Wednesday, July 1, 2020

Books Read - June 2020

Carle-Sanders, Theresa
  • Outlander Kitchen: From the New World and Back Again *****
Non-fiction.  Recipes based on the stories in the Outlander series.

Christie, Agatha
  • The ABC Murders *****
Fiction.  Poirot receives letters that threaten a murder will take place in a particular town, and it takes several deaths before the murderer is discovered.

  • Appointment with Death *****
Fiction.  Poirot is called into a case of suspected murder when the mother of a dysfunctional family is found dead on a trip to Petra.

  • By the Pricking of My Thumbs *****
Fiction.  Tuppence is entranced by a painting of a house that she remembers having seen before, and as she travels the railways in search of this house, she finally finds it just outside a small village.  The house is mysteriously divided into two domiciles, with only one being occupied.  Tuppence has stumbled onto a house in a network used by criminals who will stop at nothing to stop her from finding the truth.

  • Cards on the Table *****
Fiction.  A man is killed at a bridge party, and Hercule Poirot, along with Ariadne Oliver and Battle must solve the murder.

  • Dead Man’s Folly *****
Fiction.  Ariadne Oliver invites Poirot down to Devon to help her with a murder mystery game.  But when the “victim” of the game is found dead, Poirot is at a loss to figure out who killed her.

  • Death in the Clouds *****
Fiction.  While flying from France to England, Poirot suffers from air sickness.  There are eleven passengers in the section of the plane he sits in, and one of them dies of an apparent wasp sting, but a poisoned dart is found on the floor, and Poirot must discover who among the passengers is the murderer.

  • Death on the Nile *****
Fiction.  Poirot is on vacation in Egypt, when he runs into a murder happening on a steamship along the nile.  He knows something will happen and tries to stop a woman from doing evil but fails.

  • Dumb Witness *****
Fiction.  Poirot receives a letter asking for his help, but the author of the letter is dead before he receives it.  Still, he and Hastings travel to Market Basing to find out whether the death was natural, accident, or murder.

  • Evil Under the Sun *****
Fiction.  Poirot is on vacation on an island off the Cornish coast when a femme fatale is murdered, and he must solve the mystery.

  • Five Little Pigs *****
Fiction.  A woman dies in prison, accused of murdering her husband.  Sixteen years later, her daughter hires Poirot to find out the truth.

  • Hercule Poirot’s Christmas *****
Fiction.  En estranged family is brought back together for Christmas, but when the patriarch is murdered, Poirot is brought in to discover who killed him.

  • The Hollow ****
Fiction.  A doctor is found dead, and his wife stands over him holding a gun, but the gun turns out not to be the one used in the killing.  Poirot is involved in bringing justice.

  • The Incredible Theft ***
Fiction.  Military plans have gone missing, and Poirot is brought in to discover the thief.

  • Murder in Mesopotamia *****
Fiction.  A nurse takes a job working on an archaeological dig caring for the leader’s wife, but when the wife is murdered, Hercule Poirot arrives to solve the mystery.

  • The Murder on the Orient Express *****
Fiction.  Hercule Poirot finds a mystery while riding the Orient Express.  A man has been murdered, and there are 12 suspects aboard the train.  When the train is stranded in a snowstorm, Hercule must find the murderer.

  • N or M? *****
Fiction.  Tommy takes a job which puts him in a guesthouse among other tenants. To his surprise, Tuppence has joined him. They’re trying to find out the identities of the mysterious N and M, German spies who are planning an attack on England.

  • One, Two, Buckle My Shoe ***
Fiction.  Poirot goes for his bi-annual dentist visit, but he soon learns that his dentist has committed suicide, something Poirot refuses to believe, and he sets about to prove it was murder.

  • The Pale Horse *****
Fiction.  Mark Easterbrook, author and historian, gets drawn into a multiple murder case involving voodoo and witchcraft, but when he sets a trap to catch the culprits, he finds that a trap has been laid for him.

