Monday, 5 February 2024

Several crime titles

I'm behind with my crime fiction reviews - nothing new there - so this is a three-book post today, starting with A Death in Door County by Annalise Ryan.

Morgan Carter is a cryptozoologist (those who search for legendary animals like The Loch Ness Monster or Bigfoot) who lives in Wisconsin on the shores of Lake Michigan. She owns a bookstore there but it's not your usual bookshop, it also sells weird and macabre items. Morgan is enlisted to help the local police when a dead body is washed up that has some huge bite marks on it. There's always been rumours of something Nessie-like in their area of the lake and, although the police chief doesn't really believe it, he needs an expert to advise him. When a second body, likewise mutilated, turns up, the police chief has no choice but to seriously review his beliefs. So this mystery had an excellent sense of place, the lake where it joins Green Bay, known as Death's Door, the islands, cliffs, forests, beaches... beautiful. I liked the budding relationship between Jon Flanders and Morgan, and the dog, Newt, was lovely. I wish there had been more of the cryptozoologist element though because that was why I picked it up. But it seemed like not even the cryptozoologist herself took that seriously. Anyway, a good start to a new series, book two is out already, Death in the Dark Woods, and I may pick that up when the price comes down a bit. 

Next, Elephants Can Remember by Agatha Christie. 

So, this is number 42 in Christie's Hercule Poirot series but for me it was as much an Ariadne Oliver mystery as a Poirot one. She goes off to a literary lunch, which is not really her thing, but while there she's approached by an obnoxious woman whose son is engaged to a girl whose parents died in mysterious circumstances, 15 years ago. They were found dead at the top of a cliff in Devon, both shot, but the police had no idea who shot whom first and have never been able to discover the answer. The woman wants Ariadne to try to find out as the fiance is Ariadne's God daughter. At a loss, the writer enlists the help of Hercule Poirot to help her find some 'elephants' who might recall some pertinent clues as to what happened. This one has got some rather poor star ratings on Goodreads, people seem to think it's not great because Christie was approaching the end of her life when she was was writing it and maybe losing some of her faculties. Be that as it may, I still enjoyed it very much. I like Ariadne Oliver as a character anyway and always think she brings quite a lot to a Poirot mystery. I liked how, between the two of them, they eventually managed to tease the truth out of people, Ariadne using her doggedly determined questioning skills and Poirot his little grey cells. Not the best Christie I've read but still an enjoyable read.

And finally, my first book for February, The Christie Curse by Victoria Abbott.

Jordan Bingham is back in her home-town of Harrison Falls, in the north of New York state. She's looking for a job that doesn't involve living with her uncles, who she adores but who exist on the wrong side of the law a lot of the time. She answers an ad from Vera Van Alst, an elderly invalid who lives in a huge house on the outskirts of town. Vera is a serious book collector who got wind of a possible secret manuscript of a play Agatha Christie might have written during her eleven day disappearance. Jordan gets the job and sets about her search only to dicover that her predecessor died in mysterious circumstances in New York City. Then people around her start to get attacked and Jordan realises this is not the cushy number she was hoping for. So, this was a fun 'Cosy', I suppose you would call it, which is not always my thing, but this was well written and engaging with some interesting characters. I liked cranky Vera, and the uncles, and was very intrigued by the cat coming and going. Also I had no idea until the end what was going on and why. There was a very nice sense of place too, made more so by the fact that I have been to the area. All in all, a fun read and likely as not I'll read on. There are only 5 books, all concerning famous crime authors such as Dorothy L. Sayers, Rex Stout etc. The mother and daughter team seem to have written these 5 and then stopped. I always wonder 'why?' when that happens.

Anyway. I hope your February is going well, and that you're finding some good books to read.


16 comments:

Yvonne @ Fiction Books Reviews said...

A lovely crime trio for my wish list, although I'm not totally convinced that 'A Death In Door County' is going to be one of my favourite reads - but never say never and I am always up for trying something a bit different and out of my comfort zone!

I will generally scan the reviews and stats before I begin reading a book, but I do generally try not to take too much notice of them if I like the sound of a storyline and it would rarely put me off trying the book for myself - especially if it is anything to do with AC!

It sounds as though all three storylines have quite a good sense of time and place, which is always a good added bonus as far as I'm concerned.

Happy Reading from a dull, cold and windy Somerset :)

Sam said...

Interesting choices, Cath. Hopefully, "cryptozoology" is not a real thing, but I was kind of pleasantly surprised by your comment that the "cryptozoologist" in Death in the Country didn't seem to take herself all that seriously. Great hook for a series of novels, though, for sure.

I was struck by your comment about another character sort of taking over Elephants Remember and that this is almost as much a novel about her as it is one about Poirot. That's exactly what I found happen in A Murder Is Announced with Miss Marple. Wonder if that's something that happens often in a Christie mystery.

