Top Ten Tuesday – Page 180 – What Cathy Read Next…

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and now hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl.

The rules are simple:

Each Tuesday, Jana assigns a new topic. Create your own Top Ten list that fits that topic – putting your unique spin on it if you want.
Everyone is welcome to join but please link back to The Artsy Reader Girl in your own Top Ten Tuesday post.
Add your name to the Linky widget on that day’s post so that everyone can check out other bloggers’ lists.
Or if you don’t have a blog, just post your answers as a comment.

This week’s topic is Series I’ve Given Up On/Don’t Plan to Finish or Series I’d Like to Finish Some Day). I’ve chosen to base my list on the latter. As you read it, I believe a pattern will emerge namely that I seem to make a habit of coming in towards the end of a series. This is usually because I’ve been introduced to later books in a series by blog tour organisers or publishers. So for me this week it’s more accurately a case of Series I’d Like to Read From the Beginning.

Bernie Gunther Series (#1 to #13) by Philip Kerr

My first introduction to this series was reading Prussian Blue (book 12 in the series) when it was included on the longlist for The Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction. As a fan of historical crime mysteries, I loved it and since then I’ve been picking up earlier books in the series to add to my TBR pile (so far I have books #1 to #3). Sadly due to the untimely death of Philip Kerr there will be no further books in the series after the recently published Greeks Bearing Gifts (#13).

Inspector Troy Series (#1 to #8) by John Lawton

Another historical mystery, this time set in wartime London. I was given the opportunity to read an ARC of Friends and Traitors, book 8 in the series and enjoyed it so much I definitely want to read the earlier books. So far, I’ve only acquired the first in the series, Blackout, but I’m on the lookout for others.

Mountain Man Series (#1 to #3) by Gary Corbin

Having been offered a review copy by the author, I recently read an enjoyed The Mountain Man’s Badge, the third book in this series featuring mountain man turned Sheriff, Lehigh Carter. The two earlier books, The Mountain Man’s Dog and The Mountain Man’s Bride have been added to my wishlist.

War Girl Series (#1 to #3) by Marion Kummerow

This is another series I was introduced to through contact from the author. This time though I’ve started with the first book, War Girl Ursula, and I’m now keen to read about the wartime adventures of her sisters, Lotte and Anna.

Henning Juul Series (#1 to #5) by Thomas Enger

I was introduced to this series courtesy of Karen at Orenda Books and Anne at Random Things Tours when Anne invited me to join the blog tour for book #5 in the series, Killed. Not only is Killed the latest book in the series it’s also the series finale. Talk about coming in at the final act, eh? Although there are references to earlier events in the series there’s not so much that it would leave nothing to discover in the first four books so I shall look out for these.

Roma Sub Rosa Series (#1 to #13) by Steven Saylor

Arguably there are more than thirteen in the series because there are some prequels as well but these form part of a separate Ancient World series. Set in Ancient Rome, the Roma Sub Rosa books are entertaining historical mysteries starring Gordianus the Finder. I’ve darted about a bit in the series reading book #1, then #6, then #11, then #2. Don’t ask me how that happened (although it could be to do with the timing of their appearance in Kindle monthly deals!). It’s a while since I’ve read a book from the series but I’d definitely like to return to it at some point.

Mercia Blakewood Series (#1 to #3) by David Hingley

I was invited to take part in the blog tour for Traitor, the third book in the series, by the lovely Ailsa at Allison and Busby and I absolutely loved it. I really want to find the time to read the two earlier books in the series, Birthright and Puritan.

The Gower Street Detective Series (#1 to #5) by M. R. C. Kasasian

This was another series I was introduced to by a publisher, this time Clare at Head of Zeus. Clare invited me to join the blog tour for the fifth book in the series, Dark Dawn Over Steep House. I loved the combination of humour, historical crime mystery and Sherlock Holmes allusions so I now have books #1 to #4 on my Kindle waiting to be read at some point. Plus Clare has recently made me aware of the author’s new series, The Betty Church Mysteries. Book one is Betty Church and the Suffolk Vampire. Look out for my review as part of the blog tour in July.

