I
have two new literary passions: Audible Books and Mysteries. Audible books has
added another layer to my reading/listening. As if I needed it. So far, I read
normal hold-in-your-hands books and books on Kindle. I listen to books on tape
or CDs in the car and now Audible books on my phone. Bliss. Tsundoku at its
finest. (See my May 2017 blog).
I’ve
always loved a good mystery but discovering new authors is a joy. My first
Audible listen was Magpie Murders by
Anthony Horowitz. This novel is reminiscent of the wonderful Agatha Christie
books. A London book editor stumbles on a mystery within her most famous
client’s last, unfinished novel. The main character in the novel is a famous, fictional investigator, Atticus Pünd. She is then confronted with the mysterious death of that same client. We are taken into a novel within the novel as
we follow the investigation in the manuscript as well as the editor's investigation of her client's suspicious death. We, the readers become sleuths.
Well-written, enjoyable listen and delightfully creative.
Recommend.
Read in traditional book form, the
second mystery this month was Still Life
by Louise Penny. I am, I understand, woefully behind in discovering this
author. She has written fifteen novels to date and has won six Agatha awards as
well as many other accolades and awards too numerous to enumerate here. I began
at the beginning with her first one and was instantly entranced. Her central,
repeating character is Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Surêté du Québec.
The action takes place in a rural village outside of the city where a beloved,
elderly townswoman is found dead in the woods. Murder or an accident? This is a town where everyone
knows everyone else. With deceptive ease, Penny shows how a small village is
just a microcosm of the larger world. I am usually good at solving mysteries
but this one had me guessing until the end. Inspector Gamache and Penny are divine. I’m
hooked.
Highly
Recommend.
No comments:
Post a Comment