Michelle’s TBR pile for 2024 – and a review of 2023’s stacks

Last year's TBR stack of mysteries [2023]

By Michelle Y. Souliere

I was looking over the blog, and realized that it’s been just over a year (crazy!!!) since I posted my “now reading” and “TBR” stacks of all-mystery titles.  Why not do a review?  I was curious myself as to how many I’d actually read, and was pleasantly surprised.  Here's a rundown of what went on last year.

Previously: Michelle's 2023 "To Be Read" stack:

þ  The Castle of the Demon by Patrick Ruell (aka Reginald Hill)

See post here: “If you put your ear to her heart, you will hear the crashing surf - A Gothic Valentine for book lovers!” 

þ Shady Hollow, Cold Clay, and Mirror Lake by Juneau Black (UK covers)

This, like the Bannalec series I love so much, started out with a read of one of the books to see how much I liked it, before committing to the full shebang.  I’ll do a full post about these soon.

þ  The Fleur de Sel Murders by Jean-Luc Bannalec

I will definitely be continuing this series.  But I think perhaps this one might be my favorite so far.

þ Death on a Winter Stroll by Francine Mathews

Super-fun!  I’ll be looking for more from this author.

þ Agatha Christie's Complete Secret Notebooks: Stories & Secrets of Murder in the Making by John Curran

I’m still working my way through this – hoping to make it last as long as possible.

þ The Cloisters by Katy Hays

Well-written, an atmospheric slow burn, but just not my thing.

þ The Angel Maker by Alex North

This was a real ripper.  Great characters, fascinating mysteries, and chilling villainry.  I’ll be reading more Alex North in the future!   

See post here: "The divine retribution of Alex North's The Angel Maker"

þ The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman

#3 in the fabulous Tuesday Murder Club series, and another fun romp... now onto #4, The Last Devil to Die.

þ  White Horse by Erika T. Wurth

This was a real dark horse – new-to-me author, intriguing plot.  And MAN WAS IT GOOD.  I’ll be looking forward to more!

þ Hokolua Road by Elizabeth Hand

I started this and began devouring it, loving its mysteriousness, and then got derailed by some horrible events in my own life.  I’m looking forward to finishing it off soon!

The below titles all fall under FAIL!  Still on the TBR pile.  Arghh!  But honestly, a much shorter list than I was expecting to be left over.  Ha!

--> Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson

-->  Guilty Creatures: A Menagerie of Mysteries ed by Martin Edwards 

--> Blood Sugar by Daniel Kraus

-->  Standing by the Wall by Mick Herron

So what books are on my Now-Reading and TBR mystery lists for 2024?  I’ve already chewed through a few!

Michelle’s “Now Reading” Stack 2024:

 

I devoured several books in 2023 that don’t appear above, but will probably appear in posts later on, so stay tuned for those.  Right now I’m already in the middle of several books, some which I started in 2023, others which I’m just diving into now:

 
Nemesis by Agatha Christie – This is a real classic, and there is a 90% probability that I read it when I was in my teens or twenties, but I always like to have at least one Christie title ready-to-hand!  This one in particular focuses on Miss Marple, and her formidable powers of deduction and drive for justice.  Plus this Fontana (UK) copy has yet another weirdly wonderful Tom Adams painting for its cover art.

Trouble Is My Business by Raymond Chandler – A collection of 5 stories which follow his private investigators through another wild run of cases, full of twists and turns, dames and cads.  “It was very still in the room for a little while.  Eddies of smoke drifted towards the skylight, filmy gray, pale in the afternoon sun.  I heard the surf booming in the distance.”  What can I say?  I love Chandler’s prose, and his adept depositing of readers in a definite place and moment.  And he frequently surprises me.  He is a master in a way few others are.

Thrice the Brindled Cat Hath Mewed by Alan Bradley – This is #8 in the Flavia De Luce mystery series, an example of my habit of picking up a book because of its title.  Also because the series has been recommended to me repeatedly!  We’ll see if it grows on me enough that I decide to start the series in earnest and backtrack to #1.

 

The House Opposite by J. Jefferson Farjeon – This is one of the lovely little Collins Crime Club (aka “The Detective Story Club”) reprints of vintage mysteries.  Delightful packaging, classic stories/authors, and kind of like opening a time capsule into a world gone by.  I really enjoyed the salty old vagrant who narrates a large part of this book.  Some might call his garrulous but no-nonsense description of events cartoonish, but frankly it’s a bit of fresh air to me.  This particular story sports a fair bit of intrigue, shadowy figures engaged in malarkey, and an appreciation for a good wedge of cheese.  I’ve read other Farjeon titles before, and they’re always fun and atmospheric!

