Review: A DEADLY AFFAIR, Agatha Christie

• 
  this edition read on Kindle
  
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ William Morrow Paperbacks (January 4, 2022)
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0063142341
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0063142343

Synopsis (Publisher)

Love can propel us to our greatest heights . . . and darkest depths. In this new collection of Agatha Christie short stories, witness the dark side of love—crimes of passion, games of the heart, and deadly affairs. This pulse-pounding compendium features beloved detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, master of charades Parker Pyne, the enigmatic Harley Quin, and the adventurous Tommy and Tuppence, all at the ready to solve a tantalizing mystery.

In 'The Face of Helen,' a night at the Royal Opera could reach a deadly crescendo for a woman caught in a dicey love triangle; 'Finessing the King' delivers a curious ad in the personals that could mask sinister intentions; who’s in danger of getting stung in 'Wasp’s Nest' depends on rounding up suspects and solving a murder—before it even happens. Those are just a few of the tales in this collection featuring essential reading that Christie fans old and new will simply love.

My Take

An interesting collection of 14 short stories, mostly featuring sleuths that have not been as popular as Poirot and Marple, and mostly written early in the author's career, as shown in the list below.

I found Magnolia Blossom particularly interesting because it was published in the same year as Christie's own disappearance, and could shed some light on her state of mind. Death by Drowning is also interesting for the role played by Miss Marple's doctor.

Affairs of the Heart - from Autobiography
The King of Clubs - Poirot, 1923
The Face of Helen - Mr Quin, 1927
A Death on the Nile - Mr Parker Pyne, 1933
Death by Drowning - Miss Marple, 1931
The Double Clue - Poirot, 1923
Finessing the King - Tommy and Tuppence, 1924
A Fruitful Sunday - standalone, 1928
Wasps' Nest - Poirot, 1928
The Case of the Caretaker - Miss Marple, 1942
The Man in the Mist - Tommy and Tuppence, 1924
The Case of the Rich Woman - Mr Parker Pyne, 1932
Magnolia Blossom - stand alone, 1926
The Love Detectives - Mr Quin, 1926

My rating: 4.5 

Here are the Agatha Christie short stories I have read

Review: THE UNBELIEVED, Vikki Petraitis

• 
   this edition an e-book on Libby made available through my local library
  
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Allen & Unwin; 1st edition (2 August 2022)
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 384 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1761067397
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1761067396 
• Winner of the inaugural Allen & Unwin Crime Prize.
  

Synopsis (publisher)

'So you believed the alleged rapists over the alleged victim?' Jane's voice took on an indignant pitch.
'Girls lie sometimes.' I nodded.
'And rapists lie all the time.'

When Senior Detective Antigone Pollard moves to the coastal town of Deception Bay, she is still in shock and grief. Back in Melbourne, one of her cases had gone catastrophically wrong, and to escape the guilt and the haunting memories, she'd requested a transfer to the quiet town she'd grown up in.

But there are some things you can't run from. A month into her new life, she is targeted by a would-be rapist at the pub, and realises why there have been no convictions following a spate of similar sexual attacks in the surrounding district. The male witnesses in the pub back her attacker and even her boss doesn't believe her.

Hers is the first reported case in Deception Bay, but soon there are more. As Antigone searches for answers, she encounters a wall of silence in the town built of secrets and denial and fear. The women of Deception Bay are scared and the law is not on their side. The nightmare has followed her home.

Chilling, timely and gripping, The Unbelieved takes us behind the headlines to a small-town world that is all too real - and introduces us to a brilliant new voice in crime fiction.  

My Take

My first outing with Vikki Petraitis, probably not my last, although her usual genre, true crime, is not generally my cup of tea. So I hope she gives Senior Detective Antigone Pollard another outing.

The Prologue describes a situation 10 years earlier when an apparent murder-suicide is discovered. Later this case will serve to show how ill equipped the cops in a small town are to solve such cases, how ready they are to accept the obvious.

Antigone Pollard comes to the town she grew up in to escape a situation in Melbourne that went horribly wrong. Now she has to make herself again, in a town where the young men think they can do whatever they like, spike drinks, rape women, and so on, and never be caught. Even the police station is very male dominated, although Antigone's partner Wozza is a blessing in disguise, mainly because, as the father of 3 daughters, he sees the world differently. Almost on her first night in the town, at the pub, Antigone has her drink spiked, and then is attacked in the car park. When she takes the perpetrator back to the station she finds her version of events questioned by her boss.

Petraitis writes with great assurance. In the view she gives of small town policing, she reminds me very much of Garry Disher.

