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Archive for June, 2017

‘Poirot Investigates’ by Agatha Christie

Posted in Book Reviews, tagged , , , on June 28, 2017| Leave a Comment »

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This third book in Agatha Christie’s Poirot series is actually a collection of eleven (fourteen in the American book) short stories, all unconnected save for the fact that they all relate mysteries that Poirot solved, and all are narrated by his friend Captain Hastings.

I enjoyed the book and as with all other Christie books that I have read so far, I zipped through it fairly quickly. However – and this is just personal preference – while I don’t mind reading short stories sometimes, I generally prefer a full-length novel, which gives chance for more character and plot development. That said, Christie always seems to focus more on the plot than the characters – Poirot after all remains unchanged in the three books I have read which feature him, as does Captain Hastings. And despite preferring longer stories on the whole, I would still recommend this for Poirot fans.

It’s fair to say that while most of the plots were very clever, Poirot’s ability to solve them does stretch the imagination somewhat. He manages to solve one mystery without even being there! He is laid up in bed with flu so sends along Hastings to be his eyes and ears, but it is Poirot that works out the truth behind the matter. This explains Poirot’s huge ego and arrogance, which somehow only serve to make me like him more!

In all short story collections there will be some that the reader prefers over others, and these will probably vary from reader to reader. There were none that I didn’t enjoy, but for my money the best ones were:

The Adventure of the Western Star – A film star receives demanding letters requesting a particular diamond which her husband brought her for their wedding. She enlists Poirot’s help in finding out who is behind the letters.

The Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan – a lady staying at the Grand Metropolitan Hotel, has a beautiful and valuable piece of jewellery stolen. Suspicion falls upon the chambermaid and the lady’s own personal maid, and it is up to Poirot to get to the bottom of the matter.

The Disappearance of Mr Davenheim – a banker goes missing and Poirot is immediately on the case.

The Adventure of the Italian Nobleman – Count Foscatini, an Italian nobleman is brutally murdered, and the hunt is on for the only two men who could have done it. But of course the truth is much stranger than imagined…

Overall, an enjoyable, undemanding and diverting read.

 

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‘The Witches of Eastwick’ by John Updike

Posted in Book Reviews, tagged , , , , , , on June 21, 2017| Leave a Comment »

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This book centres around three women – Alexandra, Sukie and Jane – who live in the fictional Rhode Island town of Eastwick in the early 1970s. They are all divorced and/or widowed, and they all just happen to be witches. Their close friendship is threatened by the arrival in town of the base, bawdy, but hugely charismatic Darryl Van Horne. And…that’s about it. More does happen, but the storyline here is really pretty slow, centering more on the interactions between the main characters.

I must confess that this was not what I expected it to be at all. Having recently watched the film again for the first time in years, I expected the book to be of much the same tone – quirky, funny and colourful. It wasn’t, and while it did eventually draw me in somewhat, quite often I found myself looking for something else to do rather than pick up the book, and certain parts did feel really tedious.

I didn’t find any of the characters believable, although to an extent maybe they weren’t meant to be. Indeed out of the three women, the only vaguely likeable one was Alexandra (until it was revealed that she had used a spell to kill a puppy out of sheer spite; that takes some getting past). The prose was undoubtedly eloquent in places, but I always felt that Updike was inserting descriptions where they weren’t required, and was forever flying off at tangents.

The fact that the three women were witches – and were not the only witches in Eastwick – was not treated as particularly surprising to other members of the community, although it was repulsive to some of them, and some of the things that happened because of their spells (such as unusual items coming out of people’s mouths while they were talking). There was not an awful lot of humour in the story, but a lot of simmering malice. In short, for me this book was something of a let-down. I can sort of see why some people would love it, and there were flashes of great enjoyment sandwiched between the weirdness, but as it turned out I was just relieved to get to the end of this one.

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An Hour Behind (2017)

Posted in Film Reviews, tagged , , , , , , , , , on June 21, 2017| Leave a Comment »

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Trish (Emily Rose) owns a cupcake parlour and has no time for love, but that doesn’t stop her sister Chloe (Alesandra Durham) setting her up on a blind breakfast date with a man called Adam. But Trish forgets to set her clock forward for Daylight Saving Time and turns up unaware that she is over an hour late. She ends up meeting a man who she thinks is Adam, but he is actually Parker (Barry Watson)- an understandably confused paramedic who goes along with the ruse and – surprise! – they both end up having a wonderful day together. But what will happen when Trish learns Parker’s true identity? And what secrets is Parker himself hiding?…

This is a romantic comedy, with possibly more focus on the romantic aspect than the comedy. Nonetheless, it’s enjoyable, lighthearted fare, with a couple of charismatic leads. As I’ve said in reviews of other movies of this ilk, the ending is guessable from the start, but it’s still fun getting there. I also thought the supporting cast – especially Scott Christopher as Parker’s friend Tom – was excellent.

No doubt the storyline is a bit fluffy and overly sentimental in places, but if you like the romantic genre, you may want to give this one a try. And all the talk of cupcakes will certainly make your mouth water!!

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Year of release: 2017

Director: Brian Brough

Writer: Brittany Wiscombe

Main cast: Emily Rose, Barry Watson, Scott Christopher, Shona Kay, Aubrey Reynolds, Alesandra Durham

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‘Flying Too High’ by Kerry Greenwood

Posted in Book Reviews, tagged , , , , , , , , on June 6, 2017| Leave a Comment »

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This book is the second in the Phryne Fisher Mystery series, and revolves around not one, but two mysteries. The book opens with Phryne meeting a new client – a nervous lady who is convinced that her son is going to murder his father and she wants Phryne to intervene to stop this. When the father does indeed turn up dead shortly afterwards, Bill the son is naturally the main suspect.

The second mystery is the kidnapping of a young girl, whose parents engage Phryne to retrieve their daughter and return her to safety.

Naturally Phyrne, along with her friends Bert and Cec, and trusty maid Dot not only investigates the crimes, but investigates them with panache and cunning, and all while wearing a beautiful wardrobe and seducing a couple of rather gorgeous men!

I think I probably enjoyed this book marginally more than the first one (I gave the first one 3.5 out of 5, I’d give this one 4), which bodes well for the rest of the series. It is an undemanding read, sprinkled with humour and with enough twists to keep the reader interested. As ever, Phryne is loveable, exasperating and stubborn. Fans of the TV series should note that Jack Robinson hardly appears in this book (and in any event, he is entirely different in the show, not to mention still firmly married to his wife) and the main police officer in the story is Detective Inspector Benton.

Another enjoyable instalment from a series that I look forward to continuing to read.

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