 

A House of Ghosts by W.C. Ryan --  This was a super-fun romp!  WWI era, a towering estate on a remote island in the Irish Sea, with secret passageways and mysterious murders, not to mention multiple seances.

 

Beneath the Depths by Bruce Robert Coffin – Coffin is a Maine author, so I knew I was going to read him eventually!  Then Sharon recommended this series, and I’m enjoying it so far.  If you’re looking for a police procedural mystery set in Portland, Maine, look no further.

 

The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager – Like my previous experiences with Sager’s books, this is a fun, rapid read, with ample chills and thrills.  Set on a pleasant lake and compulsively readable, this story is related to the reader by yet another of Sager’s appealingly flawed, scarred characters.  She takes us with her down the road of following one’s voyeuristic tendencies just a little too far… perhaps?

 

The Invited by Jennifer McMahon – I’ve been hearing so much about this New England thriller writer that I had to give her a go, and was torn between a few titles to start with (The Winter People was another heavy contender).  I picked up The Invited because it has elements of local historical research (yes please!), set in a small town in Vermont (check! Next best thing to Maine imho), and is rife with reminders that even new buildings may have unexpected histories because of the land they are built on.  I’ve barely cracked into this one, but it has definite Rick Hautala vibes so far.

The Instruments of Darkness by John Connolly – I’ve never met a John Connolly book I didn’t like, and this new Charlie Parker novel, so far, is no exception.  I don’t know how he does it, but right from the start, I am always in it to win it.  There is just something about Charlie Parker’s character and inner dialogue that is like sitting down again with a really good friend you haven’t seen for ages – and feeling like you’re both just picking up where you left off, no matter how long it’s been.  I’m excited to get further into the meat of this story, and be ready to give you a full review for its upcoming May 7^th release (2024). 

What’s Charlie up to in this one?  Well, things have gone very wrong for Colleen Clark, a young mother in Portland, Maine.  Her 5-year-old son has disappeared from his bedroom, and days later his bloodstained blanket is found in the trunk of their car.  Charlie Parker gets called in by her attorney, Moxie Castin, to find out what happened on that fateful night. 

 

The unwinding of The Instruments of Darkness promises ominous twists and turns aplenty, including “a husband too eager to accept his wife’s guilt, a group of fascists arming for war, a disgraced psychic seeking redemption, and an old, twisted house deep in the Maine woods, a house that should never have been built.  --  A house, and what dwells beneath.”  More to come on this as May gets closer, I am sure!

 

Michelle’s “To Be Read” stack:

 

Well, I will admit I have gotten a little carried away.  And this stack doesn’t even include a bunch of titles I’ve been eyeing but have resisted because… well, there are only so many hours in the day and let’s not get more ridiculous than we already are, here!  Ha!!

 

Well, let’s see the trouble we’re in for so far.  You’ll notice a bunch of these are British mysteries, which are rather a weakness with me:

Wycliffe and the Cycle of Death by W.J. Burley – A British series recommended to me, and in my usual backwards style I’m starting with book #16 … because it begins with a dead bookseller, of course!

The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths – A standalone from the author of the wonderful Ruth Galloway series, threaded through with themes of Gothic literature, mysterious notes with book quotes on them, and … murder.

 

The Leaphorn & Chee Series by Tony Hillerman – I read a handful of these decades ago, and after happily rereading The Blessing Way a couple years ago, it’s pretty clear to me that it’s time for re-read, and to catch up on all the titles that came out after my original readthrough.

