Book Review: The Mystery of The Blue Train

The Mystery of the Blue Train by Agatha Christie

The blurb: The daughter of an American millionaire dies on a train en route for Nice…

When the luxurious Blue Train arrives at Nice, a guard attempts to wake serene Ruth Kettering from her slumbers. But she will never wake again – for a heavy blow has killed her, disfiguring her features almost beyond recognition. What is more, her precious rubies are missing.

The prime suspect is Ruth’s estranged husband, Derek. Yet Poirot is not convinced, so he stages an eerie re-enactment of the journey, complete with the murderer on board…

My review: Picking up an Agatha Christie, as part of my ongoing request to read all the Christie books, is like taking a reading holiday. I know I’m going to enjoy the experience and that I’m with a safe pair of hands. Never has that been truer than with the Mystery of the Blue Train.

Hands down, this is my FAVOURITE CHRISTIE. Now I’ve only read about ten – the first ten – and like many authors I’m sure she gets better as she progresses but this has got to be a classic. It’s a fantastic example of the genre and with Hercule Poirot being his usual modest self, the whole thing reads like a charm.

All the elements are here to make this book sparkle. Poirot, an international plot, a seemingly cursed jewel with a blood soaked history, intrigue and romantic betrayal, an elaborate trap to catch a killer – all in all it’s perfect! This book comes highly recommended from me. If you want to dip your toes into the world of Agatha Christie, you couldn’t pick a better outing than to jump on the blue train!

10 out of 10 stars! **********

BUY ME! The Mystery of the Blue Train (Poirot)

Top Ten Tuesday – Words or Phrases

This is a meme I try to follow and frequently don’t have the time to over on the Broke & Bookish blog. Today’s theme is the ten words or phrases that will make you pick up or buy a book.

This is slightly more obscure and very tough so here goes!

1. Crime – hard to put in a phrase but I’ve been reading a  lot of crime fiction lately and I LOVE IT. So some sort of crime/like phrasing.

2. Fairytale – I love an author that can be creative with fairytales. A new spin on Little Red Riding Hood, a retelling of Cinderella is always likely to catch my interest.

3. Deep South - don’t know why but I’ve loved so many books set in the South of the USA lately that I’m drawn to them like a bee to honey!

4. Witches – another favourite, ever since reading the Roald Dahl book of the same name.

5. Time travel – one that’s high on my list at the moment but goes in and out of my reading fashion!

6. Debut – I like to give brand new authors a shot!

7. Books – If a book is about a writer, or has a heroine that reads I’m almost always sold!

8. Mystery – Nothing better than putting my Poirot moustache on and trying to solve a good mystery!

9. British – I do have a love of all things mother country.

10. Magic – be it actual Magic or the magic of something indefinable, it’s always a good place to start.

 

Well that was actually easier than I thought! There are so many more words I could list and so many that are unique to particular books I’ve loved. But we’re doing ten and now I’m done! Which words would you have on your list?

Book Review: Three Graves Full #fridayreads

Three Graves Full by Jamie Mason

The blurb: “There is very little peace for a man with a body buried in his backyard.”

But it could always be worse. . . .

More than a year ago, mild-mannered Jason Getty killed a man he wished he’d never met. Then he planted the problem a little too close to home. But just as he’s learning to live with the undeniable reality of what he’s done, police unearth two bodies on his property—neither of which is the one Jason buried.

Jason races to stay ahead of the consequences of his crime and while chaos reigns on his lawn, his sanity unravels, snagged on the agendas of a colorful cast of strangers. A jilted woman searches for her lost fiancé, a fringe-dweller runs from a past that’s quickly gaining on him, and a couple of earnest local detectives piece it together with the help of a volunteer police dog — all of them in the wake and shadow of a dead man who had it coming. As the action unfolds, each discovers that knowing more than one side of the story doesn’t necessarily rule out a deadly margin of error.

My review: A great concept here – a man is harbouring a guilty secret, he’s committed murder and buried the body in his backyard. He lives in turmoil for over a year, plagued by nightmares. Eventually realising he’s left his house to go to wrack and ruin he calls in some gardeners to manicure his front garden instructing them not to go into the back. However several hours later they uncover some grisly remains out front. Yes, out front, not out back. Here follows a sometimes very macabre  sometimes funny crime novel of misdirection and misguided individuals.

Mason has an engaging writing style and her characterisation is good. It was ever so slightly obvious how this was going to end up and it is slightly farcical in many ways, I could almost see it being acted out on the stage.

