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Book Review: The Murder at the Vicarage

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The Murder at the Vicarage
Miss Marple #1
by Agatha Christie
read by Richard E. Grant

My rating: 3 / 5
Genre: Classic mystery

After reading several Poirot mysteries, I thought I’d try out a Miss Marple. However, similar to the early Poirot novels that I didn’t care for before I started to really enjoy them, I felt this book was a bit bloated and slow. I don’t yet know if Miss Marple herself being such a side character, then swooping in to solve the murder, is normal for this series, but of course at the time, Christie might not have planned for her to be the star of a series of books. The investigation is conducted throughout the book by the vicar himself, in whose home the murder took place, at times working alongside a rather odious inspector. I didn’t mind his perspective and even liked his wife, despite his apparently negative feelings for her, shown to us right at the beginning of the book. Still, it’s a good thing I was listening to an audiobook, or it would have probably taken me forever to get through it, simply due to the plodding feel. The narrator took some getting used to, but he wasn’t at all bad. I will try another Miss Marple book or two in the future, but I’m going back to Poirot for now.

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Book Review: Unleashed

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Unleashed
Andy Carpenter #11
by David Rosenfelt
read by Grover Gardner

My rating: 4.5 / 5
Genre: Mystery

When an old friend of Sam Willis dies in a plane crash—a plane Sam was meant to be on with him but missed—the man’s widow is charged with his murder. Sam asks his friend, reluctant defense attorney Andy Carpenter to defend her, certain that the woman he once had a fling with himself couldn’t have done it.

This is another good addition to the series, with some twists and turns and just enough changes to the formula I’ve come to enjoy to keep it fresh. I got a kick out of Sam’s team of elderly Jewish computer students, chuckled at Marcus’s stoicism and Hike’s expert knowledge of poison, and felt indignant for Andy when his character was besmirched (more indignant than even he seemed to be). Andy’s snarky and self-deprecating humor that first drew me to the series is just as strong as ever.

The standard-fare conspiracy in this book is thankfully simple enough that there didn’t seem to be as many away-from-Andy POV sections as some of the previous ones have had. I was glad for that, because it means more Andy, but to be honest, I’d be okay with Rosenfelt throwing in some simpler mysteries now and then too, or at least conspiracies on a smaller scale. They don’t all have to involve high-profile targets and be nationally (or internationally) reaching. I don’t want this to sound like a complaint, though, because I did still enjoy this book as much as any of the others (or more, in some cases). I love this series and recommend the book (especially the audio) for fans of mystery, crime fiction, and courtroom dramas.

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Book Review: Three Act Tragedy

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Three Act Tragedy
Hercule Poirot #11
by Agatha Christie
read by Hugh Fraser

My rating: 4.5 / 5
Genre: Classic mystery

This Poirot mystery was quite a departure from the previous ones, in that much of the investigating is done without Poirot around—at least the investigating that we get to see. Poirot comes in during the last 3rd or so of the book to throw a wrench into the ideas of the people who had taken it upon themselves to try to get to the bottom of the recent deaths. The story really kept me on my toes. In some ways, I feel like I’m starting to get a feel for Agatha Christie’s way of creating a mystery, which leads me to take more outlandish guesses as to the solution than I probably otherwise would. But since I don’t really ever guess at the motive, I don’t feel particularly vindicated if I end up being right. And I was only part right about the killer in this case anyway. I’ve begun to enjoy these stories a lot more than I did early in the series, and I still appreciate the narration by Hugh Fraser. And bonus, this book left me with a laugh right at the end.

