This is an overview of the books I have finished in a month (not necessarily started
in the same month) and those I have read to Gundel (marked with 😸).
I
will be adding a short explanation why I chose a book or how I found it
and possibly if it's a re-read candidate, but I'm usually not
going to add real reviews or ratings (Gundel also refuses to give
ratings). Should you want a little more information on a book you're interested in, though, just let me know.
"Die Jungens von Burg Schreckenstein" by Oliver Hassencamp, first published in 1959
What a surprise for the pupils of an overcrowded boy school when they are told that they are going to move to a boarding school - in a castle!
After having explored "Burg Schreckenstein" (translated in the book as Horror Rock Castle (as a name for their jazz band)), the boys start calling themselves Knights and decide to follow a knightly code.
When I was a child, we - my guess is my brothers - had the first three volumes of this series which Hassencamp wrote between 1959 and 1988 (when he died in a car accident). The series has 27 volumes and has still been popular in Germany in the 2000s, possibly still now. The other day I noticed I had only inherited volume 2 and 3, therefore I bought volume 1 now and re-read it.
"The Gift of Not Belonging: How Outsiders Thrive in a World of Joiners" by Rami Kaminski, first published in 2025
In this book, psychiatrist Dr. Kaminski introduces a new personality type, no introvert, no extrovert, but the otrovert - "one who faces a different direction" according to his definition.
If my copy weren't missing the jacket, you could see a group of green chameleons on a branch and above them a blue one - the otrovert who can mingle with a group better than an introvert, but still stands outside of it as a kind of observer.
My problem with the book is that while some passages seem to describe me, I found others extremely generalizing, sometimes repetitive, sometimes contradictive in the description of what defines "the" otrovert - which I totally am according to the test in the book which I can believe or not just like a personality test in a magazine in a doctor's waiting room as we get no clue what exactly it's based on.
There are anecdotes about patients, but nothing concrete, studies or references, that would make me feel as if this could be more than someone telling me about having a kind of superpower by being different from people who live a more community-based life which the author (who is of course an otrovert) seems to frown upon. This is only one example: "Tuned in to their rich, multilayered inner worlds, they gain access to a fantastically complex universe of thought, memory, and imagination that the communal person cannot access." Come on now, seriously?
So yeah, to me this seemed just like a new drawer to store people in (tempting superpower included), but I don't believe in such drawers. I got the book used and wonder if the previous owner felt the same about it as I did.
"The Silent Bullet" by Arthur B. Reeve, first published in 1910
(Craig Kennedy, Scientific Detective 1)
Craig Kennedy is a professor at Columbia University and he's convinced there should be a professorship in criminal science.
With the help of his journalist friend Walter James - yes, they are flatmates -, he uses his scientific expertise to help out the police and private clients.
I have the "leaping fish" to thank for discovering the "American Sherlock Holmes" (there wasn't much in German, it seems) as someone commented on the video that Coke Ennyday may be a Sherlock Holmes spoof, but that the name is definitely inspired by Professor Kennedy.
Initially the stories were published in "The Cosmopolitan".
This book has 12 stories in which Kennedy uses hidden microphones, lie detectors, a defibrillator, magnets, and more ("Murdoch Mysteries" anyone?).
I still prefer Sherlock Holmes, but it was a fun read, and as Reeve wrote loads more my vintage crime folder has grown again.
"Last Ditch" by Ngaio Marsh, first published in 1977
(Roderick Alleyn 29)
Alleyn's son Ricky is on one of the Channel Islands in order to write a book.
The peace is disturbed, however, when a young woman is found dead after a riding accident. Or wasn't it an accident?
This is still part of my vintage crime project for which I keep getting books by Marsh and Allingham.
"The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus" by Emma Knight, first published in 2025
A coming-of-age book about two friends, Pen and Alice from Canada who study in Edinburgh.
The book was mentioned on a blog and I have to admit that the words octopus (spoiler, it's a metaphor) and Edinburgh made me read it. It was okay, but not substantial enough to be sticking with me for long.
"Photo Finish" by Ngaio Marsh, first published in 1980
(Roderick Alleyn 31)
When his wife Troy is invited to a millionaire's luxury residence on an island in a New Zealand lake to paint the portrait of famous opera singer Isabella Sommita, Alleyn is invited along to look into the affair of a paparazzo following her.
After the performance of an opera written by Sommita's lover, part of the group is stuck on the island due to a heavy storm. Then the singer is found in her room ... murdered ...
This is still part of my vintage crime project and I have now read all 33 Roderick Alleyn books.
"An American Comedy" by Harold Lloyd (in collaboration with Wesley W. Stout), first published in 1928 (this edition was reproduced with minor corrections plus an interview from 1966)
This is the autobiography of Harold Lloyd at the height of his career. Kind of. I found it to be a mix of some life stories without getting too much in details unless they were light enough and stories of how his film career developed and how he developed films. That was actually quite interesting (if a bit dated which is no surprise), but I know there have been things left out (in regards to his accident with a bomb, for example), so I will read a "real" biography when possible.
