Other genres (non-romance) ||Book reviews and recommendations||

Book Title: Sleeping Murder

Author: Agatha Christie

Year Published: 1976

Genre: Mystery/ Suspense 

Maturity Rating: Teen

Book Rating (out of 5): 3

Synopsis: Newly married Gwenda Reed arrives in England from New Zealand to look for a house to settle down in, she's charged with the task since her husband, Giles travels a lot but they've decided to settle in England. She finally finds the perfect place in Dillmouth called Hillside and begins to renovate it. During the renovation she's struck by a sense of deja vu and has visions that unnerve her. To escape, she takes up an invitation to London to visit her husband's cousin, Raymond West, who also happens to be Miss Marple's nephew. While watching a play, The Duchess of Malfi, Gwenda hears a piece of dialogue and screams aloud, rushing out of the theatre. It's then that it becomes clear that she had been witness to a crime that occurred 18 years ago when she was a mere child.

Giles and Gwenda then begin to dig up the details, trying to find the people who may have known the victim. Gwenda faces her past too in the process. And of course they clear up the mystery with Miss Marple's help!

Review:

I'd read this book ages ago and didn't remember much of it, except a vague resemblance to another famous book, Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier. After this re-read I sort of understand why my mind made that connection - it's probably the fact that the house plays such an important role in both books: Manderley and Hillside. A lot of the mystery is woven around the house, but apart from that there's really nothing the books have in common.

This one is Miss Marple's last book and was published posthumously, though Christie wrote the first draft during WW2. 

It's typical Christie but its lesser of a whodunit than I thought it would be. Probably because half-way through the book, I remembered details and knew who had done it. 😆 But that did give me a chance to pay more attention to the writing - some punctuation conventions AC uses seem archaic now such as the use of a colon before quotes! Also the deliberate misdirection - I noted every detail and I was like Aha! I see what you're doing, Agatha! 😆 I think Christies lose their mystique on re-reading and hence the lower rating, but I absolutely would rate this book higher if I were reading for the first time. It has all the makings of a classic Christie, but again, its far too reminiscent of Five little Pigs (another murder in retrospect), and not nearly enough potential suspects as I might have liked! 😆 I did admire the clues she drops all through the book and how in the end, it should have been evident all along. She has that  how-could-i-not-have-seen-this-before-slap-your-forehead-in-self-reproach moment in some of the books and in others its oh-my-god-i-never-would-have-guessed-this-how-ingenious! ⭐️

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Book Title : The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo

Author : Taylor Jenkin Reid

Genre : Suspense / Queer Romance

Book Rating : 3.5 - 3.8 / 5 

Synopsis 

Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now?

Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband has left her, and her professional life is going nowhere. Regardless of why Evelyn has selected her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career.

Summoned to Evelyn’s luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the ‘80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the legendary star, but as Evelyn’s story near its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways.

Book Review

The plot of this book is smashing, let me start with that. The premise has a great build-up, both the characters are introduced beautifully in the initial forty pages and you know what vibe they have. You can practically imagine Evelyn's aura and Monique's slump, both are a wonderful contrast.

However, when you get to the middle of the book, or should I say husband number four it gets a little - stretchy. The aura is still there along with Evelyn's story being told in flashbacks, but there seems to be no direction for a while. The other characters that only appear in memory of the great actress are all brilliantly portrayed, but Harry Cameron is someone that would leave you in tears.

This story has regret to it, agony to it and loss to it but above all it has some words to transform your perspective over things. Specially on how you've got 'take things' from the world and 'never miss an opportunity', no matter what. Evelyn did what she had to, to get where she was and she was unapologetic about it, until the very end.

When the veteran Hollywood actress Evelyn Hugo partners with Monique, a talented but hesitant writer for her autobiography, it is a shock for everyone, even the girl in question. As her story progresses Evelyn astounds the writer with an information that would change her whole existence in a heartbeat.

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Book : The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd 

Author : Agatha Christie 

Genre : Mystery / Suspense

Rating : 4.5 / 5

Summary 

The peaceful English village of King’s Abbot is stunned. The widow Ferrars dies from an overdose of Veronal. Not twenty-four hours later, Roger Ackroyd—the man she had planned to marry—is murdered. It is a baffling case involving blackmail and death that taxes Hercule Poirot’s “little grey cells” before he reaches one of the most startling conclusions of his career.

Review

I'd been looking for the same vibe in a Christie book since the time I finished 'Mysterious Affair At Styles' a year ago. But even though I'd read a couple Christies in between, none of the books had the same effect over me. Something felt amiss, this one however broke the dry spell I've had for months, last year.

