Chasing Vermeer (2004) by Blue Baillett

 

👨🏻‍🎨 First of all, I was quite surprised by the mixed reviews this book gets on Goodreads. There are many two stars, but also four stars. I always liked books where people either love or hate. This book has average stars of 3.72, not that bad. So, why not? Thought I. In the end, I'm glad I have decided to read it. It was an entertaining story about art theft (Vermeer's A Lady Writing painting) and coincidences, full of puzzles and codes, and some suspenseful actions; not mentioning the history of art (particularly Vermeer), that this story induces to middle grader. What not to enjoy?

A Lady Writing by Johannes Vermeer

👨🏻‍🎨 Calder and Petra, who live in London, are ordinary high school students, but with intelligent and extraordinary passions. Calder is obsessed with pentominoes that he always keeps in his pockets. Pentomino is a polygon in the plane made of 5 equal-sized squares connected edge to edge [wikipedia]. Whenever he is unsure about something, he would pull one block from his pocket, and the letter it represents would be his "guidance" to what he should do next. He and his friend Tommy even created a code using all letters from pentominoes. Petra, on the other hand, is an imaginative girl, who, at present, is obsessed with a book titled Lo, written by Charles Fort, who believes that life is not a series of coincidences but is an interconnecting web of patterns.

The Pentominoes

👨🏻‍🎨 Their class assignment required Calder and Petra to write their interpretation of art - what-makes-an-object-art kind of thing. Calder found out that the painting on the curio box he owns, was none other than Johannes Vermeer's The Geographer. He found that out when delivering books order of to a Mrs. Sharpe's house, and saw the painting. Curiously, Mrs. Sharpe is the previous owner of the book Lo, which Petra has taken from a giveaway box outside a bookstore. Stranger still, an unknown woman in lemon yellow jacket with ribbons on her hair, has appeared in her dream, asked to be rescued. Who is she?

The Geographer by Johannes Vermeer

👨🏻‍🎨 Meanwhile, more strange things are happening. Three persons in London have received a mysterious anonymous letters asking for their helps to solve an art mystery. On the other hand, a valuable painting of Vermeer, A Lady Writing, has been stolen when in transit between the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, and The Art Institute of Chicago, where it would be exhibited. An equally strange advertisement has been published in newspapers, apparently from the thieve, claiming that he/she had stolen it for a good cause: to raise awareness that someone else painted some of what we believe are Vermeer's works. From so many coincidences - or are they 'interconnecting patterns' in Charles Fort's theory? - Calder and Petra believe it is they who must solve the mystery, and find the stolen painting. Can they do that, while FBI has failed?

👨🏻‍🎨 Needless to say, this was an exciting read for me. I always love books with art theme, especially paintings. And Vermeer is one of painters I always admire (Girl with A Pearl Earring is my favorite by Vermeer). Apart from the far-fetched dream of Petra (the Lady asked for help and guided Petra to her location), this is an educational and entertaining read for middle grader. Just as common people who don't have interest in art before, become art connoisseur, thanks to the thief's challenge, so do middle graders who read this would have been interested more in Vermeer and his works. Such a good idea from the writer! I also love the coincidence, or strange phenomenon topic in Charles Fort's book Lo, which does really exist. Is coincident real? I believe so, co-incident means more than one incidents that occur at the same time, concerning one particular object, right? So, if two people with some interest gather forces in one project, they would be focusing in the same field, and so, there's bound to be many such co-incidents happening all around them. Charles Fort's Lo also taught us to be more open minded to strange occurrences - that we cannot fathom what's happening, doesn't mean that it doesn't exist.

What an entertaining, educational, and inspirational this book proved to be!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

My Year in Nonfiction #NonficNov25 Week 1

The yearly Nonfiction November is one of annual bookish events I'm looking forward to this year. It's currently hosted (or co-hosted) by these five wonderful women: Heather, Frances, Liz, Rebekah, and Deb. They would alternately host each week from 27 October to 30 November 2025.

To kick Nonfiction November 2025 off, here's the first week prompt (hosted by Heather):

My Year in Nonfiction

I'm not an avid nonfiction reader; fiction always has more appeal to me, as it enables me to be immersed into another universe. So for me, #NonficNov25 is a good opportunity to explore more of non fiction.

What books have you read?

I haven't read many nonfiction this year, because I keep most of it for #NonficNov25 😁. The two books I have managed to read were all for #ParisInJuly2025:

A Year in Provence

by Peter Mayle

Peter Mayle is perhaps the pioneer of the sub genre of foreigner-falls-in-love-and-moves-to France. There are so many similar kind of memoirs out there nowadays. A Year in Provence is the first of a series. It's quite entertaining; I rather liked Mayle's dry humor. But one thing's for sure, I won't read any of this genre again for the time being; one or two is enough, they are all almost the same in gist.

Garlic, Mint, and Sweet Basil

by Jean-Claude Izzo

It's an essay on Jean-Claude Izzo's (a native Marseilles poet and noir novel writer) love for Marseilles: its sea, its cuisine, its people and culture; and the subject that made him famous: Mediterranean Noir. It's probably the most charming nonfiction I've read lately.

What was your favorite?

I must say Garlic, Mint, and Sweet Basil. Izzo wrote it so passionately, that it's impossible not to fall in love a little with Marseilles!

Have you had a favorite topic?

Isn't it obvious that everything about France, I would devour with gusto? 😃

Is there a topic you want to read about more?

Birds and Nature are two subjects which I am interested right now, besides traveling. But the latter is probably limited to countries or regions that I really want to explore.

What are you hoping to get out of participating in Nonfiction November?

To induce myself to the love of nonfiction, of course. Also to find more interesting nonfiction from other participants, to wider my choices.

@@@@@

Would you participate in #NonFicNov25 too?

Up the Down Staircase (1965) by Bel Kaufman

👩🏼‍🏫 Sylvia Barrett is an English teacher with idealistic hope of inducing her pupils to the love of writing, and of Chaucer. However, teaching at a minority high school like Calvin Coolidge High, opens her eyes that nurturing and shaping young minds is not a simple task. This book is a parody of American public school system, particularly in the 1960s when this book was published (I have no idea how relevant it is today). 👩🏼‍🏫 The book is structured as a compilation of memos and circulars from the office or the authority, inter-classrooms notes between teachers, fragment of discarded notes dropped in the trashcan, essays to be graded, Sylvia's letters to her best friend out of school, and one of my favorites: notes from the students dropped in the class suggestion box. Through all the entangled communication, readers would catch the frustrating degree of bureaucracy which involved in a teacher's daily task (when the teachers complained, the answer will be: "Let it be a challenge"). I was wondering how Sylvia could manage to divide her time between reading all those instructions and whatnots, actually teaching a subject, and reading and writing notes to her best pal teacher Bea Schachter (how they exchange notes during school hours, I wonder? Do they use students for courier? This was 1965, before internet era, anyway). 

