Mystery Kick

There are actual important things I can write about, but since I am not feeling worldly and smart, instead I'll just write about some books I've read recently.

I love mystery, but I don't usually read it for several weeks straight.  For some reason, maybe it's because I'm in what feels like a perpetual bad mood, it's pretty much all I've read lately.

1. The Charm School by Nelson DeMille

So, I've read seven or eight of DeMille's books.  I'm not sure that I would like DeMille in real life.  Sometimes the women in his books are objectified, the characters lack empathy, and ethnocentrism runs deep.  So that bothers me occasionally while reading his stuff.

That said, pretty much every book I've read of his has called into question the idea of government spying, and I like that.  And I like the stories themselves.  My favorite is still Plum Island, because there was so much to it, and the ending wasn't predictable from the start.  But The Charm School was good and thrilling.  I read it in two days, and it's over 600 pages.  DeMille knows how to write a page-turner really well.  The book starts with a murder of an American kid in the Soviet Union, and the US embassy needs to figure it out.  There's loads of international and personal drama, doubt, and CIA bs, so that was all good fun.  I'd recommend it to anyone who likes conspiracy and mystery.

2. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

The Charm School was good, but this book was great.  My friend came over and saw my book shelves, which were organized by genre.  He dismissed the mystery section, telling me it wasn't a real mystery section without Agatha Christie.  So, I bought this book.  I read it in a day because it was so freaking good.

For starters, it's really well written.  Also, it's playful but in a serious way.  I don't really know how to describe it.  I mean, the detective plays with his mustache, but the vibe is still mature I guess.  I don't know.  Read the book.

The mystery itself was interesting, and the whole thing felt like I was playing Clue.  I liked the way it was set up (The Place, The Facts, The Evidence, The Testimony or something like that).  And I liked that there was a bit of a moral question at the end, so you were forced to think about what you would do in the situation.  This is a horrible description, but I don't want to give the story away.  GO READ IT.

Also, the cover of the book is really cool.  I think, whenever I do get an apartment, I'm going to get the cover blown up and frame it.  Check it:

This is not rectangular like the actual book and it annoys me. 

So yes.  Go read these.  Or don't.

__
Charlotte