Behind a Mask: or, A Woman's Power by Louisa May Alcott: An Audiobook Review #NovNov23

🎭 Who would have thought that years after reading Little Women (which I found flat and too stereotypical), I would be fascinated by Louisa Alcott's writing? And yet, here I am, surprised at finding such a brilliant novella I had no idea she's ever written!

🎭 Behind a Mask or A Woman's Power is one of Blood and Thunder Tales, a thriller series, which Alcott had written years before Little Women. The first of these was a novelette titled Pauline's Passion and Punishment which she wrote while in financial straits. After she entered it in a competition, and won the prize, Alcott published it anonymously under the name of A. M. Barnard.

🎭 Behind a Mask told the story of Jane Muir, a deceitful governess who came to join the wealthy Coventry family, to guide the 14 year-old Bella Coventry. The household consists of Mrs. Coventry (Bella's mother), Gerald (oldest son - an idle gentleman), Edward (youngest son - the romantic young man), and Lucia Beaufort (a cousin who loves Gerald, and regarded as his wife-to-be). There's also Sir John Coventry, uncle to the children, who lives near their house.

🎭 Jane Muir arrived as a shy, demure, polite young woman of 19, who had been persecuted by endless marriage proposals of her former employer, a guy called Sidney, who happened to be Gerald's acquaintance. But right after she was alone in her bedroom at the first night, we saw immediately that she was actually a thirty years old actress, who was in disguise with wig and fake teeth.

🎭 Mrs. Coventry and Bella were instantly charmed by Miss Muir, while Edward fell head over heels for her. Sir John also gradually found comfort in this girl's company. Only Gerald and Lucia who were suspicious. Thus, it was amusing to watch how Miss Muir gradually won over the family's heart. Even the skeptic Gerald was soon infatuated by her, after she confessed that she'd actually come from a respectable family, and an equal to her employer. Jane's enemies are now Lucia - who's watching her lover slowly slipped away from her, and Lucia's faithful maid.

🎭 Jane's aim was certainly to marry one of the men, to be a Coventry; but the question is, which one? To succeed she must act quickly before the truth overcome her plot, otherwise she would be ruined - penniless and homeless. Will she succeed? Moreover, will this story make her a heroine - a lower class woman's ambition to secure a better life, or will it be 'truth will win over evil' - a condemnation of ambitious female sex in 19th century a la Thomas Hardy?

🎭 I loved everything about this novella! It's like watching a genius actress performing her act, live. Alcott's narrative described Jane Muir's gestures in little details - her sighs, drooping eyelids, her tremble, voice modulation, hand on the heart - everything is perfect. She performed each in the right time, with right amount, to create the right effect. It's so satisfying to read and follow her actions. I know she's deceitful, but I can't help wishing her successful, and the suspense was delicious right to the end.

🎭 Needless to say, this was one of the best novellas I've ever read. No matter what people call this kind of story - a thriller? a sensation novel? - it works for me. What an satisfying read of a brilliant writing! Or should I say 'a satisfying listening', because its was the audiobook version which I've enjoyed for this novella - and it was superbly performed (as usual) by B.J. Harrison. He was such a brilliant performer - not only narrator. He gave each character a perfect modulation in speech, and gave this sensation novella a credit by making it 'live'.

Rating: 5 / 5

This book counts for:

Novellas in November 2023
hosted by Cathy @ 746 Books and Rebecca @ Bookish Beck

Death of a Blogger (2021) by Dawn Brookes #NovNov23

⛴ To be honest, I picked this novella up in the first place because of the 'blogger' element. As a blogger myself, it struck me that we don't (at least I don't) see many books about blogger, let alone book blogger. But in this particular novella, the blogger posts about gossips and scandals, so it's not counted as a respectable blog.

⛴ Lady Marjorie Snellthorpe is taking a cruise with her two young friends, Rachel and Sarah. On the departure morning, one of the passengers, an unpleasant woman whom every one has been avoiding, was pushed from the top stairs of the hotel, fell down, and died. Any one of the passengers whom Marjorie has met the night before could have done it due to the usual morning chaos, prior to departure. But who? And why?

