The Classics Club ~ An Overdose of Death by Agatha Christie

“It was shortly after his 12:30 appointment that Dr. Morley was found with a bullet through his right temple. The gun was on the floor beside him. The authorities were satisfied that the amiable old dentist had shot himself. Hercule Poirot was not. But who could have murdered him? One of Dr. Morley’s glamorous patients? His hard drinking partner? His secretary’s disgruntled boyfriend? All Poirot has is a hunch, to many clues and a killer who will not be satisfied with only one victim.” ~goodreads

Hercule Poirot does not like dentists. Poor guy. The courageous soul that he is, he keeps his appointment with Dr. Morley, said dentist. Dr. Morley chats the entire time he is working on Poirot’s teeth, seemingly content with life and his job. So, later in the day, when Chief Inspector Japp contacts Poirot and informs him Dr. Morley is dead, Poirot is surprised and is soon on the case.

There is nothing like a good murder mystery by Agatha Christie to enjoy on a sunny afternoon.  🙂  I liked it. This mystery is well-written and is expertly crafted, the plot is complex and so puzzling. There is a large cast of well-developed characters. I take notes when I read a murder mystery and I’m glad I do. If I am confused or something unexpected happens in the course of the story, I refer to my notes.  🙂  This mystery needed notes.

Great mystery! Highly recommend!

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Ramblings And What Not ~

Hello Peoples! Humor! Rick and I went grocery shopping. An employee was scanning our food and there was a woman bagging our groceries. Suddenly, I started sneezing and sneezing.

Rick said, “Stop sneezing. You’re scaring people.” He laughed.

I laughed,

The woman who was bagging our groceries laughed.

The couple behind us, in line, looked terrified!

I did stop sneezing.  🙂

Your Favorites At the Cottage In August ~

August 11, 2020 ~ Top Ten Tuesday! Books With Color In the Title

August 7, 2020 ~ Classic Movie Friday ~ The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969)

August 14, 2020 ~ Classic Movie Friday ~ The Birds (1963)

As many of you know, The Classics Club had Spin 24. I like the Spins. I wait with anticipation to see what book I will be reading and I enjoy looking at others clubbers comments to see what they will be reading. It’s the little things in life.  🙂  The spin number was 18. The number 18 book on my list was Crimson Roses by Grace Livingston Hill. It’s not a lengthy read. My copy is 236 pages. So, I read it, wrote my review and posted it on my blog. I then informed The Classics Club. Brona challenged me. She said, she was kidding, but nothing like a good challenge to make life interesting. THANKS Brona!  🙂  If you would like to take a gander at Brona’s blog just go here:   http://bronasbooks.blogspot.com/

She suggested I read my number 1 book and my number 8 book.

 

Number 1 Book on my list ~ The Man Who Was Thursday by G. K. Chesterton

Number 8 Book on my list ~ An Overdose of Death by Agatha Christie

I need to read both of these books by September 30! I will give it a good try!  🙂  Oh yea! I can do this!

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Once again I have been sorting, that’s right, sorting through stuff in the little bedroom. I have space! Empty space! Extraordinary! I use the little bedroom for an office and I have most of my books in that room. The little bedroom usually looks like a landfill. *haha* As I sort and clean, I have discovered, it really wasn’t so bad, everything was spread out though. I have dusted and vacumned and been the maniac organizer!

Oh my word! The hummingbirds have been migrating south to warmer temperatures and they have been stopping by our backyard for a snack! I am always excited to see them. Hummingbirds are my favorites! We do have a crazy squirrel. One would think, he never gets fed. Rick feeds the squirrels and birds on a daily basis. This squirrel will try any number of tricks to reach the bird food. He eats the bird food! Fortunately he doesn’t get the hummingbird food. That is not possible.

I’m reading, Death On the Nile by Agatha Christie. The movie will be released in October and I wanted to read it before I see the movie to refresh my memory. I have read it before.  🙂

Must go for now. I’ve enjoyed our visit.

