Lady Audley’s Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon

Lady Audley’s Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon

by Carol2 Comments
Told by an unknown narrator, the story is focused on a "secret" of a woman named Lady Audley and the ultimate revelation of what that secret is. While you may think relatively soon into the book that you know Lady Audley's Secret, that the author has told us, you'd be wrong. The secret remains closely guarded right u to the time it is confessed by Lady Audley. I will be honest, though, the secret is not the strong part of the book. She lays down clues and throws hints here and there without giving way too much and keeping the secret well-guarded until the time is right for a confession by Lady Audley. I enjoyed the writing. The descriptions of the settings and characters put you there with them. I listened to Lady Audley's Secret just after The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins. They were written around the same time and both "sensational" novels, but this one felt tighter to...
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The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

by Carol4 Comments
Walter Hartright, is walking down the street, his mind absorbed with his own problems, when suddenly a woman, dressed in white appears. She is clearly scared, and he walks with her toward London, eventually putting her in a cab and seeing her off. Shortly thereafter he is informed by two men who are chasing her that she had escaped from an asylum. And that's all we see of the lady in white for now. Hartright is left with a mystery. He takes a job as a drawing master, instructing two half-sisters as different as night and day. One is fair, and one is dark. One is pretty, and one is…well…unattractive. Marian is brave, brilliant, and resourceful, a marvelous character given the time period. Marian can hold her own. Hartright, of course, falls in love with Laura Fairlie, the fair and beautiful one, an heiress, an orphan, a woman in need of protection. Unfortunately, she is engaged to Sir Percival Glyde....
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Happy Money by Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton

Happy Money by Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton

by Carol6 Comments
Happy Money was referenced in the Coursera class The Science of Well-Being, which is why I picked it up. From the class, I already knew the basics of what Happy Money was going to discuss, but it was still interesting and worth reinforcing. The authors are both professors and share a lot of their research, but they've tried to keep it enjoyable too, sharing amusing stories and funny tidbits. Its goal is to help readers learn to spend money in ways that will make them happier. It also touches on businesses and even countries and how they can help their employees/citizens become happier people. Basically there are five principles. Buy experiences rather than material objects.Treat yourself. You enjoy things more if they are occasional treats, rather than everyday things. That one latte a week will make you happier than having one every day.Buy time. Consider how any given purchase will affect your time.Pay now, consume later. Waiting for things makes them...
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The Case of the Late Pig by Margery Allingham

The Case of the Late Pig by Margery Allingham

by CarolNo Comments
"The main thing to remember in autobiography, I have always thought, is not to let any damned modesty creep in to spoil the story. This adventure is mine, Albert Campion's, and I am fairly certain that I was pretty nearly brilliant in it in spite of the fact that I so nearly got myself and old Lugg killed that I hear a harp quintet whenever I consider it. It begins with me eating in bed." The Case of the Late Pig is narrated by Albert Campion himself, which takes away a bit of the charm of the characters for me. Part of the fun is how he lets others see him as silly and perhaps not too bright, but with him telling the story we don't get that full effect. Also, even though he's telling us what he did and what he thought, he leaves his conclusions until the end. He has to, it's a mystery novel, but would you really...
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A Rage in Harlem by Chester Himes

A Rage in Harlem by Chester Himes

by Carol1 Comment
A Rage in Harlem is full of crime, violence, memorable characters, and a dark sense of humor. The descriptions are vivid and Himes brings to life a Harlem that is both realistic and unbelievable, in that way that places are so different from my own experiences. The main character is novel is about an undertaker's assistant, Jackson, a naive church-going man, not too bright, who is in love with a faithless, light-skinned young lady, who borrows (without permission) cash from his boss in order to take advantage of a get-rich-quick scheme. Of course, the scheme blows up in his face and his girlfriend Immabelle, takes off, worried the cops will catch them, at least that's the reason Jackson attributes to her disappearance. You have to give it to Imabelle, she is probably tougher and more cunning than the rest of them put together. The rest of the book follows Jackson's adventures trying to get back his money and his...
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Flowers for the Judge by Margery Allingham

Flowers for the Judge by Margery Allingham

by Carol2 Comments
On a beautiful morning in 1911, Tom Barnabas, a director of the publishing firm Barnabas and Company, left his London house and walked down the street. Somewhere along that street, before he reached the tobacconist’s shop on the corner, he disappeared. His disappearance was never explained – or solved. Twenty years later, another director of the firm disappears. His family turns to Albert Campion for help, but before he can get far on the case the man turns up dead. A great deal of circumstantial evidence points at the victim’s cousin, a young man who is clearly in love with the victim’s widow. The cousin, Mike Wedgwood, is arrested, and the police are quite satisfied. Flowers for the Judge is a true mystery. Mr. Campion here is clever and follows the clues. He allows his intelligence to show throughout. He believes Mike is innocent, as do other members of the family, including Gina, the victim’s widow. And so Mr. Campion...
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