Christmas read

Elly Griffiths: The Man in Black

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Short Stories

It wasn’t so long ago that Elly Griffiths penned the last instalment of the Ruth Galloway series – but definitely long enough to miss the characters. The Man in Black provides a delicious taste of Ruth’s world once again, as well as familiar favorites from Griffiths’ other series. However, established characters aren’t the only ones to appear in these short stories. Griffiths’ stories are brief, but full, sketches. The book introduces glimpses of many lives, just little capsules of how they think and live and feel. read more

Francine Mathews: Death on a Winter Stroll

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Great Christmas Read

Confession: this is the first book I’ve read in Mathews’ Merry Folger series, and I very much regret not being up to date (something I plan to rectify). What a great read – it reminded me of Jane Haddam’s books, without some of the sardonic edge that Haddam brought to her work.  Set on Nantucket, the setting is spectacular, and it’s obviously born of a personal love and knowledge of the area.  She describes the social strata of a resort perfectly – the workers who serve the very wealthy who frequent Nantucket exist in a different social sphere.  Merry, a native, is a “townie” who grew up on Nantucket and has long family roots on the island. They are there when the dust of the tourist season clears, and the gap between townie and summer visitor is often vast. read more