English ladies solving mysteries

Sometimes I am struck by my reading choices. As you know I am a concurrent multi-book reader. It used to be that I had several paperbacks strewn about my life, but now it seems my books are contained by their format.

My lunch time reading is done on my ever so convenient, Kindle. I rarely travel without this little gadget. It is much easier to carry ten books with you in ebook format. It is amazing at how quickly a book can be enjoyed even when you only read for an half hour five days a week. I must admit though that I love book endings and will tend to pull out the Kindle at home if I am close to wrapping things up. My current Kindle book is Birds of a Feather (Maisie Dobbs Book 2) by Jacqueline Winspear. I adored the first book that I found through Audible. But decided the narrator on the second book was not as good as the first so I changed my format. I'm about half way through and enjoying it as much as the first one. Such lovely writing and interesting characters. The post WWII England setting has its own  draw for me.

My driving time has turned into "reading time" with my discovery of Audible's books. Now I have several waiting for me. This format too has earned a rather limited time slot in my life. Usually I listen in snippets of time but consistently during my weekday. I just finished The Black Ice by Michael Connelly. I don't remember how I stumbled on this series. While I enjoyed the book, I'm not sure it was my genre, gritty LA cop vs Mexican drug runners. I think I am more of an historical who-dun-it kind of gal.

I am back to something more my style with Mr. Churchill's Secretary by Susan Elia MacNeal. This one is set in WWII era London, but you probably guessed that by the title. It is a nice varied cast of characters, and it moves along at a nice clip. I find it so interesting to travel to a different time and place with a book. I must just like this place better than The Black Ice's LA. Hey I am a sucker for a book that has scones in it. The Black Ice had a predicable lack of scones.

My current paper book is Cocaine Blues: A Phyrne Fisher Mystery, by Kerry Greenwood. Do you see the female sleuth trend? This book differs by having a slightly more cynical detective. Her view of the world is more jaundiced and oozing with ennui. I have learned what it means to ask for an address. Who knows what else I have to learn from this book.

So I'm hitting an English female detective trifecta and enjoying every minute of it. I may have to work a bit harder at keeping the story lines from crossing over in my brain.