Burial Rites made me really glad I wasn’t a woman in northern Iceland in 1892. Unfortunately for Agnes Mognusdottir, she is. It is perpetually freezing and miserable in northern Iceland in 1892 and Agnes is condemned to be executed for her part in the murder of two men. The book details her final days, unwanted, living amongst […]
General fiction
Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty
Moriarty really gets women: “you never changed your appearance for men, you changed it for other women, because they were the ones carefully tracking each other’s weight and skin tone along with their own; they were the ones trapped with you on the ridiculous appearance obsession merry-go-round that they couldn’t or wouldn’t get off.” The […]
Devices and Desires by PD James
It’s so much fun to go back to these old PD James. This one, published in 1989, has smoke-filled pubs and people only able to contact each other via a landline. And always, always lots of good old fashioned murder.
The Murder Room by PD James
Any PD James is a good PD James, especially when the protagonist is poet/detective Adam Dalgiesh, the thinking women’s crumpet.
A Certain Justice by PD James
This one is quite delicious, with Commander Adam Dalgiesh attempting to discover who was most capable of killing a distinguished QC, from a wide list of suspects. There’s no such thing as a bad PD James.
The Lighthouse by PD James
This is one of my favourite PD James. You just can’t beat a body hanging from a lighthouse and another in a freezer on a secluded island as a premise for intrigue. And of course Adam Dalgliesh.
A Taste For Death by PD James
Any PD James is a good PD James, especially when the protagonist is poet/detective Adam Dalgiesh, the thinking women’s crumpet.
State of Wonder by Ann Patchett
This one’s very readable, but a bit weird.