Book Review: “The Shape of Sand,” by Marjorie Eccles

Genre: historical fiction; mystery

Playlist…

Plot Summary: It is 1946.  When Vigilance Assurance buys the old Charnley House to renovate for modern offices, a dreadful secret is discovered behind the walls.  Family members of the pre-WWI era are contacted, but the police have more important things to do than investigate a cold case nobody cares about anymore.  Except the living relatives do care.  Beatrice Jardine left behind three young adult daughters the night she disappeared, all of whom are haunted by what they perceive happened.  What occurred on their mother’s fashionable trip to Egypt at the turn of the century?  Did the mysterious Mr. Iskander- part Egyptian, part Russian- have anything to do with her disappearance?  And what is eldest sister Vita hiding?  Can middle daughter Harriet and her niece Nina piece together the events to figure out what really happened?

My Book Review: I have no remembrance of how this title came recommended to me or how I discovered it.  I think it’s been on my TBR so long that I don’t remember how long.  But give me a cozy mystery—cold case fashion—and throw in a dash of the exotic and you’ve got me hooked.

I love the atmosphere of Agatha Christie’s foreign novels (Death on the Nile, Murder in Mesopotamia).  I love archaeology, I love all things Egyptian.  This book’s flavor definitely satisfied those desires.  The mystery had me immersed from the very beginning—switching from the more modern story of Harriet in post-WWII Britain to 35 years previously when her family resided at the glamorous country estate.  A cast of intriguing characters kept my attention.  And the story didn’t lag halfway through like so many often do.

The suspense was kept up through to the very end- to the epilogue and beyond, in fact.  I really have to give the author credit.  This is so hard to do and can be rare even in many cozy mysteries.  I liked that there wasn’t a lot of gore or bad language.  Is it a clean read?  This is a little difficult to answer, as a mystery by definition isn’t going to feature lots of people with pure motives.  SPOILER ALERT: There are characters who have had affairs; some characters live with each other unmarried; some characters have trysts.  There is an implied gay relationship.  END OF SPOILER.  However, none of this is gone into very descriptively, which I appreciated.

What I loved most about is that the author leaves the mystery open at the end, leaving you on your own to surmise what happened.  Here is my opinion of Who Did It and Why SPOILER ALERT: Clara Hallam, Beatrice’s maid genuinely believed she had killed her mistress all those years ago, and confessed and killed herself at the end of the book.  However, Beatrice was clearly still breathing when her husband entered the room.  Amory, who suspected that his wife was having an affair with his friend, Lord Wycombe, finished her off for a mixture of reasons.  One, because she was humiliating him behind his back, flirting with numerous fellows; two, because Lord Wycombe was actually his lover as well and Beatrice was coming between them, creating a love triangle.  Lord Wycombe entered the room soon after and knew Amory had killed his wife.  He helped his friend dispose of her body (he never was very keen on his affair with Beatrice) and the two kept each other’s secrets, only reluctantly calling in the police when it began to look too suspicious that they weren’t.  END OF SPOILER.  (My sister informs me that one has to have a dirty mind to figure this out. 😉 )

One thing I did wish was a little different was that I kept thinking Harriet was going to find lots of clues in the old box found at the beginning of the book.  It did include her mother’s diary, which did provide some information.  But the box wasn’t a treasure trove of clues needing to be pieced together.  I also thought that Harriet and her sisters were going to somehow “recreate” their mother’s birthday party as nearly as they could to that fateful night to help them stomp out who did it.  But this didn’t happen, either.  I think the book could have been even more interesting if it did.

I had never read anything by Marjorie Eccles before, but I am glad I started with this one as I feel the ending was genius and I have to say I’m impressed.  I think it can even compete with some of Christie’s mysteries.  Lovers of Downton Abbey will also enjoy it, I’m sure.  I am wanting to add a few more of her titles to my TBR.  They are the kind that give you anticipatory tingles!

 

Book Review: “Saffire,” by Sigmund Brouwer

Genre: historical fiction; Inspirational; intrigue; mystery; humor

Playlist… 

Plot Summary: James Holt has held a lot of jobs in his life: rancher, Rough Rider, Wild West showman, father.  But being hired as an investigator has never been one of them until now.  Arriving in Panama in 1910, he figures he will quickly turn the job down and return to his ranch in the Badlands.  But a young girl who reminds him of his daughter needs his help, and he soon finds himself in the hot mess of political intrigue.  What happened to Saffire’s mother?  What are the canal builders hiding about the recent mysterious deaths?  Who are the masked men behind his torture?  And just why has he been hired in the first place?

