My Week in Books: 28 March 2018

Published on by Margaret

This Week in Books is a weekly round-up hosted by Lypsyy Lost & Found, about what I’ve been reading Now, Then & Next.

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A similar meme,  WWW Wednesday is run by Taking on a World of Words.

Currently reading:

The Tenderness of Wolves

I’m making progress with The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney, historical fiction set in Canada in 1867. In last week’s post I wrote that I wasn’t enjoying it as much as I hoped, or expected, but now I’ve read about 40% of the book I’ve settled more into the story as Lucy Ross heads north into the forest following the trail of her son Francis, suspected of murdering Laurent Jammet. Although, I am still finding the number of characters rather confusing and am uncomfortable with the use of the present tense.

The Ashes of London

I’m also reading The Ashes of London by Andrew Taylor and am totally immersed in the aftermath of the Great Fire of 1666 as work begins on rebuilding London. There is mystery too as among the many dead bodies a body of a man is found in the ruins of St Paul’s Cathedral – stabbed in the neck, thumbs tied behind his back. There are two strands to the story, one narrated in the first person by James Marwood, whose father was a Fifth Monarchist, and the other in the third person by Cat  Lovett, also the child of a Fifth Monarchist, whose father was one of the Regicides, and is now a fugitive.

Little Dorritt

And I have made a start in reading my Classics Club spin book – Little Dorrit. I was quite surprised to find it doesn’t begin in the Marshalsea Debtors’ prison but in a prison in Marseilles in 1826 with a  notorious murderer Rigaud telling his cell mate how he killed his wife.

Recently finished:

The last book I finished is The Daffodil Affair by Michael Innes, pure escapism, an Inspector Appleby book about a house in Bloomsbury that had disappeared, two young girls who had been kidnapped in York and London, and a cab horse named Daffodil that had gone missing in Harrogate.

I posted my review on Saturday.

Next:

It could be the sequel to The Ashes of London, The Fire Court by Andrew Taylor, due to be published 5 April 2018.Or it could be something different as I never really know until the time comes to start another book what I want to read next.

Blurb:

Somewhere in the soot-stained ruins of Restoration London, a killer has gone to ground…

The Great Fire has ravaged London, wreaking destruction and devastation wherever its flames spread. Now, guided by the incorruptible Fire Court, the city is slowly rebuilding, but times are volatile and danger is only ever a heartbeat away.

James Marwood, son of a traitor, is thrust into this treacherous environment when his ailing father claims to have stumbled upon a murdered woman in the very place where the Fire Court sits. Then his father is run down and killed. Accident? Or another murder…?

Determined to uncover the truth, Marwood turns to the one person he can trust – Cat Lovett, the daughter of a despised regicide. Marwood has helped her in the past. Now it’s her turn to help him. But then comes a third death… and Marwood and Cat are forced to confront a vicious and increasingly desperate killer whose actions threaten the future of the city itself.

Have you read any of these books?  Do any of them tempt you? 

15 thoughts on “My Week in Books: 28 March 2018”

  2. Glad you’re getting there with Tenderness of Wolves. It does take a while to get into from what I recall. I’ve been meaning to get to Ashes of London for ages… keep seeing it at the library and must grab it before they have a change around of books and it goes elsewhere (the number of times that’s happened to me.)

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  4. It certainly sounds as though you’re having a good reading week, Margaret. Ashes of London sounds especially interesting to me. I’ll be keen to know what you think of it when you’ve finished.

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  6. I think Ashes of London sounds interesting too. And good luck with Little Dorrit. I’m not faring well at all with The Woman in White. I suspect that the ‘spin’ event may not be for me or maybe I should just put books on my list that suit whatever else is going on in my life. We’ll see, but I’m betting this will be a ‘fail’ on my part or at least a ‘later on’. I’m thinking of just inserting a shorter book from my list – maybe a Christie book on audio. Ha!

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  11. I love Andrew Taylor’s books and read The Ashes of London a few years ago. I’m in the middle of The Fire Court now and enjoying it so far!

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  12. I’m glad The Tenderness of Wolves has picked up, and that’s quite a currently reading list you’ve got. I can barely read two at a time, and only if they’re completely different genres or I get confused LOL. Have a great week.

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  13. I have read The tenderness of wolves and here’s the thing, I remember liking it, but now I remember NOT a thing. So, I’m probably not surprised at your mixed feelings about it.

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  14. I haven’t read any of these, however I have Little Dorrit on my Classics Club list and I am rather tempted by The Ashes of London by Andrew Taylor. Happy reading!

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