Escape Theory by Margaux Froley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really liked this book. I felt that it was real and honest, and I really liked how Devon and Hutch was portrayed. Devon was doing very well as a peer counselor, I thought, even though she didn't completely follow the guidelines set by her teacher. She was emphatic and sensitive, sharp and smart.

We don't really get to see much of Hutch except what the other characters tell us about him, and of course, this whole story is based on the tragedy of his death. It breaks my heart a little. I wish I could've known Hutch. I wish Devon and Hutch could've had a chance.

Reading about their connection was wonderful, but I can't help wondering what happened after that. Why did they never get together after their special moment? This was never really answered in the book, and we're left to wonder about it.

The story itself is more about people than anything else. I thought most of the characters were really well thought-out, Froley does very well making them come to life for me. I'm excited to see what's next in this series and what Froley will come up with next!

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I haven't read such an enjoyable book in a long time. It was fresh and unique, and I really like all the different elements of the story.

It feels like some kind of historical novel when you first start the story and enter the old bookstore, a mystery with the puzzle solving and members of a secret society, then it becomes somewhat sci-fi with all the talk about Google and immortality, and then comes fantasy with the heroes trying to save the mission; the rogue, the wizard, and the warrior. I loved how the author put them all together.

Clay was a great protagonist, an anti-hero of sorts because he didn't really set out to do much except try to impress the girl, but in the end, he really rose to the occasion and saved the day.

I loved that the other characters were portrayed like characters in an RPG, each one playing an important role in a quest. They were real people living in the 21st century, don't get me wrong, but they all had their RPG roles to play in this mission, and I loved that.

This book is so quaint and modern at the same time, I loved the whole adventure. I love how different this book is, and how fun, mysterious, and smart it is. It's pretty much one of my favorite books this year. =)

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a very interesting book and very well-written and well-thought out.

The beginning was a little slow, but it picked up fast in the middle, and I got sucked in. Both the protagonists, Nick and Amy are unlikable people, but you have to admire them for the mind games they had to play.

I liked how the author tells the story in the beginning with Nick's POV and then Amy's POV from her diary. She leads you in one direction and then when you find out the truth, it really does turn into the metaphorical car crash that you just can't look away from.

You never end up liking either character, and it's pretty hard to decide who to root for, but of course, I end up rooting for the one who was a little less crazy. Weak and selfish people, though unlikable, are still understandable. Psychos are just a little harder to relate to.

The ending was a little anti-climatic though, and unresolved. I would've liked something a little more definite. Not because I need resolved endings, I sometimes enjoy unresolved stories, but because this particular story just calls for it.

All those mind games, all that ego... something had to give, someone had to lose. But...nothing. So yes, I'm a little disappointed with the ending, but otherwise a great read.

The Good Guy by Dean Koontz

Well, Dean Koontz is a name that I’ve heard many times and very long ago but surprisingly, I’ve never read any of his books until now.

This book is about a man, Timothy Carrier, who is mistaken as a hit man and given ten thousand dollars and a woman’s picture to kill her. When the real killer arrives, Tim gives him the ten thousand as a no-kill fee and keeps the woman’s picture, saying that he changed his mind and didn’t want her killed.

Of course, the mistake is eventually, and too soon, discovered. Tim and the target woman, Linda, is forced to run and evade the killer.

The book is very fast-paced, and not at all what I expected. I’ve read quite a few similar thriller stories like this, but somehow the way Koontz presents the story is very different. It’s a completely fresh perspective to me, and I like how the suspense holds all the way to the end.

My only regret is not reading Koontz’s books earlier, but I’m glad that I have another “new” author to add to my ever-growing To Be Read pile.

 

You might also like:

Frankenstein Dean Koontz Best Price $5.68 or Buy New $9.99

The Husband Dean Koontz Best Price $0.01 or Buy New $7.99

Frankenstein Dean Koontz Best Price $4.54 or Buy New $9.99

The Moth Diaries by Rachel Klein

I bought this at a recent book sale, I forgot which, there were so many book sales lately.

Anyway, it intrigued me because it was written in the form of a young boarding schoolgirl’s diary, and it’s supposedly about her obsession with her friend, Lucy, and a girl named Ernessa whom she thinks is a vampire.

I’m not sure if I missed it, but I think this is another one of those books where you never learn the narrator’s name. If I did miss it, and someone knows her name, do let me know!

