The Reading Challenge Group discussion
2021 Personal Threads
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Debbie's Book of 2021
Book #2Completed: 1/7/21
Title: Bluebird Bluebird
Author: Attica Locke
Comment: Many black writers portray the horrors and problems of the black community mostly in the South. Attica Locke shows the issues in a small community in Texas in 2016. The stories of Black Lives Matter ring true in this novel of racial injustice in the South. The main character, Geneva Sweet, operates a small store and restaurant that sits across the street from a huge, beautiful replica of Jefferson’s Monticello. The owner, Wallace Jefferson III (Wally), wants Geneva’s small patch of land. Geneva is an old black woman who has lost her husband and son to violent crime. And Wally, a white gentleman, owns basically the whole town. The story opens with the recovery of two bodies from the bayou: a black man from Chicago and a young, white woman from the community. Are the deaths related? The story centers on the choices of a black, Texas ranger. Will he continue his job as a Ranger or find a safer life in teaching law? Ms. Locke presents the characters with clarity and humanity, and a look at the problems of race in the South.
Mod
It is a pleasure to read your summaries.
Rosemarie wrote: "Happy reading in 2021, Debbie.It is a pleasure to read your summaries."
Thank you Rosemarie
Book #3Completed: 1/9/21
Title: The ABC Murders
Author: Agatha Christie
Comment A very enjoyable day diving into an Agatha Christie mystery. Today, I read The ABC Murders and at times I find Hercule Poirot’s French phrases a little too much, especially when challenged with the translation. What caught my fancy? The description of a maniac/serial killer by Poirot made me think of Donald Trump and his quest for power and fame. As Poirot mentioned, the maniac will blunder due to egoism. Agatha Christie presents a delict able novel on all the processes that Poirot employs to catch the killer. The scenery gives an important clue in the story. And I love the characters and had mistakenly picked the wrong killer several times. Captain Hastings, like Doctor John Watson in the Sherlock Holmes series, narrates the majority of the story. Hastings carefully guides us through the murders and Poirot’s investigation. Agatha Christie does not plunge into deep psychological language as does Louise Penny or Elizabeth George. Agatha Christie hands the reader a fun mystery.
Book #4Completed: 1/9/21
Title: Forbidden Hollywood
Author: Mark Vieira
Comment: Forbidden Hollywood traces the Pre-Code years in Hollywood right after the Silent Film years. Of course, these risqué movies all were filmed in black and white. So many young and unknown actresses rose to fame in this era: Jean Harlow, Myrna Loy, Joan Crawford, Norma Shearer, Greta Garbo, and many others. The 1934 Code that outlined what was acceptable in films: violence, sex, topics, and language. The book includes pictures of these beautiful actresses in their pictures and scenes from Scarface with Paul Muni. The book covers all the problems and the solutions to many of the banned films.
Book #5Completed: 1/12/21
Title: I Am the Only Running Footman
Author: Martha Grimes
Comment: Martha Grimes builds interesting characters and the setting glistens, but many times too many red herrings creep into the narrative. Blonde women of a certain appearance have been strangled and many police division stumble along attempting to find the killer. Enter the stage with Richard Jury and his cast of detectives. Before the killer can strangle Dolly, Jury and his crew of amateur detectives discover the killer’s identity. The reader learns about many English pubs and food and spirits and the minor personality traits of the characters: Fiona, the secretary of Chief Superintendent Racer, the devilish cat Cyril, the hypochondriac Sergeant Alfred Wiggins, and many others. What baffled me dealt with a character named Ned and also called Edward. Why this difference? The detail provides a better picture, but at times teeters at too much description.
Book #6Completed: 1/15/21
Title: Trumpty Dumpty Wanted a Crown
Author: John Lithgow
Comment: Trumpty Dumpty Wanted A Crown surprised me. I had thought John Lithgow had created a children’s book with illustrations, and of course, I wanted to be transported to juvenile stories. Lithgow’s book leans toward an adult audience with delightful poems, sketches after each poem, and a brief explanation of the background for each poem. Yes, I enjoyed reading this short political satire concerning the Trump years in the White House. Many of the events had escaped my notice and enforced my chagrin of the last four years. Thank you, John Lithgow, for your perspective.
Book #7Completed: 1/16/21
Title: Rainbow's End
Author: Martha Grimes
Comment: Rainbow’s End provided many interesting aspects but went too far with multiple characters and extreme detail and exposition. Many of the scenes and characters could have been omitted from this story, as the narrative droned like a litany. In this installation, every past character appears in a scene or two. Sergeant Wiggins enters the hospital due to receiving an electrical shock. In the hospital, Wiggins practically solves the murder of three women, but it takes almost 400 pages for the case to be closed. Another aspect falls in the realm of a young girl that aids Richard Jury with the case. At the end of the novel, the young girl exits the stage without her future determined. I do not like open ended stories. I want to know all the answers, which does not happen in a Richard Jury novel.
