Reading - June 2026

Choosing You by Stacy Finz (2021)

Predictable but nice. The little US town of Nugget, where this series is set (this is the 11th book!) is unrealistically wholesome and basically an escapist fantasy, but that's what we want anyway and everyone ends up happy.

The Cuckoo's Egg by Clifford Stoll (1989)

I bought this, the early classic of computer espionage and hacking, over thirty years ago and haven't read it in at least twenty (definitely not since 2009), but the details remain in my mind. It's fascinating to learn about the early internet, from several years before I first came across it and at least 10-15 years before it became common ground.

Holding On by Stacy Finz (2021)

So finally I've reached the end of the Nugget series. There's nothing in this to indicate that it's the last one, just another sweet, wholesome romance set in small town America. Very readable and enjoyable.

Wild Eyes by Elsie Silver (2024)

Superior romantic fiction - well constructed, well told and thoroughly readable. The only slightly sour note is that while the MFC is gaining her independence and learning to speak up for herself, she lets herself be a submissive male fantasy plaything in the bedroom. Nothing wrong with that if that's your thing but it seems inconsistent with the character and with the theme of the story. Still, I'm pleased to note that there are three other books - so far - in this series.

An Ethical Guide to Murder by Jenny Morris (2025)

An entertaining and compelling examination of the ethics of murder, framed within the concept of someone who can somehow transfer life force from one person to another at will. If some of the characters seem a bit light - particularly the boyfriend - then it only detracts slightly.

The Partner by John Grisham (1997)

I find Grisham highly readable - you really want to know how it will all play out - but this is a lesser entry in the canon, which explains why I haven't read it in over twenty years. And the cheap shot twist at the end makes no sense - a twist has to make sense in hindsight, even if you didn't see it coming.

Clueless (draft script, 1994)

Reading early version of scripts is interesting, seeing what stays in and what gets cut. There's almost always fewer words in the film, because you can do so much more on screen without them. But this is pretty close to the final thing.

Nemesis by Agatha Christie (1971)

Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie (1976)

At Bertram's Hotel by Agatha Christie (1965)

Nemesis by Agatha Christie (1930)

For some bizarre reason, the twelve Miss Marple novels in three omnibus volumes are not in anything even close to chronological order. So here, in Volume 3, we have the last three stories, albeit not in order themselves, and then the first. Why? Anyway, they're all very good and if the eventual motive for murder seems perhaps a little light, the point is the puzzle and, as always, they're well set up and designed. Light reading for a hot day (I read three of them in one day).

Let The Games Begin by Rufaro Faith Mazarura (2024)

A perfectly pleasant romance, set at the 2024 Olympic Games and featuring Black characters, which was nice as it made a change to get their cultural background but made no real difference to the story.

Death on Ice by R. O. Thorp (2024)

A locked room murder mystery with a slightly improbable set of characters and plot, but engaging and a good read.