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Reading Agatha Christie: The Pale Horse
This is one of those books that I had zero memory of reading, so it was kind of a treat to go into this one without knowing what was going to happen. Also, I just really love the cover on this one - probably one of my favorites.
So -- we're into the 60s now! And I was really prepared for these novels to be rough to get through. This one was a pleasant surprise! The tone of this one is what really stands out. In some ways, it feels different than most of her other books -- especially in the beginning. It's kind of that merge between a thriller and a mystery, only this one is a little darker and has more supernatural elements to it. (You kind get some MacBeth imagery going on.)
The plot kicks off with the death of a priest and a list of names, which is intriguing on its own. This leads the main character - Mark Easterbrook to an inn called the Pale Horse - run by three woman who dabble in the supernatural. And untangling how all of this is related is the focus of the plot.
This one is unique because it toggles between first person narration -- which we haven't seen in a long, long time and third person -- when some of the investigation is going on. I think it works fine for what it is, but can be a little jarring. This is where the whole marriage of thriller vs mystery can feel awkward.
I'll also say - the characters aren't as intriguing as other novels. There is a detective but he isn't doing a whole lot in it. A lot of the story rests on Mark Easterbrook, whom is a little bland when it comes to personality. And while this book includes characters from both the Poirot world and the Marple world, including Ariadne Oliver! - they're merely set pieces to move along the plot.
And the book has some odd quirks and side plots that are a little bonkers -- but I feel like that's to be expected by now.
Like I said - it's really the darker atmosphere that that shines in this one. It is a captivating novel and since I know the quality of these books are going to go down pretty quickly, it's nice to know that there are still solidly good books this late in Christie's career.
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Reading Agatha Christie: Cat Among The Pigeons
I remember having a really positive memory of reading this when I was younger, but became skeptical of the memories as I knew the later Hercule Poirot mysteries were not that great. And when it opened with a thriller-y like beginning, I was a little concerned.
However, it ended up being quite enjoyable!
It is a strange, hodgepodge concoction of a mystery. It's one part thriller, one part mystery, and one part slice of life at a boarding school. It really shouldn't work? There are some ridiculous things going on? But I mean, the characters make it fun, and it's entertaining, so let it be as ridiculous as possible.
The thriller-y part comes from the fact that there's a revolution going on in one of the countries in the Middle East and the royalty is trying to escape, in the process, there's some jewels stashed on the person of a young girl, who has no idea they're there. I suppose this was topical at the time, because the pollical climate of the Middle East has started to really change post-WW2, and Christie did like to reflect on such things.
Meanwhile, at the boarding school, the games mistress is murdered and no one really understands why. They spend a lot of the time trying to work that out (and of course, it's all related to the missing jewels). There are a lot of characters in this one, and a lot to explore, and a lot of things going on that don't quite measure up to what they seem, and the part of this book that works is that it does have a lot going on, and it's fascinating to work out who is up to what.
Hercule Poirot doesn't factor in until very late in the game. It does seem odd, and somewhat disconnected, but the set up, where one of the children at the school -- a very clever girl named Julia -- seeks him out for his help. For s much as Christie wasn't thrilled with writing him at this point, he does fit into the story quite nicely as all the strings of the story pull together nicely.
I can't say that the plot makes the most sense when all is said and done. There's a bit of a Scooby-Doo unmasking element going on and the thriller resolution is a little silly. But, while it may not be Christie's tightest plot, the whole book is fun, and I'm glad that my memories as a kid hold up.
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Reading Agatha Christie: Ordeal by Innocence
I have some complicated feelings about this novel. In some ways, this novel is really stellar and holds together incredibly well as a psychological murder mystery. And in other ways - I think there are some ideas and conclusions that it draws that are not only wrong but a bit offensive.
The story revolves around a woman who was (seemingly) murdered by her son, and the son, in turn, dies in jail. Then a Dr. Calgary comes forward to claim to be an alibi for the son and the rest of the family is thrown into chaos after they thought the murder was all put behind them.
The thing that works in the novel is that it has some great character work. Each of the family members are explored and taken a part. There's a theme of -- what happens to the innocent when accused of something horrible -- and how each of these characters deals with being thrown back into suspicion of murder. The book hangs together pretty nicely, and keeps you engaged the entire way through.
The thing that really doesn't work for me, however, is the running commentary on adoption and of motherhood. The mother, who was murdered, adopted all of her children. And it's implied, and lengthily discussed, no matter how much you try to make an adopted relationship work, it doesn't work like it would if it was your biological child (or relation). And... I just hate it. Not only does it undermine the fact that you do not have to have a blood connection to be family, it harps on the fact that only blood related people can understand each other -- which I think its horribly false.
