mystery – MANDY'S READING LIST

September 8, 2022December 10, 2022

Marple: 12 New Mysteries

For the first time in 45 years, Agatha Christie’s beloved character Miss Marple returns to the page for a globe-trotting tour of crime and detection. This wonderful collection is written by all of the newest greats: Naomi Alderman, Leigh Bardugo, Alyssa Cole, Lucy Foley, Elly Griffiths, Natalie Haynes, Jean Kwok, Val McDermid, Karen M. McManus, Dreda Say Mitchell, Kate Mosse, and Ruth Ware join Agatha Christie to create a new compendium of Miss Marple’s adventures.

Agatha Christie is quite literally the best-selling novelist of all time (outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare). She is best known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, 19 of which feature Miss Jane Marple as the MC. She is one of Christie’s best-known characters. Because she has such a strong personality and style, it is difficult to replicate her character in a way that stays true to Agatha Christie.

Unfortunately for me, I did not love it as a collection. I really wanted to like it. I tried for a few weeks to read this and set it aside each time, hoping it would get better, and it never did. I really wanted to DNF it, but because I like some of the authors I decided to push through, and luckily libro.fm came through with a September ALC, so I was able to finish it on audio. I think that the authors had a hard time duplicating her character at best, and disrespectfully bungled her character at worst. Though there were a couple of standout stories that I did enjoy: Jean Kwok’s The Jade Emperess, Naomi Alderman’s The Open Mind, and Natalie Haynes’ The Unravelling were among my favorites.

Because each author has their own idea of Miss Marple, IMO, they did not align with the real Miss Marple, or with Agatha Christies writing. There was too much variety for me to believe it was the same character, and each author’s creative liberties clashed too much to be a cohesive collection. The essence of Miss Marple herself became muddled, as if there were too many cooks in the kitchen. This is the limitation with short story collections, and sadly it just wasn’t for me.

While some of the stories may have been “fine”, all this collection of stories did was prove that Miss Marple could only be written by Agatha Christie.

Thank you to William Morrow – HarperCollins for sending me an Advance Reading Copy of this title. All opinions are my own.

June 23, 2022January 26, 2023

Sense and Second-Degree Murder by Tirzah Price

The second book in the Jane Austen Murder Mystery series is as thrilling as the first, and full of twists that leave readers in suspense until the very end.

True to its name, Jane Austen’s classic Sense and Sensibility expectedly touches on the themes of good sense versus emotional sensitivity. Set in the late 1700s, Austen’s novel takes place in a world where there are limited roles and opportunities for women in society. Austen’s female characters do not inherit property and cannot have careers. Their futures and fortunes depend almost exclusively on the men they marry and they are expected to be dutiful, upstanding ladies of society. But, Austen depicts her female characters as thoughtful, clever, ambitious women. Even while living in a male-dominated world, female characters are able to exert power and agency.

In the same spirit, Sense and Second Degree Murder also focuses on themes of women’s role in society, but with a more modern twist. This series is set during the regency era, but does take creative liberties with what may or may not have been proper for young ladies of the time. Price’s versions of Eleanor and Marianne Dashwood allow her to explore tensions that wouldn’t have been polite topics of conversation in the original Jane Austen novels, updating the story for a modern audience. In this new story, we see the sisters take a stronger control over their destiny. While their fate still remains tied to the choices of others (read: men), this telling allows them more power over their situation as they take control of solving their fathers mystery, empowering them to act rather than sit by and wait.

Retellings are important. They keep us in conversation with authors of the past, they bring relevance back to stories of the past, proving that human nature is universal and unchanging. And retellings like this are especially important, because they bring modern concepts and ideas back to the story, keeping them relevant and talked about. We still feel the same feelings that humans have felt for centuries, and will continue to feel for eons. We, all of us as humans, exist and are destined to share the same thoughts, feelings, emotions, desires, and dreams, not only that other humans are feeling, but that humans have always felt. We are all different, but we are also all the same, and always will be. We are all standing on the shoulders of giants.

The Jane Austen Murder Mystery Series by Tirzah Price:

June 3, 2022December 10, 2022

Crime Writer by Dime Sheppard

If you have ever suffered from writer’s block, you will understand exactly what Evie is going through. Her published novels seem to mock her as she struggles to write her next book. And having the pressure of being overdue for her deadline (all the while juggling a wedding and facing family pressure to take a break from writing) is not helping matters.

She is running on tea and licorice. She recites affirmations for creativity and waits for inspiration to strike during cardio. She is willing to try almost anything to spark her creativity (cardio, meditations, affirmations, coffee…) but nothing seems to help her out of her writing rut. And it seems as if her characters are feeding on her energy; they are as tired as Evie is after 15 books of danger and mysteries.

As the story goes on, we learn more about Evie and her characters. Writing drama is great fun for readers, but, looking at things from the characters’ perspectives, drama is less fun. Evie’s characters are getting out of control. She is finding it harder and harder to control the story: her characters are rebelling, because they have been through a lot of drama.

And then, one night, the lines between fiction and reality cross. One of her characters comes to life, and is standing right in her kitchen, in the flesh. Soon, a disturbingly familiar homicide surfaces, and it seems as if more of her fictional characters have crossed over into reality. In which case, Evie is in a lot of real-life trouble. If she’s going to survive (or even just get her life back to normal), Evie has some choices to make, and she has to make them fast.

More than just a fun read, this book suggests that the stories authors write carry over into their real lives. It raises questions on existence: what makes a story real?

“‘But they’re not there,’ he argued. ‘They don’t exist.’ Daniel is very practical.

‘They do exist,’ I argued back. ‘Just not here, exactly.'”

Fiction, no matter how surreal or otherworldly, is a response to reality. So even though the characters Evie writes may not be real in the physical sense, they are real to Evie, and to her readers. A part of Evie exists in her characters, as do the characters live within Evie. They are her creations, they are a part of her story.

“‘But they exist to me, and when people read my books they exist to them, too.’”

This novel is perfect for crime and mystery fans. Filled with drama and excitement, this book will leave you on the edge of your seat until the very end!

Crime Writer is available now at all major book retailers.

Thank you to Dime Sheppard for sending me an early copy of Crime Writer! All opinions are my own.

September 13, 2020September 28, 2022

Mexican Gothic

This was a rather disturbing read, to be honest. I think it needs a trigger warning: there is drug use, rape, cults, suicide … but the imagery is beautiful, and the symbolism is on-point. The pictures that Moreno-García paints are stunning, vivid, magical. The world building is beautiful, but the magic system was, admittedly, strange. Even though it was a bit of my comfort zone at times, I really enjoyed the story.

Mexican Gothic takes us back in time to an old-fashioned world, where women are painted as mercurial and melodramatic, and expected to “mind [their] words and learn [their] place”. In an old house darkened by rotting memories, the inhabitants desperately cling to the past. But Noemí Taboada is a modern woman, a bright light, and she will do anything in her power to save her cousin Catalina from wasting away into the darkness. But is she strong enough to save Catalina from the gloom that engulfs High Hill?

September 13, 2020December 10, 2022

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

amzn_assoc_tracking_id = “amandarocha0d-20”;
amzn_assoc_ad_mode = “manual”;
amzn_assoc_ad_type = “smart”;
amzn_assoc_marketplace = “amazon”;
amzn_assoc_region = “US”;
amzn_assoc_design = “enhanced_links”;
amzn_assoc_asins = “B07YK1K1YK”;
amzn_assoc_placement = “adunit”;
amzn_assoc_linkid = “eff43395dfeea899cc560dc4b00251ce”;

//z-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/onejs?MarketPlace=US