Clouds drifting by

I've just finished watching Agatha Christie's A Murder is Announced which boasts an impressive cast list.

Aside from Joan Hickson as Miss Marple, there's John Castle as Detective Inspector Craddock, Kevin Whately as Detective Sergeant Fletcher, Ursula Howells as Miss Blacklock, David Collings as Reverend Harmon, and darling Joan Sims as Miss Murgatroyd.

The story runs thus: Miss Blacklock is astonished to read in the local newspaper that a murder is announced and it will take place in her sitting room that night at 7pm. Friends are urged to accept this, the only invitation.

Accordingly, her friends and neighbours turn up at her house, expectng a game of murder.

What they get is the lights going out at 7pm, a light being shone in their eyes, and three shots from a gun. The lights are turned back on and they find two bullet holes in the wall where Miss Blacklock was standing, Miss Blacklock covered in blood from a nick in her ear, and the masked assailant dead on the floor.

Did he trip and shoot himself? Did someone hire him to kill Miss Blacklock? Why would anyone want Miss Blacklock dead?

~'~

It's a good book, and the Joan Hickson version is an excellent adaptation. It's well acted, rather enthralling, and kept me captivated all the way through. But I have a major issue with the story, or rather with one of the characters that really annoys me.

Massive spoilers under the cut.
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I read a pile of books while I was in hospital. Here's what I read (I think I got them all) and what I thought of them.

Authors: Robert Bernard, Agatha Christie, Dorothy L Sayers.

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I'm really not keeping up with this! Oh, well.

24. If you won a huge lottery, with more money than you could use, what charitable organization or civic donation would you fund?
Hillside Animal Sanctuary. Their patron is Martin Shaw and they focus on helping farm animals, but they seem to help any animal in need. They also run undercover investigations to expose cruelty in the farming industry and the sanctuary is home to over 2,500 animals. I first heard about them from a campaign to raise the funds to save Benjy the bull from the slaughterhouse in Ireland. Hillside offered him a forever home but he needed to get there first. Boris had been intended to be a stud bull only it turned out he didn't like girl cows.

If you ever want to make my day, please give them a bale of hay for £4.

25. What three fictional characters (from film, TV, or books) do you most strongly identify with?
Barbara Buncle from Miss Buncle's book (D E Stevenson). She's shy and withdrawn at first and is frequently overlooked and ignored.

Mary Bennet from Pride & Prejudice (Jane Austen). While I'm not sanctimonious and I hope I'm nowhere near as tone-deaf as Mary, I identify with her feeling of being completely alone and out of step with everyone around her.

Abigail Wendover from Black Sheep (Georgette Heyer). She has far more charm than I could hope for, but she has a bad habit of sacrificing her wants for her sister and niece.

1. Do you have a favorite book series?
Yep! I have a few, actually, includng the Lord Peter Wimsey stories (Dorothy L. Sayers) and Campion books (Margery Allingham), but I think my actual favourite is the Chalet School series by Elinor M. Brent-Dyer. My Auntie Vi gave me my first book from it (The Princess of the Chalet School) and I've loved it ever since.


2. Was there a toy you really wanted as a child, but never got?
A Sindy doll. Instead I had a Pippa doll which was 6.5 inches tall. She had all kinds of outfits, includng a Bay City Rollers tartan one.

It's available for £1.99 on Amazon.co.uk. Link.

Apparently, it's a daily deal so grab it now.

For 10 days, post the cover of a book you like and challenge someone else to join in.

Today's book is One Corpse Too Many by Ellis Peters.
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debris_k and maju01 would you like to take up the challenge?

For 10 days, post the cover of a book you like and challenge someone else to join in.

Today's book is The Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov.
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Today, I'm tagging corvidology to do the challenge.

For 10 days, post the cover of a book you like and challenge someone else to join in.

My 5th book is Parker Pyne Investigates by Agatha Christie.
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author_by_night, would you like to take up the challenge?

For 10 days, post the cover of a book you like and challenge someone else to join in.

Today's book is Through the Wall by Patricia Wentworth.( Read more... )

This is off Facebook but I'm changing it for here.

For 10 days, post the cover of a book you like and challenge someone else to join in.

Today, I challenge thisbluespirit to post the meme too.

Today's book cover is:


Miss Buncle's Book by D.E. Stevenson.

This was the first D.E. Stevenson book I read and it's adorable. Written in the early 1930s, it's about Barbara Buncle who attempts to earn money by writing a book about the village she lives in. Unfortunately for her, the book is a smash hit and half the villagers go on the warpath to track the author down.