Snow (2020) by John Banville #JohnBanville2024 #20booksofsummer24

❄ Snow is the second book of St. John Strafford series, a crime fiction sets in the 1950s Ireland by the inimitable John Banville. I have read the first book, The Secret Guests, earlier this year for Reading Ireland Month 2024, which was slightly disappointing. So, I approached this second book with not a little apprehension. But I've determined to read at least three books for Cathy's #JohnBanville2024 reading event, so... here it is.

❄ A parish priest was found murdered at Ballyglass House, a house of the aristocratic family of Osborne, in Wexford county. St. John Strafford was summoned to investigate. He found out that the priest was stabbed behind his neck at night during his stay at the house. Not only that, his genitals were then castrated. Catholic Church ruled Ireland with iron fists in the 1950s, and you can imagine what will happen when the news of brutal murder of a priest at a Protestant family house reaches the public. This makes Strafford's investigation more difficult than it is. Not that it's relatively easy so far.

❄ The crime had happened when the house was snowbound. No forced entrance was found either, meaning that the crime was most likely be done by insider. But which one? Colonel Osborne? His insomniac frail wife who'd found the body? The idle son or the spoiled attention-seeker daughter, maybe? Or even the coquettish maid? Strafford's interviews were fruitless, he didn't have any lead for some time. When it began to be rather boring, the next chapter brought a startling revelation about the late priest. Well, actually it's not very surprising, a priest, mutilated on his genital organ, is quite suggestive on what kind of priest he might have been, isn't it? The revelation is for our- readers'-benefit, though. Strafford kept struggling until near the end.

❄ All in all, it's a gloomy read for me. The snow took almost a center part of the story. It's as if there are two villains here, the murderer and the snow. I think the mystery itself could have been a nice one; murder in a country house, snowbound house, body found in the library - very Agatha Christie-ish. However, it lacks one important element - the detective figure.

❄ St. John Strafford is the most distracted, unfocused detective figure I've ever come upon. He doesn't fit anywhere, physically not very fit, and his mind strays to his own family or hometown much too often while performing his duty. Not even Banville's beautiful eloquent prose could help raise this book to my taste. I'm afraid this is the last straw, I will not continue this series after all. Maybe another Banville's non-mystery for next read? Let's see...

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐1/2

Read for:

A Year with John Banville #JohnBanville2024

hosted by Kim @ Reading Matters & Cathy @ 746 Books

20 Books of Summer 2024
hosted by Cathy @ 746 Books

#WITMonth 2024: Books I've Enjoyed & Some Possible Reads

This would be my first participation for #WITMonth, an event of reading Women in Translation during August. Before coming to my list of possible reads, I would like to share some WIT books I have enjoyed so far in 2024 (click link in the title to read my review).

Cigarette Girl (Gadis Kretek) by Ratih Kumala

translated from Indonesian by Annie Tucker

Cigarette making had been an important and inseparable part of Indonesian history and culture. This historical fiction highlights the Dutch and Japanese colonialism of Indonesia from 1940s to 1960s. The story opens on the dying bed of an old rich cigarette business owner, Soeraja. He murmured an unfamiliar name of a woman "Jeng Yah" (Jeng=Madam). His three sons then began a long journey to a small town in Central Java to uncover the buried past of a long rivalry of two young men, their cigarette businesses, and an unrequited love.

I crowned this as the best Indonesian novel I've ever read so far. Kumala brilliantly captured the bygone era of Indonesia, and wove it around the historical background of colonialism. No one is overpowering the other, resulting in a very balanced story, packed with action and wonderful plot, and rich with cultural spice. No wonder it's been adapted to a Netflix serial!

The Easy Life in Kamusari by Shion Miura

translated from Japanese by Juliet Winters Carpenter

The life of foresters in a secluded little village are beautifully captured by Shion Miura in this novel, told from high school boy Yuki Hirano's eyes. He was enrolled by his parents to try forester as a career, of which he's reluctant at first, but relenting in the end, after the charm of Kamusari village won him over. A tranquil, insightful read that will bring you closer with nature.