Book #8Completed: 1/22/21
Title: Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore
Author: Matthew Sullivan
Comment: Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore evokes pain and suffering and sadness. The story begins with a terrible death of one of the dispirited customers. Joey Molina hangs himself in the bookstore just before closing time and of course, Lydia Smith finds Joey. In Joey’s pocket, Lydia finds a picture taken at her 10th birthday celebration. Why does Joey have this picture? Lydia begins her search that began 20 years ago when her best friend, Carol O’Toole, and her parents were brutally murdered with a hammer and Lydia remained hidden under the kitchen sink. The symbolism of broken hands surfaces with David, Lydia’s boyfriend, and his hand partially chopped off by the garbage disposable and with the boiled in hot oil of Maya Patel, Raj’s mother, hand. The amazing quest of Joey to mislabel and encode books to express his journey to find his birth mother. The story shows the troubling misconception of the poor, of the drug dependent, and of troubled souls. Lydia displays that overcoming your situation remains probable. The ending comes as a surprise.
Book #9Completed: 1/22/21
Title: Dumpty
Author: John Lithgow
Comment: John Lithgow has two poetry books satirically following Donald J Trump’s presidency. I thoroughly enjoyed the 2nd book as the better of the two and more relevant to my knowledge of the events. I relished the sketches that accompany each poem. In this first book, the explanation following the poem too briefly explained the event. A nice distraction from a bleak and rainy day.
Book #10Completed: 1/24/21
Title: Facing the Dawn
Author: Cynthia Rushti
Comment: Facing the Dawn awaken my longing for a better understanding of the Bible. Many times, the story stretched the perimeter of feasibility. Mara Jacobs enters the narrative as a harassed mother of three children and a husband working in in Uganda. Financial woes, uninteresting work, and troublesome children throw Mara into a bottomless pit. Then Liam, the husband, suffers a partial drowning and then an inferno of no return. A child believes himself to be the cause of his father’s death, and overdoses. Light shows at the end of the tunnel, as Ashlee enters Mara’s world to give her the strength and courage to face the problems. Where was Mara when Ashlee needed help? Mara’s conversations with God and herself are very poignant. But sometimes, the story seemed to sugar-coat the tragedy of Mara’s life.
Book #11Completed: 1/29/21
Title: The Secret Adversary
Author: Agatha Christie
Comment: After watching a PBS special about Agatha Christie, I resolved to start reading Christie’s books in order. I had already read The Mysterious Affair at Styles, so I jumped into The Secret Adversary. This is a series that features Tommy and Tuppence, two young adventurers looking for a livelihood after World War I. The majority of the book features dialogue, and I prefer more description of the setting and characters. Tommy seems slow-witted and easily confused, while Tuppence forges ahead with speed and determination. I am not sure that this series warrants another journey. Remember, this is after the war and money and jobs are scarce, but Tommy and Tuppence stay at the Ritz and dine lavishly. Yes, they are receiving wages, but if you do not know if you will have another job in the future, why splurge on fancy food.
Mod
Book #12Completed: 2/8/21
Title: The Murder on the Links
Author: Agatha Christie
Comment: Hercule Poirot shines in The Murder on the Links. The foolishness of Tommy and Tuppence dissolves into an intriguing mystery. The story does not rest on dialogue to move the story along. Characters and setting show more development. The double identity of many characters hints at Shakespeare. And sometimes the reader becomes confused with all the identities. Hastings reveals that a human heart beats within his chest, will this charade continue? I adore the way Poirot recounts the mystery and displays the clues that lead to unveiling the killer. But first, at least two women work to protect the men they love. The elegant eating of Tommy and Tuppence disappears in this story on the links.
Book #13Completed: 2/17/21
Title: You Belong Here Now
Author: Dianna Rostad
Comment: Dianna Rostad details the life in Montana in 1925. The orphan train that left New York and headed west to give orphans in New York a chance at a different life. Dianna Rostad briefly addresses the plight of these orphans as western farmers looked for strong and healthy farm laborers. Many books have detailed the orphan trains and the horrid life the orphans entered. Rostad bases her story on three children who jump the train before the last stop. These children from diverse backgrounds bond together and enter a farm and learn about life. Charles an eighteen-year-old running from the law and pretending to be sixteen protects Patrick, a small Irish lad, and Opal a tiny girl covered with burned skin. Rostad deftly describes farm life and the dependence on neighboring farmers. The tale about killing the mustangs due to a lack of grassland perplexed me. So many stories of hardship in Montana surprised me, such as the viciousness of wolves. An interesting story, but not enough detail.
