Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Author’s recent cancer diagnosis haunted me as I read her great, new book

Killer Kung Pao by Vivien Chien

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I’ve always assumed that Lana Lee, the main character of the Noodle Shop Mysteries, is a stand-in for the author, Vivien Chien. Near the beginning of Killer Kung Pao, Lana goes to the salon to have her hair dyed gunmetal gray. I know Chien likes to dye her hair fun colors so I checked her Instagram to see if she had tried gunmetal gray. Instead I saw her post about being diagnosed with ovarian cancer. My heart sank. Cancer is always sad and scary but […]

You don’t kill someone you’re indifferent to

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Sue Grafton died in December of last year. I was familiar with her books from the gimmicky titles but I had never picked one up. I figured if the titles were dorky then the story would be too. After reading some of the tributes to Grafton and Kinsey Millhone, her protagonist, and decided that this would be a great book to kick off CBR10 with. Grafton’s protagonist is a private investigator in California who is, of course, a former police officer. She is cute, blonde […]

It’s a Long, Long Way to Tipperary

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I’ve honestly never had the slightest interest in World War I, and yet somehow I managed to read two books about it in a row. Maisie Dobbs is a servant who spends her evenings sneaking into her master’s library to read. When she’s discovered, the lady of the house decides that Maisie’s intelligence is worth nurturing, and so she sponsors her education. Everything’s going along swimmingly for Maisie, until World War I starts and she decides to leave university to become a nurse. She goes to […]

Lord Peter Wimsey finds love

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Busman’s Holiday: noun. A vacation or form of recreation that involves doing the same thing that one does at work. So, a few books before this one, Lord Peter saved a lady named Harriet from a murder charge. I haven’t read that book yet, so I have no idea what happened. But during the investigation, apparently they developed feelings. Of the lovey kind. So, now, however many books later, they are married. The newlyweds decide to rent a house in the country, and have some […]

They Call Her Nemesis

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In between her trip to the Caribbean and this story, Miss Marple stayed At Bertram’s Hotel in London, and solved a lovely little murder there, but I’m pretty sure I’ve already reviewed that one. Which brings us to Nemesis. Yes, Nemesis. That’s what Miss Marple called herself in the Caribbean when she was bringing a murderer to justice. If you recall, her compatriot in A Caribbean Mystery was a Mr. Reifel, a very rich invalid. He pops back up again in this story. Well, after […]

Miss Marple Goes Abroad

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Miss Marple’s lovely (and wealthy) nephew has sent her to an island in the Caribbean for a nice holiday. Except there’s no such thing as a “nice holiday” if you’re in an Agatha Christie novel. There’s quite a cast of characters at the Golden Palm Hotel. Miss Marple meets Major Palgrave, who loves telling stories about his past – many of which may not be true. He offers to show her a picture of a murderer (not knowing about her history with the murdery stuff). […]



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