Juniper Lemon’s Happiness Index- A book review

Juniper Lemon’s Happiness Index- A book review

I came across this book when I was scouting a book for the letter J for my A to Z 2020 challenge. Unfortunately, I ended up reading The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner then. But I finally got to read this on quite recently. Ready to read my book review of Juniper Lemon’s Happiness Index by Julie Israel?

About Juniper Lemon’s Happiness Index

Juniper Lemon's Happiness Index- A book review

Book Name: Juniper Lemon’s Happiness Index

Author: Julie Israel

Genre: Fiction – RomanceYoung adult

Characters: Juniper and Camilla Lemon, Kody, Brand Sayers, Nate, Angela

Setting: OregonThe USA

Plot Summary of Juniper Lemon’s Happiness Index

Juniper Lemon recently lost her sister Camilla. She and her family are trying to cope up with the loss and grief, but not so well. To make it worse, her best friend would not talk to her either.

The only thing that is holding Juniper up was continuing her Camilla’s ritual of writing down positive things for each day. And then she loses an index card. The index card that has a memory that the world can’t know about.

Juniper knows she has to find it right away. Also she comes to know that her sister had a special someone, someone Juniper knew nothing about.

Does Juniper lemon find her happiness index card? Who was this “You” in Camilla’s life? Did Juniper ever meet them? You will have to read Juniper Lemon’s Happiness Index by Julie Israel to find out.

Book review of Juniper Lemon’s Happiness Index

Juniper Lemon’s Happiness Index by Julie Israel talks a lot about grief and loss of a beloved. And they way they deal (or not deal) with it. And I loved how Juniper/Julie Israel talks of grief and resonated with me personally. I really wanted to hug her tightly for a minute.

The book also has some cliché young adult drama. But they somehow felt right, to me. Watch out for the character development of the female lead, Juniper. From someone annoying and nosy she does grow up fast.

I loved how Juniper ended being friends with people she normally won’t have spoken to. The dialogues and banter between the friends were witty and I enjoyed reading. I flew through the book in a sitting.

What worked for me

  • This is YA book that focuses on grief over the loss of a beloved and unexpected friendships.
  • I loved the banter and witty dialogues between the friends.
  • Perfect character development for Juniper and other characters were also fully fleshed.

What may have been better

  • I wished I learned more about her family and their bonding.
  • I think the romance angle could have been avoided. But I understand that it is inevitable.

Content warning

Loss and grief over the loss of a sibling, Teacher-student relationship (hinted), Car accident, parental abuse and negligence

Bottom line

Juniper Lemon’s Happiness Index by Julie Israel is a typical coming of age book that handles heavier topic like grief and loss of a sibling. For a book dealing over so much grief, it didn’t end up to be a sad book. And that is win for me!

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Juniper Lemon’s Happiness Index- A book review

20+ Amazing Books on World War 2

As a fan of historical fiction, I have a soft spot towards World War 2 related books, both fiction and non fiction. Quite recently, I had a wonderful discussion about a World War 2 fiction book on Twitter and I ended up with a truck load of great recommendations on the topic.

Which of these books on World war 2 have you read and loved? Do you have a favorite WW2 fiction/non fiction? Let us chat. Click To Tweet

20+ Amazing Books on World War 2

Here are some of the books on WW2 recommended to me from readers, far and near, on Twitter.

1. The Winds of War and its sequel War and Remembrance by Herman Wouk

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Like no other masterpiece of historical fiction, Herman Wouk’s sweeping epic of World War II is the great novel of America’s Greatest Generation.

Wouk’s spellbinding narrative captures the tide of global events, as well as all the drama, romance, heroism, and tragedy of World War II, as it immerses us in the lives of a single American family drawn into the very center of the war’s maelstrom.

The Winds of War and its sequel War and Remembrance stand as the crowning achievement of one of America’s most celebrated storytellers.

2. The Happiest Man on Earth by Eddie Jaku

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Eddie Jaku always considered himself a German first, a Jew second. He was proud of his country. But all of that changed in November 1938, when he was beaten, arrested and taken to a concentration camp.

Over the next seven years, Eddie faced unimaginable horrors every day, first in Buchenwald, then in Auschwitz, then on a Nazi death march. He lost family, friends, his country.

Because he survived, Eddie made the vow to smile every day. He pays tribute to those who were lost by telling his story, sharing his wisdom and living his best possible life. He now believes he is the ‘happiest man on earth’.