And on top of that -- there's some weird underlying conversation about how the mother kept adopting children because she was unable to satisfy the need to be a mother naturally. And the whole thing just feels uncomfortable, leaving a bad taste in ones mouth.
I also think the ending solution is a little odd. In some ways there's a brilliance to it, because you don't really see it coming. But it's one that doesn't necessarily hold together when you think about it too much.
I wanted to really like this book, because there are a lot of intriguing things going on in it. But those layers of --- just bad psychology --- hang over it like a dark cloud. I wish the commentary wouldn't have been there, because I think without it, you can still have these very complicated relationships among this family and still make it work.
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Reading Agatha Christie: 4:50 From Paddington
Maybe ten-ish years ago, they redid the covers for all of Christie's books - and I liked them enough that I went out and purchased every single one so they look, stylistically, the same. I am a little disappointed in this one, though, it's perhaps too simple. Not on par with nearly every other book. Interestingly, though, they redesigned the Marple books, and now they all look... bleh, so I will take this edition.
We have another Miss Marple book! Which... I'm glad I've been enjoying them more upon reread, because I didn't find them that interesting when I was younger. Maybe there are some things that just work better when you're older. Anyway... I did like this book! I didn't love it, it's not a favorite, and there are some writing issues in it, but I did enjoy my time reading it.
The premise is really very catching. One of Miss Marple's friends is on a train when she sees - in a train going on along side her - someone murder a woman. It's kind of crazy and wild, and no one believes Mrs McGillicuddy saw anything, so she and Miss Marple try to figure out if it was even a possible thing and what could have happened. The first part of the book really moves as they try to figured it out, which is a lot of fun, and different from Christie's usual set ups.
Once the dead body is found, however, things slow down and kind of start rolling in Christie's usual style. The body ends up at Rutherford Hall where a patriarch of the Crackenthorpe family lives and things descend into Christie's usual fare of a somewhat wealthy family with a ton of problems.
There are a lot of characters and most of them aren't all that memorable because a lot of them are stock characters that Christie has used time and time again. But standing out is Lucy Eyelesbarrow, whom Miss Marple has go to work at the estate as help so she can sleuth her way into figuring out what is going on. She seems to be a middle aged version of those plucky heroines that Christie used to use in her thrillers back in the day.
The character work is fine, but the biggest issue of the book is that there are no real clues and you can't really figure anything out. The ending has an interesting twist to it, sure, but there's no way anyone is getting there based on the text. It's also, maybe, a good fifty pages too long -- in that I was just ready to get there already.
How Miss Marple tricks the murderer, though, is kind of entertaining, and even if the ending isn't as satisfying as it could be (and there are a few ambiguous loose ends - which is a new trend in Christie these days) at least Miss Marple is rather solid in the book.
Like I said above, I liked it, but didn't love it. It was a nice read, but doesn't stick with me the way a lot of the good Christies do.
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Reading Agatha Christie: Dead Man's Folly
I went into this one kind of expecting it to be the same kind of quality that most of the books have been recently. I was pleasantly surprised that this one turned out better than I had expected. There are still some issues, these later novels just are not up to par with what Christie had been writing twenty years earlier. But this is another one I found myself just kind of enjoying.
I will say - this was originally meant as a novella that got turned into a full novel, and while it's still short and a quick read, the beginning does drag as it the set up seems a bit like padding.
The novel revolves around Ariadne Oliver inviting Hercule Poirot to a fete (a celebration) where one of the things is a whodunit mystery game. While that is all going on, the young girl playing the dead body is actually killed, and of course, Poirot has to figure out who did it.
The set up is kind of fun (even though the way the victim is talked about just does not hold up, and it's sad how much they put down a dead teenage girl) and all the characters are decently drawn. Of course, as usual, everyone involved is part of the household.
But it's a solidly good Poirot novel (I thought we had finished with these until Curtain, so a few points there) and Mrs. Oliver is quite charming in this. The rest of the characters are fine, and seem a little like standard Christie characters who serve their purpose. The person who did it isn't that shocking, though there is a somewhat ambiguous ending, which is different for Christie.
We also don't get a whole lot of time period insight (which is what I'm really finding interesting during this reread) though there is an atomic physicist who is having an existential crisis which is a semi-interesting side adventure.
But anyway - overall, solidly standard and fun Christie. Not her best work ever but still entertaining in the way Christies should be.
#so reads agatha christie#agatha christie#book review#books#sbc bookclub#s.o. reads agatha christie#dead man's folly
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Reading Agatha Christie: Hickory Dickory Dock
Okay, well then. There is a lot going on with this book and not much of it is good.
