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

Tara ’s comments from the Reading the Detectives group.

Judy wrote: "Louise, I'm reposting your post with spoiler tags just to be on the safe side, as it mentioned a plot twist in The ABC Murders.

Louise wrote:

Tara wrote: "I found myself comparing this to Christ..."

In terms of The ABC Murders: (view spoiler)[Technically a serial killer is someone who murders multiple people across distinct events (as opposed to a spree killer that does it all at once). So even thought The ABC murderer is not a "psychotic" killer, he is a serial one. It also doesn't quite matter his motive in that he still killed innocent people that fit the pattern he was trying to create, and it would be just as terrifying to the public at large. (hide spoiler)]

Indeneri wrote: "Sandy wrote: "Indeneri wrote: "Huge spoiler below:

[spoilers removed]she decided to help him?

Is this sound motivation? I don't know.

As for Simple Simon, [spoilers removed]Non of the characte..."

I wonder if Poirot's sympathies relate to his religious side, where his concern is centered around the lost soul of the killer versus the "innocent" victims.

I found myself comparing this to Christie's The ABC Murders, as they both involve serial killers with no discernible motives. There is definitely an added air of suspense and fear when the selection of victims is somewhat random (although logical in the mind of the killer). I think its more the invention of novelists and script writers to create killers with specific time periods for their killing sprees, but Marsh certainly isn't the only one to use that trope.

Sue wrote: "Rosina wrote: "Has anyone else read anything of the Mamur Zapt books, which start with The Mamur Zapt and the Return of the Carpet? Not quite the same time, but I did enjoy them, and..."

I just picked up the first Peabody book in paperback at a used book store, and I look forward to getting to it soon! Originally I tried to get the audiobook version from my library, but its about a 2-month wait.

Jessica wrote: "No you're right Rosina, this book doesn't actively transport you to Egypt. The impressive sights are mentioned but not really used, the boat could have been anywhere. Yet it is possible to actively..."

Angela Lansbury plays the role a bit over the top, but I suppose she's written that way, and you can easily see how her daughter would have found her to be an embarrassment.

The Miss Silver Mysteries Volume Three: The Clock Strikes Twelve, The Key, and She Came Back U.S. for $2.99

Susan in NC wrote: "Sandy wrote: "Poirot may have sympathized more with Jackie because he knew her first from the restaurant and saw she 'loved too much'. Jackie seems unrealistic to me; she changed too much from good..."

And to your point about psychology, is "loving too much" even an appropriate term for her? It borders more on obsession, which makes her behavior in the middle section perhaps truer to form than just an act.

This book is very successful at setting a splendid scene on the Nile. You can tell that Christie spent a lot of time in those places, and as a reader you are instantly transported. Very similar to Murder on the Orient Express, it presents a romantic view of these types of voyages (although we would all prefer without the murder bits).

I watched both the Suchet and the Ustinov adaptations, and I enjoyed the Ustinov one much more. Both took liberties with excising/consolidating characters, which does not bother me much as it was a crowded field to begin with. The Suchet movie was much too dark, and their Poirot far too joyless to make it enjoyable for me.

FR wrote: "Yes I always felt bad for Linnet too. It’s been a while since I read it but she didn’t come across so badly. Certainly didn’t deserve to be killed.
Poirot has a soft spot sometimes. I just read an..."

Poirot definitely has a soft spot for lovers. I don't quite understand though why he would have felt that Jackie was more sympathetic than Linnet. If anything, the fact that Linnet felt guilt about taking her friend's fiance (otherwise she wouldn't have cared that she was following them around), while Jackie had no remorse about setting her up and killing her, speaks more highly of the former than the latter. It's almost as if he viewed it as though one had a choice and made a bad one, and the other had no choice at all. I don't quite agree with that reading of the circumstances.

