Booklog 47/2020: T. Kingfisher: A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking

A new T. Kingfisher book is always a delight, and this is no exception. Mona is a wizard. But her only talent lies in dough – the bread kind – and her ability to make a carnivorous sourdough starter that once ate a rat. When she opens up the bakery one morning, and finds a corpse on the floor, Inquisitor Oberon promptly accuses her of murder. Things go from bad to worse. Someone is murdering wizards, even the small and insignificant kind. Mona finds herself on the endangered species list and then – even more scarily, finds she's the only wizard in town when a vicious invading army arrives. With a fourteen year old heroine this book hovers between upper-end middle grade, YA, or it can equally enjoyed by adults who like quality literature.

Booklog 48/2020: Ben Aaronovitch: False Value – Audio – Rivers of London #8

This is slightly weird to begin with because it seems as if Peter Grant is out of the police force and has taken a job as security for Terrence Skinner, a Silicon Valley tech genius who is obviously a fan of Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Universe (cue lots of references). Peter's girlfriend, Beverly, river goddess of Beverley Brook, is heavily pregnant, so he's about to become a family man. He has to fit in with a bunch of geeks – even geekier than he is. Tech and magic meet over Skinner's big secret hidden in the basement. I'm a big fan of the Rivers of London novels, but this isn't one of my favourites. The narration, by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, is excellent, but I confess I had a long hiatus about halfway through which probably didn't help my enjoyment.

Booklog 49/2020: Abigail Wilson: Masquerade at Middlecrest Abbey

This is one of those strangers-must-marry-to-protect-woman's-reputation stories. Elizabeth Cantrell, single mother, ends up marrying Lord Torrington and settling in to Torrington Hall with her young son (who is coincidentally the bastard of Torrington's feckless younger brother – though she keeps that to herself). There's a spy sub-plot, and a murder plot. There are a lot of coincidences. Elizabeth seems to know people she couldn't possibly know. It made it feel a bit disjointed at times, which made it a little difficult to suspend disbelief, but it was a light and frothy read.

Booklog 50/2020: Just one Damned Thing After Another – Audio – St Mary's #1

This is a re-read in audio book form. It's the first of Jodi Taylor's St Mary's books which covers Maddie (Max) Maxwell's arrival as a trainee historian and her first few forays into 'researching historical events in contemporary time'. Don't call it time travel. Max visits the Cretaceous period and the burning of the great library of Alexandria. We meet Ronan, skipping up and down the timelines causing death and disaster. It's serious but also a lot of fun. Zara Ramm reads it beautifully.

Booklog 51/2020: Jodi Taylor: A Symphony of Echoes - St Mary's #02

This is a reread and always a pleasure to return to St Mary's with Max and Co. For those of you who have never read one of Jodi Taylor's 'Chronicles of St Mary's' books about a bunch of disaster prone historians who investigate the highs and lows of history in contemporary time (don't call it time travel) then you're in for a treat. I've read the books and now I'm doing a re-read via the excellent audiobooks read beautifully by Zara Ramm. The narration includes subtle changes of accent, pace and rhythm without hamming it up too far. The stories lend themselves beautifully to this medium. This time Max is dealing with some personal trauma with Leon Farrell, and Mary Queen of Scots, as well as the despicable Clive Ronan. Full of dramatic tension, action and adventure, this is a great sequel to 'Just One Damn Thing After Another.'