The Diary of a Madman by Guy de Maupassant

The Diary of a Madman by Guy de Maupassant

by CarolNo Comments
In general, I'm more likely to read novellas than short stories. but RIP XIII's Peril of the Short Story is a good excuse to pick some up. I'm not sure how "The Diary of a Madman" by  Guy de Maupassant came to my attention, but it's one of those stories that manages to pack so much in so few pages. The dead man was a judge, but he was far, far from the upstanding, good man the public believed him. The story, after a short introduction, is a section from his journal, detailing his thoughts on man, and crime, and killing. It's a short story, available at https://americanliterature.com/author/guy-de-maupassant/short-story/the-diary-of-a-madman and I don't want to ruin it by telling the entire plot. Suffice it to say, the judge is evil and, in the end, uses his office to put the crowning touch on his crimes. De Maupassant does an amazing job in so few pages allowing us to see the true nature of the judge, as...
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The Circular Staircase by Mary Roberts Rinehart

The Circular Staircase by Mary Roberts Rinehart

by Carol6 Comments
The Circular Staircase is the first of Mary Roberts Rinehart's novels I've read. I don't know why it has taken me so long to get around to reading her. The Circular Staircase is apparently the first example of the "Had-I-But-Known" school of mystery writing. The Had-I-But-Known mystery novel is one where the principal character (frequently female, in this case Rachel Innes) does things in connection with a crime that have the effect of prolonging the action of the novel. Ms. Innes keeps information from the police, does her own investigation, actively hides things the police should know - basically she's a standard amateur detective. I take that back, she literally hides people, which is taking the whole thing a little far. Of course, she's surrounded by people who are keeping secrets too, but they are suspects, so that's expected. So, Ms. Innes, her niece and nephew, and her maid move into a rented country house for the summer. The owners, a rich...
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Death of a Fool by Ngaio Marsh

Death of a Fool by Ngaio Marsh

by Carol8 Comments
Death of a Fool takes place around the winter solstice. In South Mardian, a sword dance/fertility ritual/mummer play is performed every year, but this time, the fool (the father) is actually beheaded. I don't know anything about English folk dances, but the dance featured in Death of a Fool is interesting. Granted, it's a fictional dance, but the author tells us that she did use elements from a variety of traditional dances. Reading about the rehearsals, the performance, the costume and the history was fun. The dance is performed by the elderly blacksmiths, his five sons and a couple of other village men. They are also the most obvious suspects, especially the sons as they were the ones with the sword during the dance. Of course, the other performers have motives too. There are so many reasons to kill the old man: anger revenge, money, and just to get him out of the way. Alleyn is called in to investigate. In a small...
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Artificial Condition by Martha Wells

Artificial Condition by Martha Wells

by Carol2 Comments
I read Artificial Condition right after I finished the first Murderbot story, All Systems Red. Now I'm anxiously waiting for #3, which comes out in August. They're short, so definitely read #1 before Artificial Condition. It'll give you the background you need on who Murderbot is, how it's free from its governor module, and how almost human it is. Once again, I like Murderbot. It's funny and snarky. This time around it's searching for the truth of what happened in its past and comes upon a helpful transport AI that likes entertainment feeds as much as Murderbot, so it helps out in many ways, including performing surgery on Murderbot to make it seem human. It's easier to maneuver through the universe if people think you're human, not a rogue killing machine. Murderbot needs to have a cover to get where it wants to go, so it signs up for employment as a bodyguard for researchers trying to recover some of their data from an...
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Dead Water by Ngaio Marsh

Dead Water by Ngaio Marsh

by Carol4 Comments
Emily Pride is an old friend/French teacher of Inspector Alleyn and she has been receiving death threats, mostly because she want to shut down a small island's tourist trade. She recently inherited the island and finds all the hoopla around the falls distasteful. She heads off to the island to take care of the situation, but once she is hurt, Alleyn shortens his own vacation and goes to the island to watch out for her. And then, of course, there's the murder, even if it's not the murder you expect. Happily Alleyn's on the scene to take over the investigation. The characters are a mixed lot. Some are bad stereotypes that tend to pop up in vintage mysteries, like the hysterical spinster and the drunk parents of the boy whose warts were "miraculously" healed. Some are more interesting, like the innkeeper's beautiful wife. We also have assorted other locals, including the doctor, the preacher and his wife, a young couple falling in love....
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Buried Secrets by Leighann Dobbs

Buried Secrets by Leighann Dobbs

by Carol2 Comments
I really enjoy the Blackmoore Sisters Mysteries. In Buried Secrets, they head West on a treasure hunting trip with Luke, one of the sisters' boyfriends and his team. I like that the people around the women recognize, and believe in, their powers. I wasn't sure how I'd feel about the sisters leaving their hometown, but since they took all of the recurring characters with them, it didn't really matter much. The girls piece together what happened Dead Water's past and get right in the middle of some present day illegal activities. Overall, it's a bit predictable, but there was a least one twist I didn't see coming. I would suggest starting the series at the beginning. They're light, quick read that are just fun. There are a lot of characters though, and a variety of powers, so I think starting with #1 allows you to get introduced to them all and get to know them. I'm looking forward to the next in the...
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