4th of July by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

Lindsay Boxer has to shoot down two teenagers, a brother and a sister in an act of self - defence. She had no other alternative as the children were armed and fired first which hit Boxer and her partner Jacobi. The shooting killed the girl and left her little brother completely paralysed.


Things went awry when the parents of the children affected moved court seeking justice. It was at the same time, a series of murders appear though not in her jurisdiction.  The victims were whipped and it was of the similar murder that happened when Boxer assumed charge as the officer. Even after 10 years, she could not nab the culprit. Is there any connection between those murders. Will the current imbroglio she is in would present bottlenecks in her investigation? That you have to find out.


That's the brief. What always excites me is the craft that can put the readers on tenterhooks right from the beginning of the story. You feel as if you are running with the book, with the characters and the situations. It's not hard for a reader who has been reading crime noir to spot the culprit. But what makes you a super thriller reader is when you can spot the culprit through the situation that led to murder. And it's a pretty hard task and that makes the plot, a thrilling one.


I loved it. As I said in my previous post, I could go to Lindsay Boxer to break the reading as well as the book blogging block I experience very often.

- Shalet Jimmy

Dragonmede by Rona Randall

" Dawn sliced through the curtains as the ghostly edges of a hoar frost," says Rona Randall in her Gothic mystery ' Dragonmede'. Eustacia Rochdale, the female lead in the story also experiences similar fate. Though she married the man she loved and wanted, it sliced her life as the ghostly edges of a hoar frost. When she married Julian Kershaw , little did she know that her yearning for a marital bliss would be a bane of her life. 

The story was set in the London of 1800's, when every doors opened for the nobility. It was this privilege which brought Julian Kershaw to Luella's ( Eustacia's mother's )gambling house. A born nonconformist, Luella never wanted her daughter to have a bohemian life which she was indulged in. She gave anything and everything to her daughter which was required for a girl to be a lady. Luella's efforts also did not go in vain as  Eustacia grew up with everything needed to be a lady though born to a bohemian mother.

Luella was overtly delighted when Julian, the heir of Dragonmede reached her threshold. Gambling on his passion for cards and his attraction for Eustacia, Luella realised that the time had come for Eustacia to tie the knot. Unaware of her mother's manipulations, Eustacia married Julian and reached Dragonmede, her husband's home which offered her nothing but a house full of mysteries.

Though I am a die hard of Gothic fiction, the story initially failed to lure my interest. As any other mystery fictions, I was expecting a twist at the very outset which was completely absent in the story. The only cue, the writer leaves is that there is some mystery but not easy for the reader to identify it. No murder, stealing, kidnapping, murder attempts, deaths but an all pervading sense of mystery. But when the story progressed, I could feel my pulse raising and could close the book only after finished reading it. The reader could definitely identify the culprit but only at the very end, with just two or three pages to complete.

 I felt a sense of satisfaction after reading 'Dragonmede'. The moment I finished it, I saw four stars shining. Yes, I am giving it 4/5.

Peril at End House by Agatha Christie

Someone wants Nick Buckley to be killed and she had survived four death threats….

But things appear not too bleak as the famous detective Hercule Poirot with his best friend Hastings is in the vicinity.

But what perplexes Poirot is the lack of a substantial motive to kill Miss Buckley. The ‘ End House ’ she owns is already in debt and he could see no other motives which actually want someone to make an attempt on her life.

But a murder was destined to happen. Even the foolproof arrangements made by Poirot could not prevent someone from getting murdered at the End House. Unfortunately, it was Maggie Buckley, her cousin who came to be with Nick gets killed. As she had worn her cousin’s shawl, the murderer easily got confused her with Nick.

But the lack of a motive continues to perplex Poirot and it goes to such an extent that even Hastings who has strong faith in his friend’s ‘ grey cells’ starts thinking that this case will be written off as Poirot’s unsolved mystery.


‘End House’ is considered as the one of best works of Agatha Christie.
From the beginning, I knew the culprit. But it might be just because of the tendency to pinpoint the most unlikely person as the murderer. Besides, being an ardent fan of her plots I, now want to acquire her skill of adeptly joining the dots that leads to the murderer.

If you are an Agatha Christie fan, this is a must read.

By Shalet Jimmy

A Few quotes from Agatha Christie's The Mysterious Affair at Styles -

“Instinct is a marvelous thing. It can neither be explained nor ignored.” 