Ash Dark As Night by Gary Phillips – An upcoming title from Soho that looked interesting.  Set in the 1960s, and featuring a protagonist who works both as a street/crime photographer and private eye.  His work, and his own turn as an unexpected witness with proof, pits him against the LAPD in the era of the Watts riots. (releasing in April 2024)

Murder at La Villette by Cara Black – Another author I’ve heard great things about, so I’m going to jump in with the latest book in her Aimee Leduc private investigator series and see how it treats me.  Concussed and the prime suspect in her ex-husband’s murder, Aimee dives into the Paris underground to save herself.  (releasing in March 2024)

 

The Murder of Mr. Ma by John Shen Yen Nee and SJ Rozan – A “swashbuckling series” set in 1920s London, which opens as a killer is targeting Chinese immigrants.  Shy academic Lao She teams up with Judge Dee Ren Jie to solve an increasing pile of murders, each victim having been despatched with a butterfly sword in the hometown of Sherlock Holmes himself.  This will be my introduction to the genre of gong’an crime fiction.  (releasing in April 2024)

 

The White Priory Murders: A Mystery for Christmas by Carter Dickson (aka John Dickson Carr) – This one I’ll probably save until next winter.  Cantankerous amateur sleuth Sir Henry Merrivale arrives at White Priory to solve the Christmas-time murder of a glamorous Hollywood actress.  Footprints in the snow, a gaggle of star-seeking characters, and red herrings galore are promised.

 

The Accidental Medium by Tracy Whitwell – A washed-up TV actress picks up a job at a New Age shop and discovers her mum has been hiding their family’s history of psychic mediumship from her.  As if that wasn’t enough, murder is afoot.

 

Death on the Isle by M.H. Eccleston – An island, a regatta, and a local busybody found floating dead in the harbor.  Who better to solve the case than the local art club?  A cold case of a sailing prodigy disappeared at sea, a grand seafront mansion, and a dead billionaire’s nautical paintings lead our group down a winding seaside path.

 

Silence for the Dead by Simone St. James – A rerelease of an earlier work by one of my favorite cold case/supernatural thriller authors!  Post WWI, a young nurse on the run from her past finds herself at a post in a house-turned-hospital that is more than it seems, giving both Kitty Weekes and her patients suspiciously similar nightmares.

 

The Missing Corpse by Jean-Luc Bannalec – I’m running out of titles in this series, so I’m portioning them out slowly now.  Commissaire Georges Dupin seeks a killer in beautiful Brittany, France, amidst legends of fairies and the devil, and also, where did that pesky corpse get to?

 

The Old Fox Deceiv’d by Martha Grimes – It seemed time to dip back into the Richard Jury series, each of which is named after a British pub tied to the case.  Jury is called from London to a tiny Yorkshire fishing village to solve the mystery of a young fortune-seeking woman, registered under a false name, who turns up dead… but may not have been the intended victim after all.

 

Death of Mr. Dooley by John Ferguson – Another entry in the British Library Crime Classics series, and [gasp!] with a murder set in a bookshop (and wandering through many other London bookstores)!!!  Originally published in 1937.

 

A Cotswold Casebook by Rebecca Tope – I really enjoyed Tope’s “Lake District Mysteries”, and I’m looking forward to trying this series, set in the mellow (but murderous?) lanes of the Cotswold countryside.  For a change of pace, this volume is a collection of short stories, rather than a novel.

 

The Stranger Times and This Charming Man by C.K. McDonnell – These two are set in the world of The Stranger Times, “Manchester’s go-to newspaper for the unexplained and inexplicable.”  How much of what they’ve been reporting is nonsense?  What happens when some of the wildest stories turn out to be real?  Crime, murder, vampires, the fae… the plot twists and turns, and it winds up all being on their beat!

 

Inspector Imanishi Investigates by Seicho Matsumoto – In 1960s Tokyo, a haiku-writing homicide detective finds himself seeking the cause of a mysterious railyard death “from the hip hangouts of avant-garde Tokyo to a spa in rural Honshu.”  And before he knows what’s happening, more bodies join the queue.

 

Grave Expectations by Alice Bell – A 30-something freelance medium arrives at The Cloisters, an old countryhouse where she’s been hired to provide the guests with some intriguing entertainment.  A recent murder cues our medium (plus her ghostly childhood friend) and two of the guests to seek answers while avoiding the unknown murder in the winding halls of the old dark house.

 

The Thirty-One Doors by Kate Hulme – I mean, how could I resist?  “A novel that has the deliciously febrile atmosphere of a silent film.”  Set at Scarpside House, which “looms over the village of Gothbury, and is famed for its eccentric layout, its isolation and its legendary parties.”  A house party of formerly-lucky people, and accidents just waiting to happen… what could possibly go wrong?

 

Beast in the Shadows by Edogawa Rampo – I’ve been wanting to read a novel by Rampo for a while now.  This one is short and sharp.  A crime novelist and his new friend seek the culprit behind creepy letters she has been receiving.  But when they lead to another writer whose mysterious works threaten to become real, the shadows surrounding them become increasingly darker.

