Author: Agatha Christie
Published: 1934
Genres: Novel, Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Rating: 4 out of 5
Review
I really admired ''Why Didn't They Ask Evans?" It was such an exciting read that I couldn't put it down! I really loved it! I loved the suspense. I loved the character development and the excellent chemistry between the characters. It is such an excellent mystery that it kept me puzzled till the very end.
The story's central characters are Bobby Jones, a vicar's son, and his childhood friend, Lady Frances Derwent (Frankie). At the beginning of the novel, Bobby comes across a man who has fallen off a cliff. The man utters these few words before succumbing to his death: ''Why didn't they ask Evans?''
The man is identified as a certain Alex Pritchard by Mrs Cayman, a woman who claims to be the dead man's sister. The case is taken to be that of a suicide or a careless accident. However, Bobby's friend Frankie muses that it might have been a murder. When attempts are taken on Bobby's life, Bobby and Frankie become quite sure that ''Alex Pritchard'''s case was indeed that of murder and the murderer thought that since ''Alex Pritchard'' literally died in Bobby's arms, he (Pritchard) might have told Bobby something that could reveal the identity of the murderer. Bobby and Frankie set out to investigate with a few clues. Their ameteur investigation leads them to discover that things are not as simple as they seem, as they come across complex and layered people; they discover more hidden crimes related to the case, they come across dangers, they find more clues, and they can't quite decide who the hideous villain actually is...
I loved the way the story got more complex, more layered! What seemed a rather straightforward case became a really puzzling and unpredictable one! I kept reading it, and the revelations left me pretty astounded!
It is not just the mystery that makes this book so irresistible and hard to put down. All the characters are so well-developed! I loved, loved, loved Bobby and Frankie! I loved the chemistry between them! The secondary characters are complex and excellently-developed! All these characters and their chemistry kept the story really engrossing!
I loved this novel! I loved the suspense, the puzzling mystery, the way everything unfolded! I loved Bobby and Frankie! I loved the humor! I loved the character development.
4 out of 5
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: 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
