It's time to check in after my summer of mysteries! I hope your summer was as wonderful as mine! I have to say I loved sitting down, putting my feet up and delving into a fun mystery at every opportunity!
The first of my ten book summer mystery reads was Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie and it was awesome!! I can totally understand why this is a classic!! Let me set the scene for you: A train ride through the winter stopped because the rails are blocked by snow when one of the passengers is found dead inside his room with the door locked and chained. Who dunnit? Intrigued? You should be!! A perfect mystery! Yes, this story is rather infamous so you may have heard about the ending prior to reading it but even knowing the outcome I still found it thrilling! And I'm sure you will too! I would highly recommend picking this book up and giving a well deserved read!!
The second book in my summer of mysteries series was The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larson. It was fabulous! Dark and mysterious with vivid wonderfully drawn characters. The story pulls you in from the beginning and keeps you glued to the page until the end! The story follows two very different people as they collaborate to attempt to solve a 40 year old mystery. Who murdered the lovely Harriet Vanger? And all evidence points to a member of her widespread and notoriously corrupt family. This book deserves all the praise it gets, you should definitely pick it up!
Book number three was The Manual of Detection by Jedediah Berry. It was quite a fun read! Very quirky and strange! A light hearted mystery this story follows Charles Unwin as he tries to find out why he has been promoted from simple clerk to the lofty title of detective. He bumbles along each step of the way trying to unravel a mystery that only seems to open the door to more mysteries. He isn't safe anywhere even his own dreams are full of mysteries! Can he unravel this tangled web before the whole city crumbles into chaos? You'll have to read it to find out! If you're looking for a mystery but one thats not too heavy this one is perfect for you!
The next book I read was Dead Cold by Louise Penny. Another fantastic mystery!! A woman is electrocuted on a crowded frozen lake while watching a curling match. How did the killer do it? And how did no one see how it happened? As it turns out this book is actually the second in a series which I didn't know prior to reading it but it was a great read even without having read the first book! It was full of twists and turns which kept you guessing right up to the end. I loved the well drawn characters and the scene that was set so perfectly you could feel the cold!
Think of a Number by John Verdon was next on the list. I chose this book because of the review found here. Once you read her review it is almost impossible not to add it to your list of to-reads and the book did not disappoint! It is the story of a retired homicide detective who feels he can't turn down a friend who, after receiving a number of threatening letters, is in desperate need of his help. The book is definitely a fun puzzle, a mystery that will keep you guessing right until the end!
Book number six was The Potter's Field by Andrea Camilleri and to be honest with you it didn't rank very high in the mysteries I read this summer. It's not like the book was bad, not at all! It's just that it didn't really pull me in the way some of the others did. The plot was good, it's about a tired old detective in Italy called to a murder scene where the victim has been chopped up into 30 pieces and buried in a potter's field. The mystery involves not only who dunnit but also who is the victim? Good premise but I just couldn't get involved with the characters or lose myself in the story.
Book number seven was one of my favorites!! It was The Yard by Alex Grecian. Set in 1889 London the story opens with the Scotland Yard discovering the body of one of their own detectives shoved in a suitcase his mouth and eyes sewn shut. The story follows a few detectives, constables, and forensic doctors as they try to track down the killer of one of their own. It was so good!! I really couldn't put it down I would highly recommend you pick this great book up!
Book number eight is a classic The Sign of Four by Arthur Conan Doyle. What would a summer of mysteries be without some Sherlock Holmes? Incomplete I say! If you've never picked up one of the many books or stories about Sherlock Holmes I'd highly recommend you do! They are fantastic! Perfect fun summer mysteries! The first book in the Sherlock Holmes series is actually a Study in Scarlet but I had already read this one so I moved on to book number two The Sign of Four and thoroughly enjoyed it!! I can't say much about this book without giving something away so I'll just say that Arthur Conan Doyle gives you every clue you need to solve his mysteries but I haven't met a person yet who has been able to solve it before Sherlock Holmes gives you the answer. How about you?
The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler was my next book. It was a really fun book written and published in the 1950s. It centers around a private detective named Marlowe on a quest to a clear a friend of his wife's murder. The story was great full of twists and turns but my favorite part was how classicly 50s it was! The language of the characters, the settings and character reactions it was like going back in time. Complete with good cop, bad cop shine a light in your eyes interview styles!
The last book in my summer of mysteries series was Joyland by Stephen King. It was awesome! It was the story of a young college kid going to work in an amusement park where four years prior a girl had been murdered in the "Horror House" ride. The killer was never caught and in the ride some say her ghost still lurks unable to rest. It is a fabulous read with just the right mix of mystery, thriller, coming of age, and horror elements. The characters are well drawn and the story develops slowly, gradually building the suspense right until the end!
And there you have it!! A delightful summer of mysteries completed!! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did! What did you get up to reading this summer? Any great books make the highlight reel?
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