Published as Eddie turns 100, this is a powerful, heartbreaking and ultimately hopeful memoir of how happiness can be found even in the darkest of times.

3. I Have Lived a Thousand Years by Livia Bitton-Jackson

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What is death all about? What is life all about?

So wonders thirteen-year-old- Elli Friedmann, just one of the many innocent Holocaust victims, as she fights for her life in a concentration camp. It wasn’t long ago that Elli led a normal life; a life rich and full that included family, friends, school, and thoughts about boys. A life in which Elli could lie and daydream for hours that she was a beautiful and elegant celebrated poet.

But these adolescent daydreams quickly darken in March 1944, when the Nazis invade Hungary. First Elli can no longer attend school, have possessions, or talk to her neighbors. Then she and her family are forced to leave their house behind to move into a crowded ghetto, where privacy becomes a luxury of the past and food becomes a scarcity. Her strong will and faith allow Elli to manage and adjust somehow, but what Elli doesn’t know is that this is only the beginning and the worst is yet to come….

A remarkable memoir. I Have Lived a Thousand Years is a story of cruelty and suffering, but at the same time a story of hope, faith, perseverance and love.

4. The Black Swan of Paris by Karen Robards

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A world at war. A beautiful young star. A mission no one expected.

Paris, 1944

Celebrated singer Genevieve Dumont is both a star and a smokescreen. An unwilling darling of the Nazis, the chanteuse’s position of privilege allows her to go undetected as an ally to the resistance.

When her estranged mother, Lillian de Rocheford, is captured by Nazis, Genevieve knows it won’t be long before the Gestapo succeeds in torturing information out of Lillian that will derail the upcoming allied invasion. The resistance movement is tasked with silencing her by any means necessary—including assassination.

But Genevieve refuses to let her mother become yet one more victim of the war. Reuniting with her long-lost sister, she must find a way to navigate the perilous cross-currents of Occupied France undetected—and in time to save Lillian’s life.

5. Night by Elie Wiesel

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Born in the town of Sighet, Transylvania, Elie Wiesel was a teenager when he and his family were taken from their home in 1944 to Auschwitz concentration camp, and then to Buchenwald. Night is the terrifying record of Elie Wiesel’s memories of the death of his family, the death of his own innocence, and his despair as a deeply observant Jew confronting the absolute evil of man.

This new translation by his wife and most frequent translator, Marion Wiesel, corrects important details and presents the most accurate rendering in English of Elie Wiesel’s testimony to what happened in the camps and of his unforgettable message that this horror must simply never be allowed to happen again.

6. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

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It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will be busier still.

By her brother’s graveside, Liesel’s life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow. It is The Gravedigger’s Handbook, left behind there by accident, and it is her first act of book thievery. So begins a love affair with books and words, as Liesel, with the help of her accordian-playing foster father, learns to read. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor’s wife’s library, wherever there are books to be found.

But these are dangerous times. When Liesel’s foster family hides a Jew in their basement, Liesel’s world is both opened up, and closed down.

In superbly crafted writing that burns with intensity, award-winning author Markus Zusak has given us one of the most enduring stories of our time.

7. The Girl in the Red Coat by Roma Ligocka, Iris Von Finckenstein

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As a child in German-occupied Poland, Roma Ligocka was known for the bright strawberry-red coat she wore against a tide of gathering darkness. Fifty years later, Roma, an artist living in Germany, attended a screening of Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List, and instantly knew that “the girl in the red coat”—the only splash of color in the film—was her. Thus began a harrowing journey into the past, as Roma Ligocka sought to reclaim her life and put together the pieces of a shattered childhood.

The result is this remarkable memoir, a fifty-year chronicle of survival and its aftermath. With brutal honesty, Ligocka recollects a childhood at the heart of evil: the flashing black boots, the sudden executions, her mother weeping, her father vanished…then her own harrowing escape and the strange twists of fate that allowed her to live on into the haunted years after the war.

Powerful, lyrical, and unique among Holocaust memoirs, The Girl in the Red Coat eloquently explores the power of evil to twist our lives long after we have survived it. It is a story for anyone who has ever known the darkness of an unbearable past—and searched for the courage to move forward into the light.

8. Code Name: Lise by Larry Loftis

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The true story of the woman who became WWII’s most highly decorated spy

The year is 1942, and World War II is in full swing. Odette Sansom decides to follow in her war hero father’s footsteps by becoming an SOE agent to aid Britain and her beloved homeland, France. Five failed attempts and one plane crash later, she finally lands in occupied France to begin her mission. It is here that she meets her commanding officer Captain Peter Churchill.

