Death of a Gossip - M.C. Beaton 1985 ****1/2

Every time I have been in the library, I always end up passing the M.C. Beaton books. I'm a bit paranoid when it comes to reading books in the wrong order and could never find the first one in the series. But this weekend, after suffering from a long and tiring tooth extraction I took myself along to the small library in my Dad's village to cheer myself up. And I found this! The first book in the series. And devoured it hungrily. It had everything I wanted, murder, crime, wholesome and well round characters, and was very easy to read. Definitely what you want to read when you are feeling under the weather. Hamish Macbeth is the modern day version of Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot put together, with a ferocious crop of red hair and a dry wit. We meet him for the first time in the fictional village of Lochdubh in Scotland, investigating the murder of a ghastly woman named Lady Jane, who crashes a friendly fishing club and quickly becomes the most unpopular person they have ever met. I am off to find the next book. Praise for M.C. Beaton, you have gained another fan.

Started 26th July

Finished 29th July

The Mystery of the Blue Train - 1928 ** 1/2

A very slow Agatha Christie. I was tempted to give up on it a number of times because the plot was going all over the place and it was a very weak effort.

Poirot is set to investigate the mysterious death of a beautiful wealthy woman named Ruth, who is found dead in her compartment on the Blue Train, minus her expensive jewels. Is it her soon to be ex husband who is responsible, or an assortment of other shady characters, all out for what they can get? I personally like Agatha Christie's novels the best when they are centred around a good old-fashioned murder at a country house/luxurious mansion. 

Not one of her best.

Started 6th July

Finished 14th July 

The Temptress - Paul Spicer 2010 ***

Interesting account of the mysterious death of Lord Erroll in Kenya's decadent "Happy Valley" in the 1940s. The book is really more centred around Alice De Janze, a beautiful American heiress who marries a Count and becomes entangled in a number of affairs but does go into some detail about the death of Lord Erroll and how he relates to Alice. The book chronicles Alice's early life, her depression, and then later on, her passionate and obsessive relationship with a man she ends up trying to murder. 

It's well written and informative, although I did every find it hard remembering all the different people and their relationships towards each other.

A Winter Garden Mystery - Carola Dunn 1995 ***

What started off as an exciting read turned into a boring and long, drawn out affair. Carola Dunn does a good job of drawing up the initial characters and staking out the plot, but then it slowly goes downhill and we wander off in a daze. Daisy Dalrymple is our heroine, a quirky journalist on a photographic assignment who finds herself drawn into a murder plot at Occles Hall, after a body is discovered in the grounds. I think Daisy is a brilliant heroine. She's young, fresh, intelligent and can give Poirot or Miss Marple a run for their money. This is the third book in the Daisy Dalrymple series (I was amazed to see that there were 20!) so I might not give up quite yet and try the first one.

Started 25th June

Finished 7th July