The Messenger of Athens - Mystery on the Greek Islands

Another testing pick from the bag produced a Z. After a bit of digging I came across The Messenger of Athens by Anne Zouroudi. This is the first in a series of mysteries featuring "detective" Hermes Diaktoros, who arrives on a remote Greek island to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of a young woman. The local police are, to put it mildly, irritated by this, as they have already cited this as an accidental death. But Hermes is not so sure and begins to stir up the population. He is a most unusual man - he appears to know things about everyone without ever having met them, or perhaps he is just incredibly intuitive? We follow Hermes as he travels around the island, interviewing a vast range of people and digging deep to find the truth. In a community where there are many secrets, it is hard for him to get people to open up, but he is nothing if not quietly persistent. There is a sprinkling of Poirot to the main character, but he is definitely his own man. There is a relaxed pace to this book and sometimes I wanted things to progress a little more quickly. But the pace is in keeping with island life, and gives the reader the opportunity to ponder and take their time to get to know the characters well - something I found hard at the beginning with some of the names sounding similar (in the audio edition) and the narrative switching between timeframes (we see the events leading up to the woman's death as well as the investigation itself). I would suggest this is a great holiday read - not too taxing, but with an interesting main character and setting.

My STAR rating: THREE.

Length: 288 print pages.

Price I paid: Free, borrowed from library as an audiobook.

Formats available: print, unabridged audiobook, ebook.

The Mermaid of Black Conch - beautifully strange

And now onto the letter R and an unusual tale called The Mermaid of Black Conch, by Monique Roffey. Mostly set in the Caribbean in the 1970s, we open with David, a fisherman whose singing attracts a mermaid. Enchanted by this encounter, he returns to the same spot time and time again in order to sing for her. But one day, some American tourists catch her, bring her ashore and hang her up just like any other fish on the dock. While they celebrate in the local tavern, David rescues her and takes her home to help her recover, with the intention of returning her to the sea. But, the mermaid starts to lose her scales, then her tail and reverts to womanhood. Slowly, but surely David and Aycayia (the mermaid) fall in love. Told from different points of views and from different times, this is a strange, but beautiful story of love, friendship, devotion and separation. We learn that Aycayia was cursed by jealous women in her circle, and, as a result, has been a mermaid for hundreds of years. We see her blossom into the woman she was destined to be, but there is always a shadow looming and it becomes apparent that she cannot escape the curse for long. There are tender moments and incredibly sad moments too. I really enjoyed the relationship between the two main characters, and there are some good supporting roles. The dialogue and descriptions really bring the reader into the world of Black Conch. Many people have gone wild over this book and indeed, it was the winner of the Costa Book of the Year. I did appreciate the magical realism that this book offered, but, for me, some parts felt a little repetitive. However, if you are looking for a mermaid story that isn't saccharine, then this could be the book for you. 

My STAR rating: FOUR. 

Length: 272 print pages.

Price I paid: £2.98

Formats available: print, unabridged audio download, ebook.

Hellion - Wise Woman or Witch?

The letter Y was the next out of the bag and it took me a while to hone in on a book, but I found The Hellion, by Harriet Young in a random search on Audible and I am mightily glad I did. The story starts in 1537, when youngsters Elizabeth and best friend Anne, witness a devastating fire. Following this, they are raised by Anne's grandmother, who teaches them the ways of a wise woman. This leads them to being able to earn a living for themselves by providing healing remedies, spells and the odd curse! A feud develops between them, and Elizabeth finds herself living in the grim Malkin Towers, on the edge of Pendle, where, in 1612, the most notorious witchcraft trials in England are taking place. Elizabeth's granddaughter, Alison, becomes embroiled in a scandal and she is accused of witchcraft. Before long, her whole family and that of Anne are also accused, thanks to the evidence of a nine year old girl - who is not as innocent or sweet as she appears! This is a gripping debut novel and gives a real insight into the prejudices and misunderstandings of the time where a woman earning an independent living was always viewed as suspicious. Love, betrayal, misunderstandings and manipulation all feature among a cast made up primarily of strong females, who, despite their strength, will always be at the mercy of men. Full of historical detail, you will learn something about that era, without realising it! It isn't always an easy read, but it is well worth the effort. If this her debut, I can't wait to see what Ms Young does next.