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Book Review: The Sign of the Twisted Candles

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The Sign of the Twisted Candles
Nancy Drew Mystery Stories #9
by Carolyn Keene
read by Danica Reese

My rating: 2 / 5
Genre: Children’s classic mystery

Nancy gets involved in another mystery when she learns that a man’s 100th birthday is going to be ignored. The man’s relatives are waiting for him to die so they can get their inheritance, while others are taking matters into their own hands and siphoning off some of the man’s possessions early. Meanwhile, there’s a young woman caught up in the plot, who Nancy befriends and whose life Nancy turns around. It’s all a bit much for me, and some of it feels too much like at least parts of previous plots. (Does Nancy ever help a young man in need, or is it only ever women who are being taken advantage of or in some kind of messy situation?) To make matters worse, the young woman, Carol, tends to act a bit whiny and acts as if Nancy is the best thing on the planet. If I had to hear, “Oh, Nancy…” one more time…

The narration has gone completely downhill since Laura Linney’s narration ended (though this one was a bit better than the previous), and there’s only 1 more in this series that even has an audiobook (at least at my library). I think this is a good place to end my trip through the series, since I have a difficult time with the repetitiveness and Nancy as the most awesome, kind, beautiful, and generous person to ever walk the earth anyway. I guess I could handle it more with decent narration, so if they get Laura Linney to do some more, maybe I’ll listen to more. Or maybe they can get Lani Minella to narrate some! I’d be down for that.

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Book Review: Leader of the Pack

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Leader of the Pack
Andy Carpenter #10
by David Rosenfelt
read by Grover Gardner

My rating: 5 / 5
Genre: Mystery

A visit to a client whose case Andy lost years in the past turns into Andy and wonder dog Tara visiting the client’s uncle, an elderly crime family member, for a dog therapy session. Andy is surprised when the old man makes comments about his nephew in jail that turn Andy onto a new track for his client’s defense case. When people related to this new line of investigation begin dying, Andy believes he just may be onto something.

This book follows a similar formula to the previous books in the series, with the exception of the way that Andy comes across his new case (which is one of the main things that varies most from book to book anyway). The case is as twisty as normal, though the stakes and destruction are considerably higher this time. I particularly enjoyed Sam in this book, and enigmatic Marcus is always nice to have around. Even Hike made me smile a time or two.

The ending, though…not only did it break the formula, I never saw it coming. Things like that keep a series fresh, and though I do find comfort in the formula, I also enjoy a good shaking up. Andy’s wit and snark bring me coming back to these books, and Grover Gardner’s narration brings it to life. I love this series and recommend the book (especially the audio) for fans of mystery, crime fiction, and courtroom dramas.

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Book Review: Murder on the Orient Express

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Murder on the Orient Express
Hercule Poirot #10
by Agatha Christie
read by David Suchet

My rating: 5 / 5
Genre: Classic mystery

Up front, I’ll say that some time in my life, though I have no idea when or where, I heard a spoiler for this novel. I’ve never seen any adaptations for it or read it before now, but somehow I’ve known the basic solution for a while (the who but not the why or the how). I have no idea if not knowing it would have affected my reading experience. I’m absolutely certain that I would not have figured out the mystery without foreknowledge. This story was one of the more engaging Poirot novels I’ve read so far, not feeling as bloated as some of the earlier ones. Though I do miss Poirot having a sidekick to discuss his thoughts with, at least it means we don’t have to listen to him putting poor Hastings down while extolling his own virtues. Yes, Poirot is brilliant…but he’s not always very nice. On the other hand, his decision at the very end of this book shows much compassion, even if I don’t necessarily agree that it was the right decision.

I definitely understand why this is the most famous Poirot mystery, and I think I’ve gotten to a point in the series that the writing has gotten better and tighter than early on, when I struggled to engage in the mysteries. My expectation is high as I continue on!

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Book Review: Nancy’s Mysterious Letter

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Nancy’s Mysterious Letter
Nancy Drew Mystery Stories #8
by Carolyn Keene
read by Jessie Birschbach

My rating: 2.5 / 5
Genre: Children’s classic mystery

Coincidences abound when Nancy is contacted by a firm in England looking for a Nancy (Smith) Drew and thinks maybe this Nancy is the one they’re looking for. She’s not, but since the firm had tracked the other Nancy Drew to the United States, it only makes sense that she would be found somewhere in the vicinity of our Nancy Drew. The United States isn’t very big, after all, and same-name people tend to gravitate toward each other. My sarcasm aside, how hard would it have been for the author of this story to have given at least a somewhat more plausible explanation for why this other Nancy Drew happened to have connections to River Heights?