You mentioned that the mother/daughter team stopped after five novels. Kind of makes me wonder if maybe the mother passed away or grew ill.

Kathy's Corner said...

A Death in Door County sounds good but I agree a cryptologist who searches for legendary monsters sounds like a fascinating field and so I too would like more of this subject to be included in the book.

I have to get back to Christie because there was a time I was really hooked. And I have always liked Poirot. Maybe I also need to give Miss Marple a try.

Margot Kinberg said...

Honestly, Cath, I don't think Elephants Can Remember is Christie's best, either. There are one or two elements I like, but I don't think it's an all-around great novel. Still, Christie at her weakest is better than a lot of people at their best, so... Anyway, your other reads look interesting, too. I hope your February has started well.

Lark said...

I thought A Death in Door Country was a good mystery, but I was hoping for more cryptozoology in it, too, when I checked it out. Still, I like her writing and the characters enough to try the second one. And even when Christie's not at her best, her books are still pretty good. The one I really didn't enjoy is The Big Four.

TracyK said...

I am glad to hear that you liked Elephants Can Remember. Especially as it is one of Christie's books with Ariadne Oliver that I haven't read yet.

I have not heard of either of the other two mysteries but if I found a copy at the book sale I would try them out. Both are too high priced as ebooks for me.

I just finished Wait for Me! by Deborah Mitford and enjoyed it very much. I read it over the last seven months. Now reading Days at the Morasaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa.

Cath said...

Yvonne: No, I'm not sure A Death in Door County would be for you but in truth it was more of a convential crime story than I was excpecting so...

I agree about GRs ratings. We all like such different things and tiny details can put one person off entirely but not bother someone else at all. It's all subjective. Yes, all three books had an excellent sense of time and place and that's quite important to me and will often colour my rating.

Yes, damp and miserable here in Devon too 'but' we have primroses in flower!

Cath said...

Sam: Crytozoology certainly is a good hook for a crime series, especially for people like me who like a bit of 'weird'. LOL

I think it does happen in a few Christie novels that another character's pov becomes as important as Poirot's or Miss Marple's. The 4.50 From Paddington is another example where the housekeeper Miss marple sends to a big house plays a huge role in the story and Miss Marple almost fades into the background.

Yes, I did wonder if something had happened to the mother in the writing partnership... or possibly another family member.

Cath said...

Kathy: Oh yes, certainly give Miss Marple a try. She's actually my favourite Christie sleuth, even though I love Poirot. Her insights from the perspective of an elderly lady who has lived in a small village all her life are absolutely fascinating. The short stories would give you a good flavour of the sort of thing to expect in the books. And when I read Miss Marple I always have in mind Joan Hickson's TV portrayal.

Cath said...

Margot: You are so right when you say Christie at her worst is better than many authors at their best. Too true! And there were elements I thought were excellent despite the rambling nature of some of the narrative.

Cath said...

Lark: I'm relying on you to let me know what book 2 is like! LOL! I did enjoy the budding relationship between Morgan and Jon, I think that has a lot of potential. That alone would probably make me read book 2. I don't know Christie's The Big Four at all. I just looked it up on Fantastic Fiction and I still don't recognise it. That's really odd.

Cath said...

Tracy: I agree about highly priced ebooks and unless I 'really' want the book I tend to wait until the price comes down. Sometimes it never does and the series goes unread. It's a shame but I have plenty of other books to read! LOL

I'm so glad you enjoyed Wait For Me! I think it was the first book about the Mitfords I read and I thought it was an excellent introduction to them.

Look forward to hearing what you think of Days at the Morasaki Bookshop as I'm seeing that all over the place at the moment.

Kay said...

Cath, I enjoyed your thoughts on these books. I've read Elephants Can Remember, though many years ago. I also have liked the books that Ariadne Oliver appeared in. The Miss Marple books are still my favorites, but I do have Poirot books that I love. And, like Lark, The Big Four is not a favorite of mine. I have A Death in Door County on my Kindle, but unread as yet. (I say that a lot - unread as yet- ha!)

Cath said...

Kay: Yes, Miss Marple is my favourite too, I wish AC had written a lot more of them, there are twice as many Poirots. I saw that The Big Four is only 99p on Kindle right now so, intrigued I grabbed a copy to read as I'm very curious as to why both you and Lark don't care for it.

TracyK said...

I bought a copy of The Big Four last year, haven't read it, and I will be interested in what you think of it. I would read it anyway because I want to read all the Poirot books and I have read most of them. I have heard complaints about it before but don't remember exactly what they were.

Cath said...

Tracy: I'm doing a casual AC challenge with a friend, to read 10 to 12 AC books this year. I need a few I haven't read before and as I haven't read, and can't even remember, The Big Four, I grabbed it quick. So, I will be reading that this year and will happily report back. I have another 'spy' type AC on my library pile, Passenger to Frankfurt, I 'think' it's a standalone. I'll report back on that too.