Carol's Notebook – Page 129

Back to the Classics 2021

December 22, 2020May 13, 2021 by Carol4 Comments

I'm happy to see Karen at Books and Chocolate is doing the Back to the Classics Challenge, again this year. Hopefully I'll complete all 12 categories. From Books and Chocolate: THE CATEGORIES: (My potential reads are in italics, but they’re open to change.) 1. 19th Century Classic. Middlemarch by George Eliot 2. 20th Century Classic. Anatomy of a Murder by Robert Traver 3. Classic by a Woman Author. High Rising by Angela Thirkell 4. Classic in Translation. The Odyssey by Homer 5. Classic by BIPOC Author. Passing by Nella Larsen 6. Classic by a New-to-You Author. Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather 7. New-To-You Classic by a Favorite Author. A Murder is Announced by Agatha Christie 8. A Classic About an Animal, or with an Animal in the Title. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien 9. A Children's Classic. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame 10. A Humorous or Satirical Classic. Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome 11. A Travel of Adventure Classic (fiction or non-fiction). Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan...

Murder at an Irish Christmas by Carlene O’Connor

December 18, 2020December 18, 2020 by Carol2 Comments

Murder at an Irish Christmas is the 6th installment in the Irish Village Mystery series, but the first I've read. It worked fine as a stand alone. I felt like I got to know the characters well and was given enough of the backstory but not too much. Siobhán and her family are spening Christmas with the family of James’ fiancé, Elise. Siobhán is a bit apprehensive about her brother’s engagement, but is still looking forward to a peaceful Christmas with all of them together. Of course, that's before the murder is discovered. Elise's grandfather, Enda Elliott, renowned conductor is found dead. His body is on the floor of the old mill, the very place where the village is panning on hosting a Christmas concert that Enda was to conduct. There are suspects galore, although for some reason the local garda is just focussed on one, Theodore Baskins, the village's bad boy. Siobhán thinks there's more to it and Enda's...

The Impossible Quest of Hailing a Taxi on Christmas Eve by George Saoulidis

December 14, 2020December 14, 2020 by CarolNo Comments

"The Impossible Quest of Hailing a Taxi on Christmas Eve" is a fun re-telling of A Christmas Carol. Scrooge tries to order a cab on Christmas Eve from an app. The problem is that the cabdriver who shows up won't take him. He's an undesirable customer. While he was busy denigrating the cab drivers in his reviews, the cab drivers were also reviewing him. Eventually Scrooge agrees to a "test" to determine whether he will accepted into a cab again. The ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future are all cab drivers. It had all the pieces of the standard story, but with just enough of a twist to make it feel fresh....

A Resolution at Midnight by Shelley Noble

December 11, 2020December 11, 2020 by CarolNo Comments

A Resolution at Midnight is the third book in Shelley Noble's Lady Dunbridge historical mystery series. I didn't read the first two books, and I think I would have enjoyed this one a bit more if I had. This mystery itself worked well as a stand-alone, but I was missing out a bit on the characters' backgrounds. We start the story with Philomena Amesbury, the young Dowager Countess of Dunbridge - Phil to her friends - is getting ready for her first Christmas in New York. She gets a note from Mr. X sending her to a theater, where she ends up sitting by a dead (murdered) man. She, of course, then gets wrapped up in the mystery of who it was and who killed him. I guess a little more information on how she ended up working for Mr. X and why she puts up with him. Mr. X never seem to share information and doesn't give her much...

The Finishing Stroke by Ellery Queen

December 9, 2020December 10, 2020 by Carol4 Comments

The Finishing Stroke is set primarily at Christmas-time, but bookended by a prologue set twenty-some years prior to the main events and a wrap-up that takes place over twenty years later. The bulk of the story takes place at Christmas, 1929. John Jr. has put together an extended Christmas party at the home of his guardian, Arthur Craig. We've got an assortment of guests, including John's girlfriend, Rusty Brown and a few of their friends. There is also the family doctor, the family lawyer, a pastor and a publisher. And, of course, Ellery Queen. Sebastian announces that some important events will happen during the party. First, his book of poetry is being published by the House of Freeman. Second, January 6th is his twenty-fifth birthday and he'll come into the trust fund that his father set up for him in his will. Third, he's going to marry Rusty. There's a final item, but he's keeping that a secret...

An English Murder by Cyril Hare

December 7, 2020December 7, 2020 by Carol2 Comments

An English Murder is a typical, country house, murder mystery common in Golden Age mysteries, with a slightly different feel. Although the set-up is one of my favorites – a group of guests snowed in at a country house over the holidays – the modern world is beginning to impinge. Domestic staff is harder to get hold of and Briggs, the butler, valiantly does his best to keep up standards with far less help than he previously had. Meanwhile, the house is suffering from a lack of staff and money. It looks impressive, but maintenance is expensive and the present Lord Warbeck’s son, Robert, is unlikely to be able to afford his inheritance. Lord Warbeck is old, and ill, and wants to have his family with him at Christmas. His guests include his son, Robert, who is the President of the League of Liberty and Justice, a an antisemitic and anti-socialist organization; Sir Julius Warbeck, Chancellor of the Exchequer; Mrs. Carstairs,...