Hercule Poirot is forced out of retirement by a criminal announcing their upcoming murders several days prior. In alphabetical order to boot, matchingHercule Poirot is forced out of retirement by a criminal announcing their upcoming murders several days prior. In alphabetical order to boot, matching location and victim names. Does this mean that Britain is now under threat from a serial killer? Or is there more than random (alphabetical) chance to it?
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I must've been a fan of the Hercule Poirot series for over 20 years now, and I've always enjoyed the convoluted nature of the mystery being unravelled. Naturally, I've never once managed to anticipate their resolution, for all that people claim there is a recipe to them. Heck, even when I tried to focus on the least likely suspect, I'd always miss the mark. So not going into the story completely blind for once, was an interesting experience. Not that it helped me identify the criminal.
You see, the execution of this series of murders was planned out very cleverly, with several backup plans to account of human error. I had watched the story unfold in the long-running (13 seasons!) TV series starring David Suchet quite a while ago, and have seeming retained only the how but not the why of the murderer's plan. Arguably the most important part, though I still missed the mark in the criminal mastermind identification process.
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I haven't picked up a Poirot mystery since my university years, and I don't think I'll do so again anytime soon, either. Yes, I enjoyed the journey to Poirot's final conclusions, but I ddidn't necessarily like the characters themselves. Captain Hastings felt a bit too naive, Monsieur Poirot too supercilious, and everyone else too air-headed in comparison. Miss Marple's kind and unassuming manner feels a lot more palatable in comparison.
Score: 4/5 stars
My reading tastes have changed a lot during the past 20 years, but I can still appreciate a well-planned Agatha Christie murder mystery. The unrealistically smart characters with overbearing and ironic attitudes have since lost their appeal....more
Patricia (Pat) Merton is about to embark on a new phase of her life. Though no one is kicking her out, with her oldest brother just married, she'd ratPatricia (Pat) Merton is about to embark on a new phase of her life. Though no one is kicking her out, with her oldest brother just married, she'd rather make use of her household running skills elsewhere. But first, she gets to enjoy a small hunting party. Or so she was hoping, until she realizes that far too many uninvited guests have also crashed said party.
Armed with her absolute worst premonitions, our heroine nevertheless finds herself reluctantly charmed by one Miss Fenella (Fen) Carruth, her host's pretty, rich, and (supposedly) air-headed fiance.
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I've been wondering whether I should give this book a chance, ever since Pat and Fen's interaction have intrigued me in Think of England. On the one hand, I enjoy seeing women kicking ass, especially when said ass belongs to pompous self-important men. On the other hand, F/F romances are not my thing. Then again, I do very much enjoy K.J. Charles' books in general, so perhaps I needed to get rid of some preconceived notions.
In its defense, I very much enjoyed Pat's no-nonsense attitude, the fact that she was a bona fide shooting champion, and especially her approach to tackling a possibly scary and uncertain future. I loved Fen's approach to navigating the rules of "polite" society, along with the contrast of her mischievous behavior in private. And of course the suitably upbeat promise of a happily-ever-after didn't hurt either.
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That said, the intimate scenes did absolutely nothing for me, and I could've just as easily skipped them. The fact that I didn't, was entirely due to my own misplaced ambition in trying new things. But all this was minor, compared to how much Pat's judgemental attitude pissed me off. I realize that this was all intentional characterization, but that didn't change how much it pissed me off. Then again, perhaps this was just a case of hitting too close to home.
Score: 2.5/5 stars
In spite of my general dislike of romances in audio format, single narrators make for a much better experience with same-sex relationships. For a book from a genre, where I couldn't really appreciate the main selling point, I was seriously considering a lower score. Then again, I DID willing embark on this trip, fully aware of its major downside, so penalizing it for that very fact would be churlish.
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That said, if femme-slash is your thing, and you enjoy seeing women in period clothes stand up for themselves, then Proper English is an excellent choice of a romantic reading material....more
Two years after a horrific war-time accident had ended Archie Curtis' military career, he finds himself infiltrating Sir Hubert Armstrong's country esTwo years after a horrific war-time accident had ended Archie Curtis' military career, he finds himself infiltrating Sir Hubert Armstrong's country estate, hoping to somehow stumble on the truth behind the aforementioned... incident. Don't get him wrong, he's got an invitation and all, but the snooping part is definitely not part of the recommended behavioral etiquette.
