64. The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs by Alexander McCall Smith

ISBN 0-676-9780-8 - Random House, 2003

von Igelfeld's rivalry with fellow academic Unterholzer & his friendship with colleague Prinzel are heightened in this second book of the trilogy.
He lectures on a Mediterranean cruise and travels to Arkansas, Siena & Rome where he encounters the Duke of Johannesburg, the Patriarch of Alexandria and the Pope .

63. Portuguese Irregular Verbs by Alexander McCall Smith

ISBN 0-676-97679-4 - Random House, 2003

Professor Dr Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld, is an exceptionally tall German professor of philology (an older term for linguistics, and especially for the branch of linguistic study devoted to comparative and historical research into the development of languages).
In this first novel of the trilogy, The 2½ Pillars Of Wisdom von Igelfeld, a cross between Frasier Crane & Inspector Clouseau, travels to Ireland, Goa and Venice.

62. Dead Water by Ngaio Marsh

ISBN 0-00-616465-X - William Collins & Sons, 1964

When Wally Trehern's warts are "miraculously" cured by the cascading waters of a natural spring, hundreds of visitors flock to the Cornish village of Portcarrow seeking similar results.
Agatha Christie is the undeniable queen of the classic whodunit, complex plots being her forte. In Ngaio Marsh's Roderick Alleyn mysteries, characters and the foibles of human behaviour take centre stage. Spinster shop owner Elspeth Cost and fresh-faced teacher Jenny Williams, visiting from New Zealand, are immediately recognizable and sympathetic.

61. Cautionary Tales for Children by Hilaire Belloc

Rediscovered and illustrated by Edward Gorey
ISBN 0-15-100715-2 - Harcourt Inc., 2002

Whimsical yet macabre rhymes that urge the reader to heed the warnings and obey the rules given by one's elders or else face dire consequences. Charmingly illustrated with Gorey's classic line drawings.

60. In the Company of Cheerful Ladies by Alexander McCall Smith

ISBN 0-349-11742-x - Abacus, 2004

While following the silver Mercedes driven by apprentice Charlie's woman friend, Precious Ramotswe knocks a man off his bicycle with her tiny white van. The injured party eventually becomes quite an asset to both the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency and Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors. Mma Makutsi attends dancing class in the hopes of finding companionship.

59. The Full Cupboard of Life by Alexander McCall Smith

ISBN 0-9544075-0-4 - Polygon, 2003
Mma Potokwani, matron of the orphan farm, plays a prominent role in this fifth book in the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. Detective Precious Ramotswe takes a case in which she has to find out whether a wealthy woman's four suitors are after her money or genuinely wish to marry her because they are in love. Mma Ramotswe finds out that people will ultimately make up their own minds whether or not to take the advice they have asked for.

58. The Kalahari Typing School for Men by Alexander McCall Smith

ISBN 0 349 11704 7 - Abacus, 2005

Mma Makutsi, assistant detective, becomes an entrepreneur when she opens the Kalahari Typing School for men. The No 1 Ladies' Detective agency faces competition when Cephas Buthelezi sets up shop in Gabarone. 'Ex-CID. Ex-New York. Ex-cellent' reads the sign outside the Satisfaction Guaranteed Detective Agency. A man attacked by ostrich rustlers reviews his life and asks Mma Ramotswe to help him right the wrongs he committed as a young man.

57. Morality for Beautiful Girls by Alexander McCall Smith

ISBN-10: 0349117004 - Abacus, 2003
Cases include: a strange boy that seems to have been raised by lions, a government man who believes his sister-in-law is trying to poison his brother and a beauty pageant organizer who questions the morality of his contestants.

56.Tears of the Giraffe by Alexander McCall Smith

ISBN 0-349-11665-2 - Abacus, 2000

Mma Ramwotse solves many cases for her diverse clientel. She also becomes engaged to Mr. J. L. B. Matekoni, Botswana's No. 1 mechanic.
Her secretary, Mma Makutsi gets promoted to assistant detective and takes on a case of her own.

55. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith

Mma Precious Ramotswe who lives in Gaborone, a small town in Botswana, describes herself as, "a traditionally-built African woman". When her father passes away he leaves her, his only child, enough money to buy a house and start up a business. Instead of opening a shop, Mma Ramotswe decides to start a detective agency. She's got all the qualities of an excellent detective: resourcefulness, wisdom, courage, compassion and above all she's nosey.

54. The White Witch of Rosehall by Herbert G. de Lisser

ISBN 0 519-19904-6 - Ernest Benn Limited, 1929

Annie Palmer is petite, enchantingly beautiful, wealthy woman. She is also a cruel slave master of the Rosehall and Palmyra planations and rumour has it she is responsible for the untimely deaths of her three husbands. Legend says she has evil, supernatural powers practices Obeah and/or Voodoo.
While Rosehall and Palmyra certainly do exist there is little evidence that Annie Palmer did. The book, however, provides interesting insights into the social structure of Jamaica both in 1831, when the novel is set and in 1929 when it was written. Historically, de Lisser's account of the The Baptist War also known as the Christmas Uprising and the Great Jamaican Slave Revolt of 1831.

53. Bury the Chains: Prophets and Rebels in the Fight to Free an Empire's Slaves by Adam Hochschild

ISBN-13: 978-0-618-61907-8 - Houghton Mifflin, 2005

Hochschild has written a compelling account of the abolition movement in Eighteenth Century Britain that paradoxically manages to be scholarly and readable at the same time. In contrast to the recent film Amazing Grace, Hochschild doesn't glamourize William Wilberforce or overstate his role in the campaign to stop the slave trade in the British Empire which lasted nearly fifty years.