As they successfully complete mission after mission, Peter and Odette fall in love. All the while, they are being hunted by the cunning German secret police sergeant, Hugo Bleicher, who finally succeeds in capturing them. They are sent to Paris’s Fresnes prison, and from there to concentration camps in Germany where they are starved, beaten, and tortured. But in the face of despair, they never give up hope, their love for each other, or the whereabouts of their colleagues.

In Code Name: Lise, Larry Loftis paints a portrait of true courage, patriotism, and love—of two incredibly heroic people who endured unimaginable horrors and degradations. He seamlessly weaves together the touching romance between Odette and Peter and the thrilling cat and mouse game between them and Sergeant Bleicher.

9. Woman Who Smashed Codes by Jason Fagone

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In 1916, at the height of World War I, brilliant Shakespeare expert Elizebeth Smith went to work for an eccentric tycoon on his estate outside Chicago. The tycoon had close ties to the U.S. government, and he soon asked Elizebeth to apply her language skills to an exciting new venture: code-breaking. There she met the man who would become her husband, groundbreaking cryptologist William Friedman.

In The Woman Who Smashed Codes, Jason Fagone chronicles the life of Elizebeth Smith who played an integral role in our nation’s history for forty years. After World War I, Smith used her talents to catch gangsters and smugglers during Prohibition, then accepted a covert mission to discover and expose Nazi spy rings that were spreading like wildfire across South America, advancing ever closer to the United States.

As World War II raged, Elizebeth fought a highly classified battle of wits against Hitler’s Reich, cracking multiple versions of the Enigma machine used by German spies. Meanwhile, inside an Army vault in Washington, William worked furiously to break Purple, the Japanese version of Enigma–and eventually succeeded, at a terrible cost to his personal life.

Fagone unveils America’s code-breaking history through the prism of Smith’s life, bringing into focus the unforgettable events and colorful personalities that would help shape modern intelligence

10. A Woman of No Importance by Sonia Purnell

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In 1942, the Gestapo sent out an urgent transmission: “She is the most dangerous of all Allied spies. We must find and destroy her.”

This spy was Virginia Hall, a young American woman–rejected from the foreign service because of her gender and her prosthetic leg–who talked her way into the spy organization deemed Churchill’s “ministry of ungentlemanly warfare,” and, before the United States had even entered the war, became the first woman to deploy to occupied France.

Virginia Hall was one of the greatest spies in American history, yet her story remains untold. Just as she did in Clementine, Sonia Purnell uncovers the captivating story of a powerful, influential, yet shockingly overlooked heroine of the Second World War. At a time when sending female secret agents into enemy territory was still strictly forbidden, Virginia Hall came to be known as the “Madonna of the Resistance,” coordinating a network of spies to blow up bridges, report on German troop movements, arrange equipment drops for Resistance agents, and recruit and train guerilla fighters.

Even as her face covered WANTED posters throughout Europe, Virginia refused order after order to evacuate. She finally escaped with her life in a grueling hike over the Pyrenees into Spain, her cover blown, and her associates all imprisoned or executed. But, adamant that she had “more lives to save,” she dove back in as soon as she could, organizing forces to sabotage enemy lines and back up Allied forces landing on Normandy beaches.

Told with Purnell’s signature insight and novelistic flare, A Woman of No Importance is the breathtaking story of how one woman’s fierce persistence helped win the war.

More books on World war 2

  1. The Execution of Private Slovik by William Bradford Huie
  2. If This Is A Man by Primo Levi
  3. From Broken Glass by Steve Ross, Glenn Frank, Brian Wallace
  4. Children of the Flames by Lucette Matalon Lagnado, Sheila Cohn Dekel
  5. The Hidden Children by Jane Marks
  6. The Nazi Officer’s Wife by Edith Hahn Beer
  7. Four Perfect Pebbles by Lila Perl, Marion Blumenthal Lazan
  8. Steal a Pencil for Me by Jaap Polak

Special mention

Here are some books that Dr. Piotr Setkiewicz, Head of research center, Auschwitz Museum recommended on the topic.

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Which of these books on World war 2 have you read and loved? Do you have a favorite WW2 fiction/non fiction? Let us chat.

Juniper Lemon’s Happiness Index- A book review

Normal People by Sally Rooney – A book review

Have you read a book that makes you an emotional fur ball and then climaxes with an open ending? Do you love or hate such a book? Let us talk about Normal People by Sally Rooney, shall we?

