The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

Christie, Agatha. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. New York: HarperCollins, 2011. 304 pages.

"Roger Ackroyd knew too much. He knew that the women he loved had poisoned her brutal first husband. He suspected also that someone had been blackmailing her. Then, tragically, came the news that she had taken her own life with a drug overdose. But the evening post brought Roger one last fatal scrap of information. Unfortunately, before he could finish reading the letter, he was stabbed to death." (description from book cover)

Overall Rating: *** (out of five)

Strengths:

• Mystery. Christie's classic locker room mystery is well-constructed, not surprisingly.  The story provides all the clues to solving it, but the conclusion can still come as a surprise.  While people familiar with Christie's writing might know enough to assume that the obvious suspect may not be the right one, there are loose threads galore that complicate the solving of the mystery.

Weaknesses:

• Plot.  Though the mystery is good, the surrounding plot is less than stellar.  It seems as though all of the actual story happens in the brief period before the murder and Poirot's arrival.  This sort of mystery that is focused more on clues than characters works better as a short story than requiring the development of a novel.  The mystery is compelling enough to over come this, however.
• Characterization. The sub-par plot is compounded by the one-dimensionality of the characters.  Their tendency toward being one-note stereotypes rather than fully realized people can make the reader wonder why they should care about them. The mystery is compelling enough to over come this, however.

The Da Vinci Code

Brown, Dan. The Da Vinci Code. Doubleday: New York, 2003. 452 pages.

"While in Paris on business, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon receives an urgent late-night phone call. The elderly curator of the Louvre has been murdered inside the museum, a baffling cypher found near the body. As Langdon and a gifted French cryptologist, Sophie Neveu, sort through the bizarre riddles, they are stunned to discover a trail of clues hidden in the works of Da Vinci....Langdon and Neveu find themselves matching wits with a faceless powerbroker who appears to anticipate their every move. Unless they can decipher the labrynthine puzzle, the Priory's secret--and an explosive ancient truth--will be lost forever." (description from the book dust jacket)

Overall review: *** (three stars)

Strengths:

• Pacing.  The book keeps a fairly constant fast pace which draws the reader quickly through the book without making it feel like the mysteries and riddles are being solved too quickly.
• Riddles.  Sometimes "obvious" sounding riddles or prophecies in stories can end up having solutions that seem to be stretching credulity a bit (see "no man of woman born" in Macbeth).  Brown's linguistic puzzles, however, are well-constructed with reasonable and fitting solutions.
• General Plot.  Despite some weaknesses (see below), the plot is engaging and hooks the reader fairly early, even if you disagree with some of the interpretations presented by the characters.

Weaknesses:

• Character Motivation.  At times the motivation of the characters feels contrived or convenient rather than realistic. Characters should never feel as though they are simply serving the plot at the convenience of the author.
• Conspiracy Theories.  Yes, the theories presented in this book are compelling.  However, there are times when characters seem to be making interpretations that seem a bit far-fetched. (Let's face it: sometimes men in Renaissance art look like our idea of women.  That's just the way it is.  See the angel in the Virgin of the Rocks, about which Dan Brown makes other comments.  Totally looks like a chick.)
• Portrayal of Religion.  Despite some comments obviously tossed in to show that the book is not anti-religion, the Catholic Church is not portrayed in a particularly flattering light.  This may or may not bother readers, depending on their religious inclinations and feelings about Catholicism.

The Beekeeper's Apprentice: Or On the Segregation of the Queen

King, Laurie R. The Beekeeper's Apprentice: Or On the Segregation of the Queen. New York: Picador, 1994. 346 pages.

"In 1915, Sherlock Holmes is retired and quietly engaged in the study of honeybees when a young woman literally stumbles into him on the Sussex Downs.  Fifteen years old, gawky, egotistical, and recently orphaned, the young Mary Russell displays intellect to impress even Sherlock Holmes--and match him wit for wit. Under his reluctant tutelage, this very modern twentieth-century woman proves a deft protegee and a fitting partner for the Victorian detective." (description from the book cover)

Overall rating: ***** (five stars)

Strengths:

• Subtle social commentary.  Though this book is not about WWI, many interesting observations are made of the effect of the war on British society.  This is a theme which becomes more important in later books.
• Narrative style.  The book is told in first person narration by someone who is looking back over past experiences.  This often leads to amusing side notes by the narrator. ("Looking back I am deeply embarrassed at the effrontery of a girl not yet nineteen pointing her finger at a man nearly three times her age, and her teacher to boot, but at the time it seemed appropriate.")
• The mysteries.  In many mystery books, such as Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot stories and the original Holmes stories by Doyle, the detective is entirely outside the case, with the only personal thing at stake being the detective's reputation. King is not afraid to bring the mysteries home to her protagonists, giving us more emotional insight in the psychological tolls of such work.
• Characterization. Not only are the two main characters both fully-fleshed, real people with plenty of strengths and flaws, the minor characters are never treated just as handy tools to move along the plot.

Weaknesses:

• Chronology.  Early in the book, the narration skips about in time a bit, making it a wee bit difficult to keep the chronology straight until the book has settled back down into a more linear structure.
• Appropriation of an already existing character.  This is not a problem for me, but for anyone who is a Sherlock Holmes purist and who strongly disapproves of anyone trying to write stories about someone else's characters, I would not recommend reading this.