The Thirteen Problems by Agatha Christie

 

Do you like to read short stories?  I have always enjoyed short stories.  Sometimes its just a perfect sized read when you are having a stressful day.

I am participating in the #ReadChristie2025 Challenge.  The challenge this year is exploring Agatha Christie’s works through her characters and their careers.  The theme for February was authors and I read The Thirteen Problems by Agatha Christie for the first time.  Miss Marple’s nephew, Raymond, is an author and he is present throughout this collection of short stories.

A group gathers at Miss Marple’s house and each member tells the story of a crime to entertain the gathering and for them to solve.  The teller of the story must have the real-world answer to see if they solved the crime correctly.  They are constantly surprised when Miss Marple always has the answer.  “The Tuesday Night Club” sounds like a fun group get together.

My thoughts on this collection:

·       I greatly enjoyed the short story format.  It was great escapism reading last weekend.  I like the ability to pick up the book and read a complete mystery story and move on to something exciting like chores afterwards.

·       This was the start of Miss Marple, and it was fun to read.  I feel that at some point, I need to read her mysteries in order.

·       I love Miss Marple.  She is sharp and can apply her observations of village life to new situations to solve mysteries.

·       The collection was entertaining and gave me a chuckle with a few of the stories – especially with Miss Marple having surprising answers and understanding of human nature.

Favorite quotes:

“’Aunt Jane,’ said Raymond looking at her curiously, ‘how do you do it?  You have lived such a peaceful life, and yet nothing seems to surprise you.”

“’I always find one thing very like another in this world,’ said Miss Marple.”

Overall, The Thirteen Problems by Agatha Christie was an entertaining short story mystery collection and a great introduction to Miss Marple.

Book Source:  Purchased from Amazon.com

Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster at the Edge of Space by Adam Higginbotham

 

Title:  Challenger:  A True Story of Heroism and Disaster at the Edge of Space

Author:  Adam Higginbotham

Narrated by:  Jacques Roy

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Length: Approximately 17 hours and 9 minutes

Source: Review Copy from Simon & Schuster Audio. 

 

What real life disaster would you like to read more about?

On January 28, 1986, the space shuttle Challenger broke up only 73 seconds into the flight and all seven astronauts on board lost their lives.  This tragedy was a defining moment in many people’s lives.  I remember it happening as a second grader.  We were all excited about the first teacher going to space and then it all went horribly wrong.

My thoughts on this audiobook:

·       I listened to this audiobook on a family trip at Christmas and another recent road trip in February.  My husband and I both found it interesting, and it prompted good discussion.

·       The audiobook gives details on each of the seven astronauts as well as other important people and incidents leading up to the disaster.  The history of the space shuttle program was fascinating. 

·       I felt better thinking that the astronauts vaporized rather than learning that they were hurtling towards their deaths and aware for 3 entire minutes.  The search and finding of their remains was horrifying.

·       This audiobook gave me a lot to think about ethics wise. Engineers blew the whistle about how they knew the O-rings had problems with temperature, but the shuttle was sent up anyways.  Human lives seemed to be not valued.  The engineers received accolades from professional societies, but never worked in aerospace again.  Ethics did not pay in this situation.

·       The space shuttle Columbia investigation discovered that many of the findings and items that were supposed to go into place after the Challenger disaster were not put not place.

·       It worried me with current events and seemingly random cuts to the government that we are setting ourselves up for another national tragedy.

·       The epilogue detailed what happened to many of the major players involved in the disaster.

·       Author Adam Higginbotham writes great non-fiction.  I also enjoyed his work, Midnight at Chernobyl.

Overall, Challenger by Adam Higginbotham was a fascinating nonfiction audiobook on the Challenger Disaster that opened my eyes to aspects of the disaster and fall out.  This is a must read for any fans of space flight and/or NASA.

The Life Impossible by Matt Haig

 

Title: The Life Impossible

Author:  Matt Haig

Narrated by:  Joanna Lumley and Jordan Stephens

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Length: Approximately 10 hours and 43 minutes

Source: Audiobook Purchased from Audible 

If you could inherit your dream house, where would your dream house be located?  

