Tag: Detective Novel

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Review: Murder on the Orient Express (Hercule Poirot #10) by Agatha Christie

by The Lit Bitch1 Comment on Review: Murder on the Orient Express (Hercule Poirot #10) by Agatha Christie

A few years ago I read one Agatha Christie novel and found that while entertaining, it wasn’t as good as I had hoped. I found the language and some of the literary devices dated and a little boring.

However, like many many many readers I wanted to see the Murder on the Orient Express movie which sparked a renewed interest in this classic crime novel.

I did go see the movie before I actually read the book, mostly because I didn’t think I would have time this year to fit it into my review schedule but after seeing the movie, I wanted to read it even more. Mostly because I wanted to see how much Hollywood had changed the book to suit current trends in the film industry.

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Book Critic, Book Review, Books, Literary Criticism, Reading

Review: Gin and Panic (Discreet Retrieval Agency, #3) by Maia Chance

by The Lit Bitch1 Comment on Review: Gin and Panic (Discreet Retrieval Agency, #3) by Maia Chance

I have just come off of reading two very very dense books with heavy subject matter. I needed something to just enjoy rather than something I need to digest.

Enter Gin and Panic. I was happy to read a cozy mystery even though I was jumping in on the third book. I didn’t care. I just wanted something that looked entertaining without epic battles in every chapter.

Former socialite Lola Woodby, not-so-discreet private eye in Prohibtion-era New York City, along with her grim Swedish sidekick, Berta, take on a piece-of-cake job: retrieving a rhinoceros trophy from the Connecticut mansion of big game hunter Rudy Montgomery. Continue reading “Review: Gin and Panic (Discreet Retrieval Agency, #3) by Maia Chance” →

Book Critic, Book Review, Books, Literary Criticism, Reading

Review: A Treacherous Curse (Veronica Speedwell #3) by Deanna Raybourn

by The Lit Bitch3 Comments on Review: A Treacherous Curse (Veronica Speedwell #3) by Deanna Raybourn

I’ve had my eye on this book since before it even had a title! I finished the second book and immediately started counting the days until this one was going to be released.

Fortunately I had the good luck to be approved for an ARC way back in Oct, because I literally don’t think I could have waited for the release in Jan 2018!

London, 1888. As colorful and unfettered as the butterflies she collects, Victorian adventuress Veronica Speedwell can’t resist the allure of an exotic mystery—particularly one involving her enigmatic colleague, Stoker.

His former expedition partner has vanished from an archaeological dig with a priceless diadem unearthed from the newly discovered tomb of an Egyptian princess. This disappearance is just the latest in a string of unfortunate events that have plagued the controversial expedition, and rumors abound that the curse of the vengeful princess has been unleashed as the shadowy figure of Anubis himself stalks the streets of London.

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Review: The Essence of Malice (Amory Ames #4) by Ashley Weaver

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: The Essence of Malice (Amory Ames #4) by Ashley Weaver

Here I am, yet another late comer to a new mystery series and I find myself wondering how in fact I missed this series in the first place!

Picking up a book mid series is always a risk, but I have found that more often than not, the author tries to fill in the missing links for new readers so they don’t feel like they need to start at the beginning. However sometimes it’s just not possible to go back and try to recap everything that a new reader might have missed.

While this book was well written and fun to read, I did feel like I needed the other books to stay up to par with everything that was going on.

1930s England.

When Milo Ames receives a troubling letter from his childhood nanny, Madame Nanette, he and Amory travel to Paris where they are soon embroiled in a mystery surrounding the death of a famous parfumier. Helios Belanger died suddenly, shortly before the release of his newest, highly-anticipated perfume, and Madame Nanette, who works for the family, is convinced that her employer’s death was not due to natural causes. Continue reading “Review: The Essence of Malice (Amory Ames #4) by Ashley Weaver” →

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Review: The Paris Spy (Maggie Hope Mystery #7) by Susan Elia MacNeal

by The Lit Bitch2 Comments on Review: The Paris Spy (Maggie Hope Mystery #7) by Susan Elia MacNeal

The Maggie Hope mystery series is part mystery and part spy….probably heavier on the spy side but it has murder mystery elements woven in for variety. Some might argue that this series isn’t sure what it is….is it spy or mystery but in my opinion, I like the variation. It keeps thing exciting for me, having a character solve murders in one book and then go on a spy mission in another book.

I’ve been a fan of this series for some time now and though I haven’t loved every book, I love Maggie as a character and always excited to see where life will take her next.

Maggie Hope has come a long way since serving as a typist for Winston Churchill. Now she’s working undercover for the Special Operations Executive in the elegant but eerily silent city of Paris, where SS officers prowl the streets in their Mercedes and the Ritz is draped with swastika banners.

Walking among the enemy is tense and terrifying, and even though she’s disguised in chic Chanel, Maggie can’t help longing for home.

But her missions come first. Maggie’s half sister, Elise, has disappeared after being saved from a concentration camp, and Maggie is desperate to find her—that is, if Elise even wants to be found. Equally urgent, Churchill is planning the Allied invasion of France, and SOE agent Erica Calvert has been captured, the whereabouts of her vital research regarding Normandy unknown.

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