Book #14Completed: 2/22/21
Title: The Secret of Chimneys
Author: Agatha Christie
Comment: Finally, a group of individuals interested in reading Agatha Christie, after I decided to take the plunge in 2021. Agatha Christie adores following Shakespeare model with the mistaken identity or multiple aliases of a character. In this novel, Anthony Cade goes through three different monikers. I fervently wish that Christie had provided a list of characters in her novels as I felt compelled to list all the name changes. The Scotland Yard officer, Superintendent Battle, enters and exits too often and does not seem to detect what is happening. Anthony Cade agrees to deliver a manuscript to England for a friend and immediately encounters problems. Politics, intrigue, and romance follow as many people meet at Chimneys, the stately home Lord Caterham. The story provides amusement, but other novels, especially with Hercule Poirot, delight the reader.
Book #15Completed: 2/24/21
Title: The Big Four
Author: Agatha Christie
Comment: What a long list of characters and Agatha Christie gives vivid descriptions of each person. And so many stories with each of these characters. Hercule Poirot explains to Inspector Japp “and yet you drag the red kipper across the trail,” exactly as Agatha Christie drags the red kippers in the story. The story centers on “The Big Four” which is a group of four powerful individuals: Li Chang Yen from China, a dollar sign from America, a French woman, and “The Destroyer” England. Poirot races to identify and stop this deadly team. The mystery remains how Arthur Hastings spends so much time assisting Poirot in this lengthy hunt and ignoring his wife. Again, Agatha Christie explores the mistaken identity theme. The Destroyer, a master of disguise, approaches Poirot as an asylum keeper, a young butcher, a doctor, and a manservant. Poirot discovers each of the Big Four members and rushes to stop them. Agatha Christie plants hints of Poirot’s brother, Achille as resembling Sherlock Holmes’s brother Mycroft. This story borders on issues happening today.
Book #16Completed: 3/3/21
Title: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
Author: Agatha Christie
Comment: Hallmark Channel interjects past mystery writers in the Mystery 101 series. A past episode briefly mentioned whodunit in Agatha Christie’s The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. So, I searched for clues throughout my reading of Agatha Christie’s best mystery. Missing in action, Captain Arthur Hastings and his wife reside in Argentina. Doctor James Sheppard steps in as the narrator. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and regretted when I reached the final page. So many memorable passages such as Poirot telling Dr. Sheppard “that women observe unconsciously a thousand little details, without knowing that they are doing so. Their subconscious mind adds these little things together—and they call the result intuition. Me, I am very skilled in psychology, I know these things.” I would love to interview Agatha Christie and ask where she discovers the names of her characters because the names are very uncommon. I love how Poirot meticulously follows the clues without the use of DNA and all the modern forensics. Christie also employs a sketch to show the murder scene. As a final note, Poirot explores the theory that everyone has a secret which effects how they handle any situation. An interesting jaunt into a murder investigation.
Book #17Completed: 3/6/21
Title: Just Mercy
Author: Bryan Stevenson
Comment: Harper Lee, the author of To Kill a Mockingbird, outlines the racial injustice in Monroeville, Alabama. Bryan Stevenson hammers home that racial injustice in the legal arena in his novel, Just Mercy. So much inequality in the justice for African Americans, Hispanics, and the poor. I was dismayed to learn the plight of children sent to adult court for minor crimes and then forced into adult prisons for a life sentence and no chance of parole. Another area bothered me, the handling of girls and young women sent to prison for the death of a stillborn baby. These poor females could not afford healthcare and when the baby dies, they are saddled with the blame. The majority of the book focuses on Walter McMillian, an African American, arrested, charged, and sent to death row for the murder of a white woman. Walter was at home with friends and family when the murder took place, but the white police, lawyers, and judge convicted Walter, never really investigating the crime. After 6 years on death row, Walter was released due to the persistent work of Bryan Stevenson, his lawyer. Stevenson was also responsible for getting Anthony Ray Hinton released from death row after 30 years for a crime he did not commit. Again, Anthony was in a locked job site with other employees and could not have committed the murder. Unequal justice does not rest only in Alabama, but in the majority of Southern states and even in California. Many changes have been made in the judicial system, but still more legislation must be passed.
