FurrowedMiddlebrowclub

Sace

The Secret of Greylands | Annie Haynes

Is the universe trying to tell something? #FurrowedMiddlebrowClub

jlhammar Most definitely! 16h

Tamra Try it! (edited) 15h

Ruthiella I think so! 😅 15h

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LeahBergen It must be! 😆 14h

BarbaraJean I think this is a case of: “If it's free, it's for me!“ (edited) 11h

Jess_Read_This Sounds like it to me! 😆 4h

Sace @jlhammar @Tamra @Ruthiella @LeahBergen @BarbaraJean @Jess_Read_This I just hit the buy with one click button. For my next trick I'll try to read it before the end of May! 3h

35 likes7 comments

Jess_Read_This

The Secret of Greylands | Annie Haynes

After a few false start the last two weeks, I‘ve picked this one up in earnest. And am loving reading the reactions from the #FurrowedMiddlebrowClub. It‘s so campy that already by page 16 a potential bad guy is twirling his mustache and creeping out our helplessly dim heroine.

Even if it doesn‘t turn out to be a good one, the group‘s reactions to it are making it an enjoyable one for me so far.

rubyslippersreads, quietjenn, Kimzey, erzascarletbookgasm, catebutler, CarolynM, LeahBergen, Lizpixie, elkeOriginal, Aimeesue, batsy, Tamra, Teresereading, kwmg40, Cathythoughts, Ruthiella, Sparklemn, julieclair, willaful, MrsK

Sace Just curious, what's the Furrowed middle brow club? 1d

batsy I'm about midway through and feeling the same! It's so ridiculously campy and truly funny and I keep thinking of everyone's comments about the not quite the sharpest knife in the drawer, Cynthia 😆 1d

Jess_Read_This @Sace It‘s a bookclub here on Litsy where every other month we read a book published by (sadly now shuttered) Dean Street Press. The genre is female writers typically 1910-1960 that write about domestic life, interwar experiences, country life,etc. I think it was Virginia Woolf who coined middlebrow as writing about middle class life. It‘s a great club and it would be great if you join us on the reads! 1d

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Jess_Read_This @batsy 😂 Me too. Cynthia lost me with all the hand wringing just trying to get from the train station to Greylands 1d

Sace Thanks! I'd love to be tagged when the next book is picked. 1d

Jess_Read_This @Sace I will try to find the original post with the schedule and tag you. I believe the rest of the year‘s picks might be scheduled for planning purposes. And feel free to jump in on this months too. We have the entire month for reading and everyone posts their thoughts/reviews and we comment to each other there on the book. 1d

Sace I love Litsy for all the readalongs but it is hard to find the original posts. 1d

Jess_Read_This @Sace I know what you mean! I‘ll try to remember to tag you for the next read too. I think July‘s read will be a good one! 1d

Sace Yes! The July pick is just the kind of thing I like to read! 1d

Ruthiella @Sace I will add you to the tag list for the next group reads in July, September & November and @LeahBergen can add you to the voting list for when we pick new titles for 2025 if you are interested? 😃 22h

Ruthiella @Jess_Read_This I think if you double down on the OTT silliness of this one, you will have fun reading it. 😅 22h

LeahBergen The reactions from everyone in the club whilst reading have been the best! 🤣 21h

LeahBergen @Sace Yes, please join us! I see you‘ve already been directed to the reading schedule post. 👍 21h

willaful @Sace yes indeed! 19h

julieclair Twirling his mustache! 🤣 I can see you‘re already getting into the spirit of this one. Enjoy! 15h

quietjenn Haha, not the most subtle writing, but good fun. 14h

CarolynM I hope you will join us @Sace This group is so much fun🥰 8h

Jess_Read_This @Ruthiella @LeahBergen @julieclair @quietjenn It just keeps getting more and more outrageously over the top. 😂 Thanks for being such good sports in reading my selection because it‘s not at all what I thought it would be. 4h

28 likes18 comments

jlhammar

The Secret of Greylands | Annie Haynes

pick

Not the sharpest knife in the drawer, our Cynthia. I suppose she makes up for it with her “tender, adorable ways.”😆 I was definitely feeling impatient and annoyed with our heroine and would have liked more mystery (the reader pretty much knows what‘s up from the get-go), but still fun for what it is—an entertaining, atmospheric tale.