Anyway, what I like about this book is that you could say it’s a vampire story, but then again, it could also be a story about a girl with a psychological disorder. You never really get any proof or certainty, not even from the narrator herself. She’s sure Ernessa is a vampire, but she never sees anything certain or finds anything to prove it without a doubt.

I just found out that there will be a movie based on this book coming out in 2010. I think it would make a really great movie if they can stay true to the book instead of trying to cash in on all the vampire hype these days and making it a full-fledged vampire story. Let’s see what happens.

Cover of Night by Linda Howard

 

I didn’t expect to like this book. I’d never read Linda Howard before and I thought that this might be one of those lousy romance-mystery novels.

 

Happily, I found myself loving this book and Linda Howard’s writing!

 

Very simply, this book tells the story of Cate, whose husband died some years earlier from an accident, and left her with twin infant boys.

 

She moved to a new, very isolated, very small town, to start over, just wanting to live a simple life and provide for her kids.

 

Unfortunately one day, one of Cate’s tenants brought some trouble along with him, and left Cate and the inhabitants in a very desperate situation when dangerous killers come to their town, determined to get what they want.

 

And of course, along the course of the thrilling story, there’s a romance budding between Cate and Cal, the handyman who Cate has never noticed before until now when he steps up and tries to save the town from these men.

 

I wouldn’t say it was the most believable story, and it was pretty over the top as well, but it was told so convincingly, and in such an exciting way, that I couldn’t help but enjoy the story. A lot.

 

In fact, Linda Howard has become an author whose name I plan to look out for when I next go shopping for books! I’m excited to read more from her.

The Most Wanted by Jacquelyn Mitchard

 

This book is about a young girl, Arley Mowbray, only fifteen years old, who starts corresponding with a prison inmate, falls for him, and marries him.

 

She isn’t a “bad” girl, she’s not your typical rebellious teenager, but somehow being as naive and innocent as she is, she gets herself into trouble when she marries this prisoner.

 

His letters are thoughtful, full of meaningful poems and sweet words. He treats her very tenderly when she visits him at prison. But she gets pregnant, and then she gets a life, and he starts getting jealous and finally breaks out of prison to look for her and the baby.

 

Things escalate from there, with the outcome looking bleak for everyone.

 

Personally, I found the story very interesting. These are not your typical characters, and Arley is definitely not the kind of girl you’d expect to find in this situation, though it may be that I’m stereotyping…

 

Anyway, you can’t help but love Arley and think she’s stupid at the same time, because of course, she is. But you know there’s hope for her, there’s more to her than that, and you wonder, how on earth is she going to get herself out of this situation.

 

After all is said and done, however, while I enjoyed the story and liked the characters, this isn’t something that resonates with me. It doesn’t particularly touch me or stay with me. It’s a story, and a well-told one, but it’s just a story to me.

Finding Your Mojo by Stephanie Bond

 

From the blurb:

 

When attorney Gloria Dalton arrives in the small town of Mojo, Louisiana, she's desperate for change. Her past haunts her—at sixteen she was forced into the witness protection program and ripped away from Zane Riley, the boy she loved. After years of heartbreak and hiding, she's hoping that this move will be her last, that she can make a life for herself among the quirky residents of Mojo.

But Gloria's optimism fades when a welcome gift turns out to be a voodoo doll and her male paralegal suffers a shocking death. When the new Chief of Police arrives on the scene, Gloria's life takes another left turn—it's her first love, Zane, who doesn't recognize her behind her careful disguise.

Concealing her identity and her feelings for Zane is killing her, but when it's revealed that her employee was murdered and secrets begin to spill, Gloria realizes it's going to take a special kind of voodoo to keep her quest for her own personal mojo from hitting a dead end!

 

My thoughts:

 

Oh, I enjoyed this book! I love the romance, the suspense, the story, the chemistry… all of it!

 

I guess what appeals to me most is how Gloria lost her first love Zane Riley, because she had to go into the witness protection program, and how interesting it was when they finally meet up again and Zane has no idea who she is.

 

I think I’m in the mood for romance, because the romance in this book has completely captured my imagination, and my heartstrings. I couldn’t help rooting for the two of them the whole way, hoping that Zane would finally realize who Gloria was and that they could fall in love all over again.

 

Unlike the last book I read, the suspense here was good too, because it kept me wondering who on earth was responsible for the murders and all the mysterious happenings in Mojo.

 

I’ve also gotten intrigued by the references to some past murders in the Voodoo museum in Mojo, which I gather was from a prequel to this book. This is the first book I’ve read by Stephanie Bond, but I enjoy it so much, I think I'd like to read more of her books.