Have you read Normal People or anything else written by Sally Rooney? Do you like character driven plots? What other books that handle emotional abuse and depression exceptionally well? Let us talk. Click To Tweet

About the book

Normal People By Sally Rooney Book cover

Book Name: Normal People

Author: Sally Rooney

Genre: Fiction – Drama

Characters: Marienne and Alan, and their mother Denise Sheridan , Connel and Lorrainne

Setting: Ireland

The plot

Normal People begins with Marianne and Connell as teenagers who are from different social backgrounds attending the same school. Connell’s mother works in Marianne’s mansion. Connell is kind of the popular jock at school while Marianne is ostracized and is rather invisible.

They begin a sexual relationship but later puts an end to it, because Connell doesn’t want his friends to know about it. When they enter University, their roles reverse. Now Marianne’s intelligence and wit wins her friends while Connell feels so out of it and gradually slips into depression.

Their on/off romance continues and they lean on each other time and again, whatever their romantic entanglements were then. Did they end up with each other forms the rest of Normal People by Sally Rooney.

My initial thoughts

As I was saying earlier, Normal People made an emotional wreck of me. I rarely get affected so much by a book that I had to stop take catch a few breathes while I am reading. This book did that to me.

The plot as such is not anything that we have not read earlier nor very intriguing. But it is the writing and characters that made me come back for more, repeatedly. The protagonists felt so real that made me reach out to an old time friend, just to ask if they were doing fine. We all were normal people, once.

Flawed characters that are deep and emotionally broken? Sign me up. Her penchant towards self destruction and his gradual slipping into depression hurt me viscerally.

The only issue I had was not being able to understand why Marienne’s family hated her so much or some kind of background about it. Every time she felt unworthy and mistook abuse as love based on her family, especially the men, my heart broke.

I loved the social commentary parts in the book as much as inner thoughts of the characters.

What worked for me

  • CHARACTERS. Such deep, flawed and real characters.
  • I love plot-less plots, if you get what I mean. Character and angst driven plots are the best and Rooney did a great job at that.
  • This might be a make or break thing, but for me, the open ending seemed like a perfect finish to Normal People.

What may have been better

  • I wanted to know more about Marienne’s family and their treatment towards her. How and why would they?
  • Some readers may have an issue with the style of Rooney’s writing. Trust me you will get used to it in a bit.

Bottom line

If you are interested to read a character driven plot that will affect you emotionally, Normal People should be your pick. Normal People by Sally Rooney deserves all the praise and accolades it has been getting. I am definitely reading more from Rooney in future.

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Juniper Lemon’s Happiness Index- A book review

Books to kick start the reading habit

Are you a new reader who wants to kick start the reading habit? Or you may be returning to reading books for pleasure after a long gap? Either way if you are looking for book recommendations, I got you covered.

Are you a new reader who wants to kick #starttheReadinghabit? Or you may be returning to reading books for pleasure after a long gap? Either way if you are looking for #book recommendations, I got you covered. Click To Tweet

How to choose books to help you read more?

My criteria for this starter pack for new readers would be books that are

  • short
  • currently relevant
  • funny and romantic
  • thrillers and horrors
  • adapted into Series/movies
  • Non fiction / self help books

Books to kick start the reading habit

Let us get on with my recommendations, shall we?

1) A Man called Ove by Fredrik Backman

Man called Ove start the reading habit

This is one of those heartwarming books that would bring a smile to your cold heart. 

Ove is a mean, grumpy and opinionated old man, who looks forward to the day he would join his late wife, Sonja. What happens to this grumpy old man when he unwillingly meets his messy neighbors, forms the rest of the story.

Read my review of A Man called Ove by Fredrik Backman here 

2) Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston 

 Red, White & Royal Blue

Red, White & Royal Blue is such a cute, sweet and funny LGBTQA romance that will definitely keep your lock down sorrows go away.

The sons of the first families of The USA and the UK hate each other dislike each other and the world knows it. The first families and their PRs decide to intervene and stage a fake Instagram relationship. What starts as a fake friendship between them blossoms into something more. 

Read my review of Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston here 

3) The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa 

Travelling Cat Chronicles start the reading habit

Satoru and his feral cat Nana, have settled into a comfortable companionship. But Satoru suddenly decides to give away Nana and they embark on a journey to find a suitable home among his friends. Read The Travelling Cat Chronicles to join the duo on their travel through Japan and Satoru’s childhood memories!

The Travelling Cat Chronicles is a feel good book, with a bittersweet ending. Be prepared to cry, laugh and snicker throughout!

