Top Ten Tuesday: Books Set in Another Time

 

This week's theme for Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, is "Books Set in Another Time." Since that is practically all I read that is an easy topic for me! Here are my top ten favorites right now although I think with more time I'd probably change the list constantly. 

The link will take you to Goodreads if you are interested in the book. You won't be disappointed in any of these if they are in a genre you enjoy. Happy reading ya'll!

1. The Land Beyond the Sea by Sharon Kay Penman- Crusader period 1100's

2. Voyager by Diana Gabaldon- Scotland/Caribbean 1700's 

3. The Falcon of Palermo by Maria R. Bordihn- Sicily 1100's-1200's

4. The Iron King by Maurice Druon- France- 1300's

5. Gracelin O'Malley by Ann Moore- Ireland- 1800's

6. Death of a Stranger by Anne Perry- Victorian England- 1800's

7. Uneasy Lies the Crown by N. Gemini Sasson- Scotland- 13-1400's

8. Murder in Mesopotamia by Agatha Christie- England- 1900's

9. Highland Fling by Amanda Scott- Scotland- 1700's

10.Pirates and Patriots by David Field- Elizabethan England- 1500's

I could honestly have a list of 100 or more books here. I absolutely love historical fiction and most of the books I've listed also belong to a series in which all the books are great. This list was hard to whittle down!

Stacking the Shelves #47

 

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Reading Reality. It's a place to showcase any books I have purchased, borrowed, or been lucky enough to have been given an advance copy of. Hope you find something that looks interesting to you or that makes you remember a favorite book you need to finish. Enjoy your reading this week!

Purchase from Amazon for Kindle: Free with points:

This setting looked unique and I'm always looking for lesser known series. I hadn't heard of this one or the author either before. Described as an "elegant mystery filled with intriguing characters," and a Downton Abbey vibe I thought I'd get it. I loved the cover also. That drew me in right away. It's the typical Lord and Lady story who solve a murder mystery so that is something I know I'll like. There are four books in the series which seems to have ended in 2016.

Purchase from Amazon for Kindle: Free Friday books from Hourly History website:

Every Friday I get my Hourly History newsletter with free books! Many are subjects I'm not interested in but this one I for sure want to read. I love the show on HBO Max about The Gilded Age and want to learn more behind it. I confess that I love history but am not schooled very well on this subject even though I am American. It's kind of glossed over quickly in our classes. These books are all meant to be read in...well....an hour, hence the name of the series. 

Borrow from Libby App: Free

I have read the first two in this series and think I'm ready for the next one. I think they are really funny and clever, although sometimes I'm not in the mood if I want a more serious mystery or less constant humor. But then I go back to wondering what Lady Georgie is doing and I need to check in! She goes home to Castle Rannoch in Scotland and I love that.  It also involves the Prince of Wales and his "divorcee houseguest" which we all know refers to Wallis Simpson. This one looks fun. 

Mrs. McGinty's Dead by Agatha Christie (Hercule Poirot Book 32)

 

Publication Date: February 1952

Genre: Classic Mysteries/Cozy Mysteries

Series: Hercule Poirot Mysteries 

Length: 243 pages

Book Description (GoodReads):

In Mrs. McGinty’s Dead, one of Agatha Christie’s most ingenious mysteries, the intrepid Hercule Poirot must look into the case of a brutally murdered landlady.

Mrs. McGinty died from a brutal blow to the back of her head. Suspicion falls immediately on her shifty lodger, James Bentley, whose clothes reveal traces of the victim’s blood and hair. Yet something is amiss: Bentley just doesn’t seem like a murderer.

Could the answer lie in an article clipped from a newspaper two days before the death? With a desperate killer still free, Hercule Poirot will have to stay alive long enough to find out. . . .

My Thoughts:

My favorite Christie books feature Poirot and Ariadne Oliver. So this one looked like a winner. I unfortunately could not access the current Read Christie book, So this was a suggested alternate choice.

I thought there were a lot of characters to keep up with and off shoot storylines. I had to think hard to keep them all straight. Basically the story centers around the death of an elderly landlady, Mrs. McGinty and her convicted murderer, James Bentley. The local superintendent is not so sure he did it as there was the feeling of it being staged. Poirot is called in to investigate and as usual, can spot holes in the case right away. With his foreign flair and investigative skills he soon uncovers a much deeper answer....it involves the past of a local woman and her child and he has to interview multiple townspeople and sift through their personal drama to get to the bottom of things. 

At least one of the characters had me convinced they were the murderer for a good part of the book. They way she was portrayed had me strung along. There is no way I'd have guessed the ending as it really was cleverly disguised behind one small clue that most of us would overlook. Of course Poirot doesn't! Mrs. McGinty was a bit of a sleuth herself which ultimately puts her in the spotlight of danger and Poirot has to figure out who would use the information she obtained to silence her. But he's convinced from the beginning it isn't Bentley.

One character, Maude Williams, who once worked with Bentley doesn't believe he is capable of murder and offers to help with the case. A possible weapon is found in a local home, further giving rise to Poirot's suspicions, and a mysterious photo leads him to believe some people are not who they claim to be. 

I thought this was a decent attempt for Christie but it was pretty complicated at times. I found my mind wandering as I tried to keep up with everything. The ending was satisfying and unique though and didn't reveal itself until the last moment. 

I'm looking forward to March and the next Read Christie selection!