Claire Ladds

Crime and dark fiction author

book challenge

Spell the Month in Books: May

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Welcome to my Spell the Month in Books for May. With only three letters in the month, this is going to be a pretty short post!

Once again, I couldn’t resist including an Agatha Christie book. The film adaptation of the novel I have chosen is one of my favourites. I’ve also included a book from a lovely series of hard-to-get and forgotten mystery novels, brought back to life by the British Library Crime Classics series. And blimey, who knew I’d still be having problems finding paperbacks on my shelf beginning with a ‘y’?! Anyway, without further ado, here are my choices for this month.

Murder in Piccadilly – Charles Kingston

Bobbie Cheldon’s ideas of love and marriage vary greatly from the woman who captures his heart in a Soho nightclub. Whereas he is looking for the perfect marriage, Nancy the dancer is much more interested in the money that Bobbie will inherit from his wealthy uncle. But there is a problem – Bobbie’s uncle isn’t going to hand over ten thousand pounds a year to make Nancy’s life more comfortable, just because she thinks it’s a great idea! But there may be a solution, and it leaves the way open for murder. Chief Inspector Wake of Scotland Yard has to untangle all sorts of scandalous Soho shenanigans in order to get to the truth.

This was my first British Library Crime Classics purchase and since then I have gathered a number of them and have really enjoyed all the ones I have read so far. It’s wonderful, being able to gain access to stories through the British Library Classics editions that you struggle to get hold of otherwise. I’m gradually working through the collection. In fact, I remember mentioning that I fancied collecting them, and, come Christmastime, found myself unwrapping half a dozen of them from my kids. If you enjoy Golden Age mysteries you may well love these books.

Appointment with Death – Agatha Christie

The American Lady Boynton is a widow, ridiculously wealthy – and also a hideous human being. So when she is discovered by members of her dysfunctional family, sitting there, surveying her surroundings, and with a puncture mark on her wrist as the only sign that she has been murdered by a lethal injection, there are plenty who are in the frame as suspects. Even Poirot thinks she was a dreadful woman, but he has just 24 hours to discover her killer.

I really loved this novel, for its characters, its plot and for the many possible reasons the truly hateful Mrs Boynton could have been murdered. It kept me guessing at every turn. I remember reading this book when I was in my twenties, and being thoroughly absorbed by it, so much so that I dreamt about the characters for weeks. I’ve also watched the film of the book starring Peter Ustinov several times. I re-read it more recently after watching the film adaptation starring David Suchet on countless occasions, and was fascinated by the differences between the original novel (and the Ustinov film) and the TV film starring David Suchet as Poirot. For me, the changes in location, plot and the motivations driving various events are just brilliant, but I won’t spoil it for you. I do believe, however, that you will get very different experiences from reading the book and watching the more recent Suchet film (and if you happen, like me, to like John Hannah, then you’ll definitely get an experience from watching the film!)

You Let Me In – Lucy Clarke

Since Elle rented her house, things have seemed strange. There is a weird atmosphere, and she has this really creepy feeling that someone is watching her. She tries to convince herself that it’s her writing job, her imagination, that is causing the problems. But as threats come in that are all too personal, and she becomes more and more paranoid, everything about her new home becomes a prison she can’t escape. Just who has found a way into her head and is doing this to her?

I still can’t tell you from personal experience what I think of this book, as it’s stuck in my TBR pile, and likely to be there for some time yet. But I bought it because it sounds creepy, and brilliant, and I can definitely tell you that I’ve read some fantastic reviews about it from book reviewers on Instagram. I’m very much looking forward to reading it.

There you go – short(ish) and sweet! Or at least short and crime-filled. 😊 Have you read any of the books I’ve mentioned this time round, or do you have any crime books that you’d love to recommend to others? Do feel free to pop them in the comments, if so.

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Read Christie 2021: my March book choice – Death in the Clouds

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I am back once more with my #ReadChristie2021 challenge choice, this time for March. This one was under threat all month due to my fingers being slavishly glued to the keyboard in an attempt to complete the first draft of my next book by the end of the month. Somehow, though, I’ve managed to squeeze in my reading through some matchstick-propping of eyelids. 🙂

The remit for this month was a book containing a society figure. The recommended read was Lord Edgware Dies, but I chose to read a story that I haven’t read since I was about fourteen. I picked Death in the Clouds, partly to see how much of the original story I remembered, and partly to see how it differed from the film version starring David Suchet as Poirot.

#ReadChristie2021 my March read

The setup for the story is as follows: After a visit to France, Poirot and others, some who have been to watch the tennis, some who had other reasons to be there, head to England on a plane. Poirot is among a small group of passengers in the first class compartment but, as he hates flying, he wraps himself up and tries to block out the trip altogether. As they approach the end of the flight, one of the stewards discovers one of the passengers is dead. At first glance, it appears she has been stung by a wasp, but on closer examination, it’s blatantly clear that a poisoned dart has stabbed her in the neck and a blowpipe is discovered in the back of one of the chairs, right near where Poirot had been sitting. And poor Poirot isn’t trusted, then, by most of his fellow passengers or by certain members of the authorities.

