In recognition of the fact that I have way too many ebooks just sitting around, doing whatever the digital equivalent to gathering dust on the shelf is, I’ve decided to introduce Sunday Shelf Exploration, which is what I plan to call it when I take a look at my ebook collection through a scavenger hunt, and hopefully get inspired to actually read something from my digital library! A lot of these are from my unread folder, so please let me know what you thought if you’ve read any of these.
This week’s prompts:
1. Set in space: The Long Orbit by Rowan Bourn
From Goodreads: A repair station at the quiet edge of the solar system. A cat who is always right. An engineer who wasn’t planning to stay.
The cat’s name is Ptolemy. He’s twelve years old, genetically adapted for low gravity, and he has been Dock Meridian’s quality inspector for as long as anyone can remember.
Ptolemy is not the strangest thing about this shabby repair station in Jupiter orbit. That would be the three maintenance drones — forty years old, manufacturer long gone, no replacement parts and no way to know anymore where their programming ends and something else begins.
Into this arrives Saoirse an engineer with a good record, a bad history, and a firm intention to work her six-month contract and leave before anyone learns her name. She’s good at leaving. She’s had practice.
What she isn’t ready for is a dock that keeps thirty years of records, a crew who express care in ways she has to learn to read, and a cat whose opinion of her is still, quietly, forming.
2. A Jane Austen inspired story: Haunted High Tea and Homicide by Suzy Bussell
From Goodreads: In the charming Regency seaside town of Sidmouth, Devon, Trinity Bishop is thrilled to open her Jane Austen-themed tearoom on the picturesque seafront. However, the grand opening takes a dark turn when a guest is found murdered shortly after the festivities begin. After the chaos, a mysterious package arrives at Trinity’s door containing a ring that uncannily resembles one owned by Jane Austen herself. When Trinity slips it on, five ghosts materialize, bearing a striking resemblance to characters from Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.
With her spectral companions by her side, Trinity delves into the mystery surrounding the murder they discover the quaint town of Sidmouth harbours many secrets.
3. A classic: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
From Goodreads: “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” by Robert Louis Stevenson, first published in 1886, is a gripping exploration of duality and the human psyche. The novella follows the respectable Dr. Jekyll, who experiments with the boundaries of morality and human nature, leading to the emergence of his darker alter ego, Mr. Hyde. As Hyde wreaks havoc in London, Jekyll grapples with the consequences of his scientific pursuits. This chilling tale delves into themes of identity, good versus evil, and the struggle between societal expectations and inner desires, making it a classic of Gothic literature.
4. A cozy ghost story: Visions and Villainy by Clare Lockhart
From Goodreads: A murderous premonition. A dead eyewitness. And an urgency to reach a ghost. Freedom at fifty is working out perfectly for Addie Keane who’s returned to the seaside town of Whalesback Cove. Having developed a new line of body care products, she’s now living out her long-cherished dream. Except her dream doesn’t include sudden psychic visions. Looking for answers, Addie seeks guidance from a local clairvoyant. But the startling message she receives thrusts her into the heart of a murder investigation.
5. Set in an ancient era: Detective, 26 AD by Thaddeus Thomas
From Goodreads: After losing everything to a would-be messiah and the bloodlust of Rome, Thaddeus refuses to investigate a mystery for Pontius Pilate. Four years later, thousands of crosses line the roads outside a ruined Jerusalem. Thaddeus goes back through time and enters Herod’s court as Pilate’s investigator. Sometimes, fools must rush in where angels fear to tread.
6. Written by two authors: Royally Dispatched by P.C. James and Kathryn Mykel
From Goodreads: London, 1958. Lady Mary, Duchess of Snodsbury has received a royal dispatch to travel to London to prepare the last of the debutants for entrance into society. News of the demise of the previous trainer has Mary on high alert–as is her sharp nosed corgi, Barkley. Add in a gaggle of teenaged debutants, a protective butler, and a spirited cook and our heroine will be embroidered in a murder mystery of generations. Will the debutants prove helpful in uncovering secret plans or will she find out that the culprit is within her ranks?
Sunday Shelf Exploration
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