The Tragedy at Marsdon Manor by Agatha Christie #AgathaChristieSS24

🔫 Poirot was asked to investigate the death of a Mr. Maltraverse, who had bought a life insurance policy for a huge amount only two weeks ago. He was found dead in the grounds of his house, Marsdon Manor, with a rook rifle near his body. Cause of death from the doctor is of internal hemorrhage.

🔫 Poirot and Hastings then interview the local doctor, Mrs. Maltraverse, and a young soldier who had visited the Manor few days later. From them Poirot found a discrepancy, upon which to build his case. Was it death by natural cause, or suicide? Or worse, could it's been murder?

🔫 Despite of the rather dry premise, I actually enjoyed this story. I could guess how it had happened, though narrowly missed to guess the perpetrator. It's a simple plot, but without Poirot's brilliant deduction and knowledge of human psychology, it would take longer to solve the mystery. The way of denouement is very clever on Poirot's side. And as usual, Hastings is conveniently there solely to guide us, readers, to wrong conclusion. If you ignore him, you would get nearer to the truth!

🔫 Regardless of that, I still love the dear old Hastings, because when he's around, the story becomes more charming. And I always cherish Poirot-Hastings hilarious banter like this one:

"And what do you think of Dr. Bernard, Hastings?"
"Rather an old ass."
"Exactly. Your judgements of character are always profound, my friend."
I glanced at him uneasily, but he seemed perfectly serious. A twinkle, however, came into his eye, and he added slyly:
"That is to say, when there is no question of a beautiful woman!"
I looked at him coldly.

🔫 It's a banter like this that makes Hastings one of my favorite sidekicks, though he is a terribly unreliable narrator!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Club Dumas (1993) by Arturo Pérez-Reverte

📚 I must thank Simon @ Stuck in a Book who inspired me to challenge myself in A Century of Books, without which I wouldn't have found, let alone read, this book, first published in 1993. It's a book-about-books, so I thought there's a fat chance I would like it. And, it's about Alexandre Dumas too, one author I always admire for his brilliant story writing. Plus, it's available on Everand (previously Scribd), where I mostly read e-books or listening audiobooks from.

📚 The Club Dumas is a literary mystery-thriller in the antiquarian bookish world, set in Spain. Our literary detective is Lucas Corso, a middle-aged book mercenary whose job is to hunt down rare editions for wealthy bibliophiles. When a book collector was found dead hanging from the ceiling, a part of handwritten manuscript of The Three Musketeers was on the floor nearby. Corso, who's hired to investigate its authenticity, seemed to be plunged into Dumas' fictional books, where he meets vilain characters such as Milady and Rochefort.

📚 Paralel to that, another client hired him to find rare editions of an occultist book, The Nine Doors (fictional), which is believed to contain instructions to summon Satan! There are three editions left in the world, which led Corso to dangerous adventures in Toledo, Prague, and Venice, while a beautiful young girl who insists to be called Irene Adler (from Sherlock Holmes' universe) follows him everywhere as his guardian. Is she an ardent lover or a mysterious enemy?

📚 Any bookish person, especially those who adore classics, would be thrilled to read this book. There are many mentions of great works, besides those of Dumas, such as Moby Dick (Lucas and his friend called themselves The Brotherhood of Nantucket Harpooners), Sherlock Holmes (Irene Adler's address in her passport is 221B Baker Street), and many more. If you are fan of Dumas, this is a book you'll definitely enjoy.

📚 But if you love books, art, and puzzling mystery, this book will make you happy, regardless of the Dumas effect. The occultist book, The Nine Doors, contained nine paintings, which Corso found slightly different in each original edition he investigated. It's like "find five differences in this picture" kind of game. And the paintings are quite lovely.

📚 The story itself is engaging and fast-paced. You'll feel that there are two parallel mystery, the Dumas and The Nine Doors, and it leaves you wondering whether the two are separate cases or one complex case? Because aspects of the one often appear in the other. The truth is quite unpredictable, and, in a way, rather underwhelming. This book is also nostalgic; bringing me back to the 1990s, when floppy disks are used to save data. It reminds me of our family's first computer. The thriller isn't perhaps really my cup of tea, but I cherished the 1990s atmosphere it brings!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

The Owl Prowl Mystery (2024) by Diana Renn

Thanks to Regal House Publishing and NetGalley for providing me review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

🦉 Backyard Rangers is a group of four middle grade students who has concern for wildlife protections. After rescuing turtles in the previous adventure, now they are back with another fun project involving owls.

🦉 Bella is the new celebrity barred owl in Marsh Hollow, where the kids live. Birdwatchers and wildlife photographers from neighboring towns come rushing to meet the super friendly owl who, so friendly it seems to be, that it often appears near human beings apparently without fear. But Miles, one of the rangers, found clues which led them to believe that someone has actually baited the owls - a practice which endangered them. It is now up to these four kids to bring the crime into spotlight, and save the owls' wildlife future.

🦉 As I love birds, lately I've been trying to read more books about birds. So, when I saw this title in NetGalley, I knew I have to read it. And it pays off - it's a fun wildlife adventure/mystery to read. Hopefully more fiction under this eco-mystery genre would be published in the future, especially for middle-grader. It's a good way to promote love for nature in younger age.

