So, we are well into the season of mist and mellow fruitfulness. October seems to have arrived and disappeared in the blink of an eye. There was much excitement in the Emson barracks as we introduced a new member to the family. Hector the Ragdoll kitten turned 6 months old the week after his arrival. He’s been here 3 weeks now and has started to make the home his own. He just about tolerates us living in it with him (and tolerates the 6 year old wheeling him about in her toy pram. )

As for books, a few of those were welcomed into the house too. Ok more than a few…

1. Mr Cadmus by Peter Ackroyd, sent for review by Canongate.
2. Box 88 by Charles Cummings.
3. Life in Pieces by Dawn O’Porter.
4. Speedy Bosh by Henry Firth and Ian Theasby. This, together with the previous two books were a prize from Harper Collins.
5. One Night in August by Victoria Hislop, sent for review by Headline.
6. Three Women and A Boat by Anne Youngson, sent for review by Transworld.
7. What Lies Between Us by John Marrs.
8. Remember Me by Amy McLellan. This and the previous book were sent by Capital Crime.
9. Tea is So Intoxicating by Mary Essex, sent for review by British Library.
10. The Confession by Jessie Burton, a prize from The Book Taster.
11. Police at the Funeral by Margery Allingham .
12. The Tiger in the Smoke by Margery Allingham. This and the previous book were charity shop finds.
13. The Lamplighters by Emma Stonex, sent for review by Picador.
14. The Age of Static by Phil Harrison, sent for review by Melville House UK.
15. The Sanitorium by Sarah Pearse, sent for review by Transworld.
16. Mudlarking by Lara Maiklem, a purchase from Read Holmfirth.
17. The Incredible Crime by Lois Austen Leigh.
18. The Long Arm of the Law edited by Martin Edwards. This and the previous book were more charity shop finds.
19. The Virago Book of Women Travellers edited by Mary Morris, sent for review by Virago.
20. Death and the Brewery Queen by Frances Brody, sent for review by Piatkus.
21. When the Lights Go Out by Carys Bray, sent for review by Hutchinson.
22. Call Me Mummy by Tina Baker, sent for review by Viper.
23. The Last Good Man by Thomas McMullan, sent for review by Bloomsbury.
24. The Stranger Times by C M Macdonnell, sent for review by Bantam.
25. The Dead of Winter by Nicola Upson, sent for review by Faber.
26. The Mist by Ragnar Jonasson, sent for review by Penguin.
27. The Port of London Murders by Josephine Bell, sent for review by British Library.
28. Ex Libris by Michiko Kakutani, sent for review by Michael Collins.
29. The Push by Ashley Audrain, sent for review by Michael Joseph.
30. Domestic Bliss and Other Disasters by Jane Ions, sent for review by Bluemoose.
31. Mordew by Alex Pheby, a purchase from Galley Beggar Press.
32. Bolt From the Blue by Jeremy Cooper, sent for review by Fitzcarraldo Editions.
33. The Magic Toyshop by Angela Carter.
34. Fireworks by Angela Carter.
35. Third Girl by Agatha Christie.
36. The Psychology of Time Travel by Kate Mascarenhas.
37. The Women in Black by Madeleine St John. This and the previous 4 books were more charity shop finds.
38. The Thief on the Winged Horse by Kate Mascarenhas, sent for review by Midas PR.
39. The Burning Girls by C.J. Tudor, sent for review by Michael Joseph.
40. White Ivy by Susie Yang, sent for review by Wildfire.
41. The Four Winds by Kristen Hannah, sent for review by Macmillan.
42. Silence is a Sense by Layla AlAmmar, sent for review by Borough Press.
43. Death Goes on Skis by Nancy Spain, sent for review by Virago.
44. A Thing Called Love by Nell Carter, sent for review by Ed PR.
45. The Museum of Desire by Jonathan Kellerman, sent for review by Arrow.
46. Trace Elements by Donna Leon, a purchase from Read Holmfirth.
47. A Song for Summer by Eva Ibbotson.
48. A Company of Swans by Eva Ibbotson.
49. A Cotswold Killing by Rebecca Tope. This and the two Eva Ibbotson books were more charity shop finds.

There were also 5 books sent in book boxes by Reposed which I will reveal when I review them.

So these are the books that managed to get themselves read this month.

1. The Unwrapping of Theodora Quirke by Caroline Smailes.
2. Miss Mole by E.H. Young.
3. Mr Cadmus by Peter Ackroyd.
4. Fortune Favours the Dead by Stephen Spotswood.
5. Crossed Skis by Carol Carnac.

I also lent out 4 books to my sister-in-law and 1 to a friend. That gives us 54 in and 10 out. Even my tenuous excuses run out trying to equal that up. It’s like trying to make a mouse weigh the same as an elephant.

So we move into November and another lockdown. However you spend the next month, I hope you are safe, secure and know that you are strong enough to make it through to December.