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Looking at my list of books read, I'm quite far behind on talking about books of interest. Here's a quicky update on some of them:

Josephine Tey’s The Franchise Affair was another excellent mystery. This one is about a country solicitor whose peaceful life is interrupted when he called in to help two local women who are accused of kidnapping a girl. The girl can describe the women and their house accurately, and her story appears to be without any holes, but the solicitor is convinced the local women are innocent. It didn’t press as many of my personal buttons as Brat Farrar but was still a great read where the central mystery was well mixed with descriptions of country life and a little romance.

As I’ve already told some of you, I took Sherwood Smith’s King’s Shield with my on my holidays and was dismayed by how the story sucked me in – I finished it far too quickly and had to scrabble around for new books! So I guess it’s obvious that I enjoyed it greatly. Less piratical activity but lots of battles and hints of interesting things ahead!

I’m giving up on Elizabeth Goudge’s adult romances. The middle window was so treacly sweet that I think I only finished due to its relatively short length (apologies, gauroth - although I think you liked this as a teen?). It’s amazing how heavy handed the sentimentality is in her adult books compared to her children’s ones.

By contrast, the final Elizabeth Enright Melendy book, A spiderweb for two was sweet but tempered with a good eye for realistic family relationships. This featured the two youngest Melendys, who are desolate at being left at home as their older siblings attend boarding school. But the year passes quickly after they receive a series of clues on a treasure hunt around their house, garden and local countryside. As with the other books in the series (a great find of this year) a comfortable, enjoyable read.

Brat Farrar by Josephine Tey was a great treat to read curled up on the couch a couple of weekends ago. I have joined the ranks of those of you who told me that you love this book. SLIGHT SPOILERS.

This is a mystery set on a country estate in Kent.* Just as the eldest son is about to come into his majority and inherit the estate a young man with all of the family characteristics turns up claiming to be the true heir who was supposed to have committed suicide years earlier. Tey presents this claimant as an intriguing mix of kindness and dishonesty. The many other characters in the family and community are also interesting and believable, and the countryside and the horses are lovingly described. All in all it was a really good read – I know I’ll be seeking out a copy of my own as it’s definitely one for the re-read pile.

*Actually, it might not be Kent, I've returned the book to the library and checking online has only yielded "south coast of England".

Instead of recent books I’ve read, I thought I’d discuss some of the books I haven’t finished this year. I’ve actually finished nearly all of the books I’ve properly started (i.e. not just read a few pages and decided it wasn’t for me) this year and was starting to think I’m either mellowing with age or getting better at picking out books. But recently I’ve had to give up, at least temporarily, on a few books that I’m sure are quite good but just didn't suit me at the time.

First up is Robert Grave’s Claudius the God. Despite enjoying the Big Read of I, Claudius and racing through the first half of this book, I just stalled and haven’t summoned enough enthusiasm to finish it off. I don’t know if it’s the thought of remembering the huge cast of characters or the dense prose but it’s time for it to go back to the library, perhaps to be borrowed out another day.

Then there’s a Josephine Tey, Privateer. This is a novel about the 17th century privateer Henry Morgan. Despite generally liking the setting and the idea of the story, I just go stuck half way through and realised I don’t have the interest to keep going. I can't point at anything in the book that's irritating me, it’s just not my cuppa tea.

A book that will probably hang around the house a little longer while I wait to see if I will go back to it is Green dolphin country by Elizabeth Goudge. I have just realised my library system here has lots of Goudge books (I’d previously only read the wonderful The little white horse) including adult romances like this one. It’s set in the nineteenth century and is split between the Channel Islands and New Zealand. Although I am interested in reading how Goudge depicted New Zealand, I’m not sure I can stomach much more of the unnecessarily complicated romance or the characters that seem to have had the same personalities and motivations etc since they were children.

Another book I’m still leery about returning to the library as I keep thinking that surely I’ll pick it up to finish is Haruki Murakami’s The wind-up bird chronicle. I think the writing is wonderful and have enjoyed what I’ve read but again, am stuck. I think it’s the length combined with the slow plot that’s stumping me. I’ll definitely try another Murakami even if I don’t finish this one off.

The daughter of Time by Josephine Tey* is yet another book I read and enjoyed ages ago, but didn’t blog about it. I was reminded about it when I read Sovereign (by C.J. Sansom) last week as they have similar subject matter.

At first glance The daughter of time would seem to have a fairly standard basis for a mystery novel – a bored cop solves an unsolved crime while in hospital. However, this is not your average crime but rather an unsolved mystery of the past – who killed the princes in the tower? The detective starts off from the generally acknowledged fact that Richard III killed his young nephews in order to further his claim to the throne, but soon discovers there is little historical evidence to support the case. Tey brings in lots of historical evidence to argue (fairly convincingly to someone not familiar with the period!) that someone else was responsible.

Although the story centred around the invalid, a cast of other characters swoop in and out of the story and are quite vividly drawn despite their brevity. Although never directly featured, Richard himself emerges as an engaging character. Indeed, it seems like Josephine Tey wasn’t his only defender. My local librarian confessed that she has always thought Richard III hard done by and as a result thoroughly enjoyed this book.

All of this was of great assistance when I picked up the third Shardlock mystery Sovereign. This book’s main characters deal with a secret that could undermine the throne of Henry VIII. A lot of it revolved around Richard III’s time, and thanks to The daughter of time I was able to nod wisely when things like the Titulus Regius were discussed. Sovereign was an enjoyable read, with lots of interesting characters, but I admit I wasn't surprised by the ending.

*Thanks to colliemommie for recommending this author! I have already other books on hold. Although, as is often the case, once I’d heard of Tey I saw people talking about her books all over the place!