Books Read:
Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones (1985) 4/5 stars (my review here)
Bats in the Belfry: A London Mystery by E.C.R. Lorac (1937) 3/5 stars
Lorac's prose is excellent, and I completely enjoyed the build-up to the solution. That, however, was a bit of a mess. This is my second book by her (my review of Fell Murder is here), and though they both disappointed me somewhat, her writing is so engaging and entertaining that I wouldn't hesitate to read another.
Audiobooks:
The Watersplash by Patricia Wentworth (1951) 3/5 stars
This light, formulaic mystery, despite relying on coincidences and being easy to solve, is an entertaining addition to the Miss Silver series.
Traitor's Purse by Margery Allingham (1941) 4/5 stars (my review here)
Coroner's Pidgin by Margery Allingham (1945) 4/5 stars (my review here)
The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle (1904) 4/5 stars
While some are more memorable than others, this is a solidly good set of entertaining stories, featuring Doyle's signature twistiness and ingenuity.
Did Not Finish:
The Sad Variety by Nicholas Blake
When Golden Age mystery authors continue to write into the 1960s, they don't always do it well. This is one example. Nigel Strangeways simply does not mix convincingly with Soviet spies.
The Shadows of Men by Abir Mukherjee
I've been looking forward to this release since May 2021, but the 20% I read was disappointing. It's told jointly by Surendranath and Wyndham, instead of solely by the latter, and I didn't find the voices unique enough. Worse, to my mind, is that Wyndham's gray morality -- the trait that made him interesting and kept the first four books gripping -- seems to be lacking.
