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ClareR (6054 KP) rated Death at the Sign of the Rook in Books

Nov 23, 2025  
Death at the Sign of the Rook
Death at the Sign of the Rook
Kate Atkinson | 2024 | Contemporary, Crime, Mystery, Thriller
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I read my first Jackson Brodie in July 2021, and I’ve since worked my way through them all, not wanting any of them to end too quickly. I love this little corner of the literary world.

Death at the Sign of the Rook gives a nod to the Golden Age of Agatha Christie I think, with the murder set in a grand country house that’s fighting for survival, by turning part of it into a country hotel.

There are some very Christie-esque characters: an army major, a vicar, a dowager and of course, the sleuth with his sidekick (in the form of Jackson Brodie and DC Reggie Chase).

There’s art theft, people in disguise, secrets, lies and a truly awful Murder Mystery weekend! And Brodie can’t even get away because of the snowstorm!

This is everything I’d hoped for: funny, clever, fast-paced and immersive. I loved how it all came together at the end.

I can’t wait for the next instalment now!
  
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ClareR (6054 KP) rated I Have Some Questions For You in Books

Dec 22, 2025  
I Have Some Questions For You
I Have Some Questions For You
Rebecca Makkai | 2023 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry, Mystery
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I didn’t quite know what to make of this novel. It’s a true crime style story, that reads as literary fiction, and the mystery just went on too long. There were a lot of issues to deal with - it was just too busy. I couldn’t even prioritise the order of the storylines, it was as though they were all thrown at the book. What I like about a good crime story is usually the ‘tightness’ of the storyline, and this just didn’t do that. The characters would just deal with one thing, and suddenly something else would be thrown into the mix. It really did test my concentration levels!!

I loved Rebecca Makkai’s previous novel, and I’d had high hopes for this. Will I read her next book? Yes, I probably will - I still remember The Great Believers and know that she has written something I’ve really enjoyed. Just not this book.
  
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Shelle Perry (66 KP) rated Abide With Me : A Sister Agatha and Father Selwyn Mystery in Books

Dec 16, 2020  
Abide With Me : A Sister Agatha and Father Selwyn Mystery
Abide With Me : A Sister Agatha and Father Selwyn Mystery
Jane Willan | 2020 | Mystery
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
One simply has to adore a nun who writes detective romance stories, has a murder club to help her with amateur sleuthing, and looks to famous literary detectives for advice. (0 more)
A young journalist is visiting Gwenafwy Abby, presumably writing a story on the new directions the church is taking. When she is found dead, Sister Agatha does not believe the theory of an accidental death. She starts a new notebook and dives into the case chasing down clues. Does the young woman’s death have something to do with scathing articles she has written in the past? Or, could it be an ex-boyfriend who just happens to show up in town, and just who was it seen entering the woman’s cottage after her death?Sister Agatha is a bit of a handful. She doesn’t do anything by half measures. One simply has to adore a nun who writes detective romance stories, has a murder club to help her with amateur sleuthing, and looks to famous literary detectives for advice. What would Miss Marple do??? Agatha’s weakness for cake lends itself to wonderful descriptions of mouthwatering traditional Welsh food. In this story, nearly everyone close to the Abby is a suspect. As much as Agatha and the reader want the killer to be found out and caught, it is likely that it will be heartbreaking for the nuns. Agatha keeps her moxie to the thrilling end of the investigation though.These are characters I would love to sit and visit with. From the put upon police department and store clerks to the individual sisters at the Abby. Maybe spend a few days learning to make cheese, especially since Gouda is my family’s fave.I loved the social commentary on modern technology and how it fits into a cloistered setting. Mostly I just giggled over the names of the shops in town, I won’t spoil them all, but, my favorites are The Fatted Calf farm to table market and Lettuce Eat Vegan.So why should you read this book? Because it is quirky, brilliant, softboiled Cozy at its best. The cast of characters and their personal stories will have you scrambling to read the first two books, or waiting impatiently for the next one.
  
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Becs (244 KP) rated 1984 Nineteen Eighty-Four in Books

Oct 2, 2019  
1984 Nineteen Eighty-Four
1984 Nineteen Eighty-Four
George Orwell, Duncan Macmillan | 1949 | Film & TV
7
8.1 (104 Ratings)
Book Rating
1984 by George Orwell, one of my favorite literary classic novels to this date! This was a monster to get through but once I finished, I was able to take the novel as a whole and learn from it. And man, what a loaded punch it throws at you. George Orwell is a favorite of mine and his writing style is just exactly what I expect from an author from his era.

1984 is about a government that controls everything a citizen of Oceania does, says, etc. If you rebel, you get kidnapped, tortured and then broken down to the point where they are able to rebuild you into the ideal citizen. That’s pretty much exactly what happens in this 328-page novel. But trust me when I say, this is worth a read through!

Genre: Sci-Fi, Dystopian, Literary Classic

Reading Level: High School +

Interests: Dystopian worlds, politics, science fiction, totalitarian systems.

Difficulty Reading: Like putting butter on a soft piece of bread. Not kidding, 1984 was difficult to read but the meaning behind it is what counts.

Promise: Dystopian, Sci-Fi world with a totalitarian system that runs your life until you are no longer a rebellious individual and instead under their complete control. A bit like being a slave.

Favorite Quotes: “Perhaps one did not want to be loved so much as to be understood.”

“Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.”

“If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—for ever.”

What Will You Gain: Knowledge on what the world could turn into when the government decides to rule over all a certain way. Where everything you do is controlled and if you do anything differently or that goes against what the government says, you end up dead.

Aesthetics: The entirety of the novel. The cover. How Orwell pretty much has the real world mixed in with a fantasy world. I mean, you just have to read it to know.

“The best books… are those that tell you what you know already.”