Author: IndiaReadsALot

Closed Casket Review

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Lady Athelinda Playford has planned a house party at her mansion in Clonakilty, Co Cork, but it is no ordinary gathering. As guests arrive, Lady Playford summons her lawyer to make an urgent change to her will – one she intends to announce at dinner that night. She has decided to cut off her two children without a penny and leave her fortune to someone who only has weeks to live, and she refuses to explain why…
Among Lady Playford’s guests are two men she has never met – the famous Belgian dectective, Hercule Poirot, and Inspector Edward Catchpool of Scotland Yard. Neither knows why he has been invited…until Poirot starts to wonder if Lady Playford expects a murderer to strike. But why does she seem so determined to provoke, in the the presence of a possible killer? And why, when the crime is committed in spite of Poirot’s best efforts to stop it, does the identity of the victim make no sense at all?

Rules for Perfect Murders Review

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A series of unsolved murders with one thing in common: each of the deaths bears an eerie resemblance to the crimes depicted in classic mystery novels. The deaths lead FBI Agent Gwen Mulvey to mystery bookshop Old Devils. Owner Malcolm Kershaw had once posted online an article titled ‘My Eight Favourite Murders,’ and there seems to be a deadly link between the deaths and his list – which includes Agatha Christie’s The ABC Murders, Patricia Highsmith’s Strangers on a Train and Donna Tartt’s The Secret History. Can the killer be stopped before all eight of these perfect murders have been re-enacted?

I had mixed feelings about this book, click the title to read more.

February Wrap Up 2020

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February was an interesting month for me. I am trying a new format with my wrap ups. If you would like to read my reviews in more detail please click the title of the book.

  • I had my first DNF of the year!
  • I continued with my challenges and read a 2nd chance book, 2 books for my ONTD challenge and I read a sequel!
  • I read 7 books, 2 of which were DNFs.
  • In terms of genre I read an two urban fantasies, a short story collection, two thrillers and three murder mysteries.
  • I read three ARCs, one library book, two were re-reads and one was a backlist book I owned.

The Last Smile in Sunder City – Luke Arnold (4 stars)

This was an ARC that I was super excited to pick up. In my opinion, it was a brilliant debut. I really enjoyed the world and loved exploring the idea of magical creatures having to survive in a world without magic. The plot was really interesting but I did at times struggle with writing style. At times it did make me cringe.

The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm – Brothers Grimm (DNF)

This was a re-read for me as well as a book for my second chance challenge. Sadly, like last time, I couldn’t get through it. Quite a lot of the stories I read I already knew so I got quite bored reading through it and I felt myself called to other books so I DNFed it.

My Sister, the Serial Killer – Oyinkan Braithwaite (3 stars)

I had mixed feelings about this book. I enjoyed the short chapters, I was intrigued about Ayoola as well as the bond between the two sisters. But I felt the story could have been deeper, I felt we only really scraped the surface. It needed more depth.

I read this book for my ONTD challenge, the theme was “Read a book set in Nigeria or a book written by a Nigerian author.”

In the Crypt with a Candlestick – Daisy Waugh (DNF)

I don’t have much to say regarding this story apart from I struggled to connect with the story or characters.

Tears of the Giraffe – Alexander McCall Smith (3 stars)

I really enjoyed the multiple narratives that weaved its way through this book. It really kept pace up and the novel engaging. I enjoyed Mma Ramotswe, she is such a strong character but my criticisms fell under the lack of actual detective work and a lot of important themes that were raised but never really explored.

Murder at Enderley Hall – Helena Dixon (3 stars)

This was another ARC that I read. This was another solid book in the Miss Underhay series, I think it held up really well against the first novel which was equally just as good. I felt the pacing of this story was done really well, the “romance” in this story has me really invested which rarely happens and I felt a strong sense of Dixon maintaining a solid series-arcing plot.

The Sea of Monsters – Rick Riordan (4 stars)

Another solid sequel, while in my opinion, not as good as the first story. This one was too short and a lot of convenient things happened to push the plot forward. But it was super fun, action-packed, we were introduced to some amazing characters. But what Riordan did, that was my favourite, was building up the series-arcing plot really well which makes you want to read the next book.

