Thursday, March 23, 2017
[Book Review] Death Comes as the End by Agatha Christie
Death Comes as the End by Agatha Christie is set in Ancient Egypt. Reniseneb lives on the west bank of the Nile at Thebes in Egypt about 2000 B.C.
Reniseneb’s family will soon be killed, and because of this, she can trust only two people, Esa, a relative, and her friend, the family's scribe, Hori. It is up to Reniseneb, Esa, and Hori to identify the silent killer by using their wits alone. Reniseneb has suspected the killer might be even someone within her family. Unfortunately, she has no real proof, but she does have Esa’s and Hori’s suspicions and loyalty. These suspicions are keeping Renisene alive.The killer must be exposed, but first Reniseneb must stay alive.
When I initially chose this book I expected a Poirot or Miss Marple mystery and for it to be set in the late 19th century. This story was a pleasant surprise when I discovered the mystery was set in ancient Egypt. Like her other stories, Agatha Christie will have readers wondering to the end who the killer is.
Marilyn U., Staff
Labels: Historical Fiction, Mystery Fiction, Readers' Advisory Annotations, Reviews by Marilyn, Staff Reviews, Suspense
Monday, September 19, 2016
[Book Review] Tall Tail by Rita Mae Brown & Sneaky Pie Brown
Fiction/Mystery
Susan reviews TALL TAIL: A MRS. MURPHY MYSTERY by Rita Mae Brown & Sneaky Pie Brown (Bantam Books, 2016)
Anyone who has pets knows that they “talk.” Sometimes, we humans just do not understand, but when it comes to murder, paying very close attention to our furry companions can be lifesaving.
Rita Mae Brown, a distinguished Southern writer, began writing the “Mrs. Murphy” mysteries more than twenty years ago in “collaboration” with Sneaky Pie, a rescued tiger cat. Mrs. Murphy, a tabby cat; Pewter, a portly, grey cat; and Tee Tucker, a loyal corgi, help their mom Mary Minor Haristeen solve murders in and around a small town in Virginia. The other characters are well-detailed, and reading the latest mystery feels like a visit with old friends.
In the latest installment, Barbara Leader, a nurse to former Governor Sam Holloway, appears to have a heart attack, but she has been murdered. A family secret links her murder to the murder of a Francisco Selisse in 1784. Selisse was a brutal slave owner, and Brown moves the reader between the present day and the past to unravel the truth.
Labels: Fiction, Mystery Fiction, Reviews by Susan B., Staff book reviews
Monday, December 22, 2014
[Book Review] The Weight of Blood by Laura McHugh
Andrea reviews THE WEIGHT OF BLOOD by Laura McHugh (Spiegel & Grau, 2014 )
This is a most grisly tale set in the backwoods of the Ozark Mountains. Even though 17-year-old Lucy Dane has grown up in the tiny town of Henbane, Missouri, members of the small town still treat her as an outsider.
When Lucy was just an infant, her young mother, Lila, disappeared without a trace, leaving her father, Carl, to raise her. Now a generation later, Lucy’s friend, Cheri, has vanished--just as Lila did. Townspeople have their suspicions, but why are they pointing fingers at Carl and his brother, Crete? Especially frustrated since there were no answers about Lila’s disappearance, Lucy incorporates her two friends, Daniel and Bess, to help her to solve Cheri’s murder.
Alternating mainly between Lucy and Lila’s voices, Ms. McHugh’s debut novel is one of foreboding and fright. Everyone is suspect in both crimes when really the answer is almost obvious.
If readers are looking for a thriller that will make their hair stand up on end, I definitely recommend The Weight of Blood.
Andrea, Poplar-White Station Library
Labels: Fiction, Mystery Fiction, Reviews by Andrea King, Staff book reviews
Monday, October 21, 2013
[Book Review] Along Came a Spider by James Patterson
Reader’s Advisory Class Review - Mystery
Nakia reviews ALONG CAME A SPIDER by James Patterson (Little, Brown & Co., 1993)
I absolutely LOVED this book! The chilling, suspenseful thriller by James Patterson did not disappoint. It is definitely a page turner. Alex Cross is an African American detective in DC. He is tough and heroic. Alex Cross is at the forefront of a high profile kidnapping case and skillfully solves pieces of the case. His entanglement with Jessie Flanagan offers an interesting twist to the storyline. Flanagan is a Secret Service agent who is enlisted to help with the high profile case. Together, the two solve the mystery of the kidnapper with ease. But, the book takes several unexpected twists and turns. It is an easy to read thriller and whodunit mystery lovers will love every page!