Lucky for Curtis, the extravagant Daniel daSilva takes pity on his bumbling attempts at stealth and together they manage to find on a wealth of compromising documents. Unfortunately getting said documents into the right hands, proves to be much more perilous than the two could ever imagine. Even forcing our heroes to resort to (semi)public fornication in lieu of a diversion.
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I've been missing that feeling of a feel-good romance novel, that would nevertheless have me glued to my Kindle. The sort of action-adventure/murder/mystery with a healthy dose of risqué scenes that my first MM stories were made of. I'm happy to say that the action adventure part was done very well.
I especially liked how the identity of the bad guy(s) got revealed rather early in the story, making me excited to see where the stakes would actually lie. The two main characters were also rocking an intriguing mix of appeal and faults, that got me interested to in their relationship. But while I liked the general idea of Curtis and and daSilva together, having the former constantly be described as this huge hulking beast didn't make for a sexy imagery. And his well-meaning gentlemanly naivete didn't help things, either.
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On the other hand, daSilva's less than savory behavior was a whole lot of fun to explore. And the occasional mention of Pat and Fen made for a surprisingly appealing addition as well.
Score: 3/5 stars
The writing was alright, and the story sufficiently not-cliché, in that I can see myself recommending it to fans, or even to readers willing to explore a new genre. As far as enjoyment value goes, I liked the action-adventure, but the romance wasn't quite up to the level of Charm of Magpies or Band Sinister....more
Three days of devilish havoc-wreaking leave many Muscovites reeling for decades.
Starting with an entirely wholesome theological argument (well, monoloThree days of devilish havoc-wreaking leave many Muscovites reeling for decades.
Starting with an entirely wholesome theological argument (well, monologue really), the reader finds themselves dragged into city-wide manhunts, through horrific magic shows, cleverly disguised bouts of trickery, and lots of fake money showers, all culminating with an outlandish party.
Should the reader get tired of all the excitement, the alternate retellings of Jesus Christ's last days on Earth, make for interesting intermissions.
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This 400-page equivalent of a high-speed chase, had me utterly riveted and glued to my Kindle these past few days. Most of the time I could barely do anything more than hold on, hoping to at least decipher the most superficial layers of the story. Still, sometimes I managed to get a glimpse of some deeper concerns, allowing myself to ruminate the merits of an ethical dilemma or two.
Attempting to match my long-forgotten Bible studies with the people from Pontius Pilate's story, was quite rewarding. I was especially delighted imagining Yeshua Ha-Nozri's reaction to reading some of Matthew Levi's more outlandish depictions of events.
On the whole, I don't really have the necessary words to do this book real justice, nor do I want to. Excessive literary analysis would only decrease its enjoyment value. So let's just leave it at THIS. WAS. SUCH. FUN! It is my sincere hope that should anyone be compelled to check out the story based on this review, they will get to enjoy the story in their own personal way.
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While I did get the many (not so) veiled references of woe be to you, if you dared to step out of the norm in Stalinist Russia, I'm not sure that I quite got all the subtle character references. I'm sure I must've missed quite a few, such as the real counterparts of the variety theater management, or to the many shady guests from Satan's party. The only exception was the Master, who was presumably Bulgakov himself. And even there I have vague doubts...
Score: 4/5 stars
As a rule, I rarely touch the classics. They remind me way too much of my school days when I almost never managed to express a personal opinion without being extensively lectured for veering away from the ministry approved interpretation.
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That said, my experience reading The Master and Margarita was great. I loved every single one of the mad dashes through 1930s Moscow, I was riveted by the spectacle that horrifying magic acts presented, and I often found myself laughing out loud at many of the more absurd conversations. My only complaint would be that Pontius Pilate's overlong philosophical discourses bored me, but then that's just me with my philistine tastes....more
Where do I even start? Should I open with a standard guilty disclaimer for disliking yet another childhood sPublished in English as Pippi Longstocking
Where do I even start? Should I open with a standard guilty disclaimer for disliking yet another childhood staple? How about a shameful admission that reading between the lines has never worked for me? Or perhaps a simple statement about being too old to enjoy children's books?
