Various ramblings by the small hobbit

My TBL list remains at 14 - because I bought some more mysteries as they were on offer.

Poirot Investigates by Agatha Christie, read by David Suchet.  Early Poirot short stories, narrated by Hastings, who was incredibly annoying with his permanent belief that he knew what was happening until the moment when Poirot proved he didn't.  The stories themselves are good, Hastings is a bore.

Maigret's Anger by Georges Simenon read by Gareth Armstrong.  Set in a hot Paris in June, this is a later Maigret, but still as good as the earlier stories.

A Terrible Village Poisoning by Hannah Hendy read by Jenny Funnell.  The next in the Dinner Lady Detectives series.  This time set in a village not far from the sea.  There are all sorts of complications, but the two ladies are able to sort matters out by the end.  It's cosy crime, but I find it entertaining and enjoy seeing the married ladies in their late 50s being the heroes.

Maigret's Patience by Georges Simenon read by Gareth Armstrong.  Also set in Paris, this time events give Maigret the lead on a number of jewellery robberies which have been foxing him for some years.

A Scream in Soho by John G Brandon read by Gordon Griffin.  Set in London during the Blitz, there's plenty of twists and turns.  It was written in 1940, so an accurate description of the setting, and republished by British Library Crime Classics.  The plot's quite good, but the constant descriptions of how wonderful the detective was, is grating.

My TBL is at 16, but that includes 7 Maigret's, so I should clear this lot this year.

Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-Joo, read by Jamie Parker.  I chose this as the second in a 2 for 1 offer and because Jamie Parker was reading it.  The story itself wasn't interesting, but as an insight in the life of a young woman in South Korea in the last decades of the 20th century was worth hearing.

The Yellow Dog by Georges Simenon, read by Gareth Armstrong.  Set in a small town near Rennes, Maigret is called in to investigate a shooting at a local businessman.  

A Man's Head by Georges Simenon, read by Gareth Armstrong.  This time in Paris, Maigret is convinced a man accused of murder who is about to be executed wasn't guilty and sets about proving the fact in a typical unexpected way.

An Unfortunate Christmas Murder by Hannah Hendy, read by Jenny Funnell.  Second book in the Dinner Lady Detectives series.  An easy listen, perfect for Christmas preparations.  I will be continuing with the series.  It's not in Agatha Christie's league, but I think Miss Marple would approve of Marjorie Butcher-Baker and they'd happily have a cup of tea together.

Rumpole and the Primrose Path by John Mortimer, read by Bill Wallis.  More entertaining stories of Rumpole.  As She Who Must Be Obeyed would probably agree, I enjoy a few stories and then I wouldn't want to listen to more for a while.

My TBL is at 15 titles, probably the lowest it's been for a couple of years!

Maigret's Memoirs by Georges Simenon read by Gareth Armstrong.  Different from the usual stories, with Maigret himself providing some of his own history and explaining how he is different from he character described by M. Simenon.  Learning a bit about Maigret's background and how he met Madame Maigret was interesting.

Death and Fromage by Ian Moore read by Ian Moore.  I read the first book in the series at the beginning of the year, and had planned to read more at some point, so when the second in the series was on offer i bought it.  There are the same range of odd characters and a bizarre plot and, knowing what to expect, I found it entertaining.

A Pelican at Blandings by PG Wodehouse read by Nigel Lambert.  The Earl of Emsworth is having difficulties and he calls on his brother, Galahad, to come and help.  The usual plots and counter plots ensue, and the Empress has a part.  The usual Wodehouse fare.

Maigret and the Man on the Bench by Georges Simenon read by Gareth Armstrong.  A traditional Maigret story, as Maigret seeks to identify a dead man and construct his past and his recent history before working out who murdered him.  I'm still enjoying these stories.

Rumpole's Last Case by John Mortimer read by Bill Wallis.  Various short stories with Rumpole managing to prove what really happened and sometimes get his client off the charge.

There are now 23 books on my TBL list as the latest Audible sale featured a few I was already interested in.  

Cities and Canopies: Trees in Indian Cities by Harini Nagendra and Seema Mundoli read by Dilshad Kuruna.  Harini Nagendra is a professor of Ecology at Azim Prenji University and also a favourite mystery author of mine, which is why I chose this book.  It's really interesting, covering many of the different trees found in India, together with the folklore and uses of the trees as well as the vital importance trees have in cities.  Recommended for anyone with a slight interest in trees or India.

The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafón read by Dan Stevens.  The second in the Cemetery of Forgotten Books series, long but fascinating.  I shall listen to the others at some point, but not for a while.

Murder in an English Village by Jessica Ellicott read by Barbara Rosenblat.  A few months ago I filled in a form for the Vancouver Library to get some personalised reading recommendations.  This was one of them so I downloaded the free audiobook.  The first in a series of cosy crime novels, but I won't be continuing with the series.  For me the setting - English village post WWI is unconvincing.

Maigret's Holiday by Georges Simenon read by Gareth Armstrong.  No audiobook report is complete without a Maigret.  Mme Maigret is taken ill at the start of their holiday in Les Sable d'Olonne and in hospital but Maigret soon gets involved in a suspicious death.  More happy listening.