👩🏼‍🏫 And the students. I have left talking about them for last, because they are the best part of this book. I believe that one can value a teacher from his/her students. That is, a good teacher would reflect his/her influence on the student's improvement. And by reading all those notes from the suggestion box, I could surmise that Sylvia is a dedicated and affectionate teacher. The suggestion box is a brilliant idea from Sylvia (the school ought to adapt that to their system). Basically, it's a box where any student could drop notes, whether signed or anonymous, usually on a particular subject. But sometimes, even students from other classroom dropped notes to say something to Sylvia. This is a good idea, because the students could express their honest views on things without being afraid of punishment or judgement. From that notes, Sylvia could gather how the students gained from her teaching, and what were their problems.

👩🏼‍🏫 There are students who signed their names - usually those who approved of her, or loved her teaching. But the anonymous letters are the most interesting; these were from students who, at first, hated her, or disapproved of her teaching. There's one who signed as "The Hawk", complete with a doodle, who always end his notes with 'this is the last time I'm writing to you' or something like that. However, The Hawk would always write again everytime Sylvia asked their opinion or suggestion, and always with the same ending, haha! I think Sylvia's success with her pupils is, first of all, because she listens to them. These students, who come from low social background with all the problematic nature, often need to be listened, understood, and appreciated.

👩🏼‍🏫 Amidst these chaotic life Sylvia must endure everyday, she received an offer from a private school who'd give her position of English teacher with comparatively free reign; less students, focusing on the teaching, free subjects and less clerical duties, and she could even have a seminar on Chaucer - the topic she loves. Moreover, the building offers comfort, not like the public school's with its broken doors or windows, and lacking of... well... almost everything needed to teach, as Sylvia put it in one of her letters to her friend:

We have keys but no locks (except in lavatories), blackboards but no chalk, students but no seats, teachers but no time to teach.

The question is, will Sylvia accept the offer and have her own ideal of teaching? Or will she remain at Calvin Coolidge and face the same chaos and frustration everyday?

👩🏼‍🏫 This was not a very comfortable read for me. I skipped almost all the official memos - I didn't understand half of it anyway - and only read the more interesting communications of human beings (internal memos to other teachers, or the students'). Nevertheless, this is a touching story of dedicated teachers who fought alongside their pupils against poverty and hierarchy, to obtain a better life for future generations.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐1/2

Crocodile on the Sand Bank (1975) by Elizabeth Peters

🌵 First of all, there are no crocodile involved in this light mystery, set in Victorian era. 'Crocodile on the sand bank' was a jargon used by Egyptian locals to indicate that a problem is underfoot. When thirty something spinster of Amelia Peabody - an unorthodox English woman, intelligent, and independent - decided to have a long journey to Cairo, she's never expected that any 'crocodile' would be on her sand bank. It all began when she rescued a typical Victorian girl - beautiful, soft, feminine, who blushes and fainted a lot, you know the type - in Rome, named Evelyn. Evelyn is a granddaughter of a wealthy old man, who disinherited her after her elopement with a scoundrel called Alberto, whom, then abandoned her altogether. Now alone and poor, Evelyn was 'recruited' then and there as Amelia Peabody's companion. And so, the two ladies departed together to Cairo.

🌵 Then entered Radcliffe and Walter Emerson - the archeologist brothers - whom Amelia and Evelyn met at a museum in Cairo. Emerson (means Radcliffe, the old brother) is of Amelia's age, coarse, cynical, and swears a lot, but he's a good archeologist. While Walter, is more soft spoken, and is an expert in hieroglyphics. He's fallen in love with Evelyn at once, and she also reciprocated his feeling, though her ruin complicated things (on the girl's side). The four unexpected acquaintances parted ways, only to meet again at an archeological site in Armana, where the Emersons were excavating a newly found royal tomb. Amelia is interested in archeology, so she's having a good time, amidst Emerson's rudeness and bickering. Then, the mummy they had just found was missing from the tomb. Moreover, the mummy had been seen walking around the site at night! The superstitious local crew thought it was a curse, but the Europeans knew better that it's a disguise of someone with bad intention. What was the aim, though? To get them out of the site? Or to harm Evelyn, as it has seemed to be? And whodunnit?

🌵 Overall, I think this book is intended partly to be a parody of Victorian era's stereotypes. The wandering mummy was hilarious, rather than eerie in Gothic way. And the way Amelia entangled in her own skirt everytime she needed to run away fast in critical moments, was a comical way to criticize how women were barred from many active involvement. The infamous smelling salt made its appearance too, but its apply beyond waking the fainting damsel-in-distress, made me choking in laughter. Other than that, the archeological theme is interesting and educational, it made me think how Agatha Christie would approve of this book. Finally, it's an entertaining read, even if the mystery felt rather dull. Perhaps the most satisfying aspect of this read is that I've listened to the audiobook, narrated by the inimitable Barbara Rosenblat, who also narrated Mrs. Pollifax series. She's just become my new favorite narrator!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The House Without a Key (1925) by Earl Derr Biggers #1925Club

🏄🏻‍♂️ The 1925 Club is here! Thanks to Simon and Karen for hosting these events for a decade now. Unfortunately, this book would be my only contribution for #1925Club. Since the last club in April, I've been looking for amusing books published in 1925, preferably from authors I have not read before. I gathered half a dozen, but only this one is available at this moment, and I was excited to read it. This is the first book of Charlie Chan series. He's probably the most exotic detective you'd ever read about; a Honolulu police detective, who is a Chinese-Hawaiian. Charlie Chan is portrayed as intelligent and honorable. His eagerness to learn English through poems shaped his way of talking, always polite and with admirable choices of words. It's one of the amusements this book provides, besides, of course, the mystery.

🏄🏻‍♂️ John Quincy Winterslip, a twenty nine Bostonian stock trader, was sent by his family to sail to Hawaii and 'retrieve' his aunt, Minerva Winterslip, from the 'semi-barbaric' Pacific Islands. The aunt had been staying for holiday too long in Hawaii, but she can't help it. Winterslips are known for their gypsy-streak, and maybe this is the problem. But not young John Quincy, he's on the puritan side of the Winterslips. It's evidently true, considering how miserable he was during his first days on board the ship. But an encounter with a pretty Hawaiian girl who's coming home to her dear father, would change everything.

🏄🏻‍♂️ It was at Dan Winterslip's house that 'the boy' - as the writer always calls him - would stay. But just before his arrival, Dan Winterslip was murdered. But that's not all. While on transit in San Francisco, staying at his other uncle, he was instructed by Dan via telegram, to retrieve an old box from his cottage, and to throw overboard from the ship. But he was attacked while doing so, and the box was stolen. What was in the box? He learned later on from his aunt Minerva, that Dan was a notorious man with a dark past. And now that past is catching up with him, and eventually, he'd have to pay a just retribution.

