inspired Wishlist is a feature where I post recent additions to my wish list, which had been inspired by reviews from my fellow bloggers. It includes some synopsis, as well as some excerpts of the review which have intrigued me, complete with a link to the blogger's original post.

The present selection is so random, I think there will be something for almost everyone. 

Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa

Inspired by Davida @ The Chocolate Lady's Book Review Blog

Synopsis:
When Takako's boyfriend reveals he's marrying someone else, she reluctantly accepts her eccentric uncle's offer to live rent-free in the tiny room above the shop. Hoping to nurse her broken heart in peace, Takako is surprised to encounter new worlds within the stacks of books lining the Morisaki bookshop. As summer fades to autumn, Satoru and Takako discover they have more in common than they first thought. The Morisaki bookshop has something to teach them both about life, love, and the healing power of books.

From Davida's review:
"The really fun part of this book was Takako’s getting to know her uncle Satoru, who was really sweet, if a bit annoying at times. The development of that relationship, together with her growing love of reading books, was really at the heart of this story, and what kept it going from start to finish. The author really used this as the basis for the book, and brought other things along to put obstacles in their paths, as well as bolster their commitments. This is the main reason why it really must be considered a coming-of-age story."

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby

Inspired by Lory @ Entering the Enchanted Castle 

Synopsis:
In December 1995, Jean-Dominique Bauby, editor-in-chief of French ‘Elle’ and the father of two young children, suffered a massive stroke and found himself paralysed and speechless, but entirely conscious, trapped by what doctors call ‘locked-in syndrome’. Using his only functioning muscle – his left eyelid – he began dictating this remarkable story, painstakingly spelling it out letter by letter. His book offers a haunting, harrowing look inside the cruel prison of locked-in syndrome, but it is also a triumph of the human spirit.

From Lory's review:
"Bauby writes with wry humor and an impressive lack of cynicism about the humiliations imposed by those around him who don’t understand or don’t want to engage with his condition. But his restraint all the more brings home the fact that even within a person whose inner world is completely closed off to us, there is a living being deserving of respect and love. The butterfly trapped in the diving bell finds release through communication, through the links that we forge through empathy and understanding."

A Month in Provence by Gillian Harvey

Inspired by Marg @ The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader

Synopsis:
Interior designer Nicky always used to know how to make the best of things. Ever since she lost her husband though, things haven’t been easy. She’s had to raise her two daughters alone and she’s so proud to see them all grown up, and she knows that’s down to her. But she can’t help but feel like she doesn’t know what to do with her life now… But then her best friend begs her to help out. Jenny is a TV exec and her new renovation show is in peril. Only Nicky can help. The catch – Nicky needs to fly to Provence… tomorrow. To renovate a tumbledown B&B.

From Marg's review:
"One of the things that I really liked about Nicky and Robert is that they are both widows, so they really understand each other, and that they are both expats. Normally you will read these new start stories and one will be moving from the UK but the other character will be French/Italian/Greek etc. I also liked that Nicky had been alone for a long time. Many times these stories feature women who have just recently separated from their partner, move to France and find true love in the space of 300 pages. I also really enjoyed reading about the town of Rousillon. It sounds like a beautiful place on the pages of the book. I did go and look at some pictures of the town and it did look gorgeous!I have read several of Gillian Harvey's books now and have enjoyed them all."

A Paris Odyssey by Axel Forrester

Inspired by Harvee @ Book Dilletante

 

Synopsis:
American Grant Decker is in Paris on a photography assignment. When he arrives at Gare du Nord train station, he discovers just how unprepared he is to navigate this new world where the language is both vaguely familiar and baffling. ‘”Vous ne parlez pas français?” My brain turned around three times and then went to sleep!’ Determined to get his bearings, Grant explores the length and breadth of the city on the metro. But it is when he makes new friends among some street performers that he discovers a different Paris. These off-beat characters help him sharpen his eye and open his heart to the many love stories that weave through ‘the city of light.’

From Harvee's review:
"At first I thought this was a memoir, the details sounded to true and the narrator so authentic. Then I realized that the book was actually fiction - a novel about Grant the photographer on his first trip to Paris, written by a female author! This really didn't matter, in the long run."

Death by Coffee by Alex Erickson

Inspired by: Rekha @ The Book Decoder 

Synopsis:
When Krissy Hancock and her best friend Vicki decide to open a bookstore café in their new town of Pine Hills, they decide to call it "Death by Coffee," after Krissy’s father’s most famous mystery novel. Little do they know how well the name fits…

From Rekha's review:
"Coming to the murder mystery, we have plenty of suspects there. Krissy manages to question them all and looks like each of them had a motive. Once again, Krissy has this unique ability to pester people – which finally ends with them talking to her so that she stops bothering them. Lol! The identity of the killer was shocking and unexpected. There’s a shocking development before Krissy comes face-to-face with the killer. I didn’t see this coming. Didn’t expect it either. Overall, Death by Coffee by Alex Erickson is an entertaining and engrossing read."

Foul Play at Seal Bay by Judy Leigh

Inspired by Davida @ The Chocolate Lady's Book Review Blog 

Synopsis:
It was meant to be the start of quiet season in the sleepy Cornish village of Seal Bay, but not for sexagenarian librarian and wild swimming enthusiast Morwenna Mutton. Because when a local businessman is found on the beach with a bread knife is his back, bungling police officer DI Rick Tremayne is soon out of his depth. Morwenna knows it’s going to be down to her to crack the case.