Book #18Completed: 3/9/21
Title: The Man in the Brown Suit
Author: Agatha Christie
Comment: My journey in the mysteries of Agatha Christie continues with The Man in the Brown Suit. This falls under the Colonel Race series and involves so many characters playing multiple parts that I felt lost at times. When her father dies, Anne Beddingfeld decides that she must live and take chances. First a man falls to his death at the train station in front of her, then a man in a brown suit stating he is a doctor examines the fallen man. Anne retrieves a slip of paper the man in the brown suit drops and thus begins her sleuthing. Anne then finds a canister of undeveloped film at Mill House where a woman has been killed. Anne quickly books passage on the ship, Kilmorden Castle, bound for Africa. As usual, Agatha Christie supplies many charming and alarming characters. Anne encounters an attempt to throw her overboard and a kidnapping but prevails in these adventures. The style fringes on light banter between the characters and danger seems distant. Anne narrates half of the story and Sir Eustace Pedler’s diary details the remaining story, an interesting approach to the narrative. This lacks the forcefulness of Poirot.
Book #19Completed: 3/11/21
Title: The Night Watchman
Author: Louise Erdrich
Comment: The Night Watchman written by Louise Erdrich troubles me. The story is a fictional account of friends and family known to Louise Erdrich. The biggest event is the Indian Termination Act of 1953 which hoped to end the union of the Indian tribes and the Federal government and to usurp the Indians from the reservations. On these “reservations” or tribal land in North Dakota, the Indians live in utter poverty with no running water or electricity. Their meals consist of wild animals and fruit and vegetables of the field. Jobs are scarce and pay lowly wages. The main character is Pixie, who wants to be called Patrice. Patrice’s sister, Vera, has married and gone to live in Minneapolis. Vera has not contacted her family in a long time, so Patrice ventures to the city to find her. We learn that Vera has been kidnapped and has been forced to become a sex slave. When Vera is sick and haggard, her jailors throw her out. The descent of the native Indian from proud warriors to individuals fighting to stay on the reservation’s land. The Indian Termination Act of 1953 was passed, but was stopped in the 1960’s. America belonged to the Indians, but the federal government wanted the land, and that struggle continues today.
Laronza wrote: "I love your summaries.... ❤"Thank you
Book #20Completed: 3/16/21
Title: The Mystery of the Blue Train
Author: Agatha Christie
Comment: Agatha Christie focuses on many points of interest in regard to travel. The Mystery of the Blue Train, the infamous night express luxury train transports the wealthy from Calais to the French Riviera. Hercule Poirot happens to be one of the persons on this voyage, during which a woman is murdered, and her jewels are stolen. So begins the quest for the jewel thief and the murderer. So many red herrings in arresting the criminal. My thought ran with Rufus Van Aldin, the father of the victim. The dancer, Mirelle, aroused my suspicions. The French police go after Derek Kettering, the husband of the victim, and Armand the Comte de la Roche, the lover of the victim. Poirot follows all clues and investigates and comes to a different answer that he reaches with the assistance of Katherine Grey since Hastings does not grace this mystery. I really miss Hastings, but Katherine supplied a foil for Poirot. The descriptions of the characters and the settings stand as vivid reminders that Poirot notices everything.
Book #21Completed: 3/23/21
Title: The Seven Dials Mystery
Author: Agatha Christie
Comment: Superintendent Battle blunders along in The Seven Dials Mystery. The story returns to The Chimneys estate complete with Lord Caterham, his daughter, Lady Eileen “Bundle” Brent, Sir Oswald, Lady Coote, and a huge cast of friends and servants. Two young men die mysteriously: Gerry Wade and Ronny Devereux. Bundle jumps into the hunt for the killer and picks up unsavory characters along the way. The crux of the matter seems to be espionage and discovering secret formulas. The story reminds me of The Man in the Brown Suit with a young woman discovering all the answers and finding romance at the end of the story. The mystery moves quickly from adventure to adventure with Bundle and her cohorts. But Superintendent Battle just stands around and emotes different faces at each turn of events.
Book #22Completed: 3/30/21
Title: The Murder at the Vicarage
Author: Agatha Christie
Comment: Enter center stage Miss Marple for a look at one of the premiere sleuths of history, and her being an elderly spinster. So many comments that Miss Marple always is correct in her theories. Miss Marple comment “The young people think that old people are fools; but the old people know the young people are fools” sums up how Agatha Christie and Miss Marple view the world. The village of St. Mary Mead appears to be inhabited by a flock of elderly, spinster women. These women hear and see everything that happens in St. Mary Mead. Romance and murder cannot flourish under the watchful eyes of these noisy women. Thank goodness for their diligence, as they assist in solving the murder of Colonel Lucius Protheroe. As in every Agatha Christie novel, characters disguise themselves and the disguise is always for devilish endeavors. I love how Miss Marple deducts what has happened, what a treat!
