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Friday Finds


Daphne, by Justine Picardie. In the 1950s, Daphne Du Maurier writes a monograph on the life of Branwell Bronte and has a relationship with a Bronte scholar; in the present, a graduate student becomes increasingly obsessed with Du Maurier.

Indian Summer, by Alex Von Tunzelmann. Nonfiction; about the transfer of power in India at the end of British occupation.

The Man in the Picture, by Susan Hill. Suspense/ mystery, coming out next month. A book apparently about "a sinister painting imbued with the vengeful spirit of a former owner." I've loved Susan Hill's novels ever since I saw the play version of The Woman in Black in London's West End... and then read the book. Her books are full of creepy deliciousness.

The Best of Everything, by Rona Jaffe. 1950s novel about five career women in New York.

Die With Me, by Elena Forbes. First book in the Barnes Murder Squad series.
The Thomas Lynley/ Barbara Havers mysteries, by Elizabeth George. Someone, knowing I liked British mysteries in the vein of PD James and Ruth Rendell, suggested this series to me. I have no idea how I hadn't heard of this series before.

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