Grace Winters is surprised to learn that an old acquaintance she was once kind to has left her a house on a Mediterranean Island. Grace is a retired math teacher who deals in the world of facts, on the island though, Grace learns there is so much more to life than hard facts.

My thoughts on this novel:

• The Life Impossible by Matt Haig was the January Pick for the Rogue (FLICKS) Book Club.  Only one other person read it, but we both enjoyed it.

• I enjoyed this unique novel and the thoughts about living life to its fullest.

• I enjoyed that Grace is a math teacher.  One of my favorite quotes is one she talks about a music teacher and says they are prone to eccentricities.  Ha! 

• Grace has a great love for Sherlock Holmes and Alexandre Dumas.  I also love when classic literature if referred to in fiction.

• Grace has great guilt over her son Daniel’s death.  Having my own son Daniel, this really gave me the feels when reading this novel.

• I liked the humor in this novel.

• I liked how the book looked at how we view our bodies.  As we get older, we look back at when we were younger and wish we could look like that again.  Grace wishes you could live in the moment knowing about your future self.

• This was an enjoyable audiobook with good narrators that held my interest.

• I enjoyed how this story went into different realms than expected and was speculative fiction.

Overall, The Life Impossible by Matt Haig was an enjoyable unique novel that made me think about life, loss, and love.

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

 

Title: A Tale of Two Cities

Author:  Charles Dickens

Narrated by:  Simon Vance

Publisher: Tantor Audiobook Classics

Length: Approximately 13 hours and 39 minutes

Source: Audiobook Purchased from Audible (free on Audible)

Are you a fan of Charles Dickens?  If so, what is your favorite Dickens novel?

Dr. Alexandre Manette is wrongfully imprisoned in the Bastille for eighteen years.  After his release, he is reunited with his daughter, Lucie.  She marries Charles Darney and life is good, until the family is tricked into going to Paris during the French Revolution.  They will learn the truth of their past and the value of sacrifice and friendship.

My thoughts on this novel:

·       This was the January pick for the Back to the Classic Book Club at the Kewaunee Public Library.  It prompted a good discussion.

·       I had not read this book since high school, so it was due for a reread.

·       I listened to the audiobook and read along in a physical copy. 

·       This was different than other Dickens novels as this was written as historical fiction during this lifetime.

·       It appeared that everyone at book club enjoyed this book, although we had troubles at times with following the actions of all the characters throughout the novel.  Especially as some characters shared the same name.  This was especially confusing while listening to the audiobook!

·       This novel as the best opening and closing lines of a novel of all time.  “It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.”  “It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.”

·       The two cities of the novel are London and Paris, but the Paris scenes to me were the most memorable.

·       This was a great story.  Why was Madame Defarge so vengeful?  The reader finally gets the reasons behind her vengeance at the end of the novel.  It took Madame Defarge from being a cartoon villain to a woman who deeply loved her family and wanted vengeance for their abuse and death.

·       It was a great story of the French Revolution.  It really explains why average citizens were so mad and took their vengeance.  Unfortunately, vengeance can go too far and innocent people got swept up in the fury.

·       The female main part was underwritten.  Lucie Manette is just pretty and simple.  It was hard to see why men were literally ready to die for her.

·       Sidney Carton was the best written character with shades of grey.  I wish that the reader was able to learn more about his background.

·       I was horrified by the Marquis carriage running over a child at the beginning of the novel and how he didn’t care at all.

Overall, A Tale of Two Cities is a must-read classic about the French Revolution with a great story and memorable characters and quotes.

Five Little Pigs by Agatha Christie

 

Are you participating in any book challenges this year?  One that I’ve participated in the past few years and look forward to participating again this year is the #ReadChristie2025 Challenge.  The challenge this year is exploring Agatha Christie’s works through her characters and their careers.  The theme for January was artists and I read the excellent Five Little Pigs by Agatha Christie for the first time.

Hercule Poirot is approached by a young woman who is ready to get married, but she wants to know the truth of her parents.  Sixteen years earlier, her artist father was murdered.  Her mother was tried and convicted of the crime, but was she guilty?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       This set-up of solving an older crime to help a daughter, seems to be a theme Christie enjoyed.  I just read a similar set up at the end of last year in Elephants Can Remember.