Much love ~

Kathy

Classic Movie Friday!

Psycho (1960)

Anthony Perkins   Vera Miles   John Gavin   Janet Leigh   Martin Balsam

This is a Hitchcock film!

I didn’t watch this film for a long time because it intimidated me. However, after watching The Birds and surviving, I decided to watch Psycho.

Marion Crane (Vivian Leigh) works in an office. She’s dissatisfied with her life. She wants to marry the man she loves, Sam Loomis (John Gavin) but he’s paying alimony to an ex-wife. When she has the opportunity to steal $40,000 from her place of employment, Marion Crane (Vivian Leigh), takes the money and runs, leaving her sister, Lila (Vera Miles) and Sam behind without explanation. She wants to start a new life for herself. On the trip, she drives into some heavy rain and decides to stop at the Bates Motel for the night.

And so it begins . . .

Lila becomes worried about her sister, so she visits Sam to discover if he knows anything. A private investigator, Martin Arbogast (Martin Balsam) is hired and tracks Marion to the Bates Motel. After a phone call from the private investigator, he unexpectedly is silent.

And so it continues . .

Sam travels to the Bates Motel alone, however, he returns. Lila and Sam contact the police, however, they decide to travel to the Bates Motel together. They want to find Marion.

I can’t say I didn’t like it. Have you seen PSYCHO. What are your thoughts?

I would recommend this movie for adults. There are disturbing images and a troubling storyline.

Enjoy!

Death On Demand by Carolyn G. Hart

Death On Demand by Carolyn G. Hart 

This is the first book in this mystery series and I am so glad I found it. YAY! I really didn’t want to order it. I get tired of ordering.

Upon the death of her most beloved Uncle Ambrose, Annie Laurance inherits her uncle’s bookstore. She relocates to Broward’s Rock and invests everything into the bookstore, Death On Demand. She’s also fleeing from Max Darling. Max is in love with her and wants a future with Annie, but Annie believes they are from two different worlds and as such, a relationship with Max will not work. Max follows her to Broward’s Rock. Chemistry ensues!  🙂

One night, at Annie’s bookstore, the mystery authors in the community, are meeting together. Unexpectedly, the lights go out and a man is murdered! The police are called and Annie soon becomes the prime suspect in the investigation. How rude! To clear Annie’s name, Max and Annie work together to solve the mystery.

Loved it! I am reading this series out of order and it took some time to find the first book in the series. I love Max and Annie. They are a great couple. In this book, there is a lot of playful banter, spirited disagreements, light teasing and I am surprised Annie has a temper! Who knew??? Their relationship becomes somewhat competitive when Annie bets Max she will solve the mystery before he solves! Oh yea!

This mystery is entertaining, with plenty of skulking about and a puzzling mystery. I didn’t solve it.

Oh! Before I forget, I have something to say to Chief Saulter.

“Chief Saulter, you are stupid! That is all.”

Happy Reading!

A Cold Treachery by Charles Todd

A Cold Treachery by Charles Todd

An Ian Rutledge Mystery

“Called out by Scotland Yard into the teeth of a violent blizzard in the Lake District of England, Inspector Ian Rutledge finds himself confronted with one of the most savage murders he has ever encountered. Rutledge might have expected such unspeakable carnage on the World War 1 battlefields, but not in an otherwise peaceful farm kitchen in remote Urksdale. Someone has murdered the Elcott family at their table without the least sign of struggle.” ~goodreads

What an incredible mystery! With the exception of their 10-year old son, Josh, the Elcott family has been brutally murdered. Josh is missing. With the blizzard and the cold temperatures and the rugged terrain, no one expects Josh to survive in the wildness alone and scared.

Inspector Ian Rutledge is assigned the case and travels, in the storm to the Lake District. He finds, five people dead, a missing boy and a community in shock. The men of Urksdale have organized and are searching for Josh, knowing he won’t survive in the storm long.

