2024 Review:

Reading these books through again 5 years later is very revealing. I missed a ton of 'Kerwent' subtext the first time around, & knowing what I know about Derwent now, I can see how a lot of his banter & toughness is a front. The case also was a lot more interesting this time around & I've bumped my rating up by 1 star. 4🌟

An account of the 1906 sinking of the 'Valencia', a ship sailing between San Francisco & Seattle with 108 passengers and 65 crew members aboard. Bad weather & human error combined to cause the 'Valencia' to strike a reef off the coast of Vancouver Island which lead to the deaths of 136 people, including all the women & children onboard.

17-year-old Persephone (Persey) struggles to live up to her perfect older brother, so when she is the first player to solve a supposedly unsolvable escape room & is invited to take part in the ultimate competition to win millions of dollars, she hesitantly accepts. 8 contestants are flown to Las Vegas to take part in the contest, & tension is high with the prize money at stake. (continued)

“No,” said Miss Marple. “You believed what he said. It really is very dangerous to believe people. I never have for years.”

Gwenda arrives in England from New Zealand. She's been sent ahead by her husband to buy a home for them & after several days house-hunting, Gwenda happens upon the charming village of Dillmouth. There is a house there up for sale & it's perfect for Gwenda & husband, Giles, (continued)

From the families of Augustus to Nero, the imperial mothers, daughters & wives led male-dominated lives & their (tragic) deaths were usually a brutal punishment. The Emperors were cruel & some seemingly depraved & yet it is the women that have come in for the worst criticism.

Overall, although it was a difficult read at times due to the subject matter (misogyny & the casual cruelties women were subjected to), (continued)

Last time Alice was in Wonderland, she inadvertently allowed the Knave of Hearts to escape his trial for stealing tarts but when she is recalled there to help track him down, Alice finds out that he wasn't stealing delicious sweet pastries but a very powerful weapon called T.A.R.T.S (Totally Automatic Random Targeting System).

A group of Edward Luddenham's nearest & dearest are invited to gather at his home on the North Yorkshire moors on the first anniversary of his mysterious death. All meals & accommodation have been paid for & they are to stay until Christmas Eve when his final Will will be read. For entertainment, each one has been instructed to tell a 'festive mystery story' over the week.

It's best not to know too much about Stuart Turton's books before reading them, then you get the full effect. Suffice to say that a group of 122 villagers live on an island, the last refuge on earth for humans, after a strange fog with killer insects inside took over the planet. Three scientists also live on the island & are responsible for keeping the villagers safe, but one of the villagers (called Emory) knows that something is not quite right.

A book about the finding of the wreck of the Titanic in September 1985 & the subsequent expeditions to bring to the surface items such as dining sets, luggage & jewellery. Thousands of items have been recovered & yet so much remains down there & not even the ship's lists give the full picture of the items carried. Rumours have abounded since the beginning about millions of pounds' worth of diamonds & gold being interred in the first class safe.

Grace moves to the country in Devon with her dad for a fresh start after Grace suffered some (unspecified) trouble. They have an ex-service dog called Shelby who has also undergone a trauma of her own. The village is too quiet for Grace but it seems that may not be the whole truth. One night Grace is downstairs having trouble sleeping when the smart speaker (Alexa) in their rented house suddenly switches on & tells her “I'm going to murder you.“

4 US Presidents have been assassinated in office & this book offers a fascinating look at what could have happened if they had survived. Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield, William McKinley, & John F. Kennedy never got to complete their presidential terms, as each succumbed to an assassin's bullet. After examining what happened in the lead-up to their deaths & the weapons used, the author then considers what could have happened if they had lived.

Biography of Wing Commander Guy Penrose Gibson VC, DSO & Bar, DFC & Bar, leader of the 'Dambusters' which asks what could have caused the plane crash which took his life at age 26, less than a year before the end of WWII. His death (& that of his navigator Squadron Leader James Warwick DFC) occurred when returning from a bombing raid on the German towns of Mönchengladbach & Rheydt & this book examines the various theories & evidence.

Thank you to those who took part in my first #SupernaturalBookBingo readathon, I really enjoyed seeing what everyone picked for the prompts.

There were 175 entries in total for the giveaway which I collated throughout the month & the random picker chose number 75 & the winner is..... @puddlejumper 🎉 Congratulations! Please contact me on gayle.noble@yahoo.co.uk & there will be an early Christmas present heading your way!

