Here come the crime write-ups from the past month or so, enjoy!
Crooked House by Agatha Christie
As soon as he meets her in Cairo, Egypt, during the Second World War, former diplomat and spy Charles Hayward instantly falls for Sophia Leonides, the granddaughter of wealthy patriarch Aristide Leonides. They get engaged upon their return to England, but Aristide's death casts a shadow upon the young love. He dies as a consequence of a barbiturate injection, and Charles moves into their mansion, the crooked house, in order to assume the investigations.
Everyone is suspecting that Aristides' 50 years younger wife did it to still be able to enjoy her youth with Leonides' money, but Charles is not sure. The truth, however, is something much more sinister, and quite frankly, evil.
During my last Christmas vacation I was lazing around, watching YouTube about some "best of" lists when I came across someone presenting his personal "TOP 10 Agatha Christie" books. My mom is an absolute Christie expert, there have been longer phases in her life when she read Christie only and nothing else. When she was done, she would start anew. (She has a wider range now, and enjoys Scandinavian Noir, as well as other crime staples such as Michael Connelly, but Christie has a special place in our family. Interestingly, my sister used to do the same thing with King's Dark Tower books, she would read them and nothing else.) Anyways, we then started compiling our own TOP10 Agatha books, each their own, and I have a list of 5 books that emerged from the shared titles on these lists. And Crooked House is on that list. Although I kind of guessed the ending, I really enjoyed the way the characters were studied, masterly, really.
This Story Might Save Your Life by Tiffany Crum
Best friends (who actually should be lovers but never dare be) Benny and Joy host an insanely popular podcast on which they discuss very unlikely survival stories. Joy’s husband Xander is the manager of this whole thing and a good one too, since they're all filthy rich and everything is fine. That is, until Joy and Xander disappear without a trace, which is unsettling and even panic inducing for the ones left behind. On top of everything Joy has narcolepsy, so she has fits of extreme fatigue and falls asleep in moments she can't control.
Although Benny is the prime suspect, he starts looking for them, not without the help of millions of his listeners. Joy's diary is supposed to help solve the puzzle.
Listen, you can read this book when you absolutely have a lot of time to kill, or listen to the audiobook, as I did, when you clean your apartment or the windows or do some workout, and that's basically all. It is a fun past time, but it's not a book that will give your life new meaning. Sometimes it's good to read books like that.
The Truth About Ruby Cooper by Liz Nugent
Another book that the world could do without.
When Ruby Cooper was sixteen, something happens to her that changes the direction of her whole family's life, that includes her sister Erin and her parents. Her parents split as a result of the incident and Ruby and her mom move (back) to Dublin, where her mother is originally from, and her father and Erin stay in Boston and continue their lives.
While Ruby gives herself to self-destruction and sinks neck deep into drugs and careless hookups, Erin leads a rather normal life in Boston. As Ruby becomes a parent, she starts thinking about what happened back then, and it's not really what it seems to be at first glance.
I reeeaally disliked all people involved in this story, and I also don't really see a point in treating certain subjects in a way that will only strengthen stigma against certain people. Everyone praises Nugent's previous book, Strange Sally Diamond, so I maybe will give that one a chance, but that chance will be the last one I give her.
America Fantastica by Tim O'Brien
An absolutely hilarious road-story set in the USA that follows Boyd Halverson, star journalist turned notorious online disinformation troll turned JCPenney manager and turned bank robber. He robs the Community National Bank in Northern California, and takes eighty-one thousand dollar as well as the teller, the very talkative and clingy Angie Bing, as hostage with him.
Before the police catches up with him, his one goal is to settle a score with the man who destroyed his life. This unusual couple is not the only one on the road, though, they are being followed by a hitman, Angie's jealous fiancé, a billionaire shipping tycoon, and so many more colorful and kooky characters.
The year is 2019 and it's a very politically tense time, O'Brien does a hell of a job depicting those tensions and the political climate in a super satirical and, as I said above, simply hilarious way. I really recommend this, it's one of our bestsellers at Hammett, and justly so.
Der Schrein by Nanami Kamon
In the
midst of a writing slump, the successful horror author Minami receives a mail
from an old friend, inviting her to an outing to a cursed shrine with some of
her colleagues. In the hope to collect some ideas for her new book she accepts
the offer, but quickly regrets it.
Der Schrein is a rather atmospheric slow burn and classic Japanese ghost story, where the uncanny moments and off-page incidents make up the horror, without any jump scares or action. Ultimately this was a solid meh for me and joins the ranks of books that are nice pastimes without further depth. Also a Hammett selection.
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