The Dubliners by James Joyce read by Chris O'Dowd.  I started an online course on James Joyce, but gave it up.  Nevertheless I did listen to this collection of Joyce's short stories.  Andrew Scott also reads a version, but the O'Dowd one was free!  I am not a fan of Joyce.

And my TBL is back up to 20 titles - I'm a sucker for the sales, but I don't think there's more than a year's supply there...

My Friend Maigret by Georges Simenon read by Gareth Armstrong.  This features a Scotland Yard detective who has come to study Maigret's way of working and is set mainly in a small island off the Cote D'Azure.  As atmospheric as ever.  I seem to be listening to a Maigret a month at the moment.

Galahad at Blandings by P G Wodehouse read by Jeremy Sinden.  The usual entertaining Blandings story, with appearances by the Empress and Lord Emsworth, while Galahad Threepwood endeavours to put things right and thereby causing more confusion.

A Body Made of Glass by Caroline Crampton read by Caroline Crampton.  The history of hypochondria.  Caroline Crampton runs the Shedunnit podcast and I really only bought the audiobook to support her.  It's an interesting subject, okay for listening to while driving, but not one I would have listened to otherwise.

The Black Tower by P D James read by Daniel Weyman.  I know there are many fans of P D James, but this was a disappointment.  Far too many irrelevant descriptions and I don't find Adam Dalgleish the most interesting of characters.  I half-enjoy the stories but they never leave me satisfied.  However, I find Weyman's reading style pleasant listening.

The Trials of Rumpole by John Mortimer read by Bill Wallis.  Having had a six-month break from Rumpole I enjoyed listening to these short stories.  I'd heard a couple of them before, or at least I remembered the plots partway through, but nevertheless found them entertaining.

My TBL is back down to 20 titles.

The Hanged Man of St Pholien by Georges Simenon read by Gareth Armstrong
My next Maigret, written in 1931.  I do enjoy both the view of France in the 1930s as well as the plots that Simenon creates.

The Spy Who Came In from the Cold by John Le Carré read by Michael Jayston
The next in the Smiley series, although George Smiley doesn't play much of a part.  The twists and turns are well up to Le Carré's standard.

Paul Temple: The Complete Radio Collection: Volume One: The Early Years (1938 - 1950)
Not as good as later stories, and not helped by the fact that some of the programmes had to be remastered due to the quality of the original.  But it included how Paul Temple and Steve met and introduced some of the other characters who became mainstays in subsequent series.

Felicie by Georges Simenon read by Gareth Armstrong
A slightly later Maigret, written in 1944 although set inter-war period.  The character of Felicie, on whom the story hangs, is quite different and a real challenge to Maigret.  I find Simenon's characters very rounded and can imagine meeting them.  

Shroud for a Nightingale by P D James read by Daniel Weyman
I struggle with P D James and the amount of description provided in her books.  Setting the scene is one thing, but long descriptions which don't advance the plot seem unnecessary to me.  And James seems to idolise her detective, Adam Dalgleish, who knows he's not acting according to protocol (which he would expect in others) but nevertheless continues.

And just to be consistent, my TBL list is now back at 20!

Rules for Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson, read by Graham Halstead.  
This was a Shedunnit modern novel candidate a couple of years ago, which sounded interesting.  There's a series of murders which are committed based on a number of classic golden age stories.  Unfortunately there was considerably more to the story than I expected and I grew rather tired of the main character.

The Flemish House by Georges Simenon, read by Gareth Armstrong
A Maigret novel, written in 1932 and again a great insight into the period.  It's set on the French-Belgian border and looks at small town prejudices, which could be found in many places.  The Maigret books are quite short, but the plots are clever and I completely failed to spot whodunnit, although as Maigret explained what happened at the end it all made sense.  I have three more Maigrets on my TBL list.

The Borgia Portrait by David Hewson, read by Richard Armitage
Another story set in Venice with the same main protagonists as The Medici Murders.  Given I was listening in a very wet November, imagining the heat of a Venetian summer was very pleasant.  The plot is a bit OTT, but it's still enjoyable as a listen, and certainly improves the washing up!

Lord Emsworth and Others by P G Wodehouse, read by Stephen Fry
The first story in the book is set at Blandings Castle and definitely fun, the others are tedious and the last few, simply annoying.  They served to pass the time when stuck waiting in traffic.  I really don't care for some of Wodehouse's characters who are so self-centred I don't find them funny.

The Carter of La Providence by Georges Simenon, read by Gareth Armstrong
Written in 1931 this has some excellent descriptions of the people working the barges on the canals of northern France, really evocative.  And there's such an interesting collection of characters.  I felt like I was there.

Paul Temple: The Complete Radio Collection: Volume Three: The Sixties (1960-1968)
I've been listening to the Paul Temple stories on BBC Sounds for a while, but there's normally quite a wait between series.  This way I get to hear all of them, without waiting.  Not to be taken seriously, the number of times Temple and his wife are involved in car crashes, are shot at etc, and walk away only a little shaken is amazing.  But it's enjoyable.  And the plots often involve exotic locations, smart nightclubs etc.  I have the other three volumes in my TBL.

