The Winter Ghosts by Kate Mosse

I read this book as it was left in a holiday cottage we are staying in.  It is a non-scary ghost story of love, loss and courage.

It was an easy short read.

However it was predictable, over written and lacking any suspense.

Around the World in 80 Days / Five Weeks in a Balloon by Jules Verne

 

This was a present from my eldest daughter for Christmas.  Having, heard the story many times but not read it I thought it was about time. 

I liked how Passepartout adds a brilliant aspect of comedy.
Full of stereotypes of the time.
The  geography and science is wonderfully made up - as no one had crossed that part of Africa the balloon could never have made the trip.
An enjoyable easy read.

Christmas Carols: From Village Green to Church Choir by Andrew Gant

 

Having sung many of the carols numerous times, it is interesting to find out how they started.

He tries to place the words and music in historic context, to find the influences which have led up to today's carols, and to explore the social settings in which these songs were sung.

Some of it was a little dry and some parts were very interesting.

I think having the CD to listen to them whilst I read it would have improved the reading experience

Lamentation by C. J. Sansom

This is the sixth book in the Shardlake series.

I love this book.

It is an an exciting and excellently written story with lots of twists and turns.
It has a huge amount of rich detail about life in Tudor times. 

Christmas at Thompson Hall: And Other Christmas Stories (Penguin Christmas Classics) by Anthony Trollope

Insightful and humorous depictions of the middle class and gentry of Victorian England at Christmas time.
Easy to read love stories

Frost At Christmas: (DI Jack Frost Book 1) by R. D. Wingfield

   

Having watched Frost on TV and then read the book, the TV adaptation is fairly faithful to the book.

I love the faults of Frost which are described brilliantly.
Not for Feminists.

The Great Christmas Knit Off by Alexandra Brown

 

A Christmas love story.

Lightheated and easy to read.

There is quite a lot of padding and the ending is very obvious

A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle

Having watched the television adaptation and listened to the stories on the radio, I determined to read an original.

It is an easy and enjoyable read that is easily accessible.
It's short, so you can read it quickly.

Part Two of the book starts with what transpires to be a flashback to Utah, but it is a story that confuses me; I wondered if it was a completely separate story.