1271. The Runagates Club (John Buchan)

Synopsis:

Mixed collection of twelve short stories, mostly of horror, espionage, or the supernatural, including Buchan's popular "The Green Wildebeest."

My rating: 5 stars

My review: So much fun to read. One of my favorite books ever.

1261. The Nine Tailors (Dorothy Sayers)

Synopsis:
When his sexton finds a corpse in the wrong grave, the rector of Fenchurch St Paul asks Lord Peter Wimsey to find out who the dead man was and how he came to be there. The lore of bell-ringing and a brilliantly-evoked village in the remote fens of East Anglia are the unforgettable background to a story of an old unsolved crime and its violent unravelling twenty years later.

My rating: 4 stars

1224. Ashenden: Or the British Agent (W. Somerset Maugham)

Synopsis:

Inspired by Maughams's own experiences as a British secret agent in World War I, this series of stories features a fictional spy, John Ashenden, whose dangerous assignments entangle him with traitors, assassins and beautiful but treacherous women.

My rating: 5 stars

My review: One of my favorite spy novels. Sadly, it is rare to find a copy.

1157. Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator (Roald Dahl)

Synopsis:
Charlie and Willy Wonka are back, this time in a fantastic journey to outer space in their glass elevator.

My rating: 4 stars

1156. Charlotte's Web (E. B. White)

Synopsis:
The story of a girl called Fern who loves a little pig called Wilbur. It tells of how Charlotte A. Cavatica, a beautiful grey spider, saves Wilbur from the usual fate of nice fat pigs, by a wonderfully clever plan - a plan so original that no one else could have thought of it.

My rating: 4 stars

1079. The Moving Finger (Agatha Christie)

Synopsis:
Poison-pen letters cause two deaths in Lymston, a town where gossip is the breath of life and suspicion can spread like venom. Miss Marple comes to town to save the day in this classic that ranks among the author's favorites.

Publication information:

• Publisher: Dodd, Mead, and Company
• Publication date: July 1942
• Pages: 229

My rating: 5 stars

1077. The Seven Dials Mystery (Agatha Christie)

Synopsis:
This is the sequel to "The Secret of Chimneys", the second novel to feature Superintendent Battle and "Bundle" Brent. As a prank, eight alarm clocks are set to wake up champion sleeper, Gerry Wade. But when morning arrives, one clock is missing and the prank backfires, with tragic consequences.

Publication information:

• Publisher: William Collins & Sons
• Publication date: January 24, 1929
• Pages: 282
  

My rating: 4 stars

1064. A Murder Is Announced (Agatha Christie)

Synopsis:
The personal ad was intriguing: an invitation to partake in a "murder" at the home of Letitia Blacklock. The uncharacteristic prank comes as a surprise to Letitia's friends -- and a bigger surprise to Letitia herself. Still, the proper hostess welcomes her unexpected guests for an evening of fun. But when the lights go down, a gunshot rings out. Now, Miss Jane Marple wants to play a game of whodunit.

Publication information:

• Publisher: Collins Crime Club
• Publication date: June 1950
• Pages: 256

My rating: 4 stars

1063. A Pocket Full of Rye (Agatha Christie)

Synopsis:
When two less-deserving souls fall victim to the killer, Miss Marple is engaged to detect. The only link appears to be buried in a not-so-innocent verse.

Publication information:

• Publisher: Collins Crime Club
• Publication date: November 9, 1953
• Pages: 192

My rating: 4 stars

1062. The Day of the Jackal (Frederick Forsyth)

Synopsis:
An adventure thriller in which an anonymous Englishman who in the spring of 1963, was hired by Colonel Marc Rodin, Operations Chief of the OAS to assassinate General De Gaulle.

Publication information:

• Publisher: Hutchinson
• Publication date: June 7, 1971
• Pages: 358
• ISBN: ISBN 0-09-107390-1

My rating: 5 stars

My review: Loved it. One of the best adventure thrillers I've ever read (and I've read a lot). It was a little slow in the beginning but once The Jackal is introduced, the book picks up and becomes a wonderful read. Forsyth's writing is quite enjoyable, with moments of dry humor (especially in the sections about the British government). And I'll admit it: I had a slight crush on The Jackal (who doesn't love a cool assassin?).

1028. Smiley's People (John Le Carre)

Cover of first edition

Synopsis:
Into a shadowy, violent and intricate world steeped in moral ambivalences steps George Smiley, sometime acting Chief of the Circus, as the Secret Service is known. His brief is to bury crime, not solve it, as he fights his own private battle from London to Paris and to Hamburg for his last duel with his Russian opposite number, codenamed Karla.

My rating: 4 stars

1007. The Valley of Fear (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Dust jacket illustration -- not sure if this is for the first edition

Synopsis:
The Valley of Fear is the final Sherlock Holmes novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The story was first published in the Strand Magazine between September 1914 and May 1915. The first book edition was published in New York on February 27, 1915.

