A Caribbean Mystery by Agatha Christie

Miss Marple is on a dream vacation in an idyllic setting. Along with her are the resort owners, a young and very-much-in-love couple, there are two couples visiting the resort who seem like great friends, and a smattering of people her own age including a very ugly major and the very rich Jason Rafiel. 

But there is an ugliness beneath the surface and it comes out when the ugly major dies. He told a lot of very bad stories but that didn't mean he should be murdered. Nor should the maid who noticed something strange. 

Christie is still at the height of her game here when it comes to creating characters. The mystery is not very fairly clued but it is an interesting ending either way. 

Four stars

This book came out November 16th, 1964

Follows Nemesis

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Don’t Pick Up All the Dog Hairs by Ronald Dwinnells

I've been reading a lot of leadership books lately and this one looked interesting. Plus, there was a dog on the cover. A really cute dog. 

The book is a series of short chapters, each revolving around a specific idea related to leadership. Most are fairly standard (don't pass the buck, learn how to prioritize, pick your friends strategically.)  Mr. Dwinnells does introduce the idea of FAME (failure, adversity, mistakes, and enemies) and how valuable each of those can be but it is really just a new package for learning to embrace falling down. And he does put entertaining spins on things like not dealing with people who pretend to be experts but aren't (shoemakers), making sure that you are decisive (not a squirrel), and I do like that he includes many studies like those in the chapter that clothes make the man (person) and he spends a lot of time on important topics like nipping things in the bud immediately (malicious pranks and sexual harassment.)

Four stars

This book came out September 21st, 2021

ARC kindly provided by NetGalley and Greenleaf Book Group

Opinions are my own

A Pocket Full of Rye by Agatha Christie

Though Miss Marple doesn't appear until over half way through the book, this is one of her stories. The book starts out with a rich description of the office of Rex Fortescue. His secretaries are described in great and painting-like detail. The bumble-headed secretary who probably isn't going to last long. The disapproving head of the secretarial pool. The condescending, cool blonde who is Rex's private secretary and (wrongly) assumed mistress.

Rex comes into the office as per usual. Has his tea, specially brewed by the blonde as per usual. But then, there are some unusual sounds. The secretary rushes into the office to find Rex in some sort of fit. She doesn't know what to do and panics. All of the other secretaries panic. Chaos ensues until two doctors and an ambulance arrive on scene. Poor Mr. Fortescue. He's been acting so strange lately and refusing to see the doctors his family has been setting up appointments with. And now he's dead. But the coroner recognizes the symptoms immediately. Hard luck for the murderer (yes, they assume that almost from the beginning) that he happens to realized that taxine (sp?) is involved. 

But who would have wanted to kill Rex? He had two sons, one involved in the business and one considered prodigal. The one thought he was running their fortune into the ground though the latter seems to have nothing to gain. His daughter's lover has been run off when Rex threatens to disinherit her and Rex's much-younger second wife is having a rather indiscreet fling.

Before the end of the book, there are two more murders. Including one that brings Miss Marple into the picture looking for justice.

Dame Christie at her best and a wonderful book to listen to.

Four stars

This book came out November 9th, 1953

Follows They Do It with Mirrors

Followed by 4:50 from Paddington

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

The Smart Woman's Guide to Murder by Victoria Dowd

I got this book because the second one looked interesting and I figured I might as well start at the beginning. But... I really didn't like any of the characters in this book. Between that and the looooooong descriptions, I sometimes felt like I was slogging through but it was an interesting premise and there are definitely a LOT of back stories that need to be told.

Everyone's book clubs go to an old manor house to discuss their current reads, right? Especially a book club that mostly only reads "Gone Girl." 

Narrator Ursula Smart (she notes, however that this is not her real name), is going along on the trip. Even though she isn't a part of the group nor does she like any of the people in the group or particularly want to be at that location. She apparently only wears one outfit and goes to great pains to hide exactly how much she is drinking. As the book goes on, we find out that she has some trauma and that affects her even to this day.

Her mother doesn't treat her well (at least from her point of view)  but Ursula still clings to her in times of stress. Not as welcome? Her mother's best friend, Mirabelle, who, at least in Ursula's eyes, does nothing but try to take her mother away. 

Also on the trip are Aunt Charlotte (who Ursula's mother barely seems to stand) and Joy who Ursula calls Less (Joy-Less). Joy is on the search for a new rich husband but is full of platitudes and other people's property. The biggest surprise is that Joy is the second to die. The first is a fortune teller who, perhaps, saw a little too much.

Three stars

This book came out May 5th, 2020

Followed by Body on the Island

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Couture and Curses by Danielle Garrett

Going to a wedding conference might not be the best idea for a newly dating couple but Anastasia Winters is a planner and this is the day that she and SPA agent Caleb have time together. Caleb gamely comes along and is treated to the sight of two designers in a fight. One is Aurelia, a friend of Ana's. Then, later, when Ana is picking up a dress from Aurelia, she sees a green light and suddenly the dress shop explodes. Now Aurelia is in a coma and there's a shadowy figure that seems to be hunting Anastasia. 

Some plot holes but a fast, fun, and fluffy book.

Three stars

This book came out

Follows Newly Wed and Slightly Dead

Followed by Wedding Bells and Deadly Spells

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Riley Thorn and the Corpse in the Closet by Lucy Score

The summer heat can sometimes cause people to go a little crazy. Since Riley Thorn had to deal with a bunch of crazy in the first book, she'd really rather have some normal. However. Her grandmother, who no one actually likes, is in town to conduct a psychic boot camp that will enhance the skills of ... well, everyone but mainly Riley, her sister, and her guardian/teacher/friend/angel(?) Gabriel. Mostly it seems like she's there to suck out any joy and fun in Riley and her family's life.

Her housemates are all still alive (they're mostly very old) and crazy. Her boyfriend is being scarily overprotective after Riley got shot in the last book (maybe justified but still not okay to track her without asking.)

Into all of this come two clients -- one is looking for her ex-husband and one wants to know who killed his wannabe-You-Tube-star wife. 

Once again fast, fun, and fluffy, the crazy train threatens to go off the rails but mostly was an enjoyable book.

Four stars

This book came out July 7th, 2021

Follows Riley Thorn and the Dead Guy Next Door

Followed by Riley Thorn and the Blast from the Past

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

They Do It With Mirrors by Agatha Christie

Oh, I do like this book. But then, Agatha Christie and Miss Marple rarely disappoint. An old school chum is worried about her sister, Carrie Louise, and wants Miss Marple to go check out the situation. Carrie Louise is currently running a boarding school for juvenile delinquents with her third husband. The money comes from her first husband with whom she had one biological and one adopted daughter. The biological daughter, the third husband, the now-deceased adopted daughter's daughter and her husband, and one of Carrie Louise's stepsons from her second marriage are all living out the house. But this is not a happy family. No. The stepson is trying to inveigle the granddaughter away from her sullen American husband, Wally. Mildred (the biological daughter) has always felt second best, first to her adopted sister and now the the sister's child. Of course, there are all those at-risk youths running around and now Carrie Louise's stepson by her first marriage has shown up with concerns, but he won't tell anyone but the third husband (Lewis) what those concerns are. Then one night, one of the delinquents takes a shot at Lewis but, while he survives, the stepson from the first marriage is dead. 

Who killed him? Why? Is someone really poisoning Carrie Louise? 

It's a tangled web that only Miss Marple can solve (though with a touch of stereotyping). 

Four stars

This book came out in 1952

Follows Three Blind Mice and Other Stories

Followed by A Pocketful of Rye

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own