Mystery Of The Blue Train

tags: Hercule Poirot, murder mystery, romance 🙄

⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

From Goodreads

Robbery and brutal murder aboard a luxury transport ensnares the ever-attentive Hercule Poirot in The Mystery of the Blue Train, from Queen of Mystery Agatha Christie. When the luxurious Blue Train arrives at Nice, a guard attempts to wake serene Ruth Kettering from her slumbers. But she will never wake again—for a heavy blow has killed her, disfiguring her features almost beyond recognition. What is more, her precious rubies are missing. The prime suspect is Ruth’s estranged husband, Derek. Yet Hercule Poirot is not convinced, so he stages an eerie reenactment of the journey, complete with the murderer on board.

This is the only book of Christie's where I guessed right away the murderer but it didn't affect my enjoyment reading and it still deserves a 4 stars out of 5 IMHO.

The only thing I noticed and didn't like is her excessive use of adverbs in the early chapters but they disappeared as the book progressed. There is a bit of romance at the end which is not necessary. Agatha Christie also wrote romance novels so it's okay if romance suddenly sneaks in her mystery novels.

Recommended for die hard Agatha Christie readers.

Stuck In The 80s

Death Of A Gentle Lady

tags: Hamish Macbeth, mystery, Scottish highland

⭐⭐⭐⭐

From Goodreads

Gentle by name, gentle by nature. Everyone in the sleepy Scottish town of Lochdubh adores elderly Mrs. Gentle - everyone but Hamish Macbeth, that is. Hamish thinks the gentle lady is quite sly and vicious, and the citizens of Lochdubh think he is overly cranky. Perhaps it's time for him to get married, they say.

But who has time for marriage when there's a murder to be solved? When Mrs. Gentle dies under mysterious circumstances, the town is shocked and outraged. Detective Inspector Blair suspects members of her family, but Hamish Macbeth thinks there's more to the story, and begins investigating the truth behind this lady's gentle exterior.

I thought I have read all of the Hamish Macbeth mystery books and found out I missed reading this one. The last book was completed by another author after M.C. Beaton's passing.

Hamish didn't like Mrs. Gentle at their first meeting and vice versa. Hamish who has been wishy washy with regards to marrying either Priscilla or Elspeth, suddenly proposed to marry the "Turkish" maid of Mrs. Gentle to save her from being deported. The woman, named Ayesha is very tall, beautiful, and has blonde hair. She says some Turks are very fair. On the day of the wedding, Ayesha didn't show up and disappeared. 

Divorce Attorney Shin

16 episodes, Saturday and Sunday

tags: dramedy, Korean, Netflix streaming

From Asianwiki

Shin Sung-Han majored in piano and became a professor at a music university in Germany. One day, Shin Sung-Han hears shocking news. To find out the truth, he travels back to South Korea and works on becoming a lawyer. He eventually begins to work as a lawyer, specializing in divorce. He made the choice to specialize in divorce, due to reasons from his childhood. Shin Sung-Han faces his clients, with various unfortunate stories, and stands up for them. While doing this, he approaches the truth that he has been seeking.

I like it already with just 2 episodes. Cho Seung-Woo playing the title character is not the best looking guy in Kdramaland and is very short in stature but he is excellent in all the Korean dramas I've seen him in. He can also do comedy and credible as a sci-fi action hero.

Elle King Does Country

I wasn't aware Elle King has a new album and it's country. Country!!! Try Jesus is in the album Come Get Your Wife which came out in January 2023. The album is available to download from Freegal. It is a good country pop rock album. I like it.

BTW, playing a guy with short hair, she looks so much like her dad. 😀

Punishment Of A Hunter

tags: historical fiction, mystery, Russia

⭐⭐⭐

From Goodreads

1930s Leningrad. As a mood of fear cloaks the city, Investigator Vasily Zaitsev is called on to investigate a series of bizarre and seemingly motiveless murders. In each case, the victim is curiously dressed and posed in extravagantly arranged settings. At the same time, one by one precious old master paintings are going missing from the Hermitage collection. As Zaitsev sets about his investigations, he meets with suspicion at practically every turn, and potential witnesses are reluctant to provide information. Soon Zaitsev himself comes under suspicion from the Soviet secret police. The embittered detective must battle increasingly complex political machinations in his dogged quest to uncover the truth.

The novel is good but I didn't enjoy the style of the author constantly dropping parts of the story and left hanging after building tension. The continuation is revealed later on but what was her intention because I lost interest. I also was able to guess the who and the why. I think this will be a series and I'm not sure if I will read the sequel.

It's The 90s

The American Senator

tags: British classics, romance, satire, Victorian era

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

from Goodreads

Arabella Trefoil, the beautiful anti-heroine of this novel, inspired Trollope to write of her, "I wished to express the depth of my scorn for women who run down husbands." Arabella's determination to find a rich husband is at the heart of this story and her character, though often maligned, is one of Trollope's most famous and vivid creations.

Having read all of Jane Austen's Regency novels, I can't help but compare them with the works of Anthony Trollope written during the Victorian period. Trollope's are infinitely better, IMHO. For a male author, he wrote good novels about family relationships. romance, and politics.

This novel has numerous characters to keep track of and the American senator has less presence in the book but scathing criticism of English country life and politics makes him an obnoxious fellow but he has a point in all his observations. For example, he asks the reason for keeping 200 hounds to chase 1 fox because in America maybe half a dozen in a large estate will do. He tends to question almost every aspect of British way of life.

The 2 women, the young and admirable Mary Masters and on the opposite end, the extremely manipulative and liar Arabella Trefoil are very well defined and unforgettable characters. The novel is engaging with plenty of Trollope's brand of wit and humor.

Highly recommended for British classics readers.

Physical: 100

tags: Korean, Netflix, reality show

One hundred contestants in top physical shape compete in a series of grueling challenges to claim the honor - and cash reward - as the last one standing. The reality show has 100 athletes, special forces soldiers, fitness influencers, MMA fighters, firefighters, mountain rescuers, cross fit trainers, models, dancers - all strong men and women compete against each other.

The first elimination of 50 contestants, one on one rugby-like fight for a round ball with mud wrestling and physical agility. I like that some women chose a man to challenge and so far 1 woman has already won against her male opponent. She's a real athlete unlike some sissy male American athletes using the transgender insanity to compete with women because they know they cannot win against a man. 

 

List of participants here.

The Great British Baking Show: The Professionals

Tags: Netflix, The Great British Bake Off, reality show, spin off

⭐

Disappointing spin off of the bake off show. My main complaint is the 2 male hosts. They have awful high pitched voices that hurt the ears. The Asian woman judge sounds the same although not as bad. She and the French guy are also annoying and kinda rude.

Not recommended.