“Sometimes I feel sure he is as mad as a hatter and then, just as he is at his maddest, I find there is a method in his madness.” 

“You gave too much rein to your imagination. Imagination is a good servant and a bad master. The simplest explanation is always the most likely.”


“When you find that people are not telling you the truth---look out!” 

“You know, Emily was a selfish old woman in her way. She was very generous, but she always wanted a return. She never let people forget what she had done for them - and, that way she missed love.” 

“Everything must be taken into account. If the fact will not fit the theory---let the theory go.” 

“Every murderer is probably somebody's old friend.”

“An appreciative listener is always stimulating.” 

“They tried to be too clever---and that was their undoing.”

“I did not deceive you, mon ami. At most, I permitted you to deceive yourself.” 

“Hasting - There are times when it is one's duty to assert oneself.”

Agatha Christie quotes 1

The Moving Finger by Agatha Christie

“ I never can stand seeing people pleased with themselves,” said Joanna. “ It arouses all my worst instincts.”



“ Mr Dane Calthrop is a very remarkable woman, you know. She is nearly always right,” said Miss Marple. It makes her rather alarming,’ I said. ‘ Sincerity has that effect,’ said Miss Marple.



As Miss Marple rightly said in the story – “ Most crimes, you see, was absurdly simple. This one was.” Anyone could have easily guessed who the murderer was. But Agatha Christie had crafted it in such a way that the reader’s attention hardly fell on the murderer.

Though this is a Miss Marple story, she enters the scene only in the last few pages. It could have dampened the interest of the reader if he/she is a Miss Marple fan. But the protagonist, Mr Jerry Burton had done an outstanding job all through. The story starts with his narration. He comes to a placid village called Lymstock to recuperate as he got hurt in a flying accident. Jerry along with her sister Joanna moves to this village and starts living in an Emily Barton’s house.


After a few days, Jerry receives an anonymous letter accusing him of an incestuous relationship between him and her sister, Joanna. Though both ignored it as a silly mail, the other residents of Lymstock receive similar vicious letters. But it causes only a minor stir until one of the recipients commits suicide for she receives one such mail. The real twist comes when a young girl is murdered.

More than the suspense, I enjoyed the countryside portrayed in the book, the characters especially Joanna and Meghan. Both are original and never fails to call, a spade a spade. Apart from the mounting suspense, Agatha also weaves a beautiful love story.



Agatha has a knack of throwing in a surprise element during the climax of her stories. For instance ‘Murder on the Orient Express’. I am sure, many of her readers could not have guessed the climax in the wildest of their dreams. But ‘ The Moving Finger’ do not fall into the above-mentioned category. But it is a good book in its own way.




Agatha Christie considers this book as one of her bests.

Agatha Christie Quote

The Cinderella Murder - Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke

Mary Higgins Clark

Alafair Burke

So this is the final book of the year and I read only four. Very unlikely of me. Last year, it was 30 books.

But I hope, next year would be different and I am happy that I chose Mary Higgins Clark to end this year with.

We will now move to the story review.

Susan Dempsey was a young girl who wanted to make it big as an actor. Definitely, she had the looks and the talents to make it to the league and finally, the D-day had arrived. She was thrilled to get an audition for a role in a film which was to be directed by Frank Parker. Susan was excited to the core and called her mother to inform that due to the audition she would not be able to attend her father’s birthday party.

But much to her parents’ shock, the next morning, young Susan was found murdered in a park, not too far away from the Director, Frank Parker’s house. Though Parker came under the scanner of the police, there was no substantial evidence to prove his guilt. Because he had a solid alibi.

Twenty years had passed by. Susan’s murderer is still at large. Her father passed away even without knowing who killed his young and only daughter.

But “ the Cinderella story” as named by the press got a revival when Laurie Mauran, the TV producer decided to feature Susan Dempsey’s murder case in her show “ Under Suspicion”. Prior to it, she could solve a similar murder case through her show. Susan’s mother was long waiting for this and pinned every hopes on Laurie. She saw it as the final opportunity to know who killed her daughter.

When I started off, I could not feel like I was reading a MHC book. Maybe, I was too judgmental as it was co- written by Alafair Burke. The MHC books had their own way of putting the readers on tenterhooks right from the first page, just like Agatha Christie books. But that was found missing in the Cinderella Murder case.