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First and foremost, we have the super-duper-awesome Pippi, who, despite being an orphaned 9-year old, is filthy rich, strong, independent, and does whatever the hell she pleases, albeit firmly within the boundaries of kindness. At the same time, our enterprising heroine's antics are almost always compared to her friends' complete rule-abiding behavior, making the latter seem a prerequisite of sorts.
The end result is a story made up of an odd mix of "eff the rules" vs "rules exist for a reason". Should children follow Pippi's lead in being more independent, thinking for themselves and always questioning authority before conforming? Or should they go the tried and true route, like Tommy and Annika did, and thus managing to seamlessly integrate into the adult society.
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I kept being baffled by Pippi's immediate hostility in non-threatening situations (being quizzed on her Math knowledge at school), or her default kindness in clearly threatening situations (serving cookies to burglars who just tried to rob her).
Most of the time however, it seemed impossible not to pity the poor girl: constantly being told that she lacked manners, yet never explaining the how and whys of them. Even the school teacher, otherwise the nicest adult Pippi comes in contact with, ends up suggesting that Pippi come back later, in lieu of learning to behave.
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Did she think Pippi was an unripe fruit, that'd "magically" gain manners after being left out in the sun for a bit?!
Score: 2/5 stars
I swear I tried to read up on reviews both favorable and unfavorable. Except for Manny's explanation regarding children's rights, or rather, lack thereof, none of them helped shed a light on the book's message.
For all that I'm not normally expecting to have a moral at the end of a story, Pippi's felt like it was trying to hit you over the head with one. If only I could figure out what exactly the anvil-sized lesson was meant to be all about......more
The local gazette of Chipping Cleghorn announces a murder at 6:30 p.m. at the home of the very respectable Ms. Leticia Blacklock. While most people taThe local gazette of Chipping Cleghorn announces a murder at 6:30 p.m. at the home of the very respectable Ms. Leticia Blacklock. While most people take it as a bit of good (possibly rude) bit of fun, no one was expecting the assailant to be the one to actually lose his life... or anyone else, really.
As the participants are all busy assuring the police that they knew nothing about nobody, they manage to simultaneously remember the most bizarre details. Though none of them have any doubts about it being a suicide. Intrepid inspector Dermot Haddock however, suspects foul play.
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For a murder-mystery touted as possibly the best of Dame Agatha Christie, it took me quite a while to warm up to. It has a truckload of characters to keep track of: Leticia Blacklock, the assailant, her companion, her nephew and niece, a lodger, 6 neighbours, the vicar's somewhat ditzy wife, assorted hotel staff, the investigating team, a long-dead billionaire with his currently-dying wife, and Ms. Marple, in all her delightfully polite and apologetic investigative capacity. So the initial murder left me almost as confused as Ms. Blacklock's poor companion, although significantly less impressed. Then again, I wasn't there...
To be fair, the whole setup, reasoning, cheating, betrayal, and whatnot are all very cleverly done. And I thoroughly enjoyed following every one of Ms. Marple's threads of logic. Especially, when it was clear how much she loved providing the detective with her insights, but would very politely maintain an air of "I really shouldn't stick my nose into this".
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There were of course individual characters that I've loved from the get go: such as the subtly supercilious niece, the vicar's apparently-ditzy-but-actually-clever wife, and the ailing Mrs. Goedler during her lucid moments.
On the whole however, I found so many characters where annoying, especially as some of them had a tendency to just chatter on and on, that I ended up tuning them out, or attributing their slip-of-the-tongue to a typo. Multiple times. Which is where I missed several clues.
Score: 3.3/5 stars
I wasn't too keen on the omniscient POV, here. It just threw a whole lot of things at me at once. And I couldn't shake the feeling , that all those ladies who lived together weren't doing so... ugh... platonically. I'd say I read too much smut these days, but the 2005 TV series confirms at least one of these pairings.
