#MurderEveryMonday: Covers with Train

Murder Every Monday was created by Kate @ Crossexamining Crime and @ArmchairSleuth. Put simply, the plan is for readers to take a photo of a crime fiction book (novel or short story collection) which meets a given week’s theme criteria and to then share it online, using the hashtag #MurderEveryMonday.

This week's theme is:

Cover with a train on

I didn't realize there are quite a lot of Golden Age murder mysteries set on or around a train. The increasingly common use of express train in those days was part of the reasons, I guess. Here are covers with train that I could think of:

Have your read any of them? Which cover(s) do you like most?

If you want to participate, here's the list of the weekly theme:

Six Books Saturday #2: Books That Remind Me of My Father

#SixBooksSaturday is my personal monthly bookish meme, inspired by Six Word Saturday, which I've stumbled upon Travel with Intent.

It's basically to list six books of random category, which I'd decided on the spot. Anything is possible according to my whim. I post Six Books Saturday on last Saturday of each month. If you're interested, you are, of course, welcomed to join me. There's no rule, really. You can post six anything about books.


This month's theme is very personal. My father passed away two months ago, and I have missed him terribly. This is a remembrance to my dear Papa, who had imparted his passion of reading on me since my childhood. Here are:

Six Books that Remind Me of My Father

Harry Potter (book 1 to 7) by J.K. Rowling

It always amazes me how my father must have loved Harry Potter much more than I. But that's a fact. He had read through the series for probably six times (or more), especially during the last three to five years of his life. Looking at my now battered Harry Potter books will always reminds me of him. We often watched the movie together too, but more often he watched it alone on HBO.

The Adventures of Tintin (series) by Hergé

When I was about five or six years old, my father's hobby was photography. He often took me when he visited the photography shop, which was next to a bookstore. I remember how I used to read Tintin at the bookstore while waiting for Papa doing his business next door. I was so absorbed into Tintin's universe, that I didn't see Papa coming to fetch me.

The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas

My first read of The Three Musketeers was a graphic novel, and it was introduced by Papa. He explained to me the story and taught me about integrity, loyalty, and friendship while we were reading together (I looked at only the picture mostly). Many years later, I might have forgotten the plot, but remembered clearly what a wicked woman Milady was.

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

It all began on my seventeenth birthday. Papa used to write me a letter on my birthdays, and few others when I started college and on my 1st day of work. He imparted his wisdoms, everything that he had learned about life and human existence. On these occasions he often wrote about hope and positive thinking, quoting passages from Anne Frank. Later on he encouraged me to finally read the book, but its value had reached me long before. I always believe that my relatively smooth journey to adulthood was partly due to these letters from Papa, besides, of course, my parents' loving care.

Winnetou by Karl May

This is perhaps a less known series you'd probably never read or even heard of. It's about deep friendship between a German-American frontiersman and a Native American called Winnetou, chief of Apache tribe. Winnetou is one of Papa’s favorites, and which for years he had had persuaded me to read. At first I thought West World, horses, cowboy, and Indian was too masculine for me, but once I tried, I couldn’t put it down. From Winnetou I learned about true friendship between two different races, and of course, the injustice done by the stronger race against the weaker one.

Agatha Christie's mystery books

My first encounter with Agatha Christie's book was at the school library, and I found it too dark. Upon my reading it at home, Papa suggested I tried And Then There Were None, which he thought I might like better. I did like it, in fact I was addicted to Christie's to this day. I remember Papa used to bring Mama and me to the bookstore every month. He let me choose one Agatha Christie to buy, and what a tremendous joy those moments were when I spend a long time in front of the Agatha Christie shelf to pick just one I'd like to read (I wanted all! 😛). On certain occasions, Papa let me pick two, and how I left the store the happiest girl in the world!


I am forever grateful to my dearest Papa for everything he did to make me the person I am today, both as an avid reader, and a human being. He was a wonderful man and remarkable father. I will always love you, Papa!

Next Six Books Saturday: 28th October 2023.

 

The Unfinished Clue (1934) by Georgette Heyer

💃🏻 Sir Arthur Billington-Smith is the type of person who attracts murder. He's a bully, unpleasant man, who treated his family horribly, and made everyone miserable. Thus, it is clear from the beginning who the victim would be.

💃🏻 Sir Arthur and Lady Fay Billington-Smith is receiving guests for the weekend in their countryside house. Dinah Fawcet, Fay's sister, is staying to support her sister. She's an intelligent, efficient, no-nonsense girl. Also staying as guests: Camilla Halliday, who is flirting with her host, with her jealous husband Basil; Sir Arthur's hard-up nephew: Francis Billington-Smith; and Stephen Guest, a family friend who's in love with Fay Billington-Smith and wants to marry her. Last but definitely not least: Sir Arthur's rebellious son Geoffrey, who's causing upheaval at her father's house by bringing home with him his new fianceé, an insolent selfish cabaret dancer named Lola de Silva.