Book #23Completed: 4/3/21
Title: Peril at End House
Author: Agatha Christie
Comment: Peril at End House shows a naïve Hercule Poirot that falls under the spells of Magdala “Nick” Buckley. Each chapter displays a foolish man that believes everything a young, beautiful woman tells him. Poirot does not allow the little gray cells to invade this case until the final chapters. Nick enlists Poirot to guard against multiple plots of killing her. But why would anyone want to kill Nick, she has no money? Then a glimmer appears when Nick tells of her engagement to Michael Seton, a world class flyer. Michael is lost in his attempted flight, and many think Nick will inherit his estate. The plots of murder continue, but instead of killing Nick, her cousin Maggie is killed. Why? What is Poirot doing to protect Nick and solve this mystery? I would love to talk with Agatha Christie and ask her many questions: where does she find all these strange names for her characters and how does she establish the steps of the killer? This story presents an interesting tale but shows the weakness of Poirot.
Book #24Completed: 4/6/21
Title: Not Dark Yet
Author: Peter Robinson
Comment: I enjoy most of the Alan Banks series by Peter Robinson. I wish that he would provide an index of the songs that Alan hears. Many classical musical, of which I am very unfamiliar and would like to know and many hear myself. I guess I could make the list myself, but I am too busy with all the characters. Not Dark Yet explores the many images of darkness very poignantly. I am incredibly surprised that Peter Robinson does not quote Bob Dylan’s song “Not Dark Yet” in this book. The story jumps from Romania, Paris, Yorkshire, and London. The English countryside awakens the senses with the birds, scenery, and climate. Towards the end of the story, Alan admits he loves Zelda. Will the two ever enjoy the other’s company? Alan seems lost in his own, lonely world of past loves: Sandra-his ex-wife and Annie his ex-girlfriend. The story briefly invades the world of sex slavery by looking at Zelda’s prior life and displays the perils of drugs and alcohol and wild parties by the wealthy.
Book #25Completed: 4/9/21
Title: The Sittaford Mystery
Author: Agatha Christie
Comment: The mystery begins with a round table séance where a spirit announces that Captain John Trevelyan has been murdered. A heavy snowstorm makes travel difficult, but Major John Edward Burnaby insists on walking to Trevelyan’s cottage to check the verity of the spirit. A man, James Pearson, is arrested for the murder. Pearson’s fiancé, Miss Emily Trefusis, grabs the bull by the horns and attempts to prove that Pearson has been framed. Agatha Christie delights in presenting female sleuths that outwit the criminal. These women solve murder: Anne Beddington in The Man in the Brown Suit, Kathleen Gray assists Poirot in The Mystery of the Blue Train, and Lady Eileen “Bundle” Brent assists Superintendent Battle in The Seven Dials Mystery. Emily weasels the assistance of many men in her quest to find the killer, but her antics delight the reader. I am fascinated with Christie’s names—where does she find these names? Also, in almost every story, people enter a house through the window—is this an English oddity?
Book #26Completed: 4/13/21
Title: The Giver of Stars
Author: JoJo Moyes
Comment: Eleanor Roosevelt encouraged women to become horse librarians in rural areas where people could not reach actual libraries. This WPA Pack Horse Librarian program ran from 1935 to 1943 as part of Roosevelt’s New Deal. The Giver of Stars recounts the struggle of achieving trust for these women in rural, mountainous Kentucky. The five women who run this mobile library form a lasting friendship amid a cruel world. JoJo Moyes displays the poverty during the Depression, the perils of a marriage, the horrors of a mining town, and the power of a tight-knit community. The women in this story strive to have reading and learning available to everyone but face many obstacles. What a contrast to the 21st century.
Book #27Completed: 4/18/21
Title: Snow
Author: John Banville
Comment: John Banville writes eloquent prose with multiple allusions to Agatha Christie, William Shakespeare, and Raymond Chandler that forced me to Goggle the names, places, and people. Poor Fonsey the Fierce glimmers in the distance as Caliban. The second Mrs. Osborne flitters in and out of the narrative as the White Mouse. Detective Inspector Saint John Stratford mentions that this case resembles that woman mystery writer, albeit Agatha Christie’s The Murder on the Orient Express. This lighthearted banter softens the brutality of the murder of a Catholic priest and the final act of vengeance in the castration of the priest. The story begins with the priest’s narrative and his attention to details in his final minutes. The priest returns in the narrative later in the book and explains his deviant behavior. In Ireland, priest stand as the ideal and a priest can do no wrong, but John Banville exposes this misconception. A big shocker at the end.
