Gaudy Night - Dorothy L Sayers Part of the ongoing Wimseyfest - I think I prefer him without his Harriet, and he's not in this one much at all, but I like the Oxford background and the undergraduates. One of my minor subcategories of favourite fiction is murder with an academic background.
The Flower Patch among the Hills - Flora Klickmann My second foray into her flower patch and I found her a bit less formidable in this one.
Heads You Lose - Christianna Brand The first Inspector Cockerill novel. Her murder mysteries are light and fun, the perfect comfort reading for a cold winter night. Green for Danger is her best, and my favourite, but I have enjoyed all her books and would recommend them to those of you who incline towards the cosy end of Golden Age crime.
Lucy Brown's Schooldays - Dorothy Vicary At the start of the autumn term Lucy is the Stodge of St George's, by Christmas she is on the second eleven, a star of the gym squad, and part of the form elite, and it all seems perfectly possible. This is one of my all time favourite school stories, and the scene when Nan Page unpacks her trunk is one I never tire of reading. It's nearly as good as Katy and Clover's Christmas box. Dorothy Vicary wrote a couple of other school stories which aren't in the same league, but this is magnificent and I urge you all to seek out a copy.
The Time-traveller's Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century - Ian Mortimer Reminded me a bit of Liza Picard's wonderful London histories. A fun and fascinating look at how we used to live for fans of social history. I rarely enjoy historical fiction these days, but I do like this sort of book. I am glad I had the foresight to buy it for the ozard dude to give me for Christmas.
Portobello - Ruth Rendell I prefer her Barbara Vine novels these days, as they seem more substantial. This was readable as ever, but left me feeling underwhelmed, as did her last Wexford book.
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