My Top Fifteen Books of 2024

 

 

  It's that time again...

I intended to do a Top Ten, but as usual when making my list it grew too long - you know how it is!  The books I've chosen were not necessarily published in 2024, but I read them this year.  If any of them pique your interest, please click the title for my review and universal links to Amazon and Goodreads.

I've listed them in the order I read them, aside from the last five, to which I awarded my rare and very special 5 Gold Stars.😊  I hope you see something that appeals, as I highly recommend them all!

The Drau River Flows to Siberia: The Victims of Victory

by Marina Osipova

The story of two people who survived Stalin's Siberian gulags, and the fate of the Cossacks under the care of the Allies in WWII.

I, Richard Plantagenet : Book 2 Loyaulte Me Lie 

by J P Reedman

The later life of Richard III

Hard to Forgive 

by Georgia Rose

Third book in the 'A Shade Darker' series.  A woman alone, a life lived in obsession and regret...

Pride & Pestilence 

by Carol Hedges

Book 11 of the Victorian Detectives murder mystery series

Live and Let 

by Judith Barrow

A short, amusing memoir, much of it about holiday lets.

Psittacide 

by Zeb Haradon

The crazy political arena of 2172, Book 2 in the Disposable Soma series

A Boundary of Stones 

by Millie Thom

The story of Eyam, the Derbyshire village that famously isolated itself during the 17th Century bubonic plague, stopping it from spreading to neighbouring villages.

Local Gods 

by Mark Hurst

An assassin who needs to lie low discovers strange happenings in the village of Little Baddington...

Operation Tulip 

by Deborah Swift

Working for the resistance in Nazi occupied Holland, 1944

The Queen's Avenger 

by Anna Legat

The story of a monk who supported Mary, Queen of Scots, through all she suffered.

*

5 GOLD Stars

All Quiet on the Western Front 

by Erich Maria Remarque

A young German man's experiences in World War I  

A Matter of Time 

by Judith Arnopp

The life of Henry VIII in his own words, from the Anne of Cleves era until his death.

The Swan Maiden 

by Gemma Lawrence

Book 2 of The Surface and the Deep, the story of Anne of Cleves.

Moments of Consequence 

by Thorne Moore

Short stories, dark themes.  Mostly.

Size Always Matters 

by Sally Cronin

Comprehensive guide to weight loss, exercise, nutrition and so much more.

PRIDE & PESTILENCE by Carol Hedges

 5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.

In a Nutshell: Book 11 of the Victorian Detectives murder mystery series

Eleventh book in the series, and I have not given any of them less than five stars!  Pride and Pestilence sits up there with the rest, a hugely enjoyable tale of social climbing scoundrels, unscrupulous journalists, class wars and weary detectives aiming to sort the urgent from the time-wasting, the villains from the victims.

Detective Leo Stride has now retired, but finds himself all at sea; researching old police records for the purpose of writing his memoirs is a welcome escape from bumbling around helplessly in the social and domestic world inhabited by his wife, and also provides an irresistible opportunity to sidle into in some of Cully and Greig's new cases.  Is he still needed?  Of course he is!

The discovery of a plague pit within a building site sparks off rumours of a resurgence of the pestilence of 200 years earlier, and the way in which the tabloid press use this to instil fear into the public (and sell more papers) is most entertaining, and indeed echoes events of a more recent time.

It's great.  Loved it.  Read the whole series, starting now!

MURDER & MISCHIEF by Carol Hedges @riotgrandma72 #RBRT #TuesdayBookBlog

5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.  But I would have bought it anyway ;)

In a Nutshell: Victorian Murder Mystery

This is Book Ten of the series and I have read the other nine; you will, therefore, gather that these books absolutely work for me.  They're linked, in that the same detectives appear in all books, and each story has cameo appearances from characters found in the earlier ones, but they're completely stand-alone.  My advice is to start with #1, though - you'll want to read them all, I promise!

Murder & Mischief, set mostly in London in the mid-19th Century, features a mysterious snow-covered corpse in the garden of a wealthy and unscrupulous land developer, an even more mysterious top hat, two children who have escaped from workhouse drudgery, a clever private detective (female, shock horror!), a community of bohemian artists, and Ms Hedges' trademark supporting cast of grimy folk in dingy pubs and lodging houses, doing what they feel they must to stay afloat ... a prostitute here, a social climber there, all crowded into Victorian London at its best, worst and every level in between.  Then there is the ancient and dilapidated Ships Head down at the Docks, almost a character in itself.  The 'formula' is similar in each one, but it never gets tired, and I always hope there will be more.

