This is an adaptation of something I saw on Twitter – people were posting 26 books in 26 days, each title beginning with a different letter of the alphabet. However, I’m planning on taking around 26 months to get to Z. Each month I’ll post a newish book I’ve enjoyed, plus a children’s book and an older book.

This month, it’s the ‘P’ books:

This is the first book co-written by Cass Grafton and Ada Bright I read, but it wasn’t the last. There’s a very clever double meaning in the title, and who wouldn’t wonder what could happen if Jane Austen time-travelled into today’s world – and got stuck here. But if she doesn’t get back to her own time, Jane won’t be able to write her books – which would mean no Mr Darcy. Fortunately, she has Rose to help her…
A lovely book and a fun read!

This book terrified me as much as it fascinated me, when I was a child. Princess Irene lives with her nursemaid in a lonely castle in the mountains. One day, she goes exploring – and finds a lot more than she bargained for, including the terrible goblins, her great-great-grandmother, and a whole lot of magic. I can still see the mind-pictures I made back then, reading it for the first time. Not for faint-hearted children…

My ‘older’ book isn’t so very old – 1999 – but it’s one of my all-time favourites, and another with a huge atmosphere around it. It’s 1963 when thirteen-year-old Alison disappears from a Peak District village. A young detective investigates, but it isn’t a straightforward case. Set against a bleak landscape with the Moors Murders and with the issues around capital punishment in the background too, this book is a chilling read and one that makes you think.

Coming next month: the ‘Q’ books.