·       Hercule Poirot thinks the five suspects from the house party fit the rhyme, the five little pigs went to the market and he can’t keep that thought from his mind.

·       This story was unique in that Poirot interviews each subject and then asks them to write up their memories in their own words.  The reader gets to read these written accounts.

·       The murder occurs during a very awkward house party where both the wife and the girlfriend are in attendance.  I know artists are eccentric – but it was a bit much!  I felt like the victim deserved to be murdered in this book.

·       I really thought I had this one solved again this time, but I was led astray by a red herring.

·       The house party setting had a limited number of potential murderers (five little pigs).  They were all interesting characters and had reasons they could have committed the crime.

·       I loved the cover of this novel.  It really captured the scene of the murder in the novel.

Overall, Five Little Pigs by Agatha Christie is Hercule Poirot and Agatha Christie at their best.  It was an excellent novel and mystery.

Book Source:  Purchased from Amazon.com.

Eddie Winston is Looking for Love by Marianne Cronin

 

What is the last heartwarming book that you have read?  Eddie Winston is Looking for Love by Marianne Cronin was a heartwarming novel and one of my favorite reads of January.

Eddie Winston is ninety and works in a charity shop in Birmingham.  He befriends a 24-year-old, Bella, as donates her boyfriend’s clothes to the shop when he passes away.  Bella is stunned to learn that Eddie has never been kissed and makes it a goal to help Eddie find love. Will Eddie finally find love and his first kiss?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       I read Eddie Winston is Looking for Love as part of the Brenda Novak’s Book Group.  She had a great interview with author Marianne Cronin as part of her January Book Group Meeting.  There is a great line up for books for 2025 for this book group and I look forward to reading them all.

·       This novel had short and quirky chapters which were easy to read.

·       The novel is narrated primarily be Eddie, Bella, and Bridie.  Bridie narrates her life and stories in the 1960s when Edie and Bridie fell in love.  Bridie was married to a serial cheater but wouldn’t leave him due to her strong catholic faith.

·       Bella is trying to come to terms with her grief and how to move on.

·       I like how Eddie decides it is not too late to make a change and decides to change his fashion and life.

·       I loved Eddie’s Guinea pig, Pushkin, and how he got a romance of his own.

·       This was a fun book about love, lose, finding oneself, the importance of friends and relationships, grief, and missed chances.

·       This would be a great read for those who enjoyed The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise by Colleen Oakley.

·       This novel was a sweet, heartwarming intergenerational story.  I would love to get to know Eddie and Bella in real life.  This novel had great characters and humor.

·       It was a quick read that I couldn’t put down.

Favorite Quotes:

“’The years fly, don’t they?’ she says with a sigh.  I wonder if they do.  Like birds, forever flapping away from us, off to sunnier climes.”

“Why do we spend so much money on flowers for the dead but barely ever buy them for the living.”

Overall, Eddie Winston is Looking for Love by Marianne Cronin was a fabulous heartwarming and funny book.  It will definitely be one of my favorite reads of 2025.

Book Source:  Purchased from Amazon.com.

Mountain Interval by Robert Frost

 

Do you enjoy reading poetry?  I haven’t read much poetry since college, but reading this collection made me think I need to pick up poetry again.

I read this collection of poetry in January for the What the Dickens Book Club on Facebook.  There was a great discussion about it last month. 

My thoughts on this collection:

·       I haven’t read any Robert Frost poem since my college days.  I either read his poems as individual poems or as part of a “complete collection.”  This was the first time I read them in a collection as they would have been published.  It was very interesting.

·       The collection includes one of my favorite poems, The Road Not Taken.

·       The poems give the reader a sense of place and time – that you are living on a farm in rural Vermont in the early twentieth century.

·       I especially liked the poem where a city guy tried to rip Frost off and buy one thousand pine trees for a total of $300.  This would only be three cents per tree!  It was interesting how Frost made this experience into a poem.

·       Poems are a nice length to read and think about before bed.  With all that is going on in the world, they were a good escapism read.

Overall, Mountain Interval by Robert Frost was an enjoyable poetry collection and I highly recommend it.

