Welcome! January 2025 has come and gone so quickly and I am astounded that this draft is just being edited in mid-February. Ah, best of intentions and all of that good stuff. I am tickled that this year has started off so well in regards to my reading. Although, keeping detailed stats on my reading is not usually my thing, I actually started and finished three books that were so enjoyable. That is something of a feat in itself.
January started with me picking up Mrs. Harris goes to Paris by Paul Gallico. I was first introduced to this story by a dear friend recommending that I watch the movie that came out a couple of years ago. Well, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and had heard about Paul Gallico on some Book Tube channels. Well, I requested a copy from the library and actually poured through the book in three days. There was something so endearing about Mrs. Harris and her committed goal to obtain a Christian Dior dress, like one of her clients possessed.
If you have not seen the movie or read the book, Mrs. Harris is a char woman in London (house cleaner to those of us on this side of the pond). She has a strong moral compass, and is driven and committed to her goals, which makes her such a wonderful heroine. We follow Mrs. Harris over the course of a couple of years as she scrimps, saves and sacrifices to save up the money to go to Paris to purchase a dress. I think in our modern society of instant gratification, her commitment is something to applauded. As Mrs. Harris finally is able to save her money and go to Paris, she encounters people who do not treat her immediately as kindly as they should. But somehow, these people are drawn to this woman, her spirit, kindness and her impossible dream. And even though they may have not initially been overtly welcoming to house cleaner in a Paris couture design house, they land up feeling as if Mrs. Harris is almost a fairy godmother.
When I finished the book, I was thinking about Mrs. Harris, her kindness, generosity of spirit and her determination. As I was feeling a bit blue about something personally, I actually channeled Mrs. Harris and you know what? I felt a whole lot better thinking of this imaginary character and what what Mrs. Harris would say or do.
Please do read this book!
A Three Dog Problem by SJ Bennett (All the Queen's Men in the US)
What a fun book this was to read. I originally picked it up to read when I bought it last November and it must have been me and traveling, as the story did not take. However, right after reading Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris, I picked it up again and was hooked. This is the second book in the series, which I believe have five installments now. I will definitely read the first in the series this year as I have it on the shelf.
The premise of this series is that Queen Elizabeth II solves mysteries and murders set in royal residences. The Queen is assisted by her very capable assistant Rozie, who is former military and is very capable. This outing saw the Queen and Rozie solving a murder in Buckingham Palace tied to old painting the Queen noticed was missing from her personal rooms in the palace.
This was just a good light mystery and members of the royal family make appearances in the story, with Prince Phillip being so entertaining. This book handles the whole royal family in a respectful and light manner. Nothing too deep or salacious, just putting them in here and there throughout the story and they sound "normal", whatever that is.
A fun romp that imagines the late Queen channeling her inner Miss Marple.
A Place of Secrets by Rachel Hore
This book had me at the beginning and I spent a few nights sitting up reading well past my 'bed time on a school night.' You have to love a book that makes you a bit bleary eyed at work the next day.
This book follows Jude, an auction house appraiser who is sent to Starbrough Manor to evaluate Anthony Wickham's papers on astronomy and paraphernalia from the 1760's. Drawn to the area, as her Grandma was raised on the property and her sister and niece still live in the area, Jude welcomes the opportunity to evaluate the materials.
There are two mysteries, a couple of hundred years apart, in this dual time line story, in which an eerie folly on the property plays a part in both timelines. We follow Jude and her family, as well as Esther and her mysterious disappearance. There are a cast of characters in these mysteries and I was swept away in the story.
There is a bit of romance in the book, but not so much that it detracts from the mystery of the story. I won't give much more away, but I will definitely read another Rachel Hore book, after reading this one.
So, that in a nutshell is January for me.
