While it still feels like winter outside, spring is definitely in the air,folks, and since my birthday happens to be in April, the prefect excuse to get more books is almost gift wrapped there.
To be practical, I made my bimonthly trip to the library and have already started one of my selections, Anne Claire’s Dead and Gondola, which is the first in a new series called A Christie Bookshop Mystery.
Ellie Christie and her sister Meg are not related to the famous author (apart from their cat Agatha) but do enjoy many a mystery read at their family run bookstore named The Book Chalet in the small ski resort town of Last Word, Colorado.
When a strange man interrupts their book club meeting and leaves behind a satchel that contains a Mary Westmacott novel(a known pen name that Agatha Christie used), Ellie and Meg take the first chance they get to return to him. That opportunity occurs on a ski slope gondola but before they reach the bottom, the man is found dead from a knife wound.
Since neither sister saw anyone else enter that gondola with him, it’s the ultimate locked room mystery to solve. Ellie takes the lead on finding out whodunnit before anyone else is bookmarked for death.
So far, this is a light and breezy read that makes me want to spend more time with these characters. Here’s hoping that this series (book two, Last Word to the Wise, is due out by October!) becomes a binge worthy delight for bookish fans everywhere:
Along with a foodie romance (Ramon and Julieta by Alana Quintana Albertsons), I added One Italian Summer to the mix.
Rebecca Serve’s novel focuses on Katy, a thirty year old woman trying to get over the death of her mother. Feeling burnt out, she decides to take a trip to Positano, Italy, a plan that Katy and her mom made together yet never got the chance to go.
While there, she meets Carol, who not only shares her mother’s name but most of the same personality traits as well. Is this younger version of her mom just wish fulfillment projecting or is Katy getting an otherworldly opportunity that she shouldn’t squander?
I’ve been hearing good things about this book and borrowing it from the library was the perfect way to take this emotional journey from the comfort of my home. Plus, the summer in Italy vibes emanating from this story are too strong to resist :
Of course I can’t resist a good sale, especially when Better World Books has a copy of something Agatha Christie themed that I’ve been wanting to read for awhile now.
Marple is a collection of modern day writers such as Ruth Ware, Alyssa Cole, Jean Kwok and Leigh Bardugo to name a few, who each give their own take on Christie’ s Miss Jane Marple for this set of short stories.
I do confess to preferring Miss Marple to Poirot (nothing against him, just find her a bit more fascinating) and this sounds like a great way to check out some new-to-me authors such as Bardugo, Ella Griffiths and Naomi Alderman.
Plus, the titles of some of these stories sound so awesome-“Miss Marple Takes Manhattan” or “Evil in Small Places” for example. Not to mention the artwork for this book is elegantly lovely to boot. Really finding it hard to not dive into this ultimate reading group experience:
Since I do need to read more Miss Marple books as well, pairing this collection with A Murder is Announced certainly felt fitting.
The title event starts with a newspaper advertisement that is invites the residents of Chipping Cleghorn to attend this potentially lethal gathering.
Most of the attendees think this is some sort of odd joke or publicity stunt but when the lights go out and someone is indeed dead, it is most fortunate that Miss Marple is in town for a spa treatment. Hopefully her insights into logical actions and illogical people can lead the authorities to the killer before another demise is advertised.
I’m glad to read more classic Christie and yes, I did hear of the recent decision to reprint many of her works without certain poorly aged terms included.
This is not as new as some might think (look into the original title of And Then There Were None to see what I mean) and as long as the plot points are the same, updating the text is not an absolute negative in this regard.
If it brings newer generations to enjoy the craft of Christie’s crime solving and detectives like Miss Marple, so much the better. Jane Marple might be old fashioned in some ways but when it comes to discovering the truth behind a terrible crime, no one truly does it as subtly savvy as her:
All of this before my Book of the Month club selections are available (I am supposed to be getting a free book for my birthday from them, yay!) and my latest readathon starts this upcoming weekend, my literary dance card is full for sure!
I will try to keep things steady on that fictional front but when it comes to my current taste for old school mysteries, I suspect that I’m not alone in wanting some less stressful crime solving these days.
A great example of that is one of my newest favorite shows, So Help Me Todd, which stars Marcia Gay Harden as Margaret Wright, a newly single lawyer who tries to aid her wayward son Todd(Skyler Astin) by giving him a low level job at her legal firm. My pitch for this series is “Psych meets Murder She Wrote” as this dynamic duo both cleverly and charmingly save the day.
