Welcome to Litsy!

Anyone familiar with my reading habits knows that I really enjoy these accounts of people hiking long nature trails. This one details the experience of three older women (although one only goes along for the first week) & charts their ups & downs (figuratively & literally) along the way. Bad weather, small disagreements, & the physical challenges of the trail are all dealt with.

Six short stories, 5 featuring Poirot & 1 with Miss Marple, ranging from good to excellent:

1. The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding 3.5*

2. The Mystery of the Spanish Chest 4*

3. The Under Dog 4*

4. Four and Twenty Blackbirds 4*

5. The Dream 4.5*

6. Greenshaw's Folly 4.5*

Short story collections can be a bit hit & miss, but this one was definitely a hit!
4.5🌟

England, 1549 & King Edward VI has not yet reached his majority being only 11 years old, so Lord Hertford, Edward Seymour, is ruling in the name of the King as the Protector. Tensions between landowners & tenants are rising as the former enclose valuable land meaning that the latter have nowhere for their animals to graze.

12 short festive mysteries featuring Sherlock Holmes & narrated by Dr Watson.

The Partridge in a Pear Tree 3.5*
The Two Turtle Doves - 3*
The Three French Henchmen - 3*
The Four Calling Birds - 4*
The Five Gold Rings - 4*
The Six Geese at a Gander - 4*
The Seventh Swann - 3.5*
The Eighth Milkmaid - 3.5*
The Ninth Ladyship at the Dance - 3.5*
The Tenth Lord Leaping - 4*
The Eleven Pipe Problem - 4*
The Twelfth Drumming - 4*

(continued)

12-year-old orphan Toby Carter has been at the workhouse for some time & isn't looking forward to another austere Christmas there. After engineering an escape, a cold & hungry Toby runs into a band of travelling performers called The Winter Freak Show. At first he thinks he has finally found a family, but then he accidentally sees something he shouldn't have & is soon on the run again.