Books read in October

I just can't believe October is now behind us and we're entering the final couple of months of 2024. (Note: I have not mentioned the 'C' word.) I did a bit better with reading last month than I did in September... 6 books read as opposed to '2' (still haven't quite recovered from that!) So, these are they.

60. Bookworm - Lucy Mangan. A fun book about the author's favourite books of her childhood in the 1980s. Not my generation but close to my daughters' so it was a nice trip down memory lane. 

61. Two-Way Murder - E.C.R. Lorac

62.  The Haunting of Aveline Jones - Phil Hickes

63. The Woods in Winter - Stella Gibbons

64. The Spy Coast - Tess Gerritsen

Maggie Bird lives quietly, running a chicken farm in a village on the coast of Maine. She hasn't always done that however: Maggie is a retired CIA agent. She's not alone, around her are a peer group of similarly retired operatives, so when a dead body is dumped on her drive one night she is not short of assistance. In fact, the police are more of a hindrance than a help but one, Police Chief, Jo Thibodeau, is doggedly determined to discover who this group are and why one of them was presented with a corpse. So the clue here is in the title, The 'Spy' Coast, but for some reason I still expected it to be more of a crime story than a 'spy' one. Naturally, it was the other way around, which would be quite obvious to all but me, but there you go... Anyway, as with all of Tess Gerritsen's books it was very well written, but I'm not a huge espionage story fan so I did struggle a little with it. Plus, it felt a bit similar to Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn, enough that it felt like I was almost rereading that, although there are quite a lot of differences. Anyone, who hasn't read the Raybourn would doubtless enjoy The Spy Coast as it is a good book, but there is considerable use of flash-back scenes, so if that's not your bag, this might not be for you. I gave it 4 stars on Goodreads but if 3.5 was available, it would've got that.

65. Saving Missy - Beth Morrey.

Millicent 'Missy' Carmichael, 79, lives alone in a huge house in London. Hardly anyone she loves is around any more - husband, Leo, her son lives in Australia with his family and Missy does not get on well with her daughter who lives in Cambridge. It's a walk in the park that changes everything for her. She meets Angela and her young son, Otis, and then their friend, an older woman, Sylvie. It's not easy for Missy to let them into her life, she's prickly and a bit secretive, but they persist and eventually fostering  a female dog, 'Bob', (you have to know your Blackadder) brings about proper change. This was a delightful contemporary story, a bit heart-wrenching in parts, 'very' in a couple of others, have your hanky ready, but it's also funny and very true to life. There are flashbacks but they're not intrusive and 'fit', if you know what I mean. And it is beautifully written. My cousin passed this one on to me and I'm so glad as I absolutely loved it. 

So that was my reading October. A nice mix of crime and creepiness, some good seasonal reading and an excellent contemporary novel. I'm a happy bunny.

At present I'm reading this:

The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett is a fantasy novel that is also a crime story. It is weird. Even for me, Queen of the Weird, it is weird.

I'm also still reading this:

This one is a beautiful read so I'm taking my time reading about the ancient churches of the UK.

I hope you're all enjoying your autumn reading and keeping well?