Brave the Tempest

Posted on by theroamingbook

Just released last week, this is the latest in the Cassie Palmer series and I could not wait to read it. As with the rest of her series, this book went at break-neck speed with plenty of frenetic action scenes and a whole slew of characters pop up throughout. One such character, hasn’t been seen for several books and the reunion was sweet.

So, to the good points, of which there were many. Pritkin’s back, properly back, at last and he’s both the same, scowly War-Mage we remember and…. also not. It was also great fun to catch up with a few characters from the Dory series, including quite a long and interesting scene with Caedmon (who’s in his usual, troublesome form). There was also plenty of character-building and strong character moments, a relief after several books where there seemed to be less time for this than there had been at the start of the series. Cassie, herself, really finds her backbone and starts asserting herself more in both her personal and professional life. Many readers might say that this is about time, but if we take into account the fact that only a few months have passed in the series’ timeline, this seems to me to be a steady and realistic progression.

On the other hand, there were one or two areas that were a little disappointing. Mircea, as a character, feels as though he’s lost a fair bit of his power and mystique since the reveal of his 500 year quest to rescue his dead wife. Considering the series started out with him as the main romantic interest for the heroine, I was a bit disappointed at this turn of events – for whatever reason, this is not a storyline that I find I have any investment in and you can see it is beginning to loom large in the forthcoming books. It was good, nevertheless, to see some respect and (perhaps) contrition on his behalf for his treatment of Cassie. The Rhea storyline is also one I find myself a little detached from – perhaps there will be a short story that fills us in on her point of view in the near future?

The frequent review of information from earlier books was a little frustrating, but understandable. This is, after all, book number 9 in just Cassie’s story, let alone the 4 Dory books that also add to the lore. All in all, it was well worth the two-year wait, but I will be very glad indeed if the next book comes out at Christmas. Surprised, but glad.

Miss Marple

Posted on by theroamingbook

“It has just happened that I have found myself in the vicinity of murder rather more often than would seem normal.” 

Miss Marple (Agatha Christie)

When you think of a detective, you so might only rarely imagine a kindly-looking little old lady sitting in the corner and observing everything with sharp eyes and a sharper mind. But I adore the thought and honestly – why shouldn’t it be so? The older we get and the more we have experienced, if we are very lucky, then the wiser we become. So it is with Agatha Christie’s second-most famous creation.

I promise it won’t be Agatha Christie all the time, but I’m on a definite murder mystery kick at the moment and Miss Marple is one of the finest. Having no official access and certainly receiving less respect than Hercule Poirot, Jane Marple still manages to bring about justice for the multitude of murder-victims she just happens to encounter whilst living the life of a gentile country lady. She uses the fact that people do not suspect her and like to talk to her (and like to talk in general) to her advantage time after time. Because she has no official capacity, it does of course raise the question of why she seems to encounter murder quite so often. This, Agatha Christie addresses, in rather tongue-in-cheek fashion such as in the above quote. No doubt this was a question she was met with often from fans.

Appearing in only a dozen novels, there isn’t enough Marple to satisfy, but she represents a voice and shrewd intellect displayed in an older, single lady that is very rarely shown today, almost 100 years later. I’ve also watched the most recent television adaptions of some of the Marple books (and plenty of non-Marple books that she is inserted into) and though they are often slightly different, plot-wise, I found they really bought the atmosphere of the books to life and I enjoyed them all greatly. If anything, they add an extra twist as you can never be certain you know how they story will end even if you’ve read the books.

In short, I’d recommend anything Marple for many of the same reasons that I so enjoy Poirot – they are a fantastic escape that can both totally occupy your attention and also be enjoyed in small chunks to fit in with your day-to-day life. Like Poirot, she is a bit of an outsider and sometimes not taken too seriously. Unlike Poirot, she does not pronounce her excellence and appears quite modest and unassuming. Which, of course, makes snooping all the easier.

Poirot

Posted on by theroamingbook
outline of hercule poirot

“If you will forgive me for being personal – I do not like your face. “

Hercule Poirot (Agatha Christie)

Agatha Christie’s most famous creation, with his foppish manners, memorable moustache and his ‘little grey cells’. It took me many months over the course of a very relaxed gap year (several years ago) to plough through all these wonderful books and I only hope I have the time to do it all over again soon. 33 full-length novels, amongst which are some of the great crime-writer’s best (Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile, to name just two) and over 50 short-stories comprise the Poirot collection and not once did i guess ‘who dun it’ correctly.

This is likely as much a reflection of my own, non-investigative thinking as anything (I find I can relate all too well to Hastings’ constant confusion) but even during the rereads I have managed since, little enjoyment is lost at knowing a few of the twists and turns. The writing takes us back to what is sometimes called a more ‘innocent age’ , and certainly there is little i recognise of my England in the quaint villages and their prim, proper peoples. None of this is to the books’ detriment, however, at least not in my opinion. The gentle humour, occasionally endearing (though quite often more of the ilk that you love to hate) characters and well-constructed plots make for a fun and easy read.

It’s so difficult to single-out favourites (though the two mentioned above are sublime), but for myself I find the ones with Ariadne Oliver to be particularly great fun. Take them to the beach. Take them to the park. Or take them to work and escape to Agatha Christie’s world for a few minutes on your lunch break. I’ts easy to dive in and out of and trust me – you’ll be chomping at the bit to see if the Butler really did it. (Spoiler alert: usually not).