Top Ten Tuesday: Best Books I Read in 2024

 

Happy New Year's Eve 2024....what better way to end the year than with a Top Ten list. Thank you to Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl for hosting. These are the best books I read in 2024. I am realizing how much I read books by certain, trusted authors and that are often a part of a series. I'd like to read new authors but have a hard time deciding where to start. 

It was interesting to go back and see that I spent the year with a lot more mysteries than I ever realized! 

What were your favorites? I hope you find many more ahead in 2025. 

1. When Christ and His Saints Slept by Sharon Penman 

2. The King's Commoner by David Field

3. Traitor's Arrow by David Field

4. Dark Clouds Over Nuala by Harriet Steel

5. The Virgin in the Ice by Ellis Peters

6. Covert in Cairo by Kelly Oliver

7. Secret of the Scarab by Isabella Bassett

8.The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie

9.Elephants Can Remember by Agatha Christie

10.The Crusades by Hourly History (review coming soon)

The Mystery of Mistletoe Hall by Benedict Brown (Lord Edgington Investigates Book Four)

 

Publication Date:

November 11, 2021

Genre:

Cozy Mystery 

Series:

Lord Edgington Investigates Book 4

Length:

243 pages

Book Description (GoodReads):

England, 1925. When Lord Edgington receives an invitation to spend the Christmas holiday with an old colleague from the police, he expects fine food, good conversation and the warmth of a roaring fire. But on arriving at Mistletoe Hall with his family, they discover the house deserted and no explanation for where their host or his servants could be. As more guests appear, the master detective begins to question what could connect the disparate group of newcomers. A teacher, a comedian, a thief, a sportsman, a singer, a policeman and a racing driver will all have their roles to play when a killer crashes the party. Cut off from the outside world by the worsening weather, and with bodies piling up, Lord Edgington must rely on his wits, his years of experience, and the help of his bumbling grandson Christopher in order to solve "The Mystery of Mistletoe Hall" .

With hints of “And Then There Were None” and “The Sittaford Mystery”, the fourth "Lord Edgington Investigates…" novel is a spoiler-free, standalone whodunit with a wicked resolution all of its own. Filled with warmth, humour, a fiendishly twisting plot, an adorable canine sidekick and plenty of Yuletide spirit, “The Mystery of Mistletoe Hall” is an Agatha-Christie-style Christmas cracker that will baffle and charm you in equal measure.

My Thoughts:

This book was a stand alone in the series and I haven't finished book one yet. So I was glad I could read this at Christmas and enjoy it without series spoilers. The covers are so pretty and are what made me stop and notice. Then having a male detective made me want to try it more because as I've said there are so few cozies with them. It's almost always women so changing it up is fun. 

Lord Edgington is a great character. He and his grandson Christopher are always stumbling upon a crime or body and working together to solve the case. In this story I especially loved the author's descriptions of the mansion they visit, the snow, the sleigh they take to ride to the front, and then combining that with the creepiness of the woods and the sense of doom. As murders occur and everyone feels unsafe and uneasy, they must try to stay calm and find out what is happening and why.

Murder at the Dolphin Hotel by Helena Dixon (Book One: A Miss Underhay Mystery)

Publication Date:

December 11, 2019

Genre:

Cozy Mysteries

Series:

Miss Underhay Mysteries

Length:

252 pages

Book Description (Good Reads)

A room with a view… to murder

June 1933. Independent young Kitty Underhay has been left in charge of her family’s hotel, The Dolphin, on the tranquil English coast. She’s expecting her days at the bustling resort to be filled with comfortable chatter with chambermaids as they polish the mahogany desks and glittering candelabras of the elegant foyer. Everything must be perfect for the arrival of a glamourous jazz singer from Chicago and a masked ball that will be the cultural highlight of the season.

But when several rooms are broken into and searched, including Kitty’s own, she quickly realises that something out of the ordinary is afoot at the hotel. Soon rumours are flying in the cozy town that someone is on the hunt for a stolen ruby. A ruby that Kitty’s mother may well have possessed when she herself went missing during the Great War. And when the break-ins are followed by a series of attacks and murders, including of the town’s former mayoress, it seems the perpetrator will stop at nothing to find it.

Aided by ex-army captain Matthew Bryant, the Dolphin’s new security officer, Kitty is determined to decipher this mystery and preserve not only the reputation of her hotel, but also the lives of her guests. Is there a cold-blooded killer under her own roof? And what connects the missing jewel to the mystery from Kitty’s own past?

My Thoughts:

This is my second time to read this book. Actually, all the way through...the first time I read about a third and stopped. I think I was just overwhelmed with other books and reviews at the time and didn't finish it. I picked it up again and am glad I did. I confess it wasn't my favorite cozy series but that is because I've read so many this year it is sometimes hard to choose. And the story lines blur together too.

