Crooked House by Agatha Christie

Feb 092012

Crooked House by Agatha Christie
Published by Harper Paperbacks

This post could alternately be titled: Why I Need to Take a Break from Agatha Christie

From the publisher:

The Leonides are one big happy family living in a sprawling, ramshackle mansion. That is until the head of the household, Aristide, is murdered with a fatal barbiturate injection.

Suspicion naturally falls on the old man’s young widow, fifty years his junior. But the murderer has reckoned without the tenacity of Charles Hayward, fiance of the late millionaire’s granddaughter.

Like most of my favorite Agatha Christie mysteries, this is one of the standalones, without either Poirot or Miss Marple to come in and discover the culprit. Crooked House is told from the perspective of Charles Hayward, whose father works for Scotland Yard, and who is determined to solve the mystery of Aristide’s death, because his fiance, Sophie Leonides, will not marry him until she is assured that her name, and that of her family, is cleared.

I actually thought this was a very enjoyable mystery from Christie, but the problem is that I solved it within a sentence of being introduced to the killer. Literally. That is not exaggeration. I don’t think this is actually a fault of the book, but of the fact that this was my 3rd Christie in as many weeks, and probably my 5th (at least) over 2 months. As much as I enjoy her, it is time for a break. It just isn’t the same when I don’t spend the entire book trying to match wits with her.

Buy this book from:
Powells | Indiebound*

Source: Publisher.
* These links are all affiliate links. If you buy your book here I’ll make a very small amount of money that goes towards hosting, giveaways, etc.

The Invisible Ones by Stef Penney – Audiobook Review

Jan 272012

The Invisible Ones by Stef Penney, narrated by Dan Stevens
Published in audio by Penguin Audio, published in print by Putnam Books, both imprints of Penguin

Synopsis:

From the publisher:

Small-time private investigator Ray Lovell veers between paralysis and delirium in a hospital bed. But before the accident that landed him there, he’d been hired to find Rose Janko, the wife of a charismatic son of a traveling Gypsy family, who went missing seven years earlier. Half Romany himself, Ray is well aware that he’s been chosen more for his blood than his investigative skills. Still, he’s surprised by the intense hostility he encounters from the Jankos, who haven’t had an easy past. Touched by tragedy, they’re either cursed or hiding a terrible secret-whose discovery Ray can’t help suspecting is connected to Rose’s disappearance. . . .

Thoughts on the story:

With The Invisible Ones, Penney created a fascinating, twisting mystery with a level of detail about the lives of the Romany people that lends the story an air of authenticity. The characterization was very well done, particularly as the cast of characters expanded with the extended Janko family. My only real qualm is that I figured out the majority of the conclusion by about halfway through the book. Now, this may have been partially because I overheard a bit of discussion between two others who had read the book and something they said may have sparked the answer in my brain, I’m honestly not completely sure if I was looking for the answer or if it just was a bit too obvious. The good news is that even with being fairly certain of the ending I enjoyed the road Penney took me down to get there.

Thoughts on the audio production:

Let me just say a two things here. First of all, Dan Stevens has a super dreamy voice. Second, he is an extraordinarily accomplished narrator, both in imbuing the authors words with genuine life and in his ability to differentiate between characters. For more, please read my review for Audiofile Magazine.

soundbytes picture Overall:

An absorbing mystery that is only enhanced by the absolutely amazing narration of Dan Stevens. Grab the audio!

Buy this book from:
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Indiebound: Print*
Audible.com

I’m launching a brand-new meme every Friday! I encourage you to review any audiobooks you review on Fridays and include the link here. If you have reviewed an audiobook earlier in the week, please feel free to link that review as well. Thanks to Pam for creating the button.

Source: Audiofile Magazine.
* These links are all affiliate links. If you buy your book here I’ll make a very small amount of money that goes towards hosting, giveaways, etc.