🏄🏻‍♂️ John Quincy, as representative of the family, was involved in the investigation - reluctantly at first (his inclination was to go home to his fiancé asap) - but, whether it's the Hawaiian air, or his hitherto hidden gypsy-streak, John Quincy's slowly enjoying his role as a sleuth. Along with Charlie Chan, whom became his best friend, John Quincy was nearer to the truth everyday. He loved actions, and welcomed, even, dangerous adventures. But I think what he loved most is the presence of two pretty girls: Barbara Winterslip (his distant cousin), and Carlota Egan (the girl he met on the ship, whose father was entangled into the case, and one of police's prime suspects). Boston and his fiancé became farther and farther away in John Quincy's heart. Would John Quincy be able to catch the murderer? And equally important is which girl he would marry, and where would he spend his future? Boston, San Francisco, Honolulu?

🏄🏻‍♂️ All in all, it was a charming and exciting mystery. It has the right composition between the investigation, the action, and love interests. Charlie Chan's character brings a refreshing change to the mystery; his oriental background and European culture made him a unique detective - a far cry from any others we used to read. The era which the story is set (1925), and the Hawaiian background (history, culture, landscape) add a unique charm to it. Both the denouement and the love-story ending are perfectly satisfying: sophisticated but light, sweet and exhilarating.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

Read for:

The 1925 Club

hosted by Simon and Karen

The Ruby in the Smoke (1985) by Philip Pullman

♦️ This story set in the 19th century of London. Mr. Lockhart, the co-owner of Lockhart & Selby, a shipping firm, was drowned with the ship he was on board. He left an only child, a girl of sixteen, Sally Lockhart. She received a mysterious letter, the content and source of which, she had no idea. It warned her of "the Seven Blessings" - what on earth was that? And for her to contact a Mr. Marchbanks. Puzzled, Sally visited Mr. Selby at Lockhart & Selby office to inquire around his father's death. But when she mentioned "The Seven Blessings", Sally, unknowingly, had started a chain of events. 

♦️ And that's how the story started, and after that, it unfolded in a very fast pace, that I soon forgot who's who. This is the kind of book that's best to be read in one sitting. Anyway, Sally was soon chased by a Mrs. Holland, a powerful villain who owned a lodging house in the London slump around the wharf, and was feared throughout the slump community. Luckily, Sally met two young men who would be her main allies and friends; they're a photographer called Frederick Garland, and Jim, an office boy at Lockhart & Selby. Between the three - and a handful of secondary characters - they swirled around the hunt of ruby from a maharajah from Agrapur, India, opium smuggling, Chinese secret society, along with puzzles over the cause of Mr. Lockhart's death.

♦️ Comments on Goodreads told me that this isn't Pullman's best, and I quite agree. The opening is quite promising: “Her name was Sally Lockhart, and within fifteen minutes, she was going to kill a man.” That sounds like a good mystery, and Sally is a perfect character for it, a highly intelligent girl, who had been taught of independence by her father, and has aptitude in business. A villain was provided, as well as two prospects of allies (and perhaps a love interest). Fine! But then, the opium factor came in - the "smoke" in the title, and the story suddenly switched into a strange one. Apparently Sally had been exposed to opium, unknowingly, before, and now she has this recurrent nightmares about her father. She was told that opium could restore one's memory, and so she tried a dose to reveal the mystery surround her father's death. And... tada... she suddenly knows everything, or most of the mystery at least, after "waking up" from the dream, . Well, that's not how you do a mystery, Mr. Pullman! I was disappointed at this point. ♦️ I felt that, as a heroine, Sally did not do much in this case, neither solving the mystery (it's Jim who solved the puzzle around the ruby's hiding place), nor showing courage to save a friend from the enemy (Jim and Fred took the brunt of Mrs. Holland's thug). No, she's safe at home, taking opium. Yes, she later on confronted Mrs. Holland, and even the guy of the Seven Blessings (who was supposed to be the most dangerous man at that time), yet it felt underwhelming. Like I said, it's definitely not Pullman's best work, despite of the promising opening.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐1/2

Airs Above the Ground (1965) by Mary Stewart

🐎 My second read of Mary Stewart brought me to Austria, to the circus and dancing Lippizaner stallions. The heroine is Vanessa March, a young wife, whose salesman husband is supposed to be on business trip to Stockholm, but she saw his glimpse on a newsreel, during a big fire in a circus in Austria! And moreover, with a young blonde on his side. So, when a friend asked her to chaperone a seventeen year boy who will be on a flight to his estranged father in Austria, well... how can Vanessa resist the trip? After some awkward moments, the young wife and the teenage boy open up to each other about their real intentions. Vanessa isn't coming to join her husband on holiday, and Timothy, the teenage boy, isn't to see his father. Tim is obsessed with horses, and intends to seek a job in the Spanish Riding School.

🐎 After the confessions, so to speak, they immediately become close friends and partner-in-crime. They soon found two things. That the blonde from the newsreel is Annalisa Wagner, the daughter of the circus owner, who performs with the dancing horses; and that Lee Elliot, who'd been helping in the circus, is none other than Lewis March, Vanessa's husband, and whose real job is not salesman, but a secret service agent! He is meeting his colleague, who was found dead during the circus fire, together with Annalisa's Uncle Franzl. Naturally, Timothy and Vanessa - who would have been a veterinarian had she not married - are delighted that Lewis asked them to loiter and look around for anything suspicious. What they find in the circus stable is Old Piebald - Franzl's old horse with a swollen leg (hematoma) during the fire. Vanessa operated the leg, and thus, bind a relationship with the old white horse.

🐎 The circus was a lovely addition to this book's charm. That, and the dancing horses. 'Airs above the ground' are the beautiful, traditional dance moves that the trained Lippizaner stallions do, including the levade, where the horse rears up and holds his pose.

The best part of the book is when Vanessa brought Old Piebald to graze on a patch of grass outside the circus tents, one evening. His leg was still a bit lame. It was during the show; Tim was watching, and Vanessa and Old Piebald were alone. Then suddenly, tuning in with the music, the horse slowly danced along. The rest is one magical moment that would carved itself into my memory deeper than the story itself.

In the distance the music changed: the Lipizzaner down in the ring would be rising into the levade, the first of the airs above the ground'. And in the high Alpine meadow, with only me for audience, old Piebald settled his hind hooves, arched his crest and tail, and, lame forefoot clear of the ground, lifted into and held the same royal and beautiful levade.

The moonlight flooded the meadow, blanching all colours to its own ghostly silver. The pines were very black. As the stallion rose in the last magnificent rear of the levade, the moonlight poured over him bleaching his hide so that for perhaps five or six seconds he reared against the black background, a white horse dappled with shadows, no longer an old broken-down gypsy's piebald, but a haute école stallion, of the oldest line in Europe.