 

A Trace of Poison by Colleen Cambridge – Following my reading of two of Cambridge’s fun titles, I’m embarking on a third, returning to Agatha Christie’s estate, where housekeeper Phyllida Bright is about to get embroiled in another murder case.   

You can read my post about Cambridge’s other mystery books here:

“Old friends with a new twist - 2 excellent mysteries!”

 

So that’s 2024, off with a bang, and the flipping of many pages.  I hope your year ahead is filled with good books.  More updates as warranted!

Old friends with a new twist - 2 excellent mysteries!

Mastering the Art of French Murder and Murder at Mallowan Hall

reviewed by Michelle Y. Souliere

 

I often have doubts when I run across pastiches, or books that lift well-known characters and put them to their own uses.  However, I have been pleasantly surprised by a couple of these books recently.  The funny thing is, as it turns out, they’re both written by the same author – Colleen Cambridge.

 

I received an advance copy of Mastering the Art of French Murder from Kensington Books, and was hoping it would be a fun read, although I knew it could go either way.  I was surprised and delighted to find myself swept up in the story before long.

 

Mastering the Art of French Murder is written from the perspective of Tabitha Knight.  She has recently moved to mid-century Paris, struggling to its feet post-WWII, and is adapting to life in the legendary city under the watchful eyes of her grandfather and his partner, Oncle Rafe.  Tutoring a few students in English helps to pay the bills, and her neighborhood is made more entertaining (and delicious) by the friendship of the young and gregarious Julia Child and the rest of her nearby household.

 

When a young woman is found murdered in the basement of Julia’s apartment house, and the murder weapon turns out to be one of Julia’s own sharp kitchen knives -- and the woman one of her late night party guests -- the story takes a deadly turn.  Bit by bit, clue by clue, Tabitha finds herself led on a mysterious mission as she tries to discover who among Julia’s charming party guests is actually the murderer. 

 

The clues lead to adventures, and the adventures lead to suspense, and charming but hair-raising mishaps, and as always seems to be the case in Paris, a chance at romance.  The pacing is perfect, and peppered with glimpses of everything that makes one yearn for Paris.

 

In pursuing the killer, Tabitha meets many people in her new city, from ex-patriates who run a nearby theater, to the deceptive spouses of her English students, to the mostly-reasonable Inspector Merveille – and day by day Tabitha learns more about Paris and all its shadowy corners – and the mysteries of how to manage to cook a chicken properly, with Julia’s help, of course.

 

Mastering the Art of French Murder is slated to be part of an ongoing series, titled An American in Paris.  The second book, Murder Most French (releasing 4/23/24 in hardcover), is coming soon, and with it the scene of murder shifts to the Cordon Bleu cooking school, where Julia has been struggling to master her cooking skills under the watchful eyes of the instructors.

 

A few months after finishing this delectable book, another title caught my eye -- Murder at Mallowan Hall.  I’m a long-time fan of Agatha Christie, and I’ve seen a lot of adaptations, many good, but plenty mediocre or worse.  This was a little more risky – my love for Christie’s works has deep roots in my childhood, when my mother recommended her novels to me.  I have a lot more invested in my love for her works than in Julia Child, who I came to appreciate only in the last decade or two (man, that woman can slap a fish around)!  So once again I wasn’t expecting much.

 

But Colleen Cambridge delivers!  Let’s be clear, here -- I’m not saying these are literary masterpieces, but they are smart and well-written, fun, with compelling characters and intriguing twists, and in addition to all that, I really think they have heart.  They're the perfect antidote if you find yourself feeling like you're in a deep dark hole of doom-laden fiction (or life).

Murder at Mallowan Hall introduces us to another understated but feisty female with a penchant for inquiring into mysteries.  This time we are in the extremely capable hands of Phyllida Bright, who runs the household at Mallowan Hall circa 1930.  This is the (fictitious) home of Agatha Christie, murder mystery maven supreme, and her husband, archaeologist Max Mallowan.  Here they live happily, ensconced in the buxom Devon hills, far enough away from the eyes of all the dratted London reporters – most days.

 

Phyllida is in charge of making sure everything in the house runs smoothly, from morning to night, from the small niceties to the big picture.  And this morning… things are not going as planned.  The prior evening, a sizeable gaggle of guests arrived for a house party, and in their wake, a journalist who claimed an appointment with the great author for an interview.  Unable to be other than gracious, Ms. Christie welcomes all to the house, and arranges a last-minute room for the surprise guest.