💃🏻 Sir Arthur was found dead in his study, stabbed on the neck, with only a piece of paper, with unfinished word or sentence written before death took him, as the clue. Excepting Dinah Fawcet, who had neither opportunity nor strong motive to kill him, all the others are suspects. Is it an insider's job? Or one of the servants or other non-staying guests? Whoever it was, the local police were in a difficult position to handle the case, so they call in the Scotland Yard.

💃🏻 Inspector Harding is the epitome of a perfect crime detective. Educated in Oxford, and gentlemanly in his manner, he skillfully deals with the people concerned. He's a charming man too. Had Heyer written a series of Inspector Harding, he would be my favorite detective. Unfortunately, this is a standalone book, and Harding himself uttered a wish to leave Yard and become a farmer in the final chapter. While performing his investigation diligently, he still has time to court the admirable Dinah Fawcet, who reciprocates his affection. What I loved from him most, is his ability in deduction and extracting information from suspects, and his professional authority when he's on duty, which always commanding respect instead of fear.

💃🏻 All in all, this was a perfect Golden Age detective story. A charming detective, a wonderful plot with surprising twist, a proportionate writing with decent pace, a tinge of efficient romance, pleasant and believable characters, set in an English countryside. What more could you expect? Well, more books, actually...! But as we won’t have it, at least this one has been a very wholesome read.

Rating: 5 / 5

This book counts for: British Crime Classics Challenge 2023

For Bingo Card: Death by Stabbing

Five Little Pigs by Agatha Christie: A Re-read from Audiobook

🐷 I have read almost all – if not all - Agatha Christie's crime novels, yet, still could never accurately predict the murderer before the dénouement. Oh, I guessed them quite often, I did. Yet, I have never been completely sure. You know how it is, if not a couple of red-herrings that make you doubt yourself, then the idea is too absurd - like in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, for instance. When I got to several last chapters of Five Little Pigs, I saw a loophole, and knew instantly the murderer. It was a 'eureka' moment for me. I got to the dénouement excitingly; have I predicted the whodunnit correctly this time? Alas, no! Agatha Christie did it again.

🐷 A young girl called Clara Lemarchant hired Poirot to investigate a murder of her father, sixteen years ago. Her mother, Caroline Crale, was found guilty of poisoning him. Carla never doubts that her mother was innocent, but now that she's engaged to be married, Carla and her fiancé needs to know the truth.

🐷 Investigating a murder that happened in the past has its difficulty - the detective can't see the crime scene, or looking for clues. But these things never hamper Hercule Poirot - his investigation method is more on the psychological side, besides on the facts. For this case, he interviews people who was involved in the case: the police, the solicitor, the doctor. But most importantly, he visits five people who were present at the crime scene: Philip Blake (close friend of the victim - a painter called Amyas Crale), Meredith Blake (amateur chemist, Philip's brother, in love with Caroline Crale), Elsa Greer (young girl, Amyas's model, wanting to marry him), Angela Warren (Caroline's half-sister), and Cecilia Williams (Angela's governess). These five are Poirot's suspects, whom he dubs as 'five little pigs', following a nursery rhyme.

🐷 These interviews and, later on, five written "views" from each suspect's perspective on the event, help Poirot to see the truth, which had eluded the police sixteen years ago. His success was due to his ability to analyze psychological condition of all the suspects, but particularly of Caroline.

🐷 At first, it seemed like a simple case. Amyas must have angered someone, and the person saw an opportunity, and put something into his drink. But Poirot shows us that it wasn't that simple. The solution was smart, and Christie had actually put a hint in the previous chapter, if only I've read more thoroughly. Just one word that I have thought incorrect before, proved to be the key. I would have to be careful to mince every word and sentence on my next Christie read – she’s such a skillful words-weaver!

🐷 This mystery isn't like any regular Golden Age detective stories, which depend on clues and alibis. It's all about psychology. Another masterpiece from Christie, and I don't understand why it wasn't as famous as, say... Murder on the Orient Express, which I found 'meh'. I have completed this book by listening to the audiobook version, narrated, as with most of Christie’s audiobooks, by Hugh Fraser.

Rating: 5 / 5

This book counts for: British Crime Classics Challenge 2023

For Bingo Card: Death by Poison

For Monthly Theme: Books by Agatha Christie

#MurderEveryMonday: Cover with a Poison On

 
Murder Every Monday was created by Kate @ Crossexamining Crime and @ArmchairSleuth. Put simply, the plan is for readers to take a photo of a crime fiction book (novel or short story collection) which meets a given week’s theme criteria and to then share it online, using the hashtag #MurderEveryMonday.