Another review to read

My rating: 4.8

About the author
https://vikkipetraitis.com.au/
Vikki Petraitis has made a name for herself writing about Australian true crime.
THE UNBELIEVED is her first crime fiction novel 

Vikki Petraitis is best known for her true crime books including the bestselling book The Frankston Murders about serial killer Paul Denyer, and her first book, The Phillip Island Murder, which has been featured in several TV shows and podcasts. In her true crime books, Vikki has covered everything from police dogs to Lawyer X, the Russell Street bombing and sex crimes. Her expertise lies in interviewing police and victims to create compelling narratives. In recent years, Vikki has made two hugely successful podcast series with Casefile Presents, which have topped charts around the world and been downloaded millions of times. She is now working with the Casefile team developing new true crime projects. Vikki began a PhD in Creative Writing at La Trobe University in 2017 in order to continue to expand her writing skills. She brought thirty years of true crime writing and investigating to create her first work of fiction, The Unbelieved. In a parallel career, Vikki is also a teacher with a Master's degree in IT Education. She runs creative writing workshops and short courses in schools and local libraries. She is also a popular presenter, well-known for her compelling true crime talks and keynote addresses.

Review: BETTY BOO, Claudia Pineiro

• 
  This edition an e-book on  Kindle
  
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Bitter Lemon Press (February 9, 2016)
• Miranda France (Translator) 
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 410 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1908524553
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1908524553

Synopsis (publisher)

The fourth novel from Claudia Piñeiro, South America's best-selling crime novelist.

When a renowned Buenos Aires industrialist is found dead at his home in an exclusive gated community called La Maravillosa, the novelist Nurit Iscar (once nicknamed Betty Boo owing to a resemblance to the cartoon character Betty Boop) is contracted by a former lover, the editor of a national newspaper, to cover the story. Nurit teams up with the paper's veteran, but now demoted, crime reporter. Soon they realize that they are falling in love, which complicates matters deliciously.

The murder is no random crime but one in a series that goes to the heart of the establishment. Five members of the Argentine industrial and political elite, who all went to the same boarding-school, have died in apparently innocent circumstances. The Maravillosa murder is just the last in the series and those in power in Argentina are not about to allow all this brought to light. Too much is at stake.

My Take

This novel comes as a reminder of how much translated crime fiction has fallen off my radar in recent years, and also what a different flavour this author in particular brings.

The Crime writer of the national newspaper covering this murder in a gated community is a fairly new appointment, inexperienced, and is referred to as Crime Boy. His editor decides to provide a different slant to the case by installing a novelist, a former lover, in the gated community, to write a series of articles about the life that the murder victim was leading. These articles will be published simultaneously with whatever Crime Boy can provide.  The victim's wife had been murdered in the same house three years earlier, but apart from the way she was murdered, was there any connection? 

In addition the newspaper is still employing its former crime writer, on what he regards as fairly useless tasks, and he decides, against his better judgement, that Crime Boy needs tutelage.  Between them, with Betty Boo, the three of them make a formidable team.

A most enjoyable read.

My rating: 4.6

I've also read

• THURSDAY NIGHT WIDOWS
• ALL YOURS
  

Review: A DISAPPEARANCE IN FIJI, Nilima Rao

• 
  This edition read as an e-book on my Kindle
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BDDT1RHZ
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Soho Crime (June 6, 2023)
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 289 pages
• Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1641294299

Synopsis (Amazon)

 A charming and atmospheric debut mystery featuring a 25-year-old Indian police sergeant investigating a missing persons case in colonial Fiji

1914, Fiji: Akal Singh, 25, would rather be anywhere but this tropical paradise—or, as he calls it, “this godforsaken island.” After a promising start to his police career in Hong Kong, Akal has been sent to Fiji as punishment for a humiliating professional mistake. Lonely and grumpy, Akal plods through his work and dreams of getting back to Hong Kong or his native India.

When an indentured Indian woman goes missing from a sugarcane plantation and Fiji’s newspapers scream “kidnapping,” the inspector-general reluctantly assigns Akal the case. Akal, eager to achieve redemption, agrees—but soon finds himself far more invested than he could have expected.

Now not only is he investigating a disappearance, but also confronting the brutal realities of the indentured workers’ existence and the racism of the British colonizers in Fiji—along with his own thorny notions of personhood and caste. Early interrogations of the white plantation owners, Indian indentured laborers, and native Fijians yield only one conclusion: there is far more to this case than meets the eye.

Nilima Rao’s sparkling debut mystery offers an unflinching look at the evils of colonialism, even as it brims with wit, vibrant characters, and fascinating historical detail. 

My Take

Set in colonial Fiji in 1914, this mystery novel takes readers to a time and setting with which most of us are not familiar, but the author certainly is.

An indentured Indian woman goes missing, and a local priest brings the attention of the newspapers to what he calls a kidnapping. Newly arrived from Hong Kong, Sergeant Akal Singh is already in trouble with his boss who reluctantly sets him to investigate the case. The last thing the Inspector wants is for the kidnapping claim to be true, and for his world to be rocked with scandal. 

A very readable first novel.

My rating: 4.4

About the author

Nilima Rao is a Fijian Indian Australian who has always referred to herself as “culturally confused”. She has since learned that we are all confused in some way and now feels better about the whole thing. When she isn’t writing, Nilima can be found wrangling data (the dreaded day job) or wandering around Melbourne laneways in search of the next new wine bar.