It turns out that the dead woman is a notorious money-lender, publicly known as Madame Giselle, and who targeted people with secrets which she could hold over them in order to ensure repayment of their loans. One of the passengers in that first-class compartment must have killed her somehow, even though it seems impossible that anyone could have blown a dart at the woman without being seen. But someone did, and there are a number of distinctly likely candidates. Poirot is determined to help Inspector Japp solve the case – if only to reclaim his respectability!

The trail leads them back to France to discover the secrets of Madame Giselle – including any information they can find out about the secret daughter who inherits everything. Back in England, and with the aid of two of the younger passengers, Jane grey, a hairdresser, and Norman Gale, a dentist, (and who form the beginnings of a romantic attachment as a nice little sideline) the plot gradually unfolds, despite the many attempts to misdirect and misinform Poirot, until the culprit is revealed.

So, where does the society figure come it, then? Well, of course, she is one of the suspects. Lady Horbury is an addicted gambler – and she’s also addicted in other ways, too. She really is one of those characters who make me ‘bristle’. I struggle to find anything at all in the way of a redeeming feature. And she is, as you can well imagine, a strong suspect. Whether she did a very clever job on the woman to whom she was in debt and who knew way more about her than she wanted leaking to the press or other members of her society circle, I shall not tell you – obviously!

I’m going to be honest and say that this is not one of my favourite Christie stories, but as ever with books, this is just my subjective opinion. I do, however, think that the plot device used to enable the perpetrator of the crime to do their dastardly deed was very clever. It is one Christie used several times, for example in the short story ‘The yellow iris’, which she extended and which also became the novel Sparkling Cyanide. If you’ve read them, you’ll know what I’m talking about. If not, I’m not going to spoil it for you!

As ever when I use affiliate links I let you know. Links in this post will take you to Amazon.com. I may earn a tiny commission if you choose to purchase through my link, at no extra cost to you (if you shop on Amazon US, that is).

Have you decided to join in the Read Christie challenge this year? If you have, I’d love to hear about what you’ve been reading. If not, I’d still love to hear about what you’ve been reading – I’m always happy to add to my ‘to be read’ pile! Feel free to add your recommendations in the comments.

Happy reading!

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Spell the Month in Books: January

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I began getting involved in ‘Spell the Month in Books’ on Instagram last year, having come across the hashtag and decided it looked like fun. If you don’t know, the idea is that you gather together a bookstack of titles and create the name of the relevant month with the first letter of the title of each book.

This year, I have decided to try and find books that fit into the crime and/or mystery category, and which I currently have in paperback in my bookcases. I can tell you already that finding certain letters of the month has been a challenge, and as much as I would love not to repeat a book in the twelve bookstacks for the year, I get the distinct feeling that there might be one or two that I have no choice to repeat, unless I go out and deliberately buy books beginning with specific letters! I’m resisting doing that, as I have so many unread books that I’m determined to use ones I’ve got.

This is my chosen Spell the Month in Books bookstack for January:

Jamaica Inn – Daphne du Maurer

Among the Mad – Jacqueline Winspear

Nemesis – Agatha Christie

Under the Dragon’s Tail – Maureen Jennings

A Shilling for Candles – Josephine Tey

Return of Sherlock Holmes (The) – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

You Let Me In – Lucy Clarke

You’ll notice a few Golden Age (or modern versions of Golden Age) mysteries among this lot – and being the Agatha Christie obsessive that I am, I couldn’t resist adding one in. However, this group ranges from Victorian to contemporary, and spans detective, suspense and thriller books.

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Read Christie 2021: my February book choice – Sad Cypress

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The Read Christie 2021 challenge for February was to read a book featuring love. I knew immediately which one I was going to read. Sad Cypress is a novel I read when I was in my early teens and it has truly stuck with me for decades. I can vividly remember where I was, the weather, the seat I was on (in case you’re wondering, it was a sun bed in the back garden), and exactly how I felt when I devoured this book the first time. It, I believe, was completely responsible for my lifelong wish to write books containing poisons (which I did manage to achieve in Baby up the Chimney). Anyway, back to Sad Cypress.

Plot

Elinor Carlisle stands in the dock, accused of murdering Mary Gerrard. Elinor was in line to inherit the estate of her aunt, Mrs Welman, but after an anonymous letter, it seems that Mary Gerrard might have been getting a bit too close to Mrs Welman for some people’s liking. To make matters worse, Elinor’s boyfriend’s sudden love for Mary causes the engagement to be broken off. Meanwhile, Mary, encouraged by the local nurse, nurse Hopkins, has made a will, and now it seems she has something to leave to its recipient. Elinor, too, has made a will, leaving everything she inherits to Roddy, the ex boyfriend.

While clearing out the house and the lodge, Elinor makes sandwiches, and invites Mary and nurse Hopkins who has taken a shine to Mary and is helping out, to have lunch with her. An hour later, Mary is dead.

So, did Elinor poison Mary Gerrard with Morphine in the sandwiches, like the police think she did? Or has someone got it in for Elinor and is framing her for the murder? The local doctor is determined to get Elinor off at all costs, and enlists the help of Hercule Poirot to do so. And Poirot searches for the truth, even if that means he discovers that Elinor is guilty of murder after all.

Okay, so there’s much more to the plot than that, but I really don’t want to give you any spoilers. Onto the book itself…

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