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

Tara ’s comments from the Reading the Detectives group.

Judy wrote: "Good to see discussion of this book continuing - I think it was one of the Miss Marple books which has attracted the most interest, despite its lack of Miss Marple.

Jerry and Megan have been disc..."
Good call out Judy. I wasn't thinking about that as a spoiler, but we wouldn't want to ruin any of the story for future readers.

The impression you got was that they got married right away and moved into Little Furze, so it doesn't seem like Megan had an opportunity to be on her own. I did think that she was often overlooked or forgotten about though, which means she had to be somewhat independent for a long time.

Lady Clementina wrote: "Tara wrote: "I just finished this one, and I totally agree that Miss Marple could easily have been edited out, and it would not have impacted the storyline very much. I enjoyed the book, but I almo..."

It made more sense to me in the context of being protective of her, but one Pretty Woman makeover wouldn't exactly turn her into a different woman. I kept forgetting she was supposed to be 20 because everyone treated her like she was 12. The Owen-Joanna romance seemed more logical to me.

I just finished this one, and I totally agree that Miss Marple could easily have been edited out, and it would not have impacted the storyline very much. I enjoyed the book, but I almost forgot that she was a character until she randomly popped in.
Was Megan supposed to come across as weirdly as she did, or was she simply awkward and shy? I don't quite understand Jerry's attraction to her.

I just started Fortune's Children: The Fall of the House of Vanderbilt and even though its lengthy, it has a great flow and an interesting storyline. It almost reads like fiction, which is the best kind of history! I haven't read much about the Gilded Age, so this should be a treat across the board.

I do, and I mostly use it for audiobooks, but I prefer physical books, and my library never seems to have what I want when I want it. Plus I can resell the books when I'm done with them, if I don't decide to keep!

I've never read any of Marsh's books, so I'm looking forward to this challenge. I got a lot of paperbacks from ebay for a good price, since my local library will be under construction until 2019, so no borrowing for me for a while.

I thought the ending to this one was particularly dramatic, with the chase and drowning. Kind of similar to the car crash we saw at the end of Bertram's, plus the element of self sacrifice in both. I do think its an important perspective to show that even if people commit criminal acts, it doesn't mean they are wholly bad people.

Imagine how strange the idea must have seemed at first to allow prisoners to train service dogs, but its the type of program that really works. I think in the case of delinquency in boys, that can be caused by so many factors, an off-the-cuff approach might not be the worst idea in the world.

Susan wrote: "Possibly, Tara. We also thought of the possibility that this was a 'stand alone' novel and the publishers asked for Miss Marple to make an appearance in order to make the novel more popular? It doe..."
I guess one never knows, as I do not suspect that Christie kept a diary of such things for us to refer back to. I wonder if her autobiography talked about how her stories came about. I would like to think that even if she started the story out without Miss Marple in mind, that she would have done a better job incorporating her into the narrative later on. I do think that it is the natural consequence of the story being told from another person's perspective that her presence would be less prominent, although we all seem to agree that we want more Marple!

Susan wrote: "http://www.foodsofengland.co.uk/muffi...

As brought by 'the Muffin Man,' I suspect..."

Thanks Susan. The picture at the bottom does look like the English muffins we have in the US, which are still popular. I suspect that is related to its use in the Egg McMuffin :)

I'm a bit late to the party here as I started the challenge in August and I am also trying to work in the previous month's readings. I am only about 3 chapters in, and no mention of Miss Marple yet, but thus far Jerry and Joanna are carrying the story quite well.

With regard to the earlier comments about the lack of a real presence of Miss Marple sooner in the story, I wonder if this has anything to do with the fact that Christie herself grew tired of the characters, most particularly Poirot. Perhaps her thought was to spare the readers an overdose of the characters, and to prevent their idiosyncrasies from becoming caricatures?

I'm a little unclear as to what type of muffins everyone is swooning over. Are they of the Thomas's variety with the nooks and crannies?

Sandy wrote: "Regarding finding crimes for non-professionals:
My parents loved the TV program "Murder She Wrote" but my father was amused by the bad luck of the star's relatives. A new tragedy each week.
And i..."
That is a funny thought about a slew of murders in a small town. Statistically speaking, its just impossible. But if murder mysteries were limited to only big city homicide detectives, I doubt people would enjoy the genre as much.

I think the most interesting aspect of it, both for Miss Marple (and Jessica Fletcher), is that the almost constant exposure to murder doesn't seem to greatly affect their personalities or their outlook on humanity (at least as far as being overly cynical is concerned). I have always found the trope about the scarred, dysfunctional cop who cannot stay out of trouble or keep his or her personal life in order to be quite tiresome, but you would have to think that seeing all of that death and disregard for human life to have some impact on you.

This one has been my least favorite Marple so far. The murder is so much of an afterthought, I almost feel like the story would have been better without it. It felt rushed and besides the point. I would have enjoyed a deeper dive into the criminal syndicate as a resolution to the story.

I also found it to be quite a shame that Bertram's ended up being nothing but a front. It was a neat thought that you could have a place to go that transports you not only in place, but also in time, and done in such a classy, lovely way.

You would think, reading this back to back with A Caribbean Mystery, that Miss Marple would be hesitant to go on vacation, as everywhere she goes, murder seems to follow her. I get that when you have a non-professional detective you have to keep inventing ways for them to get involved in investigations, but at what point does it really become beyond belief?

I am about halfway through The Treason of Isengard: The History of The Lord of the Rings, Part Two, which is an in-depth look into the development of the LoTR manuscript, and the numerous plot redirections and character changes that occurred throughout the writing. For a Tolkien nerd like me, it is so interesting to see how the story came to life, and to learn that it was not nearly as organic and straightforward as one might imagine.

I think one of the nicest elements is the personalized service. So many interactions these days are either anonymous or impersonal. It would certainly make one feel special. I've made seed cake before, and it's almost like an aromatic pound cake. Quite delicious with tea or coffee. it must have been one of those nostolgic items that you don't see anymore.

I will be starting Lincoln Dreamt He Died: The Midnight Visions of Remarkable Americans from Colonial Times to Freud as part of a book club I do with one of my friends. We like picking wide and varied topics, so I am hoping that this one is good. I have always been fascinated by dreams and their meanings (not in the obvious ways, but in deep psychological ones), so I am hoping this delves into that.

Judy wrote: "I love the description of Miss Marple enjoying her hotel breakfast in this - that scene really stuck in my mind. Full of enthusiasm at any age."

I was also taken with this passage. It makes you think about relishing the small pleasures in life that we so easily take for granted. I also cannot recall feeling like a queen the last time I rode in a taxi, but I will have to try that next time!

Abbey wrote: "Tara wrote: "I just started Red: A History of the Redhead which is proving to be interesting so far."

oh, I'd *love* to hear about this!

My own hair being "almost tarnished coppe..."

Abbey--I'm about half way through this book now (I have a tendency to read 3-4 books at a time, so it slows my reading down quite a bit), but I feel like I've read enough to give you a recommendation. It is a very interesting topic, and the book is well written and easy to read. The author references numerous classic paintings as the lynchpin of various redheaded archetypes throughout history, which provides a vivid visual aspect to the telling. I would recommend either reading a physical book, or if you have the kindle version, make sure you are viewing on a Kindle Fire, as you will want the photos in all of their colorful glory. Not being a redhead myself, I cannot comment on the accuracy of the experience of being one, so I am curious to hear your take from that perspective!