The Girl Who Reads on the Métro by Christine Féret-Fleury

translated from French by Ros Schwartz

A book about people who love books, and how books influence and change people - that's the appropriate summary of this book. Besides her love for reading, Juliette, the protagonist, loves to imagine the lives of her fellow métro passengers, through books they read every day. One day she met an extraordinary book seller, and recruited as a passeur, whose job is passing particular books to match the readers, using their imagination. And Juliette's dull existence changed abruptly.

It's a sweet, tranquil book that transported you to the more tranquil side of Paris, while enjoying its métro rides.

And now, some possible reads for #WITMonth. Since I will be joining Moomin Week, brought by Mallika and Chris, two of my #WITMonth reads would be Tove Jansson's: The Moomins and the Great Flood (Småtrollen och den stora översvämningen) and Finn Family Moomintroll (Trollkarlens hatt). They are respectively the first and third in Moomins books (translated from Swedish), a children literature about a family of trolls who live in Moominvalley.

I also plan to read Hella Haasse's The Black Lake (Oeroeg), a bildungsroman which has been a staple in literary education for Dutch schoolchildren. It is set in a plantation in West Java, Indonesia, during Dutch colonialism. The story told by a little Dutch boy who grew up in the plantation and befriended a native boy. But the political changes estranged him from his friend until his return after WWII. What would he find? Would everything be the same as before? I have longed to read this book (translated from Ducth, of course, and really hope I can still squeeze it into this month). Fingers crossed!

Have you read any of the books I mentioned? Will you participate in #WITMonth? What will you read?

#MurderEveryMonday: Cover with Items of Clothing in the Title

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.

I'm having great fun with this week's theme, there're so many titles to chose from. Here's my offer:

Cover for a mystery with an item of clothing 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.

Agatha Christie Short Stories 2024: AUGUST #AgathaChristieSS24

One of the two short stories we're going to read for August is of Parker Pyne's (I'm quite excited with this... a murder story - which is rare with Pyne). The other one brings us back with our lovely couple: the Beresfords - Tommy and Tuppence!

THE GATE OF BAGHDAD

Parker Pyne is touring the Middle East when one of the officers, Smethurst, tells Pyne he’s worried about something. Smethurst is killed before he can reveal the full story and it's up to Pyne to find out why.

This is one of the few Parker Pyne mysteries to involve a murder, his cases generally revolving around romance and unhappiness. The story references one of Agatha Christie’s favourite poems The Gates of Damascus by James Elroy Flecker (1884-1919). 

THE MAN WHO WAS NO. 16

The only reason I've chosen this particular story was that this would be our 16th short story for #AgathaChristieSS24! So... "no. 16" in the title of the 16th story. Oh I know it's lame. Nonetheless, I'm glad to get to read another Tommy and Tuppence, aren't you? And this one has a special little surprise! ;)

This is the final case in the collection Partners in Crime. Having received a warning from Mr. Carter, the Beresfords prepare for another encounter with their rival, Russian agent and master of disguise, No. 16.

In the face of danger, the Beresfords decide to tackle this case using their “little grey cells” to arrange facts “neatly, and with order.” Agatha Christie surely enjoyed poking fun at the great Hercule Poirot, almost as much as the Beresfords enjoyed aping him. At the end of the case, however, Tommy is presented with some news from Tuppence that the real Poirot would not have found amusing.

They are both rather amusing, right? Can't wait to read them!

Paris Virtual Walks to Wrap Up #ParisInJuly2024

A French Frye in Paris is a YouTube channel belongs to a New Yorker guy now living in Paris called Corey Frye. He is now a full time tour guide and photographer. These walks in Paris are a weekly Facebook Live videos, archived in this YouTube channel.

My first introduction to Frye's virtual tour was Montmartre in Bloom. I loved to find little hidden gems like this patch of flowers tucked up somewhere around Montmartre, for instance. As a photographer, Frye has a keen eye of beauty and proportion, and thus his videos are usually very nice to watch.

