Stars: 4 out of 5
Pros: Strong characters and humor
Cons: Plot pacing a little uneven but still good
The Bottom Line:
Classic mystery
Parallels to modern plot
Plenty of fun here
Loving Homage to Christie is a Fun Series Debut
At some point in my life, I need to go back and read the
Golden Age mystery writers. Yes, I have
a passing familiarity with Agatha Christie and her two most famous
sleuths. However, there are many of her
books I’ve never read. One of them gets
the homage treatment in Mayhem at the Orient Express. Despite my lack of
knowledge about the original, I still enjoyed this debut.
Bea has left her life in New York
to open a bed and breakfast on South Bass, an island on Lake Eire
Their first choice is Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express, but all their first disastrous
meeting does is make them hungry for orange/peanut chicken from Orient Express
- the new Chinese restaurant in town.
When they arrive for a late dinner, they find Peter, the owner, dead
behind the counter. With events that
remind them of the book, will they be able to work together to find the killer?
Any similarities between the Christie classic and the story
unfolding in this book are pointed out for the reader – something I was very
thankful for. Yes, the ending of the
original is spoiled, but I did know that much going into this book. Even so, all the discussion made me want to
track down a copy and read Christie, which isn’t a bad thing.
Despite the allusions, the plot of this book is all
original. The pacing seemed uneven to
me. Part of that was because this book
was setting up the series, the characters, and how the book club got
started. Even after they find Peter’s
body, things could have picked up a little.
Still, there are some good clues and twists along the way before we
reach a great conclusion.
And the characters? I
loved them. While the main trio starts
the book fighting, it is nice to see them slowly building a friendship. They are very different women and their personalities
are already strong with each contributing something to the story. There is a large cast of supporting
characters, and they were strong as well, making it harder to tell who really
was the killer.
The book is filled with a nice dose of humor. Sometimes, it’s in Bea’s first person
narration as she comments on events. And
sometimes, it’s in the exchanges between the characters. There are some clever turns of phrase that
are also good for grins. This added a
delightful feel to a book I was already enjoying.
And make no mistake about it, I did enjoy Mayhem at the Orient Express. I can’t wait to pick up the sequel and find
out what kind of danger classic literature leads these ladies to next.
You'll definitely want to spend more time with the League of Literary Ladies in future books.
You'll definitely want to spend more time with the League of Literary Ladies in future books.
I'm so glad to see you enjoyed this one as much as I did. I can't wait for the second book.
ReplyDeleteSame here. Trying to figure out when I will get it as we speak. (Of course, first I have to get it.)
DeleteIf a book makes you want to pick up another, that's always a good sign! I really like Christie, especially her Poirot books, but this sounds like a really good and original spin on the entire detective genre! If it's the first in a series, the pacing issues are understandable, but I hope the next book picks up on them, for your sake :)
DeleteJuli @ Universe in Words (Old Follower)
I certainly think the pacing was at least partically because of the first book set up. Even if the next does have the same pacing issues, I won't mind because this was still a very fun book.
Delete