This is book 10 in the Morse series by Colin Dexter and it may have been my favorite so far!  Lots of wordplay and puzzles much of it going back and forth through the newspapers as Morse is on vacation.  The central crime is the disappearance (and assumed murder) of a “Swedish Maiden” some years prior.  Morse is on vacation as the case is reopened through clues being published in the newspaper.

Morse’s curmudgeonly personality shines through here and we get to see him as he “enjoys” his holiday and works on a case outside of “proper” channels.  Lewis also has to stand on his own two feet while Morse is away coming to some realizations about the relationship he has with Morse and how it is viewed (perhaps envied) by others.   Finally, Morse and Max’s relationship is given some bittersweet attention here, allowing the reader to see another side of Morse and bringing real depth of emotion to the character.

I am enjoying this series of books greatly and will be sad to reach the end.

Home sick with an upper respiratory infection, I managed to read two books.  The Devil in the Marshalsea is this month’s read at the Kindle English Mystery Club.  I picked up my copy from the library and so it was bumped to the top of my TBR pile.

The Devil in the Marshalsea is a murder mystery set in the mid 1700s in the infamous Marshalsea Gaol.  I really don’t know a great deal about the time period or the  debtor’s prison and I found this fascinating reading.  Pretty much the entire book with a few pages as exceptions takes place within the confines of the Gaol.  There is a large cast of characters, very Dickensian-like in the local color they provide for the book.  A wonderfully developed sense of place (particularly in reference to the smells and sights of the prison).  The author does a good job immersing the reading in the horrific world of the Marshalsea.

The premise is that a murder, initially deemed a suicide, takes place in the Marshalsea, and now a young man, Tom Hawkins, whose debts and misfortunes have caught up with him is sent there.  He is given an opportunity to earn release if he can discover what is going on surrounding the death of the Captain.  The story is fast paced with everything happening within short periods of time.  There are lots of suspects and red herrings, political intrigues/corruption and questionable motives which kept me guessing until the end.  Very enjoyable historical mystery!

Ella in Bloom is a book I received for free in exchange for a fair review from BEA.  This would best be described as a family drama, I suppose.  A story of two sisters, a favourite child and a lesser.  The golden child, Terrell, dies and Ella, the not-so-golden, somewhat disgraced, child is left to try to fill in for her parents.  The book’s prose is well written, and the epistolary   elements are nicely done as well.  I just found the plot lines all a little over-wrought perhaps or maybe just dated?  It seems like the current events should have been taking place 30 years earlier to make more sense to me.

The sisters, Terrell and Ella, both seemed to live their lives in terror of their mother.  Ella fled and lied from a distance and Terrell maintained a perfect picture facade in the hometown.  The father seemed okay with the mother’s unreasonableness and the resultant disconnect in the family or he just didn’t care enough to make any effort.  The mother’s “secret shame” and reaction and attitudes just seemed over the top considering it is supposed to be taking place in the late 80s or early 90s.  I just couldn’t really connect to the plot here.

A Man of Some Repute by Elizabeth Edmondson was for me surprisingly good and fun to read.  The characters of Hugo and Georgia were engaging and well drawn.  Georgia was a good counterpoint to Hugo’s seriousness.  The novel is set after the war in one of the great country houses in England.  The house had been used by the military and now that he has an injury Hugo has been put out to pasture there or so it seems.  Soon a body is discovered and Hugo is drawn into the investigation with an eager Georgia.

The portrayal of post war estates is well done here and the plot is lively and engaging.  I really enjoyed it even though historicals are not normally my favourites.

In a Cottage in a Wood by Cass Green is this month’s bargain read at the Kindle English Mystery Club on Goodreads.  Neve’s encounter with a woman on a bridge late at night is the catalyst for exposing secrets and changing Neve’s life.  Neve’s brief experience with the Isabella  leads to Isabella leaving her “a cottage in a wood”, an isolated, dismal looking, cold cottage that is.  When Neve arrives, driven by desperate circumstances in her life and without really much of a plan, she is drawn into discovering who Isabella was and what lead to her death.  Quick, fast paced read with an engaging story line.  I will say the ending felt rushed to me but still ok.