Walking into Hell 1st July 1916: Memoirs of the First World War
Geoffrey Malins and Edward G. D. Living
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The 1st July 1916 was the blackest day in the history of the British Army when 60,000 unsuspecting...
When Men & Mountains Meet: Like the Desire for Drink or Drugs, the Craving for Mountains is Not Easily Overcome
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'We had climbed a mountain and crossed a pass; been wet, cold, hungry, frightened, and withal happy....
She Landed by Moonlight: The Story of Secret Agent Pearl Witherington: The Real Charlotte Gray
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On the night of the 22 September 1943 Pearl Witherington, a twenty-nine-year-old British secretary...
Charles Williams: The Third Inkling
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This is the first full biography of Charles Williams (1886-1945), an extraordinary and controversial...
Jane Austen's Country Life
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Jane Austen lived for nearly all her life in two Hampshire villages: for 25 years in her birthplace...
Scotland's First World War
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The First World War was the largest and deadliest war the world had ever seen. A century on, it can...
Germany: Beyond the Enchanted Forest: A Literary Anthology
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'German military figures had a certain terrifying glamour,' wrote Patrick Leigh Fermor, recalling...
First Films of the Holocaust: Soviet Cinema and the Genocide of the Jews, 1938-46
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Most early Western perceptions of the Holocaust were based on newsreels filmed during the Allied...
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated The Zig Zag Girl in Books
Jul 8, 2021
This was the twenty-sixth (and final!) book in my #atozchallenge! I challenged myself to read a book from my shelves that started with each letter of the alphabet.
"'The way the body was cut into three, each part put into a black box, it reminded me of a magic trick. One you used to do before the war.'"
I absolutely adore Elly Griffiths, but I don't read a lot of historical fiction, so I've always kept this series in my back pocket. When I needed a "Z" book for my challenge, this seemed like a perfect fit. No surprise, really, but this was an easy and interesting read. Griffiths is such a good writer, and this is written in what I've come to think of as Elly's style--a fun, enjoyable form, where she captures the essence of each of her characters so well.
The book is filled with magic and war stories. The mystery is quite captivating--it's a good case, which draws you into the story. And Edgar, Max, and their crew are very compelling. I enjoyed the themes of friendship and wartime, plus the surprising vulnerability that shone through in both Max and Edgar. I would certainly read the next book in the series. 4+ stars.