My STAR rating: FOUR.

Length: 300 print pages.

Price I paid: £7.99.

Formats available: print, unabridged audio download, audio CD, ebook.

Emotionally Weird - weird yes, emotional ... not so much!

The letter A was the next to be pulled from the alphabet bag, and it brought me to Kate Atkinson, an author whose work I have enjoyed in the past. There were several books of hers that I hadn't read sitting on the shelf and I plumped for Emotionally Weird. I find it hard to describe this book, or indeed give an adequate outline of the plot, such as it was. Effie, a student at Dundee University, is holed up on a bleak island off the Scottish coast with her mother Nora, and they begin to tell each other stories. Effie wants to know about her father, but Nora seems evasive or incapable of telling her anything useful, or indeed truthful. Effie relates her time as a student amongst a bunch of untalented creative writers, and ineffectual tutors, whilst living with her accidental boyfriend. There are many, many characters, all, apparently writing books, of which we get to see various extracts scattered throughout the book. The plot felt very loose and incomprehensible at times. I didn't relate to anyone, and I didn't really care what happened to a single one of them - which is a big problem for me when reading a book. However, there were some nice passages of prose where I felt that we were getting somewhere and the next minute - boom, either a book extract or another trip in a car to a random place came in and it took me out of the story again. As you can probably tell, this was not the book for me and I was pleased to finish it and move onto something new. Sorry Ms Atkinson, but I might just have to go back to your Jackson Brodie series rather than tackle another of your standalone novels. Hey ho!

My STAR rating: TWO

Length: 496 print pages.

Price I paid: Free, borrowed from my husband.

Formats available: print, unabridged audio download, ebook.

61 Hours - Jack Reacher is back!

It's the letter C and I felt I needed something little lighter than what I've been reading of late, so pounced on 61 Hours by Lee Child, which had also been gathering dust for a while. It is a Jack Reacher novel - which I have been reading in chronological order over the last couple of years. And while this wasn't the next on the list, you can read them as standalone novels so I thought, what the heck! The action opens at "Hour 61", with a bus skidding and crashing during a winter storm in South Dakota. On the back seat is Jack Reacher, an ex military policeman who wanders the country without luggage, travelling wherever the whim takes him. Jack tries to help the mostly elderly passengers, and is relieved when they are taken to a nearby small town to rest up. The local policeman is drawn to Jack who exudes a forceful but sensible capability and puts him up in his own house, and it's not long before he entrusts him with helping to protect a local woman who is waiting to testify against a dangerous criminal. Sinister forces are at play, and a suspected assassin is coming their way. Was the bus crash deliberate? Who are the bikers stationed at the old air base? And what has the local prison got to do with it? As each hour is counted down to the denouement, it becomes increasingly hard to know who to trust, and it will take all of Jack's guile and strength to come out of this one alive. This is a book for fans of action - it is relentless, but satisfying, and sometimes surprising. The descriptions of the intense cold and stormy conditions are very effective - I'd recommend having a cup of hot chocolate on standby to help take the chill off while you read! There are some interesting characters too, I particularly liked the dignified lady Jack is trying to protect, and the relationship between her and Reacher is quite touching. As always, the body count whenever Jack Reacher is around is high, but the hour by hour countdown format of this book provides a real momentum and it's definitely a great page turner.

My STAR rating: FOUR.

Length: 395 print pages.

Price I paid: £1 in a charity shop.

Formats available: print, audio download, ebook.

Death Descends on Saturn Villa - deliciously dark!

