Kim

I really enjoyed this Hercules Poirot murder mystery. A young woman is an heir to a fortune but is on trial and about to be convicted of murdering another young woman. The murdered woman is her rival for the affections of the man she is passionately in love with and may also threaten her long expected inheritance. The legalities of inheritance and poison are all instrumental to the plot. Can Poirot unravel the mystery in time?  The best part of this mystery is the unusual denouement - the mystery solution is resolved during the court trial. 

I enjoyed this Hercules Poirot murder mystery - mainly because Poirot's personality shines in this classic style Christie. He finds himself in a small community staying at a chaotically-run and dirty guest house. Ariadne Oliver arrives on the scene and announces herself by throwing an apple core out of a car window and hitting Poirot squarely in the middle of the forehead. Poirot is there bc a man is on death row for killing his landlady and local char women.  All of the suspects are residents of the community who may match descriptions and ages of women and their children who were involved in famous murder cases from many years ago and were featured recently in a tabloid newspaper story.  There is a lot of humor mixed in with serious investigation. Can Poirot uncover the murderer in time?  

This is the 13th book in the Inspector Gamache novels. It is another excellent outing by Louise Penny. I love that the characters continue to evolve throughout the entire series. This book centers on the drug trade within Canada and between Canada and the US and focuses on the theme of conscience through the use of a cobrador del franc. The frame of the book is hung around Gamache's testimony in the court case of the defendant accused of killing a woman in the basement of the church in Three Pines. 

Wonderfully and thoughtfully written biography of Agatha Christie. Reads like a sequel to Downton Abbey. The author paints a convincing description of what happened when AC mysteriously disappeared for 11 days in 1926. One could argue that the author lets AC off a little easy on her somewhat neglectful parenting and her refusal to stand up for feminism. Would wholeheartedly recommend. 

Attention-grabbing modernized who-dunnit with a delightfully acerbic heroine. I laughed and smirked throughout my listening of the expertly voiced audio book. I figured out who dunnit fairly early, but I didn't see the multiple plot twists coming.  As the book ended leaving me wanting more, I will be looking forward to reading more books by this author. 

The Shred Sisters is a sad but hopeful book about family, mental illness, sisters and therapy. You see the damage done to the sister, mother and father of a person with mental illness. You also see that sometime love can help save a person and sometimes it can't. This book is well written - the characterization is remarkably nuanced and the actions of the characters are believable -there are no quick fixes or knights in shining armor that swoop in to save the day. 

I greatly enjoyed this Agatha Christie mystery which has a strong and flawed female lead character. Poirot plays only a minor role. The other characters are funny or quirky or you root for them to get together. 

I really enjoyed this Agatha Christie adventure. There is no Poirot, Marple or Tommy & Tuppence. Ariadne Oliver makes a brief but important cameo. Although this is a murder mystery, it doesn't play by the golden age of mystery rules. 

Mark Easterbrook, writer and academic, is living the dream in London but he is oh so bored until he hears about the Pale Horse and 3 local witches. Suddenly he finds himself embroiled in the occult and a mysterious string of murders. 

Poirot goes to the dentist!  Too bad his dentist was murdered the same day.  As Poirot investigates the murder, he encounters political intrigue and economic leaders who are too important to die. Oh, and he seems fixated on the cost of women's stockings. 

A book about a retired Chicago cop searching for meaning in his life by moving to a tiny, insular area of Ireland. He gets involved in the case of a disappearance of a local young man after a kid in the area asks for his help in finding the missing man. I love the descriptions of the area and customs and mostly enjoyed the book. The plot and characterizations followed a somewhat predictable pattern of a big strong man from America bringing his gun into a mostly unless society and saving the day and being the only one around who knows right from wrong. 

Great mysterious, psychological crime thriller seemingly about a true crime writer investigating the 18-year-old crimes of a cult but with so many extra layers, you ultimately realize it's about so much more. This book has a unique approach.  You are “given” a key which accesses a safe deposit box.  In the box is a file containing all the material collected by a true crime author over the course of her investigation of a cult whose purpose was to kill a baby (the anti-Christ) on a certain date when the planets align in a specific way.  Several people died, but the baby survived and its identity has been hidden for 18 years.  The author is tasked with finding the baby and writing a true crime book about it.  She's also forced to work with another crime author who is conducting a similar investigation into the cult.  I highly recommend this book, particularly the audio book version. The multiple voices and acting in the audio book are top notch. I especially loved the chemistry between the main character and her assistant. This is a complex story with numerous layers and twists and excellent characterization and psychological motivations. 

I enjoyed this book 3 in Louise Penny's Canadian series centered around the small village of Three Pines and following Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Surete du Quebec as he solves murders with his loyal team of officers. Ms. Penny's prose is beautiful and thoughtful and her cast of charming characters makes me wish I could live in Three Pines. In this title, Gamache must find a killer who used Ephedrine to kill a universally loved woman at a seance in a haunted mansion at Easter all while suffering from ghosts from his past which refuse to die. The new life/new hope imagery abound. There's also wonderful discussion of French Canadian life and what spiritualism and art mean to different people. The only drawbacks are that the police procedural portions lack some believability and the issue of body image could have been handled more sensitively. 

This is book #11 in the Inspector Armand Gamache murder mystery novel series by Louise Penny. I love this series and this book is a great entry but not as great as some.  It's about the murder of a little boy with a great imagination who says he found a giant gun in the forests around Three Pines.  

I enjoyed reading The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency. The protagonist is wise, independent and cares about the people who come to her for help. This story relays stories of her childhood, her early, headstrong adult days and continues to present day when she is 35, single and opening a detective agency. We hear of her first cases, many of which are quite funny, and also her first big case - finding a boy who has suddenly disappeared without a trace. 

