The Baker Street Phantom - Fabrice Bourland 2008 *****

I approached this book with some trepidation, thinking that it may be mediocre when dealing with the subject matter and especially being written originally in French I had imagined that the author would not be able to create a realsitic portrait of 1930s detective charged London, but it turned out to be brilliant and I charged through it at 100 mph!

The story is totally original and right up my street. 2 Amateur detectives in 1930s London are called on by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's widow, who is concerned about something other-worldly going on at none other that 221 Baker Street, home of the fictitious Sherlock Holmes, is the cause simply a case of a clever intruder, or is the culprit someone or something more ominous?

The writing was fluent, gripping and I really enjoyed it. As the 'Le Monde' newspaper so rightly proclaimed on the cover of the book, it really is 'Fantastic in every sense.' I will be reading more of this author.

Started 27th May

Finished 28th May

Three Act Tragedy - Agatha Christie 1934 ***

I devoured this in little over a day because I was so wrapped up in the characters and plot. I do vaguely remember watching this on ITV3 a while back and was half hoping I could remember the ending and half praying that I didn't.

I still cannot get over how how utterly brilliant Agatha Christie is at constructing a storyline where everything neatly falls into place at the end and I can NEVER guess!

The one thing that I didn't like so much about this book was that Poirot was barely in it!

It was effectively a standalone novel based around the two main characters with Poirot appearing every now and again which spoiled it for me. But yet again I was surprised when the culprit was revealed, although I had skimmed over the idea half way through the book but I never find enough evidence in my head to believe it's who I want it to be. Maybe I should take tips from Poirot and use my 'Little Grey Cells' ...

Started 26th May

Finished 27th May

A Mere Interlude - Thomas Hardy 1885 ****

I've actually never heard of this book and I know quite a few of Hardy's novels.

This is really 3 novellas. All completely different and all totally mesmerizing. Hardy has a wonderful way with words and the descriptions of the countryside are superb.

Reading this has made me want to read a full length novel of his, maybe Tess maybe The Mayor but I know that I will look forward to escaping into his world whenever the time comes.

Started 25th May

Finished 27th May

Young Men In Spats - P.G. Wodehouse 1936 ***

I'm bizarrely alternating between Christie and Wodehouse at the moment, something which I always do when stressed or needing a comfort read that won't try my brain too much.
This latest offering seeing a number of our favourite characters in some very funny short stories, but always coming out better on the other side.
The only thing I found with these stories was that they began to grow slightly repetitive after a while, appearing to be exactly the same layout as the previous story, usually based around a girl who doesn't return so and so's affections and therefore something funny happens and then she does end up liking him, but by the 7th or 8th story I was starting to realise that I knew what was going to happen. Don't get me wrong, Wodehouse is popular because of his love of using the same formula for all his stories and that is why we love him, but I felt with these stories it was just a bit too much. However to give him his dues I did read the book page after page without stopping and that is generally not the best way to approach a collection of short stories.
Not bad, not his worst but not his best.

Started 22nd May
Finished 24th May

The Hound of Death - Agatha Christie 1933 ****1/2

I'm overloading on Agatha Christie at the moment, but it's so enjoyable to be able to escape into her vintage world where people speak to each other in a decent way and there is absolutely no profanity whatsoever.

The Hound of Death is an interesting collection of short stories, excellent for dipping into if you please (although I pounded through the whole thing in a couple of hours) and gives Agatha Christie a chance to show her supernatural side instead of just straight crime.

Some of the stories are very strange, others are very disturbing, but all are written in that same wonderful Christie vein. Compared to her last offering, this really is Agatha back on top form and I finished the book with relief from experiencing so much mysterious variety. The second book of hers that I have read which consists of shorter stories and still as good.

Started 21st May

Finished 21st May

Murder is Easy - Agatha Christie 1939 ***

I really must be pressing on with my challenge of reading every single Agatha Christie book by the time I'm 30. But at only the 4th mark now I haven't got much to go on. However, I approached this next book with interest, mainly because the plot looked so good, and mainly because I was trying to explore the world of Agatha Christie without the famous Poirot and Marple in every book.

Well I must say I was rather disappointed by this 1939 offering from the Queen of Crime. The characters were drawn up in what I thought was a rather childish way and the whole feel of the book felt curiously amateur for such a brilliant writer. The main protagonist, Luke, seemed to spend most chapters going over the same information over and over again and the style that it was written made it very confusing. I did guess the murderer towards the end but it wasn't exactly pleasurable and to be honest I was just trying to finish it as soon as possible. Not one of her best that I have read but it certaniyl won't put me off.

Started 19th May

Finished 21st May

Point Horror Anyone?

What I really have started craving recently is to re-visit the Point Horror books that I loved so much as a young teenager in the 1990s. I've decided that even if it's the last thing I do I will either try and buy a load off Amazon or see if I can rent them from the library ( although going into the children's section and having a proper nosey around usually gets me strange looks from the librarian!) as I seem only to have a compilation book of three of the stories left , leading me to believe I gave them away to a good home years and years ago ( lucky home!).
These books terrified me, gripped me and kept me enthralled for many Saturdays in my bedroom under the covers. A lot of them were surprisingly well written and the stories were original enough to not present you with the 'answer' half way through the book. These were the first 'proper' horror books that I read as a teenager (of course I read Goosebumps a little earlier which were fab as well but they were hardly long enough to be what I used to call a 'proper' book!) and I got through loads of them because they were so easy to read. There always seemed to be some I hadn't read which was a great feeling for me as I have a paranoid tendancy with books and films that I am going to run out either of a good genre or of a good actors' filmography, hence why I am trying to tackle authors nowadays that have an extensive bibliography so that there is no fear I will finish them all too soon!(Wodehouse, Christie)
Anyway, these books meant a lot to me, and I still remember how they used to make me feel, despite reading them over 12 years ago. They also got me properly into reading which is something I will never forget, and because of this I feel I owe the books a trip down memory lane once more. I guarantee that however old I am they will still be as enjoyable as they were all those years ago. The only problem is finding them! If anyone has any suggestions as to the best place to collect some of these little treasures I would be really grateful.

Love Lies - Adele Parks 2009 ***

Usually Adele Parks is someone who I can read without fearing a negative experience, and generally her books are quick, frothy and easy-going.
'Love Lies' however, felt to me a bit like Parks was on a tight schedule and had to get the book finished by a certain time. Because of this she ended up churning out a load of nonsense, most of which was completely unbelievable and not particularly interesting. Fair enough, I realise most chick lit stories are never likely to happen, but even with a fantasy scenario you would hope that there would be a small chance.
The main character Fern is suddenly struck by the fact that she is turning 30 soon and her boyfriend of 4 years hasn't proposed to her. So she issues him with an ulitmatium, either he proposes or he moves out (nothing like bullying someone into getting engaged to you!). At the same time as this is happening she happens to meet a world famous popstar called Scottie Taylor (as you do) and falls in love with him at first sight and then ends up getting engaged to him in the blink of an eye. Blah blah blah. This is the kind of stuff you might enjoy reading as an impressionable young teen who thinks that a famous celebrity will pick you out of millions of other females and ride off into the sunset with you but adults should stay away. It's not even a likely scenario in fantasy land and the dialogue is curiously amateur, as though Parks has only just starting writing instead of having been doing it for years.
A lot of the book seemed to be filler as well which didn't help change my mind. Adele you can do better!

Started 7th May
Finished 8th May