Hey gang!
So the question of the day, what have you been reading? I confess I've been reading a random heap. A little spiritual, a little fiction, a little mystery, a little young adult and a whole lot of children's thanks to my wee bairn. The book I want to talk about today is one called "The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a great Victorian Detective" by Kate Summerscale.
This book's cover had everything I could desire in a mystery. Historical, mysterious(obviously) and best of all, this one was actually true. I greedily plucked it off the library display and added it to my pile. The reading however, wasn't as fun-filled. The actual story is tantalizing but probably not good for mothers with young children (ie 90% of our blog readers). It's about a murder that happened to a seemingly well respected, average, middle class family. That respectable facade is flipped on it's backside as the detectives reveal some dastardly secrets about the family itself. This story is everything one would ask in a mystery but somehow the writer feels that she must add random quotes from other writers of the time Charles Dickens, Wilkey Collins and others as well about methods of detecting in the Victorian era, lifestyles in the Victorian era, etc. etc. etc. which ends up feeling like a never-ending research paper. I found myself skimming through these parts until I recognized the names of the family so I could get to the interesting plot again.
Overall I'd give this book a solid 3 out of 5. Good not great. So what about you? Tell me what you've been reading and what you thought. I can't wait to hear from you!
Have a lovely day,
Maren
I've been getting into this British author I recently discovered- Georgette Heyer. The one I told you about recently Maren! She's supposedly the greatest Regency novel writer next to Jane Austen. From the few I've read so far, her stuff is easier to read than Austen's at least for me. I like her lighthearted writing style and humor. So far of hers, I've read The Corinthian (not one of her highest rated, but dang cute if not silly at times), Black Sheep ( sweet unconventional romance and a bit of a fun mystery too) and I just started Sylvester and am enjoying it so far..So if you like those sort of books, she's totally worth checking out!
ReplyDeleteOh she sounds right up my alley. I'll definitely have to check her out. Thanks so much for the recommendation Kris!
DeleteI recently read a book called Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See. It's about a girl growing up in China during the 1800's. It's fascinating, actually. The girls all had to have their feet bound. Their feet were the ultimate symbol of beauty. Women were treated so differently, and even had a secret language. It's a beautiful story that I enjoyed, and cried. I would definitely recommend it.
ReplyDeleteMy fiction reading time is completely non-existent these days, but I am reading The 5 Love Languages og Children right now and amazed at how much insight it's giving me on how to relate to Beck! It's not recommended to try assigning love languages until kids are about 5, but a lot of the information is universally great for all ages! Have you ever read any Edith Warton? If I remember right her settings are usually NYC high society at the turn of the century. I love her!
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