3 bingos for #SpookoweenBingo @thespineview

#Flerken #HauntedShelf

3 bingos for #RedTaylorsVersion @emilymdxn

#Flerken #HauntedShelf

Assorted bingo cards 4.

#Flerken #HauntedShelf

Assorted bingo cards 3.

#Flerken #HauntedShelf

Assorted bingo cards 2.

#Flerken #HauntedShelf

Assorted bingo cards 1.

#Flerken #HauntedShelf

A collection of Halloween hauntings. Precious little gore, these are more along the lines of unsettling rather than flat out horror. Standouts for me were:

'The Ghost Mermaid', 'Pink Lace & Death Gods', & 'When You See Millions of the Mouthless Dead Across Your Dreams in Pale Battalions Go' - quite possibly one of the longest short story titles I've seen. (Honorable mention 'Bootsy's House' - nice twist.) The rest were not really memorable. 2.5⭐

November's list for #ReadYourKindle &, although there will be some fiction reads, I'm concentrating on nonfiction for #NFN (Nonfiction November).

@CBee

My total points for #HauntedShelf & team #Flerken

Really enjoyed it, thanks so much to @puddlejumper for hosting & being our team leader.

Managed to complete my goal of 31 hours read in October & almost tripled it!

#31by31 @catsandbooks #HauntedShelf #Flerken

Only 1 bingo on #AtoZReadathon #AtoZBingo - so many of the book titles seemed to start with the same letters 😃

Thanks for hosting @texreader

#Flerken #HauntedShelf

Managed 6 bingos each on #AfterDarkBingo & #BodyCountBingo

#Flerken #HauntedShelf @puddlejumper

I managed 3 bingos for the first #SupernaturalBookBingo challenge. Slightly too many ARCs to read so will have to bear that in mind next time.

Anyone who has taken part, please tag me when you post your cards so I can check you all get the correct number of entries into the giveaway.

#HauntedShelf

Managed to complete both mazes for #PromptMaze The first one was really surprising as completed after 3 books!

@thearomaofbooks #HauntedShelf #Flerken

I'm posting the #BookScavengerHunt prompts in order & today is 'Desolate'.

This book sticks in my mind for the sheer bleakness of their situation.

#Flerken #HauntedShelf @puddlejumper #Desolate

San Antonio, Texas has had an outbreak of a particularly virulent & deadly form of flu & have been cut off from the outside world by a perimeter wall built around the city. Hundreds are dying every day & have to be buried in mass graves. Det Lily Harris works collating burial statistics & notices a body that doesn't seem to have been autopsied & a bullet wound suggests that this is a murder victim hidden amongst the other dead.

I'm posting the #BookScavengerHunt prompts in order & today is 'Luck'.

#Flerken #HauntedShelf @puddlejumper #Luck

Violet & her friends are the lucky eight girls who receive an invitation to the annual scavenger hunt for 2020. This year they have to break into the Poison Apple Carnival after hours & collect an item each. When they reach the park, they split off into smaller groups to cover the area more quickly, but a masked madman starts to attack them. One by one the girls are picked off in a series of bizarre & gruesome killings.

Biography of Norman Brokaw who worked his way up from mail room clerk to CEO & Chairman of the William Morris Agency. Along the way, Norman worked with a host of stars from Marilyn Monroe & Elvis to Donna Summer & Dick Van Dyke. Known as a man who would do his utmost for his clients, keep their confidences, & never say a bad word about anyone, Norman was a popular & well-respected man. His private life wasn't quite so settled though.

Welcome to The Venue! Enjoy your wedding in luxurious surroundings whilst we take care of every last detail. Invite your estranged family & frenemies - it'll be a wedding to die for!

When Amy receives an invitation to childhood friend, Caleb Hunt's wedding in an exclusive resort, her first thought is to wonder why he has invited her & her parents. They haven't been close ever since they left school. (continued)

I'm posting the #BookScavengerHunt prompts in order & today is 'Mist'.

A fantasy adventure aimed at Middle Grade/Childrens' age group.

#Flerken #HauntedShelf @puddlejumper #Mist

In this 3rd & final book of the original trilogy, Dan, Abby, & Jordan hit the road on one last trip together before they head to college. Jordan is moving to New Orleans so the trio head towards the city. Abby & Jordan really want to put recent events behind them, but Dan is not so sure they can, especially as he thinks they're being followed. Then Dan starts receiving warning message from Micah by email - but Micah is dead, isn't he?