It's not easy to review a Book 10 in a series without repeating oneself, so I'll leave it with this: it's great.  They're all great.  Curl up on the sofa with cushions, a blanket, a cup of hot chocolate and a candle or two (to feel like part of the setting!), and you're in for a treat!

DESIRE & DECEIT by Carol Hedges @caroljhedges #RBRT

5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member, but I bought it anyway because I adore this whole series!

In a Nutshell: Victorian Murder Mystery

I've just finished the final outing in this series of stand-alone Victorian murder mysteries, and every one has been a winner.  Frankly I could carry on reading them ad infinitum, but I understand that a writer needs a change now and then!

We enter once more the world of Detectives Stride and Cully, in mid-nineteenth century London, and are introduced to a fine array of characters, many new faces and others whom we have met before.  Of the latter, I particularly like Miss Lucy Landseer, private detective (or 'detector' as the owner of a exclusive tobacconists calls Cully and his protegée Tom Williams), who is the star of one of the secondary storylines; the main one centres around a dead body without a name, the questions being who is he, who killed him, and why?

Ms Hedges' excellent plotting and characterisation shines out on every page, with her familiar themes rippling through the story: the massive chasm of difference between the haves and the have-nots, the pretentiousness of the aspirational lower middle class, the lot of women of all classes, corrupt MPs with their 'jobs for the boys' (no change there then) and complete disinterest in and disregard for the scum of humanity that floats beneath them (i.e., everyone in the country apart from their families and peers).  Then there are the music hall artistes, the conmen, and those who think they can get away with murder.

I very much liked the parliamentary clerk known only as 'the Replacement' (the MP for which he works never does bother to find out his name), and Euphemia Harbinger, an elderly lady facing the end of her life, once celebrated in society, who is more wise and experienced than her grasping, inheritance-chasing family could ever imagine.  I also loved Harriet Harbinger, a young girl being constantly overlooked in favour of her twin brother, who has her sights set on the high seas and adventure.

As ever, the threads of the story were satisfactorily wrapped up, but this time I finished it with a certain sadness, knowing there will not be any more.  This book is an absolute treat, as are all of the other eight.  If you haven't read any of them yet, I envy you!

My Top Ten (and a little bit more) Books of 2020

That time of the year again....

Usually I do a Top Twenty, but I haven't found so much reading time this year.  Out of the fifty-five-ish books I have read or started to read (not all of them reviewed on this blog), I have chosen my ten favourites, which is actually twelve, because two of them have a sequel or related book that I liked just as much.  They were not necessarily published in 2020, but this is when I read them.

At the bottom are three other books that were my nearly-favourites, so it's really fifteen, I suppose!  Please note - when reviewing, I may on occasion give a book 4.5* or possibly even 5* because I feel it is worthy of that rating, even if it wasn't quite my thing; I try to always review objectively.  This list, however, is made up simply of those I loved the most.  

These are in no particular order, but they all come with my highest recommendation.  If you click the title of the book, it will take you to my full review, with Amazon and Goodreads links.

The Heretic Wind by Judith Arnopp

~ Tudor historical fiction ~

The Covenant by Thorne Moore

~ 19th/early 20th century historical fiction ~

Rum Hijack by Phil Motel

~ Contemporary Drama ~

and

Plumas de Muerte by Phil Motel

~ Memoir ~

Abandoned Pennsylvania by Janine Pendleton

~Photography, with non-fiction historical text~

Cometh The Hour by Annie Whitehead

~6th-7th Century Historical Fiction~

Fame & Fortune by Carol Hedges

~ Victorian Murder Mystery ~

The World Without Crows by Ben Lyle Bedard

~ Post-Apocalyptic ~ 

and 

The World Without Flags by Ben Lyle Bedard

~ Post-Apocalyptic ~

(I said 'no particular order', but, okay, the following are my top three 😉)

Smile of the Wolf by Tim Leach

~ 10th Century Icelandic Historical Fiction ~

The End of the Road by Anna Legat

~ Post-Apocalyptic ~

Nest of Ashes by Gemma Lawrence

~ Tudor Historical Fiction ~

*

I'd also like to give a mention for these three, that almost made the top ten:

Obsession by Robin Storey

~ Psychological thriller novella ~

Singularity Syndrome by Susan Kuchinskas

~ SciFi/Climate Change/Dystopian ~

Gorge by Katherine Carlson

~ Dark Contemporary Fiction ~

📚 Happy Reading! 📚

FAME & FORTUNE by Carol Hedges @caroljhedges

5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com

How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.  However, I have read every other book in this series and would have bought it anyway - every one a winner!

