I’m not sure how I carved out so much reading time this past month (although I think this most months), but I managed to get through these twelve novels.

1. Five Little Pigs by Agatha Christie
Considered to be among the very best from the grande dame’s pen, this Hercule Poirot mystery focuses on five suspects in a 16-year-old murder. Told in Poirot’s conversation with each, and then an accounting by each in a follow-up letter, at first it seemed repetitive. Then I began to notice small inconsistencies between the stories.
This is one of the only Christies that I have solved partway through the book, but rather than being disappointed that it was easy (it wasn’t), it was fascinating to watch the author misdirecting readers. Very satisfying, and worthy of its reputation.

2. The Pig Did It by Joseph Caldwell
Creative writing instructor Aaron McCloud travels from NYC to his Aunt Kitty’s in Ireland’s County Kerry to “suffer. He had come to deepen the lines on his forehead, to implant a mournfulness into his eyes that would forever silence the joyful and inspire shame in the indifferent.” When a pig that Aaron has gotten himself entangled with digs up a human skeleton buried in the backyard, the stage is set for an Irish country comedy of manners in which each of the three main Irish characters are suspicious of the others, and Aaron is left put-upon in his own mind. Caldwell puts farcical doings into lilting language that was beautiful to read for a while, but couldn’t keep me interested in the book which had no discernible plot. I gave up half-way through. Not fair to rate.

3. Wrecker by Summer Wood
A warm story about non-traditional family. You can read my review here.

4. The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown
The story of three sisters who arrive at their parents’ home in small-town Ohio, ostensibly to help as their mother undergoes treatment for breast cancer. Each has a secret she is reluctant to share, and problems that must be resolved. I posted my review here.

5. Bullet Work by Steve O’Brien
Murder and mayhem on the backside of a horse-racing track. You can see what I thought here.

6. Skipping a Beat by Sarah Pekkanen
This best seller about a highly successful couple (she, a high-end events planner; he, a soft-drink entrepreneur) was disappointing. Michael & Julia leave behind their poor WV roots and make it big and very rich in Washington D.C. When Michael survives a four-minute clinical death, he decides to give away his wealth. Julia is angry with him for spending so much time making the money, and then angry with him for giving it away. I was ready to vote her as this year’s protagonist you-love-to-hate. If you’re under 40 and haven’t yet realized that wealth is not a security, you might enjoy this – it seems many have.

7. Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult
After Max leaves Zoe and a decade of marriage, Zoe meets Vanessa and they become a couple. When Zoe asks Max to sign off on her fertilized eggs that are left from IVF procedures they undertook, the evangelical church he has become involved in takes up the case in “his behalf” and the parties end up in court. If you enjoy John Grisham court dramas, you’ll like this. I couldn’t connect with any of the characters, so wasn’t emotionally involved but wondering about the outcome kept me reading to the last page.

8. The House at Riverton by Kate Morton
The story of two sisters, Hannah & Emmaline, told in flashback by 98-year-old Grace who was a maid in their English country home in the years surrounding WW1. Loved the setting, the characters, the mystery, and the story itself. I will definitely read more Kate Morton.

9. Thereby Hangs a Tail: A Chet and Bernie Mystery by Spencer Quinn
The second book in the absolutely delightful Chet & Bernie mystery series. See my review

10. People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
“The book” is a five-hundred-year-old copy of a Jewish Haggadah, a text used at Passover meals. This real-life treasure came to light in Sarajevo in the 1990s and Brooks has imagined a rich history for it in this novel.

11. Murder on Astor Place by Victoria Thompson
First in the Gaslight Mystery series, this features Sarah Brandt, a thirty-something widowed midwife in 1895 NYC. The setting was very interesting, and will be even more so to those who know New York well. Sarah was raised “in society” but now lives simply without her family’s money so we glimpse both the upper & lower classes. Sarah is likable, if a little too competent, and the mystery moderately good.

12. His Majesty’s Yankees by Thomas H. Raddall
A novel set in Nova Scotia, the “fourteenth colony”, during the American Revolutionary War, this follows the life of young David Strang who fights for the “cause” of freedom from the king’s tyranny. A rich lesson in history, geography, politics and culture. Read for the June meeting of our local club, The Loquacious Compendium. This is a stop on my Literary Road Trip.

Links for my Canadian readers:

His Majesty’s Yankees: a Novel of Nova Scotia in the Days of the Revolution

P.S. These links are affiliate links so I will receive a small percentage of any purchase you make after clicking through from this blog.