Buffalo West Wing by Julie Hyzy – Book Review

Jan 162012

Buffalo West Wing by Julie Hyzy
Published by Berkley, an imprint of Penguin

This is the 4th book in the White House Chef series. I have previously reviewed the first three books: State of the Onion, Hail to the Chef, and Eggsecutive Orders.

Ollie had a good run in the White House kitchen under President Campbell. Mrs. Campbell, in particular, was a big fan of hers, which helped to shield Ollie during some of the more outrageous happenings. President Campbell decided not to run for a second term, however, which means that Ollie’s job situation is currently a bit tenuous, as she serves at the pleasure of the President and First Lady. When a mysterious box of buffalo wings shows up in the kitchen, addressed to the President’s children, Ollie makes the decision not to serve them, a decision that proves unpopular with the children and their mother. It turns out that Ollie may have saved the children’s lives, but as she has been forbidden to share this information with the First Lady, her job as Executive Chef remains in jeopardy.

Buffalo West Wing has an interesting flow, compared with the other books in this series. Most of the dangerous mystery happens away from Ollie and the White House, other than the relatively benign appearance of the poisoned buffalo wings – although inevitably Ollie does get caught up in the drama eventually. Instead, the majority of the plot has more to do with the internal politics of the White House staff, as a potential rival is introduced for Ollie just when she is at her most vulnerable with a new First Lady. Perhaps the brightest spot is a returning character who becomes a possible new love interest for Ollie, something that was much needed after her breakup with Tom in Eggsecutive Orders.

A slightly different entry in the White House Chef series, but still a strong one.

Buy this book from:
Powells | Indiebound*

Source: Publisher.
* These links are all affiliate links. If you buy your book here I’ll make a very small amount of money that goes towards hosting, giveaways, etc.

The A.B.C. Murders by Agatha Christie

Jan 102012

The A.B.C. Murders by Agatha Christie
Published by Harper Paperbacks

From the publisher:

There’s a serial killer on the loose, working his way through the alphabet and the whole country is in a state of panic.

A is for Mrs. Ascher in Andover, B is for Betty Barnard in Bexhill, C is for Sir Carmichael Clarke in Churston. With each murder, the killer is getting more confident—but leaving a trail of deliberate clues to taunt the proud Hercule Poirot might just prove to be the first, and fatal, mistake.

For the first time EVER while reading a Christie mystery I figured out the identity of the murderer, and quite a way before the end of the book, at that. What I can’t figure out is whether this is a great accomplishment on my part, or a failing on Christie’s. To me, the murderer was obvious from a great way off, and the very serious red herring she threw in the reader’s path not at all convincing – until nearly the end of the book when it very nearly was, but even then it was too obvious to be the real answer. If pressed for a decision, I would say that perhaps The A.B.C. Murders is not Christie’s most strongly constructed book, but I have also read a great many of her books this year, and in other circumstances might not have guessed the culprit so quickly.

For all the Christie I’ve read, this was only my second experience with Poirot, the first being Three Act Tragedy, which, coincidentally, shared some essential plot similarities with The A.B.C. Murders, despite the visible differences. I do think this is a better example of a Poirot mystery, in Three Act Tragedy he took a much smaller role, compared with the persons most directly affected by the crime. In The A.B.C. Murders Poirot is right in the thick of the action. As much as I typically read the standalones, I did enjoy this experience with Poirot.

The A.B.C. Murders is a solid book from Agatha Christie, and a good example of a Poirot book, but if you’ve spent too much time immersed in her work, you’re likely to guess the identity of the murderer disturbingly early.

Buy this book from:
Powells | Indiebound*

Source: Publisher.
* These links are all affiliate links. If you buy your book here I’ll make a very small amount of money that goes towards hosting, giveaways, etc.

Eggsecutive Orders by Julie Hyzy – Book Review

Jan 042012

Eggsecutive Orders by Julie Hyzy
Published by Berkley, an imprint of Penguin

This is the 3rd book in the White House Chef series. I have previously reviewed the first two books: State of the Onion and Hail to the Chef.

