Relax and Read

Of course I was terribly busy in December, but that doesn't usually stop me from squeezing in some reading, although it does hinder serious reading. Fun reading isn't stopped by much.

Not long ago, the Deputy Headmistress of The Common Room recommended Ngaio Marsh as a particularly good mystery author. Now, I have seen books by this author in the library, but that has been the extent of my acquaintance. I haven't read any "new to me" mystery writers for a long time, contenting myself with Agatha Christie, Elizabeth George, and for very light reading, Diane Mott Davidson and Lillian Braun (though I'm so discontented with their most recent books I won't be bothering with anything new in those quarters).

I've been in need of fresh blood...so to speak. The library here in Krakow has several books by Ngaio Marsh, and I chose one at random--Final Curtain. I never doubted the DHM, of course, but it was highly gratifying to read such a good mystery. The characters were well done, in spite of the fact that there were so many of them (with poor writing, it's sometimes hard to distinguish between too many mediocre characters). I read the book over several evenings, and I suppose it is commentary enough to say...I'm looking forward to reading more mysteries by the same author.

There's nothing like a good murder mystery to take your mind off of everything else for a while. And this is a good one!