budsmam's reviews
369 reviews

Mysterious affair at Styles by Agatha Christie

emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This is the recent Audible original with Peter Dinklage as Poirot and Himish Patel as Hastings, I would love to see them do more of these, both actors were superb in their roles and I'm very picky about who plays Poirot!
Cracking and faithful adaptation great atmospheric music great ensemble cast, can't praise enough

Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May

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emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.0

I'm giving this 4 stars because this book really spoke to me at a time when I'm wintering myself
I've seen other reviews where readers commented about the immense privilege the author has in being able to do some of the things discussed, give up her job etc. I can see this and yes there is considerable privilege there but I don't agree that this makes it a "bad" book. The underlying message about the need to accept these periods when they come into our lives us still valid I feel. If we accepted the necessity of this then perhaps as a society we could help and support those who do nit have the privilege of the author
I feel the message is less about "do it this way" and more about changing our mindsets to accept that these periods come into all of our lives and society as a whole need to be more accepting and supportive of this

Voices of the Dead by Ambrose Parry

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I did eventually enjoy this, but I wasn't keen on the female narrator, particularly when she dud an American accent but the plot was good enough to keep me engaged quite twisty and turny but in a good way. I dud take to the characters and care about them, historically interesting too, a vivid slice of life in Victorian Edinburgh

Christmas Corpse by Mona Marple

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funny lighthearted mysterious relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Just a lovely charming story. Well written moves along nicely it's not a huge surprise who the culprit is but that's OK this is warm and engaging

Bitter Roots by C.J. Carmichael

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adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Loved thus so much, echos of Peyton Place, family secrets small town.
I gave this 5 stars because I was gripped by the plot and writing I loved the characters with all their flaws

Stitches and Witches by Nancy Warren

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adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Love this series, well written, loveable and likeable characters, good character development from first in the series, just well written and enjoyable

Falconer's Crusade by Ian Morson

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adventurous informative mysterious medium-paced