PD James

my favourite reads of February 2026

The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie (1942)

When the body of a young woman is found in their library, Dolly Bantry immediately calls her old friend Jane Marple to help save her husband’s reputation.

I’m not sure how many times I’ve read this one over the years, but Charlotte gave me a vintage paperback version for Christmas so obviously I was going to read it yet again. So good.

Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell (1851)

The ups and downs of daily life in a quiet village dominated by elderly spinsters.

A teensy bit slow at times, but good characterisation and regular dashes of humour made it an enjoyable read. The tv adaptation starring Judi Dench isn’t entirely faithful to the source, but close enough. And the casting was perfection.

The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman (2025)

At Joyce’s daughter’s wedding reception, the best man tells Elizabeth that he is in danger, and then disappears, thus kicking off another investigation by the Thursday Murder Club.

Good pacing, plotting, characterisation, suspense. Richard Osman is really good at this.

A Jane Austen Year (2025)

A nice scrapbook of Jane Austen’s letters, photos of places she lived, excerpts from her novels, and descriptions of items she owned and activities she pursued.

This was a nice, quiet read, produced as a fundraiser for the museum Jane Austen’s House.

Shroud for a Nightingale by PD James (1971)

A student nurse dies during a medical demonstration in front of her fellow students and, much as they all want to believe otherwise, she was clearly murdered. Unleash Dalgleish.

A bit too long, but quite good. Interesting setting and crime with believable characters.

Other titles I read that didn’t make the list:

Hag’s Nook by John Dickson Carr (a mystery-thriller that started off well, but then lost me)

Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe (DNF when I realised I didn’t care what happened next)

The Return of Mr Campion: Uncollected Stories by Margery Allingham (I love you, Margery, but these just didn’t do it for me)

my favourite reads of December 2025

The Allingham Case-book by Margery Allingham (1969)

A collection of short stories, some featuring Albert Campion.

Funny, clever, really enjoyable.

Cover Her Face by PD James (1962)

A devious housemaid is strangled in her bed and Dalgleish discovers she had a lot of enemies.

The first PD James I’ve ever read and I liked it a lot.

Do Admit! by Mimi Pond (2025)

A biography of the infamous Mitford sisters in graphic novel form.

I find graphic novels like this a bit hard to read when there are lines of text all over the page in every direction, but the Mitford sisters are so fascinating I persevered.

Night at the Vulcan by Ngaio Marsh (1951)

Young actress Martyn Tarne stumbles into a job as a dresser in a play with a cast that has complicated feelings about each other. When the star actor dies, some of the cast and crew are happy for her to take the blame.

A bit slow-moving and too focused on how sweet and charming Martyn is, but it was still pretty good.

Police at the Funeral by Margery Allingham (1931)

The fiancée of an old friend of Campion’s is the personal companion to a spiky elderly lady, who lives with her strange and unlikeable adult children and nephews, one of whom has disappeared. Campion goes to investigate.

Not my favourite Allingham, but her B-list books are still better than a lot of other authors’ A-list ones, if you ask me.

Remarkable Diaries (2020)

A large, beautifully illustrated book on diaries through the centuries, with a good range of subjects. It inspired me to hunt down a few so I can read more.

The Yellow Dog by Georges Simenon (1931)

Maigret is brought in to investigate when a would-be assassin seems to be targeting a group of influential men in a small town. 

Simenon is economical – no wasting time on extraneous conversation or character-building or much description of any sort. I like it.