Sparkling Cyanide by Agatha Christie

 

Publication Date: 1944

Length:  288 pages

My Rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆

This is the April selection for the Read Christie 2023 challenge. I just love the cover and the title, it is such a contrast of festive and celebratory with the sinister. Having many other books to get through right now and being a teacher in the middle of testing season I wasn't sure I was going to add another Christie book to my TBR pile. But I am glad I didn't skip this one. It was a quick, easy read but with a fun premise that kept me intrigued. I think I'm becoming a Christie fan after all!

One year ago Rosemary Barton died suddenly at her birthday party, ghoulishly falling over at dinner, blue and gasping from the poison she ingested. It is assumed that she committed suicide due to her depression after recovering from a serious bout of flu, however her younger sister Iris Marle is not so sure. Living under the guardianship of her widower brother in law, George, Iris has discovered that Rosemary was having an affair prior to her death and was planning to leave her husband. Evidence that she was deserted by her love leads Iris to think this was the true cause of her depression. As more unfolds, it begins to seem as if Rosemary's death may in fact not be suicide at all, but rather, murder. 

In the first part of the story we are introduced one by one to the other guests at the table. There is Ruth Lessing, George's faithful, hard working secretary, Anthony Browne, the American who appears unscrupulous and having had a previous affair with Rosemary, quickly tired of her. The married Farradays, Stephen and Sandra, who are part of the upper crust, Stephen in Parliament and Sandra an heiress of the powerful Kidderminster family, and finally George, who comes across as a rather boring, dutiful, cuckolded husband. When George arranges to recreate the dinner a year later, hoping to expose the possible murderer of his former wife, he is in fact poisoned in the same way, at the same table, in the exact same restaurant. It seems highly unlikely that this a coincidence and now all the members of the dinner party are bewildered and concerned about who might be next. 

The detective for this story is neither Hercule Poirot nor Miss Marple, but rather one I'd never heard of before....Colonel Race. He is a former military fellow and astute to the goings on around him, trying to warn George not to take things into his own hands. I didn't feel like I got to know him very well here but I see he appears in other books (had no idea!) and might need to read one to get a better idea of his personality. 

I enjoyed this book and liked how the first part went through each main character and their link to Rosemary. I was kept guessing throughout and although I was ultimately correct about who the murderer was, I was way off as to the why they did it. It was very cleverly crafted and with details I only saw after finishing the story, a hallmark of so many of Christie's books I now notice. It is amazing how the pieces all end up fitting together in the end. 

Can't Wait Wednesday: The Sugar Merchant's Wife by Lizzie Lane

 

For this week's Can't Wait Wednesday, hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings, I'm featuring The Sugar Merchant's Wife by Lizzie Lane. I was drawn by the cover, the title, and the time period. The story is part of a series and that appeals to me too. It looks like a romantic saga but with lots of interesting twists. If you've read one of the books in the series...what did you think?

May 25, 2023

**After posting this I found out this book is not new. It is being republished under another name (same author). It was originally published in February 2005 titled Just Before Dawn, by Jeannie Johnson. 

Historical Fiction

Description courtesy of NetGalley

In the face of changing fortunes, the Strong family must unite to keep their wealth and status…or risk losing it all.As Cholera sweeps through the streets of Bristol, no one is immune. Blanche and her husband Conrad Heinkel, sugar merchant and master sugar baker, are devastated when their seven-year-old daughter Anne, is taken by the deadly disease.

Lost in her own immense grief, her childhood sweetheart Tom Strong, is the only man who can heal Blanche’s terrible hurt and reignite the passion for life and love that has died within her.

But Horatia Strong, daughter of the eldest Strong son, has her sights on grabbing power of the Strong family dynasty. Ambitious and more ruthless than most women, she is still desperately in love with her adoptive cousin, Tom, despite his humble birth. As her brother Nelson succumbs to his opium habit, Horatia, believes that only Tom can give her the wealth and strength to take the family businesses to new heights.

Will Tom be able to leave his romantic history with Blanche behind for the sake of the Strong family? Or will Blanche and Tom get their happy ending they deserve?

The Bookseller of Inverness by S.G. MacLean

 

Publication Date:  August 4, 2022

Length:  330 pages

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆

This book had everything I look for in a novel. Mystery, exciting history, well written characters and of course, the Highlands as a location. Add in that it takes place right after the last Jacobite uprising of 1746 and it was a must read for me. 

