Bokelskere.no

Miss Marple goes on holiday to posh and traditional Bertram’s Hotel. She has fond memories of the place, but now nothing is as it seems. A murder takes place, a priest disappears and there is a major robbery. Bertram’s seems to be in the center of it all and Miss Marple is asked to help the police with their investigation.

I listened to the audio CD edition of At Bertram’s Hotel (Miss Marple #11) and it is one of the shorter stories. Listening time is only 2 hours and 20 minutes. I thoroughly enjoyed the pre WWII vibe I get from stories about Miss Marple. I am a great and longtime fan of Agatha Christie’s characters and have read, listened to or watched TV adaptations of a number of her works. I particularly enjoyed the little music bits throughout, which were unique to the experience of this story.

At Bertram’s Hotel (Miss Marple #11) continues Agatha Christie’s stories about Miss Marple. The police investigate the disappearance of the forgetful and absent minded Canon Pennyfather. Turning up again with a concussion and memory loss, he is very little help to the police when they try to question him about his whereabouts at the time when other criminal activity takes place in the area.

With the combination of investigative skills and eavesdropping, Miss Marple shares with the police details of what she has seen and heard during her stay at the hotel. In this story I am very pleased to see she is actually taken seriously and her contributions prove valuable to the solution of the case. Miss Marple feels there is something wrong with Bertram’s Hotel and that ends up being true on so many levels.

Main character Miss Marple is her usual gossipy, sleuthing self in this story. I find her very funny as she is actually making eavesdropping into an art form. I find her clever and entertaining as well as a person to be reckoned with, which makes her my favorite character of this story.
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Secondary character Lady Bess Sedgewick is the eccentric famous, danger seeking guest with a forceful and domineering personality. Her business interests are shady and she has dangerous secrets. I find her demanding and pushy personality unsympathetic, which makes her my least favorite character of this story, but she is memorable and adds drama to the plot.

The audio CD edition of At Bertram’s Hotel (Miss Marple #11) is a thoroughly enjoyable listening experience. It is the exciting and entertaining story of Miss Marple as she is re-visiting Bertram’s Hotel. This is one of many stories I have read, watched or listened to, which is expertly crafted by The Queen of Crime.

There are numerous books starring Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot, and I would recommend any one of them to fans of Agatha Christie as well as anyone who enjoy crime fiction. Trust me, it would be time well spent. Similar works to explore might be the Sherlock Holmes Series by Arthur Conan Doyle.

All opinions in this review are completely my own.

My rating: 5 stars / 5
Main reasons: Expertly crafted characters, exiting plot, addition of music throughout

When art shop cleaner Mrs Gundersen is found dead in center of Oslo 1944, art historian Soli Hansen finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation of a person who was not who she seemed. Soli goes on a mission to prevent priceless Norwegian art from ending up in the hands of Hitler. With the Germans on her tail, she goes on a secret trip out of Oslo.

When asked by author Heidi Eljarbo to review Of Darkness and Light, the first installment in A Soli Hansen Mystery series, I was absolutely thrilled for the opportunity. She is a new to me author and Of Darkness and Light seemed seriously interesting to me as well as right up my alley. Of Darkness and Light is about art historian Solveig, Soli, Hansen who experiences a murder in the art shop where she works. Investigations show the murder is connected to the arrests and deportations of Jews out of Oslo. The Germans are in the process of stealing valuable pieces of art from their homes and taking them back to Germany. To prevent this Soli puts herself in danger to keep a priceless painting hidden from Hitler’s representatives in Oslo.

Main character Solveig Hansen, has managed to earn an art history degree, which I find impressive for a woman in Norway in the 1940s. It was nice to see she became more mature as the story progressed. She was easily my favorite as she could be both assertive and bold when called for.

Secondary character Lieutenant Colonel Heinz Walter is searching for valuable Norwegian art on behalf of Hitler. He is a cold and hard character who doesn't shy away from the occasional murder when trying to steal the best pieces of art for Hitler. He is my least favorite character as he is both ruthless and very dangerous.

