Cold Comfort Farm (1932) by Stella Gibbons #20BooksofSummer2025

💙 Flora Poste found herself an orphan and penniless at age nineteen. Her friend encouraged her to take a job, or be trained for something, but Flora had a better idea. She would bestow her numerous relatives - which she didn't quite know - with opportunity to take her to live with them. Accordingly Flora wrote these relatives, and one reply came from the Starkadders who lived in Cold Comfort Farm in Sussex. The fact that Flora - a city girl - must live in a farm didn't deter her determination. 

💙 Flora is a sophisticated urbane girl, level-headed and sensible. She found the Starkadders as coarse and ignorant farmers, isolated from the modern world. They had taken Flora in not willingly, but to atone for an unthinkable wrong once done to Flora's father (which was never revealed througout the book). But that's not the only unsolved mystery in this book - the other is Flora's Aunt Ada Doom, the elderly matriarch who confined herself at her bedroom for the past twenty years, because when she's a child she had seen "something nasty in the woodshed." I'm curious to know what that is, but sadly, it, too, was never revealed. :(

💙 To make the Starkadders more sophisticated and happier, was the job that Flora had taken herself during her stay. There's cousin Amos with his obsession to religion; Reuben who knew how to improve their badly-run farm but can't do anything because brother Amos was taking charge; and Elfin the unruly passionate young girl, for whom Flora had to arrange an honorable marriage. Not mentioning Aunt Ada, whose presence hindered everyone's happiness. Not too subtly, but unflinchingly, Flora forced changes upon changes into the family, bringing the family to more adept to modern world.

💙 It was really a humorous and witty satire of rural life in early twentieth century, with a touch of romance. Despite of her self-centered manner, I couldn't help to be fond of Flora right from the beginning. In certain books, her character would be much annoying, but here, it provides many hilarious scenes.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐12

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The Shell Seekers (1987) by Rosamunde Pilcher #20BooksofSummer2025

🐚 The Shell Seekers is the title of a painting which hung on the wall of Penelope Keeling's abode. It was a wedding gift from his father, with herself as one of the shell seekers depicted in the painting. The story opens when Penelope is sixty years old, and has just been out of hospital and recovering from a heart attack. After that, the story runs parallelly between Penelope's past and present, giving us the view of how she had become what she is now, and why she does things that is incomprehensible to her children.

🐚 Penelope is the daughter of a bohemian parents; her father was a painter who married a much-younger French girl. And so, Penelope had been brought up quite unconventionally, and has an unconventional way of thinking too. For her, money means freedom. And it is money that created diversions between the mother and the three children: the bubbly, self-indulgent Nancy, the sensible, businesslike woman Olivia, and the selfish, greedy Noel. Nancy and Noel, especially, have been pestering her to sell The Shell Seekers and other paintings by grandpa Lawrence Stern, whose name had been resurfacing lately in art galleries. But Penelope was adamant, the paintings were hers - her father had given them to her only, and it's up to her what she'd like to do with it. She had done everything to make her children happy - she had even put up with her ill-suited and cheating husband for the sake of the children. And now it's her turn to make herself happy - free and happy. And I agreed with Penelope 100%.

🐚 I loved Penelope from the start, both as young girl and elderly lady. I always believe that when a child is brought up with love and trust, the child would be blooming to be unique, affectionate, and self-confident adult. I loved the relationship between Sophie - Penelope's French mother, and her daughter. Their relationship reminded me of mine and my mother - not that my mom's a bohemian, but she always put trust in me, and let me be what I want to be. Unfortunately for Penelope, only Olivia who has similarity to her mother; while Nancy and Noel must have inherited their father's character - money-oriented and petty.

🐚 I couldn't decide which part of the book I loved most - each had charm and interesting characters. Penelope's wartime story with, first, her husband, and then with the only man she ever loved, and also her friends who were evacuees, living at the family's house? Or Penelope's story as an old lady living alone in the village, befriended the young gardener and a girl that acquainted to Olivia, of whose future she helped building? Each had its warmth and charm, and I loved how Pilcher interwoven the past and the present into one wholesome story.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Taken at the Flood (1948) by Agatha Christie

💜 It was during a raid in The World War II, that Hercule Poirot, sheltering in a club, had heard an interesting story from a Major Porter. He was reading a news about the death of one Gordon Cloade, and how his new wife would inherit his estate. He - Major Porter - befriended the wife's former husband, a man named Robert Underhay, who was believed to be dead in Africa, though Major Porter was sure the man wasn't dead, and surely, one day he would appear in England. The story quite intrigued Poirot, and he was reminded to it several months later when he was asked to identify a mysteriously murdered man.