#FurrowedMiddlebrowClub

rubyslippersreads, quietjenn, Jess_Read_This, Kimzey, erzascarletbookgasm, catebutler, CarolynM, LeahBergen, Lizpixie, elkeOriginal, Aimeesue, batsy, Tamra, Teresereading, kwmg40, Cathythoughts, Ruthiella, Sparklemn, julieclair, willaful, MrsK

julieclair Tender and adorable have to count for something, right? 😆 1w

Tamra Agreed, still fun. It started out so gothic I had hopes the mystery was going to be more substantial. Oh well! 1w

Ruthiella Sharp as a butter knife! 😆 1w

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batsy I'm interested to meet this infamous butter knife of a heroine when I finally get started 😅 All of the reviews about this have piqued my curiosity lol. 1w

quietjenn I did not find her ways tender and adorable 🤣 1w

CarolynM Do you think “tender adorable ways” is manspeak for “nice to look at and too thick to be threatening”? 1w

LeahBergen Oh, our “few sandwiches short of a picnic” Cynthia. 😆😆 1w

jlhammar @CarolynM Oh my gosh, totally! 7d

jlhammar @quietjenn Right? I couldn‘t help but roll my eyes when Sir Donald was saying that to her. What a match they make! 7d

Jess_Read_This I am loving everyone‘s comments and reviews. My reading experience with this book is definitely enhanced by the group‘s reactions to it. 1d

68 likes10 comments

rubyslippersreads

The Secret of Greylands | Annie Haynes

Am I the only one who thought the introduction comparing this to Agatha Christie was a bit much? I enjoyed it, but felt like I could see what was coming a mile away. It was much more Gothic romance to me than murder mystery. And Cynthia might be the dopiest Gothic heroine I‘ve ever encountered. 😂

#FurrowedMiddleBrowClub

rubyslippersreads @quietjenn @Jess_Read_This @Kimzey @erzascarletbookgasm @catebutler @LeahBergen @Lizpixie @elkeOriginal @Gissy @Aimeesue @batsy @Tamra @Teresereading @ kwmg40, @jhammar @ Ruthiella @Sparklemn @julieclair @willaful @Mrsk @CarolynM 1w

Tamra 😆 dopey, yes! 1w

rubyslippersreads Oops, @Ruthiella ☺️ 1w

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quietjenn Definitely not just you, with the intro. 1w

Ruthiella Awesome photo and review! 😂😂😂 I did not read the introduction, but I am vicariously annoyed on Christie‘s behalf. (edited) 1w

willaful @Ruthiella 😂 Also, Christie's characters, though very much types, have some *life* to them. These were such cardboard cutouts. 1w

julieclair Spot! 🥹 And I didn‘t read the intro, but Christie?? Ummm…. that would be no. 😆 1w

jlhammar Poor Spot 😢 Yes, agree with all of that! 1w

batsy Haven't read it yet but I guess the intro writer went all in to sell this book to the reader 😁 1w

CarolynM I skipped the introduction, but it sounds like it might be amusing. This one was nothing like any Agatha Christie I‘ve ever read. 1w

LeahBergen They did Spot dirty in this book. He deserved better. 🤣🤣 1w

rubyslippersreads @LeahBergen #justiceforSpot 🐶 7d

Jess_Read_This Oh geez, I skipped the intro and am glad I missed that comparison. From what I‘ve read so far this no comparison at all. Not even in the remotest of possibilities is this novel comparable to a Christie mystery. 1d

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CarolynM

The Secret of Greylands | Annie Haynes

pick

OMG Cynthia! Could you be any more of a drip? And your taste in men is terrible. All the “secrets” of this story were so well flagged (I mean, Letchingham? The clue‘s in the name, love) but they just passed you by. Sigh…

But it was good, campy fun and I enjoyed it.

#FurrowedMiddlebrowClub

rubyslippersreads, quietjenn, Jess_Read_This, Kimzey, erzascarletbookgasm, catebutler, LeahBergen, Lizpixie, elkeOriginal, Gissy, Aimeesue, batsy, Tamra, Teresereading, kwmg40, jlhammar, Ruthiella, Sparklemn, julieclair, willaful, MrsK

Ruthiella Haha 😆 I also thought lecherous Lord Letchingham was intentionally named- just in case the reader didn‘t pick up on the veiled reference to her friend being “ruined” by him”. Cynthia was such a noodle. 1w

quietjenn Drip is the perfect word for her. 🤣 1w

willaful @quietjenn yes, she goes on my “heroine is wet“ shelf. 😂

Lord Letchingham's name might have been my favorite part! Don't hold back, tell us how you really feel! 1w

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LeahBergen I immediately laughed at “Lord Lecher”, too 🤣🤣 1w

