Format: Paperback
Pages: 269 pages
Published: 1958
Publisher: Harper
Genre: Fiction, Mystery & Thriller
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Category: Mystery & Thriller
Book Review: The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
Format: Paperback
Pages: 182 pages
Published: November 28th 2006 (first published 1959)
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Genre: Fiction, Mystery & Thrillers
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Book Review: The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
Format: Paperback
Pages: 672 pages
Published: February 27th 2003 (first published November 26th 1859)
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Genre: Fiction, Mystery & Thrillers
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Book Review: They Do It With Mirrors by Agatha Christie
Format: Paperback
Pages: 214 pages
Published: 1952
Publisher: Harper
Genre: Fiction, Mystery & Thrillers
Synopsis:
Miss Marple senses danger when she visits a friend living in Stoneygates, a rehabilitation center for delinquents. Her fears are confirmed when someone shoots at the administrator. Although he is not injured, a mysterious visitor is less fortunately shot dead simultaneously in another part of the building.
Pure coincidence? Miss Marple thinks not, and must use all her cunning to solve the riddle of the stranger’s visit … and his murder.
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Book Review: And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
Format: Paperback
Pages: 300 pages
Published: November 6, 1939
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Genre: Fiction, Mystery & Thriller
Synopsis:
“‘Ten . . .”
Ten strangers are lured to an isolated island mansion off the Devon coast by a mysterious “U.N. Owen.”
‘Nine . . .’
At dinner a recorded message accuses each of them in turn of having a guilty secret, and by the end of the night one of the guests is dead.
‘Eight . . .’
Stranded by a violent storm, and haunted by a nursery rhyme counting down one by one . . . one by one they begin to die.
‘Seven . . .’
Who among them is the killer and will any of them survive?”
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Book Review: A Murder is Announced by Agatha Christie
Format: Paperback
Pages: 297 pages
Published: April 12, 2011
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Genre: Fiction, Mystery & Thriller
Synopsis:
The villagers of Chipping Cleghorn are agog with curiosity when the Gazette advertises “A murder is announced and will take place on Friday, October 29th, at Little Paddocks at 6.30 p.m.”
A childish practical joke? Or a spiteful hoax? Unable to resist the mysterious invitation, the locals arrive at Little Paddocks at the appointed time when, without warning, the lights go out anda gun is fired. When they come back on, a gruesome scene is revealed. An impossible crime? Only Miss Marple can unravel it.
You open a newspaper (let us be more relevant, most likely online) and you see that a murder has been announced! What do you do? If you are unsure, you are no different from the people of the quiet village of Chipping Cleghorn. They didn’t know what to make of this type of news but their curiosity was much greater than their fear. Lo and behold, a real murder does occur and only the legendary Miss Marple can crack the case.
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Book Review: The Moving Finger by Agatha Christie
Format: Paperback
Pages: 299 pages
Published: July 1942
Publisher: Harper Collins
Genre: Mystery, Fiction
Synopsis:
“The placid village of Lymstock seems the perfect place for Jerry Burton to recuperate from his accident under the care of his sister, Joanna. But soon a series of vicious poison-pen letters destroys the village’s quiet charm, eventually causing one recipient to commit suicide. The vicar, the doctor, the servants—all are on the verge of accusing one another when help arrives from an unexpected quarter. The vicar’s houseguest happens to be none other than Jane Marple.”
Agatha Christie always continues to surprise me. Her changing writing style is an interesting take on the mystery novel writing. It means there is never a dull moment in Christie’s books and you never know what to expect in her stories! This book is no different. You’re in for a ride for this book of the series.
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Book Review: The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie
Format: Paperback
Pages: 272 pages
Published: February 1942
Publisher: HarperCollins
Genre: Fiction, Mystery & Thriller
Synopsis:
“When the Bantry’s wake up to find the body of a beautiful, young stranger in their library, Dolly Bantry knows there’s only one person to call: her old friend Miss Marple.
Who was the young girl? What was she doing in the library? And is there a connection with another dead girl, whose charred remains are discovered in an abandoned quarry?
Miss Marple must solve the mystery, before tongues start to wag, and the murderer strikes again.”
I love reading Agatha Christie’s novels. For someone who loves reading mystery books, I can’t believe it took this long for me to discover Christie’s great works. This is 5th book by her that I read this year and I have yet to be disappointed.
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Book Review: The Mysteries of Udoplho by Ann Radcliffe
Format: Paperback
Pages: 693 pages
Published: 1794
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Classics
Synopsis:
A best-seller in its day and a potent influence on Sade, Poe, and other purveyors of eighteenth and nineteenth-century Gothic horror, The Mysteries of Udolpho remains one of the most important works in the history of European fiction. After Emily St. Aubuert is imprisoned by her evil guardian, Count Montoni, in his gloomy medieval fortress in the Appenines, terror becomes the order of the day. With its dream-like plot and hallucinatory rendering of its characters’ psychological states, The Mysteries of Udolpho is a fascinating challenge to contemporary readers.
The Mysteries of Udolpho is a very long and densely written novel. It took me a real long time to finish this one. The writing is very inconsistent, Radcliffe drags on for a very long time. It took at least a third of the novel to get to the main part of the story. As customary with 18th century novels, authors can sometimes be repetitive in their text.But with Radcliffe, she goes over the top. Radcliffe gets real repetitive and there are times you either had a hard time following what was going on in the plot or bored of reading of the book altogether. I completely understand why some readers dislike this book. Continue reading “Book Review: The Mysteries of Udoplho by Ann Radcliffe”
Short Review of 4:50 from Paddington by Agatha Christie
4:50 from Paddington by Agatha Christie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
It is interesting to see the different writing styles Christie’s incorporates into her stories, even when they contain the same character! But I feel that is a good way to keep the story fresh and different every time a new one came out. Nevertheless, I highly enjoyed this one. Along the way I was trying to figure who the murderer and of course, my idea of the killer was completely off. I’m having fun reading these Christie novels!
(Full review of this book will be up soon!)