The show has been renewed for a second season and it is definitely worth your time to check this meeting of the generational minds for some excellent prime crime time viewing. Plus, you can catch up on your reading during the commercials:
One of the true signs that spring has officially arrived for me these days is the sign up post for the latest Seasons of Reading readathon.
Spring Into Horror begins in April (which also happens to be my birth month-yah!) and what I consider as a birthday bonus is that you can read any type of scary story ranging from cozy mystery to suspense and beyond.
Since I’m feeling very much in the mood for some old school with a modern day twist mystery, my TBR trio for this month long event is in the moderate range. Kind of a bookish staycation that starts by checking in with Agatha Christie‘a Miss Marple.
At Bertram”a Hotel sends our dear Jane Marple to the title establishment in London as a trip down memory lane, so to speak.
While the place is not as grand as it once was in her youth, she finds much to entertain her by observing the various guests, particularly a mother and daughter whose estrangement may lead to murder.
I do enjoy the laid back nature of Miss Marple’s crime solving ways as it allows for the other characters to fully develop without suspecting the quiet elderly lady taking mental notes on them all. Should be quite the sinister sight seeing trip indeed:
Speaking of Agatha and her mysterious ways, my next pick is Marie Benedict‘a The Mystery of Mrs. Christie which looks at the eleven day disappearance of the world famous author back in 1926.
That unexpected vanishing act threw her rather unfaithful husband Archie into a white hot spotlight of suspicion from not only the police but others around him. Is he actually the cause of her unknown departure or just as confused as everyone else? And does he deserve this scrutiny for many other reasons there?
There’s a bit of a Gone Girl vibe to this setup but perhaps a more justified version of that theme based upon what I know of their real life marriage. Making Christie the centerpiece of a mystery she might have written ought to be slowly simmering fun:
Rounding out this literary visit is a check-in with The Maid.
The leading lady of Nita Prose’s debut novel is Molly, whose passion for cleaning is well channeled by her job at the Regency Grand hotel. It also suits her particular personality traits which make Molly seem off putting to some people.
When she discovers the dead body of a prominent guest in one of the rooms she’s assigned to, Molly and her manner of fact tone about the whole thing brings unwarranted suspicion on her from the police and her less than friendly coworkers.
In order to protect herself from prosecution, Molly must put her eye for detail to use to find the real killer before her check out time is made permanent.
The Maid has such great word of mouth and critical praise that I’m surprised that I waited so long to read it. My patience will be well rewarded, no doubt. What really appeals to me about this story is the Knives Out energy that it has, with its sly look at mystery tropes and social commentary asides there:
Spring Into Horror begins on April 1(no joke) and lasts the whole month. You can check out more info on it here and my thanks to Michelle Miller at Seasons of Reading for making such great opportunities for book talk happen.
When it comes to reviving old fashioned murder mysteries these days, nobody does it like writer/director Rian Johnson, I must say.
From Knives Out to The Glass Onion and now the streaming series Poker Face(which I haven’t seen due to Hulu not being in my entertainment budget), making everything old new again is not as easy as it seems yet he pulls it off as splendidly as a magician doing the tablecloth trick to a T.
He’s even spurred a renewal of interest in Columbo, which is credited as the muse for Poker Face. Now that show is readily available for viewing in so many ways and my whole family likes to have a Columbo night at least once a week.
With all of the tension out in the world today, it feels nice to spend some crime time with Mr. “Just one more thing” there indeed:
March is more than just the start to spring or setting up basketball brackets; it’s also Women’s History Month, where we honor the achievements of all women everywhere.
While I don’t get into nonfiction as much as I should perhaps, an interesting book came my way recently that not only suits this theme perfectly but shows that underestimating certain groups of people is usually an unexpected advantage in the fight for equality.
The Great Stewardess Rebellion by Nell McShane Wulfhart tells the real life tales of several women during the 1960s and 70s who worked as airline stewardesses and fought to bring the power of the union to make serious changes to the industry.
One of those women was Patt Gibb, who planned to become a manager someday rather than be made to leave her job by the age of thirty five or when she got married (whichever came first).
She wound up being elected as a union representative meant to speak up for her co-workers but soon realized that the male dominated Transport Workers Union only saw her and her colleagues as add-ons at best.