Ollie Paras is back, and she’s just as fabulous as ever. In Eggsecutive Orders, we see much less of the White House and the White House kitchen, because Ollie herself gets kicked out of her kitchen in the first few pages of the book. The night before the book begins, the President hosted a dinner that included the Joseph McCarthy of terrorism, the NSA’s Carl Minkus. Minkus has made plenty of enemies, so when he dies after dinner, the Secret Service suspects foul play – and the food service – immediately.

Julie Hyzy does a fabulous job keeping Ollie’s adventures fresh. I was initially a bit worried about how Ollie not being in the White House much would play out, but Hyzy added two new characters to the mix: Ollie’s mother and grandmother who were on their way to visit her from Chicago when the crisis comes to a head. To spice things up even more, Ollie has once more been prohibited from sticking her nose into the investigation, but this time her Secret Service boyfriend Tom is essentially a hostage to ensure her good behavior. He has been put in charge of keeping her in line, and his job depends on her staying out of trouble.

Although I really like Hyzy’s Manor House series, I had forgotten just how much fun the White House Chef series really is. Ollie is a fabulous protagonist: smart, sassy, and occasionally prone to embarrassing herself (but not too much). Even better, she’s just as engaging three books into the series as she was at the beginning, if not more so.

This series is an absolute joy to read, I highly recommend it. I know I’m looking forward to the next books in the series: Buffalo West Wing and the newly-released Affairs of Steak.

Buy this book from:
Powells | Indiebound*

Source: Personal copy.
* These links are all affiliate links. If you buy your book here I’ll make a very small amount of money that goes towards hosting, giveaways, etc.

The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie – Book Review

Nov 212011

The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie
Published by Harper Paperbacks

When the widely disliked Colonel Protheroe is found dead in the vicarage, there is almost nobody in the village who is not a suspect. The vicar himself had remarked earlier the same day that “Anyone who murdered Colonel Protheroe would be doing the world at large a favor!” Still, he knows he did not do it; as vicar he should be beyond suspicion – and of course he has an airtight alibi. The problem is, the most likely murderers also seem to have confirmed alibis, leading to a mystery which only the ever-watchful Miss Marple can solve.

You guys, EVERY SINGLE TIME I read Agatha Christie I think I know who the murderer is. EVERY TIME. I have yet to be right even once. There was this one time that I more or less pegged the motive, but chose the wrong person, but I have yet to catch a killer. The Murder at the Vicarage is no exception. Suspects crop up left and right from the very beginning, but the only thing obvious is who the victim will be (and where he will be killed – it is called The Murder at the Vicarage, after all).

This was my first Miss Marple mystery, and it was interesting to me how she could be such a secondary character, but still so influential. While the vicar is doing a great deal of investigation on his own, many of his most important discoveries are made with Miss Marple’s guidance, and she is the one who is ultimately able to solve the mystery. She does add an interesting twist, and it is nice to change it up a bit from my standard fare of Christie standalones.

A fun and engaging mystery, but really, most of Agatha Christie’s are.

Buy this book from:
Powells | Indiebound*

Source: Publisher.
* These links are all affiliate links. If you buy your book here I’ll make a very small amount of money that goes towards hosting, giveaways, etc.

The Broken Teaglass by Emily Arsenault – Book Review

Nov 172011

The Broken Teaglass by Emily Arsenault
Published by Bantam, an imprint of Random House

Billy Webb is somewhat aimless after graduating from college, but at least he has a decent job as an editorial assistant at Samuelson Company, helping to create the next edition of the Samuelson dictionary. Honestly, it is a pretty boring job, even if it does seem to have a certain nerdy glamor. Or, at least it is boring until Billy begins to find a series of puzzling citations, citations that claim to be from a book or publication called The Broken Teaglass, a work which does not actually exist. It becomes clear that someone at Samuelson must have placed the citations in the cit files in order to tell some sort of story, but what? And why? Billy and his equally bored coworker Mina are determined to solve the mystery.