Dark Iceland Series (#1 to #5) by Ragnar Jonasson

Another cracking series published by Orenda Books that I was introduced to when I was invited to join a blog tour for the fifth book in the series, Whiteout, by tour organiser extraordinaire, Anne at Random Things Tours. As the series title suggests, the series is set in Iceland where detective Ari Thór Arason investigates crime against the backdrop of stunning scenery. Again although there references to events in earlier book, I still think I’d enjoy reading the series from the beginning.

Varg Veum Series (#1 to #19) by Gunnar Staalesen

This is going to be the most ridiculous entry in the list because the book I got my first taste of the series from was number nineteen – that’s right, you read it correctly, nineteen. Wolves in the Dark was another Orenda Books/Random Things Tours introduction. Plus I was lucky enough to win copies of the preceding two books in the series, We Shall Inherit the Wind and Where Roses Never Die, so I shall try to read those two at least.

Next week’s topic: Books With Red, White & Blue Covers

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and now hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl.

The rules are simple:

Each Tuesday, Jana assigns a new topic. Create your own Top Ten list that fits that topic – putting your unique spin on it if you want.
Everyone is welcome to join but please link back to The Artsy Reader Girl in your own Top Ten Tuesday post.
Add your name to the Linky widget on that day’s post so that everyone can check out other bloggers’ lists.
Or if you don’t have a blog, just post your answers as a comment.

This week’s topic is Books to Read By the Pool/At the Beach (This can also serve as your Summer TBR). As my time spent lazing by a pool or on the beach was back in February in Barbados and unlikely to be won’t be repeated again this year, my list is my Summer TBR, to be read in a location of your choosing.

Click on the title to read my review of the book description on Goodreads.

The Year of the Snake by M. J. Trow and Maryanne Coleman – If the gorgeous cover doesn’t grab you, how about its description as a ‘racy historical whodunnit’ set in ancient Rome?

The Hidden Bones by Nicola Ford – Archaeological discoveries combined with a murder mystery and an interesting female protagonist gets my vote.

Call of the Curlew by Elizabeth Brooks – an orphan, a mysterious house at the edge of a vast marsh and set in 1939, this ticks all the boxes for me.

The Emperor of Shoes by Spencer Wise – Set in China, this promises ‘a transfixing story’ about an expatriate in southern China and his relationship with a seamstress intent on inspiring political change.

Betty Church and the Suffolk Vampire by M. R. C. Kasasian – the first in a new series of historical mysteries by the author of the wonderful Gower Street Detective series.

The Psychology of Time Travel by Kate Mascarenhas – Time travel and a mysterious death, out in August this sounds enticing.

The Devil’s Half Mile by Paddy Hirsch – sometimes you only need to read the first line of a book description to know they’ve got you hooked: ‘Golden Hill and The Alienist meet Gangs of New York in this sweeping historical crime drama set in 18th century New York’.

Hold by Michael Donkor – I’ll confess it was the cover that drew my eye to this one but the description, ‘an intimate, moving, powerful coming-of-age novel’ set in Ghana and London, sounds pretty good too.

The Story Keeper by Anna Mazzola – Described as ‘a sizzling, period novel of folk tales, disappearances and injustice set on the island of Skye’, this looks brilliant. I love the inclusion of ‘sizzling’ in the description – what could be more summery than a sizzle?

A Long Island Story by Rick Gekoski – Set in 1953, it’s described as ‘portrait of a marriage in crisis, of a unique and fascinating period in US history and of a seemingly perfect family fighting their demons behind closed doors’.

I don’t know about you, but having read this list I’m now really excited myself to start on these books. And if I get through them all, there’s the added bonus that I’ll be much more up-to-date with my NetGalley ARCs and blog tours!