100 books like Witch Miss Seeton

What could be more unexpected than for a New Jersey widow in her sixties to become a CIA agent? Especially during the Cold War era?

Perhaps it is this unexpected nature of the circumstances that helps this incurable optimist to turn every near disaster into a triumph of good over evil. I love Mrs. P.’s indomitable spirit and seeing all the far-flung places her adventures take her through her eyes. Having lived through the 1960’s, I can relate to the authentic attitudes of the time.

As a confirmed Anglophile, I became aware of Richard Osman’s wit and unique humor from watching British game shows where he appears as either a panelist or presenter. When I learned he had authored a book, I couldn’t wait to read it and had high expectations. The Thursday Murder Club did not disappoint.

The eclectic group of characters, from the Old Age Pensioners of the retirement village to the detectives they encounter (and frustrate), are engaging and richly developed. Even the evil-doers are written with more than the usual depth.

The plot is rich, with unexpected twists. I love a good, clean mystery that respects both the characters and the readers. Richard Osman has created a delightful series. I can’t wait for his next installment. 

I hadn’t read any of Thorogood’s books before this one, but from its description, I thought it might just be my cup of tea. As soon as Judith, the elderly, cryptic-crossword-compiling sleuth, plunged starkers into the river for her daily swim, I knew I was onto a winner.

I love the way the mystery plays out with some totally unexpected twists and turns. Judith’s quirky companions in detective work are not the stereotypical sidekicks found in many novels of this genre but are fleshed out with their own distinct characters and motivations. I got the impression that they had lives of their own, not simply existing as plot devices or comic relief.

This is the second book of a series, so now I need to go back and read the first book before plunging into the rest. I can see many hours of happy reading in my future.

What I love about this book, and the entire Mrs. Pargeter series, is the delicious way Mrs. Pargeter tiptoes around “strictly legal” in the pursuit of what is right and good. Thanks to the faithful friends and loyal former associates of her late husband (whose own career doesn’t bear scrutiny), she is free to exercise her insatiable curiosity about whatever is going on around her.

In this book, it is a feeling that something is a bit off in her new neighborhood that leads to another fun story. I feel a kinship with her refusal to fit herself into the approved “little old lady” mold and continue to seek out new experiences. Because of her late husband’s love and admiration for her, Mrs. Pargeter feels secure and comfortable in her own skin. I appreciate the touch of naughtiness in her make-up, which can lead to unexpected and entertaining adventures.

I felt every single emotion reading this book and felt as if I’d lived all the decades with Jen and Nick, who met as teenagers and soon became friends.

I love Sarra’s writing style, and I was fully invested in Jen and Nick from the very beginning, and found their complicated, messy relationship, which follows the most winding path, completely believable.

There was so much in this book that was unexpected, and by the end, I was a sobbing puddle of feelings. I know Jen and Nick will always stay with me, and I’m already looking forward to reading it again. 

I loved the main character, the beautifully named Saffron Everleigh. She’s a woman in 1923 London, trying to make her way in academia at a time when women weren’t usually allowed in the doors.

Her scientific interests and studies in botany come in handy when she attends a dinner party for the school, and a professor’s wife drops to the floor, poisoned by an unknown substance. Working with the equally passionate, ahem, Alexander Ashton, a fellow researcher, Saffron must investigate the murder or wind up next on the murderer's list. There are two more books in this series, so we are lucky to spend more time with our plucky heroine.

I’ve spoken to people who really couldn’t get into this book, and I consider them somewhat deranged. It’s a rollicking good read, and maybe it helped that I enjoyed the author reading the story, which added to my enjoyment. I’ll go out on a limb and suggest very few authors make great audiobook performers. Mortimer absolutely does, getting the voice of the squirrel spot on.

There’s a strange and convoluted plot set in the not-terribly-underworld of London. A brilliant neighbor part for Kathy Burke should Mortimer ever be fielding Netflix offers. It’s a book you’ll read in days, not weeks. Fast-paced and has me on edge for part two–out in August.

To me, this slim novel is perfect, and perfectly constructed.

The narrator spends it obsessing over a single question–why did my sister marry an older, wealthy, boring man?–and doesn’t figure out the answer till the end. And in retrospect, it’s obvious. Meanwhile she also mulls over the options for young women circa the early 1960s in an England that’s transforming dramatically: Do I marry? Stay single? Let my life drift?

My parents bought the Penguin paperback when we lived in London in the late 1960s for a year, when the city was really swinging. I began reading it at 10 and was transfixed by the glimpse it offered into adulthood, and I have re-read the same paperback many times since.

I recommend this book because, to me, it is unique–I’ve never read a book like it. It’s an interesting plot, end-of-the-world stuff, with some very unlikeable, low-life characters. It’s set in a very dark version of London that I know and love, in a pub environment similar to the one that I grew up in.

There is murder on the cards throughout the story, but the author still manages to squeeze in some humor. It’s just a different style of writing that I think people should give a try.

This is one of my favorite books of all time! Kadish adeptly intertwines the story of Ester in 1660s London with that of two modern academics, the soon-to-retire Helen and the grad student Aaron. As they research a treasure trove of papers they have received, they slowly learn of Ester’s astonishing story.

Academic success is not all that is at stake in the lives of Helen and Aaron, and we carefully follow their trials, too. Kadish wrote an article for the Paris Review in 2018 called “Writing the Lives of Forgotten Women,” which I often think of when creating my own characters.