After reading the Bess Crawford mysteries, written by the same author, I decided to dive into the Ian Rutledge mysteries. I’m glad I did. I have not been disappointed. Ian Rutledge is a great guy. I like him. He deals with Hamish, a voice in his head and memories of World War 1, but he manages to be a very likable character. And! He solves mysteries. The cold temperatures, the blizzard, and Urksdale’s rough landscape all added to the atmosphere of this mystery. It was so well written, I almost got frost bite reading the book. *haha* The people of Urksdale are hearty, always ready to lend a helping to their neighbor, but suspicious of strangers. Inspector Rutledge persevered and solved the case. I narrowed the suspects down to three characters and one of my suspects was the guilty person. Really good mystery. I highly recommend it! 5 ***** stars!

Love the cover art!

Happy Reading!

 

Classic Movie Friday!

Charlie Chan Over New York (1940)

Sidney Toler   Victor Sen Yung   Donald MacBride   Marjorie Weaver   Robert Lowery

Ricardo Cortez   Melville Cooper   Kane Richmond   John Sutton   Leyland Hodgson

Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) meets an old friend from Scotland Yard on a flight to New York, discovering he now works for Intelligence and is following the wife (Marjorie Weaver) of Paul Navo, a notorious criminal wanted internationally. He’s hoping Paul’s wife will lead him to Paul. No one knows what Paul Navo looks like, but Intelligence has his fingerprints and an inaccurate photo. Soon after landing, Charlie Chan’s friend is murdered in his home with a room full of suspects. Charlie Chan is on the case along with Inspector Vance (Donald McBride). Unexpectedly to Charlie, his number two son, Jimmy (Victor Sen Yung) arrives in New York to help his Pop!

Jimmy Chan is my favorite of Charlie’s sons. He’s a hoot. He really wants to be involved in his father’s cases and his sleuthing is known to help Charlie out at times. Jimmy’s antics are full of humor and Charlie always seems to have a witty comment to make about his son’s mischief. Jimmy is convinced his famous father wouldn’t solve his cases without number two son’s assistance!  🙂

Enjoy!

 

 

Ramblings And What Not ~

Hello Peoples! My computer was at the repair shop for a few days, so I am far behind on reading your blogs. I will get back into the swing of things very soon! You might ask ~

What happened to your computer?

Answer: Apparently, Microsoft was downloading updates. Whilst the updates were downloading, the internet went down for a moment and two files were damaged. The tech guy had to scrub the hard drive and reload everything. The scrub took awhile because they really scrub it up good and clean!

I am thankful for an external drive and a great computer guy! All is well now.

Saturday Rick and I drove to a town, about one hour from our house, that has a used book store. I found six, that’s right, six books I have been looking for and couldn’t find! YAY! I was almost ready to order said books when we decided to travel to the used bookstore. There they were! The guy at the bookstore said, they were waiting for me. *haha*  🙂

Hope you are all well and enjoying this great month of August!

Much love ~

Kathy

The Classics Club Spin 24~ Crimson Roses by Grace Livingston Hill

In Crimson Roses, the author introduces us to Marion Warren and her family of origin. Her mother died a couple of years before the story begins. Tom and Jennie are her brother and sister-in-law. Marion’s father is very ill and dying. The doctor and the family know that their dad doesn’t have long to live. Marion has willingly and lovingly been nursing her father while he has been ill, never regretting a moment of her time caring for her father. Marion and her father have always been close and enjoyed books together.

“He and she had always understood one another and had had the same dreams and ambitions. He had encouraged her in taking more time for reading and study . . . ” (p.2)

“He had talked with her of life and what we were put on this earth to do. He had hunted out books to please and interest her. She had read aloud to him for hours at a time.” (p. 2)

Marion felt the loss when her father passed away.

After the death of her father, the reader continues to get to know Marion. Throughout the story the reader continually knows her thoughts and feelings. She is a lovely woman and misses her father deeply. She’s timid and I would describe her as innocent.

