Inevitably, as I read my way through dozens of Agatha Christie books, I will like some more than others. It seems, so far, that I find those featuring Miss Marple slightly less appealing than the others. Having said that, I do very much appreciate the idea of a 'dear old lady' turning out to be an excellent crime investigator.
In the novel 'They do it with mirrors', Miss Marple is visiting an old friend, when a murder is committed and a second one is attempted. She tries to solve the mystery of who did it, and in turn each member of the household falls under suspicion.
The truth, when it is uncovered, seemed a bit forced to me, and rather unlikely. Still, as ever with Agatha Christie, it was cleverly written and enjoyable on the whole.
Recommended in a low-key way.
Slowly, I'm working my way through the large number of Agatha Christie crime novels which my son has collected. Despite it being quite a lot, there are many, many more which we don't yet have on our shelves.
'Cards on the table' has a very cleverly-written plot. It revolves around a game of Bridge. Hercule Poirot is invited to a party where, he is told, four successful murderers will be present.
During a game of Bridge, someone is unexpectedly stabbed when the lights go out. There are only four possible suspects, each of whom has probably committed a murder - and got away with it - in the past.
As Poirot investigates, helped by the police, each suspect in turn appears to be the guilty one... until finally the truth is revealed. I thought it an excellent plot.
Highly recommended.
I do love Rosamunde Pilcher's books. Every one of them. They're warm, and moving, and I find myself caring enormously about her characters. I re-read them all regularly.
'Voices in Summer' is one of her shorter novels. It features Laura, who is newly married and has some medical problems. She decides she cannot cope with a holiday with her husband and his old friends, so she goes to stay with a delightful elderly relative of his in Cornwall. Here, Laura learns a lot about love, and receives some unexpected shocks.
I thought the plot was very well-written, although the final revelation is fairly obvious by the time it's revealed. Not that it matters; the people are so believable and lovely, and the ending is a traditional happy one, despite a few unpleasant moments along the way.
Definitely recommended.
(For a longer review of this book, I re-read 'Voices in Summer' in 2008)
'A Question of Integrity' was, oddly enough, the first book I ever read by Susan Howatch. I say 'oddly enough' because it was one of her later books, and works best if read after her 'Starbridge' series of six. Or, at least, after 'Mystical Paths' which is the fifth in the Starbridge book.
So that's what I did this time. Although, having said that, it worked very well as a standalone novel the first time I read it.
'A Question of Integrity' (which was published under the title 'The Wonder Worker' in the United States) opens by introducing dumpy little Alice. She meets and falls in love with Nick Darrow, a charismatic (in the broadest sense of the word) clergyman who conducts healing meetings.
Nick helps Alice through a family bereavement, in an extremely moving passage of the book. He also helps her find both employment and some self-respect.
The book is told from four differing viewpoints. The plot builds skilfully as each character revels new facets about himself or herself, and also gives that person's perspective on events that have already been described by others. It's really a very clever device, and one that the author uses extremely well.
Towards the end of the book there are some dramatic crises, and my only (slight) disappointment was that the book ended rather suddenly, leaving me eager for more. What a relief it was, the first time, to realise that there were six books preceding this, and two more afterwards.
On the whole, though, it was excellent, and I thought it all the better for having re-read the Starbridge series first.
Highly recommended.
The first time I read Susan Howatch's Starbridge series of six books about Church of England clergy in the 20th century, I found it thought-provoking, exciting, moving, and very cleverly written. I could hardly bear to read the final book in the series, Absolute Truths, but when I did I thought it a perfect final book. It cleared up many threads, answered many questions, and gave a lot of hope for the future.
Re-reading the entire series recently, I wondered if I would like 'Absolute Truths' as much, since I knew what was coming.
I did.
It's a brilliant final novel in the Starbridge series.
It's told from the point of view of Charles Ashworth, who narrated the first book (Glittering Images) when he was a young man. In this story, however, he's much older, and is now an eminent Bishop in Starbridge.
Things start to go wrong for Charles, and events move rapidly towards a crisis point before he begins to find the way forward again.
I thought this novel was very cleverly plotted, drawing together threads from all the other books in the series, but still complete in itself. It feels like a real ending, too. Once again, I had no sense of anti-climax, or that the author had cheated. It was wonderful.
Highly recommended.
I'm re-reading the amazing 'Starbridge' series by Susan Howatch only a year after the first time I read it. I'm struck continually at how clever she is as a writer. The sub-plots weave together with almost uncanny skill, and her depth of understanding of human nature is brilliant.
'Mystical Paths' is the fifth book in this incredible series, which is about Church of England clergyman in the 20th century. In one sense, this book doesn't fit so well with the rest. It's written from the point of view of Nick Darrow, featuring events in the 1960s when he's in his twenties, and part of a rather wild set of people.
It's different from the others in that a murder mystery forms a significant part of the plot. Put so does Nick's rather co-dependent relationship with his father Jon. It's also different in that it's actually a precursor to the 'St Benet's' trilogy which were written after the Starbridge series.
Still, it's an exciting book that helps us understand yet another character who's been fairly minor in the earlier books. This one could easily be read on its own, and should make perfect sense. However if you've read the other four Starbridge books first, this one answers some questions and progresses the story somewhat.
Recommended.
