Jennifer Vandenberg's Blog, page 3

I Love the Derek Storm Novels by Richard Castle

I am a fan of the TV show Castle. As a struggling writer I find the idea that I could become a best-selling author, like Richard Castle, and live in a penthouse in New York City very appealing.

I love it when my TV shows blend with the real world so I was excited to see that the two series mentioned on the show were actual books that I could read. Nikki Heat came out as full length books at the same time that they were being published on the TV show. Very cool. The books were very popular so someone must have decided to publish the Derek Storm novels also. This is a trickier proposition because Richard Castle killed Derek Storm in his last novel and no longer writes that series.

Luckily, no one seemed to care. The first three Derek Storm novels were released as eBook novellas. I enjoyed them a lot. Other people must have also because the fourth book came out in print and more are coming. Hooray!

Who is Richard Castle?

This is a great question. Richard Castle is a fictional character played by Nathan Fillion on Castle. The writers of this show have created a fictional history for Richard Castle, including all the awards that he has won for the Derek Storm novels. He is apparently a well-read author with millions of books sold. I wouldn’t disagree with this since I enjoy the Derek Storm novels but I don’t feel the need to list all of his accomplishments here since he is as fictional as Derek Storm. I do love the concept of a fictional character writing fictional books. They could keep going and have Derek Storm write books during his retirement. Fictional authors writing fiction could be a never-ending cycle.

Why do I love this series?

All books have a rhythm. Some plod and some race but a few feel like they are a TV show or movie in book format. The The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown has that feel. The chapters are laid out like movie scenes and I felt I was reading an elaborate script. The Derek Storm novels have that same rhythm. The scenes are short and the characters have pithy dialogue so I almost feel like I am reading a television show. This is not a bad thing. The pace is fast and that makes the action seem very immediate and hard hitting. I wouldn’t be surprised if TV script writers were writing these books.

I often have to read in small chunks as I am waiting for someone or on a break so I love books with short chapters and a storyline that moves quickly. That is one reason why I devoured the Derek Storm novels. I could pick them up and put them down and not wonder where I had left off. Plus the characters are interesting. I won’t say they are overly complicated but they are more than just caricatures. I enjoy reading books that entertain me and this series definitely did.

This is a series that I would read in order. Start with the three e-novellas, A Brewing Storm, A Raging Storm, and A Bloody Storm (each only 1.99 on Amazon) and then read the full-length novels. I would say they are perfect escape fiction.

No book is perfect. This is what bugs me…

The Derek Storm novels are non-stop adventures and I am impressed by the tight writing. I just wish I knew who was actually writing these books. Is it the writers of the show, Castle? Is it one guy who does nothing but write Richard Castle books? Does the same person write the Derek Storm and Nikki Heat novels? I don’t know and I would like to find out. It is cute to say that Richard Castle writes these books but some hard-working writer is actually responsible and I would love to give that person or group credit.

Why should you read this book?

If you like quick-paced James Bond-style plots with lots of witty dialogue and intrigue then the Derek Storm novels are a sure hit. They are not literature but they are definitely an entertaining read. Plus when you watch Castle you can feel like one of his devoted readers and immerse yourself in the fictional world of Richard Castle.

A Quote Worth Quoting

Showers took a deep breath and said, “At this moment, I would love to shoot you.”

He stopped in front of the Marriott. “How about a Taser?” He said. “If it really makes you feel better. Richard Castle A Raging Storm

 

 

 

I Love And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

I don’t know if I’ll go to mystery reader Hell for saying this, but I am not a huge fan of Agatha Christie. For the longest time I didn’t like any of her books. I did feel bad about it. I mean, she is the grande dame of mysteries (and an official Dame, too). How could I not love her books? I figured there was something wrong with me and I should just give up.

However, I love to read the classics and I am a glutton for punishment so I tried reading one more Agatha Christie novel. I chose Murder on the Orient Express…and I loved it. Then I read Murder in Mesopotamia… and I loved it. Then I read Hallowe’en Party…and I loved it. I figured out I didn’t hate Agatha Christie. I just really didn’t like Miss Marple stories and those were the ones I kept picking up at first.

I had always heard of the movie Ten Little Indians. When I wanted to write a variation on that plot I picked up And Then There Were None, the book that the movie is based on. It was then that I knew what my favorite Agatha Christie novel was. I will probably read others, for better or for worse, but the one I will read more than once is And Then There Were None, a twisty, turny story with a wonderful trick ending.

Who is Agatha Christie?

Dame Agatha Christie is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the best-selling novelist of all time. Her books have sold over 2 billion copies and have been translated into 103 languages. Quite remarkable. Along with her 66 mystery novels she wrote short stories, romances, and the world’s-longest running play, Mousetrap.

In 1955 she was the first recipient of the Grand Master Award, the Mystery Writers of America’s highest honor. In 1971 she was made a Dame by Queen Elizabeth II. She continued to write into her 70s and died in 1976 at age 85.

