The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie

The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie

Our story opens with Mrs. Dolly Bantry being woken up by a maid and told there's a dead body in the library. She, in turn, wakes her husband, Colonel Arthur Bantry, who takes a bit of convincing before he will go down and check for himself. Sure enough, there's a dead girl in the library, a stranger wearing a rather cheap dancing dress. Mrs. Bantry immediately calls Ms. Marple and states if there has to be a murder in her house, she intends to enjoy it. The two women end up heading to a nearby hotel, where one of the staff has disappeared. I enjoy Miss Marple. She's so observant and maybe a bit cynical. She allows people who don't know her well, to believe she's just a harmless, quiet older village lady when she is really quite shrewd and intelligent. She sees everything and bides her time, asking seemingly innocent questions and making seemingly absurd comparisons until she has...
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The Last Death of the Year by Sophie Hannah

The Last Death of the Year by Sophie Hannah

Hercule Poirot has brought Edward Catchpole to the House of Perpetual Welcome on a Greek Island for New Year's Eve, 1933. They are staying as the guests of Nash, the wealthy young man whose parents own the estate. Nash espouses the idea of radical forgiveness and has formed a small community that lives out that ideal, with the stated intent of changing the world. Of course, if he's invited Poirot, we know all is not well. When an after dinner game of guessing each other's New Year's resolutions shows someone is definitely contemplating committing murder, probably before the night is out, celebrations are put on hold. I don't really have a lot to say about this one. Poirot is not exactly Poirot, but he's fine and I've read others in this "New Poirot" series, so knew what to expect. I actually like Catchpole, even if he's a step or two behind Poirot. The folks who live at the...
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