Murder at the Book Club by Betsy Reavley

Image Courtesy : Amazon

A group of women gather at a book club and discuss about books. In one such meeting, there were altercations between couple of members of the club. After the meeting, 2 of the members of the group were found dead in quick succession. Who has committed the murder? Does the murder has anything to do with the book club at all?

There is no protagonist in this book as all the characters have equal footing. If you have grown up reading detective novels featuring Poirot or Sherlock Holmes, be prepared well in advance, as this book is not a larger than life depiction of solving a crime mystery. This book is a realistic portrayal of how the murder mysteries are solved in real life (say looking at call records, bank statements). I am sure that no one will be able to find who has committed the murder as there are no clues left by the author over the course of the book. I miss Agatha Christie here. This book might have better impact in a visual medium than in print. Having said that, it is nice little read that you are more likely to enjoy.

Comments

Rebecca - Daphne du Maurier

Image Courtesy : Amazon “Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again”. The opening lines of Rebecca set the tone and mood for the rest of the book. Our unnamed protagonist, who works as a companion to Mrs Van Dee Hooper happens to chance Mr Maxim De Winter (a widower and who is almost twice the age of the protagonist) in a hotel. The acquaintance leads to couple of dates and eventually both of them fall in love with each other. Once, they marry, Maxim takes Mrs. De Winter to Manderley. Mrs. De Winter finds it difficult to adjust to the new house. Mrs. Denver, the devoted housekeeper of Rebecca (Maxim's first wife), still runs the house. She couldn’t resist anyone taking up raking up Rebecca’s place. Mrs. De Winter continues to think herself as inferior to Rebecca and strongly believes that Maxim is still in love with Rebecca. Mrs. Denvers uses this opportunity to persuade Mrs. De Winter to commit suicide. Slowly, it is revealed that Rebecca did not die of accident. ...

After the funeral by Agatha Christie

Image Courtesy : Amazon Richard Abernethie, a wealthy man, dies at home. All the relatives of Richard gather together to discuss the will during which, Richard’s sister, Cora says Richard is actually murdered. Cora is found dead the next day. Mr Entwhistle, the family solicitor, calls up Poirot and requests him to investigate both the murders. Poirot, as usual, using his little grey cells resolves the murderer. A typical Christie - Poirot murder mystery would be like, a murder is committed and there are 4 to 5 primary suspects. Each suspect has a motive to commit the murder and each of them has something to hide from the investigators. At the end, Poirot dramatically reveals the murderer (who generally is the least suspect) by gathering all the participants in a room. After the funeral follows the exact typical, tried and tested formula of Agatha. Christie’s love for dysfu...

Tell me your dreams by Sidney Sheldon

Its difficult to write about this book because it would lead me to give away too much of the plot which might be detrimental to those who have not read this work. So, hence my little thoughts around this book here. Ashley Patterson , a software engineer, feels that she is being stalked by an unknown person. One day, she finds that some strange writings on the mirror and asks for police protection. Strangely, the police person who came fo r protection is found dead. Who has killed him? Is anyone following Ashley Patterson? It is a classic example of how a thriller has to be written. The book is slick and brilliantly edited to sustain the narration. There are no additional words/lines/pages written that deviates/distracts the readers from the plot. The book also touches upon various problems a women undergo in her personal and professional life. Another important theme that resonates in the book is how a childhood trauma can shape the minds of youth and how the inner t...

Read along

Search This Blog