When the letter K was pulled from the alphabet soup bag, I was exceedingly happy, as it meant I could crack on with the next book in the Gower Street Detective Series written by M.R.C. Kasasian. Set in Victorian England, Death Descends on Saturn Villa is the third outing for Sidney Grice and his ward March Middleton. When London's foremost (and possibly rudest) personal detective is called away to Yorkshire on a case, March is left behind in Gower Street. Determined to prove her own worth as a detective she takes on the case of a missing pet - well, we all have to start somewhere! So far, so ordinary. Then March receives a letter from a long-lost uncle, inviting her to his house. Although not 100% convinced of the veracity of this claim, March cannot resist this invitation, as she is intrigued to find out whether, after believing herself to be all on her own in this world, she actually has a living relative. And so she heads to Saturn Villa to meet her new Uncle Tolly, who is eccentrically delightful, and they spend an indulgent evening together. In the morning, however, Uncle Tolly appears to be very dead, and March is accused of his murder. But all is not as it seems and March starts to believe that she may be going mad, rather than bad! Her mind keeps returning to two childhood traumas - one where her friend almost died in a fall, and the other when she witnessed the testing of a new poisonous gas on some pigs - and she soon begins to struggle to know what is real. Trying to prove her innocence is Inspector George Pound, who is still suffering from wounds received while rescuing March in the previous book. He is besotted with MS Middleton and she is exceedingly fond of him too, but the course of true love is hindered by her memories of her first love who, although dead, won't let her go. Poor George! At last, Sydney Grice returns from Yorkshire and the chase is on to find the real perpetrator before March is lost forever. This is a superbly entertaining book. Although Grice is an extremely rude and preposterously opinionated man, we see more of his heart in this outing and begin to realise that he genuinely cares for March, despite all the indications to the opposite. The regular characters are pretty much fully developed, but we are still finding out more, which is great. Packed with humour and crisp dialogue, this is a great read that certainly kept me guessing until the end. I have no hesitation in recommending this to pretty much anyone, especially the audio edition, brilliantly narrated by Emma Gregory. I'm already looking forward to the next in the series. 

My STAR rating: FOUR.

Length: 416 print pages.

Price I paid: £2.98.

Formats available: print, unabridged audio download, ebook.

The Three Musketeers - a good old-fashioned swashbuckling romp!

And now we come to the letter D, which led me to The Three Musketeers by Alexander Dumas, a book I bought in a charity shop a few years ago as part of a previous reading challenge, but then ran out of time to read, and has been gathering dust ever since. This classic romp, set in France between 1625 and 1628, follows the exploits of D'Artagnan, an eager young man from Gascony who heads to Paris in the hope of joining the Musketeers of the Guard, an elite corps serving the King. Although he isn't able to join them right away, he is mentored by their captain, M. De Treville, and then befriended by the three most formidable musketeers in the corps, Porthos, Aramis and Athos. He soon becomes embroiled in the politics of the royal court, falling in love with Constance, one of the Queen's most trusted companions, who persuades him to help her get the Queen out of a sticky situation involving her affair with the (very English) Duke of Buckingham. This brings him up against the formidable Cardinal Richelieu, who is very much working against the Queen and is hungry for power. Blinded by love and honour, D'Artagnan keeps ending up in duels and the three musketeers save him on many occasions. Their friendship is the centre of the book, and we start to find out more about each individual, culminating with the revelation that the Cardinal's most formidable spy, known as Milady (Lady de Winter), was once married to one of them. Milady is definitely one of literatures greatest female villains - devious, beguiling and incredibly deadly. It is only by working together that the musketeers can defeat her, and some semblance of order returned to the kingdom. This is such a romp, with endless action and sword fights, sneaky political machinations and love interest to boot. While it is lengthy and the language is definitely "of the time" (this was written in 1844), it is still highly enjoyable. As there is so much going on, and many characters to get your head around, it did get a little confusing at times, but not to the extent where you really get lost. There is also a little bit too much duelling and I wanted to shake D'Artagnan for getting himself into yet another brawl ... will he never learn? However, despite these minor irritations, this is a book that rewards the reader with twists and turns and the last 100 pages are especially good. Even if you have seen one of the many films based on these characters - and I have - this book will still hold surprises and keep you entertained right to the end.

My STAR rating: 4 STARS.

Length: 576 print pages.

Price I paid: £2.50.

Formats available: print, unabridged audio, ebook.