I only read five books this month, at least partly because I traveled for several days visiting my middle son who has returned to San Francisco. I would love to tell you all about that and maybe I will get back to doing travel posts again too, although those are labor-intensive because of the pictures, and the pictures are kind of the point.
The Windsor Knot by SJ Bennett
So I went out with two of my best friends from high school this month. and we were talking about books because we all love to read. I told them about Claudia Gray’s Mr. Darcy/Miss Tilney mysteries, since they too are Jane Austen fans. That led us to talking about similar books, and I learned about two series that I am now obsessed with. The book is the first in a (so far) five book series in which Queen Elizabeth II plays detective. This one is set primarily at Windsor Castle. The fun of these books is that they are quite accurate as to setting and world affairs and the Queen’s responsibilities and her household. And the Queen’s thoughts and the way she speaks ring very true. The Queen does not want anyone to know she is investigating crimes so she has to have the help of her Assistant Private Secretary, Rozie Oshodi, who follows in a long line of APS (all women) who have been helping the Queen with this over the years. This first book was just delightful.
The Way Life Should Be by William Dameron
This is a book primarily about family, especially blended families. Thomas and Matt, both formerly married to women, are living the second halves of their lives in a new way. But they both come with baggage. Matt’s kids have run away from their mom and evil stepfather; Thomas’s daughter, who feels abandoned by him, is fleeing an at-first unspecified trauma that has caused her to drop out of college; Matt’s sister is having problems with her marriage; and Matt’s parents are getting too old to care for themselves. They all end up spending a summer in very close quarters, and problems–and healing–ensue.
Evelyn, After by Victoria Helen Stone
There is a lot of “cringe” (as the kids would say) in this book about a woman who is spiraling out of control due to her husband’s infidelity. Let’s start with stalking her husband’s affair partner, including embarking on a relationship with HER husband! This can’t end well, right?
Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor by Stephanie Barron
This is the second series my friend introduced me too, and I am so excited because there are 11 of them! Jane Austen herself is the detective in this series. In this first book she is visiting a friend whose husband dies under mysterious circumstances, leaving her friend accused of the crime. Can Jane learn the truth in time to save her friend from hanging? I have the next one of these just waiting to be my next read and I can’t wait!
All the Queen’s Men by SJ Bennett
And finally, the second in the Queen Investigates series. There were some especially endearing aspects to this story which starts out being about a misplaced picture that is especially dear to the Queen, although you’ll have to read to the very last page to learn why. One thing leads to another, of course, and becomes about something much bigger, including murder in Buckingham Palace!
And that is it for this month. Do either of the series I am reading sound good to you?