Read my review of The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa here 

4) Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon 

 the reading habit Everything everything

Maddy led a very sheltered life all through her life due to her illness. She has never stepped out of her house in years and her mother and her nurse are the only one she interacts with. Them and her book blog. Until a new family moves to their neighborhood.

You might like this short YA romance with a twist you wouldn’t see coming!

Read my review of Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon here 

5) To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han 

 the reading habit To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is one of those rare movie adaptation that was as good as the book.
The story revolves around Lara Jean, an introvert who writes letters to her crushes to get it out of her system. Unexpectedly those get delivered to all those boys and hilarity ensues.

This Young Adult book and its movie adaptation took everyone by a storm. You will love it if you are looking for a cute romance with teenage angst! 

Read my review of To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han here.

6) When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon

When Dimple Met Rishi the reading habit

Dimple Shah has ambitious plans for her life and has been accepted to Stanford. But her parents have other plans for her. Dimple ambushed by her parents hates Rishi even before she gets a chance to know him. Does her opinion about Rishi changes after she knows him better?

When Dimple Met Rishi is a cute YA contemporary romance that would make you grin in all the right places.

Read my review of When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon here

7) One of us is lying by Karen M. McManus 

One of us is lying the reading habit

One of us is lying begins at detention with five students that fit the popular stereotypes (the Breakfast Club?

Things go haywire when one of them dies of an allergic reaction right in front of them at the detention center. The police suspect foul play and the other four teens are brought under spotlight. 

Did the fact that Simon was going to publish their secrets on his website the next day had anything to do with his death? You will have to read One of us is lying to know more.

One of us is lying is definitely an easy to read book and I finished reading it in a few hours. And needless to say it was un-put-down-able. Perfect to start your reading habit!

Read my review of One of us is lying by Karen M. McManus here

8) The Woman In The Window by Finn A J

 Woman In The Window

Dr. Anna Fox’s daily routine includes drinking a lot of wine while being highly medicated, watching retro movies and peeking into her neighbours’ house through their windows. 

But when she sees something untoward happening at her neighbors’ she has no grounds to report about it. How she proves that she did not hallucinate and finds out the culprit form the rest of the story in The Woman in the Window.

The Woman in the Window will keep you occupied and might even turn to be unputdownable. With the movie version coming before the end of the year, you might wanna read it already. 

Read my review of The Woman In The Window by Finn A J here

9) The Hate u give by Angie Thomas 

The Hate u give the reading habit

Stuck between the two worlds and parents who have different views about their lives, Starr feels an outsider in both places. Starr understands her lives are universes apart and has never had to choose between them – until the fateful night, her unarmed friend Khalil gets shot by a cop in front of her eyes.

Should she remain silent, as her mother and uncle want her to be, and save herself from the wrath of the public and her own peers at school? Or should she put her life in danger, give a voice to the cause that may lead nowhere?

The Hate U Give is essentially a coming of age story in the present American scenario, dealing with racism, bullying and violence. It is inspired by the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement, obviously but is much more than that.

It is an honest account of a strong black family that has nothing to do with the gangs or drugs but is put to trial because of their skin colour.

Read my review of The Hate u give by Angie Thomas here. 

10) The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood 

Handmaid's tale the reading habit

Set in not so distant dystopian future, women have lost all that they won in the recent past, at least partially – the ability to chose what they wore, what they did for life or even handle money. They are forbidden from reading, writing and even speaking freely.

Their existence is based on their functionality – the wives (in charge of the household), the helps (Marthas), the teachers (Aunts), the wombs (Handmaids), the sexual toys ( Jezebels) and the outcasts (Unwoman) are sent to Colonies where they are left to harvest cotton or clean up the radioactive waste.

Offred, our narrator, a handmaid belongs to Fred, who is on her third and final attempt to conceive a child with a government appointed ‘Commander.’ 

Offred falls for Nick, the Guardian for the commander, a crime that could lead them both to be publicly hung. Was the risk worth taking? Did she learn anything about her family? Read to know more.

The Handmaid’s Tale might be a little hard to get into, yet once you are into it, you can not stop it. You can not read The Handmaid’s Tale as a breeze through the weekend. You can not unsee once you have been to the Republic of Gilead and not relate it to the real world.

Read my review of The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood here.

11) The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho 

The Alchemist the reading habit

The book follows the journeys of a young shepherd boy on his search for ancient treasure. The philosophical theme that ‘the universe conspires to help us achieve things we want’ is well written and shines through. 