🐎 All in all, this is a suspense novel with idyllic Austrian landscape as a background, and dancing Lipizzaners as a center point; spiced with some car chases and few actions. The heroine is a married woman, so you would find no romance here, as is usual with Mary Stewart's. But I think, I prefer it like this. Timothy stole my heart from the beginning, when he comforted Vanessa during the flight, as she dreaded the forthcoming landing, he said something like, I can hold your hand during the landing if you like... or something like that. And that's a gentleman on the making, Timothy Lacy! Then later on, when Lewis March appeared on the scene - and the show begins, because the suspense started with him - it is clear that Timothy adored Vanessa's husband. The villain (someone from the circus) had hit Vanessa earlier, so that she met Lewis with bruises on her face. When Lewis confronted the villain, he 'punished' him for ever laying hand onto his wife. And here, Timothy showed his admiration, which also showed his views of men hurting women. Bravo, Tim! 

* Originally I would have rated this one four stars, but the 'airs above the ground' scene of Old Piebald - his real name is Neapolitano Petra, by the way - and the ending, definitely deserved another star!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Theft of the Iron Dogs: A Lancashire Mystery (1946) by E.C.R. Lorac

🤎 The Theft of the Iron Dogs is book no. 28 of Robert Macdonald series, and another of Lancashire Mysteries, a series of rural mystery sets in Lunesdale, where Lorac had spent her life. This is apparently Macdonald first encounter with Giles and Kate Hoggetts, who will return in Crook o' Lune, which I have read earlier this year. WW2 had just been over, and Robert Macdonald has been investigating a coupon-racketeer case of a Gordon Ginner, when he received a letter from Mr. Hoggett from Lunesdale, Lancashire. The fine writing caught his interest, and so, Macdonald stopped by at the Hoggetts' farm, on his way of his investigation. Giles Hoggett turnout out to be an ex bookseller in London, who then moved to Lunesdale to farm. He and his wife Kate were two very interesting character in this book, and between them, they provided fine observation and deduction, crucial to Macdonald's investigation.

🤎 Giles Hoggett owned a cottage, and one day when he passed by, he noticed that the wood pile in front of the cottage had been disturbed. Suspicious, he checked inside, and found that some items were missing: his old coat, a set of iron dogs (or andirons for fireplace), a reel of salmon line, a big sack, and an old curtain. For a theft, it was strange, because none of the more precious items were taken. Macdonald first treated this case as an amusement - sort of a holiday, since he loved rural village and farming. However, he soon realized that this strange case might, somehow, have been related to his Gordon Ginner case. It was Macdonald himself who had found Ginner's corpse, tucked into a cave down the Lune River, when he (Macdonald) was swimming with Giles Hoggett. From then on, this became a serious case, where Inspector Reeves from Scotland Yard joined forces with him.

🤎 Everyone suspected a potter named Ruben Gold as the perpetrator, both the theft and murder. But Kate Hoggett offered the best analysis of them all, which Macdonald took an appreciative agreement. Who, then, was the culprit? Was it a painter who lived there? At least Macdonald found that he knew Gordon Ginner, but did it make him the murderer? Or was it an outsider, as Giles Hoggett suspected?

🤎 As a murder mystery, it's not a sophisticated one. It is the farming aspect that provides the central attraction here. The whole atmosphere is relaxed, full of camaraderie, and satiated. I think, from several I have read so far, this is the one where Macdonald laughed most - Reeves and Hoggetts's wrestling, or Reeves's cooking, are rare scenes in any murder mystery! What I loved most is when Macdonald listened attentively and appreciatively to the Hoggetts' analysis, and also one or two other farmers. He (Macdonald) was far from condescending; on the contrary, he really enjoyed those conversations. It's just another proof that Macdonald should belong to these people, instead of his peers in London. In a whole, this was a delightful mystery; from theft to murder, while on the interval, we were entertained with countryside air and view, complete with the smell of flowers, hay, and cattle.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

Goodnight Mister Tom (1981) by Michelle Magorian

💙 When England was on the brink of Second World War, many children from London were evacuated to the countryside. Tom Oakley, a widower in his sixties, who lived in a farming little village called Little Weirwold, found himself the receiver end of a little spindly and terrified evacuee called William, or Willie. His mother wanted little eight year old Willie to be placed in a house of church person or lives near a church. Tom's was the latter.

💙 Tom soon found sore and bruises all over William's body. That, and the way William flinched, terrified, when Tom took a poker to rake the fire (thinking that Tom would brand him), showed Tom how William had been abused at home, by his over religious and mentally unstable mother. William thought himself full of sin, terrified of doing anything boys used to do, and that made him bullied at school, and was called a sissy. His condition moved Tom deeply; and he, a recluse and cantankerous man ever since his wife and son died, treated William with kindness and affection. The first night of William's sleeping at his own attic bedroom, was undoubtedly the turning point of his brighter future. His "Goodnight, Mister Tom" that night before sleep, was a token of gratefulness and affection - two things William had never felt before.

💙 Soon the two, together with Sammy, Tom's dog, were inseparable. He soon went to school and befriended some children: George, the twins Carrie and Ginnie. But his best friend was another evacuee, a cheerful Jewish boy called Zach. William learned to read and write, but they found out soon that he had a special talent of painting and acting. As William gradually emerged from the timid sickly boy he had been when he first arrived, so was Tom, emerged from his "cocoon". But things were not always bright and happy for William; he would experience dark moments, coloured with violence and death. I have prayed during the second part of the book that Tom would adopt William; that he didn't have to return to his abusive mother.

💙 On the whole, it was a delightful novel, though in some part it became too dark for children, I believe. But other than that, the daily lives of the children, and Tom's affection to William, are all warm and satisfying. It was satisfying indeed when William became happy after all the abuses he had been treated. Above all, this book reminds us that we might never be immune to sorrow or loss, but as long as there's love in us, time would heal our wounds, and make us even stronger.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Agatha Christie Short Stories 2025: OCTOBER Reviews #AgathaChristieSS25

Motive vs. Opportunity

Mr. Petherick, the solicitor, was the next in line to tell his story (or problem, as they called it) for the meeting. The others are afraid that his would be full of legal aspects, but Mr. Petherick confirmed that it's not - it's a simple case. In the end, it proved to be a simple case as promised, with a childish twist.