Book Source:  Purchased on my kindle from Amazon.com.

Midnight on the Scottish Shore by Sarah Sundin (Austenprose PR Book Tour)

 

What's a book that you wish you could experience for the first time again?  I have so many favorites, but one would be Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen.

Cilla van der Zee is a Dutch citizen living through the horrors of the Nazi occupation.  She infiltrates the Dutch Nazis for the resistance movement.  After witnessing them murdering one of her friends, she decides she needs to get out of the Netherlands.  She volunteers to become a spy in England where she went to school and has an aunt.  Once on the shores of Scotland, Lt. Lachlan Mackenzie immediately arrests her.  To save her own life, she has to become a double cross agent.  Will Lacklan and Cilla be able to work together to further the allied cause?  Will Lacklan ever be able to trust Cilla?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       Midnight on the Scottish Shore by Sarah Sundin was an engaging novel that captured my attention right from the first chapter.

·       I loved the spy story and how everyone worked together to make the double cross work.  Espionage and suspense were rife in this novel.

·       It really put WWII into perspective on how it was a life and death situation for so many people without any clear options to get out of the terrible situation they were in.

·       I don’t know why, but I hadn’t really thought of submarines dropped off spies off the shores of Great Britain.

·       I loved the characters, but especially Cilla and Lachlan.  Cilla is in a tough situation and must figure out how to keep herself alive while wondering about her family and friends that are left back in the Netherlands.  She is a strong woman. Lachlan is trying to protect his own country, while also wondering about his brother who is involved in a separatist group.  He is a sensitive man who plays the bagpipes, wears a kilt, and loves poetry.

·       The Scottish setting was wonderful.  It was scenic as described on the page and I also loved the descriptions of the Scottish traditions.

·       Cilla and Lachlan had a great enemies to lovers’ romance.

·       Great questions at the end of the novel for a book club to use.  This would make a great book club selection.  It’s a riveting story with morally gray areas that could be explored.

·       I also enjoyed the author’s note at the end which went through the real history that is in this novel.  The Double Cross program is fascinating history.

Favorite quote: “Double cross is a game, Cilla.  It’s the grandest of games.”

Overall, Midnight on the Scottish Shore by Sarah Sundin is a very engaging espionage WWII historical fiction novel with great characters and a fascinating Scottish setting.  I highly recommend it!

Book Source:  Review copy from Revell Books as part of the Austenprose PR Book Tour. Thank-you!  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

BOOK DESCRIPTION

The only way Cilla van der Zee can survive the German occupation of the Netherlands is to do the unthinkable--become a spy for the Nazis in Britain. She soothes her conscience with a plan to abandon her mission and instead aid the Allies. Her scheme is thwarted when naval officer Lt. Lachlan Mackenzie finds her along the Scottish shore and turns her in to be executed.

But perhaps she is more useful alive than dead. British intelligence sends her to Scotland to radio misleading messages to Germany, messages about the naval base at Scapa Flow to be crafted by Lachlan. At the station in the lighthouse at Dunnet Head, Lachlan and Cilla must work together if the war is to be won. But how can he trust a woman who arrived on his shores as a tool of the enemy--a woman certain to betray both him and the Allied cause?

Master of World War II fiction Sarah Sundin takes you to the wild Scottish seaside, where danger lurks under the surface of the water--and in the depths of the human heart--for a WWII tale you won't soon forget.

AUTHOR BIO

Sarah Sundin is the bestselling author of When Twilight Breaks, Until Leaves Fall in Paris, The Sound of Light, Embers in the London Sky, and the popular WWII series Sunrise at Normandy, among others. She is a Christy Award winner and a Carol Award winner, and her novels have received starred reviews from Booklist, Library Journal, and Publishers Weekly. Sarah lives in Southern California. Visit SarahSundin.com for more information

A Victim at Valentine’s by Ellie Alexander

 

Title: A Victim at Valentine’s

Author:  Ellie Alexander

Narrated by:  Ellen Quay

Publisher: Dreamscape Media

Length: Approximately 6 hours and 25 minutes

Source: Review Copy from NetGalley.  Thank you!