I don’t know whether I was being judgmental as there was someone else who contributed to the book. My love for her work was so huge that I could not think of reading a book which she had co-written with her daughter. I know I am being flimsy.

I found a wide disconnect all through the story. There were ingredients that could make it a super thriller. For instance, even after completing a major portion of the book, they did not leave a single clue which could direct us to the murderer though all through the story they introduced many deviant characters capable enough to commit a murder. When the murderer was caught, eventually not in the remotest corner of my heart did I think that person could be the murderer. ( Do I have to warn spoiler alert here ! ). A ideal situation that can make a work a best thriller but unable to sent shivers down my spine.

Is it because, it was a simple plot. Besides, I am not convinced of the reason given to commit the murder.

Something about me.

I have been reading murder mysteries for many years and I always used to boast that I could identify the culprit even before it was revealed by the author. Much to my annoyance, I realised it recently that I was just going for a person or persons who seemed unlikely to commit that murder as there lies the suspense of the story. That was my simple logic.  Though I could identify the person, I never made any attempt to offer logical reasoning on why I suspected that person.

This time, I have deliberately refrained myself from focusing on anyone.

Instead, I decided to wait until I come across somebody who had the motive to do so and I could not fix my scanner on anyone.

As I always mentioned in my blog, Mary Higgins Clark’s books always helped me to break my reader’s block. But this time, I was pretty slow while reading the book. But I do not know whether it has got anything to do with the book, my reader’s block apart from the reason mentioned above - Being Judgmental.

An imaginary interview with Agatha Christie by Rosalba Mancuso

 pic courtesy : www.agathachristie.com

I stumbled upon this website while searching for the list of Agatha Christie books.

An imaginary interview - the idea sounded interesting. Asking all those questions to the author whom you admire the most.

All these answers would not have been new for a reader who follows “ The Queen of Crime” meticulously but would be a revelation to those who have just known her by her fame.

Though I liked the questions and answers  I firmly believe think  ‘ Dame’ Agatha Christie would have maintained more prudence in the language. But it is pardonable as Rosalba started reading English books only in 2010. The website says she is an Italian freelance journalist who after having worked with Italian newspapers, magazines started this blog to promote literature in two languages - English and Italian.

You can read the full interview here http://www.advicesbooks.com/index.php/interview-agatha-christie/

 It might be interesting to go through this site as she has also interviewed William Shakespeare and Jesus Christ.

IMAGINARY INTERVIEW WITH AGATHA CHRISTIE

She is regarded as the Queen of crime and mystery. She is also the most famous writer in the world after God (who wrote the Bible) and William Shakespeare I interviewed a month ago. I am discussing about Agatha Christie, the second female novelist I met through an imaginary interview. During last months, indeed, I have mostly interviewed male famous novelists and I believe that a major room must be left to famous writer women, also. For this likewise important reason, ladies and gentlemen, I interviewed for you, by disturbing her in the heaven, Mrs. Agatha Christie, the writer who invented  mystery and unforgettable detective  Hercule Poirot.

Rosalba: Mrs. Christie, I am very happy for this interview. I know you dislike publicity and gave few interviews in your life and for this, thank you so much for accepting to being interviewed by me.

Agatha Christie: I dislike publicity, it is true, but I like to meet foreign writers and reviewers like you, my dear Rosalba.

Rosalba: I read your biography and I know you used the last name of your husband in your novels, namely Christie. Which was your true name?

Agatha Christie: My former husband, you should say. But I’ll talk about this later. My true name was Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller. I was born on 15 September 1890 in Torquay, Devon, South West England.

Rosalba: Hence, you are a perfect British writer and a native speaker! Now, I hope you’ll correct my mistakes in English.

Agatha Christie: It will always be a pleasure for me. To tell the truth, I feel to be a French speaker, too.

Rosalba: And why do you feel this?

Agatha Christie: When I was five years, my family spent some times in France, where they rented a house with a French governess, Marie. I learned my erratic French, thanks to her.

Rosalba: Is true that your parents would prevent you to learn reading and writing until you were eight years old?

Agatha Christie: yes, it is damned true. But I got my revenge in my life: first because I learnt at five years, thanks to my siblings who helped me to read secretly from our parents and second because I became a novelist!

