Book Review #57: The Woman in White

I would like to first start off by apologizing to my readers for not posting any reviews for the past four months.  It mainly due to my health problems.  One of my New Years resolutions is to post reviews all of the books that I read into one of my blogs.  The ones that are old enough to fall into the Public Domain will be posted in this blog.  The others will be posted in my other blog, World of Sleuths.  I have some more ideas for posts that I will go into over the next two or three months.

The Woman in White is a mystery/thriller novel by Wilkie Collins that was originally published in 1860.  This book is written in a similar style as Dracula was written where it is a combination of documents written by characters in the story.  In this story they are written more in the form documents for a inquiry for a law suit.  It is either as characters testimony or their journal entries.  This story starts out with Walter Hartright who is an artist by trade and gives private lessons to people.  He applies for and is offered a position in the country at an estate where he will be instructing two younger women, Miriam Halcombe and her half-sister Laura Fairlie, and he will board at the estate.  The night before he is to leave London, he comes across a mysterious woman dressed all in white while walking back to his flat after visiting his mother and sister.  This mysterious woman asks him to walk with her into London where she disappears.  When Walter arrives to the estate, he is greeted by Miriam and doesn't meet Laura until later.  When he see's Laura, he cant believe how much she looks like the mysterious woman.  He starts falling in love with Laura during his time there until he finds out that she is engaged to be married to Sir Percival Glyde, who along with his friend Count Fosco, has plans, other than what he perceives, to swindle Laura's inheritance. 

This book had been put on my radar as one to read after reading David Morrell's novel Inspector of the Dead where he included an essay about thrillers and how this novel is credited to be around the first thriller.  It was a slow read for me because of how it is written and the sheer size of the book.  After reading it, I'm glad I did and plan to read more novels by Wilkie Collins in the future.

If interested in reading this book, you can download it at the following sites in various formats:

Project Gutenberg:  http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/583

Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/Woman-White-Wilkie-Collins-ebook/dp/B0082Z447U/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1548387956&sr=1-1&keywords=the+woman+in+white+by+wilkie+collins

Barnes & Noble:  https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/woman-in-white-wilkie-collins/1001834504?ean=9781365970399


Tim's Rating:  ➷➷➹➹➹
(Five out of six arrows)

Book Review #56: When a Man Marries

When a Man Marries is a short novel that was originally a play written by Mary Roberts Rinehart.  In this story, Kit is trying to cheer up her friend Jim who is depressed because it was two years to the day that his divorce with the woman that he is still deeply in love. Kit decides that they will have a dinner with several of their friends that evening and then play bridge. After all of their socialite friends and others have been eating, Jim's butler becomes very ill and they send for a doctor. Before the doctor arrives, all of Jim's servants disappear from the house. After the doctor arrives, he believes that the butler has small pox and quarantines the house with all of Jim's guests having to stay there until the quarantine is lifted. It is full of humor with all of these wealthy people having to do work which they have never done in their lives such as cook. There is a mystery included in the story when the guests' valuables start disappearing.

I enjoyed this book even with the romance that occurs in it. It kept my wondering what will happen next.

If interested in reading this book, you can download it from free in various e-book formats from the following sites:

Project Gutenberg:  https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1671

Many Books:  http://manybooks.net/titles/rinehartetext99whamm10.html

You can also purchase it from the following site in various formats:

Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/When-Marries-Mary-Roberts-Rinehart-ebook/dp/B0082S24PQ?keywords=When+a+man+marries&qid=1537754604&sr=8-1&ref=sr_1_1

Barnes& Noble:  https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/when-a-man-marries-mary-roberts-rinehart/1104709765?ean=9781548663230

Tim's Rating:  ➷➷➹➹➹
(Five out of six arrows)

Book Review #55: Love Insurance

Love Insurance was written by Earl Derr Biggers, who later on wrote the Charlie Chan books. In this book, a gentleman walks into the Lloyds of London office in New York City and introduces himself as Lord Harrowby and wants to take out an insurance policy to insure that his wedding with Miss Cynthia Meyrick in two weeks in San Marco, Florida. After making the policy Mr. Richard Minot was ordered to go down on the yacht that Lord Harrowby was to leave on that evening to San Marco to make sure the wedding goes on without a hitch.

After being thrown off the yacht by the supposed owner just before departure, Richard ended up taking a train down to Florida. After the train gets into Florida, Richard notices that the train was going slow. There was a beautiful young woman near him and agreed. They got off the train and hired a taxi to take them to San Marco. By the time they got to San Marco Richard fell in love with this woman. When they got to San Marco, Richard found out that the woman is Cynthia Meyrick, which saddened him that he had to help Lord Harrowby marry her. There are several incidents that happen after that which threatened the wedding.

This book as humorous moments along with plenty of action. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

If interested in reading this book, you can download it from the various sites: 

Project Gutenberg:  http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/56077

Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/Love-Insurance-Earl-Derr-Biggers-ebook/dp/B0091M9JQO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1536686925&sr=8-2&keywords=love+insurance

Barnes & Noble:  https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/love-insurance-edward-lee/1121328365?ean=2940151371575

Tim's Rating:  ➷➷➹➹➹
(Five out of six arrows)

Book Review #54: The Window at the White Cat

The Window at the White Cat is a mystery novel written by Mary Roberts Rinehart and was originally published in 1910. Jack Knox is an attorney in a city when a beautiful 19 year old woman comes to his office to ask him to help her find her father who is the state treasurer and has been missing. Because of her father’s position, she doesn’t want it to go public. Jack gets a detective to help him and there are mysterious happening from the start such as footsteps at night after everybody has gone to bed and the disappearance of objects and other people at night. Jack believes all of this is tied together and is set on seeing to these mysteries end.