The Carriage House by Carla Neggers

 

From an Amazon review:

 

When Tess accepts a rundown house by the sea in lieu of payment for a design job, she never expects a skeleton buried in the cellar and the handsome, taciturn widower next door to be part of the package.

But the skeleton vanishes before anyone else sees it, throwing doubt on Tess's claims and throwing her into a panic, as the stealing of the skeleton likely points to murder.

This also puts a damper on her unsought, but irresistible, romance with neighbor Andrew.

 

My thoughts:

 

This book is definitely different from the usual books you find in this genre, and I found Neggers’ storytelling style interesting. That doesn’t mean that it was amazing, however.

 

I enjoyed the story, and I thought it was very imaginative and different, yes, but I’m not sure I like her writing style at all. The book seemed very predictable to me, even though Neggers tries to confuse us with certain of the characters’ points of view.

 

I thought that the story could’ve been told in a much better way, if Neggers made more effort trying to throw us from the trail, but I felt that either she wasn’t very interested in keeping us in suspense, or she was just plain too lazy to mislead us.

 

Either way, the story definitely would’ve been much better if she’d told it a different way. I have to say that I enjoyed the romance between Tess and Andrew though, there was definitely chemistry there, and I thought Neggers did a great job in building the chemistry.

 

Perhaps that’s the reason she wasn’t interested in keeping us in suspense, she was more interested in the romance aspect of the book than the suspense.

Final Friends Trilogy (The Party, The Dance, and The Graduation) by Christopher Pike

 

This book is a three-in-one, all three books in Christopher Pike’s Final Friends series are included.

 

Christopher Pike is one of my favorite authors, and in fact, I first knew I wanted to be a writer only after I started reading his books.

 

Although I had always enjoyed reading, I had never realized that writing required any mastery until I read Pike. I was eleven years old, and any books I read prior to Pike (granted they were mostly children’s and YA books) never showed the mastery that he did.

 

The Final Friends trilogy is one of my favorite YA Pike stories, and I’ve read it many times over the years whenever I feel nostalgic. Which is appropriate, because this story is about being nostalgic, for high school and for high school friends, your final friends.

 

Of course, it’s a Pike book, so there’s also death, suspense, mystery, and romance, and he does them all so well.

 

I consider this as one of Pike’s best books, adult novels and YA both included, and I can guarantee that I will definitely be reading it again and again in years to come.

The Prestige by Christopher Priest

 

I watched the movie years ago when it came out, and I loved it! It was exciting, suspenseful, shocking, and became one of my favorite movies ever.

 

There is one unfortunate thing about it though, once you've watched it and know about the surprises, you naturally don't get surprised when you watch it a 2nd time. However, the movie is so masterfully done that you still enjoy watching it again to find out how you missed the surprises the first time.

 

I didn't plan to read the book, because I enjoyed the movie so much that I assumed that the movie either stayed completely true to the book, or that the book was just a mediocre book where they got the idea from.

 

How wrong I was!

 

I finally decided I had to read the book when I saw so many great reviews of it in Amazon.com. They intrigued me, made me wonder why so many people loved the book so much. What was I missing? I had to read it and find out. And now that I have, I'm amazed!

 

One thing I do have to say though, since I've already seen the movie, I already knew some of the book's secrets, but it didn't stop me from enjoying the book, and the story. It's the first time I've read a book, and seen a movie based on it, in which they were both different from each other, but loved both of them!

 

The movie was dramatic, sinister, and tragic, the book was less dramatic, but no less exciting and tragic in its circumstances, and I honestly can't decide which of them is better. They are both different, and they're both amazing, and I would recommend both watching the movie and reading the book, but I'm not sure which of them you should do first, because inevitably there will be spoilers for the other no matter which you do first.

 

But I enjoyed them both despite that, and perhaps the spoilers will not matter when the journeys of the movie and the book themselves are so magical.

The Black Dahlia case has always fascinated, and at the same time, disgusted, me. It is one of the most gruesome murders in history, and the fact that it was never solved makes it all the more horrifying. It is also probably one of the main reason why people are still so fascinated with the case after so many years have gone by.

Lynda La Plante has taken her fascination to another level in her book The Red Dahlia. While it isn't directly about The Black Dahlia case itself, the book uses the case as a basis for a copy-cat murder by someone trying to emulate The Black Dahlia killer.