 

However, the surprise in the end is his, because at some point after everyone is in bed, this man dies spectacularly in Agatha’s house library.  He certainly wasn’t expecting that.  Phyllida, on top of her usual duties, now must contend with bloodstains on the carpeting (and some of the books – horrors!), and with a growing number of unanswerable questions about who this man really was, and what had brought him to Mallowan Hall.

 

Phyllida gives Miss Marple a run for her money as she manages to install herself into every turn of the investigation, and her sharp eyes and little gray cells must jump her through hoop after hoop as the mystery moves outward in growing circles from the library where the body was found.  Luckily for us, she is up for the task, and with her sense of humor and rather tart wit, she navigates us through the twists and turns of the house, seeking the man with the squeaking shoes (among other clues), and doing her best to avoid the watchful eyes of Inspector Cork.

 

I’m looking forward to reading more from Colleen Cambridge, and if you’re looking for some fun, smart reads set in the early- to mid-20^th Century world, you might like to give one of these a try yourself.

Razor-sharp writing this Wolf Moon

by Sharon Kitchens

I said to Michelle I want to write about werewolves. Why should vampires get all the action? Our supernatural blood sucking maestros have names – Dracula, Lestat, Damian and Stefan (my personal favorites – oh hell practically the whole vampire cast of “The Vampire Diaries”), Bill and Eric (I’m 100% in the Eric category fyi), Angel, Mr. Barlow, the de Clermonts – Yasmin! (all Baldwin – although he’s a Montclair), and so on. Werewolves – well, there’s Remus, Jacob and Jacob (we’ll get to the latter in a few paragraphs), Alcide, Ginger, and my personal favorite David Kessler (the poster child for what not to do when on a walking tour of Britain).  

Look, I get it. Werewolves have a lot of hair (or is it fur), they have seriously bad posture, are generally less sophisticated, have mood swings, are mindless at times, and howl a lot – which would be beautiful at first, but then just annoying. 

The werewolf has no equivalent to Bram Stoker’s Dracula. So where did the werewolf myth develop? In Greek mythology and early Germanic and Nordic folklore. 

How to identify a werewolf. Most stories have them remaining at least partially human in appearance, but larger and with wolf-like ears, claws, and teeth. Their eyes either wolf-like or red. In folk tales and academic studies, they are known as Lycans or Lycanites, sometimes as a Wendigo or skin-walker, Vullkodlaks (Serbian zombie werewolf), and Je-Rouges (from Haitian mythology – also referred to as shapeshifters). All of these moonstruck howlers kill and devour people.

According to Merriam-Webster a werewolf’s bite could turn one temporarily into a person transformed into a wolf or capable of assuming a wolf's form. 

They can be killed with silver bullets, decapitation, and weakened with wolfsbane. *For more information on wolfsbane by a Harry Potter fan check out this delightful article by Mason Heberling from the Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

And now, without further ado… 

Following are three example of razor-sharp writing I suggest you examine during the Wolf Moon — our first Full Moon of the year — on Thursday, January 25. It’s in Leo just to add a little more intensity and physicality to the week.

The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan

Sexy, gory adult reading. Our narrator is Jake (Jacob Marlowe), a chain-smoking two-hundred-year-old werewolf who drinks very expensive single malt Scotch whisky. As the title suggests, he’s the last or one of the last werewolves in the world. He’s lonely, depressed, rich, and on the run from the World Organization for the Control of Occult Phenomena. A dark explosive thriller. 

Cycle of the Werewolf by Stephen King

A lovely dark and bloody short novel by the king of horror. Illustrated by Bernie Wrightson.

The first screams came in January from the snow-bound railway man in the isolated Maine town of (fictional) Tarker’s Mills. Each chapter is one month of the year.

Such Sharp Teeth by Rachel Harrison

Rory (Aurora) Morris isn’t thrilled to be moving back to her hometown, even if it is temporary. There are bad memories there. But her twin sister, Scarlett, is pregnant and needs support.

After a night out at a bar she hits a large animal with her car and when she gets out to investigate, she’s attacked. She survives, but is cursed. Will she try to fight her new wildness or accept it and in doing so how will that change her.

I loved this dark comedy. My first Rachel Harrison book, I’m now reading my way through all her supernatural goodies.

