Lukewarm – DaneCobain.com

Agatha Christie – They Do it With Mirrors | Review

Title: They Do it With Mirrors

Author: Agatha Christie

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 288

Rating: 3.5/5

Agatha Christie – They Do it with Mirrors

This wasn’t Christie’s strongest novel, unfortunately, but it was still okay. I always say that Christie at her worst is better than most people at their best, and this book is the book which proves that. It’s fine, an adequate little murder mystery, but it just didn’t have the magic of some of her other books.

I’m not saying that because this is a Miss Marple book, either. In fact, I think I prefer Marple to Poirot, and the old pussy herself is in fine form here. I also liked the setting (it takes place in a “mental asylum“), but I thought it was almost wasted and that the characters weren’t so great. At the same time, I think she could have easily overdone it if she wasn’t careful.

Don’t get me wrong, if you’re a cozy mystery fan or if you’ve read and enjoyed Christie’s books before then you’re going to enjoy this one too. It just feels a little more like a paint by numbers than an original creation, and perhaps that’s just because Christie’s style has been so widely imitated. I think the only reason that I was a little disappointed here was that my hopes were so high because of my favourable experiences of Christie in the past.

Ultimately, then, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend starting with this one, but if you’re reading the Marple books in order then I also wouldn’t skip it. As for me, I’m a completionist, so I was always going to read it. And despite my lukewarm review, I’m still glad I picked it up.

Agatha Christie

Click here to buy They Do it With Mirrors.

Neil Gaiman – The Graveyard Book | Review

Title: The Graveyard Book

Author: Neil Gaiman

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 298

Rating: 3.5/5

Neil Gaiman – The Graveyard Book

I have this problem with Gaiman where sometimes I love his stuff and sometimes I’m ambivalent. This one got off to a good start, but by the halfway mark I’d kind of lost interest. It reminded me of Johnny and the Dead by Terry Pratchett, and I’d rather have re-read that.

It’s not a bad book though, and it could well be my fault as a reader that I didn’t stick with it. I did love the initial setup, but it didn’t manage to keep my attention throughout the rest of the book. But then I’m probably not the target audience for it, and I was coming to this after really liking Fortunately, the Milk and so perhaps I read two Gaimans too close together.

What I do like is the overall vibe of the story. Gaiman’s writing style is unique and so you can tell you’re reading one of his books, and the story itself feels almost classical in that sort of timeless sense that can make it hard to tell when something was actually written. It has a lot going for it, but it wasn’t really for me. I’m still giving it a 3.5/5 though, and I’ll round it up to 4/5 for Goodreads and Amazon. It’s a’ight. It’s not his best and it’s not his worst.

What I will say is that I loved Chris Riddell’s illustrations and the way that they related back to the actual story. Riddell worked on Fortunately, the Milk as well, and I think he almost steals the show. And despite my lukewarm feelings towards this, I will be reading more of Gaiman’s stuff when I get my hands on it.