My Book Review: I remember enjoying Brouwer’s Accidental Detective mystery series when I was a kid.  I could never get enough of them!  But it’s been my experience that good children’s writers don’t make such good adult ones.  Since this was the first adult book I’d read by him, I wondered how this would prove.

It turns out that I didn’t have a problem with his level of writing.  A lot of the elements of what I loved from the kids’ mysteries were present in Saffire: lots of witty banter, surprising plot twists, hints of romance and lots of danger.  James Holt surely did get a few chuckles out of me.

However, as a mystery novel this escaped me but good.  Even when I concentrated hard, reread and reread what I just reread, I couldn’t get the same connections Holt seemed to be drawing.  The “revealing epilogue” only got me more confused and I still don’t understand what was supposed to have happened.  It sort of felt like Brouwer had had a lot of editing to do, the result being lots of missing links.

There were lots of characters- many of them the same type so that they all ran together, or wait- maybe they were the same ones just playing charades, except I couldn’t remember them from their previous appearance in the story.  The most interesting ones only surfaced two or three times at most and the title character was dropped a third of the way into the story.  T.B. Miskimon (who serves as Holt’s comedic dart board) was almost overused.

This book is published under the Inspirational genre, but there really isn’t more than a sentence to categorize it as such.  Just know it’s a clean read and that’s a plus.  One of my favorite parts was Holt’s tender father-daughter connection with Saffire.  I also liked that the romance wasn’t an overt theme.

I always enjoy learning history in my novels, so it was fascinating reading about the determined American spirit which built the Panama canal, how enormous and innovating the project was.  This was one of the things that made Theodore Roosevelt such a great president.  What new advances could Americans make with the same grit and ardor, I wonder?

If you like dry, sarcastic humor, I think you will like this one.  But if you’re going into it for the intrigue you might be disappointed.

This video the author made is pretty cool!  Check it out if you’re at all curious about T.B. Miskimon… Brouwer makes a remarkable discovery.

 

Book Review: “The Woman in White,” by Wilkie Collins

Genre: classic; romance; gothic; mystery; thriller; suspense

Playlist… 

Plot Summary: Walter Hartright, a young drawing teacher, is employed by a wealthy Cumbrian benefactor to teach his two wards painting.  Over the course of a pleasant summer, he falls in love with the beautiful heiress Laura Fairlie.  But she is engaged to another man.  A stranger arrives with a note containing warnings about Miss Fairlie’s intended.  Who is telling the truth?  Who is the young woman in white who looks like Laura?  And who will emerge from this story sane?

My Book Review: This is my third book by Wilkie Collins, and by now he is at the top of my list of favorite authors and I am quite a fan.  I loved “The Moonstone” when I first read it over twelve years ago and now that I’ve finished WiW I realize I love this one even more!  It is a very thick novel, and switches first person accounts as Moonstone did, and which I love.  It gives the story more of an air of authenticity.  There are three very distinct seasons within the story (or epochs, as Hartright calls it): 1) Limmeridge House; 2) Blackwater Park; 3) investigations from London.

Geniuses are ahead of their time, and that’s what makes this book so riveting.  It covers the themes of mental illness, women’s rights and narcissism.  But it also upholds the “old-fashioned” values of honor, faithfulness and compassion.

One of the best characters of the book, Marian Halcombe, is a strong heroine.  She is not beautiful but she has a capable mind and is a match for the villainous Count.  I loved reading about her standing firm on principles.  She makes mistakes anyone could have made in her discernment but they were honest ones and she had good intentions.  If it weren’t for her physical weakness and loyalty to her half-sister Laura, she could have beaten Count Fosco at Blackwater Park.  I was on the edge of my seat throughout that ordeal!  I felt like I was about ready to go crazy myself, so bizarre were some of the happenings.  Not all perceptions by all good characters are correct, because they only have half the tale.  Neither are all antagonists what they fully appear.  What a great storyteller Collins was!

SPOILER: Walter’s restraint from pursuing Laura when he could have had her was touching.  He could have overpowered her, influenced her, manipulated her just as easily as Sir Percival or the Count could have.  But he is aware of her unavailability (maritally and mentally).  END OF SPOILER.  Love is patient.  Love is kind.  It is not self-seeking… and that is the picture we see in this hero, aptly named.

