A Pocket Full of Rye

A Pocket Full of Rye. Agatha Christie. 1953. 256 pages.

I really enjoyed this Miss Marple mystery. I'm not sure what more I can add to that. I mean, it's a mystery. A mystery with multiple victims. A mystery that kept me guessing until the very end--or close to it.

I always enjoy Miss Marple, she's such a delightful character. And I enjoyed this Miss Marple mystery very much. I wouldn't say it is my favorite and best Marple--but it's certainly worth a read or reread!!!

The first victim, Rex Fortescue, is a business man who dies in his office after drinking his tea. They're almost positive he was murdered--poisoned. But they're also positive the poison was not in the tea. Someone in his family--someone close to him--murdered him. But can they figure out just who the murderer is?

One puzzling clue--you may have guessed it--is a pocket full of rye in his pocket. But that's just one of many puzzling clues that abound in this novel!

I definitely liked this one!

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Posted in 1953 , adult mystery , Agatha Christie , library book

The Golden Spiders

The Golden Spiders. Rex Stout. 1953. Random House. 206 pages.

When the doorbell rings while Nero Wolfe and I are at dinner, in the old brownstone house on West Thirty-fifth Street, ordinarily it is left to Fritz to answer it. But that evening I went myself, knowing that Fritz was in no mood to handle a caller, no matter who it was.

I loved The Golden Spiders very much! Is it because I am absolutely loving Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin? Is it because I have found Rex Stout's books to be so charming, so satisfying? Perhaps! Since I seem to be loving each new book I read a little bit more than those I've read before. (Though I'm not sure I could *really* choose between Some Buried Caesar and The Golden Spiders.) I love the characters. I love the writing--the style of it. I love the mystery too. I love how Goodwin and Wolfe *solve* their cases.

In this mystery, Archie Goodwin interrupts Nero Wolfe's dinner to tell him that there is a child at the door--Pete Drossos. This Pete has a case to present to Wolfe. He has witnessed something--a possible crime--and he wants Wolfe to team up with him. While he was washing the windows of stopped cars in traffic--he saw (not heard) a woman ask him to get the police. She had a scratch on her face. And her earrings were quite unique--golden spiders. There was a man with her in the car--and the boy believed (though he didn't see with his own eyes) the man had a gun and was threatening the woman. Being distrustful of cops, the boy sought this famous man's help. Wolfe is interested--mainly because he knows that his interest will annoy Archie--and offers his advice on how to be a good private investigator. He also promises to call the police and let them know about the alleged crime leaving the boy's name out of it. A few days later, well, Goodwin and Wolfe learn that this boy has been the victim of another crime--a murder. The boy's mother insists on fulfilling her son's last request--to give all his money--four dollars and some change--to Wolfe. Wolfe then feels obligated to do something for the boy. True, that amount of money isn't his usual rate for clients, but this is a special case. Archie then suggests they place an ad in the paper looking for the woman with golden spider earrings...

This mystery is compelling! I enjoyed it very much. I would definitely recommend this one.

Nero Wolfe to Fritz on the matter of his starlings:

When the platter was brought in steaming, and placed before him, he sniffed, ducked his head and sniffed again, and straightened to look up at Fritz.
"The sage?"
"No, sir."
"What do you mean, no, sir?"
"I thought you might like it once in a style I have suggested, with saffron and tarragon. Much fresh tarragon, with just a touch of saffron, which is the way--"
"Remove it!"
Fritz went rigid and his lips tightened.
"You did not consult me," Wolfe said coldly. "To find that without warning one of my favorite dishes has been radically altered is an unpleasant shock. It may possibly be edible, but I am in no humor to risk it. Please dispose of it and bring me four coddled eggs and a piece of toast." (2)

Archie on Nero Wolfe:

As I went across to the office, to my desk, and dialed the number of Manhattan Homicide West, I was reflecting that of all Wolfe's thousand techniques for making himself obnoxious the worst was when he thought he was being funny. (9)

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Posted in 1953 , adult fiction , adult mystery , classics , library book , mystery , Rex Stout

Elizabeth and the Prince of Spain

Elizabeth and the Prince of Spain. Margaret Irwin. 1953/2011. Sourcebooks. 336 pages.

'My father has fought bulls singlehanded in the arena,' said the boy. 'He is brave as a lion. He has never been defeated. He is the Conqueror of the World. How could he be conquered--by a pirate fleet of heathen Moors?'

Elizabeth and the Prince of Spain follows Young Bess and Elizabeth, Captive Princess in Margaret Irwin's historical trilogy. Overall, I enjoyed this trilogy. I enjoyed watching Elizabeth grow up. While the politics could--at times--be confusing, it was rarely--if ever--boring. At the heart of this trilogy, of course, is Elizabeth, the second daughter of Henry VIII. And Elizabeth's heart is ambitious and patient. Does Elizabeth want the throne? YES! Does she know that she has to be careful, calm, reserved, and patient in order to see that dream come true? Yes.

Elizabeth and the Prince of Spain was probably my favorite of the trilogy. I enjoyed the story from Philip's point of view and Elizabeth's point of view. I was actually surprised by how much I enjoyed Philip's side of the story. (After all, I knew that England was soon to do battle with Spain!) I would recommend this one to those that enjoy historical fiction, to those that enjoy reading about ambitious politicians.

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Posted in 1953 , 2011 , adult fiction , Historical Fiction , review copy , Source Books

Desiree

Desiree: The Bestselling Story of Napoleon's First Love. Annemarie Selinko. 1953/2010. Sourcebooks. 608 pages.

A woman can usually get what she wants from a man if she has a well-developed figure. So I've decided to stuff four handkerchiefs into the front of my dress tomorrow; then I shall look really grown up. Actually I am grown up already, but nobody else knows that, and I don't altogether look it.

For the right reader, Desiree may satisfy. But at over six hundred pages, it didn't quite work for me. I found it to be a bit uneven. There were places where it held my interest, but, unfortunately, there were more places where it didn't.

It follows the life of a young girl, Eugenie Desiree Clary, who happened to be the "first love" of Napoleon Bonaparte. Their engagement was broken--not her choice, by the way--when he married Josephine. Awkwardly enough--at least at times--the two remained connected through the years for her sister, Julie, had married his brother, Joseph. 

She may not have married her first love. But. She did marry--and marry well. Jean Baptiste Jules Bernadotte. Though at the start no one knew how well. For her husband was adopted by the Swedish monarchy. He was chosen to be the heir to the throne. Years after the two marry, they become royalty. His royal name? Charles XIV John.

I found Desiree to be tedious in many places. As it follows the rise and fall of Napoleon. As it follows her marriage--many of which she was separated from her husband either by choice or necessity--through the decades. There were places where it worked. Places where it seemed personal, genuine. But, for the most part, I felt disconnected from Desiree as a narrator. The novel is "her diary." That is how it is presented at any rate. But. After her first disappointment with love, after her marriage, the "diary" becomes more a brief and uneven record of political and social struggles she faced as her husband fell in and out of favor with Napoleon.

Desiree was not a romance--at least not a traditional romance. Yes, the first part of the novel sees a young woman in love with love, in love with an ambitious nobody with a strange name. But the rest of the novel? Not a romance. Instead, it's a detailed account of turbulent years in France. I did not find that account particularly compelling. But maybe I'm not the right reader for this one!

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Posted in 1953 , 2010 , adult fiction , Historical Fiction , review copy , Source Books