Centique “The clue‘s in the name love” 😂 I havent read it and yet your review has me cackling out loud! Hope you and the family are all going well 💕 1w

julieclair Cynthia was definitely a drip. With blinders on. 😂 1w

batsy 😆 Haven't read it yet but this review is perfect. 1w

jlhammar 😂 Great review! 1w

sarahbarnes 😂😂😂 1w

Aimeesue Right? Did she never read Dickens? 😂 1w

BookWrym Never heard of this but now I really want to read it 🤣🤣 1w

CarolynM @Centique Hope all is well with you too💕 I‘ll send you an email. 1w

Rissreads All these references have made me snort! 🤣🤣🤣♥️♥️♥️ 4d

Jess_Read_This I‘m twenty pages in and I think I‘m finding everyone‘s comments/reviews a bit more entertaining than the book! 😂 1d

CarolynM @Jess_Read_This Sometimes it‘s fun when everyone piles in on a book😆 8h

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quietjenn

Secret of Greylands | Annie Haynes

pick

Hooray for all the Gothic vibes! Boo for a heroine who is, er, let's be kind and say very, incredibly naive. 🤣 As a book, it's super readable and I mostly enjoyed it. But I also did a lot of eye-rolling and had to tamp down some irritation.

#FurrowedMiddlebrowClub

Tamra Yes, 🙄 🙄. Hahaha 2w

LeahBergen “Naive” is a nice way of putting it. 🤣 2w

Ruthiella You are very kind to Cynthia! 😂 But it was fun in its way. 1w

jlhammar Well said! I felt the same. 1w

65 likes4 comments

Ruthiella

The Secret of Greylands | Annie Haynes

so-so

Found this picture on a blog showing book covers with women running away from houses. Check it out: https://fantasy-ink.blogspot.com/2010/11/gothic-romance-covers.html .

I‘m sorry (not sorry) to be a curmudgeon-maybe it‘s all the Nancy Drew I‘ve been reading, but I found the mystery to be blindingly obvious and the hero & heroine to be about interesting as a paper bag & both too stupid to find their way out of one. 🙊

#FurrowedMiddlebrowClub

rubyslippersreads, quietjenn, Jess_Read_This, Kimzey, erzascarletbookgasm, catebutler, CarolynM, LeahBergen, Lizpixie, elkeOriginal, Gissy, Aimeesue, batsy, Tamra, kwmg40, jlhammar, Sparklemn, julieclair, willaful, MrsK

KathyWheeler I love your review! Stupid characters drive me nuts. 2w

willaful I'm with you. 2w

Ruthiella @KathyWheeler Thanks! If the heroine had had any smarts at all, it would have been a very different book. 2w

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Ruthiella @willaful Glad I‘m not alone! 😅 I‘m not mad I read it, but I could have tolerated a wee more actual mystery. 2w

CarolynM 🤣 Too true! 2w

quietjenn 🤣🤣🤣 bahaha. I can't disagree! 2w

Tamra 🤣 great review! I still thought it was fun for those very reasons! The beginning held all the gothic promise of a spooky mystery. Too bad she couldn‘t carry it off. 2w

Suet624 🤣🤣🤣 2w

jlhammar Hilarious review! I‘m not very far in yet. 2w

sarahbarnes 😂😂😂 2w

LeahBergen I agree … and yet I still found it fun! 🤣 2w

Ruthiella @LeahBergen @jlhammar @Tamra @quietjenn @CarolynM I think I would have been more amused if I had known what to expect. Less Du Maurier and more Carolyn Keene. 😆 (edited) 2w

elkeOriginal Fantastic review. 2w

elkeOriginal The link to those covers! Amazing!! 2w

Ruthiella @elkeOriginal Thanks ! 😊 2w

The_Book_Ninja https://x.com/pulplibrarian/status/1789060193508012261?s=46 1w

Ruthiella @The_Book_Ninja Perfect! 🤩 1w

Reggie Lol 4d

Jess_Read_This I‘m only twenty pages in and already Cynthia‘s helplessness is irritating me. 1d

Ruthiella @Jess_Read_This Get used to it! 😂 23h

64 likes20 comments

julieclair

The Secret of Greylands | Annie Haynes

pick

An intriguing Golden Age mystery. Layers of lies and deception. Each time a new clue dropped, I wanted to shake the characters and yell “figure this out!” Tense, atmospheric, and very entertaining! I enjoyed this #FurrowedMiddleBrowClub read.
#Pantone2024
#ISpyBingo @TheAromaofBooks

Tamra Yes - shake shake shake wake up! 😂 2w

Ruthiella I had this one pretty much sussed by the first chapter! 😆 2w

LeahBergen Even the parrot was yelling, “Figure this out!” 😆😆 2w

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willaful @LeahBergen 🤣 2w

Ruthiella @LeahBergen I know, right?!?! Where do you think the parrot learned that phrase Cynthia? 🦜 🤦‍♀️ 2w

Tamra @Ruthiella @LeahBergen 😜 🦜 2w

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 2w

julieclair @LeahBergen @Ruthiella I think the parrot may have been the smartest character! 😂🦜 2w