💜 The Cloade family (the late Gordon Cloade's siblings and their family) had been dependent to Gordon; he financed their expenses, provided them with capitals to start a venture - in short, he always told them to never think about money, as his wealth would someday be divided amongst them all. And so, his sudden death left the family vulnerable, and in want of ready money for their household expenses, or to continue on their ventures. They started asking Gordon's widow - a young and naive Rosaleen - for money. Her brother David protected his sister like a lioness protecting its cub.

💜 One day a stranger called Enoch Arden came to the village's inn and blackmailed David that he knew how to find Rosaleen's first husband. This conversation was heard by the landlady, who then told one of the family members. The next day, the man was found dead with his head smashed. Of course, David was instantly suspected. He had the strongest motive, since, if Robert Underhay was found alive, his sister wouldn't inherit the estate after all. But was he the real murderer? And why did Rowley Cloade asked Poirot to find the whereabout of Robert Underhay? Has that something to do with the fact that Lynn Marchmont, his fiance, seemed to be attracted to David Hunter?

💜 All in all, it was an interesting case. I loved that Poirot was not involved in the case until about half the story. If gave Christie ample opportunity to focus on the family dynamic, giving each character (suspects) to reveal their true selves, but without giving up too much to keep us in the dark of the murderer's identity until almost at the end. 

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐1/2

Missing or Murdered (1929) by Robin Forsythe

🤎 I have read two Algernon Vereker's mysteries before, and have enjoyed both. One thing that make them interesting is the friendly competition between Vereker - the amateur detective, and Detective Inspector Heather from Scotland Yard. I always enjoy their bantering, usually over a bottle of aperitif or beer at the bar. This book is the first in the series, and the one where they both met for the first time. I've been excited over this one, and in the end it proved to be satisfying!

🤎 Lord Bygrave from the Ministry office seemed to had vanished into thin air the day after he last left the office for a fortnight holiday in his country house. Detective Inspector Heather from Scotland Yard was in charge of the case, and Vereker, being Lord Bygrave intimate friend and executor, joins Heather in the investigation. The first thing to be established is whether Lord Bygrave is dead or alive, missing or murdered,  - hence the title. But that is difficult to determine. A lot of things were discovered, of course, such as the visit of a mysterious veiled lady shortly before the disappearance; bonds missing from his personal cabinet; a proposal to his beloved niece from a man he didn't approve of. In short, there are several possibilities, but very limited clues.

🤎 Like the usual Golden Age mysteries, it has several plot twists and red herrings, and we are continually wondering whether the man is missing or murdered. The story revolves around these possibilities with its many red herrings, till almost the very end. And that made it highly entertaining, besides the challenge between the Scotland yard and the amateur detective, of who could solve the puzzle first - each with his own strategy of pulling the other's legs, though with good sport, without jeopardizing the case.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Agatha Christie Short Stories 2025: Mini Reviews for May

The Million Dollar Bond Robbery

This is a Hercule Poirot story, where Poirot and Hastings were asked to investigate a bond robbery. The story opens with Hastings remarking how often one reads about bond robbery those days. Then a young woman came with exactly the same case. Her fiancee, a bank clerk, had been asked by his boss to take a packet of one million dollars of Liberty bonds on board a ship, for sale in the United States. The packet was placed in a trunk, of which, only the trusted clerk and two managers had the key. Later on the clerk found attempts to force-opening on the trunk, and the packet gone! The ship was thoroughly searched to no avail. Who the theft is, and how they did it?

Upon investigation, Poirot found that the bonds were instantly bought by a broker. And that fact convinced him of the solution to the mystery. This has been a straightforward case, and not hard at all to guess.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐1/2

The Affair of the Pink Pearl

The third story in Partners in Crime collection found Tommy as the star detective for a change! He has just bought a camera "for taking photographs of footprints and "all that sort of thing", while a client arrived. She's a young woman from Wimbledon, whose house guest had lost a valuable pink pearl. Her necklace had been laid aside on a table after the clasp broke, and she forgot to take it upstairs at night. The following day, the necklace was there, but without the pink pearl pendant. There's no doubt that someone inside the house had stolen it, but who? And how did they hide it so that the search revealed nothing?