The setting in Botswana is beautiful and the characters are endearing. 

This is one of the best books I've ever read. I would highly recommend it. The main character is a wife, mother, daughter and attorney. When she sees her 18-year-old son kill a man near their home she becomes stuck in a time loop. Each time she sleeps, she goes back in time to relive a day in her life. She is convinced that she needs to find a way to stop the murder and save her son from a life sentence. This is such a well written book that keeps you on the edge of your seat and completely invested in the characters. The book deals with important themes such as living with regrets, appreciating what you have, being present, accepting your own imperfections and the weight of parenting.  This book kept me engaged from beginning to end.

This book reads like a modern day Sherlock or Agatha Christie book.  The author wonderfully builds a Hastings/Perot or Watson/Sherlock relationship between the main characters: a show business writer and a tough as nails former police detective turned private eye.  The book begins with a great hook: a woman goes into a funeral home to organize her own funeral.  Less than 6 hours later, she is murdered in her own home.  The police hire the PI to help them with the investigation.  In an attempt to make some money, the PI convinces the show business writer to accompany him during his investigation so that he can write a book about the case.  Love the character and world building of this book.  I'm looking forward to reading more novels by this author.

A lighthearted closed circle mystery from the golden age of whodunnits. Stephen, a man of higher class, is down on his luck and takes a job as a footman at Lady Susan's mansion.   He works behind the scenes to solve a murder mystery following the mysterious disappearance of a young woman during a seance. Also at the house is the lost love of his life who is engaged to another a man.  Will she help him solve the mystery or stand in his way?

I loved this short, sweet, meaningful book about a young man and his bond with his cat. The man goes on a road trip to find a new home for his beloved cat when he can no longer keep him. As he visits friends in different parts of the country (Japan), we learn what a positive impact he has had on people throughout his life. This book shows us that we can find meaning in our connections with our friends and family and sometimes the connections with our pets can be the most meaningful. I definitely recommend this book. 

I read this book because it was recommended as a modern Agatha Christie-type novel. The setting is Christie-like in that it takes place on a remote island during a storm and all of the characters (who are taking part in a wedding) are “trapped” there while a murder takes place. That's where the Christie comparison ends for me. The book also has an interesting literary device - it opens with a murder without telling you who was murdered. So, as the perspective goes back and forth in time, you not only have to figure out who the murderer is, but you also are kept wondering as to who the victim is. This device would be so much more effective if I cared even a little bit about who gets murdered, but I don't because none of the characters are the least bit likable. I think you will like this if you enjoy watching despicable rich and beautiful people on reality shows. Otherwise, I would give it a pass. 

I liked this second book in the Murder Squad series. It's interesting to read about a case from Cassie's perspective. I never bought the central concept on which the book turns, but if I commit to suspending my disbelief, the plot and the characters become absorbing. My main criticism is that it is too long. I also never fully understood my Cassie takes certain actions knowing that they would put her career in jeopardy. 

This cozy murder mystery series centers on an early 20s Lila Macapagal and her life back in her hometown as she helps her aunt run a Filipino restaurant and starts up a cafe with her two best friends.  In this book, Lila is arrested for the murder of her ex-boyfriend, a food critic who is poisoned while eating in her aunt's restaurant shortly after giving it a horrible review.  Lila must find out who the murderer is.  There is a lot of description of food and baked goods that gets old quickly.  I like that the main character doesn't have everything figured out and makes mistakes along the way, but I feel it is best suited for a reader in their late teens or early twenties.  

This book was too slow for me.  It felt like a fictionalized account of how a dictionary is created with a biography of a young girl's life superimposed. For me, the author's most interesting concept is the fact that if words are controlled by the majority (well-off, educated white males), then the stories and cultures of minorities are lost along with their lessons and complexities. I love the history of words and historical novels, but ultimately, there just wasn't enough here to capture my attention. 

Very well written and paced thriller involving women who are neighbors and friends in an upscale neighborhood in Massachusetts. The hook is that we know at the beginning of the book, someone in the neighborhood is murdered during the annual Memorial Day block party. Not only do we need to read the rest of the book to find out who committed the murder, how and why; but also who was murdered. It's an easy read that keeps you turning the pages to learn the answers to those questions but also to explore the importance of communication and the repercussions of revenge. 

This book is a modern whodunnit which takes place in an isolated ski resort in France after an avalanche traps the Snoop, Inc employees in the resort with two resort employees. This is not a book I particularly enjoyed because most of the characters were extremely unlikable, a few were unbelievable, and the story went on for too long after the murderer was revealed (which wasn't too hard to guess). I also didn't like how each section began with the characters' Snoop stats (social media app). Yes, it was a helpful clue at one point, but it was tedious and unnecessary. 

This novel is a bad showing by the amazing Agatha Christie. The half star is for the inclusion of beloved characters Poirot and Ariadne Oliver. Otherwise there is nothing about this book to recommend it. This book reads like she dictated it and it was transcribed with no editing. First of all - almost nothing happens in this book - it is all a series of interviews. The reader is merely told a story. Christie repeats the elephant theme and even some of the (weak) clues ad nauseam. The mother-in-law starting the mystery by cornering Ariadne at a literary luncheon makes no sense. Ariadne telling her goddaughter that she “forgot” about the fact that the goddaughter's parents met a very public, tragic and mysterious end is the height of rudeness and makes no sense. Also, you can see the lazy”twist” ending a mile away. I recommend you forget about this book.