Keep in mind that The Red Dahlia isn't about The Black Dahlia case, but a work of fiction about a sick and disgusting killer who killed his victims and taunted the police in almost exactly the same fashion as The Black Dahlia killer did. Consequently, there is a lot of interesting and terrifying details about The Black Dahlia case, but after that is where the similarity ends.

Much of the first half of the book describes the murders and the similarities between the two cases, and how the murderer was trying to copy The Black Dahlia killer. Fortunately, unlike The Black Dahlia case, Detectives Anna Travis and James Langton manage to find the killer of The Red Dahlia. The second half of the book focuses on finding evidence and implicating the killer.

What I liked most about La Plante's The Red Dahlia is the factual, no-nonsense presentation of the story. La Plante writes in a very straightforward manner without adding unnecessary frills or details, even with the personal and romantic scenes, and it makes The Red Dahlia read like a very professional account of an actual case. The personal and romantic scenes only serve to make us care about the protagonists, and they add to rather than take away, from the reading experience.

All in all, The Red Dahlia is an extremely thrilling read, although gory, with a lot of both fascinating and gruesome details about The Black Dahlia case, and in its own right. Parts of the book may be slow going, but I highly recommend it to readers with strong stomachs. Stay away from this book if you're the type that can't handle gore, though.

More books from Lynda La Plante:

Lest Ye Be Judged is David C. Trimble's first novel, and as a story, all I can say is "Wow!" What else can you expect when the subject matter is about a murder of a Bishop? Dunstan Mitchell, a liberal Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Central Kentucky, and not a very nice or godly one at that, stepped on too many people's toes when he pressed his agenda too hard. It's apparent that he's a liability to the Church and needs to be eliminated. Somebody murders him, and his body is found weeks later in the pool of a prominent Judge who hated him. As the story unfolds, many shocking and surprising secrets and scandals are revealed.

It's a great story, but unfortunately it wasn't told as well as I hoped it would be. The characters were interesting, but I couldn't relate to any of them. There were a few protagonists, but no strong ones, and the character developments didn't make sense to me. I wasn't sure who the good guys or the bad guys were supposed to be because there weren't any strong protagonists, or antagonists for that matter. Perhaps the storyline made it hard to have a particular protagonist to relate to, but it threw me out on a loop because of that. It's only late in the book that I realized, "Oh, I'm supposed to take the side of so-and-so." There were a couple of characters who I thought could have played bigger roles, and some who I thought behaved out of character.

Also, while I loved the ending, there was some parts of it that I found a little unrealistic; some of the characters behaved very uncharacteristically here, and I thought it went on just slightly longer than it should have. I would have loved the ending more if it stopped right after we found out who killed the Bishop. The events after that seemed unnecessary to me.

Other than that, I loved the book. Trimble's description of places and events are very thorough and vivid. He obviously did a lot of research and took great pains to make sure he got his facts right especially with the finding of the body and the post-mortem descriptions. The book was pretty slow-moving in the beginning, but once the trial started, things got really fast-paced and interesting. It's a great story, and as far as plots go, one of the best I have ever read. Lest Ye Be Judged tells a intriguing story of how power and politics go head to head in a religious setting, and the things people are able to do to protect their faith and beliefs.

Laurel Dewey's debut novel, Protector, is an exciting crime thriller that has a hint of the sixth sense. Detective Jane Perry is a disturbed individual who is struggling with demons from the past, and more recently the loss of the family she and her partner were protecting. Jane tends to take her job too seriously, and it hits her hard when the family dies in front of her eyes.

Spiraling slowly out of control, she is saved when nine-year-old Emily Lawrence enters her life. The child is put under Jane's protective care after both her parents were found brutally murdered in their home. Believed to have witnessed her parents' murders, Emily is in danger when the killer makes another attempt on her life.

What follows is an excellent tale of suspense that intensifies as the bond between Jane and Emily grows stronger and the killer takes more and more desperate measures. You can watch the trailer at Laurel Dewey’s website.

Protector seems to be almost too intense for a debut novel, but it is surprisingly realistic in depicting the darkness of the human psyche. Dewey captures the flawed personalities of the characters really well, especially that of the heroine, Detective Jane Perry.

Jane Perry is not your average likable heroine, in fact Dewey's personification of Jane's bad attitude is so realistic that there were many times when you just want to slap that sarcastic mouth of hers and make her show a little respect to her superiors and colleagues.

However, you realize that Jane is a troubled human being just like anyone of us, and is in the process of healing from her past. Jane's and Emily's journey through helping and healing one another in the midst of danger is a touching and emotional process.