I will start by saying that it does have an interesting set up - we see Hercule Poirot's secretary for the first time in a full length novel, Miss Lemon - and she makes a mistake, prompting Poirot to notice, and thus getting him involved with Miss Lemon's sister, who runs a hostel for young people. A bunch of theft has been happening and the hostel, and it quickly leads to murder after the thief has been found out. So, yeah, the mystery set up is intriguing and the idea of the plot isn't bad on paper.
But, guys, oof, there is a lot wrong with this book.
First of all, the cast of character is way, way too big. There are too many people to keep track of, and the only ones who actually get development are either the victims or the villains (or Poirot and Miss Lemon's sister). Which makes this plot really kind of easy to figure out - because the obvious suspects are, well, obvious.
On top of that, Christie is trying to use an international cast and absolutely fails at it. Her attempts at non-white characters, while admirable that she wants to include them, are terribly drawn and, in many cases, down right racist. And, adding insult to injury, is the fact that none of them really get any development or are of any consequence to the actual plot.
Meanwhile, the plot itself meanders all over the place. I'm usually a fan of Christie subplots, but they're not done very well here. Things kind of pop up out of nowhere, and there's no real deduction going on. Plus, while I don't mind subsequent murders, the second and third murders just feel thrown in there for the sake of it. It just all feels very sloppy.
Also, it's not a fun Poirot novel, either. While I love Poirot most of the time, I do understand that Christie was getting tired of him at this point. I get it - but you can tell she's kind of forcing herself to write him at this point. And it really shows, as he's not much fun to spend time with.
The book itself is actually a pretty quick read. There have definitely been other books that I've felt I've had to force myself through. This one is at least readable. But it is overly written, and I think a good chunk of it could have been edited out.
Unfortunately, I don't think the ending, while not at all surprising, doesn't really come to a satisfying conclusion. Christie is relying on some of her old tricks, whether they make a whole lot of sense or not. Overall, it's just not a good book, and I think this is where we really have the beginning of the end when it comes to Christie's writing.
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Reading Agatha Christie: Destination Unknown
Fun Fact: This is one of the few novels that hasn't been adapted for the screen yet. While I do kind of understand why - I think it's bonkers enough that if you tweak some things, and kind of make it a more exciting climax, it would do decently well.
Is this novel good? I'm not sure I can say that - the writing is weaker than her usual fair, the plot is thin and goes all over the place, and there are some things at the end that just do not hold up. But is this novel entertaining? I'd actually say - yes, I had a good time with it.
This is one of her thrillers - and while at this point, it's probably well known that I'm just not a fan of them, this is easily the most entertaining one we've had since the ones she did in the 20s. We have a plucky heroine, though she's a bit older (and has reflections on Christie's real life -- which she was still ruminating on thirty years later).
What is the plot? Well... that's hard to even say. Hilary Craven is not having the best of life when she gets roped into doing some spy work and ends up getting stuck in a scientist cult that may or may not have something to do with the Soviets and Communism. The novel kind of twists and turns and I just get the feeling that Christie was kind of making it up as she goes along instead of plotting it all out ahead.
(I mean - yes, i know she did plot her novels usually carefully, but this one just reads as if she really didn't know where her destination was going to be. Ah, I crack myself up.)
Anyway, there is a lot wrong with this novel, as fun with it as I had. Like usual, Christie is vague with her political elements (what are these people really after? Who knows). Her villain is definitely, ridiculous arch. There are a couple of interesting personal dynamics that kind of get thrown out the window in service of adding even more surprise elements to the incoherent plot. And the out of nowhere love interest ends up in blackface to save the day.
*sigh*
But, you know, it's a fast read, and I read it relatively quickly unlike most of the slogs the thrillers usually end up being, so as long as you aren't expecting it to make an abundance of sense, at least you'll have fun with it.
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Reading Agatha Christie: A Pocket Full of Rye
We are back to a Miss Marple mystery! We're going to get a bunch more of her as we head into the last portion of Christie's life. Miss Marple has grown on me over the years - even if I still am more a fan of the Poirot novels. I did like this book, but it is unfortunate that Miss Marple isn't in it all that much. At least how she pops up at least makes sense -- as Christie doesn't want to set all of the Marples in St. Mary Mead.
This time - we have a wealthy businessman who is murder, followed soon by his wife and maid. And so it seems that it's all tied to the nursey rhyme 'a pocketful of rye'. Most of the time, the nursery rhyme stuff is a little eye roll-y, and Christie struggles to make it work, but it actually works really well here, as it, for once, makes sense with the story.
