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You Would Never Know The Mysterious Affair at Styles Was a Debut Novel
For the past four years, I’ve tried to read along with the reading plans hatched by the folks behind AgathaChristie.com. Each year I’ve not completed all twelve books but I’m always game for a themed list like this that carries a reader throughout the year so I’m giving this year’s list a try. Unlike past lists that were, say, arranged by styles of murders, this year is simply chronological, and it begins at the beginning. The Time Period The Mysterious Affair at Styles is not only the first time we’re introduced to famed detective, Hercule Poirot, and his friend, Arthur Hastings, but it also is the first book Christie ever…
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Not All Turkeys Are On The Table in Turkey Trot Murder by Leslie Meier
If it seem like I just reviewed a Leslie Meier book last month, then you are absolutely correct. But the number of Thanksgiving-themed mysteries are rather small, so I read one of Meier’s two helpings. Time Jumps and an Aging Protagonist A more logical reader might read each book in a long-running series in order, but Turkey Trot Murder (2017) was the only audiobook available at the library. It is Meier’s 24th (out of 30 by next year). As a result, I had a bit of whiplash when I landed back in Tinker’s Cove, Maine, and our heroine, Lucy Stone. She’s now a full-time report for the local weekly, but…
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What’s Scary Is If You Don’t Read Trick or Treat Murder by Leslie Meier
As I wrote last October, if there’s a holiday and you want to read a mystery featuring that holiday, Leslie Meier has you covered. Starting in 1991, Meier has written 36 mysteries starring Lucy Stone, a mom, wife, and citizen of Tinker’s Cove, Maine. The first book I read, Back to School Murder (the 4th overall), Lucy fills in at the local newspaper and that’s what gets the crime on her radar. Trick or Treat Murder (1996) is the third book, but first of her Halloween stories and I reckoned I might as well start there. It’s Almost All a Domestic Story… A series is nothing if you don’t like…
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The Dog Isn’t Who He Really Is In Play Dead by David Rosenfelt
Who doesn’t love comfort food? There’s a reason why we call pumpkin spice lattes, chocolate chip cookies, queso, ice cream, or McDonald’s French fries comfort food. When we eat these foods, we are comforted, usually by a past memory that soothes some current problem. Everyone loves and needs comfort food from time to time. So when I call the Andy Carpenter novels by David Rosenfelt comfort reading, I am not dogging them (yes, pun intended). I love them, but my ADHD reading style usually prevents me from reading a lot by the same author back to back to back. When the clock turned to “fall” post Labor Day, I had…