March 26, 2007
" Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories" by Agatha Christie
“ Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories” sounds like a total old lady book. This is because:
a) it’s about an old lady
b) it’s by Agatha Christie, the #1 old lady author
That being said, it’s really an enjoyable book. The mysteries are tame, but one has to appreciate Christie’s attention to criminal detail and her love of imagining settings for the greedy impulses of humankind.
This is not a book I recommend sitting and reading story after story, because each story in the book follows a pretty noticeable pattern. Someone in the group tells a story of a mysterious death (accompanied by varying numbers of questionable wills, adopted nieces and wealthy old people) and then everyone hazards a guess about the true perpetrator of the crime. Miss Marple, of course, always totally nails the right answer, but does so through various charming observations of human nature from her own sleepy little village.
Still, these are great little mysteries, even if Agatha Christie tends to lean a little heavily on poison as a plot device. Each story is no more than 4-5 pages and provides a pleasant interruption to say, an evening of studying, without being too wholly distracting. Miss Marple is a classic character in mystery circles, and this collection is a good way to appreciate her in small doses.
ISBN: 0396087477
Sara, reference assistant
Posted by jnardine at 09:17 AM | Comments (0)
March 19, 2007
"Death and Judgment" by Donna Leon
Death and Judgment is the fourth book in Donna Leon’s mystery series which started with Death at La Fenice. Commissario Guido Brunetti is a police detective in modern day Venice. This case is actually a combination of several individual murders and accidental deaths that in the end are all linked together by the common tie of illegal trafficking in women and snuff films. It is a good mystery series, your standard “police procedural” made different by the setting – Guido gets to crime scenes by boat or train, and the corruption and ineptitude of police officials, politicians, judges, etc., is subtly omnipresent. Guido’s family life usually plays a role in the stories. His wife, the daughter of a rich and powerful count, is a college literature professor and his best sounding board. They have two teenagers. Raffi, their son is not involved in this story, but fourteen year old Chiara knows the daughter of one of the victims and involves herself in her father’s investigation to a frightening degree. If you are looking for a well written mystery series that is set outside of the typical London or US city location, give the Guido Brunetti series a try.
ISBN: 0-14-303582-7
Pam, reserves
Posted by jnardine at 09:15 AM | Comments (0)
March 12, 2007
"Murder on a Hot Tin Roof" by Amanda Matestsky
Take a trip back to the 1950s when men were men and women were second class citizens (or maybe I should make that men were insufferable and women were insignificant). Actually, Amanda Matestsky has penned a fun mystery series set in the mid-1950s “starring” Paige Turner, a Korean War widow who works at Daring Detective magazine. She is the best writer on staff, but as the only woman is mostly relegated to secretarial and servant duties (filing, coffee making, etc.). But she also always ends up in the middle of a major homicide, writes up the inside story for her magazine, then gets those stories picked up as dime store true crime novels. Paige lives in NYC, has a quirky artist best friend (who has a bad beat poet boyfriend – his poetry is bad, the guy’s ok), and the obligatory homicide detective boyfriend (if she lived in a small town, he would have been police chief/sheriff). The stories are fun and filled with 1950s pop culture. In the fourth and most recent entry in the series, Paige is investigating the death of Ben Gazzara’s understudy in the new hit Broadway play, “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.” We visit the Actor’s Studio, where our murder victim was studying under Lee Strasberg, interrogate people who knew the actor at gay hangouts in the Village, and swelter in the July heat at a time when air conditioning was not ubiquitous. If this series is new to you, start with the first book, Murders Prefer Blondes.
ISBN: 0-425-21293-9
Pam, reserves
Posted by jnardine at 09:46 AM | Comments (0)
November 06, 2006
"Bangkok 8" by John Burdett
Some concepts are universal. For instance, when a policeman’s partner is killed, he must be avenged, whether it is in New York City or Thailand. As the title suggests, this time it happens in Thailand. The location complicates things a bit.
First complication: the murder, well, wasn’t murder. The officer was killed by a poisonous snake. The snake was inside a locked car, where it had, presumably, been instrumental in killing the dead man inside; that it killed the cop who opened the car to investigate is incidental.
Second complication: the dead cop’s partner is a Buddhist, which means he is as conflicted as Hamlet by the thought of seeking revenge.
Third complication: the intended victim is a U.S. Marine—so the U.S. government gets involved. That always causes problems. In this case, one of these problems is an attractive FBI agent to further distract our Buddhist cop.
Burdett mixes these ingredients with a healthy dose of local Thai flavor—weather, corruption, gridlock, jade, drugs, prostitution, and bureaucracy—to stir up a spicy little thriller.
ISBN: 1400032903
Everett, reference
Posted by jnardine at 02:31 PM | Comments (0)
October 09, 2006
"The Colorado Kid" by Stephen King
Hard Case Crime is a new publisher working in an old field: their books are designed to revive the dark detective stories of 1940s pulp fiction, like Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler. So far—and The Colorado Kid is only the thirteenth title—they have done this well. The books are cheap, with flashy cover art, and include new novels from original masters, a choice republication or two, and work from new artists in the old style.
Stephen King doesn’t fit any of these categories, but the world’s best selling fiction writer is no stranger to the mass market format—or to murder. What makes his contribution special, however, is that The Colorado Kid is a brand-new piece, first published here in a niche paperback: King usually gets the royal hardcover treatment for new books. Otherwise, this is pretty much what you expect from him: a compelling story told very well. It is a frame story, told to an intern at a small-town newspaper on a slow summer afternoon, and describes events long past but as yet unexplained. This detachment keeps it from being scary, but still manages to provide plenty of suspense: it’s a mystery, not horror, and it is a quick, fun read.
ISBN: 0843955848
Everett, reference
Posted by jnardine at 09:45 AM | Comments (0)
September 08, 2006
"Definitely Dead" by Charlain Harris
Harris' 6th book in this series featuring Sookie Stackhouse, barmaid extraordinaire, is just as satisfying as its predecessors. If you've never read any of this series, I would highly recommend starting at the beginning with "Dead Until Dark." You can read this book as a stand-alone and still find it a good read, but the story is much richer and more amusing if you have all of the background from the previous books.
In this "episode" Sookie, a telepath, gets involved in a plot to throw over the vampire queen of Louisiana, starts dating the were-tiger Quinn, and manages to navigate kidnap plots, murder attempts and fancy dress balls with her usual mixture of down-home common sense, humor and style.
This series is a great read. It's definitely not your usual vampire novel; more a mix of mystery, romance and comedy that keeps you turning the pages. It's a great change of pace from academic or business reading - just plain fun.
ISBN: 0441014003
Jennifer, reference
Posted by jnardine at 01:15 PM | Comments (0)