jonn reviewed Murder Most Festive by Ada Moncrieff
It is supposed to be "show, don't tell"
3 stars
Quite mechanically written, painfully difficult to read. The story itself is OK.
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2024 Reading Goal
73% complete! jonn has read 39 of 53 books.
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jonn reviewed Moriarty (Sherlock Holmes, #2) by Anthony Horowitz
Moriarty is a Sherlock Holmes novel written by author Anthony Horowitz and published in 2014. …
Genius
5 stars
I can't express how amazing this book was to read.
I can't review it without spoilers, except for maybe one thing — as a person who dabbles in mathematics, I am frustrated with myself that I didn't notice an amazing symmetry in one of the most important characters in this book.
If only I have "flipped the arrows", as category theorists say in their business, I would have figured it out. Alas, I gasped.
jonn wants to read The Privilege of the Happy Ending by Kij Johnson
The Privilege of the Happy Ending by Kij Johnson
A surprising and exciting new collection of speculative and experimental stories that explore animal intelligences, gender, and the nature of …
@lucasrizoli what did you like the most about it? Should I read it?
jonn wants to read Everything and Less by Mark McGurl
jonn reviewed The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz
For the first time in its one-hundred-and-twenty-five-year history, the Arthur Conan Doyle Estate has authorized …
Another modern classic by Horowitz
4 stars
One of the mysteries which perfectly invokes feeling smart in the reader and containing a nice plot twist as a cherry on the cake, which I didn't quite foresee.
Very solid.
jonn finished reading Autumn Chills by Agatha Christie
jonn reviewed Autumn Chills by Agatha Christie
Racist trash
2 stars
I always was adamant that David Suchet's portrayal of Poirot and the ITV's writers' work on the masterpiece series is significantly superior (no pun intended) to Christie's writing, but re-reading her works for the first time since I was a kid was truly shocking.
I liked her foreseeing fake news and Truman show though, she was a good writer. A shame that she seems to have been a horrible human being.
jonn reviewed Hercule Poirot's Silent Night by Sophie Hannah
Great start, mediocre lull in the middle, but eventually the book presents enough material to try and figure out who have done it.
4 stars
While reading Hannah's works, the question is always — where do I stop and think.
I think that when and if she will produce the next "new Poirot mystery" book, I shall read it all the way till Poirot assembles people in the room to reveal the name of the culprit and start thinking then.
Painful reiteration of the acting characters that occupied the first third of the book was so non-succinct, it felt like gasps a filler.
jonn finished reading Hercule Poirot's Silent Night by Sophie Hannah
jonn reviewed Killings at Kingfisher Hill by Agatha Christie
What I liked about this one is that we are presented with the scope of the case ealy on in the story.
4 stars
As opposed to Horowitz's works, which are — I'm sorry to say — quite superior to Hannah's (and I secretly wish he would have been the author of new Poirot mysteries, given his stellar work at ITV's Poirot adaptations), Sophie Hannah normally sandbags a lot of facts.
Rather than progressive increase of the story fidelity like in Horowitz's books, Hannah's takes the approach of progressive reveal. Which works alright, but I normally don't even start thinking about who have done it until two thirds into her books.
This story, however, allows us to start thinking early and the outcome of such thinking is of the most satisfying nature.
jonn finished reading Killings at Kingfisher Hill by Agatha Christie
jonn finished reading Mystery of Three Quarters by Agatha Christie
Mystery of Three Quarters by Sophie Hannah, Agatha Christie
Hercule Poirot’s tranquil afternoon is ruined when an angry woman accosts him outside his front door. She threatens to report …
jonn reviewed Mystery of Three Quarters by Agatha Christie
Hercule Poirot’s tranquil afternoon is ruined when an angry woman accosts him outside his front …
Gripping, well-written mystery. Sopie Hannah a bit overuses the persona of Poirot as the central figure of the events of the book.
4 stars
In Christie's stories this plot was used here and there. I think it worked so well because it was quite rare?
Still enjoyed it.
jonn finished reading Closed casket by Sophie Hannah (Hercule Poirot Mystery -- 2)
Closed casket by Sophie Hannah (Hercule Poirot Mystery -- 2)
Lady Athelinda Playford has planned a house party at her mansion in Clonakilty, County Cork. As the guests arrive, she …