All in all, a very well construed mystery, but the character development could've used a bit more thought.
Picture-perfect Masuria in Eastern Prussia, home to some of the most beautiful lakes, and some of the kindest people, is definitely 14-year-old HedwigPicture-perfect Masuria in Eastern Prussia, home to some of the most beautiful lakes, and some of the kindest people, is definitely 14-year-old Hedwig's idea of home sweet home. For all that 1918 brings a brother's death, and Germany's defeat in WWI, our heroine is just glad for all the fighting to be over.
During her apprenticeship at the local tailor, she meets Albert, an impoverished noble family's only son, whose charisma and wonderful piano-playing leave an impression on our heroine. Although she doesn't expect anything to come out of her youthful infatuation, several years later the two meet again, and strike up a lovely friendship, occasionally peppered with delicious flirting interludes. Unfortunately, life still has plenty of things in store for Hedwig, most of them none too pleasant in nature.
With an ominous title like "The road of lost dreams" the story's nature should've been pretty clear cut, but somehow I just kept hoping that a well-deserved reward would finally make itself known to Hedwig. Very resilient during her entire life, our heroine kept determinedly living up to her mother's motto: East Prussian girls don't cry. And let me tell you, being treated as a servant first at home, then by her in-laws, prevented from earning an honest wage due to appearances, that was no easy feat.
Hedwig's story is definitely chock full of several inspiring, if painful episodes, which will keep haunting me for days to come. Yet for all its admirable qualities, the narration itself dragged rather painfully during the first half of the book. I had to pass the 65% mark, following the protagonist during her horrifying escape from East Prussia, in order to honestly claim genuine immersion in the story.
Score: 3.7/5 stars
For me, the book's biggest appeal was a somewhat nostalgic feel, that kept reminding me of the stories that my grandparents used to tell. Therefore, I was positively delighted to learn, that Hedwig's life is, in fact, based on that of the author's grandmother. For all that I found this out only in the afterword, it felt so satisfying to see that the echos of my own grandparents' I've found in here, were probably intentional.
=================================== ARC generously provided by Bookwire and NetGalleyDE in exchange for an honest and fair review...more
Oskar is a fairly resourceful street thief, if he may say so. He's got his 'profession' down to an art form by now, so the fact that his latest 'victiOskar is a fairly resourceful street thief, if he may say so. He's got his 'profession' down to an art form by now, so the fact that his latest 'victim' has seen through his plans quite literally, comes as a bit of a shock. I mean alright, the chap was odd to begin with, and he seems to own a considerable number of unusual devices, not to mention an adorable kiwi bird...
So maybe a trip from 1890s Berlin, to far off Peru should not come as such a surprise. No, not even finding himself accompanying Humboldt's (alleged) son, a white witch, and a most proper young lady boasting rather unlady-like interests in all things science.
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For someone who just loves those documentaries about lost civilizations, and most especially the conspiracy theories behind their disappearance, this book is an excellent choice of reading material. The action is gripping, taking the reader on a journey through the most fascinatingly exotic places.
Although I'm known for my minuscule attention-span, I was able to completely tune out the hustle and bustle of the Majorcian beach, and immerse myself completely in a (fictional) Peruvian jungle. OK, so I did get shooed off for brief bouts of swimming, but in my mind, I was definitely exploring the sights of 1890s Peru. No I didn't drown, yes I find that rather surprising as well.
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While the adventurous aspect of the story was just brilliantly crafted, the characters I found rather lacking. Every single one of them had a fascinating story to tell, from the 15-year-old Berliner street thief who loved to read, to the hot-blooded buddhist-trained superwoman obsessed with Humboldt. And yet, I couldn't have cared less about any of them.
Don't get me wrong, I was rooting for them to survive their trials and tribulations, so that they could encounter yet another exciting aspect of a mysterious civilization. Aside from that however, any of them could've died at any time.