I'm posting the #BookScavengerHunt prompts in order & today is 'Monochrome'.

Another one on the list but not yet read.

#Flerken #HauntedShelf @puddlejumper #Monochrome

Devon is invited to an exclusive private school party by her twin, Drew. The girls have been together for most of their lives, but since Drew was taken out of their original school & sent to a private one an emotional distance has been growing between them. Now that Drew is graduating early, Devon knows that she will soon be leaving home, so she wants to give her sister one last amazing summer.

I'm posting the #BookScavengerHunt prompts in order & today is 'Grave'.

First one in a series of crime fiction books. Grave in the title & on the cover.

#Flerken #HauntedShelf @puddlejumper #Grave

I'm posting the #BookScavengerHunt prompts in order & today is 'Fancy Font'.

Looks like a cute cozy mystery. Again no idea when I bought this one.

#Flerken #HauntedShelf @puddlejumper #FancyFont

The fourth book is one of the best of the series: danger, intrigue, dragons, & the Triwizard Tournament. There's plenty of action with the 3 tasks, alongside a few lessons on being careful who you trust. Sirius is back (briefly) & there are some new characters who will play a part in what is to come.

It's been a while since I first read this series & it's amazing just how much I 'forgot' through just watching the films. (continued)

A look at the last great dynasty of Ancient Egypt, from the initial conquering by Alexander the Great, to the annexing of Egypt by Rome. Although the ruling house of Ptolemy starts off strong, there is a gradual decline throughout the generations leading to the last moments of its most infamous rulers - Cleopatra.

Judging by the other reviews I seem to be an outlier here, but I found the majority of this book quite dry to read.

I'm posting the #BookScavengerHunt prompts in order & today is 'Art Deco'.

Had this on my TBR list for ages, still not read it.

#Flerken #HauntedShelf @puddlejumper #ArtDeco

At last! A collection of short stories that (mostly) do “exactly what it says on the tin“. Nine short stories in the tradition of Christmas ghost stories which give the reader a chill.

The standout stories to me were 'The Wrong Teletubby', 'The Old Folk', & 'Panic Room'. Each of these had a killer twist at the end. This is probably the only collection of short stories I've really enjoyed reading recently, (continued)

I'm posting the #BookScavengerHunt prompts in order & today is 'Magic Sparks'.

No idea about this one - assume I managed to snag it for free off Amazon.

#Flerken #HauntedShelf @puddlejumper #MagicSparks

Gobbelino London, snarky cat PI, & his human sidekick, Callum, are visiting a grave at the cemetery when a dog suddenly brings his owner a detached arm. Obviously it's from one of the graves & Callum offers to rebury it, but when they return later that night things are more complicated than it first appeared. The dead are rising from their eternal rest & Gobbelino doesn't want to get involved but he doesn't have much choice in the matter.

I'm posting the #BookScavengerHunt prompts in order & today is 'Skin'.

A dystopian horror where human children cannot survive a lethal virus leaving only vampire-human hybrids to be born.

#Flerken #HauntedShelf @puddlejumper #Skin

You don't really need a synopsis for this book do you? OK, how about bullied teenager uses telekinetic powers to get revenge at the prom.

After reading several of King's other books & not liking them, I decided to finally read one of his books that most people seem to rave about (to see if the problem was the particular books I'd read before) & it was.....ok. It wasn't bad but it wasn't earth-shatteringly good either.

I'm posting the #BookScavengerHunt prompts in order & today is 'Gate'.

A collection of 13 “dark & odd tales“.

#Flerken #HauntedShelf @puddlejumper #Gate

I'm posting the #BookScavengerHunt prompts in order & today is 'Beast'.

This is from a series of scary stories for children, I picked up the first 3 for nothing on Kindle last week. Haven't read any as yet.

#Flerken #HauntedShelf @puddlejumper #Beast

“If there is an explanation for the Mackenzie Poltergeist, 'didn't really happen' isn't one of them. This is its story.“ (cue Law & Order noise).

What an entertaining read this is - alternating between sending shivers of fear down my back & making me laugh out loud. I've actually visited Greyfriars in Edinburgh & wish I had known about the ghost walk at the time as I would definitely have gone on one.