This is my own personal list of books which I have read and enjoyed, from July to December 2001. Brief reviews after each. For my most recent reading, see my books blog.

July 2001

Agatha Christie - A Caribbean mystery

Miss Marple is on holiday abroad when a murder takes place. In her usual gentle style, she discovers what happened and who was responsible. A bit convoluted but still enjoyable.

Agatha Christie - The murder of Roger Ackroyd

One of the very best, this is now almost a classic. The story is told from the point of view of Dr Sheppard. Roger Ackroyd, a friend of his, is murdered one night. Hercule Poirot, who has just moved to the area, decides to investigate and enlists Dr Sheppard's help. Various people are suspected until the murder is at last unmasked in one of the best-laid plots ever. Excellent - even though I did manage to work out for myself, about a chapter before the unmasking, who the murderer was.

Agatha Christie - Poirot Investigates (short stories)

Eleven early Poirot stories, told from the point of view of Hastings, his old friend. Light humour as Hastings reveals his own - usually wrong - deductions, and the arrogant Poirot solves the crimes with ease.

Agatha Christie - The mystery of the Blue Train

An exciting adventure concerning some valuable jewels. Mr van Aldin buys some jewellery for his married daughter, and she is murdered on a train. Poirot happens to be on the train, as does Katherine, an English girl who has never had anything exciting happen to her. The mystery unfolds and Poirot, as ever, reveals the murderer.

Susan Howatch - The High Flyer

At last I managed to read this, second in the St Benet's series, and sequel to 'A Question of Integrity'. Carter Graham is an efficient business manager, married to someone similar. After introducing these people, the book flashes back to their courtship and the tensions they have had in early marriage, exacerbated by an ex-wife who seems determined to cause trouble. But as Carter discovers more about her husband's past, she becomes more worried about the present. Occult links appear, and when she finally decides to talk to the ex-wife, she is prevented from doing so. Nick, Alice and Lewis (from the previous book) are seen from Carter's viewpoint as she goes to St Benet's centre for advice. The plot moves fast towards an exciting, if somewhat melodramatic climax and we're left wondering what will happen to Carter, as well as to Alice!

Agatha Christie - The secret of Chimneys

Anthony meets an old friend, and agrees to deliver an important manuscript to London. he is also asked to return some letters to someone who has apparently been blackmailed. He quickly becomes involved in the lives of various people, and attempts to solve the mystery of an unexpected murder, as well as trying to discvoer some missing family jewels. Excellent plot with several surprises at the end.

Marcia Willett - Winning Through

Last in the Chadwick family trilogy. Beautifully written, emotive book which sees tragedy and delight cleverly interwoven with the charming characters, matured but recognisable from the earlier volumes ('Looking Forward' and 'Holding On'). The future of The Keep is at stake, particularly when Uncle Theo dies and another character is shockingly killed. How it will continue is resolved at tne end - not unexpectedly, but in a delightful and positive way.

Erica James - The Holiday

Rather a disappointing book after having read this author's previous village life novels. This book has a 'light romance' main plot, with over-much focus on sex in the sun. Interesting characters and sub-plots perhaps raises this above the typical holiday romance book - and certainly it's rather longer - but without the depth or gentle country life observations expected from Erica James. Somewhat sudden - though reasonably satisfactory - ending.

August 2001

Marcia Willett - Hattie's Mill

Hattie buys an old mill-house, and starts to take in lodgers. She becomes friendly with the various people living nearby. The book is about their interreactions - good characterisation but slow-moving plot. Quite pleasant but not gripping, nor as moving as the 'Chadwick' trilogy.

Jane Gardam - God on the rocks

Strange novel set in the earlier part of the 20th century. A small girl goes out with one of the maids, only half aware of conflict between her parents. She grows up and discovers life, and various secrets. Not one I would read again.

Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins - The Indwelling

Seventh in the 'Left Behind' series: exciting as ever, although the plot takes us forward extremely slowly. Nicolae Carpathia lies in state while the world leaders try to decide who assassinated him. The little group of Christians need to find a new safe house, and eentually Carpathia rises from the dead, as expected, now possessed fully with satan.