Without revealing anything about the plot, I really appreciated how the dual timeline element added a deeper dimension to the story. The part from the 1600s Valetta was a favorite of mine, as I felt it was particularly well written. The research was excellent, which made me feel I learned more Norwegian wartime history. It was easy to feel pulled into the story as the writing was so vivid including descriptions included food rationing, German uniforms and weather conditions of autumn in Oslo among lots of other things.

Of Darkness and Light (A Soli Hansen Mystery #1) by Heidi Eljarbo is the excellently researched, exiting and interesting dual timeline story from WWII Oslo and 1600s Valetta. I enjoyed Of Darkness and Light so much and will be on the lookout for the next installment.

Readers of historical fiction would love this work. Those of you who like WWII fiction will particularly enjoy Of Darkness and Light. Fans of Heidi Eljarbo’s previous books are sure to love this one. Similar books to explore might be Kate Morton’s and Lucinda Riley’s works.

Thank you to author Heidi Eljarbo for this eARC, which gave me the opportunity to share my honest review of Of Darkness and Light. All opinions are completely my own.
My rating: 5 stars / 5
Main reasons: excellent plot and great research

The Skull beneath the Skin (Cordelia Gray Mystery Series #2) by P.D. James
is about eccentric actor Clarissa Lisle, Lady Ralston, who receives death threats and is scared for her life and PI Cordelia Grey who is hired by Clarissa’s husband to keep her out of danger. A murder occurs on private Courcy Island and the small group of people present become suspects.

I listened to an audio CD of The Skull beneath the Skin by P.D. James. This was the first encounter with her work, except for numerous TV adaptations I have watched over the years. The plot is set on small, privately owned Courcy Island. Actor Clarissa Lisle is invited there with a small group of acquaintances to star in a theater play, but is scared for her life because of all the death threats she has received ahead of performances. PI Cordelia Grey is hired to keep her safe while pretending to be her secretary.

Main character Cordelia Gray felt a bit like the mother hen who kept everything together when things got rough. I really liked her character and was impressed by her detective skills. She had analytical skills like Agatha Christie’s Poirot, but I felt she added a womanly touch when helping the police with their investigation.

Ambrose Gorringe is a longtime friend of the victim and the owner of Courcy Island. I felt he was a cynical and cold person and felt unsettled by his collection of gruesome items kept on the island. Entertainment for the guests included a scary sightseeing and telling gruesome legends from the middle ages.

Roma Lyle, Clarissa's heir was my least favorite character of this story as she seemed an unsympathetic, greedy and rude person who disliked the victim. As she was in acute need for money to please her boyfriend, she seemed to be near the top of the suspects list.

The victim I felt was a well crafted character who was rich, controlling and disliked by many of the guests. I disliked her attitude intensely, but she certainly added drama to the plot. Most of the guest’s characters I found to be seriously superficial in an entertaining as well as shocking way. -One asking if the play would go on as planned after the murder had happened. They seemed well developed, like the author might have taken their traits from posh people in her real life.

My favorite part of the story was also the scariest, where guests were taken on a tour around solitary and scary Courcy Castle and told a horrifying legend of the island. I found it to be a perfect element in a Halloween read, and one of the parts I felt was particularly well written.
The plot and the writing I found reminded me somewhat of Agatha Christie. A group of people were gathered on a solitary place when a murder took place. Slightly more gory details were added in this story, like descriptions of how the dead body looked.

The Skull beneath the Skin (Cordelia Gray Mystery Series #2) by P.D. James is a thrilling and entertaining story of PI Cordelia Gray solving a horrible murder in opulent English environment on a private solitary island. Fans of P.D. James will enjoy this and it is also recommended for readers of crime fiction. Similar books to explore might be one of Agatha Christie’s numerous works.
All opinions in this review are completely my own.

Helt grei krim, men jeg likte hennes forrige bok bedre.

Dette er en skikkelig påskekrim, som har det meste

Overraskende og annerledes sjanger fra denne forfatteren.