Book #28Completed: 4/23/21
Title: The Thursday Murder Club
Author: Richard Osman
Comment: The Thursday Murder Club created various emotions with a story of four older individuals that live in a retirement center. These retired individuals have not quietly gone into the night awaiting death. The center has multiple activities for the inmates, but these four people: Ron Ritchie, Joyce Meadowcroft, Elizabeth, and Ibrahim Arif have elected to investigate cold murder cases and to assist with current crimes. To their delight, a murder happens in their retirement center and the four jump into the hunt for the killer. The story contains many notable comments that hinge on life and life’s expectations. What delights me is that a retired person can a lead productive life. The group of four range in age from the 70’s to the 80’s as they utilize their life skills to battle crime. So much compassion in the novel such as married love that has lasted a lifetime. Joyce records the events of each day in her diary which also records her private musings. But in the end, not all the killers have been punished, a lesson that not all killing deserves retribution.
Book #29Completed: 4/29/21
Title: Lord Edgware Dies
Author: Agatha Christie
Comment: Maybe I need to stop Agatha Christie for a while and read other authors. Hallmark Mysteries comments on many mystery writers that I have not read recently. Maybe a few American writers would be nice. Christie utilizes the same style in Lord Edgware Dies with characters exchanging places with one another, so much like Shakespeare’s plays. I had not noticed before of Christie’s obsession with dark skinned people and Jews. Christie plummets the Jew’s love of money. I also noticed that Poirot constantly belittles Hastings for his lack of intelligence and his lack of observation skills. I think that if I were Hastings I would return to my wife in South America. Christie mentions Chicago and the prevalence of “hitmen”. This novel seems very pessimistic and dark as compared with prior novels. Poirot missteps many times in this story before his “little grey cells” discover the motive and opportunity of the murders. Yes, Poirot and Japp finally append the killer before more bodies are discovered.
Book #30Completed: 5/6/21
Title: The Consequences of Fear
Author: Jacqueline Winspear
Comment: Maisie Dobbs shines in this latest adventure and finds a soulmate, again. The year is 1941 and London suffers the perils of WWII with bombing and increased local crime. A young boy working as a message runner comes to Maisie with a story of witnessing a murder. Maisie juggles Freddie story, her secret government job, and her love life. The case with Freddie throws Maisie into thinking of Maurice, her teacher and mentor. Maurice taught Maisie to analyze the problem and not to jump to conclusions. Winspear brings in a wide array of family to let Maisie know that many depend on and support Maisie. All these minor characters float around Maisie: Anna, the adopted daughter, Priscilla and her family, the best friend, Mark Scott, Maisie’s boyfriend, and more in this supporting. Winspear also introduces the French people’s sense of Honor above all else. The plight of Charles de Gaulle during his exile in England “I call upon all French men who want to remain free to listen to my voice and follow me”. Winspear displays the humanity of the English and the French during the war.
Book #31Completed: 5/7/21
Title: The Big Sleep
Author: Raymond Chandler
Comment: The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler reeks in simile. The simile twinkles from every page with this brilliant technique. Death becomes the big sleep, and many characters plummeted into this sleep in this hard hitting and fast-moving detective story. The book opens with Philip Marlowe as he prepares to meet a new client, General Sternwood. What description of the Sternwood house? I can feel the heat forcing the perspiration. Can you just see Carmen Sternwood and her malicious innocence? The comparisons in the novel create laughs and build understanding of Marlowe. This explanation for poverty caught my attention “I been shaking two nickels together for a month, trying to get them to mate”. The line about the woman in the bookstore builds an unique description “approached me with enough sex appeal to stampede a businessman’s lunch”. Every page taunts with these witty remarks and provides a comic relief to all the killings. Raymond Chandler’s style lightens the story and moves the reader too quickly through the novel.
Book #32Completed: 5/11/21
Title: Poirot Investigates
Author: Agatha Christie
Comment: Poirot Investigates contains short stories narrated by Hastings describing some of Poirot’s minor cases. How delightful! Poirot even admits that he handled the outcome incorrectly. Was Agatha Christie biased against the Chinese and the Jews? She employs some harsh adjectives for each group. Money stands as the motive in many crimes. As a good detective always follows the idea of money or love or revenge. Christie delights in throwing a little espionage into her story. This collection was published in 1924, after WWI and long before the threat of WWII. One story involves a nephew and his wife who kill the nephew’s rich uncle, and nothing ties them to the murder. But justice is served when the couple are killed in an airplane crash. The stories contain intrigue and interesting characters and employ little time in reading. I am not a fan of short stories but thoroughly enjoyed Poirot and Hastings.
Book #33Completed: 5/23/21
Title: Gift of Diamonds
Author: Roberta Seret
Comment: Roberta Seret portrays the perils of Romanians during the reign of Nicolae Ceausescu. This trilogy follows the lives of four teenaged girlfriends during this reign of terror. Book 1 of this trilogy follows Mica from life in Romania to her fleeing the country with her father’s diamonds. The characters enhance the story with their vivid description. The short history of diamonds contained valuable information and just the right amount of explanation. Many authors have described the problems of Romania and Serbia and the subject matter seems trite, at times. Seret writes well of the issues and heartache, but her writing lacks emotion.
