kmkat & her kneedles

Joining Kat and friends for Unraveled Wednesday.

Knitting.

Nothing earthshaking here, just finishing up the last blue hat, using up the leftovers from the previous three.

Reading.

In and Instant by Susan Redfearn. Here’s my review on Amazon:

It just kept getting better.

This was free Kindle book from Amazon, and, based on my experience with previous free books, I had minimal expectations for this one. But I was wrong. First, the author’s choice to tell the story from the point of view of the one person who was killed in the accident was genius; no living character could have the omniscience of a spirit. Second, the characters develop as 3-dimensional, real people and grapple with ideas of “good” and “responsibility”. I know I will be thinking of this book for a long time.

Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson. I chose this book because I used to follow her on Twitter, and her posts were witty and entertaining. Turns out this is a YA book, which I generally find to be overly simplified, but I read it anyway. And I was not disappointed. The emotions and traumas of teenagers are part of the story, but are depicted without sensationalism. The murder is not cleaned up for tender readers. My only disappointment came at the last page, when I discovered that this book is the first in a series — a surefire way to sell more books. But this one was good enough that I will keep going with the series. Good escapism. 4★

a

An Unsuitable Attachment by Barbara Pym. Found this one in my Kindle app, and since I had finished all the library books at my bedside, I decided to read this. The story is a cozy … without the murder. (I was expecting a murder mystery because I confused the author with Ruth Rendell writing as Barbara Vine. Big surprise to me.) Set in the early 1950s in an “undistinguished north London parish”, the characters — a vicar, his wife, her sister, a well-bred librarian, various busybodies — are endearingly dated. Attitudes have changed a lot since 1950. This book is fun in a way I didn’t expect. 3.5★