Wow, these characters were so developed.  You could make a psychological study of almost all of them.  Skipping past the “goodies”, let’s look at some “baddies”.  Count Fosco is definitely the strong evil one of the piece.  He had the hold on people somewhat like a cult leader.  His extreme narcissism and magnetism with which he controlled others were apparent.  But looking at the symptoms his wife exhibited were even more telling.  She worshiped and served him without question.  She is described as having had a completely different personality before her marriage to him.  She had no thought of her own (only programmed by the Count), and would go into a paranoia if she thought his position threatened.  I was doing some interesting reading on this.  Her cold, motionless staring, even her repetitive “busywork”– endlessly rolling the Count’s cigarettes—seemed indicative of a classic textbook Geschwind syndrome or temporal lobe epilepsy, similar to the brains of long-term cult victims.  And Wilkie Collins wrote this in 1859??  Fascinating!

It was interesting that not everything that happened was part of the scheme of the villains.  Certain things backfired on them.  Part of me was disappointed in finding this out in the end because I liked thinking the Count was a Complete Mastermind Evil Being.  But it actually served to make it more realistic and believable.  The ending was not entirely explained [SPOILER: Who was the assassin? END OF SPOILER], but then not everything in life is.  The character Pesca sort of fizzled out at the end for me and he needed a stronger ending.

But really, this has been one of my favorite reads of the year.  I can see why it is such a classic.  There’s so much depth for analyzing and going deeper and I would love to hear/read/discuss more of it!  I’m also looking forward to watching different film versions.

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I also recommend:

 

Movie Review: “The Big Four”

Based on the book by Agatha Christie. [see my book review here]

Version: 2013; starring David Suchet.

Genre: mystery

Plot Summary: [from IMDb] “As the threat of world war looms large, Poirot seeks the help of friends both old and new when he is pitted against a dangerous group of dissidents responsible for a series of violent murders.“

My Review: When I read Agatha Christie’s The Big Four, it wasn’t the best mystery I’d read by her; but it wasn’t the worst either.  I guess I’d rate it around midling.  I think the thing that turned me off from rating it higher was probably the ending which did not seem very believable to me.  I didn’t really see how this story would be filmable.

When I watched the movie version starring David Suchet I could see where they took liberties with the story, and I didn’t really blame them.  It needed to be within the realms of the believable and not feel like a dated story line.  Many of the same characters were kept, but the motives and ending were changed.  I still can’t say it’s one of my favorites, though.

I don’t remember alarming content material here, however since it deals with murder and the regular mayhem I would say there is some moderate worries for children.

 

Book Review: “Sands of Time,” by Susan May Warren

Genre: Christian fiction; suspense; intrigue; romance; contemporary fiction

Plot Summary: [from goodreads.com] “An inexplicable ailment was striking down the children of Russia; in less than forty-eight hours, American medical missionary Sarai Curtiss had watched two young patients slip away, and she feared she might have an epidemic on her hands. Yet how could she help anyone in the middle of a violent coup? The new leadership had demanded all foreigners leave the state–on pain of death. Unwilling to leave her clinic, but unable to combat her enemies alone, Sarai had to join forces with an unlikely ally–Roman Novik, the rebel Cobra Captain who broke her heart. Faced with a corrupt government, a brutal military and the truth of their own deepest feelings, it would be a race against time to save the lives on the line–and an entire country at risk.”

My Book Review: No, this review has nothing to do with a Jake Gyllenhaal action flick.  Gotcha.

I became interested in this three-book series (Mission: Russia) by Susan May Warren a couple of years ago because of the intrigue+romance aspect of it.  I read the first book, “In Sheep’s Clothing” (which you can read review of here) last year but to be honest, I was left wanting.  However, I decided to go ahead and read the second installment since A) it’s more of a standalone novel; B) it looked more interesting.

I’m glad I tried it as I liked it much better than the first. The sequel details the story of Viktor’s (Viktor is Book #1’s hero) friend Roman as he seeks to rescue an old acquaintance (okay, a romantic flame from 10+ years’ past) from a dangerous coup who has it in for her because of her knowledge of secrets they don’t want to get out.  The story was fun, fast, and kept me guessing to the end.  I thought Roman– love that name!– made a better hero than Viktor, but I had to struggle to see what he saw in Sarai.  She was really quite annoying and made me want to slap her sometimes.  I don’t say that often.

It was fun to read something set in another part of the world, and I’ve always had an interest in Russia. Descriptions were great, dialogue was humorous, and the book had the benefit of the author’s experience for having been a missionary there at one point.

Yet at the same time, it also suffered from some of my complaints about the first novel. Even though it is an action story, it just has way too much cheesy mushiness throughout that feels forced and sort of gets in the way of another wise interesting book.  If I had realized sooner that it was a Steeple Hill romance novel, I probably wouldn’t have bothered to put it on my TBR to begin with.  But as far as that genre goes, it was probably better than most because of the international intrigue side of things.  I appreciated that it wasn’t a steamy romance, and the characters acted with propriety.  And I don’t know how things go with romance publishers, but it may be that they require authors to have so many romance-checklist additives per page.  ?  Which could explain why it felt cheesy and forced.

