Can you believe I had never read an Agatha Christie novel before? As the reigning queen of the detective novel scene for much of the twentieth century, Christie’s contributions to the genre are immeasurable. She gave us two of the best-known detective characters after Sherlock—Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple—and some of her major works such as Murder on the Orient Express have been adapted so many times over that they’ve become cultural touchstones. Despite all this, and my love of mystery novels dating back to my earliest reading years, I just had never gotten around to picking up one of Christie’s classics. Thankfully, the Romancing the Gothic book club has been working hard to improve my literary education. Last month we read Christie’s 1937 novel Death on the Nile. And I have to say, I’ll definitely be coming back for some more Poirot! Continue reading Review of Death on the Nile
Tag: crime
The Cuckoo’s Calling Review
I love when two of my favorite things get combined—in this case, murder mysteries and the author of my favorite children’s series! The Cuckoo’s Calling is the first book in the Cormoran Strike series that J. K. Rowling publishes under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. If you’re not familiar with Rowling’s adult works, I will warn you: these books are nothing like Harry Potter. Do not approach them expecting magic and child-appropriate language. You can, however, expect the same great quality of writing and complex character development. Continue reading The Cuckoo’s Calling Review
The Bourbon Street Ripper Review–A Detective Thriller
I’ve mentioned before that I’ve been meaning to expand the types of books I read and review, especially by getting back into genres like mystery, thriller, and horror. Well the perfect opportunity to get started on this goal presented itself when a brand representative for Leo King contacted me about reviewing The Bourbon Street Ripper. The Bourbon Street Ripper is the first book in King’s Sins of the Father trilogy, a mystery series of the detective fiction subgenre. The representative hinted that there would be elements of the supernatural, but these didn’t seem to come into play much in the first book. Continue reading The Bourbon Street Ripper Review–A Detective Thriller