Six years after the Battle of Culloden, Iain MacGillivray is a bookseller in Inverness, trying to forget terrible memories from that time. He spends his days absorbed in his daily routine and is not interested in opening up to either friends or romantic entanglements. Brought up since the age of four by his Highlander grandmother, Mairi Farquharson, he has been schooled on tales of bravery and brutality in the Jacobite wars of 1715 onwards. His grandmother and her friends, called the Grandes Dames, are a tight knit group bound by loyalty to the Stuart cause and their grief at losing sons and husbands in the wars. They are bitter toward the Hanoverian soldiers which have overtaken northern Scotland and the town of Inverness where they live. Everyone is tense and afraid that at any moment they will be the victim of the soldiers' control and wrath. 

Underneath this daily current of fear, the Grandes Dames and other Jacobites plot and plan to be ready for another uprising. When a customer of Iain's is found murdered in his shop, stabbed with a knife bearing a white cockade, symbol of the the Jacobites, all are suspicious and anxious as to what it could mean. He seemed to have been searching for a book, but why? And which one? 

Iain's father Hector soon arrives from France where he is an undercover agent of the displaced King James and his son, Charles Edward Stuart. Hector is vague about his intentions and as he has been sporadically present in Iain's life, they are not close enough to share much with one another. When more murders occur, Iain and Hector begin to work together to unravel who the culprit is and why they seem to be seeking vengeance for the Stuart cause.

This mystery has a strong historical background with rich details that keep one interested beyond the criminal plot. Although I have read quite a bit about this time period, this author is actually from Scotland and has researched so much detailing the Jacobite wars that there were things I hadn't heard about before. One of the female characters, Ishbel, has a background story that includes her transportation and indentured servitude in the colonies and the details reveal a deeper knowledge than I normally find about the time period. Many atrocities committed by the soldiers are fleshed out with specific incidents and locations that were new information. She also does a good job of showing both sides and that some of the Hanoverian loyalists were not all vicious and were often conflicted about the behavior of their fellow soldiers. 

While the first two thirds of the book held my interest and made me want to eagerly turn the pages, my enthusiasm did wane somewhat as the mystery part took over. I love historical fiction and historical mysteries but sometimes the mystery part starts to feel strung out and repetitive. I was kept in suspense for most of the book but really felt like the reveal was not terribly exciting. She did throw in some extra surprises at the end and so it definitely rates four stars instead of three but overall I much more enjoyed the first half of the book when the background of Iain and his family was being established. 

I know this author has two other series set in Scotland during the 1600's. While I'm sure they are good I don't know if they would interest me as the setting for this book was the big draw. Those wanting a fast paced mystery with good historical details won't be disappointed in this story though.

Can't Wait Wednesday: Murder in the Scottish Hills (The Scottish Ladies' Detective Agency Book 2) by Lydia Travers

 

For this week's Can't Wait Wednesday, hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings, I'm featuring Murder in the Scottish Hills by Lydia Travers. This is book two in the series, The Scottish Ladies' Detective Agency, and it was originally available in the UK. I'm showing you can pre-order both books now on Amazon here in the U.S. so that's great news!  This looks like a fun, cozy mystery to add to my TBR pile. And I just love the colorful cover. Hoping it's a good one and I can access it here in the states soon!

May 26, 2023

Historical Fiction/Mystery and Thrillers

Description courtesy of NetGalley

When Maud McIntyre and her lady’s maid Daisy travel into the Scottish Highlands, the last thing they expect to find is a body on the train… Will these keen amateur sleuths stop a murderer in his tracks?

Edinburgh, 1911: When Maud McIntyre receives a letter from a maid called Rose, sharing her suspicions that something strange is happening in the house where she works, she and her assistant Daisy immediately travel to the Highlands to investigate.

But as they are changing trains, the body of a man falls from the carriage right in front of them, a bullet in his head. Maud and Daisy can’t believe it – they’ve waited ages for a new case, and now one has literally landed in front of them! And when the local police rule the death as a tragic accident, the pair have no choice but to investigate what they believe is a murder…

Arriving in the Scottish village, Maud and Daisy go undercover to begin their hunt for the murderer, while also investigating the strange behaviour of Rose’s employer, a local art dealer. As they begin to piece together the chain of events, Maud and Daisy wonder whether the cases might be linked. Is it possible the man on the train was killed to cover up something in the village? And, if so, who would do such a thing?

