Author: Stephen King
Published: 1995
Genres: Novel, Fantasy, Mystery, Thriller
Rating: 4 out of 5
Review
This is the first Stephen King book that I have read.
The protagonist of ''Rose Madder'', Rose Daniels, is the domestically abused wife of Norman Daniels, a cop. Rose faces domestic violence for fourteen years. And one day, she decides to run away from Norman. She takes his bank card, and runs away. She arrives in a distant city, and is sheltered by an organization, Daughters and Sisters. Eventually, she moves to a little apartment, and gets a job as an audiobook reader.
However, Norman is still following her, and using his methods, he locates the city where she is living in.
Rose comes across a painting, named ''Rose Madder'', at a pawnshop. She is strangely attracted to the painting, and buys it, in exchange of her cheap wedding ring. Shortly after that, strange things start happening centering the painting... the objects in the painting start changing their positions, and not only that, new things start appearing in the picture...
Norman is looking for Rose. Rose is being troubled by the creepy things about the painting...
''Rose Madder'' was such an intense, compelling and engrossing read! Rose is an excellently-developed protagonist. At first, she is really well-portrayed as a domestically abused, meek woman who has to run away from her abusive husband. And over the course of the novel, Rose's mind is explored in various ways. The things that happen over the course of the story makes Rose a protagonist with a lot of depth.
Norman was an excellently-developed villain. He was developed in such a way that the readers start to hate him.
The idea of the novel was itself very interesting. The other world, the world of Rose Madder, was so vividly described, and it became quite fascinating reading about the world of Rose Madder.
At first, I did think that the novel was a bit too slow paced. However, from the time Rose discovers Rose Madder's world, I was really fascinated by the story! I think the slow pace and vivid descriptions were really wonderful!
''Rose Madder'' is a suspenseful, fascinating, extremely engrossing novel. I really liked it. I know that this is not perhaps the best introduction to Stephen King, but I am looking forward to read his other novels like ''Carrie'' and ''The Shining''.
4 out of 5
Author: Agatha Christie
Published: 1948
Genres: Mystery, Crime
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Review
This novel stars Hercule Poirot. It starts with a prologue, set in 1944, where Poirot is, along with a friend, at a club. Major Porter informs the people at the club that a man named Gordon Cloade was killed because of an air raid in his house. None, except the young wife of Cloade, and her brother, survived the blitz.
Two years later, in 1946, Poirot receives a visit from Katherine Cloade- sister-in-law of the late Gordon Cloade. Gordon Cloade's widow has come upon a huge fortune after Gordon Cloade's death. The widow, Rosaleen Cloade, had been married previously to a man named Robert Underhay, who is believed to be dead. However, Katherine has been ''informed'' by spirit that Robert Underhay is still alive... Poirot, however, declines to take any initiative regarding this.
There is a flashback. We learn more about the members of the Cloade family. Gordon Cloade had been childless, and had promised all his relatives that he would protect them, that they would always be financially secure. But, then he married young Rosaleen, and, having not made a will before his death, Rosaleen had inherited all his wealth. The Cloades thus bear a grudge against Rosaleen, and especially her brother, David Hunter, who apparently manipulates her and controls all her decisions.
But then something unpredicted and puzzling happens... and Hercule Poirot is finally compelled to look into the matter...
This novel takes a lot of time to develop the characters and develop the atmosphere, to make us understand the condition of the Cloade family and it's members. I really liked this thing about this novel. After the prologue, the book is divided into two parts: in the first part, the Cloades, Rosaleen, and David Hunter are described with depth, and Hercule Poirot doesn't appear in this part. The second part deals with the investigation and has a lot of unexpected revelations.
I really enjoyed ''Taken at the Flood''. I didn't love it as much as to say that it's among the finest Agatha Christies I've read, but I'd really recommend this one. The character development is intense, the story is extremely engrossing, and the solution comes completely unexpected and unpredicted, with an (or several) unexpected twist. Hercule Poirot is amazing as always.
3.5 out of 5
Author: Agatha Christie
Published: 1940
Genres: Novel, Crime, Mystery
Rating: 4 out of 5
Review
Hercule Poirot visits his dentist, Mr Morley. That day, the other patients of Mr Morley and his partner Mr Reily include: Mr Amberiotis (a Greek man), Miss Sainsbuy Seale (a good-natured middle-aged woman), Howard Raikes (an angry-looking young man), Alistair Blunt (a very powerful and influential banker), and Mr Barnes.