Unnatural Causes by P D James, read by Daniel Weyman
Another Adam Dalgleish story.  Set on the Norfolk coast.  This one I found disappointing.  There was too much description of the coast, some of the drama seemed unnecessary, and I think it was a mistake to have Dalgleish as a bystander rather than conducting the investigation.  I have four more P D James on my TBL so it will be interesting to see how those go.

I've listened to 38 audiobooks this year, so theoretically it should be no problem getting through my current TBL by the end of next year.  Although I don't doubt there will be other shiny titles to attract me :)

And my TBL list is still at 20...

Howards End by E M Foster, read by Edward Petherbridge
The best I can say is I got to the end of it.  I had so little sympathy with any of the characters, that even when things happened to them I wasn't really concerned.

Pietr the Latvian by Georges Simenon, read by Gareth Armstrong
The first Maigret novel, which encouraged me to read/listen to more stories.  I could visualise the characters and was keen to see what happened.  Initially I hadn't realised it was written in 1931, but once I knew that I could understand the setting a bit better, which did help.  I will be adding to my collection.

Anything for a Quiet Life by Michael Gilbert, read by Christopher Scott
A series of mysteries involving a solicitor to semi-retires to a small town on the Sussex coast.  The stories have a selection of recurring characters, as Jonas Pickett meets many within the town, and being Michael Gilbert, there's always an excellent twist to the tale.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.

A Small Town in Germany by John Le Carré, read by Michael Jayston
I didn't enjoy this as much as the Smiley novels, but I was still keen to find out what happened and why.  It took a while to pick up speed, but the look at the different individuals involved in the British Embassy in Bonn (this is 1968) and their relationships with each other is good.

Blanding Castle & Elsewhere by P G Wodehouse, read by Stephen Fry
Part of Fry's Blandings Collection.  The first part, set in Blandings Castle and featuring Lord Emsworth was the best as far as I was concerned.  The other stories are entertaining, but lack the Blandings charm.

My TBL pile now stands at 20, so progress is being made!  For the moment :)

Guard Her With Your Life by Joy Ellis, read by Tom Bateman. An audible original.  Ellis writes the Jackman & Evans series which I very much enjoy, and as this was in the Plus catalogue, and therefore free to members, I thought I'd try it.  It's a thriller and definitely of the 'what will happen next' variety.  I enjoyed it as an accompaniment to driving/chores.

Miss Marple's Final Cases by Agatha Christie read by Juliet Stevenson.  Definitely enjoyable short stories, most of which I hadn't heard before. Ideal for cross stitching.

Call for the Dead by John Le Carré read by Michael Jayston.  The first book to feature George Smiley.  Definitely appealed and I have some more Smiley novels lined up.  I have a feeling I enjoy these more in audio than I would in physical copy.

The Poems of T. S. Eliot read by Jeremy Irons and Dame Eileen Atkins.  I can't say I'm a great fan of Eliot but it was interesting listening to the poems, and again I think I gain more from listening than I would be reading a copy.

Rumpole's Return by John Mortimer read by Robert Hardy. I prefer Rumpole short stories, whereas this is one complete story.  It takes a long time to get into, although by the end it's quite exciting.  I think Rumpole's total ignorance of how others view him is meant to be humorous, but Hardy fails to show it.

I do enjoy listening to audiobooks, and regularly have two or three on the go at once.  They're ideal for when I do long coach journeys (I can't read in cars/coaches), but also when I'm driving generally, doing chores and also crafting.  I use Audible, (I know it's owned by Amazon) and quite often take advantage of their two for one offers, or £1.99 or £2.99 sales.

My latest listens:

Far Eastern Tales by W Somerset Maugham.  Read by Robert Powell.  I suppose I like the short stories better than the longer ones, but Maugham definitely isn't one of my preferred authors.  I skipped a couple of tales which I'd recently heard dramatised on BBC Sounds.

The Thirteen Problems by Agatha Christie.  Read by Joan Hickson.  These are the short stories which first introduced Miss Marple, so being read by Joan Hickson, my favourite Marple, was the perfect listen.

Farewell to Fairacre by Miss Read.  Read by Sian Phillips.  I'm coming to the end of the Fairacre series, but continuing to enjoy the tales.  Sian Phillips does make a convincing Miss Read.

The Drift by C J Tudor.  Read by Richard Armitage, Nathalie Buscombe and Rachel Handshaw.  The draw was, of course, Armitage.  I do also enjoy Tudor's horror genre, and liked the story although it gets quite near real life events of the past couple of years with its theme of a fatal virus.  I liked the way the different strands were drawn together and the way she signposts what's going on to carry the reader along.


At the beginning of May 2022 I had 18 audiobooks on my TBL, and I've read 17 of them (the last being the final Fairacre book) plus 13 others (of which 6 were Armitage narrated) to give me a total of 30 audiobooks in 10 months.  I currently have 24 on my TBL, so theoretically I could have listened to them all by this time next year.  But of course, there will be other shiny titles in the meantime...