Kate Atkinson published a new book this year, A God in Ruins. The world was raving about it, and about her earlier works, and I was embarrassed that I hadn’t heard of her. I got curious, did a little research, and found somewhere that Atkinson is one of Stephen King’s favorite authors. He particularly recommended the Jackson Brodie books. I decided I wanted to read all of her books, and figured I’d best start with the first one. Case one: a little girl goes missing […]
Murder Solved by Nursery Rhyme
Wealthy mogul Rex Forsythe dies at work of poisoning from an obscure toxin found in the berries of the yew tree. There’s some grain in his coat pocket, which turns out to be rye. The Scotland Yard detective is intrigued by this. Rex had two sons and a daughter, and a younger second wife (don’t they all?), all of whom would benefit from his death. He was also kind of a jerk that no one would really miss. Also in the Forsythe house (Yewtree Lodge) […]
Late, as ever, to the party
I know everyone read this last year or so, but I’m always behind on these things. Other books I haven’t read yet: The Kite Runner, All the Light We Cannot See, and Life of Pi. But, as usual, there was a Kindle deal on this book, and since I’m a sucker for a good murder mystery, I picked it up. The story alternates between several narrators: Rachel, the actual girl on the train; Anna, Rachel’s replacement in her husband’s life; and Megan, our eventual victim. […]
Artificial Confessional
…The problem is the presentation. Each chapter begins with a specific date and a vague time of day, “evening” or “morning.” It takes on the feel of a journal, like the reader gets to peek inside each woman’s story. I say story because each of these women is an unreliable narrator. More than that, even, there is the sense that they have thought out what they are going to say and how they will present it to the reader. When it is assumed these are […]
Because Truth and Secrets Are Cranes
Blue van Meer was never going to be the typical “girl next door” — her father, Gareth, made quite sure of that. Having lost her mother at a very young age, Blue forms a very strong bond with her father, and thereafter, the riotous, seemingly invincible father-daughter team moves from town to town, following his teaching career all over the country. A professor of political science — “interested broadly in political and economic revitalization, military and humanitarian involvement, and post-conflict renewal of third world nations” — Gareth […]
Halloweenie
Hercule Poirot’s novelist friend Ariadne Oliver is visiting a friend in the country, and helping out with a Halloween mystery party for the local children. The party appears to be going well, until a young girl is murdered in the apple-bobbing tub. Who could possibly have killed an innocent child? Turns out the kid wasn’t very well liked, she was a big fibber. Even the morning of the party, she was telling stories about having witnessed a murder. Mrs. Oliver calls in Hercule Poirot to […]
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