There were a few things which bothered me though, among them Dewey’s tendency to be too obvious and repetitive when describing reading people from their body language, I believe that subtlety might have worked better in this case. There were also a few other details which didn’t exactly make sense to me and seemed unrealistic and unlikely.

It may be that Dewey is used to writing non-fiction, having written two non-fiction books, a variety of investigative reporting, celebrity journalism and alternative health research, but she has a knack for storytelling and was nominated for a Silver Spur Award for her western novella, In the Name of the Land. I enjoyed her debut novel immensely and I believe that with time and a sequel to Protector on the way, Dewey can only get better.

Second Glance by Jodi Picoult

Date Started: 7th Mar 2007
Date Finished: 8th Mar 2007

Rating:

Jodi Picoult is one author who has a knack for writing about the most interesting stories. This one delves into the paranormal when a man who loses his wife tries to find ways to get back to her.

He has tried to commit suicide many times, but somehow he seems invincible. Maybe it's just not his time to go, or maybe there's something else at work. His search for the truth about afterlife leads him to an amazing discovery and impossible relationships.

How many women can a man be in love with at a time? Is he still in love with his dead wife? Can he romance a ghost? Or should he stick to the woman who's still alive?

It's a stimulating read, with a lot to think about, and definitely worth reading. There were a few minor details which bothered me a little as they seem a little far-fetched, like how can he not see that the woman was wearing clothes definitely from another era? It's not a big deal, though, so it doesn't spoil the whole book. But it did distract me a little.

I love Picoult's stories, they are always food for thought. I'm looking forward to reading more of her books.

Well, I'm a little late with my reviews...*sheepish* Sorry! As the books I read piled up, I kept putting reviewing off, which is obviously a bad idea, because they pile up even more. LOL!

So I decided to just write a sorta general review of the books I've read since I last blogged, and then after I've caught up, I'll write 'proper' reviews for the books I'll read in the future. I can't remember much about the earlier books I read anyway, which normally happens when I don't blog fast, so I've learned my lesson and I'll blog asap next time. =P

Anyways, here are the books I've read since the last time I blogged:

Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman

Date Started: 14th Dec 2006
Date Finished: 16th Dec 2006

Rating:

Well, this was a fun read, as Neil Gaiman's books usually are. His books are always a little mixed between reality and fantasy...the lines are always a little blurred, and that's exactly what I love about them. His books are portals into another world, reading his books are like opening the doorways and staring right into a fantastic world.

Reading Anansi Boys, I was torn between screaming in frustration at all the misfortune faced by Fat Charlie, mostly caused by his brother, Spider, and laughing my head off at how ridiculous it all was. Everything works out in the end, but the journey is so exciting, so unbelievable, so stressful, you just have to sit back and let it take you wherever it's going.

Enjoy the ride, Gaiman is always a joy to read, and this is another one of his gems.

Cell by Stephen King

Date Started: 16th Dec 2006
Date Finished: 18th Dec 2006

Rating:

Would you believe this is my first Stephen King novel? I've always wanted to read his books, and I've tried many times, but never managed to finish one. My first purchased King novel was Dolores Claibourne, which I bought a long long time ago, and couldn't get into. I tried Carrie, and It, and his Dark Tower series, but never finished any of them, until now. It's not that his writing is bad or anything, it just happened that I never finished a single one.

Now that I've finally finished one of his novels, I can see why he's so successful. This book is a work of genius. The storyline is basically similar to all those zombie movies which are so popular recently, but the way he crafts the book is amazing. Most horror movies or books try to scare you with gory and suspenseful scenes, and then shock you when something suddenly jumps out of the closet, King builds up horror slowly, logically - yes, logically- and it scares you because you think, oh my god, this could actually happen.

Reading a King novel for the first time, I finally understand why he's so popular. He's a master at his craft, and I can't wait to read more. I'm getting out all my other King books, and I'm going to finish them this time.

Conversations with God by Neale Donald Walsch

Date Started: Fall 2006
Date Finished: Spring 2007

Rating:

I bought Book 1, 2 and 3 many years ago, I believe it was in 2001, and I've read Book 1 and 2 many times before. I started Book 3 but didn't finish it.

Recently I read them all again, and I was awed by what I got out of them. I believe my understanding of the world, life, and my views have changed since I last read these books, and reading them again brought me to another level of understanding.