The Sea of Monsters Review

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When Thalia’s tree is mysteriously poisoned, the magical borders of Camp Half-Blood begin to fail. Now Percy and his friends have just days to find the only magic item powerful to save the camp before it is overrun by monsters. The catch: they must sail into the Sea of Monsters to find it. Along the way, Percy must stage a daring rescue operation to save his old friend Grover, and he learns a terrible secret about his own family, which makes him question whether being the son of Poseidon is an honor or a curse.

Murder at Enderley Hall Review

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Summer 1933. Fresh from the discovery that she has family living nearby, Kitty Underhay has packed her carpet bag, commandeered a chambermaid and set off on a visit to stately Enderley Hall. She’s looking forward to getting to know her relatives, as well as the assembled group of house guests. But when elderly Nanny Thoms is found dead at the bottom of the stairs after papers of national importance are stolen, Kitty quickly learns that Muffy the dog’s muddy paws on her hemline are the least of her problems. Calling on ex-army captain Matthew Bryant for assistance, Kitty begins to puzzle out the mystery. And when more shocking murders follow, the stakes are raised for the daring duo as never before. Which of the guests stand to gain from the theft of the documents? And which, as the week progresses, stand to lose their lives?

Click the title to read my thoughts.

Have I Read? NPR’s Top 100 Fantasy and Sci-fi

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So this post was completely inspired by MeltingPage’s post of the same name. I just really loved the idea, I thought it would be fun!

So there is a bit of a key to this task.

  • Bold titles means I have read the book.
  • Titles in italics denotes book/series I am currently reading.
  • Underlined titles denotes books I would like to read eventually but don’t own.
  • A single asterix (*) denotes books I own and plan to read.

So, let’s get into it. I will give a bit of info along the way.

