The Seven Dials Mystery

tags: murder mystery, secret society

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5

From Goodreads

When a practical joke involving eight alarm clocks turns into murder, the case is taken up by Bundle Brent and Jimmy Thesiger. With the help of Bill Eversleigh they discover that the Seven Dials Club is not only a nightclub but also the headquarters of a Secret Society.

Agatha Christie's murder mystery is quite different from her regular whodunnits in not following the usual steps/methods. The short novel has young people in their early twenties instead of older folks trying to solve 2 murders with the help of Scotland Yard Superintendent Battle. 

I read the first book in this series with Battle as the investigating officer, The Secret of Chimneys. I have yet to read the rest. Or maybe I have but forgotten. 

Lady Eileen Brent or Bundle to her family and friends, leads the investigation. Her parents own the Chimneys who are renting it to a Mr. Owen Coote and his wife Maria. Bundle wasn't at the party in that house when one of her friends died of overdose but is actually a murder. Another friend died a few days later from a gun shot wound. Bundle thought she ran him over with her car and the dying boy said a few words that made her start her own investigations with the help of her friends. 

I like the unexpected very enjoyable twist and also the humor throughout specially the brief appearances of Bundle's father. The part where an older man (late 20s or early 30s), Lord George Lomax, who works at the Foreign Office, suddenly thinks of Bundle as a wife material. His marriage proposal is so funny and awkward that reminded me of Mr. Collins asking Lizzy Bennet to be his wife. Bundle turned him down because she likes one of her friends. There certainly is some romance going on in this short novel. The theme (secret societies, international intrigues, theft) and young female character as main protagonist  have similarities to a few of Patricia Wentworth's stand alone novels.

I listened to the audio book and loved it. Highly recommended for Agatha Christie fans. 

Hotel Lucky Seven

tags: action, assassins, humor, Japanese, thriller

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐out of 5

From Goodreads

Bullet Train’s hapless underworld operative and his handler are back in this thrilling new novel from internationally bestselling author Kotaro Isaka. In Bullet Train, underworld operative Ladybird was tasked by his handler Maria Beetle with retrieving a suitcase from a high-speed train in Japan. The job did not go according to plan, to the delight of millions of readers and movie fans around the world.

Will the unluckiest assassin in the world find things easier this time around? All he has to do is deliver a painting to a hotel guest, a portrait made by his daughter. Easy enough, except when Ladybird makes the delivery, he realizes that the guest is clearly not the guy in the painting. Then he attacks Ladybird, they fight, and the guest ends up dead. How can such simple jobs always go wrong?

Assassin Nanao AKA Ladybug, is back making his job harder for himself because he is so unlucky. He gets entangled with a group of assassins and "cleaners" inside a Japanese luxury hotel. 

The novel is as good as the previous Bullet Train with all the weird named but somehow funny characters. Cola and Soda work as a team, the Six beautiful but vicious assassins as the second team, and the "cleaners" team Blanket and Pillow are 2 small in stature girls but equally deadly. 

These teams are linked to each other although not working for the same end. I think my favorite character this time is Soda specially when he starts waxing philosophical which has an impact on Ladybug. 

There is a twist at the end that is very satisfying and makes perfect sense. There's a hint of romance too at the very end.

Highly recommended.

The Recruit Season 2

 

tags: action, comedy, espionage, Netflix series 

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐out of 5

The second season has a huge hole in the story but I still loved the nonstop action, the dramedy, South Korean culture and specially the actors Noah Centineo and Yoo Teo. 

Highly recommended

The Trump Effect

THE TRUMP EFFECT 

It's only the third week as the president of USA and already significant progress have been achieved.

Countries that caved to President Trump's demands for the safety of Americans, for international security, and for better trade. 

• Panama promised to end agreement with communist China having authority on Panama Canal use. 
• Colombia agreed to take back their violent criminals and even offered their army planes. 
• Mexico folded and will send 10,000 troops to the border to stem the flow of illegals and drugs 
• Venezuela agreed to accept their violent criminals who were let in by Biden/Harris administration. 
• Canada made commitments to set aside $1.3 billion to appoint a fentanyl czar, list cartels as terrorists, and add reinforcement at the border 
• Denmark is ready to let the US add to its military presence in Greenland 

All of these countries' leaders except Denmark caved within the day or the very next day. Tariff works because they need USA more than the USA needs them. Lessons learned. You are no longer dealing with a weak USA. 

Who's next? China and corrupt EU.

President Trump declared: FAIRNESS FOR ALL!