The third installment of this series focuses on the other pair I was hoping would come together in the end: Yanna and David.  The plot looks interesting, but I’m outta gas for this genre.  I’ve decided I’m still interested in trying other books by this author, but no more Steeple Hill for me!

If you liked this book, I also recommend…

 

Movie Review: “Jamaica Inn”

Based on the book by Daphne du Maurier

Version: 2014; starring Jessica Brown-Findlay

Genre: classic; suspense; costume drama

Plot Summary: [from imdB.com:]  “A young woman moves in with her aunt and uncle and soon discovers unsavory happenings in her new home.”

My Review: Disclaimer*: I have not read the original book, so this review will not by comparing it to that novel.  Only as a story in and of itself, totally unrelated to the book. “Jamaica Inn” has been made into a movie at least three times (Alfred Hitchock- 1934; 1983, starring Jane Seymour; current review) and I have seen all three.  This is not because I especially love the story, but because I was usually bored with nothing else particularly appealing to watch.  The 2014 caught my attention because of Jessica Brown-Findlay playing the lead character.  I have to say that out of all three, this most recent version is my preferred version.

For those who may not be aware, the story is very dark and tense.  What I liked about this movie was the way it kept it tight and the viewer guessing; there is also a lot of texture, wind, and weather.  Watch it for the moody atmosphere if nothing else.  But the acting is pretty well done, and there is interesting cinematography, too.

Unfortunately, there is a pretty racy scene between Mary and love interest Jem.  There is some amount of foul language as well (lots of rough and rowdy fellows and drunken tavern scenes).  An attempted assault is made on Mary, but her uncle defends her.  There are several scenes of murder and some gore.  Obviously, this film is not for sensitive folks.

SPOILER: I often get weary of the church as being painted as the villains in movies.    However, if this storyline has started to lose its shock-and-awe value it is because we live in an age where #metoo has reared its ugly head within the church and the reality is that one mustn’t take even religious leaders for granted.  Even so, we have a pervading sense that this is not the way it is supposed to be—injust, mercy-less and hypocritical so-called “Christians.”  It is not supposed to be this way because Jesus Christ was not this way and deep down the world recognizes the contradiction.  The Bible says that the man who says, “I know Him,” but does not do what He commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.  Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did.  (1 John 1:4-6)  Rev. Davy appeared to be living God’s commands, yet his life was full of darkness, control, and death.  Whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness.  But whoever is truly a Christ-follower lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble.  END OF SPOILER. 

Is Jamaica Inn worth the watch?  I think it can be thoughtfully viewed and learned from.  Some themes to talk over include addiction, codependency, fear and control.   How does each character’s choices come back to haunt them in the end?  It makes for interesting dialogue.  But it’s certainly not a family movie.

 

Radio Drama (BBC): Titus Groan

I recently published my book review of “Titus Groan,” by Mervyn Peake (read it here) and suddenly the BBC is airing it’s audio dramatized version of the story!  I am preparing to start reading the second book in the series soon (“Gormenghast”), so I thought I’d better prepare by brushing up my memory on the details of the first.

I found this to be a very faithful and rather good adaptation.  The best part about it is that it does not lose the flavor of the book’s descriptions and vocabulary.  It seemed to be well cast, though the parts of Lady Gertrude and Irma Prunsquallor seemed be more ’emphasis’ rather than ‘acting.’  You can tell by the tedious melodramatic deliverances of lines instead of actually owning them.

You can click to listen to it for free for a limited time.

 

Movie Review: “Alistair Maclean’s Air Force One is Down”

Based on the book by John Denis.

Version: 2013; starring Emilie de Ravin

Genre: adventure; intrigue

Plot Summary: When Air Force One, carrying the President and many cabinet members, is hijacked and destroyed, it is up to a team of three independently working agents to rescue innocent lives.

My Review: Disclaimer*: I have not read the original book, so this review will not by comparing it to that novel.  Only as a story in and of itself, totally unrelated to the book.  

This movie caught my eye because a) I enjoy stories of intrigue, and b) the name of Alistair Maclean.  It was a fairly recently made movie and I was surprised that Maclean had any stories so recent.  Wasn’t he a writer from the 1960’s or something?

It turns out that the book this movie is based upon was not written by Alistair Maclean, but by an author pen named John Denis.  It has the name of Maclean attached to it because it is a continuation of a series he started.  I believe it was originally set in the ’80’s, the decade it was written.

