Crooked House

I have had the children on holiday from school for the last couple of weeks, so I needed a bit of easy reading that I could pick up and put down whenever I needed a few minutes distraction. What could be better than a nice murder mystery (I had a few murderous thoughts of my own last week!) so I decided to see what Agatha Christie had to offer. I have read and reread all her Poirot and Miss Marple books but I have never thought of reading any of her other work. I thought perhaps I wouldn't like it, but I read Crooked House and I was soon engrossed in the plot. It is dated and it is hard to believe that such an unattractive selection of characters could have lived together for so long, but somehow none of that mattered. I had my suspicions about the murderer, but still the book produced a sudden and unexpected twist at the end. I enjoyed it, it is a good holiday read and it has made me want to revisit my old friend Hercule Poirot so I am now reading Five Little Pigs.

A Necessary End - Peter Robinson

I read A Necessary End last week. I had never read anything by Peter Robinson before, but I bought this book because it was part of an offer. I usually like crime stories, and it is always nice to discover a different author, so I had high hopes of this book. I found it hard going at first, but gradually I became interested in the plot and wanted to read on. I thought it was a very male book, the characters were somewhat stereotyped and not especially attractive, but the plot did have edge and the outcome mattered more than I expected. The novel clearly evoked the world of about 20 years ago, there was a grubby and brutal but very recognisable aspect to the plot. It is a book that leaves you asking who was really the victim? I don't think Peter Robinson will become one of my favourite authors, but I will certainly read more of his books.

The Suspicions of Mr Whicher by Kate Summerscale

This book was serialised on the radio and by chance I caught the first installment and I was so taken with it that I had to buy the book. It looks at the investigation of a brutal country house murder of a three year old boy in 1860. The author had access to the original police documents which are held in the national archives and she was able to follow the suspicions and enquiries of Jack Whicher of Scotland Yard who was brought in to solve the murder. The author presents the account in the way that events unfolded at the time, she creates tension and atmosphere as it becomes clear that one of the occupants of the house must have killed the boy, perhaps one of his parents or even a sibling? It is interesting to find out how the press and the public responded at the time and it provides a snapshot of 1860 attitudes and social history. Jack Whicher did not solve the murder and it his career was damaged by his failure. Subsequently there was a conviction but was the real murderer ever caught? This is a facinating book and a very good read.

Eating for England: The Delights and Eccentricities of the English at Table

I am not the sort of person who watches celebrity Chefs on television or buys the latest cookery book. But oddly enough there is a book about food that I really want to read, I first heard about it before Christmas, my ears pricked up on Sunday morning when the Food Programme on Radio 4 was reviewing books for Christmas. I love books of all kinds, but I am not particularly interested in food writing so I was really listening to find gift suggestions for other people. They read an extract from Nigel Slater's new book Eating for England: The Delights and Eccentricities of the English at Table. The extract was about the pink wafer biscuit and it posed the question who could possibly choose of that as their favourite. It described the pink wafer as the Tim Henman of the biscuit world. I love Nigel Slater's style of writing and it sounds like the sort of book that my husband Robbie would enjoy, but I he is incredibly easy to buy for and I had already bought a present for him. As for the pink wafer biscuit children love them because they are sweet with the added challenge of layers which they can ease apart with their teeth. I have spent almost all of my adult life working with homeless and disadvantaged adults and I have come across another group of people who enjoy pink wafer biscuits - people with no teeth! It brought to mind a cantankerous old chap who I worked with years ago, he lived almost exclusively on tuna, strong tea and pink wafer biscuits! I wouldn't recommend the diet, but I did develop a bit of a soft spot for the chap - he was impossible to work with, but he always made me smile. I dropped a few hints before Mother's Day but nobody took any notice, so I will just have to treat myself.

Buckingham Palace Gardens by Anne Perry

Anne Perry is one of my favourite authors, and I am really looking forward to getting her new book Buckingham Palace Gardens. I have already written about her book Whited Sepulchres which is part of the William Monk series of books. She has another series based on police officer Thomas Pitt and his wife Charlotte, who live in Victorian England and Buckingham Palace Gardens is the latest book in that series. I love her books because you really get a sense of what life was like then, she is very good at the small details that do so much to set the scene and add to our understanding of the characters. I think she creates very strong and believable female characters and her writing has certainly made me understand how little power women of that time had to control their own lives and those of their children. My favourite characters are Great Aunt Vespasia and the Pitt's maid Gracie, Charlotte's grandmother is not an endearing character but she is very well written, I am sure I have met her in another time and another place!

It is hard to choose a favourite from the Thomas Pitt series of books because I have enjoyed them all, so I have chosen just one to write about in more detail.

Belgrave Square by Anne Perry
I think the style of writing seems a bit prim at first, but you get used to it and you realise that it conveys a sense of the times, there is a good plot to carry you along. This book is set the year after Jack the Ripper made his mark on London. A moneylender is found dead in the back streets, he has been shot with unconventional ammunition. This confusing case leads Inspector Thomas Pitt and Charlotte, his wife, to uncover secret societies and corruption in the highest places. The very poor are being exploited and powerful people are keen to ensure that the identities of slum landlords remain hidden. This book uncovers a powerful love story that has been a closely guarded secret for many years. It is well worth the read and the characters are well drawn but perhaps just a little 'larger than life'