Enjoying all the Barbara Pym chat. I read Excellent Women earlier in the year and reviewed it positively. Sorry, Eine if I misled you and was in anyway responsible for you having to endure what was clearly not a book for you!
I have been a bit slack about updating so now have a few to add and will try to be brief:
31. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
Pip, Estella and Miss Havisham although my favourite characters are the minor ones: Joe, Herbert and Wemmick. I am at a loss as to why the BBC had to change the storyline in the recent adaptation.
32. The Trees - Percival Everett
Set in Mississippi and deals with a serious subject with elements of comedy. The humour does not detract from the disturbing subject matter. White men are being murdered in and the body of a black man (in some cases, the same body) is at each murder scene. The dead men are all related to a woman who historically made an untrue accusation against a black boy who was lynched. The local (white) police are supplemented by (black) state police and a black FBI agent and much of the dry humour comes from their observations. Different and good.
33. The Lullaby - Leila Slimani
Set in Paris and about a nanny who had murdered her charges - not a spoiler as it’s on the front cover. The book opens with the discovery of the bodies and then goes back to look at the lives of the family and the nanny leading up to the deaths. It’s short without a conclusive ending but engrossing as you wonder at which point a corner was turned/line crossed.
34. The Black Moth - Georgette Heyer
Her first novel but has it all going on: unrequited love, scandal, gambling, duels and highwaymen. Wonderful.
35. Refusal - Felix Francis
I have lost count as to where I am in terms of my re-read of the Francis books but pressing on. Sid Halley returns in this book; now married with a child which makes him more vulnerable when the villain goes after him as he investigates race fixing. As ever, fast paced.