My March books

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.
This month I had a very hard time concentrating on books, luckily my hands were up for more crafting to help keeping me out of my own head.


"Wisecracker: The Life and Times of William Haines, Hollywood's First Openly Gay Star" by William J. Mann, first published in 1998

This is a biography of William Haines who was a movie star first, but a successful interior designer - or decorator how he preferred to be called - for much longer after having to leave the movie business for which one reason was his refusal to play the game. He was unapologetically gay and lived openly with his partner Jimmie Shields until his death.

I had watched a documentary about William Haines long before I even started watching silent movies and found his story really interesting.
It's not interesting enough for 400 pages, though, simply because most of his friends couldn't be interviewed for this book anymore, so a lot of information is lost, and of course you could never really trust information spread by the film studios.
So there's really a lot more "could", "might", "it is said" than I'd expect of a biography.
What bothered me even more, though, was the author listing a lot of Hollywood stars who were gay or lesbian repeatedly in a way that sometimes reminded me more of a tabloid. I would have preferred to read more details about Haines's career as a designer and less about other people's love life  given that this is supposed to be a Haines biography.
Still an interesting read.

"Lilien auf dem Felde" = "Lilies of the Field" by William E. Barrett, first published in 1962

Homer Smith, just out of the US Army, heads out to see the West. He sleeps in his station wagon and only takes up short jobs here and there if he needs money.
One day he comes to a rundown farm where five nuns live who came from an order in East Germany. Although he had only planned to make a little money by helping out, he's drawn into the Mother Superior's plan to build a chapel.

A re-read of this novella for a blog post.

"The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek" by Kim Michele Richardson, first published in 2019

Eastern Kentucky in the 1930s.
Cussy Mary Carter, also called Bluet, is a book woman, hired as a packhorse librarian who delivers books to remote areas of the Appalachian Mountains as part of the Works Progress Administration program.
She's also a "Blue" meaning she has a blue skin tone due to a rare genetic disorder which evokes hate and fear in others.

I had read both about the Fugate Blues and the packhorse librarian program before, so when I saw this book mentioned in a blog, I decided to read it (and am happy to report that the mule is fine).

"The Three Investigators in The Mystery of the Laughing Shadow" by William Arden (the books were published attributed to Alfred Hitchcock), first published in 1969 😸
(The Three Investigators 12)

This new case begins with Bob and Peter hearing a cry for help, seeing a strange shadow with a crazy laugh, and finding a gold amulet with a strange message.
Will the boys solve the mystery of the legendary Chumash Hoard?

I read this series a long time ago and am going through it again bit by bit after writing a blog post about it. This book is the twelfth in the series.

"The Thirty-Nine Steps" by John Buchan, first published in 1915

Richard Hannay has just come to London from Rhodesia and he's bored until an American tells him about an assassination plot before being killed himself. Hannay has to escape both the police and the force behind the plot. Will he be able to prevent the assassination?

When I mentioned my Hitchcock binge the other day, a friend drew my attention to the books some of the movies are based on.
In this case, I have to say I enjoyed the movie much more.

"The Home" by Penelope Mortimer, first published in 1971

Left by her husband Graham who's gone to live with a 22 year old after a long marriage, Eleanor is trying to make her new house a home for herself and her children even though her eldest son and her three daughters are grown up and looking for a life of their own and her 15 year old son is mostly away at school.
She finds, however, that she's devastated by the separation and struggles with beginning a new life.

Liz from Adventures in Reading, Running, and Working from Home has introduced me to the "British Library Women Writers" series (I found she had reviewed this book here after I had read it). I had a look which of the novels I could find rather easily, this was one of them.

"A Cast of Killers" by Sidney Kirkpatrick, first published in 1986

In 1922, film director William Desmond Taylor was found in his bungalow shot dead. The murder caused scandals and ended careers, it was never solved.
In the 60s, film director King Vidor tried to solve the case in order to turn it into a movie which he didn't do in the end. Kirkpatrick used Vidor's collected documents and notes to tell the story.

There's a newsletter called "Taylorology" for this case and issue 65 points out all the errors or omissions of the 1986 edition and encourages people to read the corrected 20th Anniversary edition instead.
As I stumbled upon this book by accident, I only knew about that after reading it, but I'm usually sceptical about publications that solve a cold case after decades, anyway, so although this is officially non-fiction, I didn't read it as such (I may read at least one other book on the case eventually), but still (or rather because of it?) enjoyed it.

"The Rainfall Market" by You Yeong-Kwang, first published in 2024

Serin has lost her father early, she and her mother are poor, and Serin is convinced her life is utterly useless.
Then she gets a golden ticket for the mysterious Rainfall Market where she will be able to exchange her life for another one, aided by the cat Issha.

This was another new entry on OverDrive.
I'm sure I'm not the only one who gets Studio Ghibli vibes from this even if it's a Korean book. While reading, I practically saw the Dokkaebi in the Ghibli style before my inner eye.
A cute, light and quick read.

"The Devil's Mill" by Walt Unsworth, first published in 1968 😸

England, the middle of the 18th century.
After a carriage accident, a 14 year old boy makes it to a farm in the Peak District. He has lost his memory and the farmer couple names him Jeremy after their late son. As they have failed to make the adoption official, however, Jeremy gets indentured and sent to a cotton mill as an apprentice.
During a riot, the mill burns down and the owner blames Jeremy who escapes thanks to the help of new friends. His adventures are not over yet, though.

When I looked for a different book on The Internet Archive, I found one of Unsworth's three middle grade novels about the Industrial Revolution, "Grimsdyke". I liked it, looked for the others and found this one as well (not the third one, though, "Whistling Clough").
Like "Grimsdyke" it didn't disappoint.

"The Case of the Heavenly Twin" by Christopher Bush, first published in 1962

Private detective Ludovic Travers is called upon in a fraud case in which several forged traveller's checks have been used.
Then an old friend of his dies and Travers is hired to find one of his grandsons. During the search he stumbles upon more forged checks. Are the cases connected?

I had never heard of Christopher Bush before - as far as I remember - when Liz from Adventures in Reading, Running, and Working from Home reviewed one of his books for a 1952 challenge. Now there are a few of his books on my reading list.

"The List of Suspicious Things" by Jennie Godfrey, first published in 2024

It's the 70s in Yorkshire and people are scared of the Yorkshire Ripper.
12 year old Miv decides that she and her best friend Sharon have to try to find him with the help of the "list of suspicious things" she puts down in her notebook as they learn more and more about their neighborhood and life.

A new entry at OverDrive.
I liked the book as such, maybe because the friendship reminded me of my friendships of my own - and no, I never went looking for a serial killer - but I think I would have liked it better with not quite so many triggers crammed in. Sometimes I have the feeling authors can't stop themselves and pile up things, I've noticed that in books, but also movies and TV shows. There is such a thing as "too much".