P is for Private Investigators

In Ruth Rendell's The Vault, Inspector Wexford muses that in detective fiction most of the PI's are cleverer than the police. I agree. Do you agree? Who is you favourite fictional Private Eye? Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, Lord Peter Wimsey, Father Brown, Albert Campion, Kinsey Millhone, Myron Bolitar, Philip Marlowe, Sam Spade or someone else?

O is for O Henry

I am not a short story person. If you want to know what that is, it is simple. I love my stories to stay with me for sometime, so longer (and interesting) the better. I enjoy short stories of a few selected authors and O Henry ranks the first place among them. O Henry actually spoiled me. If there is no twist in the end, it is not a short story for me. There should be some twist.

Do you enjoy short stories? Have you read anything by O Henry? Do you also look for the twist in the story?

N is for Nancy Drew

If you know me, you already know that I love mysteries. My first brush with mysteries was with Enid Blyton's Famous Five. Then I read the complete collection of Sherlock Holmes mysteries. I loved Sherlock Holmes so much that I read other books by Conan Doyle which includes The Lost World. Then I read Moonstone by Wilkie Collins and went on to read his other books. It was much later that I discovered Agatha Christie. From then on I was a devoted mystery reader. Ruth Rendell, Val McDermid, P D James, Harlan Coben, Sue Grafton are some of my favourite writers.

Where does Nancy Drew come in all this? She doesn't. I have never read a Nancy Drew mystery. As a teen, I did not have an opportunity to read Nancy Drew mysteries. Now I feel, I may find them childish. I love a fair play whodunit.

Have you read a Nancy Drew mystery? Do you think I should give it a try?

M is for Metamorphosis

You read books, books and books. But once in a while you chance upon a book that completely blows you away. The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka is one such book. You can read my review here. My book reading has been entirely random. Once upon a time, I would go pick up a random book from my school library and read it. If I enjoyed it I sometimes remembered the author and picked up some other book by the author. I had chanced upon some really great books this way. Now I just go to the Crime section and pick a book.

I downloaded this book from Planet Pdf and read it. I had vaguely heard about Kafka and had no idea what this book was about. And not knowing anything about it, it completely surprised me.The Stranger by Albert Camus is another great find for me.

Have you read this book? Or did any other book completely blow you away?

Friday Memes

This week I am posting from my next read, Alanna Knight's Quest for a Killer

Friday Book Beginnings is a weekly meme where we share the opening line of our read. Book Beginnings is hosted by the Rose City Reader.

Autumn 1899

That sunny morning, as I stood at my kitchen door in Solomon's Tower, surveying the peaceful little garden, the swallows had left their ancient nesting places and another sound obliterated the raucous cries of corbies, eerie black shapes forever haunting the lofty crown of Arthur's Seat.


Friday 56 hosted @ Freda's Voice is a weekly Meme where we share an interesting snippet from page 56 of our current book.

And that, as fate would have it, was closer than I ever expected.

L is for Lord Jim

Lord Jim is one of my favourite books written by Joseph Conrad. Lord Jim tells the story of Jim, a romantic boy who dreams of adventures in a ship, of rescuing people from a shipwreck and becoming a hero. In reality faced with similar circumstances as his dreams, he fails to become a hero. This inability haunts him all his life. Years roll by he becomes a Governor of an Island but his failure haunts him. I absolutely love this book.

Have you read this or any other book by Conrad?

K is for Keating

K is for H R F Keating the creator of Inspector Ghote series set in Mumbai, India. When I read Agatha Christie or other mystery authors set in London, I always wondered how detective stories set in India would be. H R F Keating whetted my appetite with his Inspector Ganesh Ghote set in Mumbai fighting against both the bureaucracy and criminals. I haven't read all the books in the series, maybe three, but I enjoyed all of them especially, The Perfect Murder. I plan to read all the books very soon.

Have you read any books by H R F Keating?