Måten Levy har bygget opp denne romanen på, med repeterende hendelser nesten som speilbilder eller kaleidoskop om du vil er med på å gjøre det klar for leseren at vi har med en meget upålitelig hovedperson å gjøre. Saul klarer ikke lenger å skille mellom hva som er sant og hva som ikke er det. Hvilke av minnene er sanne og hvilke er det ikke?
Dette med at tidslinjene flyter i hverandre er med på å underbygge mine antakelser om at Saul ble ganske så hardt skadet da han ble påkjørt første gang. Kanskje deler av disse såkalte hendelsene rett og slett er noe han har drømt?
Romanen tar opp flere tema enn de jeg allerede har nevnt for i tillegg er dette en slags politisk roman siden flere av hovedhendelsene skjedde på tider hvor det skjedde store endringer i europa, murens fall i 89 og Storbrittanias utmeldelse av Eu i 2016. Nasjonalisme, overlevelse og identitet er noen av de andre temaene boken tar opp.

For en formidlingsevne den britiske Deborah Levy har og det er ikke rart at hun med sine tre siste utgivelser har blitt nominert til bookerprisen for hun har en unik måte å skrive gode historier på og mesteparten står faktisk mellom linjene så her må leseren være villig til å gjøre sin del av jobben for et best mulig utbytte av litteraturen! Anbefales!

Les gjerne hele omtalen min her.

When rare book dealer Lincoln Delamont is stabbed to death at a book event in Chapters B&B, fingers are pointed at owner Charlotte Reed, accusing her of the murder. With the help of her neighbor Charlotte sets out to find the real killer and clear her name, whilst trying to stay out of danger.

Booked for Death (Booklovers B&B Mysteries #1) by Victoria Gilbert is about Charlotte Reid whose great-aunt Isabella left her Chapters B&B, which is set in a converted stately waterfront home. A mystery seems to be connected to how she acquired the very large sum of money to buy it. Some of this information has made it into the hands of rare book’s dealer and shady business man Lincoln Delamont who threatens to use it to ruin Chapter’s reputation. Charlotte now has motive for murder. This twist becomes an important part of the plot which I enjoyed a lot.

Main character Charlotte Reed is the ex high school teacher, now B&B owner. I’m quite impressed by the way she handles situations where tempers get heated in a large group of people. Her socially confident manner and no-nonsense attitude comes in handy when her establishment suddenly becomes a crime scene. She is easily my favorite character of this story.

Ellen Montgomery is ex film location scout, neighbor and friend who is assisting with the amateur sleuthing as well as helping with business matters. I find her a very important secondary character that seems very well developed and true to life. She stands out positively and I think the plot would not function without her.

Damien Carr is part time cook at Chapters who has a volatile temper which leads to difficult relationships to other people. He seems a rather unsympathetic character with plenty of tantrums that plenty of people can imagine capable of murder. He is my least favorite character of this story. However, he seems to function a bit better as the story progresses.

The part of the plot concerning the mystery of great-aunt Isabella’s life was my favorite part of this plot. Throughout the story there were interesting clues, but no definite answers until the end, so I kept wondering and waiting to know more. The mystery part definitely added extra excitement to the story for me.
When it came to solving the murder, quite a number of guests seemed to have motives, so it seemed hard for Charlotte to sift through it all to solve the case. I really enjoyed that the identity of the killer and the motive took me so completely by surprise.

Booked for Death (Booklovers B&B Mysteries #1) is the first work I have read by Victoria Gilbert. I look forward to installment #2 in the series.
Reading Booked for Death (Booklovers B&B Mysteries #1) by Victoria Gilbert was a new plot setting for me which made for an entertaining and thrilling as well as quick reading experience.
Fans of Victoria Gilbert will love this work, as will readers of crime fiction.

Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for this eARC, which gave me the opportunity to share my honest review. All opinions are completely my own.

Tredje bok - anbefales. Vanskelig å legge fra seg. Det vises til forlagets omtale

Et utrolig fengslende slektsdrama fra Trøndelag fra 1920-tallet og til etter krigen. Dette er forfatterens andre bok og jeg håper det kommer mer fra denne kanten! Anbefales!

Les gjerne hele omtalen min her.

Hercule Poirot and his friend Ariadne Oliver go on a quest to shake up the memories of people connected to the double suicide of General and Lady Ravenscroft in 1960s English countryside. As Poirot digs deeper, people contribute new information and this cold case changes entirely.

