This book is considered to be one of the first mystery and one of the first detective novels ever written. Wilkie Collins was a lawyer, and presented the story the same way that witnesses would present a case in court. Clever. Walter Hartright is walking home one night when he runs into a woman wandering around wearing nothing but white (which apparently was unusual at that time). He helps her on her way, and then finds out later that she had escaped from an asylum. […]
No Marple or Poirot? Is this Agatha Christie?
This book is a little bit different from your average Christie mystery. Instead of our normal English countryside cozy with one of our usual detectives, we have spies in the Middle East. Christie had traveled to Baghdad with one of her husbands, and this is one of the stories inspired by those travels. There’s going to be a big meeting in Baghdad, and it’s supposed to be super secret. But, much like today’s super secret activities, word has gotten out. Bad guys are out to […]
Miss Marple’s Last Case?
Technically, this was Agatha Christie’s last book, even though it wasn’t the last one she wrote. According to Wikipedia, it was published after her death. Gwenda Reed comes to England to find a house for her and her husband. She buys a place called Hillside, which feels familiar to her for some reason. She starts renovations, and has a couple of flashback like incidents. She goes to London to visit with family, and meets Miss Marple. They go to see a play, which freaks Gwenda […]
Book Two of the Century Trilogy
Book Two of the Century Trilogy takes us through the time between the World Wars and all the way through World War II. Lady Maud Fitzherbert is married to a German, and struggling in Germany with her family – trying to survive and fight the Nazis at the same time. The American Dewars end up fighting in different theaters (one Pacific, one European). The Russian Peshkovs (well, the one that stayed behind) are part of the Communist regime. This book features most of the main […]