Gripping Crime Fiction and Biographies from Tea with Tales

19 June 2026

On our first very cold morning of the winter we shared a hot drink and a cheese scone and thought about smells that reminded us of our childhood. This led to an interesting discussion about our parents and grandparents.

Our book reading was from New Zealand author J P Pomare. 17 Years Later is a crime thriller told from the point of view of Bill, convicted killer, his prison psychiatrist and an Australian true crime podcaster.

There were several non-fiction recommendations for the month. Starting with Frank McCourt’s three autobiographies Angela’s Ashes, ‘Tis and Teacher Man, our reader found the series very good. The audio was read by an authentic Irish narrator which made the books easy to listen to.

From Ireland to America, our next read was an historical biography of the US president George Washington. Written with the help of extensive diaries, Washington, a Life by Ron Chernow made for an interesting read and our reader learnt much about the history of the electoral college system and the formation of America’s constitution.

Busted! Stories from New Zealand's leading private investigator by Ron McQuilter had a surprising connection for one of our readers. She had many years previously met one of the people involved in one of the cases investigated in this book.

Our last non-fiction book was Timoti Te Moke’s biography The Unlikely Doctor: from gang life and prison to becoming a doctor at 56. A good read, it challenged our reader’s thinking about topics ranging from racism and prisons to boot camps. Another reader had listened to the podcast Between Two Beers that featured Dr Timoti Te Moke and recommended this episode to the group.

Detective and mystery series were very popular this month. We started in Wales with Rhys Dylan’s DCI Evan Warlow series. Second in the series Caution Death at Work sees Warlow investigating a brutal attack in the Brechfa Forest and our reader loved this book.

I’m Travelling Alone is the first book in Samuel Bjørk’s Holger Munch & Mia Kruger series. Set in Norway the two investigators are tasked with solving a grisly murder. A fascinating read was our readers conclusion.

One of last month’s recommendations was the first in Nita Prose’s Molly the Maid series entitled simply The Maid. This month the second in the series The Mystery Guest was read, thoroughly enjoyed and strongly recommended.

For something a little lighter we had another book in Janet Evanovich’s Fox and O’Hare series, The Pursuit. The series follows FBI agent Kate O’Hare in action-packed adventures with her secret partner and fugitive, Nicolas Fox. This book is the fifth in the series and was another great Evanovich read.

Our last detective series is the Chief Superintendent Gently series by Alan Hunter. Gently Does It is the first in this 46-book series with George Gently, an inspector in the fictional city of Norchester.

Posted by Miss Moneypenny

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