After Poirot arrives home from his appointment with Mr Morley, he gets a call from Chief Inspector Japp, who tells him that his dentist, Mr Morley, is dead. Apparently, he committed suicide. But Morley was not the kind of person who would commit suicide. There was no reason. And the death doesn't look like suicide either... Apparently, he was murdered.
This is followed by a lot of other events, tragic, perplexing incidences, and in some way or other, they are all connected with the patients of Mr Morley...
I loved One, Two, Buckle My Shoe! It was such a very perplexing, complex mystery! It was very cleverly written, extremely engrossing, very perplexing! And once again, it was very complicated and twisted, and it was a joy to read this one!
With a solution so unpredictable, and a mystery so well-written and well-presented, and suspenseful and puzzling, I guess it will be, though not my favorite, one of my favorite Hercule Poirot novels.
4 out of 5
Author: Nicholas Sparks
Published: 2005
Genres: Novel, Romance
Rating: 4 out of 5
Review
At First Sight is the sequel to the novel True Believer.
When I began reading ''At First Sight'', I didn't really have much high expectations from it. Sequels often aren't as good as their predecessors. I had loved ''True Believer'', but I wasn't sure if my feelings would be the same for ''At First Sight''.
I was pleasantly surprised. I loved ''At First Sight'' as well. I really, really, really loved it. In fact, I'm not sure if I love it as much as I had loved True Believer, or even more than that! ''At First Sight'' beautifully continues the story of the protagonists, Jeremy and Lexie, and it's an emotionally intense, powerful, and very touching love story.
Jeremy and Lexie are waiting for their baby and also preparing for their marriage. As he had promised, Jeremy has moved to Boone Creek.
Jeremy starts suffering from writer's block. It becomes really painful for him. The time is supposed to be happy, as they are looking forward to their wedding. But things get even more problematic, as Jeremy starts receiving mysterious emails, that makes him suspect Lexie and wonder if she has been wholly truthful about herself...
Like ''True Believer'', ''At First Sight'' also has some mystery in it. But that mystery isn't about some mysterious lights. The mystery is about the characters, about Lexie's past, if she had really lied to Jeremy about something, or hidden something from him.
But the whole novel is not about this mystery. This thing is just a part of it. The novel follows their developing relationship, and their eager anticipation for their daughter.
''At First Sight'' is, in various ways, quite different from ''True Believer''. ''True Believer'' had a different atmosphere in it, the suspenseful, mysterious light on one hand (and Jeremy's research about the topic) and on the other hand, Jeremy and Lexie's relationship. ''At First Sight'' is beautiful in it's own way. The only focus in this novel is Jeremy and Lexie, their troubles and happy moments, and their waiting for their daughter. A beautiful story.
The supporting characters from ''True Believer'' are present here, and some of them get more depth: Lexie's psychic grandmother Doris, and there are other characters like Rodney, Rachel, Mayor Gherkin, Jed, who get more depth and importance in this novel.
A beautifully told love story, tearjerker, emotionally powerful, and overall simply beautiful, I really loved ''At First Sight''. I found it much more touching than it's predecessor.
4 out of 5
Author: Agatha Christie
Published: 1936
Genres: Novel, Mystery, Thriller, Crime
Rating: 4 out of 5
Review
It had been some time since I last read a Hercule Poirot novel (the last I read was Sad Cypress, which I read back in September). It was a great experience reading Cards on the Table! I thoroughly enjoyed it. I thought it had a wonderful premise and character development.
The great detective, Poirot, comes across Mr Shaitana, a well known, notorious man, whom everybody is, for some unknown reason, afraid of, but who gives excellent and memorable parties. Mr Shaitana tells Poirot something rather odd: that he knows some murderers, murderers who escaped punishment. Poirot is curious, and Mr Shaitana invites him to his home for dinner.
