The queens of crime, by Marie Benedict

 

The queens of crime was my book club's April pick, and it was a good choice for me in particular since I've been reading Agatha Christie mysteries for the past few months. The premise of this book is that Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, Ngaio Marsh, Marjorie Allingham, and Emma Orczy band together to solve the murder of a young British nurse that took place while she and a friend were on a day trip to Boulogne. Their goal in solving the murder is to demonstrate that they are worthy of their membership in the Detection Club, made up of prominent detective and mystery fiction authors. The fact that they feel the need to prove their value in a club that Dorothy Sayers actually helped found is the only part of the book that rankles me. Otherwise, it is a fun romp with the five authors splitting up the investigation, each of them taking on different aspects, then meeting up every day or so to compare notes. To solve the case, they use some of the techniques of their fictional detectives to get at the answers, including bringing everyone together at the end for the big reveal.

The big four, by Agatha Christie

 

The big four is billed as a Hercule Poirot mystery, but it's less of a mystery than a spy novel. It was pulled together from a series of short stories that had been previously published. They all surround the effort of Poirot and Hastings to identify and capture four international criminal masterminds who not only conduct their crimes on a worldwide scale, but also try to influence world events; in fact, Poirot attributes several major international disturbances to the Big Four, including the Bolshevik revolution. The Big Four includes a wealthy American, a French woman scientist, a Chinese man, and a nondescript Englishman who is a master of disguise. In chapter after chapter, Poirot and Hastings learn about the Big Four and get closer to catching them. Because the book was composed of a bunch of short stories that were slightly altered so they fit together as a novel, it doesn't have the same type of story arc as a typical Christie mystery; instead, it comes across as a series of vignettes that are loosely related. That's not a criticism, though; the book was still a very enjoyable read.

A tree grows in Brooklyn, by Betty Smith

 

I read this book for my book club a little reluctantly because I had read it before; however, I realized that I remembered so little of it that it was like reading it for the first time. I have to admit that I was not overly fond of the author's writing style, but I did get sucked into the story and wanted to know what happened to the characters. I do like stories where people overcome the odds to succeed and in that sense, the book is very affirming. I had a hard time with many of the characters who are so one dimensional. The librarian, the teachers, the saloon owner, and even the relatives only seem to have one side to them; there's very little depth or nuance to any of them. The description of Francie's interactions with the librarian were laughable (and slightly offensive). Like Huckleberry Finn, the book uses some offensive language and characterizations of Jews and other minorities.

The murder of Roger Ackroyd, by Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie's third novel featuring Hercule Poirot has the detective in retirement (showing she didn't necessarily plan on such a long career with him). Roger Ackroyd has been killed and many of his acquaintances and family members have both means and motive. Narrated by his friend and neighbor Dr. Sheppard, we learn that Ackroyd was concerned that his late friend, the widow Mrs. Ferrars, was being blackmailed. Just as Ackroyd was to learn the identity of the blackmailer, he ends up dead. His niece asks Poirot to investigate the murder, which he does along with Dr. Sheppard who takes on the role of Hastings in this book. As usual, there are many twists and turns in the plot, but the ending was definitely a surprise.
 

Mission to Paris, by Alan Furst

This was an enjoyable spy thriller that takes place in the lead-up to World War II. Austrian-American actor Fredric Stahl is strong-armed by his film studio to go to France to make a film, in spite of the clearly increasing tensions there. Once there, Stahl is the target of many competing forces, both pro- and anti-German. He agrees to participate in several risky operations to gather information for the American consulate, placing himself and his friends in danger. All the while, he is pursuing a relationship with Renate, a woman working on his film, and having an affair with another. While I liked the writing and premise, the book seems a little anti-climactic.
 

A place for everything: the curious history of alphabetical order, by Judith Flanders

 

This is an extraordinary study that shows how humans slowly transitioned toward the use of alphabetical order to organize all manner of things from files to reference works. While it might seem obvious to us now, it was a slow revolution in how people think about the world around them. Earlier conceptions of the "right" way to organize things often revolved around hierarchy or grouped ideas around subject concepts, but as the world became more complex and the information landscape grew astronomically, it was necessary to resort to new methods of organization. Author Judith Flanders presents a fascinating history of the development of many types of organization systems, showing how truly innovative many of them were, including one of my favorites, the card catalog.