  1. The Lord of the Rings – J.R.R Tolkien
    Got to be honest here. I read The Hobbit and absoutley loved it. I also read The Fellowship of the Ring and wasn’t as fussed about it, I struggled with the pacing a lot. Finally, I read The Two Towers but I couldn’t finish it. The pacing was so slow and even the action sequences couldn’t get me into the story.
  2. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams
  3. Ender’s Games – Orson Scott Card
  4. The Dune Chronicles – Frank Herbert
  5. A Song of Ice and Fire series – George R.R. Martin
  6. 1984 – George Orwell
  7. Fahrenheit 451 – Ray Bradbury
  8. The Foundation Trilogy – Isaac Asimov
  9. Brave New World – Aldous Huxley
  10. American Gods – Neil Gaiman*
  11. The Princess Bride – William Goldman
    I read this book due to the movie. I plan on re-reading this book next year as I unintentionally DNFed it. I didn’t consciously decide to DNF it but I was reading multiple books at that time and I left it for too long. So I want to re-read it and a bunch of other DNF’s.
  12. The Wheel of Time Series – Robert Jordan
    I am currently reading The Eye of the World and I am loving it. It is taking more time than I anticipated, due to my Netgalley reads, but I am still loving it. I am also listening to the Wheel Weaves podcast which is a great spoiler-free companion podcast.
  13. Animal Farm – George Orwell
    I read this for school and enjoyed it. Wasn’t my favourite story but still enjoyable.
  14. Neuromancer – William Gibson
  15. Watchmen – Alan Moore
  16. I, Robot – Isaac Asimov
  17. Stranger in a Strange Land – Robert A. Heinlein
  18. The Kingkiller Chronicles – Patrick Rothfuss
  19. Slaughterhouse Five – Kurt Vonnegut
  20. Frankenstein – Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
  21. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? – Phillip K. Dick
  22. The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood
  23. The Dark Tower series – Stephen King
  24. 2001: An Space Odyssey – Arthur C. Clarke
  25. The Stand – Stephen King
  26. Snow Crash – Neal Stephenson
  27. The Martian Chronicles – Ray Bradbury
  28. Cat’s Cradle – Kurt Vonnegut
  29. The Sandman Series – Neil Gaiman
  30. A Clockwork Orange – Anthony Burgess
  31. Starship Troopers – Robert A. Heinlein
  32. Watership Down – Richard Adams
  33. Dragonflight – Anne McCaffery
  34. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress – Robert A. Heinlein
  35. A Canticle for Leibowitz – Walter M. Miller Jr.
  36. The Time Machine – H.G. Wells
  37. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea – Jules Verne
  38. Flowers for Algernon – Daniel Keyes
  39. The War of the Worlds – H.G Wells
  40. The Amber Chronicles – Roger Zelazny
  41. The Belgariad – David Eddings
  42. The Mists of Avalon – Marion Zimmer Bradley
  43. The Mistborn Trilogy – Brandon Sanderson
    So I put this title in italics and underlined. It’s in italics as I am currently reading the series. I read The Final Empire earlier this year and loved it. But it’s underlined as I don’t own the next two books.
  44. Ringworld – Larry Niven
  45. The Left Hand of Darkness – Ursula K. Le Guin
  46. The Silmarillion – J.K.K Tolkien
  47. The Once and Future King – T.H White
  48. Neverwhere – Neil Gaiman
  49. Childhood’s End – Arthur C. Clarke
  50. Contact – Carl Sagan
  51. The Hyperion Cantos – Dan Simmons
  52. Stardust – Neil Gaiman
    Very similar situation to The Princess Bride, an unintentional DNF. I also read this book after watching the movie. I read this at the beginning of the year and I did not enjoy it.
  53. Cryptonomicon – Neal Stehenson
  54. World War Z – Max Brooks
  55. The Last Unicorn – Peter S. Beagle
  56. The Forever War – Joe Haldeman
  57. Small Gods – Terry Pratchett
    Very similar to the Mistborn series. I am currently reading the series only on book 5. But I don’t own any of the unread books.
  58. The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever – Stephen R. Donaldson
  59. The Vorkosigan Saga – Lois McMaster Bujold
  60. Going Postal – Terry Pratchett
  61. The Mote in the God’s Eye – Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
  62. The Sword of Truth series – Terry Goodkind
  63. The Road – Cormac McCarthy
  64. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell – Susanna Clarke
  65. I Am Legend – Richard Matheson
  66. The Riftwar Saga – Raymond E. Feist
  67. The Sword of Shannara Trilogy – Terry Brooks
  68. The Conan the Barbarian series – Robert E. Howard and Mark Schultz
  69. The Farseer Trilogy – Robin Hobb
  70. The Time Traveller’s Wife – Audrey Niffenegger
  71. The Way of Kings – Brandon Sanderson
  72. Journey to the Centre of the Earth – Jules Verne
  73. The Legend of Drizzt series – R.A. Salvatore
  74. Old Man’s War – John Scalzi
  75. The Diamond Age – Neal Stephenson
  76. Rendevous with Rama – Arthur C. Clarke
  77. The Kushiel’s Legacy Series – Jacqueline Grey
  78. The Dispossessed – Ursula K. LeGuin
  79. Something Wicked This Way Comes – Ray Bradbury
  80. Wicked – Gregory Maguire
    I DNFed this one. I wasn’t a fan of the writing style and the pacing was very slow.
  81. Malazan Book of the Fallen Series – Steven Erikson
  82. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
  83. The Culture series by Ian Banks
  84. The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart
  85. Anathem by Neal Stephenson
  86. The Codex Alera series by Jim Butcher
  87. The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe
  88. The Thrawn Trilogy by Timothy Zahn
  89. The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon
  90. The Elric Saga by Michael Moorcock
  91. The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury
  92. Sunshine by Robin McKinley
  93. A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge
  94. The Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov
  95. The Mars Trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson
  96. Lucifer’s Hammer by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
  97. Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
  98. Perdido Street Station by China Mieville
  99. The Xanth Series by Piers Anthony
  100. The Space Trilogy by C.S. Lewis

Just a small post for the weekend 🙂

Tears of the Giraffe Review

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Tears of the Giraffe takes us further into the life of the engaging and sassy Precious Ramotswe, the owner and detective of Botswana’s only Ladies’ detective agency. Among her cases are wayward wives, unscrupulous maids and a challenge to resolve a mother’s pain for her son, who is long lost on the African plains. Mma Ramotswe’s own impending marriage to that most gentlemanly of men, Mr. J. L. B. Matekoni, the promotion of her secretary to the dizzy heights of Assistant Detective and new additions to the Matekoni family, all brew up the most humorous and charmingly entertaining of tales.

Some major grips with this story also filled with lovely moments.

Check out my thoughts by clicking on the title.