This simple and brief fable took the world by storm when it came out. The message is still relevant today. And perfect for someone who wants to kick start the reading habit. 

Read my review of The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho here

12) Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson 

Who Moved My Cheese? the reading habit

The book is divided into two parts, a short story and then the relevant message. The basic theme of the books is how to deal with change and the importance of the right attitude in life.

While it is usually classified as a business subject, it is equally possible for anyone if us to implement them in our life. 

Read my review of Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson here

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What do you think about my choices? Would you recommend these books to someone who wants to start the reading habit? If you are someone who is starting the reading habit just now, let me know what you choose. Let us talk. 

Juniper Lemon’s Happiness Index- A book review

Review shots: Christie’s murder mysteries

It is a brand new month and that means it is time for mini reviews AKA review shots. And this week am gonna bring in three books from one author, who is one of  my all time favorites, Dame Agatha Christie. Don’t we all need some mystery thriller every month?

These are our monthly picks for the ClassicsNChristieClub and I thought I can club them up together for our review shots. So shall we get on with it?

Read my thoughts on three #AgathaChristie #murdermystery that we read in our #ClassicsNChristieClub in this month's edition of #reviewshots Click To Tweet

The Murder on the Links

Christie murder

Hercule Poirot and Arthur Hastings have been invited to  Merlinville-sur-Mer, France, to help Paul Renauld, a millionaire. Upon arriving to the Villa Genevieve, they find him dead. He is stabbed in the back with a letter opener and pushed into a newly dug grave near their golf club. His widow claims that two masked men tied her up around 2 AM and took her husband away.

As the duo proceeds to investigate the case, Poirot gets a competitor in the form of Monsieur Giraud from the French Sûreté who has a history with Poirot. Who murdered the millionaire and why forms the rest of The Murder on the Links. 

My thoughts

I am not a big fan of Poirot – Hastings combo, but I couldn’t help rooting for them here. I couldn’t guess the culprit right until the end which makes the book a win for me. The only thing that didn’t work for me is the romance story for Hastings and making him a besotted fool till the end. 

Bottom line

If you like the usual Poirot novels, you are in for a treat reading The Murder on the Links. 

The Man in the Brown Suit

Christie murder

In The Man in the Brown Suit we have a new lead detective Anne Beddingfeld. Anne leaves the country in search of a new adventure after her famous father dies. Soon enough she witnesses an accidental death and she finds a clue that might have something to do with death. She throws caution to the wind and decides to chase the clues that may prove it was not just another accident.

Her journey takes her to Africa and further on the trail of the murderer. Anne forms new friends, saves a stranger and makes stronger enemies. But does she make friends with the right person? How far will her sense of adventure take? You need to read The Man in the Brown Suit to know if the murderer was caught and who was the mastermind behind it all.

My thoughts

Christie has a bunch of recurring detective characters but Anne Beddingfeld appears only in The Man in the Brown Suit. I didn’t like her at all, and I can say she was too naive and annoying for my taste. Of course others might find her lively and perky compared to Tommy and Tuppence or even Poirot.

Bottom line

I definitely didn’t solve the case, so that is a positive thing I guess. But it bored me during some parts and I was wishing it would end soon.

The Secret of Chimneys

Christie murder

The story begins when James McGrath gives a manuscript to Anthony Cade and asks him to hand it over to the publishers in London. Cade doesn’t realize it to be arduous task with men threatening for it and a political troop trying to steal it away from him. He is also requested to return a few personal letters to a lady he has only a name of. 

There are quite a few characters who assemble to have a political and business agreement at the Chimneys, where Cade is also invited to discuss about the manuscript. Unfortunately that is where a murder takes place and Inspector Battle is called upon to investigate. Soon enough we are suspecting everyone present at Chimneys that night. Who committed the murder and what is the story behind it follows in The Secret of Chimneys.

My thoughts

Yes I am saved the best for the last. The Secret of Chimneys was our March BOTM and I should say I liked this the best among these three. I loved the array of characters especially Bundle and her father Lord Caterham provided the much needed comic relief.

Everytime I zeroed in on someone to be the blacksheep I was proved wrong, which made it all the more interesting. There is a bit of romance in this one too but it was not a hinder like in the other two. 

Bottom line

The Secret of Chimneys is definitely worth a read, pick it right away. 

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Christie murder

Let us chat

Have you read any of these ones before? Do you usually read Agatha Christie’s? Which is your favorite among them all? Let us talk.