From Davida's review:
"Leigh sets up the basic premise very intelligently, where we have no reason to disbelieve why Morwenna wants to find the killer, or why she becomes endangered herself. Then there’s Cornwall… what a beautiful place in England to put a bunch of cozy mysteries! I must praise Leigh for some of the action/danger scenes which were deftly written, and definitely had me on the edge of my seat a couple of times. There’s no questioning that this book is a truly enjoyable read, and an excellent introduction to Morwenna as a brand new, and loveable amateur sleuth."

Murder at the Pumpkin Pageant by Darci Hannah

Inspired by Carla @ Aunt Agatha's 

Synopsis:
Lindsey prefers to keep her bakeshop’s Halloween decor light and autumnal, rather than gruesome and ghoulish. But everyone knows her lighthouse home is haunted. Some intrepid teens have even tried to break in to witness the resident ghost themselves. Dreading Halloween night, Lindsey reluctantly allows her influencer and podcaster best friend, Kennedy, to host a live ghost hunting investigation in the lighthouse, conducted by a professional team. Protective of her ghost, Lyndsey is understandably nervous about what they might uncover . . .

From Carla's review:
"Darci Hannah’s fourth book is a wonderful addition to her series and I highly recommend this book to any looking for a delightful Halloween escape lakeside. There is a little bit of something for everyone – dogs, a ghost, costumes, a murder, romance, intrigue, and of course pumpkin spiced everything. One really can’t have too much of that, and there are some rather tasty recipes in the back that readers will have a hard time passing up."

Mrs Hart’s Marriage Bureau by Sheena Wilkinson

Inspired by Simon @ Stuck in a Book 

Synopsis:
April McVey hasn’t a romantic bone in her body. So how has she found herself at the door of Mrs Hart’s Marriage Bureau, job application in hand? Matchmaker Martha hopes the lively Irish girl will breathe fresh air into a business struggling to keep with the times amid the tumult of 1930s Britain. So when lonely widower Fabian arrives at the bureau, the pair’s matchmaking skills – and professionalism – meet their first true test. Mrs Hart’s Marriage Bureau is a charming and witty romantic comedy about friendship, loneliness, and the unexpected places where we find fulfilment.

From Simon's review:
"But most of all I enjoyed Mrs Hart’s Marriage Bureau because of April. Give me a spirited and garrulous heroine and I’m sold. I love the delightful chaos of a character who combines good intentions with putting her foot in it. It’s a real treat of a book, and I had a lovely time reading it."

Have you own/read these books? If you haven't, which book appeals to you most?

Adventures with Raymond and Bonnie: The Deserted Cottage (2023) by John Williams

Thanks to Troubador (Matador) and NetGalley for providing a review copy of this book, published in January 28th, 2023.

🐦 The Deserted Cottage is the first of Adventures with Raymond and Bonnie series, a children fiction intended for young readers from seven to nine. Raymond is a young robin who lives with his parents on a pile of logs next to a big oak tree at Farmer Tussock's farmyard. His best friend, a young blue tit called Bonnie, also lives in the same place with her parents.

🐦 In this first adventure, Raymond and Bonnie fly to the nearby Fir Cottage, where Mr. Digweed lives alone. "None of the bird families knew his real name; he was just called Mr Digweed simply because he was often in his garden... digging up weeds."

🐦 Mr. Digweed is a lovely old man. He treats the birds very kindly. There's always enough food and water for every bird who ever flies over Fir Cottage. His bird-feeder is never empty. It's no wonder that all the birds in the countryside love him.

🐦 But that particular morning, Raymond and Bonnie found no trace of Mr. Digweed. His cottage was closed and dark, and the feeder empty. What can possibly happen to Mr Digweed? Does he go somewhere? When two days passed, and still no sign of Mr. Digweed, Raymond and Bonnie began to worry.

🐦 Then they saw two strangers arrived at Fir Cottage. Two hooded men made a forced-entry to the house, brought out Mr. Digweed's stuffs, and put them into their van. It's a burglary! They are robbing the birds' dear old friend – they must help poor Mr. Digweed! But what can two little birds do to thwart this evil operation?

🐦 Besides the exciting adventure, there's also a trouble looming in the background. Farmer Tussock is considering to sell the logs where the robins and blue tits live, which means that they must find new homes coming winter. Will they find home as warm and as cozy as the farmyard? Can Raymond and Bonnie still be together? This might provide a good story for the next instalment.

🐦 As a bird-lover, I was excited to find this charming book about birds, with gorgeous illustrations by Simon Goodway (I embedded two of them for you to admire, they are pretty cute, aren't they?) I also loved the countryside setting, the birds (besides Robin's and blue tits, there are Marty the magpie and a bunch of starlings too), and a lovely human being in the good Mr. Digweed, who provides love and comfort for the weaker creatures.

🐦 While this book is originally intended for young readers, it also provides a soothing and relaxing read for adults. If you love birds and in need of a feel-good book, this would be your perfect choice. As for young readers, it will convince them that being kind to others is a worthwhile attitude, and it makes one feeling happy.

Rating: 4,5 / 5