Sep # read the next book from a series you’ve started
Last Puzzle & Testament ( Puzzle Lady #2)
Author: Parnell Hall
Genre: cozy mystery
Page number: 370
First published: 2000
Setting: Connecticut, USA
Time: present
Rating: 4 stars
First sentence: It all began with a break-in.
One sentence comment: It’s not only a clever crossword puzzle, but also a real life puzzle.
I was amazed while the crossword puzzle being split by four parts, and wondered how the story would lead to a meaningful solution. The outcome was really surprising and the last scene was very satisfying. My criticism is there are quite a few unnecessary conversation.
Sep # read something cozy
Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor (Jane Austen Mystery #1)
Author: Stephanie Barron
Genre: historical mystery
Page number: 318
First published: 1996
Setting: Hertfordshire, England, 1802-3
Rating: 4 stars
First sentence: In the spring of 1995, I visited my good friends Paul and Lucy Westmoreland.
One sentence comment: Barron is an amazing dreamer for she invented a bunch of Austen’s letters and journals to fill the gaps of her unknown life then make them into an unprecedented mystery.
It took me a while to get used to the early 19th century writing style, but soon found my heart caught in Isobel’s misery. 1802 was the year that Austen turned down her suiter, who was possibly the last she might encounter as she was already 27 years old without inheritance. Her friend Isobel, a newly-wed Countess, invited her to Scargrave Manor but turned out to be a widow with accusation of murdering her aged husband. What can be better to get rid of Jane’s lament than solving the case?
I admire Barron’s design of annotations when mentioning the law or customs in Austen’s era in the Austen’s letters and journals. They give readers more understanding about Austen’s time. The twisty plot is great for it expands to an unexpected level. Austen’s life thus exceeded domestic domain seen from her novels. However, I wish Barron could have written the mystery from the third person point of view rather than the first person’s. If the writing style had been modern, the series would have been among the most popular.
Sep # Read something short
Black Beauty
Author: Anna Sewell
Genre: classic animal literature
Page number: 201
First published: 1877
Setting: farm in the UK, 19th century
Rating: 3 stars
First sentence: The first place that I can well remember, was a large pleasant meadow with a pond of clear water in it.
One sentence comment: I had never imagined how hard a horse’s life is before I read this book.
This book was simply written but carried knowledge that we modern people have lost. It is surprising that trauma in animals was understood so well in the 19th century. However, we have to educate people how trauma can influence a person’s behavior in modern day.
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