My next virtual walks are all in the park, garden, or just a little hidden green space that is hushed up from Paris' noise.

🌱 Springtime in the Jardin des Plantes

🌱 Autumn Bike Ride in Vincennes

🌱 Hidden Garden Walks

- La Coulée Verte

- a green space near Place de la Bastile

With these (virtual) walks, I - reluctantly - say goodbye to #ParisInJuly2024. Huge thanks to Emma @ Words and Peace to host this fabulous event!

My contributions:

Book reviews:

--click the titles to go to my review--
📚 Perestroika in Paris (Jane Smiley)

📚 Madam, Will You Talk? (Mary Stewart)

📚 The Girl Who Reads on the Métro (Christine Féret-Fleury)

📚 Vintage 1954 (Antoine Laurain)

📚 The Rest of Our Lives (Jean-Paul Didierlaurent)

Movie review
--click the title to go to my review--

🎬 Le Silence de la Mer

Music & Travel

--click the link to go to my post--
🎵 The Daily Francophile Playlist

🚶🏻‍♀️Virtual Walks in Paris (+Wrap Up)

I have enjoyed every moment of my journey to Paris (and other regions in France), but for now, I must say... Au Revoir!

Pretend You Don't See Her (1997) by Mary Higgins Clark

🤐 It's been a long time since I've last read Mary Higgins Clark. I used to read her books along with Sandra Brown's, Nora Roberts', and Danielle Steele's when I still owned a book rental and then online secondhand bookshop (it's nearly twenty years ago). And thanks to Simon's A Century of Books, I have found Clark's Pretend You Don't See Her while browsing for a book for year 1997. It sounded good, and I missed these old school suspense novels. And it turned out to be a highly entertaining read for me. I'm happy to reconnect with Clark!

🤐 Lacey Farrell is a young energetic girl, working as a real-estate agent in Manhattan, and loving her job as well as her life. All those are about to change completely when Lacey witnessed a murder while in the course of selling a luxurious apartment.

🤐 The apartment belonged to a young girl called Heather Landy, who died last year, presumably committing suicide. Her mother doesn't believe it's a suicide, but doesn't have proof. Until the day before the deal with a potential buyer, a Mr. Sandy Sovrano. Heather's mother found a clue in her daughter's diary, and wanted Lacey to come the next day. Lacey came exactly when Sandy Sovrano shot Heather's mother. Before her last breath, the victim whispered her dying words to Lacey, to bring the diary to Heather's father (already divorced).

🤐 Lacey is the only witness who could identify the murderer, so the police put her in witness protection program. But we have read or watched so many thrillers to know how difficult it is to keep absolute secret. And how distressing it is for the witness. Lacey starts a new life, she even finds a romantic interest from the gym - a handsome and kind radio talk-show host. But Lacey knows that the only way for her to return to her normal life is by solving the mystery of Heather's death from the diary - which, of course, she copied before giving it away to Heather's father and the police. Not mentioning that the murderer knows Lacey's whereabouts and is now pursuing her...

🤐 I forgot how I used to love Mary Higgins Clark - she's crowned the queen of suspense for a reason. What I love from this book is the perfect balance Clark maintained between the mystery, suspense, and the characters development, even a sprinkle of romance. The suspense isn't the kind that scares you all through, but something of a page-turner. It will be interspersed everytime with the characters' everyday life, so that the end result is a fun read with cheerful tone rather than a dark thriller. Just the perfect combination for a holiday reading or just a refreshing reading after a day's working like mine.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

Book Tour: Murder at Cleve College by Merryn Allingham (Flora Steele Mystery #9)

It’s my stop today on Murder at Cleve College by Merryn Allingham Books on Tour. Many thanks to Sarah Hardy of Bookouture for the invite, and for NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this delightful book.

📚 About the book

Bookshop owner Flora Steele and writer Jack Carrington fell in love solving mysteries. Now they’re taking their first steps as husband and wife… straight into their most perplexing case yet.