⛴ The victim turned out to be a nasty blogger. She wrote about secret and scandals of her acquaintances - obscuring the names, of course - but when we know, we know. This, of course, was a strong motive. And it's from her blog posts that Marjorie eventually built up her deduction to decide who the murderer is.

⛴ Besides busying herself with the murder case, Marjorie was also busy to avoid her cousin-in-law, a brazen, noisy woman called Edna, who's also on the cruise. It's rather impossible to avoid a relative on a cruise, right? Not only that Marjorie failed to shy away from Edna, she had to accommodate her in her room because the cruiser somehow overlooked Edna's booking. Awkward at first, as you can only imagine, but it gives both women chance of retrospection. Sometimes things were not as it seemed to be; people aren't what they appear to be. And a cruise might be a perfect place to patch certain things up.

⛴ Death of a Blogger is the prequel to The Lady Marjorie Snellthorpe Mystery series. It's quite an entertaining cozy mystery. The plot itself is nicely crafted; I didn't guess the murderer. The characters are plausible, and considering the shortness of the novella, they were developed nicely. Overall, it's not special, yet entertaining enough.

Rating: 3 / 5

This book counts for:

Novellas in November 2023 #NovNov23

Hosted by Cathy @ 746 Books & Rebecca @ Bookish Beck

Betsy-Tacy (1940) by Maud Hart Lovelace #NovNov23

👭 My third novella for #NovNov23 is a children semi-autobiographical novel from Maud Hart Lovelace, depicting a little girl called Betsy Ray and her best friend Tacy Kelly. This book is the first of the series, beginning when Betsy was five years old.

👭 Betsy is an imaginative, precocious child who loves to tell stories. Unfortunately there isn't any little girl her age nearby to whom she can tell them. Therefore, when the Kellys moved in across the street one day, she's so joyful to find out that there's this thin girl of her age. Her name's Tacy - short of Anastasia - and she is bashful.

👭 Reading this book felt like following the two little girls around doing delightful little things. Like bringing your lunch out to have a picnic under the tree, or making a playhouse out of a piano box. There're also the more playful and adventurous activities like creating multi colored sand in glass bottles, then sell them to their friends and neighbors. I loved how the elderly neighbor, not only did she bought it properly, she displayed it proudly on her drawing room. This made the girls so happy when they were 'making call' to the lady. Yes, the girls also played making calls, complete with borrowed clothing items from their mothers. Mrs. Ray even given some of her calling cards!

👭 But it's not all. Like I've mentioned above, Betsy is imaginative. So when the girls are getting bored, they play by Betsy's imagination. An old dog cart could make them travel to big city, and a pair of feather could make them fly.

👭 All in all, this was a lovely, playful read. The different characters of Betsy and Tacy made them perfect for each other. I loved the adults here - especially Betsy's mother. The neighbors and the schoolteacher were also amiable people who were never condescending towards the girls.

👭 I loved also the picturesque landscape of Hill Street, which Lovelace portrayed so vividly and beautifully. I listened this story from audiobook, narrated quite nicely by Sutton Foster - at least she doesn't high-pitch her voice when the scene is excited. This is the kind of book that makes you warm and happy; not overjoyed, but like sunshine that warms you through and would make you believe that it is good to be alive anyway, despite everything else.

Rating: 4 / 5

This book counts for:

Novellas in November 2023 #NovNov23

Fool Errant (1929) by Patricia Wentworth

🦜 Hugo Ross would be an unlikely hero of any novel, let alone a spy novel. He's a nervous young man, stammering and blushing a lot, although quite intelligent, and gradually, proved to be courageous too. He's penniless, and when someone tipped him off that a vacancy for secretary is open in Meade House, to work for a famous inventor named Ambrose Minstrel, he did his best to secure the position by arriving in the vicinity the night before the interview. It was pitch dark that night, and all of a sudden he heard someone's running towards him, and a moment later collided with him!

🦜 It was a girl, an excited girl who tends to chattering when excited. She was running away from home, and was rushing to catch her train. Learning that he's going to work for Minstrel, she urgently warned him not too, before getting to the train and vanished; without even telling him her name.

