Tara ’s Comments (group member since Jul 12, 2017)

Tara ’s comments from the Reading the Detectives group.

Judy wrote: "I've just noticed that a film of a book we read here a while back, Trent's Last Case by E.C. Bentley, is showing on the Talking Pictures TV channel in the UK at 8.15a..."

A friend bought me the DVD set of Rivals of Sherlock, which I haven't watched in a bit, but recall liking. I should check it out again.

My first read of the year was The Red Right Hand by Joel Townsley Rogers. A super unique narrative, with no chapters, and a plot line that jumps all over the place. It is suggested that you read in one sitting, which I managed to do this afternoon. So engrossing and original, but yet somehow still a GA fair play mystery. Highly recommended.

Judy wrote: "Yes, you must have a good memory, Tara - I sometimes forget the plots of these books in the middle without even leaving a gap in my reading! ;)"

Some of the character names/roles escaped me or got muddled together, but I was able to keep the general plot going. In the new year I really need to get better at finishing books before I start new ones. A total failing of mine.

The one element I enjoyed about this book was the killer--I don't know that I can think of any other plots where the defendant's lawyer is the guilty one. How sad that he committed murder, and ultimately suicide, for a woman who was destined to die young anyway. Mrs. Draycott is portrayed as a rather odious woman, but that still does not excuse killing her, nor putting Leslie, as well as his friends and family, through the ordeal of a trial (not to mention the time he spent in jail awaiting a court date.)

Good lord, I started this book in April and just finished it yesterday. This one just couldn't keep my attention. I felt like it started off well, sagged quite a bit in the middle, and then had a lot happen right at the end. I've enjoyed her other books with Dr. Constantine as the protagonist, so this will not scare me off from reading others in the series.

Roman Clodia wrote: "Susan in NC wrote: "I kept drifting off..."

That's the other great thing about audiobooks: I used to struggle to get to sleep at night but now I listen to an audio of a book I know well - Agatha C..."

I have the same issue falling asleep RC, and audiobooks work like magic! I am typically out in about 5 minutes. My favorite is anything narrated by Hugh Fraser.

Tania wrote: "I loved Letters from Father Christmas, what a wonderful thing to do for your children, and fabolous illustrations too."

I was just looking through the letters last night and opining how magical it must have been for his children to feel like they had a special connection with Father Christmas. I remember how awe inspiring it felt just to wake up in the morning to see that Santa had eaten the cookies we left out for him, and seeing all of the presents under the tree that weren't there the night before.

Merry Christmas to everyone! I have thoroughly enjoyed reading these Poirot books with the group, many of which were new to me. Like Jessica, I found much comfort and joy in between these pages, and they have proved a solace in an otherwise challenging and stressful year. Here is hoping 2021 is a better year for all, with plenty more Christies to discover!

Continuing on with the series, I'm currently enjoying The Mummy Case by Elizabeth Peters. I'm not sure how believable their son is, but I still find the books to be guilty pleasures. The audiobook narrator is particularly good.

Merry Christmas everyone! I can't wait to hear what everyone's literary gifts will be!

Susan in NC wrote: "Tara wrote: "I've been meaning to start this series for awhile, and finally have gotten around to the first one, Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear. It reminds me very ..."

To be fair, there are quite a lot of them! Having read a few, you think they need to be read in order, or can one skip a round a bit?

I've been meaning to start this series for awhile, and finally have gotten around to the first one, Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear. It reminds me very much of the Lady Hardcastle series, which I enjoyed initially, but eventually abandoned because all of the stories seemed too similar. We have yet another plucky servant turned amateur detective, well ahead of her time. Its hard for it not to feel very modern in this way, which takes away from the GA feel it is meant to invoke.

Jessica wrote: "Oh wow, I never really considered that Poirot might be cooking up a story just to make a love-match again! And I also don't really think he did, it would have been an awful lot of trouble to think ..."

