Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


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“you underestimate the detective instinct of village life”

The Murder at the Vicarage (1930) by Agatha Christie

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Bingo row 2, dwelling–the titular vicarage/crime scene. The vicarage in England is where the pastor of the Anglican Church lives–it’s usually associated with teas with the church ladies and sermon-composing and parish administration, rather than murder–especially the murder of a church warden. The cover of my edition is annoyingly irrelevant–the vicarage is far more important than the graveyard. We find out far more about the vicarage as a crime scene than as a dwelling here; Christie tends to sketch rather than paint a background. We […]

Bodies, bodies, bodies, but make it ancient Egypt

Death Comes as the End by Agatha Christie

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The place is Thebes, the year is 2000 B.C. and the bodies are piling up! Death Comes as the End is an Agatha Christie mystery set in ancient Egypt; it is the only historical mystery Christie wrote, and the only one to feature entirely non-European characters. The novel kicks off with the family patriarch, Imhotep, returning home to Thebes (modern day Luxor) with a new concubine, Nofret. Nofret, who is decades younger than her new partner, is beautiful but cruel. She quickly antagonizes the rest […]

A Cozy (Almost) Christie

A Village Murder by Frances Evesham

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Author Frances Evesham is an unabashed fan of Agatha Christie, Murder She Wrote and the like. A Village Murder is the start of a new series featuring retired copper (and new pub owner) Adam Hennesey, a stray dog named Harley and possible multiple murders in a quiet Somerset country village. Landscape gardener Imogen Bishop has inherited her father’s hotel after his death. As she is debating whether or not she wants to take on the challenge of running the hotel her husband turns up dead […]

“Death was for-the other people.”

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

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All I could think about while reading this book was the Amy Cooper of the world. Those “nice” liberal folks, who are willing to destroy (and potentially kill) another human, for something as slight as getting asked to leash their dog in a place that requires it.  I kept thinking about the banality of it all. The story, in case you are not familiar with the plot and the numerous adaptation of it, centers around ten individuals who are invited by the mysterious Mr. Ulick […]

Agatha Christie, in the Library, with a Revolver

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My mother got me into reading — specifically, Dragonsong by Anne McCaffrey. This turned into a lifetime of love of reading fantasy and science fiction novels. My mother’s favorites, however, were always murder-mysteries and she had a special love in her heart for Agatha Christie. She’s read every book Christie published in multiple languages. She had the entire collection in French! Given all of that, it’s quite surprising that I had never read an Agatha Christie novel until recently and I’m so glad I did! These […]

Fun, short little stories about gruesome murders and the challenges of finding a good maid these days.

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What can I say about Miss Marple that hasn’t already been said a thousand times.  Never ignore the little old lady with the knitting needles.  After getting suckered punched in the gut recently by the Electoral College, my husband and I were looking for something soothing to watch on TV.  Since we are all caught up on the Great British Baking Show, we went for Murder She Wrote.  There is a lot going on in that show, more than I can unpack in this review. […]



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