Crusin' Through the Cozies: Cover her Face

I am in a mystery reading frenzy. Maybe that's what summer is for? I've been a fan of PD James for a while now. My mother-in-law introduced me to her, and I've been hooked ever since. I scored with Cover her Face: it was on my TBR, doesn't have a Kindle version (come on folks, get with it!), but was on the book shelf of the beach house I stayed at last week. I dove into it right away.

Since this was James' first Dalgliesh book, I knew I wanted to read it at some point. It does not disappoint, especially after reading a plot-driven Agatha Christie book. I really love the characters in Cover Her Face, especially the conniving young mother and house maid, Sally Jupp. What I love about P.D. James' mysteries in general is that I get so wrapped up in the characters and events in the book, that I never stop and try to figure out who the murderer is. Besides, she usually gives every character a potential motive to clash with the victim. I always welcome the surprise of finding out who-done-it at the end.  If you like murder mysteries, you'll enjoy Cover Her Face. And of course, PD James using sophisticated words and makes little comments about her characters lack of grammar, which I just eat up!!

From Good Reads:

Cover Her Face (Adam Dalgliesh #1)

by P.D. James

 3.70  ·   rating details  ·  2,167 ratings  ·  184 reviews

Headstrong and beautiful, the young housemaid Sally Jupp is put rudely in her place, strangled in her bed behind a bolted door. Coolly brilliant policeman Adam Dalgliesh of Scotland Yard must find her killer among a houseful of suspects, most of whom had very good reason to wish her ill.

Cover Her Face is P. D. James's electric debut novel, an ingeniously plotted mystery that immediately placed her among the masters of suspense.

What's Next?
I'm currently about 33% into The Daughters of Cain by Colin Dexter on my Kindle. And a friend just passed me a hard copy of The Book Thief (YA book), by Markus Zusak. This is a book I've wanted to read for a while.

My personal reading will probably slow down as I head back to teaching next week (so soon?), and begin teaching a class for incoming teachers starting in August. The next few months will be crazy busy, but filled to the brim with lots of teaching moments, and with probably less time for cozies (but we shall see!)

I'm linking up at Socrates' Book Reviews:

Be well! Read on!

Crusin' Through the Cozies: And Then There Were None

So I took up a reading challenge recently: Cruisin' Through the Cozies over at Socrates' Book Reviews.

I love Cozies. I especially LOVE all things PD James. But, I thought I'd break a bit out of my comfort zone and read books by new-to-me authors. And, can you believe it, I had never read an Agatha Christie book!! When I taught middle school I had a student that would tear through her books- I thought it was quite fun. I knew I had to give it a go!

For my first cozy challenge read I chose Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None. I was surprised how easy to read this book was. I've been on a run of reading fairly dense books lately, so this book was a welcome change of pace. I flew through it in a couple of days. This would be a great beach/plane read.

This cozy was all about the murder mystery. There wasn't much character development at all. But the fairly good, yet simplistic, plot had me racing to the book's end: An odd assortment of folks are invited to an island for a week's respite. And, yes, as the title suggests, murder after murder occurs. Who is the murderer? An outsider or one of the vacationers? There are a couple of twists in the plot that make it a fun and enjoyable read.

One down, six to go. My next read is PD James' Cover Her Face (I found it at beach house we're staying at- score!). I also want to read a Charlie Chan book. I just downloaded Colin Dexter's The Daughter's of Cain to my Kindle. I really liked the first few pages.

Cozy lovers out there, do you have any other suggestions?

I'm linking up at Socrates' Book Review. Check out the other posts!!

Be well! Read on!

New Reading Challenge: Cruisin' Thru the Cozies

It's June, so what better time to start a 2011 reading challenge?!! Since I'm new to blogging about reading, teaching, and books this spring, I didn't sign up for any challenges in January. I just couldn't resist joining in the fun and wait until next January.

I was inspired by another fashionably late blogger, Irregular Silsbee (check out her awesome book blog), to give it a go mid-year.

This challenge is right up my alley! I wasn't sure what the cozies were. But Socrates Book Reviews has a nifty link that explains it all.

According to Cozy-Mystery.com a Cozy mystery is:

• Many cozy mystery readers are intelligent women looking for a “fun read” that engages the mind, as well as provides entertainment 
• The crime-solver in a cozy mystery is usually a woman who is an amateur sleuth. Almost always, she has a college degree, whether she is using it or not. Her education and life’s experiences have provided her with certain skills that she will utilize in order to solve all the crimes that are “thrown her way.” The cozy mystery heroine is usually a very intuitive, bright woman. The occupations of the amateur sleuths are very diverse: caterer, bed and breakfast owner, quilter, cat fancier/owner, nun, gardener, librarian, book store owner, herbalist, florist, dog trainer, homemaker, teacher, needlepoint store owner, etc.
• The cozy mystery usually takes place in a small town or village (click here to read more on the village setting). The small size of the setting makes it believable that all the suspects know each other. The amateur sleuth is usually a very likeable person who is able to get the community members to talk freely (i.e. gossip) about each other. 

Well that just describes every guilty pleasure mystery that I read- PD James being my go to and absolute favorite! Hmmm, I think this challenge may be easier than I think!

I am going to try Investigator level. I am not a fast reader (as compared to many in bloglandia), so I am hoping I can do this! Wish me luck- I know it will be a fun ride!

Investigator Level:

1. And Then There Were None, by Agatha Christie

2. Cover Her Face, by PD James

3. Daughters of Cain, by Colin Dexter

4.

5.

6.

7.

Be Well! Read on!