Book Reviews – Page 76 – Carol's Notebook

Cat Among the Pigeons by Agatha Christie

October 5, 2021November 12, 2021 by Carol2 Comments

I know to trust Agatha Christie, but her international thriller-type books are not my favorite. So, when Cat Among the Pigeons started out with a revolution in Ramat, I was a bit worried. Prince Ali Yusef is preparing to leave the country, but before he does, he entrusts his good friend with a fortune in jewels, asking that they be gotten to England and to the man who will know what to do with them. The jewels end up at a Meadowbank, a prestigious girls school, along with several people on their trail, and this is the kind of setting I like. It's a closed group of people, the students and the staff. Soon, the phys ed teacher is killed. The killer has to be at the school, but the investigation doesn't progress well, and two more people end up dead. Eventually (over 2/3 into the book), Poirot takes on the case. Poirot doesn't do much investigating here. A bit of talking...

The Sandman: Act II by Neil Gaiman, adapted by Dirk Maggs

October 2, 2021October 1, 2021 by Carol2 Comments

A reminder - I have never read the original Sandman comics. I rarely read comics or graphic novels, mostly because I'm not good at it and so don't enjoy them as much as I could. I tend to read the dialogue and miss the pictures. I can't tell how faithful the audio is to the original, but others say it's very close. I enjoyed this second act, which consists of two main arcs and several smaller stories. The Season of Mists was excellent. Dream travels back to hell to save Nada whom he had condemned for 10,000 years of torment… because she rejected him. Surprising twists and turns make it impossible to see where this one is going until it actually gets there. A Game of You was kind of blah for me. Barbie and some friends have to go on a quest to save a land but still manage to stay alive in our world. It was skippable. Fables & Reflections...

Strange Frequencies by Peter Bebergal

September 24, 2021September 24, 2021 by Carol3 Comments

I picked up Strange Frequencies for RIP's Peril of the Real. When it comes to fiction, I stay in the mystery aisles most of the time. Nonfiction, however, can be about anything. I can't say that I was really interested in the intersection of technology and the supernatural, but I can find most topics interesting and learn fascinating bits and pieces, especially when the writer/speaker presents it well. Bebergal covers a wide variety of topics, from golems to seances to electronic voice phenomena and he does it from the view of maybe a hopeful skeptic. He researches, but he also experiments. He talks about the history around certain devices or myths and contacts, when possible, experts. He also goes to the seance, tags along with the photographer, builds a Tesla radio, uses his dad's old tape recorder. My one complaint is that it jumps from topic to topic. I would have liked there to be more to it, not just...

The Sandman by Neil Gaiman, adapted by Dirk Maggs

September 21, 2021September 21, 2021 by Carol2 Comments

I don't read graphic novels often. I'm not good at it. I haven't learned to slow down enough and pay attention to the images. Yes, I could practice, but it turns out I don't care that much. I had seen the ad for The Sandman on Audible, but had pretty much ignored it until a friend mentioned it on Facebook. I admit to being leery - a graphic novel in audio form, a "full cast" production - but it was free and only about 11 hours. With all the voices, sounds effects, and too much music, this is more of a radio play than an audiobook, not that that's good or bad. As someone who is unfamiliar with The Sandman graphic, I thoroughly enjoyed this adaptation. It's dramatic and immersive and I never felt lost or like I was missing something. There were a few references to the DC universe that I caught but also probably several that slipped right over...

The Madness of Crowds by Louise Penny

September 17, 2021December 3, 2021 by Carol6 Comments

My mom and I both read Penny's Gamache series. She loves all of them; I like the "smaller" mysteries, the ones that don't involve institutional corruption or cross-country drug trafficking. The Madness of Crowds is one of those smaller, more personal mysteries. We're back in Three Pines, which is always nice, and Gamache and his whole family are there for the holidays. Gamache is asked to provide security for a professor's lecture, but, of course, it's not quite as simple as it sounds. The professor's visit and talk lead to moral dilemmas, violence, and ultimately a death. The mystery itself was fine. We have several suspects, even if I question why a couple of them would make the list- the motives seem rather weak. The clues are revealed slowly, allowing us to discover them along with Gamache as he and his team pull back the layers of people's lives, discovering their secrets and past choices. Penny does touch on COVID, or the...

The Cure for What Ales You by Ellie Alexander

September 16, 2021September 16, 2021 by Carol4 Comments

Sloan works at a craft brewery in the Pacific Northwest. The town has a faux-Bavarian ambiance and attracts a lot of tourists. I enjoy spending time in the town and with Sloan and her friends and family. I love how the town actually likes its tourists and how the townspeople all know and look out for each other. Of course, quirky characters and a good setting can just about carry any cozy mystery - thankfully. Our victim here is a housekeeper at a local hotel, but that investigation is overshadowed by the return of a woman from Sloan's past claiming to be her aunt. Honestly, I hope we're finally done with all the stuff from Sloan's childhood. It all seems unlikely and over the top and detracts from a good series. If the author could just keep the focus on the murders in the town, and not veer off into organized crime or drugs or whatever, I'd be much happier. Sloan's present...