  • Partners in Crime *****
Fiction.  Short mysteries involving Tommy & Tuppence.

  • The Regatta Mystery *****
Fiction.  Parker Pyne gets involved with the case of a missing diamond.  Several acquaintances are at a dinner, when an expensive diamond goes missing, and only the people at the dinner could have taken it, but after being searched, it is nowhere in the room.

  • Postern of Fate *****
Fiction.  The final Tommy & Tuppence adventure.  T&T are now grandparents and move out to the country to live a quiet and peaceful life.  But Tuppence stumbles across a decades old mystery that puts them both in danger.

  • Sad Cypress *****
Fiction.  A young woman cares for a wealthy elderly woman, but when the old woman has a stroke, her niece and nephew arrive to check on here and to make sure they’re still in the will.  When the woman has a second stroke and dies, Poirot arrives to ensure the right person is found guilty.

  • The Secret Adversary *****
Fiction.  Tommy meets Tuppence, who he met during the war, and they decide to band together and create The Young Adventurers.  Taking an add in the paper, they promise to fulfill a task.  A customer hires them to find a young woman, a Jane Finn, who was given secret documents during the war, but she and the documents have gone missing, and it’s up to the new sleuths to find her.

  • The Three-Act Tragedy *****
Fiction.  Satterthwaite attends a party given by his friend, Carles, during which a vicar is poisoned.  A few months later, Satterthwaite meets up with Charles in Monte Carlo, and while the men are there, they learn of the death by poisoning of another of their friends, They, along with Poirot and a young woman, band together to solve the murders.

Galenorn, Yasmine
  • Witching Moon *****
Fiction.  Third in the Witching Hour series.  Raven has physically recovered from the torture she went through in the cave, but she still has disabling flashbacks. In trying to assist a ghost on her path to the next journey, she uncovers a deadly horror in an old veteran’s hospital and needs the Wild Hunt’s help in getting rid of it.

Harjo, Joy
  • An American Sunrise *****
Fiction.  A collection of Native American poetry by a Poet Laureate.

Harkness, Deborah
  • The Book of Life *****
Fiction.  Third in the Discovery of Witches trilogy.  The twins are born, but Matthew has been captured by Benjamin who wants Diana to bear his child.  Baldwin hands over the key to Diana and acknowledges Matthew as scion of the Bishop-Clairemont family.  Diana goes to Venice to address the Congregation.

  • A Discovery of Witches *****
Fiction.  First in the Discovery of Witches trilogy.  College professor, Diana Bishop, settles into New College, Oxford, to continue her research into the history of alchemy. There she meets Matthew Clairmont, also working in research.  Diana is a witch, and Matthew is a vampire, and when they begin a relationship, their lives are in danger, and Diana must try to call an old manuscript from the Bodleian library to keep them safe.

  • Shadow of Night *****
Fiction.  Second in the Discovery of Witches trilogy.  Diana and Matthew are in 1590, London, and they’re trying to find the Ashmole 782 manuscript while also trying not to let anyone know about their marriage.  They travel to Sept-Tours and on to Prague when they find out the manuscript is in the hands of Rudolph !!.

  • Time’s Convert *****
Fiction.  Standalone novel in the Discovery of Witches altiverse.  Phoebe becomes a vampire, and Marcus remembers back to his early life before and after being turned.

Hunt, Brenda
  • A Beginner’s Guide to Pendulum Dowsing ****
Non-fiction.  Guide to using a pendulum.

Rowling, J.K.
  • HP and the Chamber of Secrets *****
Fiction.  Second in the HP series.  Harry hears mysterious whispering in the castle. Mrs. Norris and some of the students are found petrified.  It all comes down to a diary of a boy who was once a student at Hogwarts, and Harry must face a basilisk to save a friend.

  • HP and the Sorcerer’s Stone *****

Fiction.  First in the HP series.  A special young boy lives with his Muggle relatives and has a rather miserable life.  But on his 11th birthday, he receives a letter that will change his life.

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