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

Tara ’s comments from the Reading the Detectives group.

Leaning into my love of books about books, I recently finished Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops and am now mid-way through Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader. So far I am enjoying the latter better, which is a series of articles written over a number of years, all on book related topics. I love that the author has an "odd" shelf, that doesn't quite fit into her general organizational scheme. I too have polar exploration on my odds shelf.

Sandy wrote: "Tara wrote: "After a few months away from Amelia, I am back for the next installment in the Peabody/Emerson adventure tales, The Snake, the Crocodile and the Dog. The audiobook versio..."

I like Susan O'Malley. Barbara Rosenblat is too flat and stiff for the humor of the book to come through for me.

After a few months away from Amelia, I am back for the next installment in the Peabody/Emerson adventure tales, The Snake, the Crocodile and the Dog. The audiobook version my library has is a different narrator from the previous books, and I do not enjoy her performance as much, but I am powering through.

Colin wrote: "I'm in the mood for some short stories so I've decided to have a look at Foreign Bodies , one of the British Library line and with the added curiosity value of be..."

I started this anthology last year, but like so many short story collections, I put it aside and haven't picked it back up in a while. Looking forward to your thoughts on it Colin.

Jackie wrote: "I enjoyed a lot of Sue Grafton's Kinsey novels all the way through ..S? T? at some point it got too dark."

The Kinsey novels are one of the few series I have completed (despite having grand goals to do this with every series I read.) Unfortunately Grafton stopped at Y, and died before she was able to write Z. But I respect that her family will not allow her books to be ghost written or adapted for TV/film. Her legacy will stand as it is.

Gary wrote: "Currently about a third of the way through The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien. I think this is my third or fourth read of this classic first part of The Lo..."

Tom Bombadil! I haven't read Tolkien in a while, and I was just thinking I need to get back into Middle-earth.

Sandy wrote: "In the US for $1, [book:The Greatest Murder Mysteries of Mary Roberts Rinehart - 25 Titles in One Edition: The Circular Staircase, The Bat, Tish Carberry Series, The Breaking ... Amazing Interlude,..."

How interesting Sandy. I snatched this right up.

I wondered too why we never learned what the blackmail was about, but I imagine that was a factor of our heroine being an outsider, and never suspecting Farraday of being the killer. The clues she followed were not related to him, and the police wouldn't have necessarily shared those details with her. I found his over anxiousness about her involvement in the case to be suspicious, but didn't guess the rest of the details. A fun read for me.

Late to the party, but I really ended up liking this book. Its a shame Miss Trumbull didn't appear in future books, I definitely would read more if she did. As with so many Golden Age mysteries, having lots of money certainly makes it easier to chase down clues. I'm certainly envious of her lifestyle, particularly purchasing rare out of print books, regardless of the price!

Lord Caterham was also my favorite in this book, but not enough of a winner to make this a 5 star read for me. Christie is so good at characterization in so many of her books, its always a disappointment when they feel cartoonish.

I read this back in March, and on my second read, found it less appealing than the first time I read it. The term I used in my review was that it was a "kitchen sink" effort--meaning she threw in all of the spy thriller tropes rather than focusing on one, which led to an unsatisfying resolution. I am not a huge fan of her thrillers as a general rule, and unfortunately this one lands at the bottom of the pile for me.

I listened to the first few chapters of the book on audio, but found it very difficult to keep track of names and who they were. I switched to my paperback, which also had a character list, which can be particularly useful when the group is so large (although it quickly dwindled). My favorite character was definitely Esa--she reminded me very much of Dowager Crawley from Downton Abbey--smart, witty, and full of sass. I think she could easily have outsmarted Yahmose if not for her frail body and fading eyes.
I didn't really understand why Renisenb was so sympathetic to Nofret. Having your heart broken is not an excuse to act like a total jerk to everyone around you, to the point of getting people disinherited and thrown out on the street to starve. Shoving children is also not acceptable. Hers was the one death I did not lament (although Ipy was also quite insufferable, and kind of had it coming).

Christie's background in numerous archaeological digs, as well as the assistance from friends in the business, clearly helped to created an authentic feeling story. I also rather enjoyed the supernatural elements in the book, which fit right in with the Egyptian obsession with death and the afterlife.

Sandy wrote: "Tara wrote: "I'm enjoying Vultures in the Sky by Todd Downing. Its been dubbed the Mexican Murder on the Orient Express, although the introduction compares it to A..."

I think most train mysteries get compared to Orient Express, so thats inevitable. There is also a child kidnapping sub-plot that plays into the Lindbergh case the same way Christie's book did. But it has a totally different feel, so you still might enjoy it.

I'm enjoying Vultures in the Sky by Todd Downing. Its been dubbed the Mexican Murder on the Orient Express, although the introduction compares it to And Then There Were None. I'm happy if either reference is accurate. The Mexican desert landscape is like its own character, which adds to the suffocating atmosphere already at play.

It was great fun! I ended up ordering a few books off of their site as well (there is a 3 for 2 sale which is still ongoing). I'm addicted to those retro travel poster covers!

The BLCC series has a ton of Christmas mystery collections. Have we read any of those in this group?

Despite the restrictions of Victorian society, they certainly have an extremely healthy sex life. More power to them, especially with such a precocious child to deal with.

I listened to this several months ago, so I don't remember too many of the details, especially as I've progressed several books further in the series. But as a whole. these are such guilty pleasures, and wouldn't be nearly as good without the Victorian element IMO. I get how the characters can be so polarizing; a good audiobook can really transform the more annoying tendencies into something humorous.

Christie's thrillers are rather hit or miss, but this is one of her stronger ones in my opinion. A very enjoyable read and a great cast of characters. It rates up there along with Why Didn't They Ask Evans?