Jessi > Recent Status Updates

In the US, this was previously titled Poirot Loses a Client. I would have found that title more intriguing. I picked this up because it’s chronologically right before Death on the Nile.

If interested in this one, be aware it has spoilers for a few others in the Hercule Poirot series.

I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve laughed out loud and said, “This is so dumb!”
If you have ANY of the physical books (US editions at least), look at them with a black light. Very cool.

Parts of this book have made me absolutely cackle out loud.
If it pops up in the app, the interview between Goodreads and the author is really well done & interesting.

I care so deeply about these characters…

Borrowed from the school library, and not available at our local library.

This author will be at the Columbus Book Festival in July!
The vibe is similar to The Change.

I don’t remember ever hearing about this book, but it’s on a list of books similar to Starter Villain by John Scalzi (which also included other books, I love, like DCC and The Martian).

Random: I really appreciate that Arabic phrases are included and are accurate. That had to have been more difficult in the 1930s - no Google Translate then, and it’s hard to find a shop with a paperback Arabic dictionary currently.

Still building up the premise. Haven’t seen Poirot yet. This installment is from a woman’s POV.

Reading with my big girl. (She says DCC is better but she likes this & knows she can read this in its entirety.)

1 hour in, and no sign yet of Poirot

This jumps right into the story with no recap, no reintroduction. Definitely must read book 1 first, preferably recently.

This is such a love letter to books and libraries. And that cover! My edition has these gorgeous sprayed edges.

Narrator Saskia Maarleveld does a terrific job, as always.

Similar vibe: The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep by HG Parry.

So far this reads more like a series of chronologically ordered short stories that aren’t intersecting rather than the seamless story implied by the synopsis. It even changed POV. It’s one of those awkward situations where the synopsis is really giving away more than half the book, which tends to negatively affect my reading experience & my perception of the pacing. (Bravo to you who can go into a book blind!)

This is a very enjoyable cozy, closed-door mystery that takes place in the early 1900s. The characters are fun and intriguing. I hope it becomes a series. It’s a single POV.

I’m not being drawn into this story. The pacing is off for me, and I’m not connecting with the characters. I don’t really care why this one is faking an accent or why that couple split up. It’s award winning, and I really like the intriguing cover. Hitting pause and plan to return.

So close! There are definitely parts of this story I didn’t remember or maybe didn’t catch the first read through.

I hoped to finish this today, but I will tomorrow. It is definitely my favorite in the series.

This one might be my favorite. It’s somehow the funniest but also the most bittersweet to me.

Rereading

Oh, Samantha….She is so unhinged. I love it. Meeting her might be my favorite part of this book. IWKYM!

CW: infertility (side plot, often mentioned)

I learned tonight that my 7yo gave her grandma a 15 min lecture recently on why she (grandma) should read DCC.
She’s going to.
Proud parenting moment.