Fast facts:

Book title: “At Bertram’s Hotel”

Author: Agatha Christie

Genre/Audience: Fiction/mystery; adult

Rating: 7.5/10

Worth the read?: If you’re looking for a quick read, then certainly.

Book 13: Another Agatha

I told myself that if I went ahead with this 50-book challenge this year I would simply have to cut back on how much I read Agatha Christie. You see, friends, I simply adore Agatha.

At Bertram’s Hotel is a Miss Marple mystery, although, unfortunately, Miss Marple is hardly even in the book. It’s a shame because Miss Marple is one of my favorite characters. Instead of Miss Marple serving as a kick-butt lady leader, she is sprinkled minimally throughout the book while the police search for the culprit. In the novel’s final pages we are given a little taste of Miss Marple’s skill when she discusses the case with the lead detective.

If this weren’t such an unusual plot, I probably would have stopped reading less than halfway through. Much like the last Agatha Christie book I read, the murder isn’t immediately apparent. And, in true Agatha Christie fashion, the victim isn’t who you expect it to be. I will say, however, that I did successfully peg the killer long before the end. This is the first time I have succeeded at outwitting the author, but it was sheer luck. As much as I’ve always loved the idea of being a detective, I’m actually terrible at it. It’s one of my greatest sorrows in life (dramatic much, Nikki?).

Rainy day reading

I don’t know that I have much else to contribute to the conversation here. At Bertram’s Hotel is a good book to read on a rainy afternoon, or even better, a sunny afternoon in a hammock. Unfortunately, I had neither of these things when I read this book over spring break. Instead, I had cold wind and the occasional snowflake.

I have managed to fall drastically behind in the book blog project in recent weeks. The good news? I’m not behind on books! I just have been awful about updating the blog. Accountability is necessary, so here I am publicly admitting my failure. The next few books are really heavy in topic and content, but I cannot wait to share about them. Hopefully I’ll catch up soon.

Until then, don’t forget to check out my recent post about visiting Portland, Oregon for the first time!

Talk soon, friends 🙂