This week's theme is:

Cover with a poison on

Here's a random selection of covers with poison on, either in the image or in the title.

Have your read any of them? Which cover(s) do you like most?

If you want to participate, here's the list of the weekly theme.

 

Montgomery Bonbon #1: Murder at the Museum (2023) by Alasdair Beckett-King: An Audiobook Review

🕵️‍♀️ Bonnie Montgomery is an ordinary 10-year-old girl who lives with her mother and grandpa Banks. But as soon as she's on a crime scene, with the help of a moustache, a beret, and foreign accent, voila... she would instantly transform into her alter ego: Montgomery Bonbon, the great detective.

🕵️‍♀️ On a visit to Hornville Museum, the power is suddenly off, and then, a horrible shriek. Montgomery Bonbon, accompanied by her—I mean his—accomplice (grandpa Banks) rushed to the crime scene, where a museum's staff was found murdered, and a rare exhibit was stolen.

🕵️‍♀️ Undeterred by the local police's effort to ban Montgomery Bonbon from the crime scene, Bonnie must count on her wit and deduction skill to solve the murder and the theft. It's easier said than done, for Montgomery Bonbon has had quite a few dangerous struggles, including interviewing the suspects, entering a closed scene, and snooping at private places, before his triumphant moment finally come

🕵️‍♀️ This was a refreshing, funny, fast-paced murder mystery for young readers. Montgomery Bonbon, the small moustachioed man with his foreign accent is not dissimilar to Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot. Not just his appearance, but also his style of denouement in the end.

🕵️‍♀️ I loved every single moment of this story, especially when Montgomery Bonbon lost his moustache - I laughed out loud at that!! And that little cheeky moment at the end concerning the moustache, why, that's a clever touch, I say! The mystery itself was brilliantly written, clever solution, with a little theatrical drama which is not unlike Poirot's.

🕵️‍♀️ An added value to this delightful mystery: I listened to the audiobook, narrated by non-other than the writer himself: Alasdair Beckett-King! He isn't just a wonderful writer, but also a stand-up comedian and actor. Hence, this highly entertaining gem!

Rating: 5 / 5

 

Mayhem in Circulation by Leah Dobrinska (A Larkspur Library Mystery #2)

Thanks to Level Best Books publisher and NetGalley for providing me a review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

🍂 Larkspur, a small lakeside town in Wisconsin, has lately been suffering from vandalism. Dead bird and egg yolks were found scattered on the road. And it happened just before the upcoming Fall Festival, not mentioning the tourism showcase Mayor Sandra Collins and team have been working very hard to prepare for.

🍂 But that was just the beginning. The next day the mayor was found dead outside the municipal building, amidst graffiti paint. Even worse, it happens just when the reporter, who would do the town profile, arrives. Is it an accident? Or... murder?

🍂 It's a murder alright. Inspector McHenry is handling the investigation, and Miss Greta Plank, the thirty-years-old Larkspur Library Director, isn't supposed to involve in anything concerning the murder. But, how can she do nothing when their beloved town is suffered? Greta is an amateur sleuth, and she has done some sleuthing before (in book one). Despite of McHenry's concerns of her safety, Greta does involve in the case. Suspicious (and often dangerous) things seem to be happening wherever she is. What's happening to this town? Who would do such an unthinkable thing? Is it an outsider's job? Or anyone of the community?

🍂 Though I didn't start from book one, I could immediately feel transported to the Larkspur town from the start, with its warm friendly community vibes. I loved Greta's three supportive girlfriends, and of course, her budding romance with McHenry. I loved the witty banters the two exchanging during their investigation, and McHenry's reliable and protective support to Greta.

🍂 Of the mystery itself, I liked how the suspicion were equally divided over some close suspects - each with few mysterious snippets of action or conversation, which kept the story run along smoothly, until the disappearance of one of Greta's friends. That's when the story changed gear, from a sinister atmosphere to a truly murderous danger.

🍂 All in all, it's an enjoyable, charming, unputdownable cozy mystery - a perfect autumn read! I couldn't guess the murderer; it's a little bit surprising. I loved particularly how the writer made Larkspur, the town, become a unique character in this story. The other characters are believable, like what you'd expect in a small town, where gossips, friendship, and jealousy are bound to surface. It's not difficult to guess that I'd be waiting expectantly for the next book!

Rating: 4,5 / 5


**Mayhem in Circulation (A Larkspur Library Mystery #2) will be published on 5th December 2023.