Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie (★★★★☆)
Print • Owned (Amazon) • Mystery • 1937
Short synopsis: The tranquility of a lovely cruise along the Nile is shattered by the discovery that Linnet Ridgeway has been shot. She was young, stylish, rich, and beautiful, a girl who had everything – until she lost her life. Despite the exotic setting, nothing is ever quite what it seems…
My second Agatha Christie novel for this challenge, and it was another 4-star read for me! It’s a slower-paced novel, with the murder not happening until more than 100 pages into the novel, but once that happens, everything kicks into high gear and doesn’t stop moving until the end. I had a feeling about this murder and who might be the culprit, and while my instincts were correct, the reasoning was all wrong. There were a lot of characters to keep track of, but thankfully I could flip back to the first chapter where everyone is introduced and their reasons for being on the ship are revealed. That was helpful! This was my second Christie novel where everything took place in a closed environment (this time, it was a ship) so I think I need my next Christie to have a different type of setting/plot. But so far, so good on this challenge of mine!
The Exiles by Christina Baker Kline (★★★★☆)
Audiobook • Library • Historical Fiction • 2020
Short synopsis: The Exiles is the story of three women—Evangeline, Hazel, and Mathinna—who are all struggling to survive in their own ways. It’s the 1840s and Evangeline is sentenced to 14 years in prison for assault (the circumstances of which are a little suspicious). She’s also pregnant and has to endure a harrowing overseas journey to complete her sentence at Van Diemen’s Land, a penal colony in Australia. Hazel is also on that journey—she’s been sentenced to 7 years for stealing a silver spoon. And Mathinna is an Aboriginal girl who has been forcibly removed from her tribe and “adopted” by the white governor of Van Diemen’s Land.
This was such a heavy book. It was one of my suggestions for March book club, and I think it will lend to a very good discussion, but I couldn’t listen to more than an hour a day of the novel because it was so harrowing. (I really struggle with plots about prison; it’s a big anxiety trigger for me.) But it was also so interesting. I knew little about how Australia was colonized and even less about how it was essentially colonized as a penal colony. It’s something I would get an offhand reference to in historical romances (“he was convicted and sent to Australia”), but I hadn’t realized how horrific it truly was, and how it displaced Aboriginal people. There were a lot of hard things in this novel, but this was also a beautiful portrait of female friendship and female empowerment. I loved the way the women came together in this story, and I thought the novel wrapped up in a wonderful way. It’s a novel I would have a hard time recommending to everyone, but if you’re not scared off reading a heavy historical book, pick this one up.
Heartbreaker by Sarah MacLean (★★★★☆)
E-Book • Library • Historical Romance • 2022
Short synopsis: Adelaide Frampton is known as the Matchbreaker—she uses her superior skills as a thief to help brides avoid the alter. Henry, Duke of Clayborn, has spent his life building an impeccable reputation free from salacious gossip. When the two find themselves on a breakneck journey across Britain to stop a wedding, Clayborn finds it impossible to resist this woman who both frustrates and fascinates him.
I haven’t read a Sarah MacLean romance in quite a while, and I missed her books! In my opinion, she’s writing the best historical romances out there, even if they may be a bit anachronistic. But eh, it doesn’t bother me and I’d much rather read about a badass group of women taking over London than the true reality of women during this time period, you know? This book was so much fun—I loved Adelaide’s character so much and the way she easily went toe-to-toe with Henry. The way they fell in love with each other was so sweet, and I loved the way everything came together at the end. There were so many badass ladies in this novel—from the leader of the “girl gang” that Adelaide is a part of to all the women who are part of their network in different inns and bars throughout London. If you’re looking for a fun historical romance that’s full of female empowerment, give this one a try! (And, really, all of Sarah MacLean’s romances.)
What are you reading?