March 2022 Wrap Up

Books Read:

I'm ashamed to admit that I didn't finish physically reading a book this month; cross stitching was a priority this month, so audio books were my main reading.  (I did finish a novella by Vita Sackville-West, but I will wait to review it until I've finished the other one in the volume.)

Audio Books Completed:

His Burial Too by Catherine Aird (1973)  3/5 stars

Aird writes well in general, and her tongue-in-cheek humor is quite enjoyable.  The mystery itself, though, was too elaborate and convoluted to be believable or fully entertaining.

Down Among the Dead Men by Peter Lovesey 

(2015)  4/5 stars

Diamond is sent to another county by the Home Office to look into a case of possible police corruption.  While there, he becomes involved in two missing person cases and the reinvestigation of a previously solved murder, all the while trying hard to prove that the officer in question shouldn't be dismissed. This is a well-written and nicely layered mystery that delivers a few surprises.  Early on, it seems there is no way that all the plot lines could connect sensibly, and yet they do.  Overall, it's complex, interesting, and enjoyable, and Diamond continues to be one of my favorite modern detectives. 

Three Houses by Angela Thirkell (1931)  4/5 stars

This is a charming memoir by one of my favorite authors, recalling her childhood years through the lens of three different houses.  While at times snobbish, it is highly amusing, historically interesting, and an overall pleasant experience.  

Murder in Mayfair by D.M. Quincy (2017)  3/5 stars

Atlas Catesby rescues Lilliana Warwick from her husband's dangerous humiliation, and in doing so becomes a suspect when Mr. Warwick is found murdered. To prove himself innocent, Catesby begins investigating the secrets in Warwick's life to find the true culprit.  This novel is generally well-written, though the Regency setting has some noticeable (to a lay historian, anyway) goofs.  The characters are mostly believable, but I didn't really warm to them.  The clue to the solution was obvious, as were several of the secrets and motives, but I still found the story entertaining.  The romance angle, however, seemed to be penned with less confidence, and felt clumsy, even cheesy at times.  I will most likely read the next of the trilogy, though, despite not being completely won over by this one.

Did Not Finish (and the reason I completed so few audio books this month):

The Good Girl by Mary Kubica

I tried.  I really did.  It has some great reviews, so I kept with it to the half-way point of the audio book, but it was just too ridiculous.  Frankly, I'm ashamed that I stuck with it that long.

Mrs. March by Virginia Feito

The blurb sounds right down my alley and I was hooked from the beginning.  Then I noticed that Mrs. March lives in a NYC that seems to bounce from one time period to another.  The clothes worn by the women include gloves, hats, and petticoats, and bring to mind the 1940s and 50s, but yet they also wear pantyhose, which weren't manufactured for the general public until 1959.  Other examples include a mention of Ralph Lauren wallpaper, when Ralph Lauren wasn't even selling ties before 1967, and a reference to a "fusion" restaurant, a term not used before the 1970s.  Now, my B.A. is in history, so I'm more sensitive to this sort of thing than most, but this feeling of never being settled in a time period kept me so distracted that I couldn't relax into the story.  I don't know if the author, a native of Madrid, didn't do enough research into American history, didn't care if things didn't fit, or was trying to create some alternate universe, but by chapter ten, I'd had enough frustration and called it quits.  

Murder at the Mena House by Erica Ruth Neubauer

I know -- I'm an history snob.  I know, but I can't help it.  This cozy mystery takes place in 1926, at a popular Cairo hotel that caters to Europeans.  It starts off okay, light but with a likable character, but has very little authentic historical flavor.  So, when an English gentleman went to dinner in a brown suit, I decided I'd pass on this one.

Blue Monday by Nicci French

The book blurb sounded interesting, but the writing -- especially the conversations -- was stilted, unnatural and clunky.  

The Other Daughter by Shalini Boland

I've read others by this author which I enjoyed, but I couldn't warm to the protagonist in this one, and felt that she spiraled out of control too quickly.

The Book of Lost and Found by Lucy Foley

A full two hours into the audio book and I still didn't care about any of the characters, so I abandoned it.