Cloak and Dagger Challenge August Link-up
Happy August! What's on your tbr for this month?
Link up your August reads here:
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The Eighth Detective by Alex Pavesi
If you read the blurb above for The Eighth Detective, you can see why I was drawn to the book. I adore murder mysteries and the set up here, an editor wanting to re-publish a reclusive authors detective story collection, but discovering that there's a larger mystery to solve, sounds right up my alley. Overall, though, I was disappointed.
Granted, The Eighth Detective is unique. We all know that there are rules to murder mysteries, but here the author plays around with them and shows the variations well. For me though, it was just trying to be too clever. I like a good puzzle, I like twists, but here the author clearly planned his revelations, but by the time he let us in on what was really going on, I didn't care. The ideas behind what makes a murder mystery a murder mystery were interesting enough, but not ground-breaking.
The book annoyed me more than anything else. It starts off with...
Murder at Archly Manor by Sara Rosett
Aristocratic, but down on her luck, Olive Belgrave is searching for employment in 1920’s London, which is a fun time period if you're reading about society. Not as fun for servants or other lower classes, I'm sure, but they were not the main characters here. This is about people with money or standing or both. However, even Olive's connections aren’t getting her anywhere when she receives a telegram to return to her family estate. Olive’s cousin, Violet, has become engaged to Alfred Eton, a young man whose life in the India and his family are a bit of a mystery. He may not be a suitable match at all. Aunt Caroline employs Olive to use her skills and social connections to find out more about him, offering her a generous fee.
Olive heads off to an extravagant house party hosted by photographer Sebastian Blakely, Alfred’s wealthy godfather and friend. Her plan is to mingle with the partygoers and find out more...
Top Ten Tuesday | Favorite Things to Eat/Drink While Reading
Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.
Today is freebie. I'm going with my Top Ten Favorite Things to Eat/Drink while reading. I was just telling Amber that there ar a couple of readathons coming up in August, so this is also a good chance to think about snacks for those.
Coffee - Starbucks' Veranda Blend to be specific. I love warm drinks any time of year. And lately, my hands have been feeling achy so the hot mug helps.Hot chocolate - See above, but with chocolate that won't melt on your fingers.Pizza - "Steubenville style" is best when reading. Not too greasy and you can order it by the piece.Spaghetti with marinara sauce - Will always be on any of my top ten food lists. It's my favorite meal, period.Warm cinnamon rolls with vanilla ice cream (and maybe caramel sauce) - Delicious!Popcorn - Quick and easyCrackers and cheese - I actually mean saltines and American cheese, which is probably...
The Guest List by Lucy Foley
I really wish blurbs would stop comparing book to Agatha Christie's. Lucy Foley is not Agatha Christie and her book really has little similarities to Christie's except a dead body. We don't have a detective, amateur or otherwise. This isn't even a traditional mystery, more of a psychological thriller. I think the comparison is misleading and not fair to Foley.
The Guest List alternates between many points of view, with a different narrator for each. Usually, I'm not a fan of multiple narrators but it works well here. We have the bride, the groom, the best man, the plus one, the wedding planner, and the bridesmaid. We know something bad has happened but we don't know exactly what or who got hurt. The timeline also jumps back and forth between the past, two days before the wedding, to the chaotic wedding day in the present. Details are revealed slowly. The tension just keeps building as we learn the characters' fears, secrets,...
Top Ten Tuesday | Book Festivals I’d Love to Go to Someday
Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.
Today’s topic is “Book Events/Festivals I’d Love to Go to Someday (Real or Fictional),” suggested by Nandini @ Unputdownable Books. Here’s my list. I'm going to ignore that most of these have either been canceled or took place online this year. I have to assume that they'll all be back in a year or two, especially since several happen in places I'd love to visit.
National Book Festival, Washington, D.C.Malice Domestic, Bethesda, MarylandInternational Agatha Christie Festival, Torquay, Devon, EnglandEdinburgh International Book Festival, Edinburgh, ScotlandSavannah Book Festival, Savannah, GeorgiaBloody Scotland, Stirling, ScotlandPEN World Voices Festival, New York City, New YorkHay Festival, Hay-on-Wye, WalesJane Austen Festival, Bath, Somerset, EnglandLos Angeles Times Festival of Books, Los Angeles, California...