As usual, there's a close-knit group of suspects that revolve around the family. Yes, it does feel like we've been here and done that -- especially recently with all of the family dramas. But the story is simple enough and the characters engaging enough that I think it works. And the resolution is decent enough, even if it isn't Christie at the top of her game.
One aspect I do like is Inspector Neele, the head of the case. Usually with the non-Poirot/Marple detectives, I kind of don't think much of them, as they don't make that much of an impression on the story. But Neele is decently drawn, and it kind of is his story as he wants to figure out all of this for himself. His inner monologue is interesting, and he might be the most developed character outside of Miss Marple.
Like I said - Miss Marple doesn't show up until half way through the novel, but when she does, it's in an organic way. She kind of fades away, then pops back in at the end to tie everything together. It does work, and she does sparkle in this one, but it's a shame we don't get more of her.
Also interesting, I don't think there's as heavily a conversation about the 'life and times' of the 1950s as there has been in her past couple (though there's always little bits here and there). The one thing that did stand out is how -- office culture-y -- the beginning felt when the businessman was at his office. It feels like that sliding into modern day that always comes with the 1950s. We also get some upper middle class suburbia feels to this novel, which also kind of sets a tone and atmosphere more than its commentary on the times. Idk - I always find this angle interesting.
Anyway - it's a solid book, a quick read, and a fun Marple. I liked it.
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Reading Agatha Christie: After the Funeral
After The Funeral might be Christie's last good Poirot novel before the last one. I guess we'll have to see... The thing I remember most about reading this the first time was that it was one of my first ones when I first started reading her. There's a family tree in the front, and I think that captivated me as a kid.
I feel like we should be used to these same kinds of set ups in Christies now. There's a funeral for the eldest son in the Abernethie family, and all the relatives gather, including an estranged younger sister that no one has seen in twenty years. Of course, she's hacked to death after she questions whether or not her older brother was murdered or not. And family hijinks ensue.
The thing this story has going for it is that there's a rich family dynamic going on. It's reminiscent of Hercule Poirot's Christmas and Appointment with Death (both of which, admittedly, I did like better) in that everyone has a secret up their sleeve and the whole book is unwinding what those secrets are. The characters are well drawn and intriguing and the family dynamics are, more so, the highlight of the novel -- more so than the mystery itself.
As an aside, I think it's kind of fascinating that every male in the household is kind of terrible. It makes me kind of wonder if Christie was doing it purposely or if it kind of just came together like that.
Meanwhile, they mystery portion is fine. I think it's an interesting twist, but since I remembered the who, I don't think I was as invested. I do think it's an interesting twist, though.
Also unfortunately is that Poirot just isn't around all that much. It takes a long while for him to show up at all and it isn't until the end that he really interacts with the characters. The mystery is kind of secondary to the intricate web of family dynamics, and of course, this is the point where Christie was growing tired of writing Poirot, and I feel like that begins to really show here. It makes me think, though, that the thing I really enjoy about Poirot is that he's so often an outsider who comes into these dynamics. I can understand Christie's weariness of him, but I suppose I'm like the general audience who always enjoys him.
Also, we continue on to our post-war Brittan. It's not as prominent as it was the past few books, but that dark cloud that WW2 left over the UK fifties is still on display in the book.
Overall, it is a solid book even if I wished there was more going on with the mystery aspect of it. I don't think we get a whole lot of stellar books going forward, so I'll take what I can get.
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Reading Agatha Christie: They Do It With Mirrors
Now that we're into the back half of Christie, a lot more Miss Marple books are coming, and I have to say with this one, she's easily one of the better aspects of it.
The book takes place at an old country estate and revolves around Miss Marple's old school friend and her rather large family. There's a lot of set up -- the family being somewhat complicated to explain, and each of the character needs to have a little moment with Miss Marple to really build around their character.
It takes a while, however, to finally get to a murder. I remembered the who pretty easily, and I have to wonder if even if I hadn't, it would be kind of in plain sight. (The book cover, btw, is a bit of a spoiler - between the title and the puppets I don't think it's hard to work out what's going on.) The why is a little more complicated, and at least led to the book having some mystery to it, but I don't think it's her most clever of books.
At the time, it seems as though people were beginning to feel that Christie was beginning to show her age with this one, but I'm not sure we're at that point yet. The characters are still relatively decently drawn, even if they kind of make every predictable choice if you've read enough of Christie's writing. The mystery kind of plods along just like you would expect it to, but it's definitely not bad nor is it unreadable.
Miss Marple is a delight as always - with her shrewd observations and her somewhat sassy attitude. The characters all place off her nicely, and she doesn't seem out of place being there.