There are also a lot of musings about Hastings, and how much he misses having him around. I wonder if some of that is regret on Christie's part for banishing him so quickly? Thats one of the things I like so much about the Suchet shows--they managed to weave him rather deftly into stories he wasn't originally part of. I think as Christie's skill as a writer grew, she would have found a way to incorporate him more in a way that wasn't as much of a direct parallel to Holmes/Watson as the first stories were.

Jessica wrote: "Hm that's very nicely put Susan! A meditation on memory .

I am glad I didn't let all the side characters confuse me, I didn't pay much attention to which particular elephant Ariadne was talking t..."

The vagueness works better for readers (like me) who don't actively try to solve the mystery, but if you are trying to narrow down on specific clues, it can be difficult. I think the main thing that somewhat ruined this book for me was all of the mention of elephants! I feel as though Christie can get caught up on her themes (just think of all of her nursery rhyme books), but can take it too far.

Judy wrote: "Tara wrote: "The final chapter was just ridiculous, and felt very incongruous with the rest of the book. I don't know why she feels the need to always have these hugely climatic showdowns with the ..."

Definitely more of a thriller trope than what you would think of as a typical murder mystery. I think she has at least 3 books I can think of where there is a hostage situation. Not likely!

This was yet another book where I couldn't keep the characters straight and they all felt the same. Perhaps it comes down to my inattention at key points.

Reading the series a bit out of order, I am just getting to this one now. I probably would have felt that it was long if I had read these in order, but after suffering through 700 page paperweights, this practically felt breezy! James is certainly thorough in her depth of characterization, but often times it feels like its more about showing off her literary skill than actually adding anything to the story. I end up not remembering half of the characters (or their names) or why they are there in the first place.
The final chapter was just ridiculous, and felt very incongruous with the rest of the book. I don't know why she feels the need to always have these hugely climatic showdowns with the killer. Perhaps she was envisioning TV adaptations, which often add this element to make it more entertaining? But of course real police work is largely much more mundane.

I've been quite harsh in my overall opinion of James's books, but one aspect I do like is her frequent use of food as a vehicle for so many things. There are a few good examples from this book, such as (view spoiler)[Kate's trip to the grocery store towards the end, and how such a mundane activity was full of landmines given her grandmother's particular tastes. Also, Miss Grace, the romance novelist, going on and on about having that extra bottle of milk, originally acquired to make cauliflower mash for dinner, but which was repurposed for much needed hot cocoa and scrambled eggs for Paul Berowne. (hide spoiler)] Food is such an integral aspect of our lives, I enjoy books that are able to integrate them into their stories and characters without it being too obvious in its execution.

Not my favorite book in the series for sure. In fact, its taken me months to read this, although that somewhat could be due to the fact the only copy I could get from my library was an ebook, and I hardly ever read those. I finally broke down and got it on Audible just to get it finished.
The one aspect I did enjoy was whenever the narrative switched over to our killer, Swayne. His perspective on his cleverness and his ability to fool the police certainly did not match reality. I thought for sure that both Darren and Miss Wharton were goners once he set his sights on them (and it is such a predictable trope that as soon as a witness remembers something important, they are murdered before they can tell the police.) I'm glad that it did not go that way, but it made no sense whatsoever that he would kill (or at least attempt to kill) the priest. If anything, the two people who stubbled onto the crime scene were much bigger threats to him. Perhaps it was just a case of the vicar being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The hostage scene was perhaps the weakest element of the book for me. If Swayne knew the police had his button, and surely would have been looking for him, why the heck would he agree to allow Kate to make a nice dinner rather than just eating once he got to his final destination? Waiting out in the apartment of a police officer seems particularly dumb (but maybe it is supposed to?) Speaking of the button, it feels like rather weak evidence, especially as a motive to kill additional people. He could just as easily claim the killer pulled it off his jacket and planted it at the scene. A skilled criminal defense attorney could deal with that kind of evidence.

I read The Mistletoe Murder And Other Stories last year, but I wouldn't recommend. For anyone who has enjoyed the Lady Hardcastle series Christmas at The Grange was silly but fun. I doubt I will have time, I want to read The Egyptian Cross Mystery: An Ellery Queen Mystery which I recently got as part of the American Mystery Classic series.