Curious about lycanthropy? 

Michelle usually has the following on the shelf at Green Hand Books:

The Lycanthropy Reader by Charlotte Otten 

The Book of Were-Wolves by Sabine Baring-Gould

for a modern take: Real Wolfmen by Linda Godfrey 

Beware, the full moon is rising — stick to the road when crossing the foggy moors. Of all the supernatural creatures out in the world, I’m thinking you least likely want to run into a Lycanthrope.

Merry & Bright (with murder on the side) Reading

by Sharon Kitchens & Michelle Souliere

The sidewalks in Portland, Maine are dusted with snow. Freshly cut pines are hung about interiors. The morning walk leaves one red-cheeked. Wood crackles in the fireplace. Grocery carts are filled with bags of sugar, bottles of spices, and blocks of butter.

If you’re like Michelle and I, tis also the season for holiday murder mysteries. Books with a murder or two or three sprinkled in. Naughty villains far more tart than sweet. Icy stares punctuate the already chilly air. And, that’s not ruby satin on the floor!

Following are our recommendations for holiday reading:

Sharon:

Christmas Presents by Lisa Unger

I really wanted to be able to read and recommend Lisa Unger’s Christmas Presents, but alas I hit a snag as I’m still waiting in line for a print or audio copy via the library. I’ve read a glowing review and heard part of the first chapter and both have me excited to read this. So, consider this one a not quite recommendation….rather more of a suggestion.

Here’s the gist - Madeline Martin, a bookshop owner with a tragic past is currently caring for her ailing father who happens to be a former sheriff. She’s the only surviving victim of Evan Handy, the man who was convicted of murdering her best friend a decade ago. He’s also suspected in the disappearance of other women. The thing is, since Handy went to jail, other women have gone missing. Are the crimes connected? Was Evan Handy innocent after all? Or was there some else there that night?  Enter Harley Granger, a failed novelist turned true crime podcaster, who has a whole lot of questions. 

Sounds good, doesn’t it? 

The Christmas Murder Game by Alexandra Benedict

There’s a theme to Benedict’s Christmas mysteries — The Christmas Murder (2022) and Murder on the Christmas Express (2023).

A snow storm bears down trapping a group of people together who have a sordid past. The primary character is returning home and to a past that has haunted them. Things turn deadly and they must figure out how to survive.

I was utterly charmed by The Christmas Murder. A classic country house murder mystery that’s Agatha Christie meets the iconic board game Clue.  

Twelve clues. Twelve keys. Twelve days of Christmas. But who will survive until Twelfth Night? 

Lily Armitage never intended to return to Endgame House - the grand family home where her mother died twenty-one Christmases ago…Until, that is, she receives a letter from her aunt promising that the game's riddles will give her the keys not only to Endgame, but to its darkest secrets, including the identity of her mother's murderer.

Lily will have to keep her wits about her, because not everyone is playing fair, and there's no telling how many will die before the winner is declared.

Murder on the Christmas Express by Alexandra Benedict

Murder on the Orient Express is one of my favorite Agatha Christie stories — Evil Under the Sun is the other— and yet I didn’t enjoy this book. I’m including because if you come across one of Benedict’s Christmas murder books, you’ll likely see the other.  Go with The Christmas Murder Game! 

It’s Christmas Eve, and former Met detective Roz Parker is on her way home from London to Scotland during a snow storm to be with her very pregnant daughter. When the trail derails in the middle of nowhere, the passengers only have one another, and not all of them will reach their holiday celebrations. As a killer tries to pick passengers off one by one, Roz can’t resist one last investigation. 

Honorable mention…The Golden Spoon by Jessa Maxwell

The story takes place during the summer, but if you’re like me and are passionately devoted to “The Great British Baking Off,” then you’ll see how all the bread, cake, and pie served up on a leafy Vermont estate justifies its inclusion. 

Every summer for the past decade, half a dozen amateur bakers have descended on the manicured grounds of Grafton — the aforementioned estate — that is not only the filming site for the hit show “Bake Week” but also the childhood home of the show’s famous host, celebrated baker and veteran judge Betsy Martin.

This year she’s joined by award-winning baker Archie Morris. It’s the first time in the show’s history that Betsy has shared judging duties with another host.

As the baking competition commences, things begin to go awry. At first, it’s merely sabotage—sugar replaced with salt—but when a body is discovered, everyone is a suspect.

