Six in Six - 2023 Edition

Another July has come around which means it's time for this fun meme hosted by Jo @ The Book Jotter, now in its eleventh year.

The aim of Six in Six is to share what we've read in the first six months of the year by choosing six of the categories given and listing six books under each category. More information and the list of categories can be found here.

This meme is a great way to look back on what you've read so far in the year and to see any emerging trends. Looking at what I've read over the past six months, mostly historical mysteries, including cosy mysteries (my comfort reads) and that I'm 21 books behind schedule in my Goodreads Reading Challenge, like 2022, 2023 is not shaping up to be a good reading or reviewing year. I'm not even going to attempt to catch up, but will plod along.

The inter-library loan service that I rely on was suspended for over six months and only re-introduced in May this year. Although I'm happy it's back, I'm unhappy that the service has been greatly reduced. I can no longer access books from various stacks like I used to and new books take forever to become available. This has disrupted my reading and I wasn't sure I'd read enough books to participate in this meme, but I was pleasantly suprised. Here are my six categories:

Six Books by Authors I Have Read Before

• Caledon by Virginia Crow
• The Drums of War by Michael Ward
• The Cargo from Neira by Alys Clare
• What We Leave Behind by Sion Scott-Wilson
• The Return by Anita Frank
• The Dead Will Rise by Chris Nickson

Six Books by Authors New to Me

• Death at the Falls by Rosemary Simpson
• Death and the Conjuror by Tom Mead
• The Book Seller of Inverness by S.G. MacLean
• The Roads of War by John Cameron
• Sisters of Castle Leod by Elizabeth Hutchinson Bernard
• The Rose and the Thistle by Laura Frantz

Six Series of Books Started

• An Honourable Thief by Douglas Skelton (Company of Rogues #1)
• The Scottish Ladies' Detective Agency by Lydia Travers (Scottish Ladies' Detective Agency #1)
• Foul Trade by B.K. Duncan (May Keaps #1)
• The Blitz Detective by Mike Hollow (The Blitz Detective #1)
• The Whispering Women by Trish MacEnulty (Delafield & Malloy #1)
• A Quiet Place to Kill by N.R. Daws (Kember & Hayes #1)

Six Series of Books Continued

• The Royal Secret by Andrew Taylor (Marwood & Lovett #5)
• The Fatal Flying Affair by T.E. Kinsey (A Lady Hardcastle Mystery #7)
• Murder in Manhattan by Verity Bright (Lady Eleanor Swift Mystery #14)
• Blackstone Fell by Martin Edwards (Rachel Savernake #3)
• Blind Pool by Vickie Goldie (The Charters' Mysteries #2)
• The Poison Machine by Robert J. Lloyd (Hunt & Hooke #2)

Six Stand Alone Historical Mysteries

• Honour the Dead by John Anthony Miller
• The Murder of Harriet Monckton by Elizabeth Haynes
• The Secrets of Hartwood Hall by Katie Lumsden
• The White Lady by Jacqueline Windspear
• The Butterfly Collector by Tea Cooper
• The Whispering Muse by Laura Purcell

Six Books Purchased and Not Read Yet

• Jamie MacGillivray by John Sayles
• Death of a Young Lieutenant by B.R. Stateham (Jake Reynolds Mysteries #1)
• The Honourable Doctor by Nick Black
• Evil for Evil by James R. Benn (Billy Boyle WWII Mystery #4)
• A Reluctant Assassin by John Pilkington (A Will Revell Thriller #1)
• The Wintringham Mystery by Anthony Berkeley