Reviews and Comments

Agatha Raisin sold her successful PR firm in London to enjoy an early retirement in the country. At first she likes the idea, but then boredom takes over and even though she cannot cook she enters the local quiche competition. Turns out the competition was rigged, and things take a turn for worse when quiche judge Cummings-Browne is found dead after eating Raisin's poisoned quiche. Raisin has to confess she did not bake it, but bought it from a famous quicherie in London. Even though the death is ruled accidental, Raisin decides to investigate a little further because a murder would definitely cheer her up.

This book is the definition of "cosy mystery". A lovely village and nice neighbours that bring St. Mary Mead to mind, but Agatha Christie's Marple is as sweet as Raisin is direct and often rude. Raisin eventually tries to play nice, but it does not come easy to her and it is funny to see her being slowly accepted just as she is about to give up on trying.

Um empregado de café que acha que é boa pessoa e assume que sabe o que os clientes habituais precisam, mesmo quando eles pedem outra coisa. Um pai de família que decide abandonar a família numa bomba de gasolina de modo a realizar o seu objetivo de vida. Encontram-se no pico da crise portuguesa e unidos planeiam abanar o país e acordar os portugueses, castigando os aqueles que, aos seus olhos, são os verdadeiros culpados da situação.

A primeira parte deste livro é difícil de ler, não porque é longa ou porque a escrita é difícil, mas porque o tema da crise se torna enfadonho por repetição. São demasiados pensamentos e conversas acerca da "mania" do povo de se acomodar em vez de lutar. A segunda parte tem um ritmo diferente, e o meu interesse subiu consideravelmente. Não estava à espera da ironia final, e isso de certa forma redimiu a primeira parte do livro.

Harry Copperfield Blackstone Dresden is a professional wizard that is often called by his friend Murphy to act as a consultant to the Chicago police. A particularly hideous crime was committed where two people died because their heart was ripped out from their chests. Harry does not understand how anyone (besides himself) could have the power to do such a thing, and decides to find the black wizard behind it to prove that he is innocent.

Maybe because I am reading [a:Agatha Christie|123715|Agatha Christie|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1321738793p2/123715.jpg] books again, the mystery in this book did not have me guessing long. Also, the suspense moments were toned down by Dresden's long thoughts and descriptions, which numbed the following action instead of building up the suspense. Nevertheless, Harry Dresden is a great character and he is extremely likeable. I did not fully understand his relationship with Murphy, but I assume that will be developed in the following books, as well as his story and the dark powers inside him. Count me in to read the following book.

Miss Marple's nephew is afraid for her health and offers her a holiday in the Caribbean (West Indies). In one of the islands, Miss Marple does what she does best: gossiping and knitting. One day, Major Palgrave tells her that he has the photo of a murderer but sees something that frightens him before showing it to her. The next day the Major is found dead, and Jane Marple believes it is murder.

I was able to figure out half the puzzle, but I got the other half totally wrong. That is to say, I was surprised in the end even after having figured out part of it. Christie's writing is absolutely wonderful, I do not know how she manages to confuse me (and everyone else) every time. I particularly enjoyed this quote by Mr. Rafiel that tells a lot about Marple's style: "How can you and I set about preventing a murder? You're about a hundred and I'm a broken-up old crock!"

Dorian Gray is a beautiful young man that has given a new life to the paintings of Basil Hallward. While posing for Basil, Dorian meets Lord Henry Wotton - a close friend of Hallward - who has very particular views on society. Gray realises his beauty has opened many doors for him and those doors will certainly close as he grows old and wrinkled. When the painting is finished, Gray says he would give his soul for his picture to grow old instead of him.

I tend to think classics are boring and it takes some effort on my part to read them. However, Oscar Wilde is brilliant and witty, and the theme behind this story is timeless, which makes it an easy read. At first I was bored by Lord Henry's unending philosophies, but once I understood how deeply they influenced Gray I went back to read them carefully. Gray decides to take advantage of the fact that nothing can change his good looks and gives himself to every whim, while his painting keeps changing to reflect what his soul looks like sin after sin. Gray is obsessed with himself, but the lesson I keep after reading this book is that every human being has a soul and it is the only thing we should care to make beautiful.

In the preface, Wilde writes that "The only excuse for making a useless thing is that one admires it intensely. All art is quite useless”. I am forced to disagree, this book is a useful work of art that I now admire, as it got me thinking of the wonderful gift it is to be human and to be able to choose my fate as I wish.

Cat finally learns what Don has been hiding from her, and that knowledge will turn her world upside down. Cat and Bones need to kill Madigan as soon as possible to save their friends, if they are still alive.

I am very happy with the last book of the Night Huntress series. Some bits felt rushed and I think the story could have been better developed. For example, I would like to understand Katie's abilities better and see Cat finally growing up enough for Bones to trust her with his thoughts. All in all the end was very satisfying and the author did a brilliant job of not dragging these characters until there was no story left. The prologue set me on the wrong track and I thought I had half the book figured out, so it was good to realise I hadn't but it also raised some questions that were never answered. Also, Vlad is missing from most of the book although most of the other characters appear for their bow out; for some reason the Vlad I love is the one in Cat and Bones and not the one that appears in his own spin-off. I also missed a laughing out scene like the first books had, but mostly I am very happy with the end Frost gave her characters. I feel happy and not sad that this series is over.

This book was not written by Agatha Christie, it is a novelized version of the play of the same name that she wrote. This matters because the book does not read as a conventional Agatha Christie novel. The story takes place in the house of a famous physicist, Sir Claud Amory, who asks Poirot to help him because he thinks someone in his household will betray him.

I enjoyed the book but I read it as a play, and not as a crime fiction novel. Although I am sure this works much better watching it as a play, I enjoyed reading the characters and I truly believed any of them had reasons to be the culprit. Nevertheless, I am confused by the reading order as Poirot refers to the "killing of Lord Edgware" in this story, and that book is supposed to be the 9th of the series whereas this the 7th.