What I liked was that someone really worked with this copy. There are loads of asterisks, marked paragraphs, and a few marginal notes. To me, it looks like someone tried to research how to do comedy.
I'm having fun with making my way through film-related biographies.
"The Ex Hex" by Erin Sterling, first published in 2021
(Graves Glen 1)
After breaking up with Rhys, the witch Vivienne puts a curse on him. It's not supposed to be serious, but when Rhys comes back to Vivienne's hometown after nine years to charge the town's ley lines, the magic goes crazy because of the curse and both the town and Rhys are in danger.
I found the book on OverDrive by accident and liked the idea of magic going crazy. Unfortunately it was mostly about the love story, but not in a way that captured me. I won't be reading the other books in the series.
"Bury Your Secrets" by Kerry Watts, first published in 2024
(DI Fraser Brodie 1)
A man well liked in the community is murdered in a gruesome way. The next day another body is found. A third man disappears.
DI Brodie and the isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides have to deal with a serial killer - again. Brodie is reminded of the murders his own twin brother has committed decades ago.
The book was recommended on a blog and sounded like one of the police thrillers I like to watch on TV sometimes.
It was a quick read, but "the secret" was mentioned so often that it got boring, and honestly, after not even half of the book I was quite sure I knew who the killer was (I was right). I would probably give the second book in the series a try to see if that improves, but my library doesn't have it, anyway.
"Celia's House" by D. E. Stevenson, first published in 1943 😸
The book spans about 40 years of Dunnian House, a Scottish country estate. There have always lived Dunnes in the house, and the book starts with the unmarried Celia in 1905 and then tells the story of her nephew and his family who move in after Celia's death.
I hadn't known DES before I came across a review of a different book of hers on Liz's blog "Adventures in reading, running, and working from home". I think I marked both books to remind myself that DES wrote a lot, but randomly chose this one first.
It was gentle, charming, and just what I needed at the moment. Afterwards I found that Liz has a short review of it on her blog, too. It will definitely not be the last book by this author for me.
"A Handful of Time" by Helen Foley, first published in 1961
Frances is asked by the police to travel to Cornwall to identify the body of her friend Fanny who has drowned in a sailing accident.
On the way, she remembers the story of her friendship after meeting as undergraduates in Cambridge in the 30s, of living together and making it through the war - Fanny is Austrian, but has been living in England since she went to school -, of friends and lovers.
I found this book mentioned on "The Neglected Books Page" and thought it sounded interesting - which it was, but eventually it started dragging.
"The Mysterious Mr. Badman : A Yorkshire Bibliomystery" by William Fryer Harvey, first published in 1934
When blanket manufacturer Athelstan Digby offers to mind the bookshop of his hosts while they are out of the house, he doesn't expect three men to ask for the same ominous book within a few hours.
Little does he know about the secret connected with this book, but after a body is found, there's no stopping him from investigating.
This is one of my random finds, a vintage crime with quite a bit of fun mixed in.
"The Cat Who Came in From the Cold" by Deric Longden, first published in 1991 😸
A tiny kitten on a bucket in the neighbor's garden during the rain ... writers Deric and Aileen can't help falling in love.
This is the story of Thermal and his adventures in a Huddersfield neighborhood.
I had an urgent need for a familiar feel good book and this one which started my cat book collection decades ago is always a good choice!
"Robert My Father" by Sheridan Morley, first published in 1993
The biography of British actor Robert Morley written by his eldest son who was a drama and film critic and a writer.
I knew Morley from old movies of course, but I hadn't known about his long career in theater both as actor and playwright. As someone who knows next to nothing about theater, it was sometimes hard for me to wade through lists of unfamiliar names, but the stories made up for it.
"Pandora's Jar: Women in the Greek Myths" by Natalie Haynes, first published in 2022
In ten chapters, Haynes features women from classical literature and mythology, for example Pandora, Medea, Medusa, and tells the stories shining a light on them instead on the male point of view.
I had a look at the non-fiction books on OverDrive and picked this one because it sounded interesting. Good choice, I really enjoyed it!
DNF:
"The Frozen River" by Ariel Lawhon, first published in 2025
Midwife Martha Ballard is called to examine the body of a man found in the ice of the frozen river. He's one of two men having been accused of rape and Martha finds he was hanged before he got thrown into the river. Not everyone wants this murder to be solved, but Martha is determined.
I gave up at about a third. I wanted to like Martha for being strong and fighting for justice, but I didn't and even worse, the book started dragging for me.
It's inspired by real life events and the real Martha sounds very fascinating. I'd rather read the biography about her instead of this book.
