Blood on the Stage, 1600 to 1800: Milestone Plays of Murder, Mystery, and Mayhem
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Audiences throughout the centuries have always been drawn to theatrical productions that feature...
False Light (Art History Mystery #2)
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Academic sleuths Erika Shawn, art magazine editor, and Harrison Wheatley, a more seasoned art...
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Dishonour and Obey
10.0
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Mercurius is back — and this time in England! Perfect for fans of Andrew Taylor, C J Sansom, S J...
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Blizzard
9.0
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Imagine loving someone with your whole heart, only to find out after they’re gone that you never...
Lesbian Romance Crime Suspense
Death in Her Hands
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While on her daily walk with her dog in a secluded woods, a woman comes across a note, handwritten...
They Stay (They Stay #1)
8.0
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For fans of Stranger Things comes a suspenseful YA mystery about a missing kid, a girl who can see...
Supernatural Mystery Young Adult Thriller
David McK (3632 KP) rated Murder on the Orient Express in Books
Dec 27, 2021
That may be why I'd never read perhaps Agatha Christie's most famous murder story before, or even had any interest in which any of the (numerous) films, TV series or plays based around the same.
Which is a long way of saying that I came into this 'cold', as it were, knowing little beyond the fact that it was a Hercule Poirot mystery (thanks to the 2017 Kenneth Branagh movie, which I hadn't seen), and that the murder was on a train (d'uh!) just as it ran into snow whilst on a journey.
Now that I've read it, I have to say: I found little to cause me to revise my opinion of murder mysteries in general.
That's not to say that it is bad, per se, just that it never really hooked me all that much: indeed, at times it felt more like a chore to read than something enjoyable. Indeed, I'm sorry to say, the reveal of just who carried out the crime also completely failed to elicit any form of surprise or emotion at all from me: not that I saw it coming but just that, well, it almost felt like a relief when it did.
All I can say is: sorry, any Poirot fans!
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2436 KP) rated The Right Sort of Man in Books
Sep 29, 2023 (Updated Sep 29, 2023)
When I first heard about this series, I was drawn to the time in history and the premise. I truly appreciated how that time in history is brought to life. I did find the book hard to get into, but once I did, I was hooked. The mystery is good, with some surprises along the way to the suspenseful climax. The characters grow on you, and the sub-plots both of the leads get make them into fully developed characters. What I wasn’t expecting was the humor, which had me laughing as I read. This is more a traditional mystery due to some of the content, but it is still mild. I will definitely be back to see what happens to these characters next.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2436 KP) rated Death Washes Ashore in Books
Apr 30, 2024
Even after Clark is warned away from the case, he can’t help but dig into Connor’s life and his work at the Gladiator Games Dinner Show. With a face from his past as his way into the lives of those Clark wants to interview, can he figure out what happened?
I had an issue with how Clark got involved in the mystery here, but I put that aside and kept reading. The mystery was good with several strong suspects and twists along the way to a logical climax. I appreciated how Clark went about things in the climax, too. We also got to know him and a couple of characters better, although I feel like we have many who hardly had any page time. The writing could have used polish in several spots, but most of the time it was fine. There is a little advancement on the cliffhanger from the previous book, but we’ll have to keep reading to see where it goes next. Overall, this is a fun second book in the series.