When her brother, Tom decides to sell the family home, he doesn’t expect any opposition from her. Tom and his wife Jennie are surprised when Marion finds a job and a room to rent, remaining in the city, instead of moving to Vermont with them. Jennie is sharp and condescending in her speech and shockingly hostile toward Marion.

After Marion has been living alone and working, she learns of a concert series. She has a little money saved and decides to attend the concert series. Marion loves music.

“She listened as if she were out in a tide of melody floating, floating with the melody where it would, her soul palpitating, quivering, feeling every suggestion the music conveyed, seeing every fair picture that it carried on its breath.” (p. 158)

Unexpectedly, each time Marion arrives at the concert series, Marion finds a dark, crimson rose on her seat. After some investigation, she decides to keep the roses. She treasures each rose she receives, always wondering who could be leaving the roses.

This is a lovely romance. It’s sweet and romantic. Throughout the story, Marion struggles with her thoughts. She wants to have charitable or kind thoughts for people who are ugly to her. She also struggles with her social standing. She believes she isn’t good enough to be loved by or marry a man of wealth.

This is a faith-based story and I did enjoy it, very much. I would recommend it for anyone who enjoys romance.

Happy Reading!

 

Classic Movie Friday!

The Birds (1963)

Tippy Hedren   Rod Taylor   Jessica Tandy   Veronica Cartwright   Suzanne Pleshette

This is a Hitchcock horror film!

This was the first time I’ve seen this movie! It has rendered me speechless!

Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor) is an attorney. He works in San Francisco during the week and returns home to Bodega Bay, where he lives with his mother (Jessica Tandy) and younger sister Cathy (Veronica Cartwright) on the weekends. During his time in San Francisco he meets Melanie Daniels (Tippy Hedren) in a pet store with birds. Lots of birds! There sure are a lot of birds in this movie! After Mitch returns to Bodega Bay, Melanie also travels to the small town to deliver two love birds to his sister Cathy. Shortly after she delivers said birds, a seagull attacks Melanie while she is crossing the bay in a boat and injures her. Mitch helps her and invites her to his home. And so the horror begins . . . Birds are attacking. They’re aggressive! There seems to be a pattern to the attacks. Citizens of Bodega Bay are injured and some die as a result of these vicious strikes. No one knows why this is happening.

The Birds is a good film, if you like horror! It’s not for everyone. I was surprised I liked it. I wouldn’t recommend it for youngsters. There are frightening images. There were two scenes in the film, that caused me to jump and I thought I was going to fall over in my chair! It’s not a film I would watch a second time, but my stalwart hubby would like to see it again. Mmm.

Enjoy! I think??? 

Have you seen The Birds? What are your thoughts?

 

Ramblings And What Not ~

Hello Peoples! Yesterday afternoon I went for a walk. I was about one mile from our home when I felt a drop of water hit my head. I thought, well that’s strange. The sun was shinning brightly and it was in the low 80’s. I walked on and unexpectedly it started raining! It was raining on me!  ☂ I sent a quick text message to Rick asking him if it was raining at our house. He responded, it was not. I was the only one getting wet. It was hilarious. It did finally stop raining and I finished my walk. As my neighbor would say, “never in all my born days!”

Joe Versus the Volcano (1990)

Tom Hanks   Meg Ryan

Oh my word! Have you seen Joe Versus the Volcano??? I don’t remember when I watched this movie the first time, but Rick bought it a few days ago and we watched it again and again. 😀 I shake my head. Poor Joe. He has a brain cloud!!! A what??? A brain cloud!!! There is no cure for said brain cloud. So, poor Joe agrees to jump into an active volcano to save the people, who live on an island, in the South Pacific ~ Waponi Woo! Who??? The Waponi Woo. 🌋

I say, the inhabitants of the island should relocate to an island that does not have an active volcano!!! This movie is ~ I don’t really have a word. lol.

Have you seen Joe Versus the Volcano? What are your thoughts on the movie? Rick likes this movie!!! Mmm.

I’m going to a used book sale today, I will say ~ adios ~ for now.

Much love ~

Kathy