52. Swing Brother Swing by Ngaio Marsh

ISBN 0 00 613394 0 - 1949

Published in the USA as A Wreath for Rivera, this Roderick Alleyn mystery is full of interesting characters which include the eccentric Lord Pastern & Bagot, who flits from one obsession to another, and the handsome, womanizing accordionist Carlos Rivera.

When a theatrical stunt performed during a swing band concert goes wrong, Alleyn sifts through clues (which include a pair of pistols, an ornate French parasol and a silver pencil)to solve the murder.

51. Blackbeech and Honey Dew by Ngaio Marsh

ISBN 0-00-651234-8 - 1981

While in New Zealand, we arranged a personal tour of mystery writer Ngaio Marsh's house in Cashmere, a suburb of Christchurch. Unlike most historic homes, this one is filled with books, photographs, paintings and furnishings actually owned by the people who lived there - Ngaio Marsh and her parents.

My hubby bought a copy of Blackbeech and Honeydew, Marsh's autobiography, for me and I found it interesting to read it while travelling in New Zealand, where most of it is set. Little has been written about her personal life, and this book deals mainly reminiscences of her childhood and work in the theatre, for which she received her "Damery".

Prior to touring her house, we visited her grave at Mt Peel in the cemetery of the Church of the Innocents.

50. Ptolemy's Gate by Jonathan Stroud

ISBN-13: 978-078683868-4 - Hyperion/Miramax, 2006

The Bartimaeus Trilogy Book Three

"Trapped for years on earth, Bartimaeus's energies are fast running out. His master, Nathaniel, is increasingly arrogant and unapproachable and will not listen to his pleas. But as war and unrest rock the magicians' government, Kitty uncovers secrets from Bartimaeus's past that might help change the world forever."

Just when you think you've got a grip on the plot, it twists and turns everything upside down. All the major players from the first two books gather for a final showdown and London will never be the same.

49. Black as He's Painted by Ngaio Marsh

ISBN: 0006138403 - London: Fontana, 1975

"The story concerns a visit made by the President of the Commonwealth nation of Ng'omwana, known as "Boomer" to his friends, to London. He insists on dealing with the London police through Alleyn, an old public school friend of his, rather than allowing Special Branch to work directly with him on his security. Special Branch is not happy at his unwillingness to co-operate with their wishes, particularly as the Boomer had survived an assassination attempt only a few months previously. And then the Ng'omwanan ambassador in London is killed at a reception early in the visit, apparently in mistake for the president."

Read more here.

48. The Golem's Eye by Jonathan Stroud

ISBN: 0786836547 - Hyperion/Miramax, 2006

The second book of the Bartimaeus Trilogy follows the adventures of ambitous, young magician John Mandrake (born Nathaniel) and his djinni, Bartimaeus. Mandrake now works for the Ministry of the Interior and is charged with investigating the "Resistance" movement. A Golem is running amok in the centre of London. (Golem: In Jewish folklore, an image that comes to life. From the Middle Ages stories were told of wise men who could bring clay effigies to life by means of magic charms or sacred words. Golems began as perfect servants, whose only fault lay in fulfilling their master's commands too literally or mechanically. Later golems were imagined as protectors of the Jews in times of persecution, but also had a frightening aspect. Source: www.answers.com ) When the Resistance raid Gladstone's tomb, they unleash an insane foliot trapped inside the former Prime Minister's skeleton and further destruction ensues.

47. The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud

ISBN: 0 7868 5255 0 - Hyperion/Miramax 2004
Nathaniel is a young magician's apprentice, taking his first lessons in the arts of magic. But when a devious hotshot wizard named Simon Lovelace ruthlessly humiliates Nathaniel in front of everyone he knows, Nathaniel decides to kick up his education a few notches and show Lovelace who's boss. With revenge on his mind, he masters one of the toughest spells of all: summoning the all-powerful djinni, Bartimaeus. But summoning Bartimaeus and controlling him are two different things entirely, and when Nathaniel sends the djinni out to steal the powerful Amulet of Samarkand, Nathaniel finds himself caught up in a whirlwind of magical espionage, murder, blackmail, and revolt.

46. A Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Penguin, 1932
Set in 26th Century London, Huxley's novel was written more as social commentary than science fiction. In this dystopian world, test-tube or rather bottled babies, promiscuity and mood altering drugs are the norm. Henry Ford becomes a messianic figure - his name is even used as a curse word as in, "Oh, Ford!" and the calendar based on his life span. The first part of the novel centres on Bernard Marx, a non-conformist whose physical appearance, ideas and behaviour make him an outcast. The true protagonist John the Savage, however, is not introduced until the second part of the novel when Marx visits the pueblo of Malpais in the New Mexican Savage Reservation and brings John and his ailing mother back to London.

45. Isobel Gunn by Audrey Thomas

ISBN 0864923317 - Penguin, 1999 (Audio Book)

In the summer of 1806, a young Orkney woman disguised herself as a man and signed on with the Hudson's Bay Company. For a year and a half she hid her identity and her deception was revealed only when she was giving birth to a baby boy. In less than an hour, she turned from John Fubbister into Isobel Gunn. Very little is known about the real woman. Audrey Thomas has taken the threads of Isobel Gunn's story and turned them into a compelling novel about an unusual woman, her short life, and the effect she had on those around her.

Narrated by Duncan Fraser.