As a somewhat interesting aside... while the book doesn't have as much commentary on the changing times as the past few books have done, Miss Marple does give a lengthy monologue about the differences between Americans and the British, and how unlike the forward looking, energetic Americans, the British are always counting their failures more than their victories. It's an interesting insight into the mindset of post-War UK, and how drab life was beginning to come.
Overall, the book is by no means bad, even if it feels not as fresh as so many of her earlier books. It's a little clunky and a little predictable, but perfectly readable.
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Reading Agatha Christie: Mrs. McGinty's Dead
I'm going to straight up admit that I really enjoyed this one and read it all in a day.
The first quarter of this book really had me. And I think it's because there was an interesting setting and tone shift that has been starting to appear in this post-WW2, 1950s era, where Christie is getting older and starting to reflect on life. The plot is simple enough - in that Poirot is asked to investigate a murder where prosecuting police inspector's convicted killer just doesn't work for him. So, Poirot ends up in a small town -- looking into a murder that just seems impossible at first.
And, usually small town murders are left for Miss Marple. Poirot seems incredibly out of place. And that's really the point. Everything from Poirot complaining about his discomfort and lack of good food to everyone having no idea he was (is!) a world famous detective. The point is, a bit, that the world has changed, and it isn't the way it used to be. And, idk, I kind of found that theme intriguing, especially in the beginning when it's mostly about Poirot dealing with small town life while investigating a murder that just doesn't make much sense.
Then the real plot kicks in -- and there is some intrigue where it's possible that one in four possible murderesses from way back when is alive and well in the small town and things kick off from there. It's still a lot of fun and definitely a page turner, though maybe not as capturing as the first quarter of the book.
Poirot is just at his absolute best in this novel, and I think that's one of the main reasons I liked it. I know that he's going to scarcely pop up after this point, and in limited form when he does, I can take what we can get. I also appreciate the fact that this kind of does build on Poirot's previous characterization. It's definitely a novel that is a sequel, in a way, to what's come before it -- and works best after you've experienced Poirot at an earlier time.
Ariadne Oliver also makes another appearance and she is just a delight as a disgruntled author -- barely veiling the fact that she's a stand in for Christie herself. This book, while dealing with some dark things, is often very humorous, too -- which I can appreciate.
The rest of the cast is fine, even if they all blend together a bit. There's a lot going on, and sometimes I do like the mess of characters - even if characterization is limited a little. And while I think the ending is -- maybe not as shocking or twisty as the build up leads it to be -- it does still work.
The funny thing about this one, though, is that I think it does work best as something you read in quick succession. I think the more you think about it -- the more things fall a part a little. There are definitely a few plot holes, and some uncomfortable undertones, and things that just don't work the more you take it a part.
But overall, I think it's the perfect quick read for bad weather - stay in doors and read afternoon.
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Reading Agatha Christie: The Underdog and Other Stories
I'm not sure what it is about the short story collections, but I find them harder to get through. Maybe because, and this is meant as no disrespect to the writing, that they begin to feel same-ish after awhile.
This particular group is mostly of Christie's earlier writings - and now that with her novels I've gotten to a place where her writing is so much more developed, I feel like one can tell that this is very much her earlier work. At least the nice thing is that it's a Hercule Poirot collection, and since we're getting into the second half of her work, she wasn't prolific as much with Poirot having eventually tiring of the detective.
The featured story - The Underdog - is fine. It's not as strong as many others that usually headline the collections. It's a story about a guy who is falsely accused of his uncle's murder, and Poirot has to figure out who the real culprit is. While there are a few turns in it, there just isn't a whole lot of time to really develop the characters, and I feel like she does this kind of thing much better in her full novels.
The rest of the stories are fine. They definitely aren't bad at all, and most of them are pretty quick reads. I will give a shout out to the "The Lemesurier Inheritance" which does involve a family curse and that does up the intrigue a little on it.
Overall, if you like a solid Christie short story or just want Poirot, I think these will work for you. But I also don't think this is by any means her best work, either.
#agatha christie#book review#books#so reads agatha christie#sbc bookclub#the underdog and other stories
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SO's Bookclub: Nobody's There (and final thoughts on Joan Lowery Nixon)
Title: Who Are You?
Author: Joan Lowery Nixon
Genre: YA Mystery
Goodreads Summary :
How did Abbie Thompson end up a sidekick to Edna Merkel, Senior Citizen Pseudo-Sleuth? It all started when Abbie was so furious at her father for breaking up their family that she acted without thinking and was arrested for malicious mischief. The judge decided to give Abbie a chance at a clean record and arranged for her to volunteer in a program in which teens are matched with the elderly.
