November 2019 Book Report

The Death of Don Juan (1982) by Ellery Queen

Anything written by Queen is enjoyable. I couldn’t find a cover pic in English. This was a novelette about an amateur theater group with local talent putting on the play about Don Juan. Their lead gets drunk and falls down the stairs before opening night, requiring an old washed-up Broadway actor to step in. A murder takes place and all signs point to the leading lady as the culprit. 

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The Twelve Deaths of Christmas (1979) by Marian Babson

Very good mystery and I did NOT know who the murderer was until the next to last page! That’s the kind of book I like! The chapters go back and forth between the perp talking in first person and the regular narrative. Interesting way to do that. And you don’t know if the perp is a male or female.

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Too Many Ghosts (1959) by Paul Gallico

Psychic investigator Alexander Hero enlists the help of his stepsister Lady Margaret Callandar to solve the hauntings of Paradine Hall. I read this book many years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. I wanted to read it once more before donating it.

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The 7 ½  Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle (2018) by Stuart Turton

Aiden Bishop is trapped in a time-loop and can’t escape until he solves the murder of Evelyn Hardcastle. Most of the action takes place in a run-down mansion filled with a lot of suspicious guests. He inhabits a different host each day, with each day repeating itself. It’s hard to really describe this book further. You gotta read it. What a ride!

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