There is action throughout the book and the mysteries aren’t solved until the last few chapters of the book. There is a little bit of romance tied in, but enough to ruin the story. This is only the third book of hers that I’ve read and am quickly becoming a fan. I highly recommend this book if you want to read a mystery that is in the public domain.

If interested in reading this book, you can download it in various e-book formats from the following sites:

Project Gutenberg: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/34020

Many Books: http://manybooks.net/titles/rinehart3402034020-8.html

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Window-at-White-Cat-ebook/dp/B004UJSJKA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1533243213&sr=8-1&keywords=the+window+at+the+white+cat

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-window-at-the-white-cat-by-mary-roberts-rinehart-mary-roberts-rinehart/1028944824?ean=2940012542021

Tim’s Rating:  ➷➷➹➹➹

(Five out of six arrows)

Book Review #53: The Wisdom of Father Brown

The Wisdom of Father Brown was the second collection of Father Brown short stories written by G.K. Chesterton. Father Browns friend, Flambeau, criminal turned detective, appears in around half of the stories in this book where Father brown solves mysteries, be it a death or theft, in his own unique way. There are some names and places repeated in these stories.

There is action in these books varying by degrees. Some hold the reader’s interest better than others. These stories are good, but not quite as good as the ones in The Innocence of Father Brown.

If interested in reading this book, you can download it from the following sites in various formats:

Project Gutenberg: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/223

Many Books: http://manybooks.net/titles/chestertetext95wifrb11.html

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Wisdom-Father-Brown-Stories-Book-ebook/dp/B00MF0ZVWK/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1528224913&sr=1-1&keywords=the+wisdom+of+father+brown

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-complete-father-brown-mysteries-collection-g-k-chesterton/1102283690?ean=2940012630988

Tim's Rating:  ➷➷➹➹

(Four out of six arrows)

Book Review #52: The Man in Lower Ten

The Man in Lower Ten is a mystery novel written by Mary Roberts Rinehart which first in magazines in 1906 in serialized form and was published as a novel in 1909. Lawrence Blakely is in attorney who has to travel by train to Pittsburgh from Washington D.C. to get depositions for a major forgery case. On his return trip, is is assigned berth lower ten in car seven for sleeping. When he goes to his assigned berth, there is a man drunk and passed out in his berth, which he can’t wake. He is given an open berth across from his assigned one. When he wakes in the morning, he discovers his clothes and other possessions have been stolen, including is bag that held the signed depositions. Even worse, the man that was found in his assigned berth is founded murdered and everything is pointing at Blakely as the murderer. Will he be able to to find actual murderer and avoid avoid jail time for himself and also find the depositions?

This is a good story and the author keeps you wondering if the truth will be found. That said, I didn’t like it as well as The Circular Staircase by the same author.

If interested in reading this story, you can download it from the following sites in various formats:

Project Gutenberg: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1869

Many Books: http://manybooks.net/titles/rinehartetext99tmilt10.html

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Man-Lower-Mary-Roberts-Rinehart-ebook/dp/B0082UL4F0/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1525733491&sr=1-1&keywords=the+man+in+lower+ten

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-man-in-lower-ten-by-mary-roberts-rinehart-mary-roberts-rinehart/1028634242?ean=2940012539212

Tim's Rating: ➷➷➹➹

(Four out of six arrows)

Book Review #51: The Circular Staircase

The Circular Staircase is a mystery novel written by Mary Roberts Rinehart and was originally published in 1908. In this book, Rinehart’s first bestseller, Rachel Innes, a well-to-do spinstress rents a home in the country for the summer. Her orphaned niece and nephew, Gertrude and Halsey, who are in their early twenties and are in her custody arrive to the rented house the day after Rachel. On the her first night at the house, Rachel starts hearing noises in the stairway at around 3:00 AM. When she opens her bedroom door to investigate, the noises had stopped and nobody is there. When Gertrude and Halsey arrive the next day, Halsey has a friend along who plans on staying the night. That night there are gun shots in the house, again at 3:00 AM. When they get downstairs, there is a dead body on the floor and Halsey, along with his friend have disappeared. Rachel decides to try solving this crime since it appears the Halsey and Gertrude might be implicated with the murder. Along the way, many more mysterious things happen.

The way this book is written, the author draws the readers in and keeps their attention by everything that goes on without there being too much that would cause readers to get confused. There is plenty action and mysteries in this book and is a very good read.

If interested in reading this book, you can download it in various formats from the following sites:

Project Gutenberg: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/434

Many Books: http://manybooks.net/titles/rinehartetext96circs10.html

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Circular-Staircase-Mary-Roberts-Rinehart-ebook/dp/B0083ZIT7A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1523979216&sr=8-1&keywords=the+circular+staircase+mary+roberts+rinehart

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-circular-staircase-by-mary-roberts-rinehart-mary-roberts-rinehart/1028636253?ean=2940012539243

Tim's Rating:  ➷➷➹➹➹ 

(Five out of six arrows)