The story does not have good reviews as a novel, and the film (updated to a contemporary era) was obviously not big budget.  However, I found the plot interesting and exciting, even if the acting was a little cheesy at times.  There were a lot of twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat.  I also enjoyed seeing actress Emilie de Ravin in another role besides playing sweet characters for a change (Australian accent not present).  As an undercover Russian agent, her edge and innovativeness in tight situations were fun to watch.

Unfortunately, this movie does contain a lot of foul language and innuendos.  Early on, a man and woman have a sexual fling.  Francesca and Steven are left to drown in their underwear.  Another scene contains a lesbian kiss, but it is shortly revealed to be only a hoax.  There were some pretty gory sights, as well.

Would I recommend this?  I wouldn’t place it high on my to-watch list but it did have an unique plot, and if you have nothing better to do or watch this may be of interest.

 

Book Review: “The Man from Sing Sing,” by E. Phillips Oppenheim

Genre: vintage classic

Plot Summary: Reuben Argels is a man with a past behind him and a future ahead of him.  Having been a part of Moran Chamber’s syndicate in America, he turned traitor and was largely responsible for putting that man in prison.  But there is no living the straight and narrow for Argel.  He promptly benefits from his treason and moves on to greener grass, this time to the financial fields of England.  But maybe his old enemy isn’t behind bars like Argels thinks.  And Chambers has many friends who are willing to exact revenge for the man who did him wrong.  What will become of Reuben Argels?  And is Violet– the sweet, sensible woman so ready to help him– really who she says she is?

My Book Review: Continuing making my way through the works of Oppenheim…

To be honest, I prefer other EPO novels to this novel of crime syndicate members. The plot sounds intriguing enough, but I got lost among all the stock exchange jargon (dated, and foreign to me).  It did, as EPO stories go, keep me guessing as to the motives behind certain characters.  But it was hard to find sympathy for the main character, Reuben, since he was neither a goodie or a baddie.  He professes a love for Chamber’s lover Ambouyna (a name I still have no idea how to pronounce), but yet pursues Miss Violet Withers on the side.  In fact, while admitting to her that he doesn’t love her, he asks if she would fill in for him since he can’t have whom he really wants?  Sure, that’s the way to win any girl’s heart!

Actually, Violet Withers was my favorite character from the book. She easily balances a personality of modesty and mystery.  I loved a couple of quotes surrounding her sensibility:

“Lots of girls do things they don’t want to because they have to. I’m not one of them…. If I get to like you well enough, I shall certainly allow you to call me by my Christian name, and possibly to kiss me occasionally. If I don’t, I shan’t. Believe me,… I am much more worth kissing because I have such queer ideas.”

SPOILER ALERT: It’s painful to watch Argels slowly being dragged to the bottom all the way to the end of the book.  He’s sent over the edge, but at the last minute is saved by his enemy of all people– on purpose.  And then they shake hands and a check is written and all is honkey dorey.  I don’t know.  It just didn’t fit together right at the end.  There’s all this build up of suspense because of the hatred of these two enemies, neither of which you particularly want to side with, but then suddenly it all disappears and Chambers has a change of heart for no reason.  It just didn’t make sense and the story fell flat on its face for me. END OF SPOILER.

So if you like the idea of characters existing in a glamorous world of the 1930’s, full of crime and blackmail, you might have your next favorite novel (which you can read for free here). But if you’re more plot-oriented (like me), you might want to skip past this one.

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If you liked this book, I also recommend:

 

Book Review: “The Seven Conundrums,” by E. Phillips Oppenheim

Genre: mystery; intrigue; classic vintage

*Playlist…

Plot Summary: A trio of entertainers are down on their luck when a mysterious man emerges out of the night to make them an offer of a lifetime.  Desperate, they agree to do anything he asks of them in exchange for a guarantee of work lineup.  Soon, they are rolling in it and living the highlife while touring England and abroad.  But exactly who’s side are they on—the side of the just or the side of evil?

My Book Review: Although Oppenheim’s most famous novel (The Great Impersonation) had me an instant fan as a kid, I’ve sort of become less enthused about some of his other works since then.  I was hoping this novel would draw me back in, or else I was seriously going to rethink whether I wanted to continue with his canon.

I was pleased to find myself enjoying this very much, especially for the book’s atmosphere.  The seven mysteries, the intrigue, wild characters, and the some of the exotic European locales had my interest.  Although it still did not have TGI beat, I’ve decided to continue on with more Oppenheim novels next year!

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