There is a definite style to this book, the blurb compares it to the Coen Brothers and that isn’t an unjust comparison. It’s slick, fast-paced and moves to it’s conclusion with an inevitably that appears unstoppable. I think that’s my main problem with this novel, there aren’t really any curve balls. As soon as certain incidents and meetings are set in motion it’s an express train to the ending. However the characters are well-rounded and interesting, there is emotional depth and more than a few clichés! It’s a great crime novel, entertaining and one that doesn’t require too much thought.

6.5 stars out of 10! ******.5

BUY ME! Three Graves Full

Book Review: Film Freak

Film Freak by Christopher Fowler

The blurb: It’s the late 1970s, and Christopher Fowler is a film freak, obsessively watching lousy films in run-down fleapit cinemas. Longing to put his dreams on the screen and become a famous screenwriter, he heads for Wardour Street, the nation’s equivalent of Hollywood, with an armful of scripts.

But he’s made a spectacular mistake. He arrives just as the industry falls to its knees, knocked down by the first appearance of video and the destruction of the old movie palaces. The only films being made are smutty low budget farces and TV spinoffs. He thought he’d be asked to make another ‘Bullitt’, but finds himself writing short films for boilers. Somehow, against the odds, he finds success – although in a very different form from the one he expected.

Ghastly, hilarious and finally moving, Film Freak is a trawl through the arse-end of the British film industry that turns into a search for friendship and happiness.

My review: I was sceptical, I’ve read Fowler’s Bryant and May Peculiar Crimes Unit books but none of his non-fiction and I didn’t really appreciate what an extraordinary life one man could’ve had. On the face of it, when you take the composite parts of Fowler’s life they sound staggering. The kind of life details, that could only belong to some jet-setting, famous, all swagger marketeer. But this is not the case, here is a man of gentleness, with the same foibles and insecurities as the rest of us. I don’t think I know a single person who hasn’t tried or thought about their dream job to find it’s impossible to get into or not quite as perfect as the dream.

My film knowledge is not up to snuff. But I dont think that stopped me from thoroughly enjoying this book. The main word I would use to describe this book is ‘bittersweet’. It’s full of nostalgia and one man’s struggle to find his place in an industry that’s changed beyond all recognition. The collection of people that populate this novel is at once endearing and intriguing, Fowler paints them as he remembers them and they are almost universally larger than life. His best friend, confidante and business partner Jim is a character that I immediately fell in love with and wished I could’ve met. It’s witty, funny, heart-warming and sad, Film Freak moved me in a way no book has done for quite some time. I’m putting that down to the realness of it – Fowler is a remarkable social observer.

As an add on the footnotes in this book are hilarious. Read it just for them if nothing else! This comes highly recommended from me.

9.5 stars out of 10! *********.5

BUY ME! Film Freak

Book Review: The J. M. Barrie Ladies’ Swimming Society

The J. M. Barrie Ladies’ Swimming Society by Barbara J. Zitwer

The blurb: Joey, an overworked New York architect, has come to the Cotswolds to oversee the restoration of Stanway House – the stately home that inspired J.M. Barrie to write Peter Pan. But it hasn’t been easy. The local residents aren’t exactly welcoming, and then there’s the problem of the brooding caretaker, a man who seems to take every opportunity to undermine her plans. She soon begins to feel that she can’t do anything right.

Until, that is, she begins to take a daily dip with the members of the J.M. Barrie Ladies’ Swimming Society in their private, watery Neverland.

They will teach her that it’s not the house that needs restoring; it’s her…

My review: I was drawn to this book by the wonderful cover and catchy title. Expecting something to fill the very large shoes of a book I’d just finished – I Capture the Castle. Unfortunately this brought me back down to earth with a bump.

Joey is an inconsistent character. Heartless and self absorbed with some characters and supposedly kind with others. All her well meaning actions are poorly executed, where as the shallow ones seem to ring true. A very hard woman to warm to, even by the end I was glad to see the back of her. I realise how harsh that is and am pleased to say I don’t ever think that about people in real life!  Her depth appeared too manufactured and didn’t counter-point her selfish actions like it should but only served to exacerbate them. A vain, selfish New Yorker who stuck out of this narrative like a sore thumb.

She is a very hard done by character and her revelations on her own character feel fake and strained, especially when she immediately reverts to type. The local residents, as mentioned in the blurb above, are completely welcoming – the description is misleading. After perhaps one frosty glance everyone completely loves Joey and there is no tension with the community as to what will happen to Stanway House. I felt deceived by the description of this book.

