Monday Moments - The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict

 cover blurb  London, 1930. The five greatest women crime writers have banded together to form a secret society, with a single  goal: to show they are no longer willing to be treated as second-class citizens by their male counterparts.  Dorothy Sayers, Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham, and Baroness Emma Orczy plan to solve an actual murder, a young woman found strangled in a park in France. 

Marie Benedict writes a lark of a novel, The Queens  of Crime. From start to finish, this book is daring fun. She captures the voices and bearing of strong women.  They use their own writing process and inhabit  their particular detective characters to think through the murder of this young nurse. They are appalled at the  lack of police attention.  But  they are not shocked that high  levels  of British establishment are involved.

This book was inspired by a true story in  Dorothy Sayers's own life. Benedict does a superb job of  showing strength in numbers when it comes  to the clever brains  and determination of  these successful women.  And she keeps  us guessing from start to finish as clues, red herrings, and more keep  the pages turning. 

Very, very fun find  at my library. 

Murder Mystery Monday

 Who poisoned the wealthy Emily Inglethorp and how did the murderer penetrate and escape from her locked bedroom? (cover  blurb)

In The Mysterious Affair at  Styles, Agatha Christie, once  again pulls us into small village intrigue with a unique cast of  characters led by the brilliant  detective Hercule Poirot.  There's a new husband, two stepsons, a housekeeper, and a nurse, along with a best friend, and a questionable doctor who's specialty is poisons. 

I can't say more, of  course. I am enjoying my revisit into Christie world. So darn tricky. I am fooled every time. 

Whatever Wednesday - Dame Agatha Christie

 1926!   The Murder of Roger Ackroyd      Dame Agatha Christie

I almost don't need  to say more.   I picked this book for our PA book club.  Let's go old school.  It was listed as THE  BEST Crime Thriller  Novel EVER on a few lists. 

What  the heck! Let's give it a go.  I was not disappointed. 

I went through an Agatha Christie phase back in junior high and high school.  Hercule  Poirot, Jane Marple - oh the best detectives.  The clever plots.  The small town settings.  The subtle clues I never got. 

This book is amazing  considering 1926      Seriously.   How  did she come up with this?
 

I'm not  going  to give away plot or characters or possibilities.  You MUST read this book and just  bow. 

Kudos Dame  Agatha.  I guessed everyone in  the damn village, and then said, "WTF?"

Oh yeah!        Enjoy, my friends.   Re-visit the BEST. 

Whatever Wednesday - A Haunting in Venice

 Kenneth Branagh is Hercule Poirot in the latest Agatha Christie film, A Haunting in Venice.  Alas, he's weary of solving murders, but is brought to an ancient castle in Venice on a stormy night (of course).  There is to be a seance. Tina Fey, an author, wants him to disprove the medium (Michelle Yeoh) who is going to talk to  the daughter who died in this home. There are of course a family of three, assorted help, a policeman, some new immigrants - all with tics, suspicious behavior, and demons. 

Thunder, lightning, and murder. I'm not  going  to say who or how many bodies prove dead. But doors are now locked and Poirot is questioning everyone. Shifty eyes. A scream.  Red herrings  galore. 

It's an entertaining film and richly produced. Branagh, as director, has a good eye for settings and pace.  It was a fun matinee to see with a friend and we were amused.  No doubt it will be streaming  soon and I recommend it if you are killing time. Cue a bolt  of lightning!