Elephants Can Remember (Hercule Poirot Mysteries #37) by Agatha Christie is about the married couple who seemed to have shot each other with the husband’s revolver lying beside the bodies. The police were never able to establish who killed who, as motive seemed to be nonexistent at the time. Many years later Mrs Oliver dives into a truck load of old hearsay to get to the truth. She wants to protect the Ravenscrofts’ daughter.

Main character, Hercule Poirot, seems to be sharing his main character role in this story, helping his longtime friend Ariadne with her case. I enjoyed that the author describes Poirot as a man with an egg-shaped head, a small stature and a monstrous mustache. She interestingly portrays him as a comic and strange looking personality. He seems very different from David Suchet in the TV adaptations.

Ariadne Oliver, is the narrator and supporting main character of this story. She comes at problem solving from unexpected and creative angles, like comparing people’s memories to those of elephants. I find it refreshing and different from Poirot’s strictly analytical approach. She seems a kind hearted person with an amusing habit of brushing her hands through her hair messing it all up, even if she is very focused on hair style.

The wonderfully descriptive writing takes me back to the 70s. In Agatha Christie’s universe every home seems to come with a set of servants for all domestic chores. I find it very entertaining to read her books as they give a glimpse into opulent environments and people’s interactions back in the day.

Hercule Poirot is the main character in 38 of Christie’s stories. He is an absolute longtime favorite of mine and I have followed him both in books and in TV series. Ariadne Oliver appears in a smaller number of stories as a supporting character, being an interesting and well crafted character I love to read about. In this story she is the one who alerts Poirot to the case.

There were plenty of references to old fashioned lifestyle of the 1970s, like keeping an address book for all contacts, something we stopped doing decades ago. I find it fascinating to be reminded how life worked before the digital age, and this is my favorite part of the story.

Elephants Can Remember (Hercule Poirot Mysteries #37) by Agatha Christie is the captivating and entertaining story of Hercule Poirot and Ariadne Oliver solving a cold case from 1960, and is one of several works I have read by Agatha Christie. References are made to other books in the Hercule Poirot Mysteries Series in a clever way which triggers my curiosity. As a longtime fan, I am reading through most of them.

Fans of Agatha Christie will love Elephants Can Remember (Hercule Poirot Mysteries #37), as will readers of crime fiction. Similar works to explore might be the Sherlock Holmes Series by Arthur Conan Doyle. All opinions are completely my own.

Nesten litt merkelig, er på jakt etter den jeg også. Og så fant jeg den på ark.no og bestilte den der.

Som den Roy Jacobsen fan jeg er, gledet jeg meg virkelig til denne boka. Men etter ca. 50 sider ble den for meg litt for spesiell og kanskje mest interessant for spesielt interesserte, biologer og denslags. Så, dessverre, jeg avbrøt.

Following a road accident Elizabeth Cantrell and her 11 month old son Isaach become parts of a cover up operation and suddenly she find herself married to undercover secret agent and British spy Baron Adrian Thorrington. Murder within the family put them all at risk and Elizabeth and Adrian are in the middle of a situation dangerous to both individuals and The British Crown.

In Masquerade at Middlecrest Abbey by Abigail Wilson the plot is centered around a missing document important to The Crown reported to change hands at Adrian’s daughter Juliana’s wedding at Middlecrest Abbey. The groom ends up dead, the wedding cancelled and there seems to be a murderer at large in the house. Elizabeth decides to do some secret investigating of her own. As she is getting closer to the truth, the danger increases both to her and her son Isaach.

Main character and narrator Elizabeth Cantrell seems unrelenting in search for the truth of the mystery. I admire her determination to keep investigating in spite of danger. She is very reluctant to trust Adrian, which I understand given her history with his brother. She is my favorite character of this story.

Adrian Thorrington, British agent and spy, seems a kind and considerate man. He is using all his skills and connections to keep them out of danger. The relationship with Elizabeth gets off to a rather funny start, as he considers himself “forced” to marry her because they have been in a carriage together unchaparoned.

Mrs Harris we get to know as the unfriendly and gossipy mother of the groom. After her son gets murdered, she seems to change her ways and it’s nice to see she gets more open to the care of others. I felt more sympathy for her as the story progressed.

I felt the writing of this story flowed well. The descriptions of the characters were very well written and I found I enjoyed the dialogues. The dialogues between Elizabeth and Adrian conveying the development of their somewhat spontaneous relationship I found particularly interesting.