Book #34Completed: 5/31/21
Title: What the Devil Knows
Author: C S Harris
Comment: The Sebastian St. Cyr series descends into ennui. The story line follows the same direction in each new novel and encourages boredom. The historical background provides a little excitement, but the rest of the story follows a formula. Sebastian and Hero attempt to cure the ills of England, but still enjoy their privileged life. Sebastian continues to search for his mother and encounters possible relatives. Many recurring characters have minor roles in this story as Sebastian dominates every page. C S Harris provides excellent description of the setting and the characters, but the tale remains flat.
Book #35Completed: 6/16/21
Title: Under the Bayou Moon
Author: Valerie Fraser Luesse
Comment: Under the Bayou Moon flourishes with images of the Louisiana bayou, bit the actual characters fall flat. The biggest and brightest character, the bayou, captures all the emotion. The story line follows a trite pattern of city girl journeying to the backwoods to teach and falling in love with a local man. Raphe Broussand, a Cajun man, lost the majority of his family during a New Orleans storm. The lore in the bayou centers on a huge white alligator that outsiders want to hunt and kill. Raphe, Ellie, and Heywood want the alligator to survive and for the honored few to see this marvelous creature. Again, the actual characters in the story seem supporting cast for the bayou and the alligator. Valerie Fraser Luesse illustrates the hard life and loss of identity for the Cajun community. The Cajuns speak French, and their religion is Catholic which many refuse to accept. The plight of the Cajuns lends to an enticing story, but that story is omitted.
Book #36Completed: 6/29/21
Title: Tourist Season
Author: Carl Hiaasen
Comment: Thoroughly disgusted with the violent scenes that forced me to stop reading this saga of The Everglades. I have read Carl Hiaasen before this book, but my father gave me his collection of Hiaasen’s novels. Tourist Season sickened me. Yes, this violence happens every day, but my reading must not be clouded with these disturbing visions. I feel like the story thunders from someone high on a pulpit like Jonathan Edwards discussing Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. The haunting image ruins the story and the plea for correcting the human errors of progress. Carl Hiaasen throws a little humor to soften the brutal reality, but the senselessness overshadows the message. Not my idea of an enlightening read.
Book #37Completed: 7/2/21
Title: Only Make Believe
Author: Howard Keel
Comment: Howard Keel was handsome and suave, but his memoir falls flat. The writing displays Keel’s lack of education with its simplistic language. The memoir details Howard Keel’s life from birth to his later years. Many of the episodes should have been omitted as they portray an arrogant, self-centered man. For me, the story wasted many hours that could have been utilized elsewhere.
Book #38Completed: 7/4/21
Title: The Venice Sketchbook
Author: Rhys Bowen
Comment: The Venice Sketchbook by Rhys Bowen surprised me. This book emerged well-written and enjoyable. I have read many Rhys Bowen books, the Royal Spyness series, and this book displays better writing. The description of Venice teases one with the beauty and romance. But hardship and misery flicker nearby in the scan of years that encompass the novel. Does love at first sight happen? According to this story, this phenomenon happens twice. The characters need more emotion and understanding, but the scenery and attention to detail win the prize of good writing. Family secrets open problems and mysteries to uncover, but is the truth ever found?
Book #39Completed: 7/10/21
Title: Why Didn't They Ask Evans
Author: Agatha Christie
Comment: What a delightful change in venue with Why Didn’t They Ask Evans by Agatha Christie! This novel features Bobby Jones and Lady Frances “Frankie” chasing around Scotland and England in search of the murderer of Alan Carstairs. Agatha Christie amuses herself and her readers with multiple identities of several characters. Thank goodness that all is explained in the final chapter, or I would be lost. Bobby Jones and Doctor Thomas unknowingly discover a body while they are golfing. Both men think the unfortunate man fell to his death due to the mist. Bobby and his friend Frankie discover that the man is not Alex Pritchard, but an Alan Carstairs. This and the fact that twice Bobby falls under suspicious adventures thrust the pair into investigating the death of Alan. Many readers have ventured that Bobby and Frankie remind the reader of Tuppence and Tommy, but these new sleuths outshine Tuppence and Tommy. Agatha Christie mentions the class divisions of Frankie and Bobby. And the criminals delve into drugs and deception. A fun read.
