Stacking the Shelves #65

 

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Reading Reality. It's a place to showcase any books I have purchased, borrowed, or been lucky enough to have been given an advance copy of. 

With school starting back up and moving my son to college I only had two books to feature this week. I have not had a lot of time to focus on reading or my blog but I'm trying! 

Hope you find something that looks interesting to you or that makes you remember a favorite book you need to finish. Enjoy your reading this week!

At Bertram's Hotel by Agatha Christie

Libby borrow: Free

I am already listening to Cat Among the Pigeons, another Christie book that is a Read Christie selection. But this is the next one in the challenge that I haven't read and even though it is the book for September I'm going to start it and just have two Christie books going! This is book ten in the Miss Marple series and involves her solving a mystery at a famous London hotel. 

Blandings Castle by P.G. Wodehouse

Amazon purchase: $0.99

Last week I featured book one of the Blandings Castle series by this author but stumbled upon this one that is marked as Book Three. That's strange considering it is called "Blandings Castle." You'd think it would be the first book in the series. It is a collection of short stories that feature some of the famous characters from the series. I'm going to start with book one but this looks like a break from the longer stories and hopefully fills in some gaps like short stories tend to do. 

Noteworthy News #10: History Mystery Chicks

 

It's time for another Noteworthy News because there is always something in the bookish/history world that catches my eye or ear, and I want to share! This week it is my discovery of the Facebook site History Mystery Chicks. 

I joined the group and it is so much fun for those of us who love historical mysteries. It is run by authors Abigail Keam and Charlotte Oliver and they feature other authors that post as well. Several are writers of mysteries I'd already been reading too so it is really fun to be able to interact with them. 

There is a newsletter you can subscribe to as well as book tours, prizes, games, and challenges. I won a book through one of the author "takeovers" and received it the same day through Book Funnel. The takeover is when they have an author take over the site for a couple of hours to answer questions and promote their new books. 

You can find out about new authors, upcoming and newly released mysteries by established ones, and ask questions about them which are often answered directly by the authors. It really feels like a personal connection with them.

Sometimes they will post questions to answer for fun and interesting tidbits about fashion or etiquette from bygone eras. I've learned some random facts that relate to storylines from books or just things the authors think fans might find unique. One of my examples would be when they posted about how they decided on the clothes their characters may have worn in their 1920's setting.

If you are a fan of historical mysteries then you definitely have to join this site. It is a lot of fun!

Stacking the Shelves #64

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Reading Reality. It's a place to showcase any books I have purchased, borrowed, or been lucky enough to have been given an advance copy of. Hope you find something that looks interesting to you or that makes you remember a favorite book you need to finish. Enjoy your reading this week!

The Queen's Children: The Start of the Stuart reign in England by Raymond Wemmlinger

Amazon Kindle purchase- $0.99

This is the fourth book in Raymond Wemmlinger's series. I'd forgotten I'd pre-ordered it on sale so it was fun to see it appear in my Kindle yesterday. The covers are beautiful and the characters intriguing. I have several already but have yet to start the series. 

This book and the previous book in the series are both about Anne of Denmark, wife of James I of England. In the previous book he focuses on her life as Queen of Scotland when she is younger and in this one she is Queen of England as well when James takes the throne.  The queen gives birth to the line of Stuart children who they hope will reign over England for years to come. I am putting his whole series on my TBR pile for the future as I collect them. He has another coming out in November 2025. 

Cat Among the Pigeons by Agatha Christie (Hercule Poirot Book 32)

Libby Audiobook borrow: Free

I have not participated fully in the Read Christie challenge this year due to vacations, already have read it, or just not interested in that month's book. I've truly missed it so since I already am behind and school is starting back up I thought I'd get a jump on the next read I’m doing and get ahead! This one I'm listening to driving to school and back. I absolutely love the Hercule Poirot audiobooks because Hugh Fraser narrates them and he does a great job. 

In this story there is a lot going on of course: murder, jewels, plane crashes, mysterious lights at a girls school, and a revolution in the making in the Middle East. Unique and keeping you guessing for sure. I'm really enjoying it so far, trying to figure out how it all ties together. 