As asked, Poirot goes to Mr Shaitana's house for dinner. The other guests present are Colonel Race, Superintendent Battle, and Ariadne Oliver, a well known detective novelist. The remaining guests arrive soon: Dr Roberts, Mrs Lorrimer (a woman in her sixties), Miss Anne Meredith (a young woman, in her mid-twenties), and Major Despard).
After dinner, the group of guests play bridge: Poirot, Race, Battle and Oliver play in one room, and Robert, Lorrimer, Despard, and Meredith in another, while Mr Shaitana sits in the latter room.
Poirot, Race, Battle, and Oliver go to the other room, somebody says something to Mr Shaitana... only to realize that he is dead!
Anybody could have murdered Shaitana. Roberts, Lorrimer, Meredith, Despard. Anyone of them could have done it. Poirot remembers something that Shaitana had told him, that the purpose of the invitation was that he (Shaitana) wanted to show something to Poirot: Shaitana wanted to show him murderers who had escpaed punishment. Apparently, these four people where those whom Shaitana had referred to. And that means, one of these four people understood that Shaitana knew his/her big secret, and murdered him.
But who did it?
The four sleuths, Poirot, Colonel Race, Superintendent Battle, and Ariadne Oliver, investigate...
''Cards on the Table'' had a great premise and it was actually really very, very unpredictable. There are four suspects--- and just these four suspects, nobody else could have done it--- and any one of these four could have done it. Each of them had the motive, each of them had the oppotunity. And so it becomes a complicated case with a wonderful investigation and unpredictable solution.
I really liked the character development. I liked reading a Poirot novel after such a long time! In this novel, Hercule Poirot hardly shows any arrogance! Ariadne Oliver--- I had heard of her before, but this is the first time I haveread a novel featuring her!
It was a cleverly crafted, cleverly written, really interesting and engrossing novel. There are a few moments when there is plenty of suspense--- and by the the time the mystery was solved, I was really impressed.
4 out of 5
Author: Nicholas Sparks
Published: 2003
Genres: Novel, Romance, Thriller
Rating: 5 out of 5
Review
The Guardian is the best Nicholas Sparks book that I have read, till now. It was such an intense story, such a wonderful mixture of romance and thriller! And the characters... such memorable characters, such excellently developed characters! I just loved this novel!
The protagonist, Julie, is a widowed woman. She lives with her dog, Singer, in a small town named Swansboro, and works in a hair salon. She starts dating a handsome engineer, Richard Franklin, and though they have a comfortable relationship, Julie starts feeling Richard is not, somewhat, the right person for her.
Work causes Richard to leave the town for a few days, and in that time, Julie gets more close to her best friend, Mike. Gradually, she discovers that she is in love with Mike, and Mike shares the feelings. When Richard returns a few days later, she tells him that she loves Mike, and they (she and Richard) should stop seeing each other.
Mike and Julie spend some happy days. But the comfort suddenly disappears as Julie starts getting mysterious phone calls. She comes to realize that Richard wants to take revenge, he wants to get her back. Richard's actions start to get dangerous, intense, and Julie and Mike and their other friends live with constant fear...
Officer Jennifer Romanello investigates the case, and over the time, she finds out more about Richard, about his past, his background... and as the story keeps getting intense...
I just loved this novel! It was really so intense, such a pageturner! The first part, where Mike and Julie realize their love for each other, was really very sweet, and this love story was quite different from the typical Nicholas Sparks romances.
From the time when Richard starts his dangerous plans, the novel starts getting intense, thrilling, scary!
The characters were memorable. Most of them. I think that this novel has the most memorable cast of characters among the Nicholas Sparks novels that I've read. I'll first discuss the positive characters. Our protagonist Julie is sweet , and she has become my second favorite Nicholas Sparks heroine, after Katie of ''Safe Haven''. Mike was really sweet as well. And then I really, really, really liked Officer Jennifer Romanello. I loved how she was so understanding, that she really cared about Julie and Mike. I really liked how she works hard to find out about Richard's past and his background. And then there were Julie's caring friends: Mabel, Emma, and Henry. And then there was Singer, Julie's dog. Singer was really so sweet!
Richard... he was a well developed villain, and readers start hating him as his past starts to get revealed.
''The Guardian'' was really a page-turner, an absolutely intense, engrossing novel that I could not put down! It's a beautiful, amazing novel. I loved it!
5 out of 5
