Cover Her Face

Cover Her Face. P.D. James. 1962. 254 pages.

Exactly three months before the killing at Martingale Mrs Maxie gave a dinner party. Years later, when the trial was a half-forgotten scandal and the headlines were yellowing on the newspaper lining of cupboard drawers, Eleanor Maxie looked back on that spring evening as the opening scene of tragedy. Memory, selective and perverse, invested what had been a perfectly ordinary dinner party with an aura of foreboding and unease. It became, in retrospect, a ritual gathering under one roof of victim and suspects, a staged preliminary to murder. 

I enjoyed P.D. James' Cover Her Face. This mystery is the first novel starring detective Adam Dalgliesh. I'm guessing that I'll love other titles in the series even more.

As is the case in any mystery series, I think readers only grow in appreciation as they read on. There's a big difference, in my opinion, between reading your first Miss Marple or your first Rex Stout, and reading your sixth. You just grow to appreciate the little things more and more as you go on. So I do have high hopes for the series. I enjoyed it enough that I'd WANT to read more in the series.

I never know quite how much to say about any murder mystery I review. I could tell you a little bit about the victim, a little bit about the suspects, a little bit about the detectives on the case. But when it comes down to it, it's not those elements that will "sell" you on the novel itself. You either like mysteries or you don't.

Cover Her Face is a nice cozy mystery set in England. The Maxie family is at the center of this mystery. For it is their somewhat-newly-hired-maid, Sally Jupp, that is the victim. The opening chapters show just how many within the family, within the community, disliked her. Some thought this single mom had a bad attitude, an inappropriate smugness perhaps. The Maxie family definitely isn't perfect--it doesn't take the detective, Adam Dalgliesh, long to figure that one out! So many people within the family--or connected to the family--are lying! But what are they lying about? what are they concealing?

For me, what makes ANY mystery novel enjoyable is the investigative process. I LOVE to witness the suspects being interviewed and interrogated. I love to hear the detectives talk about their theories as to who did it and why. And I did enjoy Adam Dalgliesh, I did.

While I wouldn't say this novel is my favorite mystery that I've read this year, it was a good read, very enjoyable, a nice beginning.

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Posted in 1962 , adult fiction , adult mystery , library book , mystery

The Nonesuch

The Nonesuch. Georgette Heyer. 1962/2009. Sourcebooks. 352 pages.

There was a twinkle in the Nonesuch's eye as he scanned the countenances of his assembled relations, but his voice was perfectly grave, even a trifle apolegetic. 'I am afraid it is quite true, ma'am,' he said, addressing himself to his Aunt Sophia. 'I am the heir.'

Who is the Nonesuch? Waldo--or Sir Waldo perhaps--Hawkridge. A wealthy man in need of nothing (already owning several properties both in the country and in ton) who happens to inherit the estate of his cousin, Joseph Calver. The estate--a piece of property called Broom Hall--is in the country and is in need of much repair. Waldo takes one of his best friends, one of his relations (cousin? nephew?) with him: Julian Lindeth. Yet another relation (cousin? nephew?) will join the story later on, only this one not being one of his best friends--no he's more of the begging persuasion: Laurence ("Laurie") Calver. They come to this country estate--this country neighborhood. And while there, they interact with the locals.

The story focuses around a small group. Mrs. Underhill, her daughter, Charlotte, her son, Courtenay, her niece, Tiffany Wield, and the governess/companion Miss Trent. There are a few others in the circle--most notably a Patience Chartley. But those are the main players in the book.

The neighborhood is all excited by the entry of these two gentlemen. Both the mamas and the daughters. Tiffany is perhaps the most beautiful lady in their small country circle of acquaintances, but other girls--ladies I should say--eclipse her in matters of the heart and mind. Still, it's Tiffany's game to win or lose--at least as she sees it--as she sets out to capture the hearts of these two gentleman soon after they've arrived.

The novel is all about wooing and being wooed. And it was an enjoyable one for the most part. There were many characters developed. Many relationships developed. There isn't much "action" to speak of as far as plot is concerned until the very end--the last seventy-five pages or so--but for me I never found it boring. Then again, I'm a patient reader and I know the pay off can be big for Heyer novels. So others might not be so forgiving. 

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Posted in 1962 , 2009 , adult fiction , Georgette Heyer , Historical Fiction , library book , romance , Source Books

We Have Always Lived in the Castle

We Have Always Lived in the Castle. Shirley Jackson. 1962. Penguin. 214 pages. 

My name is Mary Katherine Blackwood. I am eighteen years old, and I live with my sister Constance. I have often thought that with any luck at all I could have been born a werewolf, because the two middle fingers on both my hands are the same length, but I have had to be content with what I had. I dislike washing myself, and dogs, and noise. I like my sister Constance, and Richard Plantagenet, and Amanita phalloides, the death-cup mushroom. Everyone else in my family is dead.

Our narrator, Merricat--Mary Katherine Blackwood--tells her story in the first person. It's a strange story--to be sure--about two sisters who are still haunted in many ways by their tragic past.

Merricat--the sister "brave" enough to leave the house--hates to go to town. She does it because she must. Because groceries and library books are essential to life. Constance never goes outside the gates of the family estate--though she loves to be outside in her garden.

Most of We Have Always Lived in the Castle is a flashback. It shows how things went from bad to worse after the arrival of their cousin Charles. I'll say no more. I think it's better not to know what this one is "about" before beginning.

Did I like it? Well enough to keep reading! I read this one for the 24 Hour Read-a-thon. And it was a great choice. It was a quick read. In part because it's so short, but also because it's suspenseful, compelling.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Posted in 1962 , 2010 Read-a-thon , adult fiction , adult mystery , classics , library book , Suspense