🦉 The birds, birdwatching, and everything around birding are aplenty in this novel, but they're not all. There's the real personal struggle in each character, to balance with their eco-sleuthing. Their studies is one thing, but there are mentions of health problem (Delaney suffers from scoliosis), personal disability (Miles with his ADHD), family problem, and others.

🦉 Other than wildlife conservation idea, this book also warns us that appearances can be misleading - in animals as well as human beings. I think this adventure gives Miles and co. the foundation to be better eco-sleuths in the future. Will there be a third book? Please say yes, Diana! Meanwhile, I'll try to get a copy for the first!🦉

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

**The Owl Prowl will be published in 13 August 2024**

Agatha Christie Short Stories 2024: APRIL #AgathaChristieSS24

How have your #AgathaChristieSS24 so far? I am enjoying mine. Reading short stories as standalones is well worth it! But now we are in the second third of our journey. Here are two stories we are going to read:

HAVE YOU GOT EVERYTHING YOU WANT?

Boarding the Orient Express at the Gare de Lyon, a young woman discovers the presence of the detective Parker Pyne on the train, who is there to solve a jewel robbery that hasn’t happened yet. She thinks she might know the intended victim…

Published in 1934, this story first appeared in the US in Cosmopolitan magazine, and later in the collection of short stories, Parker Pyne Investigates. One interesting fact about this story is that Parker Pyne seems to become Poirot's shadow. Like Poirot, Pyne travels down the Nile and encountered murder. He's travelling on the Orient Express, meeting people in crisis, and even collaborating with Ariadne Oliver to solve the mystery. Not mentioning the appearance of another figure who usually appears in Poirot's stories...

THE TRAGEDY AT MARSDON MANOR

Elderly Mr Maltravers is found dead in a field, with his grieving wife claiming it has been natural causes. But as he recently took out life insurance, the company bring in Poirot to establish if it was suicide. The story was first published in 1924 as a book in the collection Poirot Investigates by Bodley Head.

Which one are you more excited to read? I think I will read the Poirot first, as it sounds rather boring. Then end it with the seemingly more fun Parker Pyne. What about you? ;)

Zoladdiction 2024 Master Post #Zoladdiction2024

Today, April the 2nd, we are celebrating the birthday of one of the greatest French authors in 19th century: Émile Zola, by kicking of Zoladdiction 2024! Bon anniversaire, Monsieur Zola!

We will read and post about Zola and Zola's works the whole month. This time I don't have time to prepare a linky, so please leave a comment with your links below this post. Don't forget to use hashtag #Zoladdiction2024 to share it in social media. I will post a wrap up at the end of the month or early next month, and will include your posts, so please make sure you share them to me.

Now let's grab our book, read, enjoy, and share!

#MurderEveryMonday: Mysteries with "April", "Fool", or Pranks

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:

Crime fiction which includes the words ‘April’ or ‘Fool’ in the title or cover which shows a joke or a prank

The first book has both "April" and Fool" in the title, while the second has only the "Fool". But the third has neither of words nor the cover showing a prank. However, a prank is in the plot - a prank gone wrong, which becomes the method of the murder.


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 #8: Favorite Émile Zola's Books

#SixBooksSaturday is my personal monthly bookish meme, inspired by Six Words 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.

As Zoladdiction 2024 will begin in two days, it's more than appropriate, methink, to soft-kicking it off by sharing some of my favorites from the Rougon-Macquart cycle. I have read all but one from the series (I couldn't get through with Doctor Pascal - yet) - and even read some of them more than once. So, without further ado, here's my...

SIX FAVORITES FROM ÉMILE ZOLA

1. Germinal

I might have said this over and over again, that Germinal is my all time favorite - not only of Zola, but of all. It has all the elements of what a good book is supposed to be. Here's my first and second review. I'm currently listening to the audiobook for Zoladdiction, let's see what I'll think of Germinal after the third read!

2. L'Assommoir

This one is the most mind-blowing for me. Maybe because it was my first introduction to the Rougon-Macquart. But L'Assommoir is also the most picturesque in the series.

3. La Bete Humaine

Another picturesque book from Zola's bibliography, so vivid and beautiful! And it is dear to me especially since is talks about kind and evil in human being, a topic which I have interest in. Here are some posts which I have dedicated for this book.

4. The Conquest of Plassans

Another masterpiece from Zola, with a surprising twist in the end and a great momentum building. My review.

5. The Ladies Paradise

Who would have thought that Zola would write something with a love story, and a happy ending? Yes, a happy ending - a rare occurrence if you read Zola's. It is the lightest of the Rougon-Macquart and actually quite a fun read! Review of my second reading (listening from the audiobook).

6. The Fortunes of the Rougons

It's the first of the series/cycle, and you know how it usually is - laying the background, foundation, and all. It is also a remarkably entertaining story with various plots following several characters. Some of them would also appear in later books. I have read it first in 2015, then reread it in 2020.


Have you read any of them? Which one is your favorite? If you haven't, which one would you like to read first? You can join us in Zoladdiction 2024 and read it to celebrate Zola's birthday!


Next Six Books Saturday: 27th April 2024.