Perhaps I’m a huge dork, but my first reaction when I saw that this is a dictionary mystery was excitement. Of course, I worried that it might end up being incredibly boring, but the concept was intriguing enough that I went for it anyway, and I’m extremely glad that I did.

The Broken Teaglass is a very smart novel, there is a mystery, but that is simply part of the plot. Billy is a fascinating character, as he falters in his post-collegiate life. He doesn’t know where he wants to be, or how he wants to get there, all he knows is that Samuelson will pay his bills for now. He is searching for purpose, and for companionship, and he finds both when he discovers the mysterious citations. Suddenly, he has a reason to spend time with Mina, whom he likes both as a person, and as a potential girlfriend. More than that, though, he has something to do with his life beyond simply dragging himself to and from work.

That being said, Aresnault did not skimp on the mystery while making Billy an in-depth character. The citations come together in an extremely appealing way, creating a feeling of excitement and anticipation as Mona and Billy gather together the pieces to the puzzle. Still, the reader cares about the mystery largely because Billy and Mona do, and Arsenault gives us a stake in their lives.

A very smart and (literally) literary mystery. Highly recommended.

Buy this book from:
Powells | Indiebound*

Source: Publisher, via Netgalley.
* These links are all affiliate links. If you buy your book here I’ll make a very small amount of money that goes towards hosting, giveaways, etc.

Very Bad Men by Harry Dolan – Audiobook Review

Oct 212011

Very Bad Men by Harry Dolan, narrated by Erik Davies
Published in audio by Penguin Audio, published in print by Amy Einhorn Books, both imprints of Penguin

This is the second book in the David Loogan series. I previously reviewed the first book, Bad Things Happen.

Synopsis:

Things have mostly settled down for David Loogan; Grey Streets is chugging along fairly well, and his relationship with Elizabeth Waishkey is quite good, with David all but living with Elizabeth and her daughter. Until one day David finds a manuscript outside his door detailing the murder of multiple individuals who have recently died and the threat of another man who is next. All of the victims have one thing in common, they were the perpetrators of the Great Lakes Bank Robbery years earlier. Now Loogan must discover who is killing them, and why.

Thoughts on the story:

I just love Harry Dolan’s David Loogan series – even if I do have a tendency to mix up the author and character name for some bizarre reason. These mysteries are super smart with a literary bent to both the writing and the plot. Loogan’s job as the editor of a small literary magazine devoted to mysteries is a fantastic hook that Dolan, who is an editor himself, plays perfectly. Very Bad Men succeeds because it manages to provide both a feeling of continuity with Bad Things Happen and a plot that is fresh and not merely a rehashing of the first book.

The plot of Very Bad Men kept me guessing to figure out what exactly was going on and who was behind it, while at the same time coming together in a very plausible way.

Thoughts on the audio production:

Erik Davies is so exactly David Loogan that it is almost eerie. He doesn’t excel at narrating women, though, and they took a more prominent role in Very Bad Men than they did in Bad Things Happen, so that detracted a bit from the audio experience. For a more details on the audio, please see my review in Audiofile Magazine.

soundbytes picture Overall:

Another smart, engaging thriller from Harry Dolan, complemented by more great narration from Erik Davies. Recommended.

Buy this book from:
Powells: Audio/Print*
Indiebound: Audio/Print*

Source: .
* These links are all affiliate links. If you buy your book here I’ll make a very small amount of money that goes towards hosting, giveaways, etc.

S is for Silence by Sue Grafton – Book Review (+ Exclusive V is for Vengeance Excerpt!)

Oct 112011

S is for Silence by Sue Grafton
Published by Berkley, an imprint of Penguin
It has been 34 years since Daisy Sullivan last saw her mother. Violet walked out of the house on the 4th of July, and neither she nor her fancy new car were ever seen again. For her entire life, Daisy waited, sure her mother will either come back, or contact her. Now, able to stand it no longer, she is hiring Kinsey Millhone to track Violet down.