Patt decided to form The Association of Professional Flight Attendants with the aid of such folk as Tommie Hutto who was a key member of Stewardesses for Equal Rights and lawyer Sonia Pressman who encouraged her bosses at the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission to take the airlines to court for sexual discrimination.
Wulfhart narrates their stories in an instantly engaging manner, displaying the earnest energy each woman had to make this new working experience for women be a rewarding one.
I was lucky enough to win a copy of the newly released paperback edition of this book along with a TWA travel bag and other items seen in the picture above (super heroine figures not included, just part of my personal collection!) and very thankful for that indeed. The best part of this prize pack is the chance to learn more about how stewardesses went from being seen as sky high servants to viable members of the airline community:
Since I do like historical fiction for subjects like this, I checked my TBR stacks and found something that should pair up very well with this nonfiction narrative.
Beatriz Williams’ Her Last Flight uses Amelia Earhart as the inspiration for her leading lady Irene Foster, a female pilot who trains with former war hero Sam Mallory to become an independent flier in her own right.
Nonetheless, she and Sam do gain some fame together due to being marooned during an attempt at a nonstop fight to Australia during the 1930s. Their rescue separates them emotionally before Irene’s mysterious disappearance on a solo flight appears to do so for good but is she really gone and was that vanishing act the right choice?
Williams possesses a flair for vivid fictional portraits of women who wish to fly free from the seemingly impenetrable restrictions of their society and yet have to find their footing as carefully as possible. With a figure like Amelia Earhart as her guiding star here, this novel appears to be the ideal vehicle for her talents:
Women’s history should be more than just a one time special event (and that includes ALL women from every section of our world) . It is good to use this month as a starting off point there, if only to discover how any woman can be the superhero of her own situation and get a little help from her friends along the way:
With such late winter chills arriving just before a new spring season, it’s very fitting that my second session of Triple Play themed Series-ous Reading tied into Valentine’s Day so nicely.
Ellery Adams’ Murder in the Paperback Parlor brings us back to Storyton Hall, the delightful book themed retreat(and secret location of a hidden library of wonders) run by Jane Steward, who is hoping that her newest literary event is less dangerous than her prior one was.
The hotel decides to have a Romance week just in time for Valentine’s Day with such fun activities as a Regency styled ballroom danceand a male cover model contest. The main draw, however, is a panel of popular romance writers with the headliner being Rosemund York, best known for her Venus Dares novels that have an independent matchmaker as her leading lady.
Things seem to be going well for the most part until Jane is awakened one night by the news that Rosemund has been discovered dead upon the grounds. The author’s demise was due to poison and sadly, there are quite a few suspects to choose from amongst their guests.
Those potential killers include a reporter who was seen arguing with Rosemund the day before her death, a rival writer named Georgia Dupree that openly detested Rosemund‘a bestseller status and Maria Stone, a fervent fan that became angry with Rosemund’s upcoming new book .
In fact, many of the fans attending had been given copies of Rosemund’s departure from her previous work called Eros Rising, which featured a very alpha male lead that infuriated them all. The list of suspects grew vey long from that indeed!:
If that wasn’t enough on her plate, Jane was considering having a bit of romance with Edwin, her best friend Eloise’s mysterious brother who seemed to be settling down with a new restaurant in town.
Unfortunately, Jane was warned by her family and friendly book protectors (aka The Finns) that Edwin’s motives for courting her might not be honorable. Turns out Edwin is a international book thief who is known for stealing rare editions for select clients.
His key tactic is staying awhile near his bookish targets and gaining the trust of locals in order to make his heist all the more successful.
As the new Guardian of the secret library that her family has looked after for generations, Jane is torn between her duty and her possible heart’s desire. It’s a dance that she struggles to resist but even on the ballroom floor, manages to watch her step:
The Book Retreat series is a nice blend of cozy mystery with the spice of a spy novel and a generous dose of book lore.
Jane is a fully rounded character who even with her work(secret and public) responsibilities and being the widowed mom of two rambunctious boys(Fitz and Hem, who are really nice kids), does make some time for herself and her book club buddies called The Cover Girls for a little fun.
Also, the staff at Storyton Hall has a combo of Downton Abbey and James Bond’s band of spy equipment suppliers which is nifty to say the least!
My stay at Storyton Hall will draw to a close soon as my next Series-ous Reading selection is Murder in the Secret Garden , which ties in the classic children’s book by Frances Hodgeson Burnett into the mystery mix. Granted, I may renew my visit on my own but for now, this third time should prove to be charming enough:
