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#Readaway2025
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OutsmartYourShelf
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Pickpick

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🌟

27 likes1 comment
review
OutsmartYourShelf
Tombland | C. J. Sansom
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Mehso-so

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.

OutsmartYourShelf As part of his work for the Lady Elizabeth, Shardlake has been asked to discreetly investigate the murder of the wife of John Boleyn, a distant relative of Elizabeth's mother. Shardlake & assistant, Nicholas Overton, travel to Norwich to interview John Boleyn, & run into Barak. All three become embroiled in the rebel camp which sets up just outside the town. 9h
OutsmartYourShelf The rebels believe the Protector is on their side, but Shardlake fears that the reality is very different.

Finally finished this mammoth (866 pages!) final read of the #Shardlake series. There's a lot of historical detail & the research into this is plain to see, but my, did it drag on! It is a pity we will never know how Shardlake's story was to end due to the untimely death of the author & one wonders how many pages the next book would have had
9h
dabbe Excellent review! 🩶🤍🩵 4h
24 likes4 comments
review
OutsmartYourShelf
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Pickpick

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)

OutsmartYourShelf Not having read any of this author's Sherlock Holmes books before, I wasn't sure what to expect. The first three were a little ropey but the stories then steadily improved. I thought the author captured the characters quite well for the most part, although there were a few times where Holmes seemed to act out of character.
3.75🌟

Full Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7055943935
Read 22nd - 27th Dec 2025
2d
25 likes2 comments
review
OutsmartYourShelf
The Winter Freak Show | Daniel Parsons
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Pickpick

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.

OutsmartYourShelf I'm not the target audience for this middle grade level children's book, but I still thought it was an entertaining read. It's a good mix between fantasy & history, & an intriguing storyline. I probably won't read the rest of the series due to the sheer size of my TBR list already, but that's not a reflection on the book. 3.75🌟

Full Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2164904324
Read 21st - 22nd Dec 2025
3d
DieAReader 🎉🎉🎉 3d
25 likes3 comments