Rosamunde Pilcher - Wild Mountain Thyme

A dramatic opening, as Oliver Dobbs - playwright - fools the girl looking after his two-year-old son, then arrives on the doorstep of his ex-girlfriend Victoria. She agrees to take him back for a while, and go with him - and his son - to visit an acquaintance in Scotland. What starts as an idyllic holiday nearly ends in tragedy before Victoria learns about Oliver, life and love, and makes some wise decisions. Happy ending.

September 2001

Georgette Heyer - April Lady

Delightful historical romance, just as good on third or fourth reading as the first! Young Nell, Lady Cardross, adores her wealthy husband but is afraid to let him know, as her mother told her that men don't like displays of emotions from their wives. She has over-spent her allowance - yet again! - and lent money to her brother, a spendthrift gamester. As she tries to avert the crisis she becomes more and more unhappy until the final clever denoument. Enjoyable and fast-paced, with characters who seem real and sympathetic.

Marcia Willett - The Dipper

Three main plots and several sub-plots intertwine in this pleasant contemporary novel. Clemmie and Quentin are growing old, worried that they will not be able to remain in their beloved Grange home. Phyllida and Alistair seem secure with their small daughter Lucy, but the Phyllida loses an unborn baby, and suspicions strikes when Alistair is accused of being unfaithful. Meanwhile Claudia is concerned that her husband Jeff doesn't really love her. As these people meet and interreact, viewpoints move around believably - and while there is some unhappiness, the end is satisfactory and encouraging.

Agatha Christie - The mysterious affair at Styles

A woman is murdered, presumably poisoned, and her husband seems both the villain of the household, and the only person to benefit from her death. But Hercule Poirot steps in to prove that he could not possibly have done it. How he solves the crime, with a most unexpected ending, is one of the cleverer plots in this amazing author's repertoire.

Agatha Christie - Murder on the Orient Express

Perhaps the most famous of Agatha Christie's books. An unpleasant man is murdered in a train carriage overnight. There are twelve people in the same carriage, of whom one must be the crook. Hercule Poirot investigates each one, all of whom have good alibis, and eventually reveals the surprising (and slightly unlikely!) ending.

Alexandra Raife - Drumveyn

Madeleine is trying to come to terms with her husband's death, and gradually realises that friends and relatives need her help. As she matures and develops, free from her husband's often constricting influence, she learns to lvoe and live again. Reassuring, sympathetic and encouraging.

October 2001

Kathleen Rowntree - The quiet war of Rebecca Sheldon

Rebecca marries her childhood sweetheart, George, just before the end of the 19th century. His rather strange sisters and mother disapprove of her, so rather than moving into the family 'Grange', they live at first over a shop, where George works as a butcher. Rebecca never understands why George's family dislike her; over the years there is uneasy contact, partly through her oldest child Meg who is very like one of her aunts. As they grow older and live through World War I, there is a slow change in attitudes until eventually Rebecca achieves what she wants, having come through ill health and tragedy brought on by George's stubbornness. A family novel: ongoing situations rather than plot, with several rather caricatured people. However Rebecca is realistic and likeable, hard-working and humble. Conversation is believable, and it's reassuring that in the end she is not beaten.

Angela Huth - Invitation to the married life

The story opens with a breakfast scene between Thomas - a renowned philanderer - and his wife Rachel, who lives for her secret addiction: sleeping! Gradually various other characters are introduced, also married; all of them have been invited to the Farthingoes' ball. Light and descriptive 'social novel', without much plot. The book charts each couple's progress towards the ball, with believable - if a little caricatured - characters. Fairly satisfactory ending.

Mary Sheepshanks - Picking up the pieces

Enjoyable novel featuring a four-generation family. Kate, the grandmother, is the main protagonist - recently widowed, and determined to become more independent. She shares a home with her delightful and outspoken mother-in-law, while almost next door lives her rather demanding daughter Joanna, who clashes frequently with her teenage daughter Harriet. As Kate starts to develop her social life, falls in love, and decides to move and begin a new career, Joanna expects her to become a comfortable granny who babysits on demand. Excellent characters and a gentle but clear plot with many intriguing sub-plots.