As Tuppence questioned the servants, Tommy took photographs of the whole room. Both efforts weren't fruitless. Tuppence found a kleptomaniac who'd been hiding spoons on their muff, but Tommy deduced correctly the theft of the pink pearl. On the whole, it's a satisfactory story. I've been waiting to read one where Tommy outwits Tuppence, and here it is!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Wish You Were Here (1990) by Rita Mae Brown #ReadingtheMeow2025 #20BooksofSummer2025

🐱 For the third and last book I read for #ReadingtheMeow2025, I picked a cat-mystery. Mrs. Murphy is the cat-detective; she's a tiger cat who lives with a divorced-postmistress named Mary Minor "Harry" Haristeen as her companion. To complete the household, there's a Welsh Corgi named Tucker. They all live in a small town, where everyone knows about everyone else, and there's not such thing as secret. Harry - as the postmistress - has a habit of reading postcards not addressed to her. In one of these, she found one postcard with Paris cemetery image, captioned "wish you were here". Few days later, a citizen was murdered - the one who'd received the postcard. Then another death, with similar "warning". It was then that Harry realized the significant of the anonymous postcards. There's a murderer among them, and most probably he/she knew that Harry knew more than she supposed to.

🐱 Mrs. Murphy and Tucker don't really fond of humans - they're too slow on anything. Nope, humans don't concern them much. But when it comes to Harry, they'll do anything to protect her. And now, they must solve the mystery before the murderer could harm their beloved mom! One thing that amused me is that the animals in this story talk to each other, but not to the humans. There are a few secondary animal characters, like Pewter - the butcher's grey cat, who often visits the post office. With their helps, Mrs. Murphy and Tucker investigated every murder, and they found a strange smell always accompany the corpse - a smell like that of... turtles (what a turtle smell like, I wonder?...) Anyway, it was they who finally solved the mystery, and they tried hard to let Harry know, but how dense their mom always is - she always thinks they need foods or a few cuddles; like those are all that pets need! 

🐱 All in all, it was a delightful read, combining murder mystery with small town dynamic and cute but smart animals. I loved most of the characters - both humans and animals - though the name "Bonbon" is rather funny for a woman; it got me giggling everytime. As a cat book, this is a fulfilling one, since the cat (supported by its gang) is front and center as the mystery solver.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips (2005) by Michael Morpurgo #ReadingtheMeow2025 #20Booksof Summer2025

🐈 Lily Tregenze is a girl of about 13 years old, who lives in 1943 with her family in Slapton, a seaside village in England, during the World War II. Her father is away, but apart from her missing him, she's quite contend to live with her beloved cat, an adventurous one, called Tips. Everything seems generally good, and the war has not touched their village. Until one day it was announced that the villagers must evacuate, living their house - the lock-stock-and barrel situation - because the Allied troops will use it for practices, before invading France.

🐈 Just when they were about to move to Uncle George's house in nearby village, Tips - the cat - is missing. Lily and the family, helped by two young American soldiers whom Lily had befriended, searched for it without avail. The area around the farm would be barbed-wired, and nobody could enter it after that. But Lily couldn't leave Tips alone, she must find her. Her American soldier friends - Addie (short of Adolphus) and Harry, had promised her that they would keep looking for Tips, and that one day the cat would surely come home. They also warned the danger of being near the vicinity of the practice. But Lily must find Tips, so she made plans to cross the wire, into the danger zone. Would she find Tips - alive? And what would happen next?

🐈 It was a wonderful story of courage, resilience, love, and friendship during the war, which was written in the form of diary - Lily's diary. Sixty years after the war, Lily wrote a letter to her grandson, following her re-marriage and move to a new place. The diary was included in the letter. It told him of her extraordinary life, and how an adventurous cat named Tips had become the key that changed her life - during the war, and even sixty years later. 

🐈 I've actually expected this to be a story from a cat's point of view. Or perhaps a story about the cat's adventures during the war - the kind which tells you the horrible things brought by war but seen from a cat's view, so that it becomes less horrifying, and even comes as cute and sweet. But this one is different. Surprisingly, Tips, the cat, isn't the center of the story. It is an amazing story, but not of Tips - which was implied by the title - although the story wouldn't even exist without Tips. So, the cat here has a very important role. The ending is unexpected, and threw the whole story to another level - made it much more memorable than just an adventure of a cat.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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hosted by Annabel and Emma