Murder, mystery and suspense

Agatha Christie gets better and better! I loved At Bertram's Hotel. And I would so love to stay there, if it exists. The story was so complex and exciting, with fabulous characters, and intertwining stories! And the surprise twist at the end...it kept me guessing throughout! It amazes me how one person, can have such a versatile imagination. I am completely in awe. I have to admit, when I first started reading these, I really thought I would get bored, but instead, I am just craving more and more!

How does she do it?

Well, I read another Agatha Christie, and I really thought I had guessed the murderer within the first couple of chapters, but I was so wrong! The ABC Murders was brilliant, so clever. Really nice plot, and a real insight into Hercule Poirot and his vanities. I really did not guess until the very end who the murderer was or why! Very good.

Scary stuff

Well, I am still on my Agatha Christie fest, but after the last one, I am going to digress somewhat because I found it quite disturbing. The one I read previously, Sparkling Cyanide, was really good, and I really could not work out who the murderer was until it all came together at the end. It was a really good mystery and I really enjoyed it. Then, I read Endless Night, which was very interesting. It reminded me very much of books by F Scott Fitzgerald. I don't want to spoil anything, but it was different to the other AC books that I have read. For a start, the murder didn't happen until the end. And I was so surprised! I knew something was going to happen and I had my suspicions about who would be involved, but I was really shocked about how events unfurled. It is a good read, but I did find it sinister and sad. There is no graphic violence, but it is sad that innocence is harmed and that people can be influenced so much by money. Anyway, I do recommend it but it does make you think...who can you trust?

Three days later!

A Murder Is Announced...another Agatha Christie that I couldn't put down. I am on holiday, fortunately, otherwise I don't know how I would survive! It is quite amazing that a book, written in 1950, by a sweet-looking old lady, can scare me so much, that I can't sleep. That was last night! I had to wake my husband because I was scared. Pathetic really. It is just the way it is written...nothing graphic, just all left to you imagination. Not good! Actually, it was a really good read - great, complicated story with loveable characters and of course Miss Jane Marple - and I am looking forward to my next one, which has already educated me....I have never made the connection between the colour blue and cyanide...cyan...obvious now. Anyway, I will let you know how I get on.

The great criminal mind!

I have just finished my first Agatha Christie and it was superb! I guessed the true identity of the murderer incorrectly, thanks to the complicated story that was told. The investigator was Monsieur Hercule Poirot himself! Five Little Pigs was the story of a murder which had taken place 16 years earlier and the daughter of the convicted perpetrator was seeking to clear her of her guilt. It is a brilliant story, all the characters and scenes richly described so that you could imagine the whole scenario quite clearly. I really enjoyed it and couldn't put it down. I can't believe it has taken me so long to discover this fabulous author.

World music and the Bulgarian influence

Yet another success from Laurie Graham and once again, quite different from her other books. Life According to Lubka is about a middle-aged career woman working in the music industry who is persuaded to go on tour with a group of Bulgarian grannies who sing folk songs. Her life completely changes, and although she is quite a potty-mouth, the book is very entertaining. She learns how to enjoy a simple life and the value of true friends. The characters are fabulous and the dialect that the author uses sounds believable - not having been to Bulgaria, however, I am probably not in a position to judge. But they all seemed really believable and it made me want to find out more.