Old favourites and new tales

After my Agatha Christie phase, I decided to revert to some old favourites, so I read some JK Rowling, some Anne Tyler, and of course, Alice Hoffman. And then I bought The Story Sisters by Alice Hoffman. I haven't managed to finish it though. The subject matter makes me sad, but that is a personal opinion. It is just as well written as all her books and I hope to finish it one day. We went to see Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap last week at St Martin's Theatre, Covent Garden, London, and it was superb! Really enjoyable, and we had great fun trying to guess who the murderer was, and of course, we were completely wrong! The theatre was gorgeous too. Anyway, that play spurred me on to return to Agatha Christie, and I picked up my favourite so far: Death in the Clouds. It was fantastic. So many twists and turns, yet again, I did not guess who the murderer was, although I suspected practically every character in the story. It was hugely enjoyable. I was going to get another one, but I spotted The Short Second Life Of Bree Tanner and quickly grabbed it. I will let you know what I think in my next blog!

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?

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.