This was the first I've read by Josephine Tey and am happy to have found one more early 20th century female mystery writer to enjoy greatly. I only hoThis was the first I've read by Josephine Tey and am happy to have found one more early 20th century female mystery writer to enjoy greatly. I only hope that this spoiler does not happen in her other books - (view spoiler)[Brat realizes *how it was done,* but then NO ONE EVER TELLS US. So, we are thinking all along that a certain person can't have done anything wrong, because that person was occupied elsewhere etc etc. Then, we read - a-ha! that person could have done something wrong after all! And as a reader we think, oh good, tell me how it happened! And the author says, sorry, no. (hide spoiler)] That is unforgivable....more
A very fun and engrossing reading experience, despite the bonkers developments toward the end. Some of which - (view spoiler)[the head in the resin, tA very fun and engrossing reading experience, despite the bonkers developments toward the end. Some of which - (view spoiler)[the head in the resin, the fact that they did what they did to keep the phone alive for so long instead of I don't know, ANYTHING ELSE, were truly beyond even my generally lenient suspension of disbelief policy (hide spoiler)].
I kept a list of questions while I was reading this book. There were a lot of them. Possibly in proportion to the number of charact2.5 stars. I think.
I kept a list of questions while I was reading this book. There were a lot of them. Possibly in proportion to the number of characters introduced throughout the course of the story, more than one of whom went by more than one name. I am exhausted.
(Related note: reading this in some electronic format might be an improvement, allowing one to search for Sonia or Ashleigh or whichever character for whom one needs a reminder regarding context. Sadly I read a paper copy from the library.)
I loved The Appeal. I especially loved (I realize now) that it had characters in it, with personalities that were revealed by way of the tone of their communications. Having finished the Alperton Angels, I mostly remember endless repetitions of "OMG Mand!...more
Sometimes I don't really know how much or how little I liked a book until I start writing a review of it. This is one of those times.
The Curse of PieSometimes I don't really know how much or how little I liked a book until I start writing a review of it. This is one of those times.
The Curse of Pietro Houdini is another book where the publisher's blurb does not represent its content. If you pick this up expecting an art heist, an adventure tale, or anything at all that is thrilling or action-packed, you will be disappointed. If you're hoping to read a lot about their "preserving the treasures" in the monastery, you will be disappointed there too.
Pietro Houdini talked for the first 20% or so of the story. He talked and talked and talked. I don't remember specifically what he talked about, it was fairly boring, but I believe art history came up, maybe some world history, and definitely his philosophy on all of the above plus more. If I accidentally fell into a book and turned into some fictional character's pre-teen sidekick, I would not want it to be this one.
The good news is that shortly after the 20% mark, other characters were introduced and things became more interesting. I liked all of the characters (even Pietro, when he shut up), and that was part of the problem - they were barely characters at all aside from one or two defining characteristics per person. I wanted more of the characters and I definitely wanted more of the monastery and the monks. Thinking back on the book now (not that far back, I only finished it last night), I can hardly recall what all the words were for.
On the bright side, I didn't hate it while I was reading it and it's a view of WWII that I've never seen before. ...more
DNF at some %, I would prefer not to think about how many. I am cutting my losses though because as other reviewers have been kind enough to inform usDNF at some %, I would prefer not to think about how many. I am cutting my losses though because as other reviewers have been kind enough to inform us, there are no answers at the end of this book, nor possibly at the end of the next one. I just don't like this enough to be forced to read three in a row of it.
Content warning: characters that are super-quirky, extra-quirky, adorably quirky; other characters that are quirkily eccentric, eccentrically odd, and so on. Also, a character named Pix. So that's a wrap for me....more
Just like The Kind Worth Killing - the only other book I've read by this author - the ending of The Christmas Guest saved it. Quite short and worth thJust like The Kind Worth Killing - the only other book I've read by this author - the ending of The Christmas Guest saved it. Quite short and worth the read if you're a fan of Peter Swanson. Plus, the cover is much nicer in real life. ...more
Just as fun to read as The Appeal with a slightly less satisfying ending.Just as fun to read as The Appeal with a slightly less satisfying ending....more
I love Arthur Conan Doyle for having invented such an excellent and enduring character as Sherlock Holmes, and of course you can'3.5 stars rounded up.
I love Arthur Conan Doyle for having invented such an excellent and enduring character as Sherlock Holmes, and of course you can't really love Sherlock without loving ACD's original stories. All the same I have come to realize that I might love other people's Sherlock stories better. Definitely those by Lyndsay Faye, and also Laurie R. King, Nancy Springer, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
This particular version includes a set of stories told by characters other than Watson or Holmes himself, the best of them written by Irene Adler and Henry Wiggins. There a lot more (somewhat pointless) banter between Holmes and Watson as witnessed by these other characters; on the bright side both Watson and Lestrade are shown as more than averagely intelligent human beings as opposed to witless sidekicks. ...more
We Are All Mad Here
>
Books:
mystery
(202)
Loading...