In a Nutshell: Victorian Murder Mystery

This is the eighth book in Carol Hedges' Victorian murder mystery, featuring officers of the law Stride and Cully.  The story starts with a mysterious hanging and the theft of rare Japanese artefacts, and takes the crime-fighting duo to the seediest areas of London and then off to more upmarket districts to see out the Black brothers, Herbert and Munro; Munro runs gambling clubs, while Herbert is often abroad, taking care of his trading empire - but what is he selling?

Running through the main story are a couple of juicy sub-plots - that of a romantic novelist accused by an aristocrat of using his marital dramas as a plot for her novels, and the tale of Izzy, a ten-year-old who works painting furniture for dolls' houses by day, and washing dishes by night, then goes home to share a mattress with her uncaring mother in an unsavoury boarding house.  

Fame & Fortune is up there with the rest of this series, a delight to read, as Ms Hedges spins her story around artfully-drawn characters, at the same time highlighting the social injustices of the day (Izzy's story, in particular, is heartrending), and the culture of the Victorian era, throughout all echelons of life; the occasional comparison with modern times is impossible not to draw.

Another winner; if you haven't read any of this series, they're all completely stand-alone, even though certain threads are carried on throughout.  Highly recommended.  

INTRIGUE & INFAMY by Carol Hedges @caroljhedges

5 GOLD stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads

 
How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member, but I would have bought it anyway because I adore this series!

In a Nutshell:  Mid-Victorian murder mystery, set in London.  Book 7 of a series of stand-alones.

Loved it, loved it.  When I got to 80% I found myself slowing down because I didn't want to read it too quickly.  In this 7th book of the series, racism rears its ugly head, showing that it is far from being just a 20th and 21st century problem.  Stride and Cully must deal with a series of arson attacks on businesses, and the brutal murder of an old Italian man.

Elsewhere, socialite Juliana Silverton is thoroughly enjoying the attention received since her engagement to hedonistic rich boy Henry Haddon, her delight marred only by a secret from the past ... and the appearance of Henry's younger half-brother's new tutor.

This book is as expertly structured as the rest of the series, and includes similarly colourful characters and the ever-present chasm between rich and poor, so much a theme in all the books - and in certain areas of life nothing has changed; young aristocrats with powerful connections are able to get away with the most heinous of crimes, just as they always have been and are now.  

Although illustrating society's problems in the most deft way, Ms Hedges does not fall into the cliché of making all the privileged characters the 'bad guys'; I was pleased to see a happy outcome for one, in particular.  I guessed the perpetrators of the crimes quite early on, but this didn't matter a jot; the joy of reading these books is the writing itself, the vivid pictures of 1860s London, and the slow unfolding of sub-plots.

I can't help but think of what star rating I will give a book while I am reading it, and this was a solid 5* all the way through, but what earned it my extra 'gold' star was the end twist that I never saw coming.  It was beautifully executed, and made me smile as I realised how other aspects were explained by it.  

If you haven't read any of these books, I recommend you start now - and I hope this is not the end of the series....

FEAR & PHANTOMS by Carol Hedges @caroljhedges #RBRT

5 GOLD stars

On Amazon UK
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.

Genre: Victorian Murder Mystery

This is the sixth book in Carol Hedges' Victorian Detectives series, featuring the inimitable Leo Stride and Jack Cully.  As ever, it is a complete stand alone; there is the odd reference to events that occurred in previous books, but none of these would make the book any less enjoyable to a reader new to the series.

The story opens in London's freezing early months of 1865, with a series of sightings of a ghostly Madonna in the Underground.  This, however, is but a humorous diversion from the main story, which involves a dastardly conman who defrauds banks to the extent of their ruin, and murders those who impede his success.

As ever, the star of the show is mid-Victorian era London itself, with many delightful, larger-than-life characters to illustrate its many faces.  You will meet the enchanting Pip and Muggly - starving street children who press their noses up against bakery shop windows - the rich in their gambling dens, hard-working clerks Helen and her twin brother Lambert Trigg, the lovely Lucy Landseer - aspiring novelist and writer of controversial articles - and the Triggs' landlords, Mr and Mrs Mutesius, so beautifully painted that you can almost smell the fustiness of their downstairs quarters, and many more.

