Audiobook – Page 77 – Carol's Notebook

The Mystery of the Blue Train by Agatha Christie

September 21, 2018November 30, 2021 by Carol5 Comments

Yes, Poirot again. I've been on a bit of a kick lately, I know. I'm almost reading/re-reading the series in order. I #4 earlier this year and obviously still remember it well. I skipped #5 because I don't like it. So now we're at #6, The Mystery of the Blue Train. There's a lot of lead up before the murder. We meet an heiress whose millionaire father gives her a fabulous ruby to cheer her up a little. She and her husband are having problems and, as the father sees it, her only real option is to divorce him. We meet the husband and his mistress, a dancer who is only interested in rich men, which he won't be if his wife divorces him. We meet a not necessarily above-board jewelry merchant and his daughter. Finally, I think, we meet a lovely young woman, Katherine Grey, who has recently become rich herself, after the elderly woman she was a companion to...

True Fiction by Lee Goldberg

September 19, 2018 by Carol2 Comments

I originally picked up True Fiction as a Kindle First for free, but decided I'd rather listen to it, so ended up picking up the Audible version for $1.99. I've enjoyed the Fox and O'Hare series Goldberg writes with Janet Evanovich, but had never read anything else by him. I'm glad I took a (cheap) chance. True Fiction was a fun read, a bit over the top, in a good way. Ian Ludlow writes a thriller series featuring an assassin named Clint Straker. True Fiction includes snippets of the Clint Straker novels and they are perfect- cheesy clichés. I love that Goldberg is poking fun at the thriller genre while writing one. Years ago, Ludlow and several other authors participated in a weekend where the CIA asked them to come up with disasters, in theory so that the government can be prepared for the worst. But now, the scenario Ludlow came up with has happened, and a bunch of people are dead. Turns...

DNF – 84K by Claire North

September 18, 2018September 17, 2018 by Carol2 Comments

I had to give up on 84K by Claire North which makes me so sad. I've loved everything I've read/listened to by her, but I just couldn't finish this one. I was listening to the audiobook which is 13 1/2 hours long and gave up with about 1 1/2 hours left. Peter Kenny was the narrator and I've enjoyed books he's done before. I just couldn't struggle to finish it anymore. I didn't care enough about the main character's mission to finish. Here's the info: I don't know if was too long- Theo spends a lot of time traveling, on the run but also with revenge in mind. Or was it too dark - it's a really depressing world where no one has it easy. The concept was great and the writing is typical North, which I like, unfinished sentences and all. It just didn't work for me here. Cut maybe 100 pages out, tighten it up a bit, and I may have loved it. I...

Poirot Investigates by Agatha Christie

September 14, 2018 by CarolNo Comments

I'm not sure if I've ever read Poirot Investigates before. I think I prefer the full-length novels to the short stories, although this is a good collection. Since these are all short stories, they are quick mysteries. We don't get to know many characters well and in a few the Poirot jumps to the (correct) conclusion with a bit too little information. And almost making fun of Hastings for not being able to keep up. I didn't really love any of them, but I didn't hate any either. Really, unless you're already a Poirot fan, I would probably skip this one. While Holmes is perfect in short stories, they are not the best way to meet Poirot....

The Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie

September 12, 2018September 11, 2018 by Carol6 Comments

So, I've discovered that, depending on what's going on in the office and what I'm doing, I can listen to audiobooks at work. When I'm folding newsletter, for example, or copying and pasting graphs. But, they can't be overly complicated or at all potentially offensive, which means vintage mysteries, like Agatha Christies work well. They tend to not have any curse words, most of the violence happens off-stage and is not graphic, there's enough of a plot to keep you interested, but they're not so absorbing that you can't just turn them off to answer the phone. In The Murder on the Links, Poirot receives a letter calling him to the aid of a millionaire in France, frightened for his life because of a 'secret' he possesses. Poirot, with Hastings, immediately leave England, only to find on arrival that Monsieur Renauld has already been killed and his body found on the golf course next door. The plot is pretty convoluted. As...

Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie

September 10, 2018October 26, 2018 by Carol6 Comments

Death on the Nile is a classic Poirot mystery. Poirot is on vacation in Egypt, taking a cruise on the Nile - and of course a murder occurs. Happily, Colonel Race is on board too and the two of them take up the investigation. We've got a lot of people on board the cruise, including a young couple on their honeymoon who are being stalked by the husband's ex-girlfriend, a young society man and his mother, a romance author and her daughter, an elderly kleptomaniac and her travel companions, a couple questionable men, a maid, a doctor - so many that it can get a little confusing on audio. The narrator did a good job with all the voices, but it's still a lot. The characters are all interesting and have their own personalities and motives. And Poirot likes them all, or almost all of them. He gives several people passes on their less serious crimes. It's the "hush, hush" house....