In the beginning of the book, the narrator introduces us to the premise of the story unlike other books where Poirot takes the lead straight away or a friend of his is narrating. The incidents start to line up chronologically throughout the chapters, but it took me barely three to get onto the murderer. It was some sort of twisted instinct if you may. Well I had two people in mind. Though you'll find the identity of the murderer suspicious if you've never thought in that particular direction, it is the only possible explanation for all the occurrences.

When Roger Ackroyd is found dead inside his locked study everyone in the house is a suspect. The inspector doubts Ackroyd's stepson but Poirot feels otherwise. What happens when the Belgian man begins to deduce every Best kept secret of all the members present in the mansion that night? Will the killer be caught or Captain Paton will be tried out for something he didn't do?

Title: The Man in the Brown suit

Author: Agatha Christie

Year published: 1924

Genre: Mystery

Maturity rating: Teen

Narrative type: First person (alternates between Anne's PoV and Sir Eustace's diary)

Book rating: 3

Synopsis: Anne Beddingfield has been recently orphaned and is destitute with zero prospects when she witnesses an accident on a train station and retrieves a piece of paper from the dead man with a clue. She also rubs shoulders with 'The man in the brown suit' who is later revealed to be a suspect in yet another murder - this time a woman in an abandoned house to be let. Anne is convinced the two deaths are related and following the clue on the piece of paper, she secures a passage on a ship to Cape town where she meets the other characters: Sir Eustace Pedlar and his two secretaries, Mrs. Suzanne Blair, Colonel Race, Chichester etc. She then becomes aware of a plot centering around a mastermind who is a diamond smuggler and how it connects to two friends who had found a diamond mine in South Africa years ago and were cheated of their find by this mastermind - also called 'The Colonel'. The book is a series of twists and turns that also includes Anne falling in love with one of the men on board the ship.

Review: This was a re-read for me. I'd read it the first time years ago & I remembered liking it a lot so decided to re-read. I must confess the second reading fell flat for me. I could not fathom why I liked this book so much. I think it was more because of the romance! 😆 It was refreshing to see a FMC being so besotted in an AC and acting completely unhinged because of it! 😆 Other than that, I found the writing chunky, and very jumbled. AC jumps plot so fast its dizzying and purposefully leaves loose threads - normally her style because she has to save things up for the final reveal. But idk why in this book it was just annoying! And in the end, when all is revealed, I felt - wow, so all that build up was for this?? It felt curiously deflating in a way, especially because of how it all turns out. Not satisfying enough. Plus the murder and whodunit part is just one of the mysteries to be solved. There’s also the question of the identities and what each person is hiding (I think almost everyone is hiding something!)

Anyways, I believe its the first time we meet Colonel Race - who appears subsequently in Sparkling Cyanide and also a couple of Poirot books: Death on the Nile & Cards on the Table. It's fun to read him as a younger man (in his 40s). And I loved Anne. She was such a passionate, fearless creature and wears her heart on her sleeve, a far cry from the stoic, reserved  British FMCs that usually abound in Christie's books. It's quite fitting the way she ends up. The romance is kinda juicy and I can see why I was taken in by this couple! ☺️ But the rest of the plot required a lot of suspension of disbelief for me, even for a Christie book and that's saying something. Also, there is a lot of action - like things happen, and it's not just sitting around pondering pieces of a puzzle or having long conversations like is the norm in a Poirot or a Marple. So there's that difference.  I daresay the reading experience maybe quite different for a first time reader though, so try it!

Book : Five Little Pigs

Author : Agatha Christie 

Genre : Mystery / Suspense

Book Rating : 4 / 5

Summary 

It was an open and shut case. All the evidence said Caroline Crale poisoned her philandering husband, a brilliant painter. She was quickly and easily convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

Now, sixteen years later, in a posthumous letter, Mrs. Crale has assured her grown daughter that she was innocent. But instead of setting the young woman's mind at ease, the letter only raises disquieting questions. Did Caroline indeed write the truth? And if she didn't kill her husband, who did?

To find out, the Crale’s daughter asks Hercule Poirot to reopen the case. His investigation takes him deep into the conflicting memories and motivations of the five other people who were with the Crales on the fatal day. With his keen understanding of human psychology, he manages to discover the surprising truth behind the artist's death.

My Review 

I believe that out of all the Christie books I've read, this one is quite unlike any other previous reads. For starters the crime has been committed, investigated and a culprit already convicted by the time Poirot gets to know about it. It has already been sixteen years to the whole incident and the supposed killer is as dead as the victim. The plot had me within minutes, there's no question to it. 

Since the crime is old it is an odd challenge for the detective to go ahead and create the crime in his head, see the specifics and get to the bottom of the whole affair. Talking to all the witnesses seems the only way to solve this mystery and that is why I loved this one more than I expected. It is challenging because his investigation is going to be 'memory based', memories of people present within the place of crime years ago. 