🦜 Hugo did get the job. But no sooner than he started, strange occurrences happened - trivial and annoying, but inexplicable all the same: someone stealthily trying to open his bedroom door at night, then a man who's insisting of buying a worthless item at high price. Hugo also overheard himself mentioned as a 'mug' by Minstrel and his assistant. Puzzled, but feeling that something menacing is broiling, Hugo consulted his case with Benbow Smith, his brother-in-law's uncle, an ex-intelligent, eccentric man who lived with his parrot pet, Ananias.

🦜 Apparently Hugo had unwittingly drawn into an intriguing plot of espionage. He was designated to be the space goat when the plot succeeded, due to his apparent naive and gullible behavior. It's a huge risk to continue - he could be imprisoned or severely punished if they succeed to put the blame on him - or even if they realize that he know about them. He could just leave Meade House behind, or continue what he's been doing in order to do something for his country. And Hugo chose to go on. The enemies' ignorance of his knowledge would be his weapon - he continued to appear as gullible as possible, do whatever they ask him.

🦜 This novel proved to be a highly entertaining read! Suspenseful from the start, unlikely hero and heroine (Loveday Leigh, the girl who warns Hugo, proved to be clever and courageous too), unique unforgettable investigator with his parrot, high-paced adventures, with healthy dose of cute romance. I loved Hugo Ross and Loveday Leigh, and of course, Ananias the 🦜. Benbow Smith with his secretive aura would probably be an interesting character, but his role in this one is too minor to be noticed. Hopefully we get to see more of him in the rest of the next books. Because, of course, I want to read more from this series!

Rating: 5 / 5

I read this book for:

British Crime Classics Challenge 2023

For Bingo Card: Espionage/Spy

A Quiet Life in the Country (2016) by T.E. Kinsey: An Audiobook Review

💙 Lady Emily Hardcastle and her maid Florence Armstrong have moved from the hustle bustle of London to the rural countryside of Gloucestershire, to seek for a quieter life. However, just a few days after their arrival, they found a body hanged from a tree on their morning stroll. It appears like a suicide, but Lady Hardcastle's watchful eyes soon found evidences that it was a foul play.

💙 The police seem to take the wrong way, though, that our unconventional amateur sleuth pair decided to investigate by themselves. During this time, Lady Hardcastle received an invitation for a house party at the Granger, while Flo (Florence) was asked to help with the service.

💙 That night one of the band members was murdered, and the hostess' emerald was stolen. Lady Hardcastle and Flo were joining the police inspector in investigating the murder, but the stolen emerald was secretly handled by Lady Hardcastle due to its family secret.

💙 I loved everything about this book! First off all, the mystery was well thought of. The clue were scattered proportionately along the investigation, that the story is never dull. The interviews conducted by the inspector -and attended by our sleuths - unfolded slowly secrets and undoings of people involved.

💙 My favorite part is the dynamic duo of the lady and the maid. Their relationship is not like what a lady and her ladies maid had had in 1908. Lady Hardcastle and Flo seem more like a friend despite of class difference. I love their silly banters and teasing, and these are often the funniest part of the book, just like this one:

Flo: ...A maid with bad knees called Edna.
Lady H: She has knees called Edna?
🤣

💙 The unique personalities and mysterious past of Lady Hardcastle and Flo, added certain charm to the already delightful cozy mystery. We get glimpses of their past dangerous adventures abroad, which might have honed their detecting prowess, and gave them an ultimate weapon - hidden strength and confidence beneath their polite feminine manners.

💙 Needless to say, this will become one of favorite cozy mysteries this year, and a series I'm excited to read on - or listen on, I should've said, as I enjoyed the audiobook, nicely narrated by Elizabeth Knowelden.

Rating: 4,5 / 5

Blogger-Inspired Wishlist...with a Twist, Ep. 10,5

Blogger-Inspired Wishlist is a feature where I post recent additions to my wish list, which had been inspired by reviews from my fellow bloggers. Now, about the twist...

