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

Tara ’s comments from the Reading the Detectives group.

Sandy wrote: "Tara wrote: "I enjoyed the shifting narrator--Sir Eustace certainly played the dolt very well. I wonder how Major Belcher felt about the character that was based on him, and if he recognized all of..."

Traveling together can tear apart the best of relationships--I suspect this would have been even more of the case when such trips would have taken longer and been more inconvenient than today's options. And with your husband's boss no less!

Michael comes across as bitter and angry at the world, but I don't think I necessarily saw him as being evil in my first reading. I probably should have figured out the back-stabbing lover angle, especially considering Christie has used this before, but somehow she manages to make it seem fresh every time.
I do appreciate that this is one instance of a depiction of an American that does not come across as cartoonish. Ellie is sweet and loving, and does not seem spoiled by her money. It does seem that her family's desire to protect her at all costs ultimately led to her choosing poorly, as she had had no opportunity to make her own choices, and learn from her mistakes, as we all do when we navigate the dating world.

I am also reading Carr, but in this case The Plague Court Murders: A Sir Henry Merrivale Mystery, which is the first in his Merrivale detective series. It is both a haunted house and locked room mystery--what more could you want for a Halloween read?

This is one of my favorite Christies--the plot twist at the end completely threw me for a loop, and the creepy atmosphere was so well developed. In my opinion this totally disproves that she only wrote good novels in her early career.

What a fantastic challenge! And a lot of variety of authors that people can dip in and out depending on their level of interest.

The juxtaposition of the 2 romances is an interesting spin, and is territory that Peters has not quite explored yet. While I agree that there is a formulaic nature to the books, there are also only so many motives for murder, with the top contenders being money and love, and in a society so rigidly structured, people are bound into their place practically from birth. It is interesting to think what life would be like with even the rich having so little in comparison to a modern person.

I agree with others that the start was slow, but really picked up the pace in the latter half. The killer doesn't feel like the real villain to me. Her greedy, grasping father is a much more unsympathetic character, and you almost wish that he ended up with the loss of his fortune to teach him a lesson. The book manages to explore social commentary without feeling preachy, and despite the many hardships and deprivations, makes it feel idyllic.

I agree her books can be uneven (but that can be said of so many other authors, including Christie), and her methods of murder outlandish, but they are still highly enjoyable. I rated A Man Lay Dead highly, and I always think it is best to start with the first book in a series. If people don't like it, they can try one or two others to see if the author is to their taste or not.

Susan wrote: "We're never short of great choices, Tara. Spoilt for choice would be more like it!"

Indeed! I have discovered a lot of great authors through this group, even if my TBR is beyond management at this point. Part of that is my own fault though, as I have a tendency to want to read series in their entirety from start to finish.

Thom wrote: "Tara wrote: "Sandy wrote: "This morning I read Rizzio, an historical novella about Queen Mary of Scotland and the murder of her secretary. It was a rather rushed read as the book wa..."

Perhaps at the end of the day Elizabeth figured Mary was better as a martyr than a pretender to the throne. It does seem as though she had reservations about killing a fellow female monarch for the precedent it would set, but obviously not enough to stop her from going through with it. But ultimately Mary won out, as it was her son that succeeded the childless Elizabeth.

Jill wrote: "Tara wrote: "Doing a back to back reading of American Mystery Classic releases: Ride the Pink Horse by Dorothy B. Hughes, to ..."

The introduction describes the book as claustrophobic, and that feels like exactly the right word for it.

Colin wrote: "Tara wrote: "In terms of Rawson, how can you go wrong with a magician detective that moonlights as a consultant for the NYPD? I'm hoping that it is as entertainingly bonkers as the premise suggests..."

Even if the particular book is not my jam, I have to say that all of the books I've read in the AMC collection have been excellent books, and you can see why they were hand picked to be reprinted. Its been a lot of fun exploring authors I might never have otherwise discovered.

Thom wrote: "Colin wrote: "I don't think Vance is really any more "insufferable" than any of the other great detectives of the time - Wimsey, Alleyn, Poirot etc - and I find it's hard to rail against any author..."

It took me several months to finish Benson, primarily due to how annoying I found Vance to be (I do not mind EQ so much in the early titles that are stylized in the same fashion). I will say however that I keep thinking back to the book, perhaps as a result of the descriptions of New York at that time, which came alive for me. I have an omnibus version with several other titles, so I will have to give another one a try.

There were a lot of great choices this time around, several of which I own, which is always a motivation to vote for it, if only to finally get around to reading it! I'm hoping Charlie Chan wins at some point, it rather intrigues me, and then I can watch some of the films.

Sandy wrote: "This morning I read Rizzio, an historical novella about Queen Mary of Scotland and the murder of her secretary. It was a rather rushed read as the book was due, other requests had a..."

Her story is rather tragic. She might have been better served if she had followed cousin Elizabeth's lead and never married. But ultimately, the threat of Catholic vs. Protestant during that time period was too dangerous to allow figures that rebellions could rally around to live.

Doing a back to back reading of American Mystery Classic releases: Ride the Pink Horse by Dorothy B. Hughes, to be followed by Death from a Top Hat by Clayton Rawson. Hughes' book is a bit noir for what I normally like, but its well crafted and transporting. In terms of Rawson, how can you go wrong with a magician detective that moonlights as a consultant for the NYPD? I'm hoping that it is as entertainingly bonkers as the premise suggests.

Thom wrote: "Lady Clementina wrote: "Victoria wrote: "I've just finished the Benson Murder Case by S. S. Van Dine. I picked up a set of 12 cheaply on kindle, to see what they're like. Interesting, but I don't t..."

I tried the first one in the series, and just could not connect with the affected way he spoke. Does it get better in later novels?

Susan in NC wrote: "Tara wrote: "As Edith, I would have worried that Josephine would have manipulated her way out the mental hospital, most likely when she turned 18, only to go around killing anyone in her path. Peop..."

People probably would have thought they were guilty regardless, because they were the most obvious suspects. But interesting that Christie chose that route when so often the motivation for solving a crime is to avoid undue suspicions.

As Edith, I would have worried that Josephine would have manipulated her way out the mental hospital, most likely when she turned 18, only to go around killing anyone in her path. People who show psychopathic tendencies as children (usually setting fires and killing animals), only get worse with age. I don't think her story had a happy ending regardless. And I suspect that Edith didn't think she was sacrificing since she only had a few months to live. Hopefully taking the rap means the charges would have been dropped against Brenda and Lawrence, which was how I read the story.

Judy wrote: "What does anyone think of the relationship between Charles and Sophia - do you feel there is much warmth between them? I don't think they are one of Christie's more successful romantic couples - ma..."

I get a sense of this too--or at least that Charles fell victim to her charm, and Sophia seemed jealous. But I feel as though Sophia held back a bit out of fear about the identity of the murderer and what that meant. Even once the case is resolved, she still has doubts about her worthiness, an often used theme in Christie about the tainting of genes. Luckily Charles had no such concerns.