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Score: 3/5 stars
The main story was very well thought out, and kept me constantly glued to the book. The characters and epilogue... not so much. Still, I do want to continue the series sometime in the near future, to see if other lost civilizations would present the same attraction as the ones from this book....more
18-year-old Marie is really lucky. Her life in 1930s Vienna seems almost like a dream: a pretty townhouse to live in, daily walks in the lovely Cottag18-year-old Marie is really lucky. Her life in 1930s Vienna seems almost like a dream: a pretty townhouse to live in, daily walks in the lovely Cottage neighbourhood, playing with children, and getting paid for it all.
Yes she is constantly stressing about being let go, because her bosses forgot to give an update on her probation status. And she frequently gets lost in depressing childhood memories. Plus recalling her near suicide attempt doesn't particularly help Marie's mindset. But other than that, she is a truly stellar nanny.
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I never thought I'd say this, but: please, just stick to non-fiction, Ms. Hartlieb. Three years ago, you made me fall in love with a little private bookstore on the outskirts of Vienna. Just like you, I would eagerly await the locals' daily visits, look forward to the occasional trip to the nearby French girls' school, and gleefully take up a wet paintbrush to attack my bedroom walls...
...I'm referring to my imaginary self here. My actual self would rather put up with a weird yellow shade for 10 years. Then she'd pay other people to paint her walls white, because there's just no way she's EVER going to VOLUNTARILY agree to colored walls in this life.
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But I digress... If the Vienna from this book were a holiday destination, I'd be first in line to book a plane ticket to see it. I'll be taking vaguely stalkerish pictures of every single house in the neighborhood. Possibly even try to sneak into the odd garden for best Instagram value. I'll definitely go ice skating in the park. Even if only to admire others' skating prowess... All this is not to say that present-day Vienna is not a lovely destination for a city break. It totally IS, but I'm a sucker for turn of the (previous) century winter wonderland snow globes.
I could definitely see the merit in the fragmented voyage through Marie's childhood. I'm fairly certain that I even shed a tear or two while reading about it. And the events following her first dismissal were just heart-breaking... But all this is just background noise. An extraordinarily well-crafted background noise: the perfect melody to provide the basis for our heroine's present.
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The meat of the story however, is just so boring and utterly predictable. There was no excitement in waiting for the outcome of individual adventure. Since most of Marie's stories are told in the form of flashback, the reader just knew that things would somehow work out. And then the one time when things happen live, I just couldn't drum up enough interest to get truly invested in the heroine's plight.
Score: 3/5 stars
If you're in the mood for a cute, feel-good Christmas fairy tale, then by all means give it a go. It's the perfect book to curl up with, on a cold winter's evening. I for one however, won't be continuing with the sequel....more
Lymstock is the quintessential definition of the peaceful English countryside: just ask any of its inhabitants. Everything is so utterly uneventful heLymstock is the quintessential definition of the peaceful English countryside: just ask any of its inhabitants. Everything is so utterly uneventful here, that one might be tempted to attribute its inhabitants' main cause of death to boredom, rather than old age. In other words: the perfect place for Jerry Burton's rehabilitation needs. Doctor's orders. So when the first libel-induced suicide happens, our hero is obviously first in line to flex his sleuthing muscles.
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In true Agatha Christie fashion, we get one heck of a convoluted story, without too much action, but enough mystery to twist around even the most logical of us. Or is it just me, who's never able to guess the criminal? I especially enjoyed the grand reveal, when it turned out that I had never even suspected the culprit. Now that's what good murder mysteries are made of.
Yet with all its well-crafted mysteries, wild speculation, and half-way decent romantic subplots, my overall impression was still that of disappointment. This was supposed to be a Miss Marple novel! So why doesn't the lovable old lady make its appearance until the 80% mark?! Yes that's correct: EIGHTY.EFFING.PERCENT!!
Score: 3/5 stars
Objectively speaking, there's nothing too egregiously wrong here. Except for the sudden flowery turn towards the end, but I'm willing to give it a pass. I have to, after finding myself shedding a tear or two at one point.
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As much as I feel cheated, I kind of suspect the fault may lie mostly at my feet. I shouldn't have assumed stuff just because GR marks this book as being part of a series. *continues to sulk nonetheless*
Ms. Smartarse
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