This was my first ever Sue Grafton book (feel free to gasp in surprise). I lucked out in getting S: Is for Silence, because in S Kinsey is a bit out of her geographic comfort zone. The majority of the action takes place in the small rural town where Daisy Sullivan grew up and still lives, and half of it even takes place in the past, the week or so before Violet’s disappearance. Since Kinsey lives in the 1980s, she isn’t exactly speaking to Cheney on her cell phone. In fact, Cheney’s role is almost nonexistent, he is mentioned only enough that I know there is something going on between them, and if I hadn’t read Nicole’s review of R is for Ricochet I wouldn’t even have known what that something is. This general lack of Kinsey’s personal life means that I, as a new reader, wasn’t confused about Kinsey’s past or relationships, but could just enjoy her story.

Why yes, I did mention a few sentences ago that the ‘present’ of S is for Silence is the 1980s. I must admit, that really, really threw me, considering the book was published in 2005. I get that Grafton began writing her series in the early 1980s, but it definitely threw me that time in Kinsey’s world moves so much slower than it does in ours. I think I was expecting it to be more like Sara Paretsky’s V.I. Warshawski series which started around the same time, the most recent of which, Body Work, was set in the present. Although it pulled me out of the story a few times, though, the setting of the story in the 1980s was no hindrance, and there were several scenes that worked much better not having to explain why someone was unable to make a cell phone call (although Kinsey lugging her typewriter around still weirded me out).

As a heroine, Kinsey is smart, tough, and a lot of fun. I can definitely see why people enjoy Grafton’s ‘Alphabet Series.’

Buy this book from: Powells | Indiebound*

Source: Publisher. * These links are all affiliate links. If you buy your book here I’ll make a very small amount of money that goes towards hosting, giveaways, etc.

Exclusive V is for Vengeance Excerpt

Skating Over the Line by Joelle Charbonneau – Book Review

Sep 262011

Skating Over the Line by Joelle Charbonneau
Published by Minotaur Books, an imprint of Macmillan

This is the second book in the Rebecca Robbins series. I have previously reviewed the first book, Skating Around the Law.

It seems like Rebecca’s dreams may finally have come true. Her real estate agent may finally have found a buyer for her mother’s roller rink. Of course, her boyfriend Lionel isn’t crazy about the idea of her selling the rink and heading back to Chicago, but as much as Rebecca enjoys their time together, getting back to her life in Chicago is all that Rebecca has wanted since she came home to Indian Falls. Still, the Lionel thing aside, things seem to be heading in the right direction – until Rebecca’s deadbeat father shows up in town and people’s cars start going missing.

As in Skating Around the Law, Rebecca is a very strong, entertaining character. She is flawed, but still confident in her own skin, even when she isn’t sure what on earth she is actually doing. The secondary cast of characters is equally good. Lionel gets relatively little face time, but is still very well developed, and Pop has to be the sweetest, funniest grandfather in literature. In addition, Skating Over the Line is well-plotted. It makes sense for Rebecca to get pulled into things when and how she does, and the conclusion makes perfect sense while still managing to be somewhat surprising.

Charbonneau is a fairly new voice in the mystery scene, but she is a talented one. Highly recommended.

Buy this book from:
Powells | Indiebound*

Source: Publisher.
* These links are all affiliate links. If you buy your book here I’ll make a very small amount of money that goes towards hosting, giveaways, etc.

Older Entries

Devourer of Books

Crooked House by Agatha Christie

The Invisible Ones by Stef Penney – Audiobook Review

Buffalo West Wing by Julie Hyzy – Book Review

The A.B.C. Murders by Agatha Christie

Eggsecutive Orders by Julie Hyzy – Book Review

The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie – Book Review

The Broken Teaglass by Emily Arsenault – Book Review

Very Bad Men by Harry Dolan – Audiobook Review

S is for Silence by Sue Grafton – Book Review (+ Exclusive V is for Vengeance Excerpt!)

Exclusive V is for Vengeance Excerpt

Skating Over the Line by Joelle Charbonneau – Book Review

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