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Letters to Strabo

David Smith

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Set in the late 1970s, Letters to Strabo is the fictional autobiography of Adam Finnegan Black, or...

Five Nights in Paris: After Dark in the City of Light

John Baxter

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The preeminent expat writer on Paris and author of The Most Beautiful Walk in the World takes you on...

Memorial

Bryan Washington

8.0 (1 Ratings) Rate It

Book

The debut novel from a rising literary star: a funny, sexy, sensual examination of two young men...

Literary Fiction Romance Houston Osaka

Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated Closed Casket: The New Hercule Poirot Mystery in Books

Jul 28, 2017

A good adaptation of a classic but leave it be

I really quite enjoyed this version of Agatha Christie's classic Belgian detective despite being a huge fan of the original. Having read most of the collection I was a bit irked at having it rehashed under someone else's guise. Sophie Hannah has done a good job of bringing the old elements from the original but it should be said to leave it be. Hannah quite easily could have created a new character without taking literary licence from Christie.

It seems that in order for her book to be noticed in an already over saturated area, Hannah has reincarnated the character. She needs more confidence in her writing - so I hope that she chooses to be a bit more original next time.

Kudos

Sean Farrell (9 KP) rated 20th Century Ghosts in Books

Mar 15, 2018

This turned out to be an ideal read for the Halloween season. While many of the short stories here have a pretty "literary" feel, and some don't necessarily qualify as horror, they each have a haunting quality about them. The characters are always engaging, and I found myself caring for most of them, which is quite a feat given how few pages some were given in which to develop. And don't mistake my earlier comments to mean there is nothing scary in this book. There are quite a few tales here that left me creeped out enough that I will likely remember them for some time to come. This collection isn't perfect, but it really shows the promise of just how great a storyteller Mr. Hill would ultimately evolve into.