Something Fresh by P.G. Wodehouse (Blandings Castle Series Book 1)

Amazon Kindle Purchase: $0.99

P.G. Wodehouse is a name that sounded familiar to me but I wasn't quite sure what he'd written. I discovered he's the author of the, what I call, "Jeeves the Butler" books. In this series he takes it to America but with the same dry humor and witty stories about Lords and their castles and stuffy traditions. This one is the first of those books and while I'd love to start it, I think I'd like to at least read the first book set in England with Jeeves before I go on to this one. It was on sale so I went ahead and got it though. 

Crouchback: The Welsh Guard Mysteries, Volume 1 by Sarah Woodbury

 

Publication Date:

November 14, 2019

Genre:  

Historical Fiction/Adventure

Length:   

331 pages 

Series: The Welsh Guard Mysteries

Book description courtesy of Goodreads

April 1284. As a newly widowed lady-in-waiting to the very pregnant Queen Eleanor of England, Catrin never expected to return to Wales again. She was definitely unprepared to be confronted with murder when she got there--or to find herself face-to-face with Rhys, the childhood friend she lost twenty years before. Rhys had never intended to return home either, but a lifetime of war has deposited him right back where he started--impoverished and owing service to Catrin's older brother.

With Wales having fallen irrevocably to England, and fearful of trusting anyone within the English court of King Edward, Catrin and Rhys join forces against the treachery and intrigue rife within the half-built Caernarfon Castle. And when the murderer strikes again, the task before them becomes increasingly clear: catch the killer, certainly, but also protect their people from a future that is becoming more dangerous and uncertain with every day that passes.
Crouchback is the first book in The Welsh Guard Mysteries.

My Thoughts

I've had this book in my Kindle for awhile and just forgot. I have so many mysteries it just got overlooked. But when I went back and read the description it sounded interesting and original, and I love all things with Wales as the setting. The characters also being placed during the reign of Edward ! made it especially appealing to me. I'm trying to learn more about this time period already.

The mystery is well veiled and is a good story. So is the history the author weaves into the book. I learned a lot about how the Welsh must have felt having been conquered and subdued by King Edward at this point. Rhys and Catrin being a part of both worlds was a good way to let the reader in on the authentic conflict going on at the time: bow to reality and practicality to stay alive and acknowledge England as the ruling force or fight back and end up in misery and fear but with your conscience intact concerning your loyalty to your homeland. This is the running theme throughout the story as the pair seek to find out who is killing and leaving mysterious signs of a possible cult on the bodies or somewhere nearby. I also learned the true meaning of "Crouchback." This is the symbol for someone who has been on Crusade.

Can't Wait Wednesday: Murder On a Scottish Island by Lydia Travers (Lady Poppy Proudfoot Book Two)

 

For this week's Can't Wait Wednesday hosted by Tressa at the book blog, Wishful Endings, I'm featuring, Murder On a Scottish Island by Lydia Travers. I have been given an ARC of this book and am currently reading it. The first one was really cute and a lot of fun. This is my cozy mystery between longer reads. Travers has another Scottish series called the Scottish Ladies Detective Agency mysteries and I've read the first one. The ladies made an appearance in book one of the Poppy Proudfoot mystery and I'm thinking they might again in this one. So far I'm liking it a lot! 

I hope you've found something you can't wait to read this week. Happy reading ya'll!

Cozy Historical Mysteries

 

September 8, 2025

Book description courtesy of Goodreads

Scotland, 1924: When Lady Poppy Proudfoot is invited to her friend’s hotel on the Isle of Skye, she is looking forward to a holiday. But all thoughts of relaxing vanish when she discovers the body of a strangled woman in a church.

The police believe the widow’s death was a robbery gone wrong, as a pendant was stolen from the scene. But Poppy is sure it’s murder. Ignoring the police’s warnings to keep her nose out, she enlists her friend Inspector MacKenzie, and her loyal Labrador, Major, to unpick the case.

Poppy suspects one of the hotel’s guests knows more about the murder than they are willing to admit. Could it be Miss Buccleugh, the avid button collector? Or the travelling guru, who conveniently disappeared just after the murder? Or was it Mr Henderson, so desperate for money he was driven to murder?

When Poppy sees the victim’s sapphire pendant on the neck of another guest, she is convinced the killer is targeting widows in the hotel, and luring them in with jewellery. But to prove her theory, she will have to offer herself up as bait. It’s risky, but her only way of catching the killer… Can Poppy con a con-man, and make it out alive? Or will she be the next wealthy widow on the killer’s list?