How did you celebrate Valentine’s Day?  Did you have a cozy night in or go out on the town?  Or not celebrate at all?  My husband and I went out for dinner.

Annie Murray is celebrating Valentine’s Day at the Secret Bookshop by putting together a matchmaking event.  Annie’s friend Scarlett was murdered in the past and she is still trying to put together the clues to solve her death.  When someone else is murdered at the bookstore, Annie helps investigate who the killer could be in their small town.  Will they find the killer before they strike again?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       This was a perfect cozy read for Valentine’s Day.  I loved how there was a slight romance with Annie and Liam and the event that was put together for the holiday. The murder was tied in with the holiday as well.

·       This is the fifth book in the A Secret Bookcase Mystery series.  I read it as a standalone, but I feel like it would have been even better if I had read the first books in the series.

·       I enjoyed that the bookstore was an Agatha Christie themed bookstore.

·       There were many red herrings in the mystery which made it fun as Annie put together the pieces to find the killer.

·       Ellen Quay was a great narrator, and this was an enjoyable audiobook.

Overall, A Victim at Valentine’s Day by Ellie Alexander was a perfect cozy mystery for the holiday.

Slow Dance by Rainbow Powell

Title: Slow Dance

Author: Rainbow Powell

Narrated by: Rebecca Lowman

Publisher: HarperAudio

Length: Approximately 11 hours and 31 minutes

Source: Audiobook Purchased from Audible

Do you like to dance?  My husband and I enjoy dancing, although we don’t get to do it too often with our busy kids’ schedules.

Shiloh and Cary were best friends in high school and everyone around them expected them to get together.  Life did not work out that way and Shiloh went off to college while Cary shipped off to the Navy.  Over the years, the two keep passing back into each other’s life.  Is there a good time for a second chance at romance?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       This was the February pick for the Page-turners Book Club at the Kewaunee Public Library.  Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the meeting due to work commitments.

·       I had a really hard time with this book.  The plot move very slowly, and I had a hard time connecting with the characters or even liking them as people. 

·       I read about 100 pages of the novel and then I switched to the audiobook version which worked better for me.

·       This novel had lots and lots and lots of flashbacks.  I am usually a fan of flashbacks, but there were just too many through too many time periods in this one to keep me enjoying the story.

·       This was a second chance romance which is one of my favorite tropes.  I did like that it showed a different type of couple with a divorced mother of two living with her mother and a single military man trying to take care of his mother and family as well.

·       This was a steamy romance, although most of the steam was the end of the novel.

Overall, Slow Dance by Rainbow Powell was too slow of a dance of a novel for me.  I read it through to the end, but really didn’t enjoy the characters or story.

Whispers of Fortune by Mary Connealy (Austenprose PR Book Tour)

 Share a book that has a beautiful dedication.  I loved the dedication in this book, “To my cowboy husband: You’re retired now, but you’ll always be a cowboy at heart.”

Brody MacKenzie has just become a doctor in 1874 and he has headed west to find his two brothers who have runaway from the orphan train after their parents’ deaths.  He finds that they are in a great situation living in an orphanage and school, but that they are obsessed with using their grandfather’s old journal to find a hidden treasure.  Will they find it before others that are also hot on the trail?

My thoughts on this novel:

• This was a good clean, western adventure romance.  It was a great start to a new series.

• I enjoyed the character of Brodie MacKenzie.  I liked that he was a good man who wanted to help his brothers out while also keeping the promise to the doctor that had helped him out.

• Ellie and her brother Josh have been taking care of the two brothers on the ranch.  Ellie and Brodie have a romance in the novel that is sweet.  The romance is not the focus of the novel and didn’t have much build-up.

• I always love a treasure hunt and I think it made the story more exciting that there was a villain also looking for the treasure.

• There is a sneak peak at the end for Book 2 of this series and it looks great!

Favorite Quote:

“Revenge was the juice that kept his blood flowing.” – What a great description of the villain.

Overall, Whispers of Fortune by Mary Connealy is an entertaining western adventure romance and good start to what looks to be a fascinating new series.

