Thursday, March 17, 2011

Library Loot: March 16-22


Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire (The Captive Reader) and Marg (The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader) that encourages bloggers to share the books they've checked out of the library. If you'd like to participate, just write up your post, feel free to steal button, and link up using the Mr. Linky on Claire's site this week. And, of course, check out what other participants are getting from their libraries.

Here's my haul this week:

The White Company by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: Reared in a monastery, Alleyne Edricson intended to become a monk, but his wise father had made a provision in his will that his son was to spend his 21st year in the outside world and there learn more about his fellow men and how they lived before he taking his final vows.

The Man in the Brown Suit by Agatha Christie: How odd, Anne Beddingfield thought, that the stranger caught her eye, recoiled in horror, and fell to his death on the rails of Hyde Park Underground Station. Odder still was a doctor in a brown suit who pronounced him dead and vanished into the crowd. But what really aroused Anne's suspicions was when she learned of the doctor's link to the murder of a famous ballerina, a fortune in hidden diamonds, and a crime-lord embroiled in blackmail.

Lair of the White Worm by Bram Stoker: In a tale of ancient evil, Bram Stoker creates a world of lurking horrors and bizarre denizens: a demented mesmerist, hellbent on mentally crushing the girl he loves; a gigantic kite raised to rid the land of an unnatural infestation of birds, and which receives strange commands along its string; and all the while, the great white worm slithers below seeking its next victim....

Ten Little Herrings by L. C. Tyler: (2nd installment in a series) When we last saw Ethelred Tressider, he was pulling a disappearing act, eager to pack in his career as a mediocre mystery-writer, and happy to leave his (deservedly) long-suffering agent, Elsie, holding the bag. But any bag that Elsie holds will soon be brimful of chocolates, and as Ten Little Herrings opens, she is tracking Ethelred to his secret lair, which turns out to be a run-down French hotel hosting a stamp-collector's conference. A murder (quelle surprise!) ensues, and as the title (a nod to Agatha Christie's famous Ten Little Indians) suggests, the whole thing turns into a blissfully funny parody of classic British crime ficiton.

And from the Library's used/donated bookstore:

Gallows Thief by Bernard Cornwell: The year is 1820. rider Sandman, a hero of Waterloo, returns to London to wed his fiancee. But instead of settling down to fame and glory, he finds himself penniless in a country where high unemployment and social unrest rage, and where men--innocent or guilty--are hanged for the merest of crimes. When he's offered a job as private investigator to re-open the case of a painter due to be hanged for a murder he didn't commit, Sandman readily accepts--as much for the money as for a chance to see justice done in a country gone to ruins.


3 comments:

Cath said...

Those all sound very good. I haven't heard of the Conan Doyle one. I have The Lair of the White Worm on my tbr pile so will be interested to hear about it if you get to it.

Carol said...

I'll be curious to see how you like the Conan Doyle. I've never read anything but the Holmes stories, but have been tempted in the past to try something else.

samantha.1020 said...

I love Agatha Christie so I'm excited to hear your thoughts on this one when you finish. I haven't read this one yet but eventually would like to read everything that she has written. Enjoy your loot!