Abbie's "friend," Mrs. Merkel, is a cranky, difficult woman who's a member of the Buckler's Bloodhounds. The Bloodhounds provide the police with information about scams or frauds in the community. But Edna Merkel is too active a member, and after she brags that she's on to something big, she's attacked and ends up hospitalized. Suddenly the private investigator game is real and, with the help of Mrs. Merkel's indecipherable notebook, only Abbie can figure out who did it. But will Abbie get to the assailant before the assailant gets to her?
Review:
I know I stated that I had two more of these to go but this one kind of broke me. I do own one more of these - but it sounds so awful I have no desire to read it. There are actually possibly two other suspense books that Nixon wrote after that one that sound even less like her usual writing that I didn't bother to pick them up used. But this one kind of feels like I need to stop -- the experiment hasn't been fun for a while, and this was the most tedious, lukewarm experience of reading middle grade fiction.
The above summary kind of tells you all of it. A young woman named Abbie (who is supposed to be 17 but acts like she's 12) is having family issues. We're in Texas again, and this time daddy is a big douche, walking out on the family for a younger woman. Mom is understandably emotional - but kind of useless in the way so many of these mothers are in these books. It's hilarious that Abbie's bad behavior is throwing rocks -- because she had to be a delinquent but not do something so bad that she'd be labeled a 'bad girl'.
She starts hanging out with a stereotypical mean old woman (is Mrs. Merkel supposed to be a take on Miss Marple? Possibly but she is so irritatingly annoying). The thing is - there's no real mystery here. Abbie and Mrs Merkle fight for a majority of this book, Abbie wines about her family issues, and they kind of dance around crime issues until Merkle gets knocked on the head about 2/3rds of the way through.
We then go on a red herring chase after her nephew until there's a twist ending in that -- it's someone we've barely seen in the novel and it's all over some valuable trinkets Mrs. Merkle has.
It's just bad. It's just so bad. There's no personality to it. The novel takes way too long to set up its story, spends way too much time on Abbie's family drama, there's zero suspense in it at all, and zero mystery as nothing is really solved except in the last chapter or so.
I get that Nixon was nearing her death at this time, and she really was out of her heyday of writing campy 70s and 80s suspense thrillers. But it's kind of a shame these books go out so weakly. They were never the epitome of good writing - but they were at least fun. And they stopped being fun, well, around the time I stopped buying them. Maybe young me understood more than she knew.
I have to add - since I'm always watching for Nixon tropes - the insertion of a love interest here is so hilarious. There's this guy named Nick who keeps asking Abbie out. And it feels so obligatory. Abbie keeps thinking about how she should say yes, and at the end - she does agree to go to prom! But it's so forced. Almost like a mandate that there should be some sort of romance in the novel, even though it's so completely half baked and Abbie is just so not interested. I think one of the funniest aspect of all these novels is the reluctance to really have a romance in them.
Overall, this book just isn't great. There's nothing interesting going on here, and it's a shame that it's merely a shadow of the types of books Nixon used to write.
Rating : 2 stars.
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Reflection Time
I contemplated doing a whole different post for this, but I'm not sure I have enough to say (nor do I think that many of you are interested).
I do not regret reading through my Joan Lowery Nixon collection. It was a lot of fun to look through what I used to read as a preteen, and was nostalgic for a time when these campy thrillers were the norm. Interesting, too, that these were a step above the Christopher Pikes and the RL Stines.
But I think what really made the books work (or fun in rereading) was that they were set in that particular time period (mainly - the 80s). There was some genuine creepiness to be had before technology could help us, and Nixon, despite her wooden characters and her substandard, cliched plots was actually really good at making a book suspenseful no matter how ridiculous the premise was.
I think what kind of deflated the project was getting into the late 90s, when Nixon was at the end of her life, and kind of churning out the same product without any of the time period trappings, which made the books dull and repetitive.
I think something else interesting coming out of this reread was not realizing (as a kid) how many of the tropes were redundant. Nearly all of them are in Texas. There are definitely issues within the family - that dad is usually that wealthy cowboy oil guy. The mom is always so fragile. Sometimes there's a younger sibling whom the girl has to be strong for. And, more so in the beginning, there was that strong matriarchal figure. Plus, there's always the struggle of whether to go to school or not.
And, as I reflected about, the hilarious obligatoryness of needing a love interest - whether it was relevant or not. And how the guy was usually dumb or the villain of the piece.
So, I guess that's that...