A client of Mr. Petherick - he named him Simon Clode - was a wealthy man, who's lost by death, first, his only son, and afterwards, the only granddaughter whom he loved dearly. His orphaned nephews and niece were now lived with him. He left in his will, his estate equally to the three. Still on his grief over his late granddaughter, he met a spiritualist called Mrs. Eurydice Spragg, under whose influence he soon found himself. Mr. Petherick was greatly alarmed when, on his dying bed, Simon Clode made a new will, leaving most of his wealth to the spiritualist.
Mr. Petherick did the business, and after the will was signed, he put the document in his overcoat. However, when he opened it after Mr. Clode's death, the will was just a blank sheet. How could it be? Who had replaced the real will with a blank paper? Mrs. Spragg had opportunity, but certainly not a motive; one of the nephews had motive, but not opportunity. At the end, the solution was really a very simple and childish, that it gave Mrs. Marple a good chuckle when it's her turn to offer explanation. What an entertaining little read, and it gives further proof of how fun it would have been to be acquainted with the cheeky Dame Agatha Christie!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Accident

An ex CID Inspector Evans who now lived in an English village told his friend, a Captain Haydock, that he was certain that a Mrs. Merrowdene, was none other than Mrs. Anthony, who had been charged, and acquitted, of poisoning her husband with arsenic, nine years ago. He's theorizing that once a murderer, one will most certainly commit another - in short, there's always a pattern. He found the pattern, and when he met Professor Merrowdene carrying a new life insurance policy, Evans was 100% sure that the woman was ready for action once more. He visited their home, and lo and behold, Mrs. Merrowdene even performed the act before his eyes - what a clever and cheeky woman she was! Now it's up to him to prevent another murder. Would he be succeeded in doing that? Well, I must say that I didn't see that twist coming! That was a genius one from Agatha Christie! The last few sentences implied a good many things that will leave you aghast at the end - it altered the way you se the case, and made it seems like a simple, but complicated one. Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Artists in Crime (1938) by Ngaio Marsh

🎨 Chief Detective Inspector Roderick Alleyn was on his annual leave holiday when he first met Agatha Troy. The encounter happened right after Alleyn, on board a cruise from Fiji, "exercised" his visual observation on the scenery of the wharf and the shore. Agatha Troy, a painter, was finishing her paint on the same scenery on deck, and Roderick commented upon it, which he regretted instantly. The brief introduction left a significant effect upon both persons, and would affect their next involvement in a murder case.

🎨 Agatha Troy lives in Tatler’s End House, very near the resident of Alleyn's mother, Lady Alleyn. She (Troy) housed several student-artists, who work at her studio. A model was engaged to pose every day, while the students perfecting their paintings or sculpting. One of the students got a commission to illustrate a crime novel's cover, where the victim was stabbed with a knife that's hidden under a drape. The students discussed about the feasibility of it, experimenting with real knife and drape, to suggest the pose for the nude model, Sonia Gluck. One morning, when she preparing herself for the pose, she was knifed through from under the dais/bench she's supposed to pose on. A clever murderer has put the knife in the right position. But which one of them done it? 🎨 Alleyn handled the case since he was staying at her mother's house, which was near the crime scene. He was reluctant, because it was clearly to us, readers, that Alleyn had been smitten by Miss Troy! The romance aspect added a little spark for this mystery, where the mystery itself was rather far from satisfaction. Speaking about motive vs opportunity, the motive is not clear, because apparently Sonia Gluck was a 'pain-in-the-ass' as a model; she's a spoilt girl, fidgeted too much, and seemed to be deliberately ruin everyone's work. Nobody liked her, and it gave them all, including Troy - whose 'masterpiece-painting-to-be' was ruined by Gluck, a motive. About the opportunity, though, I saw instantly who had the best opportunity of all. It's right there, clear as day, and I wondered how nobody even suggested it. Not even Alleyn, not at first, at least. I wonder, have I read too many detective novels to be able to be unsuspecting enough to enjoy one?

🎨 Anyway, all evidence pointed to one student who'd left the studio for London, where he would finish his big sculpting commission - a gig which many believed would give him a breakthrough to his career. But his whereabout was unknown to anyone, and even after some police broadcasts, he never showed up. I knew instantly that this man would be the second victim. And it was right enough. On this second murder, too, I have instantly suspected the murderer due to their ambiguous story. It's not really fun when you can guess the whodunnit of a crime novel that easily. Luckily, the artistic aspect of this novel made up for it a little; I loved reading about the student's daily routine, as well as following Alleyn's train of thoughts while tracing for clues from the student's art works and their scattered tools - left behind suddenly after the tragedy. The character of Lady Alleyn - to whom Alleyn was fond of, and in whose presence he became a son, instead of detective - added a charm to this novel, although I don't really like how Alleyn (and his journalist friend Bathgate) told her many aspects of the investigation. Though I guess, that must be normal in real life? Anyway, Lady Alleyn's concern about her son's love affair (or the lack of it) is really sweet.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐1/2

Agatha Christie Short Stories 2025 #AgathaChristieSS25: OCTOBER

This month we will read one Miss Marple's story, and the other a non detective one.

MOTIVE VS. OPPORTUNITY

(a Miss Marple story)

A rich man intends to leave his estate to his nephew and two nieces, but just before he dies he changes his will to include a medium who has convinced him his nephew is an impostor. When the rich man dies, they discover his new will is missing. Who among the many suspects could have stolen it? The only people who had a motive had no opportunity – it is left to Miss Marple to solve the case.

The story was published in the Royal Magazine in the UK in 1928 and in the US, under the revised title Where's the Catch? (which I personally would have liked better) later that year. It was included in the 1932 collection, The Thirteen Problems.

ACCIDENT

(a non detective story)

An ex-Inspector spots a woman in the local village who he is sure is a murderer, and who walks free through a country village. Would he be able to prove she is guilty of her crimes when every case looks like an accident?

The story first appeared in the collection The Listerdale Mystery, 1934, in the UK and was published in the US in the collection The Witness for the Prosecution and Other Stories, 1948. It has never been adapted, though I wish it would - it seems quite interesting!


Which one does appeal to you more? For me, it's the non detective one. It reminded me instantly of And Then There Were None, where every crime committed by the ten people, all seemed like accidents.

Offshore (1979) by Penelope Fitzgerald

🚢 Set in the 1960s, Offshore is Penelope Fitzgerald's third novel, which won her the Booker Prize in 1979. It tells the story of a houseboat-dwellers community, which was closely inspired by her own experience of living in an old sailing barge moored along the bank of river Thames, at Battersea Reach, London. It was difficult times for her, which was also reflected on this book's characters. If I must sum it up in two words, this book is about restlessness and uncertainty.

