August 2025 Wrap Up

Books Read:

The Amazing Adventures of Letitia Carberry by Mary Roberts Rinehart (1911)  3/5 stars

The Tish series, book 1

This book contains a novella and two short stories, all of which are laugh-out-loud funny and hugely entertaining.  The solution to the novella's mystery came sort of out of the blue, but, as this is one of Rinehart's earliest published works, she was still developing her talent and style.  I will definitely read more of Tish's adventures!  (edit: I started the next one but didn't enjoy it enough to finish; there are more in the series, so maybe I'll try another.)

Clothes-Pegs by Susan Scarlett (1939)  4/5 stars

(Susan Scarlett is a pseudonym of popular children's author Noel Streatfeild.)

This is a sweet, nicely-written romance that was so entertaining I stayed up late to finish it. I enjoyed the blend of light humor with the various dramatic plotlines, and the slice-of-life it depicted.  I'll certainly read more of her novels.

Ella and the Elf   Anabelle Raven (2024)  3/5 stars

Elves & Legends, book 1

This is a mix of the Cinderella tale with the author's original world, populated by elves and humans.  Because it was relatively short, the relationships (friends and otherwise) solidified quickly and the plot was thin on details.  Despite that, I enjoyed it and immediately started the next in the series.

Marian and the Elf   Anabelle Raven (2024)  3/5 stars

Elves & Legends, book 2

This is no-spice fantasy about a human princess rescued by an elf pirate, who work together to try for peace between their races.  It's subtitled "a reimagined Robin Hood", but there were very few elements of the legend involved.  It's generally enjoyable, but there are dark themes running throughout, which keep it from being a fun read. Overall I liked it, but I wasn't drawn deeply into the world or the story.

Cold Silence by Susan Sleeman (2024) 4/5 stars 

Cold Harbor series, book 0.5 

This Christian romantic-suspense may not be the most believable story, but it's a fast-paced, engrossing, and highly entertaining read that I devoured in two days.  I will certainly read more by the author.

Audiobooks Completed:

The Swimming Pool by Mary Roberts Rinehart (1952)  4/5 stars

This mystery is well-written, entertaining, and nicely complex.  I always finds Rinehart's "had I but known" style to be amusing, but the great characters, twisty plot, and laugh-out loud moments made it well above average.

Vanishing Point by Patricia Wentworth (1953)  4/5 stars

Miss Silver mysteries, book 24

Even though the solution was improbable in bits, the story as a whole was highly entertaining.  The Miss Silver series may be "fluff" mysteries, but I still enjoy them a good deal.

Medieval Horizons: Why the Middle Ages Matter by Ian Mortimer (2023)  5/5 stars

Dr. Mortimer provides a convincing and compelling argument that fundamental and revolutionary changes occurred during the Middle Ages that "unlocked humanity's potential" and set-up transitions that were responsible for creating the world as we know it today. It is well-written, easy-follow, and extremely enlightening.  (He also does a fine job of narrating the audiobook.)

Enthroned by K.M. Shea (2013)  3/5 stars

King Arthur and Her Knights, book 1

This is a cute fantasy about a twenty-something American girl being transported back in time by Merlin to become King Arthur.  My problems are two-fold.  One is that it's very short, novella length, in fact.  As a result, there is not much character growth and it feels like the set-up for the next installment, instead of a full novel in its own right.  I checked and, with the exception of the seventh and final book, they are all 126 pages or less, meaning that they are going to be episodes in Britt's life as King Arthur, and not books per se, a publication method that I dislike.

Second, is the historical aspect.  I know, I know, this is fantasy.  But as a history nerd, I know that Arthur would have lived around the 5th century, not long after the Romans left Britain.  What Shea is showing here is the image of Arthur created by the lordly classes during the 13th century.  If Britt had been drawn back in time by Merlin, it would certainly not have been to wear chainmail and live in a castle.

So yes, this is a fun little story, I already own the whole series, and I have enjoyed a lot of this author's fantasy novels previously.  Unfortunately, though, I think I'm going to give the rest a miss and take a loss on the purchase cost.  Call it the curse of being an arm-chair historian.

Sidney Padget's original illustration for
The Hound of the Baskervilles

The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle (1902)  5/5 stars

The Sherlock Holmes series, book 5 

I enjoyed this reread even better than the last; enough so that I raised it to five stars.  It's extremely entertaining, well-written, and even suspenseful at times.  I love how the reader gets to know Watson's charming and sweet personality so well in this story, and Holmes is near perfection as an eccentric character.  Overall, it's one that I would highly recommend as a first read for anyone new to the Holmes canon.

The Moor by Laurie R. King (1998)  4/5 stars

The Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes series, book 4 

This is my third time reading this one, and it is definitely a top favorite of this series.  King blends fiction and history so well and believably.  I loved learning about the eccentric Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould enough to do a good deal of research on him.  I would suggest that the reader be familiar with The Hound of the Baskervilles first, and I was glad that I did a reread of it immediately prior.

Did Not Finish

I started and stopped so many this month that I couldn't keep track of them all.  This was the most memorable failure for me.  

Fer-de-Lance by Rex Stout

As the Nero Wolfe books are written during the 1930s, my favorite crime novel era, I felt a bit ashamed at never having read one.  This was the first of the series, and I'm sure they get better, but I didn't feel any connection to the plot, the narrator, or Wolfe, and quit about half-way through.