I kind of kept a best to worst ranking as I went along, so for those of you who like a good list, here it is:
The Name of the Game was Murder
A Deadly Game of Magic
The Weekend was Murder
Whipsers from the Dead
The Haunting
Shadowmaker
The Dark and Deadly Pool
Murdered, My Sweet
Secret, Silent Screams
The Ghosts of Now
The Seance
Who Are You
Spirit Seeker
Don't Scream
A Candidate for Murder
Nobody's There
The Island of Dangerous Dreams
The Specter
The Other Side of Dark
The Kidnapping of Christina Lattimore
The Stalker
While I do think The Name of the Game was Murder is probably her best written book, I think A Deadly Game of Magic was probably the most fun book to read -- and the only one I think I'd pick up again casually. The Stalker was probably on of the worst books I've ever read - but the last few I did for the project were the hardest to get through.
Will I ever read through these again? Meh - let's see how I'm feeling in my 60s. Should you read these? Maybe only if you're my age and want to remember what books were like of this time period.
Thanks for following along - and now back to a world where I'm reading more adult books I actually like...
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SO's Bookclub: Who Are You?
Title: Who Are You?
Author: Joan Lowery Nixon
Genre: YA Mystery
Goodreads Summary :
Kristi Evans and her parents can't understand why police detectives are telling them that a man named Douglas Merson has been shot. They've never heard of him. But it becomes important when they learn that Mr. Merson has kept a secret file on Kristi for her entire life. Suddenly Kristi finds herself investigating who this man is and why he has intruded on her privacy.
When Kristi goes to see Mr. Merson in the hospital, she discovers he is a professional artist; he even offers to help her pursue her own dream of being an artist. Kristi has always wanted someone with whom she could share her passion for art. Her parents not only don't understand it, they want her to do something more practical. Now this stranger seems to be offering Kristi the piece that has been missing from her life all along, but at what cost to her relationship with her parents? Who is this man who seems too good to be true?
Review:
Okay, there are only two more of these left after this, and I'm a little grateful. At the beginning of this experiment, despite the books being not all that great - there was a kind of nostalgic affection I had for them. This last batch has been a bit of a struggle because gone is the nostalgic affection I had for the campy atmosphere they brought.
We're now in the late 90s, and while this book brings back a lot of her old tropes, it's become somewhat generic in atmosphere. I'm gonna guess that now that we're at the end of her career (and her life) Nixon kind of fell back on how she knew how to write and let the world change around her without too much comment on it. I did appreciate in the last few books that things like newer technology made an appearance, but this one seems to be void of, well, anything that sets it in a particular time and it feels a little off because of it.
This book is -- kind of weird. The whole thing starts out that this dying man is asking for a sixteen year old girl due to a plot twist that is... a bit odd. Kristi goes to seek him out - and learns they have a shared interest in art. And then gets herself involved in some weird art theft shenanigans. None of it is really that interesting. And Kristi herself, while being one of the more competent protagonists in one of these books, is about as dull as a block of wood.
It does feel like a classic Nixon. We're back in Texas. There's issues about college and parents who are kind of pathetic - including somewhat depressed mom. There's a hilarious attempt at a romance that lasts, like a few chapters and is so obligatory it seems like Nixon was mandated to include it -- because the dude not only has very little page time, Kristi barely seems interested, and the guy just has no real part to play in the novel.
There isn't much of a mystery here either. A lot of time is spent on why this dude wants Kristi's attention and there's some clues that point to the guy's son having a connection with Kristie's mother. But it drags out in the most boring of ways, and by the time we get a resolution it makes you question why we went through all of the things we did.
Overall, this book is mostly forgettable. There's just not enough going on in the book to make it that intriguing. It's sad that even though this is closer to one of her thrillers, the trend of these being a bit more boring than her original books is... sad. Ah well.
Rating: 2.75 Stars
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Reading Agatha Christie: They Came to Baghdad
Christie doesn't do too many thrillers in her later career - but this is one of them. And one of the few, I believe, never to have an adaptation. There is a reason for that - this book is a mess.
The story (which is overly complicated as Christie usually is in these things) involves a return to the plucky young heroine this time named Victoria. Victoria, by chance, ends up in Baghdad - chasing a dude she just met and lands herself in the middle of a shadowy crime syndicate that has nefarious world interests. And if all this sounds kind of vague? That's because the entire book just kind of keeps itself hanging on the surface without really going into detail about what is exactly going on.
The first quarter of the book feels almost incomprehensible as a ton of characters, most of whom don't matter all that much, are introduced and the vagueness of what's going on feels too obtuse. Nothing is really defined, and I think it's hard to follow until we pick up the thread of Victoria and follow her to Baghdad.