Nakia Armstrong, Central Library
Labels: Fiction, Mystery Fiction, Reviews by Nakia Armstrong
Thursday, December 06, 2012
[Book Review] GONE, GIRL by Gillian Flynn
Andrea reviews GONE, GIRL by Gillian Flynn (Crown, 2012)
New York natives, Nick and Amy Dunne, have moved to Hannibal, Missouri (“Mark Twain’s hometown!” the natives scream so proudly) to take care of Nick’s father who has dementia. Upon arrival, the two seem to be the all-American golden couple with their mutual good looks and perfect marriage.
Unfortunately, things are not always as they seem. On the morning of the couple’s fifth anniversary, Amy is missing, the house in complete disarray, and detectives find a diary chronicling Nick’s abusive behavior. The case seems pretty cut and dry, right? Wrong!
With its darkly peculiar twists and turns and engrossingly psychotic characters, Gone, Girl is one of the most compelling novels I have read in a long, long time. Readers will certainly be enthralled with the latest bestseller from Gillian Flynn.
Andrea King, Poplar-White Station Library
*Gone, Girl was voted "Best Mystery and Thriller" of the year by Goodreads users.
Labels: Mystery Fiction, Reviews by Andrea King, Suspense
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
[Book Review] THE SATURDAY BIG TENT WEDDING PARTY by Alexander McCall Smith
Fiction/Multicultural/Mystery Multicultural fiction was discussed during October's “What’s Your Flavor?” session at the Central Library.
Setting: Botswana Africa - present day
Mma Ramotswe is the owner of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency. She is definitely not your typical detective. She follows a book by Clovis Anderson on how to be a detective. She uses skills not only of deduction, but her ability to read people through their eyes, their body language, their tone of voice. She relies on her innate sense of the “why” of their behavior in order to solve her cases, and this one is no exception.
In Africa , cattle are wealth. Mma Ramotswe must solve the problem of a rancher whose cattle are being mutilated and killed. She sorts out Charlie, apprentice auto mechanic to her husband, Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni. Charlie has been accused of fathering twins and his reaction is to run away. Assistant detective Grace Makutsi is shopping for wedding shoes. Grace’s problem is that she talks to her shoes. Her bigger problem is that her shoes talk back. Mma Ramotswe will take things in hand and with the help of Mma Potokwane, who runs the orphan farm, she will succeed with getting Grace married to Puti Radiphuti.
On top of all this adventure, Mma Ramotswe keeps seeing an old friend – just there on the corner, or down the street, but as soon as she gets there her friend is gone. Is it a ghost, or can her friend really be there? With the help of Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni and Charlie, she and her friend will be joyfully reunited. Alexander McCall Smith weaves a story that makes you love
This book is number 12 in “The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency" Series, by Alexander McCall Smith. Start from the beginning and read them in chronological order to get the full effect of life through the eyes of Precious Ramotswe.
Becky Graham, Central Library
Congratulations to Becky and other staff members who recently completed the "What's Your Flavor?" Reader's Advisory class.
Labels: Multicultural, Mystery Fiction, Reviews by Becky Graham
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
[Book Review] CALL FOR THE DEAD by John Le Carre
Fiction/Mystery
Mystery fiction was the topic of June’s "What’s Your Flavor?" session. Participants were required to select, read, and review a mystery novel.
Bryan reviews CALL FOR THE DEAD by John Le Carre (Walker, 1962)
John Le Carre’s first novel, Call for the Dead serves as a taut, concise introduction to the novelist’s now recognizable style of writing and to the character upon whom Le Carre centered much of his subsequent spy-thriller fiction, British intelligence agent George Smiley.
In this first episode, Smiley brings himself into an investigation of the ostensible suicide of a government ministry official who apparently feared apprehension as a spy for the East German government. With the help of veteran London Metropolitan Police Inspector Mendel, Smiley unravels instead a murder meant to cover up a spy network—in the process, reacquainting himself with both his turbulent wartime espionage past and enemy agents he then considered compatriots.
A well-paced, if in places thinly developed narrative, Call for the Dead provides an engrossing read, meshing intrigue, grittiness, irony, and fallible humanity in a convincing, distinctive way.
Website: www.johnlecarre.com
Bryan Massey, East Shelby Library
Labels: Mystery Fiction, Reviews by Bryan Massey