🚢 The story opens with a sort of community meeting, which took place at Lord Jim, a barge owned by Richard Blake, who lives there, childless, with his wife Laura. Richard was looked up to as the unofficial leader of the community, partly because of his virtue, and partly because he had been involved in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. Lord Jim, a converted minesweeper was also in the best condition compared to the others. Dreadnought, owned by an elderly marine painter called Willis, was in the worst condition with its serious leaks, though Willis was reluctant to sell it, because it meant that he'd have to live on shore with his sister. 🚢 Grace was another barge, owned by Nenna James, who lives there with her two daughters Martha and Tilda. She was anxious to get her estranged husband Edward to move back with them - he loathed living in a boat and chose to live in his friend's house instead. Nenna is the most interesting character in this book, to whom I was rooted for. Interestingly enough, the boat on board which Fitzgerald had been living was also called Grace. Nenna was pestered by Martha and Tilda's school, who claimed that both children were often absent from school, and seen running wildly on the muddy foreshore. Tilda, at least, enjoyed living on Grace, although it's not a good environment for raising children. Especially when their neighbor was Maurice, an old boat owned by a male prostitute, also called Maurice, who allowed his boat to be used for storing stolen goods by his shady friend Harry. There's also Woodie, a retired businessman, who owned Rochester. After Dreadnought sank - the dramatical scene was so beautifully written! - Woodie and his wife took charge of old unfortunate Willis, and let him live contentedly with them - converting Rochester into a sort of boarding house. 🚢 Like I said above, this is a story about uncertainty and restlessness. Even the ending is inconclusive. Normally I dislike this kind of novel, but in this case, I think it fits most perfectly with the whole sense of the novel. I rather like Wikipedia's description of it: "The book explores the emotional restlessness of houseboat dwellers who live neither fully on the water nor fully on the land." I caught the sense of dejectedness of these houseboat dwellers - they were generally frowned upon by the society. And yet, when we dive into their daily lives, they are mostly affectionate people, who wouldn't hesitate to help one another in difficult times. Maurice, for instance, always provides sympathetic ears for Nenna James' worries; Willis is always fond of Tilda; and of course, Woodie and his wife taking Willis under their care, which resulting in their change of plans, is the sweetest of all. Sometimes, one just need to be loved by others, before one can stand by one self - the life in the houseboat community might be that bridge towards brighter future for all characters. At least I wish them all the best. Again, I agree with Fitzgerald for not providing conclusive ending to the story; since it is just a phase that every one of us sometimes must face during our existence. How one would go from there, is one's own choice. Just as the ending of this story, would be how each reader would choose for themselves. Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Island of the Blue Dolphins (1960) by Scott O'Dell

🐋 Scott O'Dell wrote this book based on true story of a Nicoleño Native American girl called Juana Maria, who had lived alone for 18 years on San Nicholas Island, in the 18th century. Our girl in this story is Karana, also a Nicoleño girl, who, at the beginning of the story, lives with her father - the leader of the tribe, her little brother Ramo, and older sister Ulape. They live in a village called Ghalas-at, where the people survive by hunting, fishing, and gathering roots. One day a Russian fur-hunter ship called Aleut arrived at the island to hunt for otters. Karana's father dealt with the Russians to let them hunting for a certain price, but the Russians refused to pay, which angered the Ghalas-at people. On the battle that followed, many were killed, including Karana's father.

🐋 Lacking of surviving men, and fear of the Aleuts' returning, the Ghalas-at people decided to move to a new island, leaving their home behind. When the ship was about to leave, realizing that little Ramo had left behind on the island, Karana jumped from the ship amidst the coming storm (which was too dangerous for the ship to return), and swam back to the island. Now alone on the island, Karana and Ramo lived together under the roof of their house, and from the foods they gathered or hunted. The only threat was from the wild dogs, whom, when the people left, became more ferocious. One day they devoured little Ramo, which left Karana really alone on the island, and must somehow survive from the wild dogs, while waiting for the ship to return. But the ship never returned....

🐋 Every girl of Ghalas-at had been taught from childhood that women should not do men's tasks like making weapons or building canoe. It's interesting to see Karana so afraid at first, that something bad would befallen her for what she's doing. But in the end, her survival drive was much stronger than any patriarchal tradition. It's a silly tradition after all; a weaker girl than Karana would soon have been perished of starving or killed by the wild dogs had she not been able to make weapons or canoe, and hunt, and build shelter. On the other hand, Karana still preserved her feminine qualities, like when she made herself a pretty skirt from cormorant skins and feathers, and then wore it when she's out on the shore, admiring herself. 

🐋 It's interesting to read how Karana gathered abalones, then dried them up under the sun. Or how she re-shaped a canoe, that she wouldn't be able to haul herself, to a smaller one. The arrows and spears that she produced, and used to kill some of the wild dogs to avenge her brother's death. Not mentioning how she built a home with fences made of whale bones. It really reminded me of Robinson Crusoe. I loved how Karana tamed the wild dog's leader, to be her only friend. And especially, Karana's kinship with the other inhabitants of the island - the animals: the otters, the sea lions, the whales, the birds. I realized how lonely she was, how longed she was to meet and have conversation with other human beings; and I admired her resilience and spirit. In short, it's a lovely book for young adults, full of adventures and good lessons of survival and character building.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Olive Kitteridge (2008) by Elizabeth Strout

🔴 Olive Kitteridge is Elizabeth Strout's third published book, which won Pulitzer prize in 2009. At first few chapters I asked myself, how on earth could this book win a Pulitzer? It seemed an ordinary literary fiction. But after finishing it, I realized there's the hidden layers beneath the seemingly a book about the lives of some residents of a coastal town Of Crosby in Maine. It is not a novel, to begin with, but a structure that is called short story cycle or story sequence or composite novel - a collection of short stories in which the narratives are specifically composed and arranged with the goal of creating an enhanced or different experience when reading the group as a whole as opposed to its individual parts. [Wikipedia]

🔴 Olive Kitteridge is the main character here, although she didn't always appear as one. Sometimes she's just a passing character that someone mentioned, or just commented upon; but sometimes, like at the last chapter, she became the main character. Nevertheless, she is the connecting element that tied tall the stories together. Olive was a high school math teacher, a cantankerous woman with sharp tongue and abrasive manner. The first story, "Pharmacy", is about her husband, Henry Kitteridge. He's a pharmacist, and had a soft spot for his employee, Denise Thibodeau. At this stage (Henry and Olive were in their 30-ish, with an only son who's in junior high school), I bitterly thought that it's no wonder that Henry is thinking of having an affair with another woman; his wife was always so rude and sharp, either to him or to their son Christopher. But Henry is always a sensitive man, and still loves his wife, despite all that.

🔴 Through thirteen disjointed stories, we followed eventful events of the Kitteridges, as well as some other residents. And as the stories unfolded, I slowly realized what had shaped Olive to be her self. Her past (tragic death of her father and her mother's abandonment) wounded her soul deeply, that I think it had hardened her. Though beneath, she's still a generous and kind person. A bitterness that came during her marriage with Henry, only added the sourness in her. Later on, her perimenopause and menopause stage only made things worse. Her disappointment over her son Christopher's unsuitable (to her) marriage, seemed to be he last straw. And so, she became this unbearable woman.