Elizabeth Goudge - The Rosemary Tree

A gentle, relaxing book revolving around the delightful - but vague - vicar John, and his attractive - but irritable - wife Daphne. Their three daughters attend a 'select' school where they are unhappy, and much of the book features the resolution of this problem. Meanwhile Michael, a visitor to the village, with a 'past' he is ashamed of, arrives in the neighbourhood and threatens to turn their lives upside down. As the vairous sub-plots interweave, the author draws excellent word-pictures of each individual, with a clear understanding of temperament differences and high sensitivities. Over-descriptive in places for my tastes, but on the whole an enjoyable, pleasant read.

Angela Huth - Nowhere Girl

Clare, temporarily estranged from her second husband, attends the funeral of her first husband, then meets the unpredictable Joshua for whom she forms a sudden attraction. They move in together and start an affair, leaving in the air the question of whether she will return to her husband when their trial separation has ended. Meanwhile she and Joshua befriend the eccentric elderly Mrs Fox, who becoems an important part of their lives. Rather a depressing and unsatisfactory ending.

November 2001

Rebecca Shaw - Talk of the Village

A gentle village story, obviously part of a series, though complete in itself. The Vicar and his wife adopt some babies amidst rumours about the babies' parentage; two elderly and apparently senile women nearly kill a child, before their distressing past is revealed; an elderly couple decide to get married. People in the village react and interreact. Quite pleasant, though not particularly exciting.

Monica Dickens - No more Meadows

Christine, a bookshop manager, in her thirties, decides to marry an American naval officer despite her family's objections. How she gradually adjusts to married life in a new country, shortly after World War II, is the main plot. Realistic people and a shocking - if somewhat contrived - climax leads to a fairly hopeful conclusion.

Margaret Graham - Look within your heart

The novel opens as Belle and her daughter Connie await Walter's return from the war. Buthe is changed beyond recognition, after harrowing experiences, and plagued with guilt that he survived. He takes the family to Newcastle to establish a shelter for ex-armymen, and Binnie, an unmarried mother, with her daughter. As Connie grows up she feels haunted by Binnie's daughter Dora, and escapes abroad. Reasonably happy ending; quite moving in places.

Georgette Heyer - Frederica

Frederica arrives in London with her beautiful sister Charis, and delightful younger brothers Jessamy and Felix. She enlists help from their distant cousin, the unwilling Marquis of Alverstoke, who finds the boys irresistably friendly, and soon becomes involved with the girls. Fast-paced and exciting with a satisfactory, if unexpected ending. Excellent!

Clare Darcy - Cressida

Cressy, in her late 20s, seems to be a hardened flirt. Unexpectedly Captain Deverill, to whom she had been betrothed some years before, appears in her life again, and they find themselves squabbling frequently. A dramatic finale makes them realise how much they mean to each other. Soem humour, but a rather predictable plot, with characters and dialogue nowhere as realistic or cleverly drawn as thsoe of Georgette Heyer.

Charlotte Bingham - Summertime

Trilby, who lives with her loving father and unpleasant stepmother, draws cartoons for the amusement of her neighbours. When a newspaper tycoon sees and admires them, and then falls in love with her, she escapes from her family - only to find that her husband keeps her almost like a doll, with little to do, unable to go out alone. A nervous breakdown leads to some relaxing of her bounds, and inevitably she meets someone else. A moving book with a dramatic climax - but the final chapter leaves rather too many unanswered questions for my tastes.

Georgette Heyer - The Grand Sophy

'Little Sophy' arrives to stay with her cousins while her father is abroad, and takes the family by storm! She is outspoken and detrmined, with grand ideas and a generous heart. She tries to extricate her cousin Hubert from his financial worries, and help her cousin Cecilia to find true love. Fast-moving with delightful and believable characters.

December 2001

Mary Sheepshanks - Off Balance

Isobel and Giles live in a huge house in Scotland, which is being partly converted to an arts/drama centre. They have twin children: Amy, a charming and talented young violinst, and Edward, who has a form of autism combined with some psychological handicaps. Isobel's sister Lorna - an old girlfriend of Giles' - arrives to take over some of the administration, and shorlty afterwards a talented artist, Daniel, arrives to make some backdrops. Believable people, with Edward in particular a very sympathetic character. Family relationships are explored, and serious problems almost strike the marriage before the climax leading to renewed strength and determination. Excellent - with an epilogue implying that a sequel may appear.

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