Kitty is the typical independent woman of her time. She helps with the running of the Dolphin Hotel along with her beloved grandmother who is absent for much of the book, caring for her sister. Kitty is left in charge and thinks she is only preparing for guests and fancy parties. She doesn't realize she's about to embark on a sleuthing expedition for a missing ruby, her missing mother, her missing father and will have help from a dashing man, Matthew Bryant. Her grandmother has hired Matt to look after security and Kitty and Matt have immediate chemistry. As Kitty seems to be in some danger from someone who is committing thefts and then murder, Matt feels very protective of her and it becomes more than a job.

I enjoyed the banter between the two and the story line. Kitt's missing mother and the reasons behind why she is missing were the main parts that kept me intrigued. If the murders and jewels had been the only plot it wouldn't have worked as well. Also, having her father be a mysterious, shady character who appears to have gotten Kitty's mother with child and deserted them both added to the drama. The ending left open many story arcs to come so that means the series has a ways to go. 

I will likely pick up book two eventually. I seem to be in a pattern of reading book one of a series and then moving on later if I feel like it. I can't say this would be my first series choice but it wasn't bad. I just didn't find myself as bonded to the characters as some others. Also, the history parts about Matthew being in WW1 seemed very simplistic and shallow of extra tidbits found in other cozies. But I don't hold that against the author, that's not the main purpose of the story here. 

It was a good story with potential and has a lot open to continue with.

Stacking the Shelves #43

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!

Bought on Kindle for $1.99

This is the latest book in one of my favorite cozy historical mystery series. I won't get to it for awhile but I am slowly collecting them. It is book 20 of the Lady Eleanor Swift mysteries and they are just adorable. In this one, Eleanor and her bulldog Gladstone are caught up in a blizzard, trapped in a mansion with a killer. Yes, it sounds like it's been done before but these are well written than most cozies and are sharp and funny. I have read more of them than any other cozy series. They get better with each one!

Bought on Kindle for $1.99

I love all things concerned with Dan Jones...his books, his podcast content, interviews. He takes complicated times and historical information and makes it interesting, relevant, and more easily understood for those without lots of background knowledge. I confess I'm a lot more interested in learning about the Crusades than the Templars but as I've gotten to know this time period better I find myself wanting to know exactly who these men were. I am sure Jones will be a good place to start for the facts. 

Bought on Kindle for $1.99

I am SO excited for this purchase. I have already read and reviewed Falls the Shadow, but it is one of Penman's books I didn't have on Kindle. Her books rarely go on sale and are sometimes hard to get at all. So when this came up for this cheap I was overjoyed! I think it is still on sale if you want to get it yourself. At the time of my review I didn't love it. But since then I've learned a lot more about Simon de Montfort and would like to re-read it to see if my opinions have changed any. Glad I have it and can take my time reading it now.

Elephants Can Remember by Agatha Christie (Hercule Poirot Book 36) Read Christie Selection December 2024

 

Publication Date:

November 1972

Genre:

Cozy Mysteries

Series:

Hercule Poirot Book 36

Length:

240 pages

Book Description (GoodReads):

Hercule Poirot stood on the cliff-top. For here, many years earlier, there had been a tragic accident – the broken body of a woman was discovered on the rocks at the foot of the cliff. This was followed by the grisly discovery of two more bodies – a husband and wife – shot dead. But who had killed whom? Was it a suicide pact? A crime of passion? Or cold-blooded murder? Poirot delves back into a crime committed 15 years earlier and discovers that, when there is a distinct lack of physical evidence, it’s just as well that ‘old sins leave long shadows.'

This story is part of Agatha Christie’s murder in retrospect series, a collection of stories which look at a crime several years after the fact, piecing together testimonials and witness reports to finally uncover the truth. This time we see Mrs Oliver’s goddaughter, attempting to find out the truth about her deceased parents – who killed whom?

My Thoughts:

I am really enjoying the Christie stories with Mrs. Oliver. She is witty and interesting and I don't remember her in past stories I read years ago. I think she makes a great, light-hearted addition to Poirot's seriousness. Having her as a permanent Watson to his Sherlock would have been great!

This was a good one. I loved the whole back story about the two sisters and trying to decide if the husband and wife thing was a suicide or homicide. I spent time pondering if a couple in the story were related and....would that be crazy and then incest without their knowledge? It was all very intriguing. Not wanting to give away too much by naming the characters I'll just say that it crossed my mind. 

Once again, Christie spends a lot of time on the psychological side of things, Poirot, Oliver, and the main characters talking and wondering how and why things happen. I have grown to enjoy that part of her books, although at times it can get redundant and there could be a little more action. If you are wanting one of her stories where there is a lot of character development and crimes occurring this is not the one for you. We pretty much hear about the crime and that's it as everyone talks to people trying to figure out what happened.

The title is clever....as Mrs. Oliver explains she is needing to consult those "elephants" who remember facts and details from long ago, pulling up contacts she thinks might be able to provide vital information from memory.I am always wondering where Christie gets her ideas from for the titles of her books and find a lot of them to be fun. 

I am closing out my year of Read Christie and would like to post on New Year's Eve all the Christie books I've read so far. Looking forward to Read Christie 2025!