Thursday, November 16, 2017

STILL LIFE & MAGPIE MURDERS- NOVEMBER 2017 BOOK SELECTIONS

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.


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