The plot of the novel is based very loosely on the real-life activities of the Molly Maguires and, particularly, of Pinkerton agent James McParland. The novel is divided into two parts: in the first, Holmes investigates an apparent murder and discovers that the body belongs to another man; and in the second, the story of the man originally thought to have been the victim is told.

My rating: 4 stars

Publication information:

• Publisher: George H. Doran Company (UK)
  
• Publication date: 1915

978. All Quiet on the Western Front (Erich Maria Remarque)

Synopsis:
Paul Baumer enlisted with his classmates in the German army of World War I. Youthful, enthusiastic, they become soldiers. But despite what they have learned, they break into pieces under the first bombardment in the trenches. And as horrible war plods on year after year, Paul holds fast to a single vow: to fight against the principles of hate that meaninglessly pits young men of the same generation but different uniforms against each other--if only he can come out of the war alive.

My rating: 5 stars

974. The Thirty-Nine Steps (John Buchan)

Synopsis:
Richard Hannay has just returned to England after years in South Africa and is thoroughly bored with his life in London. But then a murder is committed in his flat, just days after a chance encounter with an American who had told him about an assassination plot which could have dire international consequences. An obvious suspect for the police and an easy target for the killers, Hannay goes on the run in his native Scotland where he will need all his courage and ingenuity to stay one step ahead of his pursuers.

My rating: 4 stars

932. The Honourable Schoolboy (John Le Carre)

Hong Kong at night

Synopsis from Amazon UK:
This is the second of le Carre's Smiley novels, featuring the character of George Smiley who was introduced in "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy". The story involves the betrayal of a Soviet spy and suspicions that the network has been infiltrated from the top downwards.

My rating: 5 stars

My review: Current authors of thrillers could learn a lesson or a hundred about writing from Le Carre. A case that is essentially a paper chase is told thrillingly.

921. The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side (Agatha Christie)

Synopsis from Amazon Canada:
One minute, silly Heather Badcock had been gabbling on at her movie idol, the glamorous Marina Gregg. The next, Heather suffered a massive seizure. But for whom was the deadly poison really intended?

Marina's frozen expression suggested she had witnessed something horrific. But, while others searched for material evidence, Miss Marple conducted a very different investigation - into human nature.

My rating: 4 stars

Publication information:

• 1962
• Collins Crime Club
• London
  
• Orange/red cloth with black lettering
  
• Dust wrapper priced at 15/-

917. Sleeping Murder (Agatha Christie)

Cover of first UK edition

Synopsis from Amazon Canada:
Gwenda Reed's new home, a charming Victorian villa, is giving the lovely new bride the strangest feeling of deja vu -- and an unnatural dread that's taking its toll. But how can her husband's aunt, Miss Marple, solve a mystery such as this when the only clues are those in Gwenda's vivid imagination?

My rating: 4 stars

Publication information:

• 1976
• Collins Crime Club
• London
  
• Orange/red cloth with gilt lettering
  
• Dust wrapper priced at £3.50

894. Rumpole and the Golden Thread (John Mortimer)

Chateau Thames Embankment

Synopsis from Amazon UK:
This collection includes "Rumpole and the Genuine Article", "Rumpole and the Golden Thread", "Rumpole and the Old Boy Net", "Rumpole and the Female of the Species", "Rumpole and the Sporting Life" and "Rumpole and the Last Resort".

My rating: 5 stars

875. Rumpole and the Angel of Death (John Mortimer)

Synopsis from Amazon:
The irascible but always entertaining Rumpole is back, this time in a series of short stories that have him facing the usual assortment of human detritus at the Old Bailey. Rumpole's delightful compatriots--the determined and politically correct Miz Liz Probert, Mr. Injustice Graves, the beleaguered Claude Erskine-Brown, and, of course, She Who Must Be Obeyed -- are once again in evidence, as are Rumpole's inadvertent humor, his keen understanding of the criminal and not-so-criminal minds, and his wily defenses of some of life's biggest losers. Here the barrister must defend, among others, an animal-rights activist accused of murder and a wife-killer whose dedication to teaching wins him a dangerous friend. In addition, there's a story told by the never-before-heard-from Hilda (She Who Must Be Obeyed) that's subtly hilarious and chockful of sharp-tongued wit.

My rating: 5 stars

874. The House With a Clock In Its Walls (John Bellairs)

Synopsis from Amazon:
Lewis always dreamed of living in an old house full of secret passageways, hidden rooms, and big marble fireplaces. And suddenly, after the death of his parents, he finds himself in just such a mansion -- his Uncle Jonathan's. When he discovers that his big friendly uncle is also a wizard, Lewis has a hard time keeping himself from jumping up and down in his seat. Unfortunately, what Lewis doesn't bank on is the fact that the previous owner of the mansion was also a wizard -- but an evil one who has placed a tick-tocking clock somewhere in the bowels of the house, marking off the minutes until the end of the world. And when Lewis accidentally awakens the dead on Halloween night, the clock only ticks louder and faster. Doomsday draws near -- unless Lewis can stop the clock!

My rating: 5 stars