In my humble opinion, this book is a must-read, whether you believe in a God, or in many Gods, or Goddesses, or if you don't believe in a God at all, it doesn't matter. There are a lot of hard truths in the books, but whether it comes from God, or from Neale's subconscious, or even if he made it all up, there is a lot of wisdom in these books. Read it, and you will never feel alone again. You will live your life differently and see everything with new eyes.

Children Who Have Lived Before by Trutz Hardo

Date Started: 26th Dec 2006
Date Finished: 28th Dec 2006

Rating:

I've always wondered about reincarnation. I definitely believe in it, but my curiousity about life and beyond always lead me to read books like these.

This book is a collection of case studies of possible reincarnations. I believe anyone with an open mind and a desire for truth who reads this book will have no doubt about the possibility of reincarnation any longer. All these cases can't be hoaxes, and there is just no other explanation for the behaviour and knowledge of some of these reincarnated souls.

If you have an interest in reincarnation, or if you're looking for more evidence to support the theory, read this book for yourself.

Charlotte's Web by E. B. White

Date Started: 11th Jan 2007
Date Finished: 13th Jan 2007

Rating:

This was an easy book to read, obviously. I thought I'd read it because it's a classic children's book, and it's being made into a movie with Dakota Fanning, who I really like. But hype aside, it's a wonderful children's book. I love Charlotte and I thought she was the kindest, bravest, wise, and intelligent soul.

A lot of it was hilarious, all the antics of the characters, both human and animals, were exaggerated and 'caricaturized'. But it was also sweet and heart-warming, touching and a little sad too. Read it if you love animals, miracles, comedy, and a good story.

Fantastic Voyage by Isaac Asimov

Date Started: 20th Jan 2007
Date Finished: 24th Jan 2007

Rating:

I was taken in by the storyline; four men and one women journeying into the living body of a man? A great story if I ever heard one. Asimov is known for his futuristic tales, most notably I, Robot, which was made popular recently as a movie, but while his name is a recognized one, I've never read any of his books.

This book was made into a movie about more than a decade ago, I didn't watch it either, but as I said, the storyline hooked me.

What hooked me even more, was the way he made the voyage exciting for readers. A journey into the living body of a man? Definitely an interesting story, but how do you make it less of an anatomical lesson and more of an action-packed adventure? Well, how about if the fate of the entire world lies in the success of that journey! Hooked yet? Yeah, me too. So I read it, and I loved it.

Panic by Jeff Abbot

Date Started: 24th Jan 2007
Date Finished: 26th Jan 2007

Rating:

It's weird, I remember I enjoyed reading this, but thinking back now, I don't remember much about it.

I remember the basic storyline, but not much of the details although this was the most recent book I read. I guess it's a good beach read, a thriller, but not something you'd ever read again for anything other than a 'one-night-stand'.

It's exciting and quite plausible, and definitely scary, discovering your mother dead and finding out that your whole life was a lie. It's a great story, without much of a foundation, sort of like a beautiful person without much of a personality. You'd be fascinated with the way the person looked, and you could probably spend hours marvelling at the perfection of that person's features, skin, and hair.... but probing for something deeper would leave you entirely empty-handed. It's still well worth looking at though.

The Clocks by Agatha Christie (246 pages)

Date Started: 8th Oct 2006

Date Finished: 9th Oct 2006

Rating:

This is an oldie but goodie. I remember spending days in the library when I was in Secondary 1 reading all the Agatha Christie's books I could get my hands on. That was my first introduction to Agatha Christie, and surprisingly, when I switched schools after Secondary 1, I haven't read another Christie mystery until now.

I remember loving all of her mystery novels and devouring handfuls of them at a time, but unfortunately, I must have been spoiled by more modern mystery novels, because there seemed to be a lot which lost me in this book.

The book and the plot was still masterfully woven, and it was amazing how everything tied up and made sense at the end. It's the classic mystery novel in which the atmosphere and writing style really appeals to me. You really never know who did it until the end, and then you think, wow...how did I miss it?

Mysteries nowadays are more engaging, with more characterization, and many of them give you false leads and red herrings, making you suspect one and then another person, which is of course, enjoyable reading in their own right too. But it was such a treat reading a classic mystery written by one of the best mystery writers of all time again.

I so wanna get my hands on more of her books now. =D

P.S. By the way, I'm still in the middle of reading Waterbabies, which I will put aside for now because I suddenly realized that with all my variety of books, I hadn't read a single mystery novel. So I picked this book up, and suddenly I'm on my mystery phase. LOL! More to come soon!