Rosalba: Why did you choose to write by using the surname of your husband?

Agatha Christie: Although I was born in a wealthy middle class family, during the previous years the first world war, my mother relocated in Egypt with me and my siblings. They left in 1910 after my father’s death for a chain of deadly heart attacks. There , in 1912, I met my first husband Archie Christie, a qualified aviator who had applied to join the Royal Flying Corps. The first world war, however, separated us, him in France and me in my hometown (Torquay) to work as a voluntary nurse at a war hospital. They were the years that helped me write my first crime stories. In 1916, I wrote, indeed, my debut novel The Mysterious Affair At Styles . The main character was detective Hercule Poirot. I used the surname of my first husband because I was married to him when I wrote my debut novel that would make me very famous later. I can only say I left this surname as a talisman and then because easier to use for my publishers.

Rosalba: I know you debuted very soon and before writing your first mystery with Hercule Poirot.

Agatha Christie: yes, I started writing my stories at 18 years old. Furthermore, you must know my mother was a good storyteller and a passionate writer and, obviously, I became a passionate writer, as well. Mine were short stories that were published revised only in the 1930s.

Rosalba: How long did you take to find a publisher for your first novel?

Agatha Christie: Much time. I took much time to write and later to find a publisher. My debut novel was published at the end of the war when my husband reached me in England and I sent my manuscript to four publishers. The fourth, John Lane of The Bodley Head accepted my manuscript and insisting to make some changes, hired me for other five books. He also proposed me to set the conclusion of my mystery in a library. Then, other famous novels followed such as The Secret Adversary and The Man in the Brown Suit. Since my publisher offered me unfair terms to release the books, I decided to find a literary agent who found a new publisher: William Collins and Sons, namely HarperCollins.

Rosalba: You also wrote very exotic mystery novels, the most famous are also set in the Middle East, such as the unforgettable Murder on the Orient Express, Death on the Nile

, Murder in Mesopotamia and Appointment with Death. Where have you found the inspiration for these novels?

Agatha Christie: In my life, my greatest ambition was to travel on the Orient Express. I had the opportunity to travel on this charming train in 1928. Thanks to this journey, I went to visit the archaeological area in Baghdad and I met archaeologist Max Mallowan who became my second husband. On the train, we loved talking very much and just for these wonderful trips on this marvellous vehicle I got the inspiration to write my novels.

Rosalba: Where you got the inspiration to create the character of Hercule Poirot?

Agatha Christie: First of all, from my childhood in France and then from my experience as a nurse at the war hospital during the first world war. During the war, there were Belgian refugees in most parts of the English countryside, Torquay is no exception. Although Poirot was not based on any particular person, I thought that this Belgian refugee, a former great Belgian policeman, could become a perfect detective for my stories. Moreover, as a nurse, I learnt to use many poisons and this is another reason that inspired me to write crime novels.

Rosalba: What advice would you like to give to modern and aspiring writers?

Agatha Christie: I believe tips and suggestions are evergreen and without time. I can suggest the one I was told by author and family friend Eden Philpotts when I started writing: “The artist is only the glass through which we see nature, and the clearer and more absolutely pure that glass, so much the more perfect picture we can see through it. Never intrude yourself.”

Rosalba: How did you write your novels?

Agatha Christie: I always wrote stories about things I knew, namely my life, my experience, the places and the people I met. Sometimes, to sketch a story in my block notes it was sufficient a talk, a discussion or opinions I heard at a dinner party, for instance. My grandson always described me as a person who listened more than she talked, who saw more than she was seen.”   Another my fictional characher, for instance,  Miss Marple ,  was based on the description of my elderly aunt.  Plots come to me at such odd moments, when I am walking along the street, or examining a hat shop…Suddenly a splendid idea comes into my head”. I wrote always by hand and then I dictated my written words to a secretary who typed with a machine called Dictaphone.

Rosalba: Yes, you were a great novelist and rewarded with a great career. What do you feel to say at this moment?

Agatha Christie: What can I say now? Thank God for my good life, and for all the love that has been given to me. I wish the same to my colleagues.

Fore more information about Agatha Christie, see this website: http://www.agathachristie.com I used to get the image and information about the writer.

Please also see my translation sample into Italian of Evil Under the Sun, another famous  Hercule Poirot mystery by Agatha Christie