I am not sure if these would technically qualify as mysteries, but I am reading the short-story anthology 100 Fiendish Little Frightmares . Each story is about 7-8 pages, so its easy to fit in one or two a night in between the other books I am reading. Its a bit of a mixed bag; some great classics such as AC Doyle's The Case of Lady Sannox, and also some clunkers. But fun to read regardless.

I also picked back up A is for Arsenic: The Poisons of Agatha Christie , which I had started months ago, and then stopped reading for a bit. Its very interesting, although highly technical in parts. I would recommend for anyone who has an interest in the science and biology of poisons.

Sebastien wrote: "Hello,

I am Sebastien. I read a lot especially SF and Fantasy but i do enjoy a good detective once in a while. I am big fan of Agatha Christie and was hoping to find similar authors by joining thi..."

Welcome Seb! We've also got some sci-fi/fantasy readers in the group who enjoy our GA detective stories. I am a fan of Tolkien especially, and Asimov and Bradbury.

I felt badly for Linnet, despite her being a bit of a snob. I imagine she went through her entire life not knowing if people befriended her because she was rich, beautiful, or both. I doubt she had many close connections with anyone. You can see why she would have been attracted to a simple, uncomplicated man like Simon Doyle. Certainly not her only motive, as I think she had a tendency of wanting whatever others had, but you can see that side of the coin as well.

I also did not understand why Poirot was so sympathetic to Jackie. One can't explain away a person's ability to murder 3 people without remorse simply for Love.

Sandy wrote: "Tara wrote: "Sandy wrote: "I'm reading A Rare Benedictine: The Advent of Brother Cadfael preparing for A Morbid Taste for Bones. Both are rereads, but there was quite ..."

Interesting, I didn't know she wrote Cadfael short stories. I find in general you don't necessarily have to read the books in order, although its helpful to keep monastical and familial story lines intact.

I just started Parker Pyne Investigates on audiobook, with the delightful narrator Hugh Fraser (aka Captain Hastings). His impersonation of Ariadne Oliver is especially funny. These stories aren't really mysteries per se, but work well as shorts, as they involve people who answer an ad from Parker Pyne about being unhappy in life.

Sandy wrote: "I'm reading A Rare Benedictine: The Advent of Brother Cadfael preparing for A Morbid Taste for Bones. Both are rereads, but there was quite a gap between them so refre..."

I've never read A Rare Benedictine. Is that a prequel that was published later on?

Sandy wrote: "Sue wrote: "I've been listening to a podcast called "All About Agatha" recently. (I may well have found out about it from a thread in this group!) They read and rate each book and then discuss any ..."

I have been enjoying this podcast as well. I haven't been listening in the order of the podcasts they record, but rather in the order I read the books. Sometimes they do reference details about a book they previously discussed that I haven't read yet, but so far nothing that has had too many spoilers. I am certainly trying to be a more active reader now to pick up on character development and clues rather than just enjoyment of the read.

Jan C wrote: "Tara wrote: "Jan C wrote: "I started Incendiary: The Psychiatrist, the Mad Bomber and the Invention of Criminal Profiling this afternoon. Apparently a job-related rage in New York i..."

It's an interesting story, and one I had not heard of before I read the book. Its amazing how they were able to identify and track someone in pre-internet days with such little evidence.

Jan C wrote: "I started Incendiary: The Psychiatrist, the Mad Bomber and the Invention of Criminal Profiling this afternoon. Apparently a job-related rage in New York in the '50s."

I read a different book a few years ago on the same criminal that was also very good: The Mad Bomber of New York: The Extraordinary True Story of the Manhunt That Paralyzed a City

I am about to start What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew: From Fox Hunting to Whist—the Facts of Daily Life in 19th-Century England for another book club. I haven't read much Austen or Dickens, but hope it will be an interesting historical profile of the time period.

Jan C wrote: "Currently enjoying Knock, Murderer, Knock! by Harriet Rutland. Also re ently started The Benson Murder Case by S.S. Van Dine."

How do you like The Benson Murder Case? I have a Van Dine omnibus I picked up at an auction, but haven't read any of them yet.