When a local artist is found murdered, Maud and Daisy become convinced the two cases are connected. Searching for the link between the deaths, will Maud and Daisy solve the case before another mysterious murder takes place?

A page-turning historical whodunnit, perfect for fans of the mysteries of Helena Dixon, Verity Bright, T.E. Kinsey and Catherine Coles.

Now, Voyager by Olive Higgins Prouty

Publication Date:  1941

Length:  284 pages

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I don't know why it took me so long to read this book. I have loved the movie my whole life ever since my parents introduced me to Bette Davis, and next to All About Eve, it is my favorite. It never fails to make me cry at the end when she says, "Oh Jerry don't let's ask for the moon....we have the stars!" Melodramatic yes. But I love it.

Maybe I thought the novel would ruin it for me but that was definitely not the case. I was afraid it would be so different from the picture in my head created so superbly by Davis and Paul Henreid (who plays her love interest) but the movie adaptation appears to have strayed little from the original story. It is an easy, flowing book to read, keeping you interested and moving along swiftly. 

Charlotte Vale of the wealthy Boston Vales has had a nervous breakdown and spent the last year in a sanitorium called Cascade, convalescing and trying to save herself from her domineering Mother and looming, permanent spinsterhood. Buying more time away from home to continue to blossom, she has embarked on a long, overseas cruise and meets Jerry, an unhappily married man who accompanies her on sightseeing excursions. As Charlotte gets to know Jerry better she starts to let down her guard and let him in on her past and how painful and lonely her life has been up until now. The youngest child born to a mother of advanced maternal age with uptight Victorian values, Charlotte has never been allowed to mature and become her own person. Her mother has told her that "she is a child of her old age" and it is clear she wasn't wanted. Having three older, successful brothers who have shown her disregard and contempt has only served to divide her further from a feeling of independence and confidence.

Jerry, and his friends who are on the cruise with him, reveal his troubles at home with his serious, prim, Puritanical wife, Isobel and his sense of devotion and love for his daughters cause him to stay bound to a miserable marriage where he provides for his family in practical ways while ignoring his lifelong dream of becoming a successful architect. Charlotte and Jerry begin as friends and companions but as events cause them to spend more and more time together, their innocent relationship moves from sporadic flirtation to a full romantic entanglement. When the cruise comes to an end, the two part, agreeing it will be the last time they will contact each other. Each return home to the harsh reality of their lives in America vowing to be grateful for their time together but determined to create a future without one another.

Charlotte tries to keep her end of the bargain. Using the new found confidence instilled in her from her beloved psychiatrist from Cascade, Dr. Jacquith, she asserts herself with her mother and although she plans to stay at home for now, she makes certain she carves out her own identity. She and her mother arrive at a truce of sorts and learn to live with the changes brought about in Charlotte's newfound lifestyle. The only reminder of Jerry is the camellia flowers he anonymously sends her that serve to let her know he still loves and cares for her. But just when she thinks she is ready to move on with a new chapter in her life, fate steps in and pulls them back together. 

This novel is written simply but has a deep, meaningful message throughout. The author skillfully conveys the transformation of Charlotte from ugly duckling to beautiful swan and just like in the movie version we are often privy to her stream of consciousness dialogue inside her head and get to witness firsthand her struggles and insecurities. You root for her to succeed and for Jerry to be happy. Both are adherents of duty and obligation and strive to do what is right even if it means sacrificing their own happiness. Prouty creates characters here that make you long for them to be together while feeling that the very fact that they aren't is why you respect them. 

Charlotte's mother is also expertly portrayed as the uncaring, selfish woman who has done her utmost to ruin her daughter's life. At one point she states, "when she was young, foolish, I made decisions for her, always the right decisions. One would think a child would wish to repay her mother's love and kindness."  Later in the book Charlotte tells her, "I didn't want to be born, you didn't want me to be born. It's been a calamity on both sides."

There are two other novels about the Vale family. I am interested in reading them but they are hard to find. Now, Voyager was a cinematic hit and so it is easily available online and to purchase in book form. Until I started doing a bit of research for this post, I had no idea there was more to the family's story. Some people have described her books as early YA fiction but after reading this book, I disagree. While her writing style isn't hard to understand or full of difficult vocabulary like some classic works, the subject matter would not be as easily identified with in a younger person who has not been through some heartache. It is one of those stories that I have grown up with but didn't fully "get" until I was a bit older. It is a great book to read even if you've seen the movie.