The rest of the story was decent enough, though not outstanding. What brought my rating down more was the narrator. Laura Linney was a great choice for narrating these books, and she was going to be a tough act for anyone to follow. But this narrator was objectively not great. Some of her voices were outlandish or ridiculous, and I’m glad to see she doesn’t narrate any more of these books (though apparently there are only a couple more ND books that even have audiobook editions). My reading of this long series may be coming to a close much sooner than I expected.

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Book Review: One Dog Night

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One Dog Night
Andy Carpenter #9
by David Rosenfelt
read by Grover Gardner

My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: Mystery

When a man who once broke into Andy Carpenter’s home is arrested for murder, nothing could make Andy care or want to defend the man. Nothing except finding out that Andy’s beloved dog Tara was previously owned by the accused, Noah Galloway. That connection is enough to get Andy digging, and before long, Andy is doing what he does best—unearthing a conspiracy.

Conspiracies are definitely the norm in this series, but this one seemed a bit more bloated and unnecessary than usual. Maybe it just seemed that way because it took so much 3rd-person storytelling to keep the reader on track with what was going on that Andy wasn’t privy to at the time. It seemed like every other scene was 3rd-person, an addition to the normally all-1st-person format that just started in the book previous to this. I still enjoyed the story overall, but since Andy’s personality is a lot of what drew me to this series in the first place and there’s much less of that when Andy isn’t in the scene it does tend to diminish my enjoyment. But not a ton.

I especially liked some of the side characters in this book, the people who make up Andy’s investigative and legal team. Willie Miller shines, and even Hike gets a good moment or two. Despite my complaint above, I still had fun listening to the book. These books have become comfort reads for me; even my least favorite can never be lower than 4 stars. I recommend the book (especially the audio—Grover Gardner makes Andy’s sarcasm and wit come to life) for fans of mystery, crime fiction, and courtroom dramas.

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Book Review: Lord Edgware Dies

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Lord Edgware Dies
Hercule Poirot #9
 by Agatha Christie
read by Hugh Fraser

My rating: 4.5 / 5
Genre: Classic mystery

I enjoyed the twists and turns in this Poirot novel. As Poirot fixates on five questions that he thinks, when answered, will solve the mystery, I’m way too easily carried along for the ride. I actually did suspect the correct murderer early on, but it wasn’t much of a win, since I had no idea how it worked out. I think the guess was more about having read a few of these books now and getting a feel for how Christie wrote. I liked this book more than most of the others in the series and didn’t feel it was as bloated as many of the others are. Huge Fraser, as always, does a great job narrating, and I’m a little nervous about the next book (Murder on the Orient Express), which is almost definitely the most famous Poirot story. I hope it lives up to the hype.

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Book Review: The Clue in the Diary

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The Clue in the Diary
Nancy Drew Mystery Stories #7
by Carolyn Keene
read by Laura Linney

My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: Children’s classic mystery

Nancy again stumbles onto a mystery when a house she’s driving by explodes. But it’s all good, because she’s able to save a mother and daughter whose husband/father is blamed for the fire. Coincidences and Nancy-is-the-best moments aside, I enjoyed this story more than most of the previous books in the series. It didn’t feel as bloated, and I can’t pretend to not have liked the introduction of Ned Nickerson. He seems to be a bit of a stereotype himself, but I’d imagine that was on purpose. Giving the young readers these books were intended for ideals in the main characters seemed pretty important to the creators. Linney does a great job bringing Nancy to life, and I’m sad to learn that this is the end of those that were narrated by her.

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