Books Read in February

The George Felse Omnibus: Fallen Into the Pit; Death and the Joyful Woman; A Nice Derangement of Epitaphs by Ellis Peters- I didn’t read the entire trilogy, just Death and the Joyful Woman.  We really like the George Felse mysteries.  Ellis also writes the Brother Cadfael books.  Felse stories are set in modern day England, or what was modern at the time of writing.  In this one the Felse’s young teen-aged son is featured prominently.

The Bromeliad Trilogy: Wings by Terry Pratchett, He’s always funny, but this trilogy is for younger readers and it’s cute, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as his other books. A tale of gnomes, not the garden sort, but real, tiny creatures who move too fast to be seen (when they choose) who have just learned that they are not from Earth.  One ‘tribe’ has been living under the floorboards of a department store they believe was built especially for them by the human deity Grandfather Richards.  After learning the truth, they have lots of adventures and some of them manage to return to their flying saucer and head for the stars. The take-away is also that the faith of your fathers may be just as silly as a belief in Grandfather Richards, so it’s better not to believe in anything- that’s called being open minded.

The Man from the Sea, by Michael Innes, Love the Innes mysteries, this is more of a spy story after the style of Buchan, with one rather squicky storyline.

No Wind Of Blame by Georgette Heyer, Heyer’s mysteries are always delightful and delicious, and this has some of the most amusing characters in detective fiction.

Deeds of the Disturber: An Amelia Peabody Novel of Suspense (Amelia Peabody Mysteries) by Elizabeth Peters

Amelia Peabody and her husband Emerson are in London, along with their son and her brother’s two obnoxious children. They are investigating a murder or two or three connected to the Egyptology wing of the British Museum.  They are a charming husband and wife team, as always, devoted to one another and staunchly feminist with tongue in cheek Victorian charm.  Amelia Peabody mysteries are always slightly farcical and very well written.

The Honeymoon House and Other Stories (Grace Livingston Hill) by Grace Livingston Hill- 1930s or so Christian fiction, short stories. The short stories are not my favorite Hills, they tend to lack all the domestic details I love best.

I didn’t start this one in Feb, but I finished it: War of the Worldviews: A Christian Defense Manual by Gary DeMar- a little bit dated in some areas, but still of some value in instructing youth.  I have owned it for years, though, and I think if I was looking for something in this field now, I’d choose a more recent book.