While browsing Twitter, I sometimes stumbled upon books that interest me. It could be from someone's tweeting about his/her latest book haul, or someone's retweet of book promotion from his/her favorite bookstore. Either way, if the title/cover and its Goodreads' summary attracts me, I'll put it into a list. No summaries/explanation, just the links.

Looking for the Durrells by Melanie Hewitt

From @MelanieHewitt61 

West with Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge

From @Kittling_Books, retweeted by @Caffyolay

Murder in the Basement by Anthony Berkeley

From @ArmchairSleuth 

The Square of Sevens by Laura Shepherd-Robinson

From @MalikaRamacha1 

Wrong Poison by Nikki Knight

From @AgnewRobin 

Comes a Stranger by E.R. Punshon

From @DeanStPress 

The Ghost of Frédéric Chopin by Eric Faye

From @Heaven_ali 

Vango: Between Sky and Earth by Timothée de Fombelle

From @debnance 

When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit by Judith Kerr

From @JanCarson7280, retweeted by @ds228

Hotel Splendide by Ludwig Bemelmans

From @nonsuchbook 

Wonder Cruise by Ursula Bloom

From @Heaven_ali 

Flying Too High by Kerry Greenwood

From @ChasingClues 

Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes

From @ElliotBlackwe3 

Mrs. Plansky's Revenge by Spencer Quinn

From @Kittling_Books, retweeted by @Caffyolay

The Backyard Birds Chronicles by Amy Tan

From @ElliottBlackwe3 

The Biscuit Barrel Murder by Geoffrey Start

From @MallikaRamacha1 

A Murder of Aspic Proportions by Amy Lillard

From @AgnewRobin 

The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman

From @AgnewRobin 

The Shooting Party by Anton Chekhov

From @alokranj 

Dear Mrs. Bird by AJ Pearce

From @HLibraryofLife 

A Cadenza For Caruso by Barbara Paul

From @AgnewRobin 

Windswept by Annie Worsley

From @RedRiverCroft , retweeted by @holnicoteNH

Cooking with Fernet Branca by James Hamilton-Paterson

From @LouiseCulmer1 

Proud Sorrows by James R. Benn

From @AgnewRobin 

The Incredible Theft (1937) by Agatha Christie #NovNov23

📑 The dinner at Lord Charles Mayfield that night was no ordinary dinner party. The guests are Sir George Carrington - Air Marshal - with his wife and son; Mrs. Vanderlyn - beautiful American woman who often involves in espionage using her beauty to extract secrets from her victims; Mrs. Macatta; and Mayfield's secretary, Carlisle.

📑 The dinner was only a camouflage of the more important agenda: the secret meeting between Lord Mayfield and the Air Marshal concerning plans of the new bomber plane which will make England superior. Carlisle was instructed to lay out the plans on the table ready for the two prominent figures of the country, while they were taking a short after-dinner stroll.

📑 Things happened quickly in that very short time. Lord Mayfield thought he saw a shadow coming out of the room, while Sir George saw nothing. And when they were finally ready to start the meeting, the plans were stolen! Carlisle admitted that during their absence, he went out of the room after Mrs. Vanderlyn's maid screamed on the stairs, which she said, because she saw a ghost...

📑 Due to the sensitivity of the situation, the police couldn't be involved to investigate the matter. Sir George suggested then, to call Hercule Poirot, who soon decided that the theft was an insider. But which one? Is it Mrs. Vanderlyn, whom Lord Mayfield suggested? Or Carlisle, whom Mayfield defended? Or another unexpected one?

📑 I knew I hadn't read this novella before, but somehow the premise was familiar to me. A quick research told me that this was actually an expansion of Christie's earlier short story: The Submarine Plans. She altered the submarine to bomber plane, expand the story, and changed the characters; but the essence is there.

📑 On the whole, it's an interesting case. The theft is quite cleverly crafted, though it lacks subtlety. At least, there were some fishy things from the beginning, which should have led to the thief's identity. The element which was supposed to be red herring felt rather childish, and I wonder who would believe that. The solution was not very satisfying also, but it is still entertaining enough.

Rating: 3,5 / 5

I read this book for:

Novellas in November 2023 #NovNov23

British Crime Classic Challenge 2023

For Bingo Card: Private Detective