Review: FALLING, T.J. Newman

• 
  This edition made available as an e-book on Libby by my local library
  
• ISBN: 9781398507289
• ISBN-10: 1398507288
• Number Of Pages: 368
• Published: 15th June 2022, Simon & Schuster UK

Synopsis (publisher) 

You just boarded a flight to New York.

There are one hundred and forty-three other passengers onboard.

What you don’t know is that thirty minutes before the flight your pilot’s family was kidnapped.

For his family to live, everyone on your plane must die.

The only way the family will survive is if the pilot follows his orders and crashes the plane.

Enjoy the flight.

My Take

This was a real page turner, and the reader is kept in suspense, working out how the story will turn out.

There are elements that you've seen in other real-life stories but also some carefully thought through good-feel moments.

Highly recommended.

My rating: 4.9

About the Author

T. J. Newman, a former bookseller turned flight attendant, worked for Virgin America and Alaska Airlines from 2011 to 2021. She wrote much of Falling on cross-country red-eye flights while her passengers were asleep. She lives in Phoenix, Arizona. Falling is her first novel.

Review: RIPPER, Shelley Burr

• 
  this edition published by Hachette Australia 2023
• supplied by my local library
  
• ISBN 978-0-7336-4785-7
• 346 pages

Synopsis (publisher)

Gemma Guillory has lived in Rainier her entire life. She knows the tiny town's ins and outs like the back of her hand, the people like they are her family, their quirks as if they were her own.

She knows her once-charming town is now remembered for one reason, and one reason only. That three innocent people died. That the last stop on the Rainier Ripper's trail of death seventeen years ago was her innocuous little teashop. She knows that the consequences of catching the Ripper still haunt her police officer husband and their marriage to this day and that some of her neighbours are desperate - desperate enough to welcome a dark tourism company keen to cash in on Rainier's reputation as the murder town.

When the tour operator is killed by a Ripper copycat on Gemma's doorstep, the unease that has lurked quietly in the original killer's wake turns to foreboding, and she's drawn into the investigation. Unbeknownst to her, so is a prisoner named Lane Holland. Gemma knows her town. She knows her people. Doesn't she?

My Take

The outback town of Rainer has been dying for 17 years, ever since a killer, nicknamed The Ripper, put it on the map by murdering 3 of its residents. Since then the highway has by-passed the town and businesses have dwindled. Gemma is in an uneasy marriage with one of the town's policemen, and is the mother of a teenage daughter.

Now a tourism operator has held out a helping hand and is offering to run a macabre tour based on the events 17 years ago. The families affected are meeting together to agree to the tour. But while they are talking, the tourism operator himself is murdered, his body left in the fountain where the first murder took place.

There are lots of little twists in the plot as Gemma tries to find out who has committed the murder. The reader has a lot to do in working out the little secrets, who is married to who, whose children are whose and so on, but I found the narrative disjointed. The problem was exacerbated by the addition of external plot strands, particularly the decision to interview the original Ripper.

My rating: 4.5 

I've also read 4.8, WAKE

Review: JUST MY LUCK, Adele Parks

• 
  this edition made available as an e-book on Borrow Box through my local library
  
• Harper Collins Australia
• ISBN: 9780008318420
• ISBN 10: 0008318425
• Imprint: HQ Fiction GB
• On Sale: 04/05/2020
• Pages: 384

Synopsis (publisher) 

For fifteen years, Lexi and Jake have played the same six numbers with their friends, the Pearsons and the Heathcotes. Over dinner parties, fish & chip suppers and summer barbecues, they’ve discussed the important stuff – the kids, marriages, jobs and houses – and they’ve laughed off their disappointment when they failed to win anything more than a tenner.

But then, one Saturday night, the unthinkable happens. There’s a rift in the group. Someone doesn’t tell the truth. And soon after, six numbers come up which change everything forever.

Lexi and Jake have a ticket worth £18 million. And their friends are determined to claim a share of it.
 
Sunday Times Number One bestseller Adele Parks returns with a riveting look at the dark side of wealth in this gripping take on friendship, money and betrayal, and good luck gone bad…

My Take

Most of us have fleetingly thought about this scenario. What would we do if we won the lottery? How would we behave? What if we were in a syndicate? You probably wouldn't keep your cool too well.

Lexi loves her job so much that she has never considered she would stop working, yet for Jake that is the first thing he thinks of. He and the kids go on a spending spree. They plan a huge party, but Lexi keeps thinking about how she can help others. But winning the lottery can bring out the worst in people too, and Lexi just has not envisaged what her husband and her friends will do.

My rating: 4.8

About the author

Adele Parks MBE was born in North Yorkshire. She is the author of 21 bestselling novels including most recently the Sunday Times and ebook Number One bestseller Both of You. Adele's recent Number One bestsellers Lies Lies Lies and Just My Luck were shortlisted for the British Book Awards and have been optioned for development for TV. Adele has lived in Botswana, Italy and London and is now settled in Guildford, Surrey. In 2022 she was awarded an MBE for services to literature. Find Adele on Twitter @adeleparks, Instagram @adele_parks and Facebook @OfficialAdeleParks or visit www.adeleparks.com.