🔴 On the whole, this hasn't been a charming book to read. It seems that in telling the real lives of people in a town - which is greatly relatable to ours - Kitteridge focused mainly on the dark aspects only; disappointment and disillusionment ranked on top, with bitterness of love (and the lack of it) followed soon. Most of the characters have had hopes and dreams, but more often than not, the opposite happened. It seems that all our adult lives were spent to learn about it, so that in seventies, you'd learn finally to accept things as it is - things that's beyond your control.

🔴 Though this book distressed me a little, I loved the ending - Olive certainly deserves that. She is the epitome of strength, courage, and resilience. I was reminded of what my father had taught me when I was a teenager. When you put an egg and a potato into the same boiling water, they would react differently. The egg would be hardened, but the potato would be softened. Whenever you are having hard times, you can choose how to react, like the egg or the potato. Like Olive, most of us react like the egg; but only a few then change to be a potato in the end. Happiness is in store for the latter!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Murder at Sissingham Hall (2013) by Clara Benson

💙 This was my second Clara Benson - I have loved my first; it's a Freddie Pilkington-Soames - and thought that it might be as nice as the other one. I was wrong. 

💙 The story opens when Charles Knox was coming home from eight years living in South Africa. He went there in the first place, right after his engagement had been broken by Rosamund, his beautiful fiancée, who thought Charles was too poor for her to maintain the comfortable life she's used to - with balls, parties, with all the social life of the kind. Now Rosamund has married a wealthy man, Sir Neville Strickland, and lived in the countryside mansion of Sissingham Hall. And surprise, surprise! It was to Sissingham Hall that Charles was invited to stay for the weekend.

💙 Charles dreaded his first meeting with Rosamund, because it was clear to us, readers, that he's still charmed by her. But the party was jolly enough, where there are other guests too: Bobs, Charles' old friend with his sister Sylvia; Angela Marchmont, Rosamund's cousin and our amateur-sleuth-to-be; the Murrays, Sir Neville's closest relatives; Joan, his ward; and last but not least, Simon Gayle, Sir Neville's secretary. That night Sir Neville retired early to his study, and the next day he was found dead; the study door was locked, but not the French window; and it seemed at first as an accident. But Angela Marchmont's thorough observation led the other to suggest that it's actually a murder. As it happened just after Sir Neville's solicitor arrived, apparently to change his will, it was suggestive that money was the motive. But is that so? 

💙 I have some problems with this book. I know that as a cozy mystery, there will be an equal amount of the mystery and personal life of the characters. But in this one, I disliked Clara Benson's choice of the main character - it should have been Angela Marchmont, instead of Charles Knox, who was a total simp. An unreliable narrator shouldn't be in a murder mystery. I have guessed the murderer easily enough very early, and was just wondering how on earth did both the Inspector and Angela Marchmont not see it right away, even after that incident had been disclosed? The 'dramatic' denouement is a bit ridiculous, thanks to Charles Knox. In the end, it's not a start of a series I have expected, and which I would certainly not continue.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

The Persian Pickle Club (1995) by Sandra Dallas

🧵 You might thought that Persian Pickle Club was some sort of a cooking club (I did), but it's not. It is a quilting club of local farmer-wives in a small village of Harveyville, during the Depression-era of Kansas in the 1930s. It's not been raining that year, and the crops were burning up, and jobs were hard to be found. People were hard up, and money were scarce. The Persian Pickle Club was not only a quilting club. They sewed during the gathering, but it's also a place where they exchanged gossips, and supported each other during the hard times. It's a like a beacon during a dark stormy night that gave you comfort and hope; something to look forward to during the dreary days. 🧵 The women would gather once a week in one of the member's house. The host would provide a pattern they're going to quilt that day, and the refreshments. Each member would contribute a piece (or pieces) of fabric that would be sewn in to the quilt. Then they would sew the pieces during the day, and when that's done, they will "frame" it. The "pickle" here is what a quilter calls a paisley fabric. On their first meeting, the members contributed a piece of their paisley fabric, which then made it in the quilt. That's how they named the club the Persian Pickle. And just like the quilt they sewn, their friendship was so tightly bind, that one member's secret would be kept secret forever, even from their husbands. 🧵 Rita was the newest member of the club. She's a town girl, and but for her and her husband's poverty, would not be thinking of living in a farm. Queenie Bean, from whose point of view the story unfolds, quickly became close friend with Rita, who never felt belonged into the club. Through birth and death, fearful incident to tragedy, their relationship grew stronger and stronger, amidst their different background and passion. Rita wanted to be a writer, and during her work as a journalist for a newspaper, bones of a man had been found in the backyard of one of the club member, apparently murdered. The deceased was a scoundrel, and no one shed tears for his death, but the question remained, who'd killed him? And so, when I have thought this was a story about friendship and caring-for-your-neighbor kind of book, a murder mystery was suddenly thrown before me. Not mentioning the fearful incident that has befallen Queenie and Rita one terrible night - who's dunnit?

🧵 Rest easy, though, this would not turn to be a crime novel. The mystery is something that highlighted the solidarity amongst these women. It's clear that whatever happens to one of the club members, she would be protected and taken care of by the others. Her secret would be their own secrets. On the whole, I think this was one of the most satisfying reads I've ever had lately. I loved everything about it, the quilting (you'd feel the soothing effect of the activity although you aren't doing it) and the deep friendship between those women. I loved Queenie's personalities; how she (and her husband Grover) treated the Massies, the squatter or drifter - as people called them. Queenie treated them like a true neighbor, although it's Grover and Queenie who let them stay at the unused shed.

🧵 I loved also how Sandra Dallas had picked quilts to symbolize the beauty of community - you see it, don't you? Different pieces of fabric, with different shapes or colors or designs, sewn together into one beautiful artwork, and how that one artwork represents the love and thoughts, struggles and happiness, of all who's been providing the fabrics and sewing them together? What a lovely, heartwarming story, spiced with a little mystery, and closed with something you wouldn't have seen coming. You know how wholesome it is when a whodunnit story only reveals the murderer's identity on the very last sentence before the end? Well, that's what this book feels too!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Agatha Christie Short Stories 2025: SEPTEMBER Reviews

The Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan

Captain Hastings treated Hercule Poirot to spend the weekend at the Grand Metropolitan Hotel in Brighton, where their eyes were feasting with the grand ladies and their sparkling jewelries. One of these ladies is of Hasting's acquaintance, and soon Poirot was introduced to the Opalsen couple. Mrs. Opalsen loves jewels, and offers to show her pearl necklace to Poirot. However, the pearl necklace wasn't in the jewel box where she'd kept it; it had been stolen! The suspects were Mrs. Opalsen's French maid - who had been instructed not to leave the bedroom while the chambermaid's cleaning it - and, of course, the chambermaid. The police searched the two maids, and found not the necklace. But after thorough search of the rooms, they've found it hidden inside the French maid's bed. Mrs. Opalsen cried: "Oh, my necklace!", and Poirot and Hastings left to their bedrooms. Is it over then, just like that? Of course not....