Agatha Christie’s life story could be made into a movie all its own. She traveled extensively with her second husband and took on work during both World Wars. She even had her own mystery disappearance that has never been fully explained. She was a mystery writer with a mystery. I cannot possibly write down everything that happened in her life but I encourage you to read more about her.

Why do I love this book?

I love the idea of a group of people, strangers to each other but not to their host, stuck in one location and helpless as a murderer kills them one by one. Okay, that is probably weird, but it is one of my favorite plots. In And Then There Were None a group of people are invited to an island for a weekend party. From the start they sense that something is wrong but with a storm coming in and no boat available they have no choice but to stay and accept their fate. I don’t want to give away any spoilers, however, the title might be the biggest spoiler.

The title is the last line of a poem that Agatha Christie used as her inspiration. Ten Little Indians, while never the title of the book in the United States, was used as the title of some of the movie versions. I personally like And Then There Were None much better since the story has nothing to do with Indians except for the poem.

And Then There Were None is Agatha Christie’s top best-selling novel with over 100 million copies sold also making it the best-selling mystery ever sold. I guess I am not the only one who likes it.

No book is perfect. This is what bugs me…

This is a minor thing and probably not worth mentioning, but here I go. Why are Agatha Christie movies so dated? Some of them are okay but when I watch them again I am distracted by the outdated clothes and hair styles. The books have a timelessness to them but unless each generation makes their own cinema version the movies end up on a dusty library shelf. Of course the storylines have been used in hundreds of crime TV shows, but I would love to see a version of And Then There Were None that is as fresh twenty years from now as it would be today.

Why should you read this book?

There is something special about classic mysteries. They can be dull as dirt or full of intrigue, but they still have that bygone feeling that modern mysteries, even historic ones, can never recreate. I would never encourage anyone to read all of Dame Christie’s work, but if you have to pick just one I would pick And Then There Were None. Once you know the ending be sure to tell no one. It will be our little secret.

A Quote Worth Quoting

“The amount of missing girls I’ve had to trace and their family and their friends always say the same thing. ‘She was a bright and affectionate disposition and had no men friends’. That’s never true. It’s unnatural. Girls ought to have men friends. If not, then there’s something wrong about them….” ― Agatha Christie, And Then There Were None

 

I Love Encyclopedia Brown by Donald J. Sobol

I can not remember a time when I was not reading or being read books. I checked out a ton of books from my local library when I was a kid. This was back in the day when you had to write your name on the library card. Quite a few library cards had my name listed over and over. I am sure that was true for all the cards in the Encyclopedia Brown books. I could not get enough and my love for them has never dimmed.

Who is Donald J. Sobol?

Before writing this review I had never researched Donald Sobol. It turns out he had a rather remarkable career. He was a professional writer who not only wrote 29 Encyclopedia Brown books but also wrote the Two-Minute Mysteries and more than 60 other books, both fiction and nonfiction.

Sobol’s Encyclopedia Brown series has never been out of print since it was first published in 1963. The series was awarded a special Edgar by the Mystery Writers of America, with good reason.

Donald Sobol lived to be 87. He continued writing the Encyclopedia Brown books until his death in 2012. Impressive.

I love this book because…

The Encyclopedia Brown books are a collection of short stories featuring a boy detective, Leroy “Encyclopedia” Brown. He is called Encyclopedia because he reads a ton of books and remembers what he reads. He helps his father, the police chief, solve crime as they eat dinner and he helps his friends during the summertime when his detective agency is open. What makes these stories so fun is that the solution is not in the story. All the clues are presented and then the reader is asked to solve the puzzle. The answers are found in the back of the book.

I admit I often read the answers without trying to solve the puzzle first. I just want to read all the stories. Not only are they cute mysteries but they have a recurring cast of characters that I enjoy spending time with. Encyclopedia is a good kid but he would be bullied regularly by Bugs Meany (the name says it all) if it wasn’t for Encyclopedia’s partner, Sally Kimball. Sally is the only kid to ever knock Bugs Meany down. Sally is my favorite. She isn’t as smart as Encyclopedia but she is a champion of the underdog.

When I was a kid I wanted to have a detective agency. These books definitely fed my imagination.

No book is perfect. This is what bugs me…

The only thing that bugs me is that this series is for written for children so adults may not pick them up to read themselves. Here is an idea. Get them for a child you love and then read them together. Your child will love being read to, you get to experience the mysterious world of Encyclopedia Brown, and you can solve the puzzles together. Just don’t be surprised when your child finds the solution first.

Why should you read this book?

I find it fun to take a break from thick adult tomes and just read a simple story that is still entertaining. It doesn’t matter which book you pick up. Each story stands on its own, from Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective to Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Secret UFOs. Don’t look at the answers before solving the puzzle like I do. Take some time and figure out the answer. Maybe you’ll be known as “Encyclopedia” too.

A Quote Worth Quoting

“Mr. and Mrs. Brown had one child. They called him Leroy, and so did his teachers. Everyone else in Idaville called him Encyclopedia.” Donald J. Sobol Encyclopedia Brown Boy Detective