Book Source:  Review copy from Bethany House Publishing as part of the Austenprose PR Book Tour. Thank-you!  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

BOOK DESCRIPTION

In a land of gold and grit, can two hearts uncover the true treasure?

In 1875 California, Brody MacKenzie arrives at the Two Harts Ranch on a mission to find his runaway brothers, worried they may have fallen into harm. Instead, he discovers them thriving at the ranch's school and orphanage under the care of Ellie Hart, a woman with a heart as resilient as the land she calls home. His options limited, Brody reluctantly takes on the role of ranch doctor, and he forms an unexpected bond with Ellie, who's kept a steady eye on Brody's two rapscallion brothers. When the boys show him a mysterious journal that has been guiding their travels and may hold the key to a lost treasure, Brody and Ellie are captivated by the possibility of a thrilling adventure.

With winter approaching and his brothers threatening to bolt again, Brody and Ellie race against time to decipher cryptic clues and unearth the hidden fortune. But along the way, old adversaries resurface, threatening their newfound affection and the safety of those at the ranch.

AUTHOR BIO

Mary Connealy writes "romantic comedies with cowboys" and is celebrated for her fun, zany, action-packed style. She has sold more than 1.5 million books and is the author of the popular series A Western Light, Wyoming Sunrise, and many other books. Mary lives on a ranch in eastern Nebraska with her very own romantic cowboy hero. Learn more at MaryConnealy.com.

I’ll Tell You Everything by Rebecca Kelley (TLC Book Tours)

 

Do you prefer to read one book at a time or multiple books at once?  I’m usually reading multiple books at once.

Ramona Crawford was adopted as an infant, and she wants to find out her biological parents.  She is able to find her mother, Amy Linden, through DNA testing and she meets with her to find out more details about her biological father.  Amy tells Ramona the sad story of her birth, but the details don’t quite add up. What is true and what isn’t?  Is Amy capable to be able to tell the truth?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       I always enjoy a good suspense novel.  This novel kept me wondering what the real story was right up until the end.  I read this book quickly.

·       I loved the setting of this novel.  Amy runs a mountain lodge, which was also the setting for where she met Ramona’s father.  The lodge seemed like a cozy place to stay with hiking, and cabaret performances.

·       The book alternates between Ramona and Amy’s point of view.

·       I thought both Amy and Ramona were interesting characters.  Amy especially seemed like she could turn into a villain, but she wasn’t.  She was a complicated character that kept me interested in the story.  I felt bad for Ramona and just wanted her to be able to find out the truth about her biological father and origin.

·       I am always intrigued by unreliable narrators.

·       This was a good domestic drama.

Overall, I’ll Tell You Everything by Rebecca Kelley was an enjoyable domestic drama and suspense novel.

Book Source:  Review copy from author Rebecca Kelley as part of the TLC Book Tour. Thank-you!  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Waiting for Christmas by Lynn Austin

 

What's a book that you've recommended to everyone?

In 1901 New York City, Howard and Adelaide are excited to spend their first Christmas together as husband and wife.  Adelaide is trying to learn how to be a middle-class wife after being raised in great wealth.  Adelaide discovers a young boy, Jack, who says he’s not really an orphan, but that his mother died and, his father is away at sea, and his sister is missing.  He is sure his father will return for Christmas.  Howard and Adelaide help Jack out.  Will his father return for Christmas?

My thoughts on this novella:

·       I love an Edwardian Christmas. 

·       The sections were split to correlate with the advent calendar.  I liked this unique storytelling and the deep faith elements.

·       I have not read the first book in this series, but it was fine reading this as a standalone.  I do want to go back and read the first novel.

·       I enjoyed reading about Adelaide’s work for the suffrage movement.

·       The cover of this novella was striking. 

·       This was a sweet and clean read.

·       I loved how the story included the true meaning of Christmas.  I especially loved when Adelaide brought home the family nativity and explains it to the kids.

·       Adelaide must ponder what to do with her inherited fortune and how best to help others and the suffrage movement.

·       The ending was heartwarming.

Overall, Waiting for Christmas by Lynn Austin is a wonderful historical fiction Christmas novel that encompasses the true meaning of Christmas.  I loved it.

Book Source:  Review copy from NetGalley. Thank-you!  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.