Each of the five witnesses have something to add or refute and everyone seems to give different insights to the murder. There are five point of views and reading then decoding them all to get to the killer was exciting. I'd already had my suspicions within the first fifty pages but Christie has a knack for going opposite to the obvious (after pushing you into the obvious throughout the whole book), rendering my theories only half right. A solid fast paced read for anyone who wants a Poirot book with no sidekick. This one's solo Poirot.

It has been sixteen years since Caroline Crale got convicted for the murder of her artist husband Amyas. While everyone seemed to have moved on from the incident, the couple's daughter wishes for closure. After receiving a letter from her mother stating her innocence she enlists Poirot to look for the truth, whatever it may be. Will she get the closure she so desperately craves or will the lives of all five witnesses change after Poirot finds the truth?

PS : I haven't posted this review on IG yet because I haven't been able to click the picture so this is the first post of this review. 😳

Helllooo, all you avid readers and bookworms! 

We've realized that there are quite a few Romance recommendations and so we've opened this thread for you to share recommendations other than the Romance genre, so it's easier for readers who are looking for non-romance recs to find them instead of having to wade through a plethora of Romance books in order to do so! 😆

The format given below is a suggestion for posting your reviews/ recommendations to ensure uniformity is maintained and potential readers are able to refer to key points in the review easily. 

Book Title:

Author:

Year published: 

Genre/s:

Narrative type: Linear/ non-linear, first person/third person etc.

Tropes (if applicable):

Probable Triggers:

Maturity rating (General audience/ teens/ Adult):

Your personal rating (out of 5):

Synopsis (a short spoiler-free blurb):

Review (What you enjoyed/disliked about the book. Try to keep it as spoiler-free as possible): 

Hello hi, hope everyone is doing well. So I am reading this book at the moment, and honest to god it feels so nice to get back to peaceful reading again. Will be back with a review once I am done! ✨

Originally posted by: nautankitadka

Hello hi, hope everyone is doing well. So I am reading this book at the moment, and honest to god it feels so nice to get back to peaceful reading again. Will be back with a review once I am done! ✨

This book has been on my TBR since five years! FIVE. My father has been on my head to finish it off, one of his absolute favs from Ludlum. 

World War happens to be his favorite theme and I struggle with it, maybe because it requires research and another level of commitment. 

In first lockdown I started century trilogy by Ken Follett but the 400 page buildup got to me and I kept it back. 🤡

Will get to it when I get to it I guess. 😆

Stars : 4.2 / 5

I read 'A Dangerous Fortune' in 2020 during the prior stages of lockdown ( One of My father's recommendations ) and it was enthralling. I've never tried Follett before and being as cautious as I am, I had my own skeptical dread of making an effort on a new author whom I may or may not like. But all my doubts were washed away after I was done with the prologue. The book is weaved so beautifully you will not want to keep it down, it is a one sitting read. 

Tragedy strikes at Windfield School when Peter Middleton drowns in a suspicious manner after a kerfuffle ensues among some boys who were out for a swim past the standard time. What follows after is decades full of deceit and painful ends for the ones who wronged others.

The book keeps up its pace throughout and offers you a steady peek of the English Society. Two characters you need to look out for are 'Augusta Pilaster' and 'Micky Miranda', I can say without any doubt that you will develop serious hate for them within the first half and the revelation about the main murder will cause your heart to sink in further. Their ends though were fitting and bittersweet in all ways. 

All in all an excellent read and a solid recommendation.

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Book Title: Good Girls Marry Doctors

Author: Various (anthology of essays edited and compiled by Piyali Bhattacharya)

Year published: 2016

Genre/s: Literary Non-fiction

Probable Triggers: Mentions of abuse, childhood trauma, mental health issues

Maturity rating (General audience/ teens/ Adult): Teens

Your personal rating (out of 5): 4/5

Synopsis (a short spoiler-free blurb): The book is a compilation of essays written by South Asian women who grew up in the US with strict immigrant parents. It talks about their struggles and their own definitions of rebellion and finding themselves.

Review (What you enjoyed/disliked about the book. Try to keep it as spoiler-free as possible): I have been struggling a lot with moving to different country and feeling lonely but this book made me feel heard. It made me feel like I am not alone in feeling the things I've been feeling, having the thoughts I've been having. A lot of what I was going through and had gone through was found in the stories of these women. The writing, for the most part, is not just relatable but also profound and moving. The pieces deal with how these women were expected to fit into the mold of being good girls and how each of them found out that there was more to life than fitting into these molds, these South Asian societal norms and expectations. As an Indian girl with strict Tamilian parents, it was difficult not to identify with each of these women and I highly recommend this one.