Book #40Completed: 7/18/21
Title: Eight Perfect Murders
Author: Peter Swanson
Comment: Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson provides an excellent list of mysteries to read. Swanson includes a brief description of the plot and characters. Swanson also delves into various movies recreating the mystery. Strangers on a Train ranks on the top of the list, and of course the Alfred Hitchcock presentation shines. I have never read the book but will read this novel and Double Indemnity. Double Indemnity, the movie starring Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray, shocked many viewers. Let us return to Eight Perfect Murders and the fated list of Malcolm Kershaw. Malcolm had listed his favorite mysteries on a blog, but now a serial killer has started using Malcolm’s list to commit murders. An FBI agent contacts Malcolm in hopes that the killer can be stopped. Peter Swanson a well written novel and a valuable resource for readers of mysteries.
Book #41Completed: 7/26/21
Title: The Personal Librarian
Author: Marie Benedict
Comment: An enlightening novel based on the life of Belle da Costa Greene, a light skinned woman of African-American descent who passed as a white woman in the early 20th Century. By intelligence and luck, Belle Marion Greener became the personal librarian of J. P. Morgan and controlled his library for 43 years. The novel portrays Belle as ambitious and dedicated to reaching for the stars. After Belle’s father left the family, Belle and her sisters struggled to earn enough money to support the family and send their brother to college. The story shows that dreams can turn to reality with determination and perseverance. An interesting story, The Personal Librarian, about success.
Book #42Completed: 8/2/21
Title: Before and After
Author: Lisa Wingate
Comment: The tragic fictional account of the Tennessee Children’s Home Society, Before We Were Yours, resonates better than the non-fictional account of Before and After. Yes, the stories of these babies and children evoke the reader’s emotions, but the first book captures the truer sympathy. Before and After reads like a newspaper article which lacks the human element. The stories and characters portray flat objects. In this non-fiction work we learn more about the despicable Georgia Tann who dealt in exploiting poor girls, women, and families. But many of the children went to a better life.
Book #43Completed: 8/17/21
Title: The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle
Author: Stuart Turton
Comment: What a terrible journey marked my passage through The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle! Forced to complete the journey since I am to be the moderator for this tome and such a long, difficult trip. I strongly dislike time travel and multiple personalities and this novel contains too many examples of each. The narrator of this voyage, Aiden Bishop, jumps in and out of different characters during a period of eight days. Of course, Agatha Christie employs changes in identity, but not to Stuart Turton’s numbers of identity alterations. The story reeks of the movie, Groundhog Day, with the same scene unfolding each day. But Stuart Turton alters many of the scenes as each character influences the outcome. Turton writes well, but the story is too lengthy and repetitious. Never have I welcomed the last chapter, and with a style employed like Agatha Christie in tying up the characters and the actions.
Book #44Completed: 8/20/21
Title: An Irish Hostage
Author: Charles Todd
Comment: The mother and son team that form the author Charles Todd provided two days of pleasurable reading. Bess flies off to Ireland, which is in the throes of the Irish fighting for independence from England, for a wedding of a friend. What happens is that Bess and the best man become hostages while waiting for the groom to heal from injuries at the hands of fellow Irish men. An Irish Hostage briefly explains the Easter Rising of 1916 and the feelings in Ireland for Irish men who enlisted in WWI on the side of England. The feelings provoke visions of the American Civil War where families fought against one another. The feelings of Simon and Bess still hamper their confessing their love for one another.
Book #45Completed: 8/22/21
Title: Survive the Night
Author: Riley Sager
Comment: I am very surprised with Survive the Night by Riley Sager. I love the use of film noir movies to advance the story. Lucky for me that I have seen all the movies mentioned, but the main movie, “Shadow of a Doubt”, remains a thriller where the killer just his reward. Is that a foreshadow of what will happen in this story? The story unfolds into scenes with each character explaining the scene. Each scene brings tension, but I had already decided on the serial killer, but not his reason for killing. Riley Sager ‘s plummets into Charlie’s narcotic behavior as she blames herself for her roommate’s death. As Charlie rides toward Ohio or her death, the reader grasps and fears for the worst outcome. Thankfully, only so many hours in the night before Charlie will face her demons. A fast-reading book full of twists and turns.
Completed: 1/1/21
Title: A Crime of a Different Stripe
Author: Sally Goldenbaum
Comment: Sally Goldenbaum writes a novel overrun with friendship and loyalty and sense of community and this reader applauds her endeavor. The love and camaraderie among the Seaside Knitters amazes me and creates a sense of wonder and envy. A famous photographer arrives in Sea Harbor to host a lecture series, but Harrison Grant also plans something else in his return to Sea Harbor. Cassie and a new, young friend, Elena, plan the birth of their first babies. So many stories unfold in this short book: the disappearance of Rico’s wife over 20 years ago, the yoga teacher Harmony and her past life, and Elena’s adoptive parents. Ms. Goldenbaum deftly moves the story and the friendship of the characters and the community’s attitude. During troubling times, Ms. Goldenbaum shows that friendship and trust are the ultimate gifts of stability.