The ladies who swam in the pond in the countryside have a whimsical, magical element to them. They’re dialogue is brilliant and they are well-crafted characters. There is some sense of construct here too however, a slightly over-thought out edge, their backgrounds over-sculpted if you like. In essence all the characters in this book are likeable bar the central character which is why I’ve had to give this a low rating.

4 out of 10 stars ****

BUY ME! The J. M. Barrie Ladies’ Swimming Society

Book Review: Ketchup Clouds

Ketchup Clouds by Annabel Pitcher

The blurb: Secrets, romance, murder and lies: Zoe shares a terrible secret in a letter to a stranger on death row in this second novel from the author of the bestselling debut, My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece.

Fifteen-year-old Zoe has a secret—a dark and terrible secret that she can’t confess to anyone she knows. But then one day she hears of a criminal, Stuart Harris, locked up on death row in Texas. Like Zoe, Stuart is no stranger to secrets. Or lies. Or murder.

Full of heartache yet humour, Zoe tells her story in the only way she can—in letters to the man in prison in America. Armed with a pen, Zoe takes a deep breath, eats a jam sandwich, and begins her tale of love and betrayal.

My review: I am probably one of the few people who hasn’t read My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece. I came to this book as a recommendation from a friend, having of course heard of her first book, I was surprised I hadn’t encountered her before.

Ketchup Clouds is an eminently readable book. We are introduced to Zoe, a fifteen year old British girl who is writing letters in her shed. She’s writing to an inmate on death row in Texas as a way of talking to someone who might have something in common with her. She’s harbouring a dark secret, something only one other person knows about in the world. This secret and the guilt she carries connects her with the inmate on death row.

I’m not sure what to say about this book. I read it in a trice, it was good, but it didn’t blow me away. Competently handled, the intensity of young love is handled beautifully and that was one of the parts I loved most about this book. The characters are well drawn, credible and interesting. There were certain plot points that seemed slightly incredulous, misunderstandings that would’ve been cleared up in a real life situation. However this isn’t, we’re talking about fiction here. I’m a weeper at books but this didn’t produce a single tear. Heart-felt and heart-warming but potentially it lost some shock, tension as it went along. So a lovely little book but not one of my favourites.

6 out of 10 stars! ******

BUY ME! Ketchup Clouds

Book Review: Pretty Girl Thirteen

Pretty Girl Thirteen by Liz Coley

The blurb: A gripping, suspenseful debut that will haunt you long after you have turned the final page…

Angie Chapman is only 13 when she gets lost in the woods in the middle of the night.

The next thing she knows she’s returned home, scars around her wrists and ankles, physically exhausted. Her parents collapse into tears when they see her, but Angie doesn’t understand – until they tell her she has been missing, presumed dead, for three years.

Angie doesn’t remember anything from her missing years. But there are people who do – people who could tell Angie every terrifying detail, if only they weren’t locked inside her mind. With help, Angie begins to unravel the darkest secrets of her own past.

But does she really want to know the truth?

My review: What an interesting and original take on abduction. (There’s a sentence I never thought I’d hear myself saying) Pretty Girl Thirteen (PGT) really intrigued me. Since finishing it I’ve checked out several other reviews on Goodreads and the main critiscism for the book appears to be a lack of originality. All I can say to that is, it really depends on the reader! As someone who hasn’t come across this in a book before and hadn’t read the synopsis before starting the book, found it a refreshing and interesting take on something that could’ve been very formulaic.

With that in mind, I’ll try not to ruin it for future readers. Angie Chapman returns to her family after a considerable absence and remembers nothing. She has no recollections, has no possessions, or very little, and doesn’t know how she seems to have aged three years or how she has found herself outside her parents house. The ongoing journey she must undertake to remember is fraught and heart-breaking. Each ‘character’ Coley creates is an odd mix of two-dimensional natures that fits perfectly with the situation she has created. (Really hard to write about this without giving too much away!)

This is a very intriguing book on what the mind can do to protect it’s owner from abuse. It’s also a very sad and disturbing book on the horrors humans can inflict on each other, but as, I would imagine, a YA book the trauma is left to the readers imagination which is a thankful omission. Some things you just don’t need to be told explicitly. An intriguing and dark book that really stays with you.

7 out of 10 stars! *******

BUY ME! Pretty Girl Thirteen