All the Other Mothers Hate Me by Sarah Harman (2025)
When it seems like her unpopular ten-year-old son is involved in the disappearance of a rich classmate, a woman tries to shift suspicion onto someone else by underhanded means.
There were some plot holes (like how was a kid supposed to dispose of a body while on a field trip?) and the culprit wasn’t a surprise, but it was okay.
Death in a White Tie by Ngaio Marsh (1938)
Elderly Lord Gospell is murdered while doing a bit of undercover work among the season’s debutantes (and their eccentric mothers and aunts) for Detective Inspector Alleyn.
My usual caveat that anything from this period will have the odd bit of totally gross racism or sexism, but otherwise it was a very enjoyable, clever mystery.
Final Curtain by Ngaio Marsh (1947)
An old and famous actor announces he is going to marry his gold-digging girlfriend and is promptly murdered by a member of his large family, all of whom have motive.
As above, some distasteful and dated language, but otherwise gripping and funny.
The Innocence of Father Brown by GK Chesterton (1911)
A collection of stories in which Father Brown solves various mysteries, all well-told and clever.
Could not be more different from the Father Brown tv show starring Mark Williams.
The Nursing Home Murder by Ngaio Marsh (1935)
After receiving several death threats, the British Home Secretary collapses with acute appendicitis and dies shortly after emergency surgery. Unfortunately for them, the surgeon and one of the attending nurses were among those who’d threatened to kill him.
An intriguing mystery, but diminished for me by one of the characters being a proud eugenicist. Again: these old novels are a product of their time. And just because I enjoy a person’s novel plotting doesn’t necessarily mean I’d like them personally.
A Pelican at Blandings by PG Wodehouse (1969)
With sister Constance back at Blandings Castle for an extended visit, brother Galahad comes to stay as moral support for Lord Emsworth. With them are an obnoxious duke, a lovesick American millionaire, a small-time crook, two people pretending to be someone they are not, and darling butler Beach.
Hilarious. I loved it.
The Sweet Dove Died by Barbara Pym (1978)
A beautiful middle-aged woman befriends a pair of antique dealers, an uncle and his 20-something nephew, and strange, complicated relationships ensue.
I’m shortchanging this book by reducing it to a blithe paragraph, but I liked it so much I read it again immediately after finishing it the first time. There are some very funny passages, but overall it’s kind of sad. So much yearning. So much manipulation. So little honesty. It was really, really good.
The World According to Cunk by Philomena Cunk (2024)
An extremely joke-dense (too dense, I’d argue) telling of world history.
Diane Morgan’s performance as Philomena Cunk is so perfect that no book will ever come close to capturing her magic. I laughed here and there, but it would have been a lot stronger if a few hundred of the lamer jokes had been cut.