Sussex, 1958: A radiant Flora is being twirled across the dancefloor by her dashing new husband, Jack. It’s the perfect wedding in Abbeymead, until a mysterious stranger is found dead just outside the village.

But when Flora finds an envelope tucked into the man’s silver cigarette case, the address is key to discovering the poor chap’s name – Russell Farr. He isn’t known to any of the villagers, so at first all signs point to a tragic accident. That is, until they discover Farr previously worked at the esteemed Cleve College, where Jack is now a writer-in-residence.

The college has made Jack feel uneasy ever since he learned his predecessor drowned in its lake, and now it appears a second suspicious death is connected to it. But who would want two mild-mannered academics dead?

Could it be Jocelyn, the ambitious young teacher with her sights set on the top? Joe, the sly porter living beyond his means? Or perhaps Maurice, the college dean who seems far more interested in power than educating students?

Just when it looks like no amount of studying will crack this case, a chance encounter brings Flora closer to the truth. But when Jack goes missing, it seems someone is determined to teach them both a lesson.

Can Flora and Jack outwit the killer before they graduate to becoming the next victims? Or will their first case as husband and wife be their last?

An absolutely page-turning cosy mystery, packed with unforgettable characters and sensational twists! Perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, Faith Martin and Joy Ellis.

📚 My thoughts

💙 Flora Steele and Jack Carrington are involved in another murder case, only days before their wedding! Murder at Cleve College begins where we left off the end of previous book: The Library Murders. The preparation of their wedding is on the way, and everyone is on their edges. During the wedding rehearsal at the church, Jack saw a man - a stranger - hesitantly loitering about, but he thought nothing of it. There are more important stuffs on hand than a confused stranger. Few days later Jack and Flora found a corpse of the same man in the ditch, just days before the wedding!

💙 Jack begins his new career at Cleve College not without a little apprehension. Not about his students, but things that had been happening there. First of all, Joe the porter seems to always spying on him. Then, the fellow whom Jack is replacing turned out to be drown in the lake near the college last year. Everything Flora and Jack find out ever since they found the corpse, seems to be related to either Cleve College or an orphanage, now closed, whose headmaster had fallen from its balcony and died years ago. Are they - the accidents - mere accidents? Are Flora and Jack's suspicion baseless?

💙 I loved everything about this book! To me Murder at Cleve College is the best from the series so far. I was hooked even from the first paragraph! The prologue is my favorite, it instantly brought you straight to the moment before a murder took place. After that it's switched to Flora and Jack, to Abbeymead, to everyday life. But only a fleeting moment later, another murder case faced the newlywed couple. I love this structure. Many cozy mysteries these days get to be too cozy, they seem to focus more on the sleuth's personal life than to the murder investigation.

💙 After the first murder, slowly but steadily, Flora and Jack found new facts - bits and pieces - that brought them closer to the truth, the secret dark past. It's an entertaining story packed with action, surprise, and twist, but with a charming touch of the 1950 vibes of English small village of Abbeymead. A delightful read from start to finish.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2


📚 Author Bio

Merryn taught university literature for many years, and it took a while to pluck up the courage to begin writing herself. Bringing the past to life is a passion and her historical fiction includes Regency romances, wartime sagas and timeslip novels, all of which have a mystery at their heart. As the books have grown darker, it was only a matter of time before she plunged into crime with a cosy crime series set in rural Sussex against the fascinating backdrop of the 1950s.

Merryn lives in a beautiful old town in Sussex with her husband. When she’s not writing, she tries to keep fit with adult ballet classes and plenty of walking.

Website: https://merrynallingham.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MerrynWrites
Twitter: https://twitter.com/merrynwrites

Sign up to be the first to hear about new releases from Merryn Allingham here:  https://www.bookouture.com/merryn-allingham


📚 Buying links

Amazon: https://geni.us/B0CW1J7W8Jsocial

You can sign up for all the best Bookouture deals you'll love at: http://ow.ly/Fkiz30lnzdo


Be sure to check out other stops on the tour to see what others thought. Happy reading!