Puzzles Presents: Ultimate Reading Challenge 2015 discussion

Post the title, description, and your opinion of the book you read.

Caddy's World by Hilary McKay. It's the sixth and final book in the Casson Family series. We read all six for a Mother-Daughter Book Club. This is about the friendship between the oldest daughter, Caddy, and her three best friends at a point when they're growing apart. Caddy's sister Rose has been born prematurely and they're not sure if she'll survive. It's a prequel but there's not a lot of plot so I'd definitely read the other books first. By the time I read this, I really cared about the characters and recognized some foreshadowing of things that happen in the (chronologically) later books. Hilary McKay makes me laugh, makes me cry and completely pulls me into her characters' world.

As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust

As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust by Alan Bradley is the seventh book in my favorite series, the Flavia de Luce series. This series combines some of my favorite elements: a precocious female protagonist, Victorian England, the British countryside, a cast of quirky characters, and wonderful prose writing full of metaphors and similes. In this seventh novel, Flavia, the main character, is sent from her beloved home in England to a boarding school in Canada. While many fans of this series dislike the change in setting, I found it quite refreshing. As usual, Flavia finds herself in the middle of another murder investigation, except this time she has to deal with a whole new set of people which adds another layer of mystery to the book.

The ABC Murders by Agatha Christie

One of Christie's best!

A series of murders begin in England and are occurring in alphabetical order: name of town and victim have same initials as well as accompanied by the ABC railway guide. There is a preliminary clue note that is signed by ABC. The story runs two POVs side by side: Poirot and the detectives in third-person and the supposed killer's in first-person.

This novel was a suggestion in a recent Entertainment Weekly review of Christie's bibliography. It is a subtly powerful telling with a blazing intensity. The stakes are high in this crime novel and you're along for a fast ride. By this point, Christie has written a dozen or more novels, so the Poirot and Hastings relationship is seamless as well as their amazing ability to solve mysteries. If I had the time, I probably could have finished this one in a day!