Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all my readers and everyone stopping by today! Hope you all have the luck of the Irish today!! (Don't forget to wear green!)

Unless I risk getting in trouble at work to finish reading The Hunger Games (or a miracle happens), you probably won't see a review from me today. But I'll likely participate in a meme or two in the meantime.

The Library...

So, on the one hand I feel a little embarrassed to write this post, but on the other I'm rather excited... I've lived in my current town for two years and until today, I had never set foot in our library. I know, sad, right? Well, I finally went in on a whim this afternoon to get a card and I was pleasantly surprised! The building is pretty new and looks to be a very nice facility. I took a little bit of time to walk through and explore but didn't check any books out. It seems a little small, but with a decent-sized YA section and a surprisingly large children's area that has its own separate room. If the hubby and I decide to have kidlets one day, it will be a great library for them! 

Anyway, I browsed a few sections and while the overall collection didn't seem huge, they do have one book that I never would have expected to find. I would have checked it out today but I have so many books I need to read that I decided to hold off... That book is My Lord John, by Georgette Heyer. It was her last book, which she didn't finish before her death, and it was published posthumously. Perhaps in another month or so I'll treat myself and check it out--it looks like no one's checked it out in years, so I don't imagine I'll have a problem getting it!

The second best part of all this? I can start participating in Library Loot! :-D

REVIEW: Appointment With Death by Agatha Christie

Series: Hercule Poirot #19
Genre: Fiction, Mystery
Pub. Date: Orig. 1937, this ed. 2007, Black Dog & Leventhal
Format: Hardcover, 255 pages
Source/FTC Disclosure: I purchased my copy of this book. I was in no way compensated for this review and my 
                                                    opinions are my own.

"You do see, don't you, that she's got to be killed?"

Hercule Poirot overhears a young man saying these chilling words, then days later, the man's stepmother, known to all as a sadistic tyrant, is found dead. But beyond a puncture would to the wrist, the exact cause of the woman's death is unknown - and murder is only one possibility. In his meticulous fashion, the exacting Belgian sleuth interviews each of the victim's beleaguered family members, then becomes interested in other members of the vacationing party: a doctor whose hypodermic syringe has gone missing, a domineering English matron, and an energetic young woman with an interest in the victim's son. While few mourn the dead woman's passing, suspense mounts as Poirot closes in on the circumstances surrounding her murky death.

MY THOUGHTS

Once again, Christie has written a mystery with an ending I didn't see coming. This time, I can't decide if I think she left enough clues to lead to the culprit, however. Normally, I find myself saying "oh, yeah!" as I read the outcome, but this time I thought it was a little shaky. But, as usual, Christie does a beautiful job fleshing out the characters of a well-rounded cast, with plenty of doubt cast among almost all of them. I changed my mind a few different times as to the possible outcome, but still didn't get it right!

I love that Christie devotes pages and pages of detail leading up to the murder, rather than just starting the book out with the murder then recounting everything that had happened through the various characters' eyes. I find myself always paying close attention to what is happening and storing away possible useful information, just waiting for Poirot to start his investigation. This particular book also had an epilogue that I thought was interesting and I appreciated it for this story. Despite what I think may be a lack of evidence to point towards the culprit, I think that anyone who likes mysteries would enjoy this book. Agatha Christie never fails to please!

 

Blimey!

Blimey! I just opened mine eyes, and lo! I have not updated this since people stopped clapping and Tinkerbell died... You would not believe my anguish at my misdoings. I prostrate myself in sorrow and beg thy forgiveness..

I am lost in a sea of pseudo-olde-english with only your readership as life preserver, driving from one end of the city to the other, just generally being an embarrassment to anyone unfortunate to cross my path, my day is full to bursting from the light through yonder window breaks to sun down and beyond. I am wondering if I paid mine electricity bill. perchance.

I send you kisses although very chaste ones. Truly! This is for my ever faithful, devoted public..

Thanks to Wendy at Wendy's Minding Spot, where I first saw this. It was just the laugh I needed! Check out the original link at The Lazy Bloggers Post Generator and create your own lazy post. Then head to Wendy's blog post and leave a comment with the link to your post. I hope a lot of people participate--I found myself wanting to generate several and I can't wait to read other people's creations!

REVIEW: At Risk by Patricia Cornwell

Series: Winston Garano #1
Genre: Fiction, Mystery

Pub. Date: 2006, Penguin Group

Format: Hardcover, 224 pages
Source/FTC Disclosure: I purchased my copy of this book. I was in no way compensated for this review and my opinions are my own.

A Massachusetts state investigator is called home from Knoxville, Tennessee, where he is completing a course at the National Forensic Academy. His boss, the district attorney, attractive but hard-charging, is planning to run for governor, and as a showcase she’s planning to use a new crime initiative called At Risk -- its motto: “Any crime, any time.” In particular, she’s been looking for a way to employ cutting-edge DNA technology, and she thinks she’s found the perfect subject in an unsolved twenty-year-old murder -- in Tennessee. If her office solves the case, it ought to make them all look pretty good, right? Her investigator is not so sure -- not sure about anything to do with this woman, really -- but before he can open his mouth, a shocking piece of violence intervenes, an act that shakes up not only both their lives but the lives of everyone around them. It’s not a random event. Is it personal? Is it professional? Whatever it is, the implications are very, very bad indeed . . . and they’re about to get much worse.

Sparks fly, traps spring, twists abound -- this is the master working at the top of her game.

MY THOUGHTS

The dust jacket also notes that Cornwell originally created At Risk as a 15-part series for New York Times Magazine. Well, all I can really say after reading the book is that it shows. I've never read Cornwell before but I can't say that this book made me want to read her again; however, I know that many of her other novels are highly rated so I'll probably give one of those a try. 

This book was just not an easy read. The writing felt choppy and I found myself having to reread passages every now and then to make sure I was understanding things correctly. If I hadn't known better I would have thought this was the author's first book, it seemed so poorly written. The mystery actually wasn't really that difficult to figure out, either, which was disappointing. I like to find myself pondering many possibilities, not coming to a conclusion relatively quickly. Some of the characters were pretty likeable--Detective Garano and his grandmother, "Nana," to name a couple. And you loved to hate Garano's boss, Monique Lamont. None of them were particularly well-developed, though. That, coupled with a weak plot make this a book that I can't recommend to anyone.