The Grand Metropolitan in London

Poirot continued his investigation; he inspected the room next to the Opalsen's, and asked a few questions to the chambermaid, the butler, even Mr. Opalsen himself. One of these proved later to be the clue to the true robbery, while the other was a red herring. Then, to Hasting's puzzle, Poirot went to London that very night. It was, in the end, a not very sophisticated case. One thing is sure, the police should have learned more about jewelry - but for Hercule Poirot's wide knowledge, it could have been a simple but perfect robbery!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐1/2

The Case of the Missing Lady

The next client of the Blunt International Detective Agency is a famous explorer who has just returned from an expedition to the North Pole. He had been engaged with a widow, Hermione, right before he left two years ago, and now was rushing to marry her. But she's not in her aunt, Lady Susan's, house where she'd been staying, and Lady Susan didn't know, or wouldn't tell him, of his fiancée's whereabouts. Feeling apprehensive that something fishy had been happening, he hired "Mr. Blunt" to investigate and find the missing lady.

Tommy and Tuppence's investigation led them, first to Maldon, from where a telegram from Hermione had been received by Lady Susan, and next to a sinister isolated nursing home in a village. It was there that they finally stumbled to the right trail. But what was really happening to Hermione? And would Tommy and Tuppence succeeded in rescuing her from whatever her predicament was?

This seemingly simple case turned out to be a thoroughly entertaining one to read! The "chase", the thrill, the humorous and witty interchanges of the duo, and especially... the ending. This case ended in much unexpected way that I laughed out loud after finishing it. Such a brilliant job from Agatha Christie, always with her witty and cheeky way!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2
 

Five Quarters of the Orange (2001) by Joanne Harris

🍊 My first introduction to Joanne Harris was Chocolat; I knew I have started that book years ago, but couldn't remember whether I've ever finished it. I think not. Either because it's a borrowed book, and I have to return it before I have finished; or it must've been sold while I was reading (I ran an online second-hand book store back then). Anyway, Five Quarters of the Orange, then, became my first book of Joanne Harris which I did finish. It's a big relieve when I had finished it; it's not a bad one, just that I was not in the right mental state to give it a proper credit. It's a complex story of dark secrets, a childish-folly-turns tragedy, acceptance, revelation, and resilience.

🍊 Framboise Simon was sixty years old widow when she returned to her childhood home in a small village on the banks of the Loire. She owns a creperie, serving delicious food she loves to cook; mostly recreating her late mother's dishes from the recipe scrapbook Framboise inherited from her. Although she was born in the village, the villagers thought Framboise a stranger, because she does not dare to use her own name, Dartigen. Framboise Dartigen was only nine years old when she left the village after a terrible tragedy during the German Occupation in the 1940s. This, then, is an intermingled mixture of Framboise's past and present life; how the past affected her present, and how the present helps her to be free from the haunting past. 

🍊 Framboise's childhood is a troubled one. She lived with her widowed mother Mirabelle Dartigen, brother Cassis, and sister Reine-Claude. Mirabelle was a hard woman, who's often mean and cruel to her own children, although she loved them. Her life seemed to be full of hatred and bitterness, and she poured it to her children, whom in turn, hated her too. She's often a victim of splitting headache, which was usually started with smelling non-existing oranges - a fruit she always hated. The title derived from Framboise's idea to trigger the headache on her mother, so that she and her siblings could be on their own; by secretly slicing a tiny sliver of orange - the fifth of the supposedly quarters - to be placed near her mother's pillow. Once she inhaled it, she'd have another spell, and off the children would go. Go where?

🍊 It's during this German Occupation that a handsome German officer who speaks a perfect French called Tomas Leibniz introduced himself to the children. They instantly took to him, but especially Framboise, who worshipped him. Their friendship grew bigger; but unfortunately, also, their risk. It finally led to the tragedy. But Framboise did not quite understand that at that time, and it was now, while browsing through her mother's recipe book, was written snatches of her mother's thoughts, did Framboise finally (almost) fully understood what had had happened.

🍊 Maybe if I had read this five years ago, I would have appreciated it more. Now, it distressed me a little. I was troubled with how Framboise treated her mother - though I could see why. The only person I could like in this book is Paul. I admired his support and friendship for Framboise, and I liked how it all ended. It was a troubling book, but still worth reading, if nothing else, for its beautiful writing.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Tea on Sunday (1973) by Lettice Cooper

☕ A sixty-ish widow Alberta Mansbridge lives alone with her two servants in London suburb. On Sundays, when her servants take their day off, she likes to throw tea parties for her closest friends or family. On that particular Sunday, eight people were invited: her family doctor, her accountant, her solicitor, the manager of her late father's company, a companion with whom she's lately having a quarrel, her two latest protégés (young men with dubious characters), and last but not least, her nephew Antony Seldon with his wife.

☕ Alberta is a punctual woman, she likes her guests to arrive at four a clock sharp; and her guests well know this fact. On 3:30 that day however, her door bell rang. She had installed an intercom to know who's calling, and if she wants to let the guest in, she would just push a button from her room, and a spring would be released, and the guest would be able to open the door and let his or herself in. She did this, and when the guest entered her room, Alberta's greeting was: "You are early!" Then on 4:00, eight of her guests (two of them were several minutes late) rang and knocked without avail. No one seemed to be at home. Later when the police broke into the house, they found Alberta on her desk, strangled to death.

☕ One thing I liked most of this book is that Lettice Cooper provided us a rarely chance to possess a knowledge that neither the police nor the suspects had known. That is, that Alberta's murderer was definitely one of the tea party guests. Only the readers know it from what Alberta said to her guest: "You are early". The minor thing for me was the denouement, which came too early, despite of the actions that followed, which was also a bit anticlimax. Inspector Corby, the investigator, is a competent police officer. I liked his neat and thorough style of investigation, combining skillful interviews with the suspects and both logical and psychological deduction.

☕ On the whole, it's a cross between the Golden Age mystery and cozy mystery. I liked the side story of Antony Seldon, though, which might not have close correlation with the murder investigation, but provides an interesting glimpse of the life in the 1970s. Antony's relationship with his more superior wife - she's a model with bright prospect, while Antony is just a clerk in a men's boutique - is pretty interesting. I liked also that we were introduced to Inspector Corby's personal life; his brief interaction with his wife Lucy, and their little daughter. The case ended just in time for him to attend his daughter's birthday. Lastly, while the end is a bit anticlimax, like I said before, Antony's personal ending provides a little humour to end the book - and to emphasize its cozy mystery vibes.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