Also: The Shining by Stephen King – for all the dysfunctional families out there. A smart story that’s significantly different from Stanley Kubrick’s big screen adaptation.   

Michelle:

I would be remiss, when writing about holiday reads, if I didn’t mention the British Library Tales of the Weird and their ever-expanding line of anthology titles, which includes each year a Yuletide offering of spooky seasonal tales.

Spirits of the Season: Christmas Hauntings, edited by Tanya Kirk

One of my favorites in this vein so far is their 2018 volume, Spirits of the Season, edited by Tanya Kirk.  This one is full of the work of some classic tale-spinners, such as favorites Algernon Blackwood (“The Kit-Bag”), A.M. Burrage’s “Smee” (which somehow never gets old), and M.R. James (“The Story of a Disappearance and an Appearance”), but also some grandes dames like Amelia Edwards (“The Four-Fifteen Express”) and Marjorie Bowen (“The Prescription”).  

M­­­­­­y favorite in Spirits of the Season’s table of contents is one I’d never read before, but found tremendously creepy and Christmassy -- H. Russell Wakefield’s ill-starred exploration of “Lucky’s Grove.”  You will never look at a snowy grove of evergreens in quite the same way again.

I try to read one of these books every year, and for 2023 I’m looking forward to dipping into either Chill Tidings or Haunters at the Hearth, both of which are edited by Tanya Kirk.

Alexandra Benedict’s Christmas mysteries

Alongside the British Library collections of Christmas confections, I try to read a couple of novels in this vein, and this year I’m reading Alexandra Benedict’s Murder on the Christmas Express, a fun little nail-biter of a snowy journey.  Last year I read her Christmas Murder Game, which was tremendous fun.  Christmas Express is very different from the feel of Murder Game, certainly not as cozy, but its narrator is once again a likeable and compelling character, and the case is enough to get everyone to put their deerstalker hat on, a la Sherlock Holmes.

Mystery in White by J. Jefferson Farjeon

I mention Benedict’s newest Christmas puzzle because it reminded me of Mystery in White by J. Jefferson Farjeon (part of the British Library’s “Crime Classics” series).  Now I’m re-reading it, and enjoying it possibly even more than the first time I read it.  In Mystery in White (1937), once again our winter train ride gets waylaid by weather, and last-minute holiday travelers get stuck on the tracks rather than getting to their destinations.

As with any good stranded-travelers story, our characters make up quite a little grab bag, but luckily the majority of them are quite delightful.  Having quitted their train in hopes of finding their way to a nearby station with actual running trains, our fools find themselves stranded instead in a Goldilocks-type cottage, replete with cozy fires and everything ready for, if not them, then someone who is expected.

Midway through, even “the Bore” of the crowd (previously reprehensible) seems to become more human, while the villain has disappeared, at least temporarily, with an unearthly shriek (nobody is too worried by his absence, quite the opposite).  All in all it is a delightful, snowy romp, full up with miniature dramas, suspenseful forays into the continuous blizzard in search of murder weapons, corpses, villains, plus other victims to rescue and ensconce, and interjections from Lydia, who has her heart set on a jolly holiday, and keeps saying things like “I believe we’re going to have a happy Christmas after all!”

One of the extra bit of a treat in the book (for me, anyways!) comes from the inclusion of Mr. Maltby, a member of the Royal Psychical Society, and by way of his undercurrent of ghostly interests, our characters periodically check in on their more wayward feelings about whether or not there are various spooky influences at work in the little house and its furnishings.

To give you just a taste of this, here are Lydia and Jessie quizzing each other in an attempt to entertain and distract themselves from other more serious matters at hand:

“All right.  My ghost meets your ghost.  Then what happens?”

“A lot of little ghosts.  Oh, my goodness, I’m going dippy, but if you’re going dippy anyhow you might as well choose a pleasant way.  If a lot of little ghosts would be pleasant?  Imagine them running about all over the house, dodging under beds and hiding round corners and scampering up and down the stairs!”

“I think they’d be rather fun.”

“Then we’ll have ‘em at the Christmas feast to-morrow.  You haven’t forgotten to-morrow’s Christmas, have you?”

 

Any one of these titles is definitely worth sitting down to, in a cozy spot with a pile of cookies and a hot beverage of your choice!  We’ll have other wintry recommendations as the season moves along, but these should get you primed for good ol’ Santa Claus’s arrival.