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.
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:
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:
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:
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