The Mistletoe Murder (and other stories) - P.D. James

Rating: ✫✫✫✫

The Mistletoe Murder and other stories is a collection of four short stories by crime writer P.D. James. These stories are:

• The Mistletoe Murder
• A Very Commonplace Murder
• The Boxdale Inheritance
• The Twelve Clues of Christmas

I'm not normally a massive fan of short stories, as I find there isn't room for the story to develop properly, but I really enjoyed this collection. P.D. James herself states in the preface to the collection that writing novels and writing short stories are entirely different disciplines, as there isn't place for long descriptions of characters or scenery.

"There is no space for long and detailed descriptions of place, but the setting must still come alive for the reader."

P.D. James worked for the police and criminal policy department, so it isn't surprising that these stories were very carefully written. I also really do feel that the detail included was very impressive, and more than one of the stories had the feel of a longer novel to them. Yet the style of writing was still gentle, which is common in short stories, and which makes them very easy to read. I did find it quite hard to flit between the different stories, but that's not a criticism of the collection; that's more a reflection of my own personal opinion on short stories.

Personally, I enjoyed The Boxdale Inheritance the most. The Mistletoe Murder, A Very Commonplace Murder and The Twelve Clues of Christmas were still both great stories, but I enjoyed the feel of the other two more. In order to really look at this collection as a whole, I will briefly study each story individually before coming to a verdict on the whole collection at the very end.

*spoiler alert*

The Other Boleyn Girl - Philippa Gregory

Rating: ✫✫✫✫

As a History graduate, I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with historical fiction. Every time I read a sentence, I question it's accuracy. I just can't help it! I've always steered clear of the genre because I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy it. I've always thought it would make me quite frustrated when elements of the plot didn't quite ring true. However I was persuaded by The Other Boleyn Girl, especially because the Tudor period in particular was one that I thoroughly enjoyed studying. This is, however, one of the only occasions I can remember where I've watched the film without first reading the book, and I'll admit that it was this that finally convinced me to try the novel.

I loved it. Nobody is more surprised than me when I say that, but I truly loved it. I knew the novel would contain a much more padded version of the story than the film, but I wasn't prepared for the sheer attention to detail. There was so much information in there that it actually did get a little tedious towards the end of the book. I appreciate that it's the nature of the story that it spans a number of years, but I do think there were areas that it could have been condensed to make it more enjoyable at the very end.

That being said, the characters were very well established (I flitted between love and hate in equal measures a lot of the time I was reading), and they developed in line with the drawn out plot. It also had the right amount of drama to it. Period dramas do tend to be naturally dramatic, but this had just the right tone. It was based on a real story, but reads like fiction because of it's flair. I know I'll be dipping back into Philippa Gregory's work in the future...

As a young girl of fourteen, Mary Boleyn catches the eye of King Henry VIII at court. As she is dazzled by him and becomes his mistress, she also begins to learn that behind every action is a political motive.

With her family using her as a pawn in a game of power, and her sister Anne repeatedly stealing the King's eye, Mary is encouraged to put aside her own feelings and sacrifice herself for the possibility of her sister grabbing the crown. As Mary watches her sister rise at court, she also notices how dangerous it is to be close to a volatile and powerful man. Will she come to realise that it may be better to be just the other Boleyn girl?

*spoiler alert*