Status Update: Sitting Murder

~ megs14malloy

Good afternoon guys & ghouls!  Sorry, I’m still a bit in the Halloween spirit – Last night I made a lot of progress in the book, Sitting Murder by A.J. Wright.  I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher Endeavor Press in exchange for an honest review.

First off, the cover – that is what attracted me to this book; it’s gorgeous!  This is apparently book #4, in a currently 4 book series called the Lancashire Detective Mystery series.  This being said, I was unaware of the earlier books prior to starting this and I don’t feel that it is inhibiting my enjoyment at all.  I don’t feel like I am missing any pertinent information.

I have noticed there is not a lot of really strong character development – it is a pretty standard police procedural with the classic, whodunit, format.  However, it is a historical fiction mystery, being set in Victorian times which is fabulous!  I love the atmosphere the book has created thus far – it has such a gothic feel with a girl acting as a Medium, seances and a murder!  Seriously, what’s not to love!?

I was surprised when I checked on Instagram that there were no posts regarding this author or this series.  It is really well written, I wish it were getting a bit more attention.  You know I’ll be posting it once I am complete with a review – I am looking forward to finishing this one up!

Happy Reading!

Let’s Talk The Gunslinger

~ megs14malloy

Happy November 1st bookworms!  Since this whole blog thing is new to me, I am trying to get in the habit of writing every day.  With this being said, I think it is necessary for me to look back a bit and discuss books I have read in the past – not just my current reads.

Let’s talk The Gunslinger.  I finished reading The Gunslinger (Book 1 in Stephen King’s hugely popular The Dark Tower Series) on October 1st of this year.  This was a reread for me.  Originally when I read this story, I was in my early 20’s, just out of undergraduate school and to be honest, I just didn’t get it. I didn’t like the atmosphere, I didn’t like the strange dialogue, I didn’t like the ending for Jack – I had read a lot of King and this just was different for me.

Rereading it now, on the cusp of 40, I loved it! I love the world-building, I love Roland, I understand what happened to Jack, I understand where this is going. The palaver between Roland and Walter at the end…..chills. Where once I may have given this book 3 stars, I now give it 5 (easily). I put it down and immediately went to my bookshelf and got The Drawing of Three: The Dark Tower II and started reading it (staying up way past my bedtime in order to do so). I need to get to this tower!

I have not seen the movie that was recently released and frankly, I am a little hesitant to watch.  I have heard so many negative things about it and I don’t want it to have any effect upon my current experience with the series.

Happy to hear anyone’s input/comments on the book to movie comparison to this one and whether or not you feel the movie is worth a watch!

May your November be fruitful – may you get many pages, many chapters, many books read!

Cheers~

Happy Halloween Bookworms!

~ megs14malloy

Halloween is finally upon us!  A holiday that I know many bookworms enjoy; especially if you are like me and enjoy Stephen King or any gothic/horror-inspired works of fiction!

I have been reading Agatha Christie’s, Hallowe’en Party, to help celebrate All Hallow’s Eve.  This is Hercule Poirot #36 – so, closer to the end of the 40 book series.  It was originally published in November 1969.  I love Christie’s writing.  I find her books relaxing and comforting.  The standard mystery format, the who-dunnit, that has been replicated so many times feels so genuine in her grasp.  Personally, I enjoy Miss Marple a little more, as I love her character and obviously, can relate a bit more to her.

In this book, a murder takes place at a children’s Halloween party, the victim herself a 13-year old girl.  I found the age of the victim a bit surprising; to my recollection, I cannot recall if someone so young had ever been the victim in a Christie story before. I am hoping to finish this by the end of the week!

A series similar to this is Jane Haddam’s, Gregor Demarkian series.  Repeatedly in the series, Haddam refers to her protagonist as the Armenian-American Hercule Poirot and indeed, I do believe he was greatly inspired by Christie’s work.  Haddam’s mysteries, although written decades later, stay true to the format and feel of Christie’s work although the stories aren’t quite at the same level in my opinion.  They seem a little more forced and vary as far as quality the series over.  One thing I do love about this series though is that the majority of them are ‘holiday’ mysteries.  I just love mysteries set around holidays!  I’m not sure why, I have just always been a sucker for them!

What are some holiday mystery books that you could recommend?  I am always looking for more!

Happy Haunting to all!

Review: The Beautiful Ones

~ megs14malloy
Release Day: October 24, 2017

I received an early copy of this book from St. Martin’s Press so I ended up actually finishing it on the release day.  The Beautiful Ones surprised me with the smoothness of the text.  I had never read anything by this author, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, but I will definitely read other books of hers now.  There was a lot more romance in the story than I would typically seek out in a novel (I am far from a ‘romantic’) but it is subtle and romantic in a way that even I could relate to and enjoy.  While I was reading, I kept thinking of how much it reminded me of a more modern version of William Makepeace Thackeray’s, Vanity Fair, but with magic!

The atmosphere was thick with old world upper class traditions (most notably, gossip!) and excesses; easily transporting the reader to the streets and parties of Loisail (the city where the majority of the action takes place).  The main characters were quirky and full of vices; spewing forth with inner desires.  It is told from the perspective of multiple characters and moves along at a steady pace; although it may be considered a slow burn, taking a while for the action to truly heat up.  There is plenty of beauty and angst in this novel to keep one entertained and I would certainly recommend it to friends who enjoy novels of love, envy and magic.