One quip I have to mention ~ Jack Cully's disapproval of the name of a new cosmetic.  'I'm not a religious man, but all the same, I don't approve of using Bible names like that.  It's wrong.  Virgin soap, Virgin cream ~ whatever next?  Virgin trains?' 

 
No detail is spared in illustrating the gap between rich and poor, the plight of those who are just scraping together enough to keep body and soul together in grim lodgings, and the careless attitude of the unprincipled rich.  Ms Hedges' love of London and the period shines through, as always, her impeccable research and easy wit making this novel a joy to read; I read it in bed, as I always do with this series; curled up under the duvet I could almost believe that outside my window was Victorian London.  I loved every word. 

*****

My Top 25 Books of 2017

I took a long time choosing my favourite 25 out of the just over 100 books I have read this year (not all reviewed on this blog).  Please click the title of the book for my review, which contains Amazon and Goodreads links.  The ratings given to my chosen books range from 4.5* to my rarely given 5 GOLD stars; all come highly recommended.   One writer shows up twice, another four times.

Genres:
Historical Fiction: 10
General contemporary/psychological drama: 6
Thriller: 4
Travel/Memoir/0ther non-fiction: 4
Zombie Apocalypse: 1

Numbers 25-11 are in no particular order.....

Everlasting by Jo Carroll 
Travel Memoir ~ Malawi

A Hundred Tiny Threads by Judith Barrow
Early 20th century family drama

Twisted Memories by Kate L Mary
Zombie Apocalypse

Victims by Joel Hames
Thriller

The Most Dangerous Enemy by Gemma Lawrence 
Book 3 of the Elizabeth of England Chronicles, about Elizabeth 1

Lad by Andrew Webber
Lad Lit

The North Water by Ian McGuire
19th century thriller

Fully Loaded by Blake Crouch
Short stories, mostly crime/thriller

Lion by Saroo Brierley
Memoir, family adventure/drama

Gone: Catastrophe in Paradise by O J Modjeska 
True life 1970s air disaster account

The Heart of the Conqueror by Gemma Lawrence 
Saxon/Norman historical fiction

The King's Mother by Judith Arnopp
Book 3 of The Beaufort Chronicles, about Margaret Beaufort

Faring to France on a Shoe by Val Poore
Travel Memoir

Whispers in the Alders by H A Callum
Coming of Age Drama 

A Tincture of Secrets and Lies by William Savage
18th Century Murder Mystery

 ~ The Top Ten Countdown ~

Shining brightly at Number Ten...

A Shiny Coin for Carol Prentice by Mark Barry
Contemporary revenge drama

Psychologically fascinating at Number Nine:

The Unravelling of Brendan Meeks by Brian Cohn
Contemporary psychological drama

 

Pleasing enough to reach Number Eight:

Pleasing Mr Pepys by Deborah Swift
Based on fact, 17th century drama/mystery.

A modest, unassuming Number Seven:

The Beaufort Woman by Judith Arnopp
Book 2 of The Beaufort Chronicles, about Margaret Beaufort 

Silently cycling along to Number Six:

The Silent Kookaburra by Liza Perrat
Dark 1970s Australian family drama.

First of my Top Five books of 2017 ~ at Number Five:

Strands of My Winding Cloth by Gemma Lawrence
Book 4 of the Elizabeth of England Chronicles, about Elizabeth I.

An outstanding debut at Number Four:

The Unrivalled Transcendence of Willem J Gyle by J D Dixon
Dark drama about a homeless man in Scotland.

Bronze medal: a wonderfully wicked Number Three

Wonders & Wickedness by Carol Hedges
Victorian Murder Mystery

A thrilling silver medallist at Number Two:

Jonah by Carl Rackman
WW2 Naval Thriller

And.... my Number One book of 2017....

Above All Others by Gemma Lawrence
Book 3 of The Lady Anne series, about Anne Boleyn

Thank you, wonderful authors, for many happy hours of reading ~ putting this list together was hard, as there were some I wanted to include that didn't quite make the final cut.  All my reviews have 'labels' at the end, showing author, genre, star rating, etc, and these can be clicked on to find other, similar books.  I hope you will give some of my Top 25 a try.  And if you like them, don't forget to stick a few words on Amazon to say so!