Victoria, by the way, oof, is a product of her time. She isn't that likable, and not helping is the casual racism she uses as she's introduced. She then, on a whim, decides to just follow some guy she's decided to fall in love with, and then the plot just happens at her as we make our way through the book. There are kernels of interesting things happening, but it just never really solidifies in a meaningful way.
I do Christie credit for trying something different in that it's clear that she visited Baghdad and wanted to use that as the landscape for a novel. It never really quite comes together for me -- and while it's messy like her thrillers usually are, it lacks some the charm and whimsy that came with some of her earlier work.
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Reading Agatha Christie: Three Blind Mice and Other Stories
I've been a little behind on my reviews, and actually read this over a month ago now. Oops.
I don't know what it is about Agatha Christie's short stories, but I don't often get into them that easily. That's not really a comment about their quality - she often does pretty well in the short format, I just have a harder time reading them for some reason?
Anyway - Three Blind Mice is one of her more famous ones, especially since it was turned into a play. And it's, honestly, probably one of my favorites. The story revolves around a snowed in group of people - one of them dies, and there's a slow unraveling of who the murderer is. And while this twist is done a time or two in her novels, I still think it makes for a pretty good story - as it gets a little wilder as it goes on. I can see why it was turned into a play - the single setting does well for this kind of thing.
The rest of the collection is filled with a handful of Miss Marple short stories, which more or less work fine; a couple of Hercule Poirot short stories, which aren't really my favorite, and a Harley Quinn short story, which there just aren't that many so it's a delight when he shows up again.
Overall, it's a solid collection. Three Blind Mice is definitely worth the read. I'm not as fond of the other stories, but they're of the same decent caliber that Christie usually writes.
#agatha christie#three blind mice#books#book review#super short because it's been so long#so reads agatha christie
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SO's Bookclub : The Haunting
Title: The Haunting
Author: Joan Lowery Nixon
Genre: YA Mystery
Goodreads Summary :
The walls whisper. The ceilings shriek. No one can survive a night of terror inside Graymoss. The old plantation house has been in Lia’s family since the Civil War, but it’s been possessed for generations by a malicious spirit, and Lia’s family has always stayed far away. Now her parents have decided to move into Graymoss, and Lia must either change their minds or chase away the horror lurking inside the old house. Using clues from her great-great-grandmother’s diary and an old copy of Favorite Tales of Edgar Allan Poe, Lia must discover what—or who—the evil wants.
Review:
This is the first one of the four that I haven't read that I picked up a few months ago when I started doing this project. So, this is my first read through. And, you know, it's not that bad. I'd say it's on the upper end of these kinds of books, but ooff, still issues.
The plot revolves around Graymoss -- an old home in Louisiana belonging to protagonist Lia's family. Lia's mother wants to turn it into a foster care home for kids. But everyone else on the planet is like -- you crazy, place haunted.
On the one hand - meant to be a lot like Shirley Jackson's Haunting of Hill House. Having the story built on a creepy atmosphere and psychological terror instead of cheep jumps scares and gory slasher tactics. But... the novel spends so little time away from the house that it never really gets that spooky. Which is odd - because JLN is usually pretty good at setting a tense atmosphere.
A lot of her normal tropes are somewhat subverted. We're not in Texas because this was clearly inspired by something she discovered in Louisiana (the dedication points in this direction). Lia is fine as a protagonist and I really didn't feel like punching her at any point. The family is mostly decent -- except Grandma is a little weird, but not matriarchal. And, there is a guy who is involved but only for about two seconds, he's barely around to even be considered a love interest, and he's discarded just as quickly.
Oh - and there was mention of cell phones. Which I found interesting for a book set in the late 90s. These books almost feel out of time when they start mentioning modern technology.
The book does have a pretty decent premise, and there were pieces of the mystery that were intriguing but it never really gets off the ground. Plus - we spend a lot of time (especially for a short book) talking to people who don't really matter, who don't really tell us anything, or don't move the plot forward. (There's an entire chapter where they spend time with kids at an orphanage just to remind you that they want to put little kids into foster care using the haunted house.)
This entire novel could have worked better as a short story - one that took place in a single night -- kind of like A Deadly Game of Magic did. The clues that are sprinkled throughout the novel kind of point in an obvious direction -- especially the use of the Edgar Allen Poe book (which really, if anyone had been thinking - the whole mystery would have been solved easily way back when).
Overall, it's fine. There's nothing egregiously wrong with it, nothing made me want to throw it against the wall. But, she just didn't make great use of a haunted house trope, and you can tell a lot of why this book was written was because she was inspired by different parts of Louisiana culture.
Rating: 3.25 Stars
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