Finished my first country for the #ReadingEurope2020 challenge. Like all good tours this started from home in the U.K. Not the tagged book as not in the database (this is an earlier book in the series). Borderlands was a great entry in one of my favourite, but lesser known series set in north-east of England. Great characters and great plots. This one starts with the death of a woman during a night time army firing exercise. How did she get there?
Librarybelle Great start! 4y
Andrew65 👆and who was responsible for her death? Amongst this we also have a victim from the Afghanistan War and a hate group targeting anyone non ayran. Roll up DCI Ryan and his team to solve these complex situations. This one is mainly set in Northumbria and Tyne and Wear in England, but does take them across the border into Scotland too. Every good Tour has to take in Scotland doesn‘t it? (edited) 4y
Andrew65 @Librarybelle Thanks. Good to be off and running. 😊 4y
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ljuliel Andrew, if you‘re still on here , this reminds me. I wanted to ask someone who lived over there , I see the Cotswolds area mentioned a lot in books. Would that be a rich area or vacation area or a country village type setting ? 4y
Andrew65 @ljuliel Very much a rural and mainly country village area and very popular tourist area. It is a lovely area but housing would generally be expensive in those country villages. One of my favourite places in the Cotswolds is Tewkesbury, and especially the Abbey. Also find a lot of old houses in the area. This article and the picture sums it up well. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotswolds But be careful a lot of murder mystery books are set 4y
Andrew65 @ljuliel in those villages. Including Agatha Raisin Series by M C Beaton. So effectively yes to all your questions quite a rich area, vacation area and mainly country villages and towns. 4y
ljuliel Thank you. It‘s hard to know what different areas of the UK are like if you‘ve never been there. The books you mentioned were one of the ones I‘ve seen it mentioned in. It seems that a lot of books mention the area. Do you know if that‘s where Bill Bryson lives ? Thanks for the article. 🙂 (edited) 4y
EadieB @Andrew65 Did you see anything about Beaton‘s death? I saw something but didn‘t get a chance to read it. 4y
ljuliel @EadieB I just saw this article. Must‘ve been very recent. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/jan/02/mc-beaton-author-agatha-raisin-nov... 4y
rwmg @ljuliel Oh that's too bad. I've got the Agatha Raisin prequel on my virtual TBR shelf. I'll have to read it in memoriam 4y
ljuliel @rwmg I‘ve started book one a couple of times but haven‘t gotten far in it. I‘ll have to give it another go. Yes, it was sad. She was pretty elderly. In her mid 80s I think. 4y
inthegreensandblues Sounds good, I'm starting to get really into detective stories. Will add the first in this series to my TBR (just what I need, another series! 😂)🙏 4y
Andrew65 @EadieB Oh no didn‘t see that 😢 No more Hamish MacBeth! Let alone Agatha. Thanks for letting me know. So sad! Lost Inspector Montalbano and Hamish within a few months of each other. But leaves a great legacy. @ljuliel @rwmg (edited) 4y
Andrew65 @ljuliel According to Wikipedia Bill Bryson lives in Hampshire which is further south, near the South Coast. Portsmouth is in Hampshire. We do a lot of travelling in U.K. so antine you want some information about an area let me know. 4y
Andrew65 @inthegreensandblues They are good quick reads, but I know what you mean about new series. 😳 But this has become one of my favourites, especially for the characters. 4y
ljuliel Andrew, did you ever read this book, about these 2 silly guys who started out at the southernmost point of the UK 🇬🇧, to bike to the northernmost tip ? ( problem is, they started with no bikes, and NO CLOTHES ! ). It‘s such a cute book and very funny.![[tagged book]](https://image.librarything.com/pics/litsy_webpics/icon_taggedBook@3x.png)
Free Country: A Penniless Adventure the Length of Britain 4y
Free Country: A Penniless Adventure the Length of Britainljuliel I like reading travel books about the UK, so I can at least learn a little bit about it. 4y
Andrew65 @ljuliel I think it takes a few books to get into the Agatha series, but once you do they are enjoyable quick reads. Agatha isn‘t the most likeable of characters but gets herself into some situations that are quite laughable. I‘ve read all but one that is published. They are good as audiobooks if read by Penelope Keith. It was her that really got me into the series. 4y
Andrew65 @ljuliel No, never even heard of it. Some lovely areas in the U.K. 4y
ljuliel Thanks. I‘ll keep an eye peeled. 4y
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