The setting of the plot in the English countryside was familiar to me, but the spy element thrown into the mix made for a new and interesting twist. I wish the plot would have moved a bit quicker in the beginning, but as the story progressed and intensified I felt more invested in both the characters and the story. I enjoyed the lifestyle and environmental descriptions, which I found worked well. Some of the gossipy wedding guests I also felt to be believable characters who contributed well to the plot.

I enjoyed how Elizabeth and Adrian deciphered a coded message, which added to the thrill of the story. They were thrown together by circumstances, but the romance element was still a distinct part of the story. I found it my favorite part. I was intrigued by how the relationship between Elizabeth and Adrian developed, starting off with deep suspicion particularly on Elizabeth’s part. As she got to know Adrian more, I’m I was pleased she came around and acknowledged all his good qualities.

Masquerade at Middlecrest Abbey is the first work I have read by Abigail Wilson. I found the story about the secret spy operation in which a man got murdered a very interesting as well as entertaining read.

For similar reads your might want to check out the works of Michelle Griep or Mimi Matthews.
Fans of Abigail Wilson will enjoy this work, as will readers of historical romance fiction.

Thank you to publisher Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for this eARC, which gave me the opportunity to share my honest review. All opinions are completely my own.

Carolina Breeze (Bluebell Inn Romance #2) by Denise Hunter is about Mia Emerson who is escaping Hollywood following a huge scandal. With her engagement broken, she goes on a solo honeymoon to Bluebell Inn, North Carolina, where ex-project manager and inn keeper Levi helps her stay away from the paparazzi while dealing with his own serious issues.

If you want a holiday read Carolina Breeze (Bluebell Inn Romance #2) by Denise Hunter is a great choice. It is a heartwarming, entertaining and light read which I’m sure will stay with me for a long time. The story is beautifully written, and I particularly appreciate the descriptions of life and nature around the lake.

I find main character, Mia Emerson, to be a very likable and nice person in a vulnerable situation who suffers loneliness, insecurities and heart aches like any other less famous person.
In spite of being a Hollywood celebrity she seems like the girl next door, and I enjoy the parts of the story describing how Mia learns to trust other people again, Levi in particular.

Levi Bennett, ex-construction project manager turned inn keeper, is afraid he will fail his sisters if he doesn’t reach all the goals he has set. His fear makes him overdo things and become controlling. He is a layered and true to life character and my favorite in this story.

I really enjoyed the setting of this story in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. It stood out to me, as I have not read anything set in this region before. I found the writing just beautifully heartwarming, easy flowing and enjoyable with plenty of references to fresh air, pine smell and outdoor living around the lake.

The mystery connected to Mia’s grandparents mixed into the plot I totally loved. It added an extra excitement to the story. Nice to see Mia got something other than the miserable state of her life to focus on when she was going about solving the mystery together with Levi.

In the midst of Mia’s messy life situation, the relationship with Levi got room to develop. I found the writing of the romance part very well done and expertly balanced between clean and intensely romantic.

In the middle of huge personal drama, Mia turned to God. She prayed on and off throughout the story. The faith element seemed to play a background part in this story, which was ok. -It was still there.

Carolina Breeze (Bluebell Inn Romance #2) by Denise Hunter had a light and summery vibe I enjoyed a lot. Mixed with Hollywood celebrity issues and topped with a mystery and a faith element, it all tied together in a nice and easily read little package.

Carolina Breeze (Bluebell Inn Romance #2) by Denise Hunter is the first work I have read by Denise Hunter. While I would have preferred to read Lake Season (Buebell Inn Romance #1) first, I jumped right into installment #2. Carolina Breeze worked perfectly as a standalone, but as I loved it so much I will definitely go back and read Lake Season (Buebell Inn Romance #1) in the Bluebell Inn Romance Series. I want to see what story line I may pick up from the beginning.

Fans of Denise Hunter will love this work, as will readers of contemporary women’s fiction. For similar reads it might be a good idea to check out Jody Hedlund's or Rachel Hauck's work.

Thank you to publisher Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for this eARC, which gave me the opportunity to share my honest review. All opinions in this review are completely my own.