A Cup of Tea & Biscuits

Day 5:   A Book That Makes Me Happy An unconventional choice this shall be. Generally, any book would make my happy, but if we're going by the story and writing, then my vote (at this point in time) would go for Gaudy Night by Dorothy Sayers . A mystery novel published in 1935, this book is pro-feminist novel. Very unique, it stands out in the series of Lord Peter Wimsey's investigations in that Harriet Vane is the primary investigator and there isn't really much of a mystery to look into. Importance is given to women and their struggles in society. For someone who places education and independence above all else, this book is definitely the perfect choice. I love Sayers' humor in Wimsey's lines, and I love Lord Peter even more. It's also probably one of my favorite books in the series because Harriet finally accepts Peter's hand in marriage.

Karl Stig-Erlad Larsson , better known to the world as Steig Larsson , the creator of the Millenium trilogy , wrote just three books in his lifetime. Three books the pretty much catapulted him to fame after his death in 2004. Amazing isn't it? That well written books even when published posthumously become a phenomenon and the author's life becomes even more interesting? It's fascinating, Larsson's life and his stories, especially with claims that his stories are based off of actual experiences, that the characters are fictional manifestations of some that he knew... Either way, I was quite drawn into the story behind the author and the story itself. And I liked it. It starts of darkly. Actually, it is dark, the storyline, the history of the characters, the backdrop. And it's cold. It's everything a locked room mystery /crime novel should be. The general tone of the novel is depressing, to be very honest. It is very well written, don't get me wrong, with a...

Another P. C. Doherty historical mystery, this time set in medieval England, in the early 14th century and towards the end of the reign of Edward I . The focus is on his continual efforts to trump Philip IV of France , and the works of Roger Bacon . Sir Hugh Corbett , Keeper of the Secret Seal and the eyes and ears of King Edward I, serves as the intelligent academic and criminologist. It begins, as every good mystery should, with a death, here following a theft of a copy of Bacon's Secretus Secretorum (a lovely play on Secretum Secretorum ) from the French. The basis of the plot? Decode Bacon's, a priest and scientist, work by finding the key to his book because it's all written in code, and ultimately shift the balances of power in the favor of the one that makes the discovery first! Both Kings send envoys, academics led by a shrewd politician, to try and figure this out through mutual cooperation, but foul play is suspected in achieving these ends as people begin to die...