What are you reading in 2023?

I've read 2 books so far (though must admit the first one is more of a novella);
Kate Shackleton's First Case by Frances Brody and The Rising Tide by Ann Cleeves. Two of my favourite authors.

Had a good start to the year:

Seven Bridges and The Hermitage by LJ Ross, both 4.5★s
Ticket to Oblivion - Edward Marston 4★s
Kill My Darling - Cynthia Harrod-Eagles 4★
The Lantern Men - Elly Griffiths 4.5★s
Lazybones - Mark Billingham 3.5★s
Date with Death - Julia Chapman 4.5★s

I have listened to Paige Shelton on You Tube for no charge. Her mystery books are based in Scotland and a bookshop.

I think I've read too many in this series recently as I didn't particularly enjoy this one: Death at the Seaside by Frances Brody. Time to read something else for a change, I think.

An April Shroud - Reginald Hill 4.5★s

Det Supt Andy Dalziel is left on his own in this one as DI Pascoe goes off on honeymoon.

The Snuffbox Murders - Roger Silverwood 4★s

A Yorkshireman, Roger Silverwood (a new author for me), writing about a Yorkshire cop in a South Yorkshire setting.

DI Michael Angel works doggedly to find a killer and a gang of thieves - but then, he’s “…the cop who they say, like the Mounties, always gets his man…”.

Another book by Roger Silverwood, The Money Tree Murders 4★s

DI Angel gets his man again, solving a murder and the mystery of a ‘haunted’ house.

I always love a novel by Elly Griffiths. I just finished the 3rd and latest in her Harbinder Kaur series: Bleeding Heart Yard and although I found the plot to be a tad farfetched, I still really enjoyed the book.

Enjoying this series by Julia Chapman, set in the Yorkshire Dales, Date with Malice 4.5★s

Dead Heading by Catherine Aird 4★s

DI Sloan and DC Crosby investigate damage to three commercial greenhouses, while looking for a misper.

Date with Mystery by Julia Chapman 4.5★s

Agatha Raisin and the Curious Curate by M. C. Beaton 3.5★s

Agatha Raisin and the Perfect Paragon by M. C. Beaton 3.5★s

An oldie from 1943: Somebody at the Door by Raymond Postgate 3.75★s

Agatha Raisin and Love, Lies and Liquor by M. C. Beaton 4★s

I finished The Lady from Zagreb, the 10th book in Philip Kerr's Bernie Gunther noir series. I mention it here only because Kerr was from Scotland, although none of the series action takes place anywhere around Britain.

The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman 4.5★s

The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman 4.5★s

Play Dead by Angela Marsons 4★s

Quite disappointed in The Long Weekend by Gilly MacMillan. I've enjoyed her novels before but this one didn't work for me on so many levels-I didn't like the pacing, the dialogue was unbelievable at times, and I couldn't stand any of the characters.

I’m continuing apace with this series: Date with Poison by Julia Chapman 5★s

I haven't been here for a while, mostly because I forget to post here.

Oxford Exit by Veronica Stallwood

Novelist and one-time librarian, Kate Ivory, has been asked to do some cataloguing at the Bodleian Library, Oxford in an undercover effort to find out how to make rare books disappear when they are in the process of being added to the computer catalogue and removed from the card index. Not only did she discover major losses and what became of the books, but someone else had the same suspicion and came to a nasty end. The book theft is referred to as the Oxford Exit. This was a lot of fun, not a cozy, but kept light with Stallwood's humour and library lore. And of course the setting is first-rate.

Most noteworthy: a particularly creepy character has the name of Vivian.

New here. Pocket bio: Retired humanities teacher, residing in Tlaxcala, Mexico, with two dogs and six indoor cats. Passionate about literature, history, philosophy, classical music and opera, jazz, cinema, and similar subjects. Nostalgic guy. Politically centrist. BA in American Studies from Yale; MAs in English and Education from Boston University. Born in northern New Jersey. Have lived and worked in San Francisco, Chicago, northern Nevada, northeast Wisconsin, South Korea.

Just finished Hugh Munro’s Who Told Clutha (1958), the first in his series about a Glasgow shipyard detective. From “Glasgow” and “shipyard”, you know it will be flavorful, and it is! I look forward to spending more time with Clutha, who is tough-savvy.

Hugh Munro is not to be confused with Hector Hugh Munro (Saki) or Neil Munro (author of the Para Handy tales). More info here:

https://bearalley.blogspot.com/2010/10/hugh-munro.html

The Relentless Tide - Denzil Meyrick 4.5★s
The Woodcutter - Reginald Hill 5★s

Date with Danger by Julia Chapman 5★s. Thoroughly enjoying this series.

>23 PatrickMurtha: Welcome, Patrick :)

Two from one of my favourite series: Longstone 4★s and The Infirmary 4.5★s, by LJ Ross.

Agatha Raisin and the Potted Gardener - M. C. Beaton 3.5★s

Sidney Chambers and The Dangers of Temptation - James Runcie 3.75★s

The Wanton Angel by Edward Marston 4★s