LeahBergen @julieclair Definitely! 😆 2w

Jess_Read_This I‘m just getting into now after a few false starts the past two weeks. And it seems like from the get go everyone has it figured out 😂 1d

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Tamra

Secret of Greylands | Annie Haynes

pick

Just what you would expect from a golden age mystery - pure entertainment. 😊

The end made me laugh. #FurrowedMiddlebrowClub

Tamra It‘s amusing how transparent the plot is and how it‘s all wrapped up with a pretty bow. 😂 2w

LeahBergen So transparent! You just KNEW that scratched wrist was going to come into play. 😆 2w

jlhammar Beautiful blooms 🌺 I just started last night. Enjoying it so far! 2w

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julieclair @Tamra @LeahBergen Yes! And the transparency made it all the more fun! 2w

Tamra @julieclair yes! 😜 2w

Tamra @jlhammar desperate for color! Enjoy the novel, total light entertainment. 2w

quietjenn Yeah, I'm only a little over halfway, but some things seem very clear to me that Carolyn is not picking up on 🤣 2w

quietjenn (I mean, I guess I could be wrong, but ...) 2w

Ruthiella @quietjenn You are not wrong! 😂 2w

Tamra @Ruthiella @quietjenn no, but it‘s fun in a simple way! 2w

51 likes10 comments

LeahBergen

The Secret of Greylands | Annie Haynes

pick

This book reminded me so much of the ‘70s era, “woman fleeing a house” covered Gothics that I loved as an early teen.

It had it all: a spooky manor on the moors, an eye-wateringly dim heroine, a dishy hero who catches her every faint, and even a parrot squawking out clues to the “mystery”. We as readers can see how this mystery is going to pan out from a mile away but the journey is campy and fun. A great “flu read”! 😆

#FurrowedMiddlebrowClub

LeahBergen @erzascarletbookgasm @rubyslippersreads @quietjenn @LeahBergen @CarolynM @Cathythoughts @Ruthiella @batsy @catebutler @elkeOriginal @tamra @kimzey @jess_read_this @MrsK @jlhammar @julieclair @kwmg40 @lizpixie @aimeesue @willaful @teresereading @Tamra 2w

Ruthiella OMG Cynthia was beyond dim! 😆 2w

LeahBergen @Ruthiella I was questioning how she could feed and dress herself. 🤣 2w

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Tamra I‘m really enjoying it too - hitting all the entertainment buttons. 😊 2w

Tamra @LeahBergen 🤭 good one Leah. (edited) 2w

catebutler Just starting this today! Lovely review, Leah. x 2w

rubyslippersreads And the heroine is always fleeing in her negligee! 😂 2w

ShelleyBooksie Such a spooky cover! Atmospheric. 2w

jlhammar Fun review! Hoping to start soon. 2w

quietjenn Oo, maybe I'll start this tonight ... 2w

BarbaraBB That photo makes me want to see more of those shelves! 2w

batsy This sounds fun! I'm hoping to finish a teen YA thriller 😆 then get to this next. 2w

Cathythoughts Great review 👏🏻 I‘m loving this cover ❤️ 2w

LeahBergen @Tamra It‘s quite entertainingly silly. 😆 2w

LeahBergen @catebutler I hope it‘s a fun read for you, too! 2w

LeahBergen @rubyslippersreads It‘s the only way I‘D flee. 😆 2w

LeahBergen @ShelleyBooksie It is! 2w

LeahBergen @jlhammar @quietjenn I hope you both find it fun, too! 2w

LeahBergen @BarbaraBB 😆 Thank you! 2w

LeahBergen @batsy The teen YA thriller will probably be deeper. 😆 2w

LeahBergen @Cathythoughts Thanks, Cathy! 😘 2w

Aimeesue Great review! Eye wateringly dim is right! 😂 2w

CarolynM Cynthia certainly was dim, but I didn‘t have much regard for Sir Donald‘s brains either. Hope you‘re feeling better💐 2w

kspenmoll Love your review! 2w

LeahBergen @Aimeesue So dim. 🤣 2w

LeahBergen @CarolynM Sir Donald was as thick as Cynthia. 🤣 2w

LeahBergen @kspenmoll Thanks! ❤️ 2w

julieclair Sorry you had the flu, but so glad you had such a fun read to keep you company! But I do hope you were wearing your negligee while you were stuck in bed recuperating. 😂 2w

LeahBergen @julieclair My negligee sweatpants! 😆 2w

Jess_Read_This I‘m just reading it now after a few false starts the past two weeks. And yikes is Cynthia a tragic combination of helpless and dim and sadly I‘m only twenty pages in! 1d

LeahBergen @Jess_Read_This Isn‘t she something else? 😆 21h

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