C.A. Larmer

On the lighter than air side of the cozy spectrum this is a series that will appeal to readers who like a bit of self-aware silly in their crime fiction.

Third book in the Agatha Christie Book Club series, EVIL UNDER THE STARS, continues the adventures of a group of friends, linked by their shared love of the novels of Agatha Christie. When I reviewed the first novel it was littered with references and clues to Agatha Christie plots that were surprisingly missed by many of the club members, which at the time seemed a bit odd, but that's definitely been tightened up a lot here. It will help if you read the series in order though, as this is really more about the characters in some way - and there's a lot of them - and the connections are a bit complicated, so it would be better if you know them, and their backgrounds as you go through.

With servings of humour, love and longing, and a plot that's more than a bit of a hat-tip to the structures that Christie herself was fond of, EVIL UNDER THE STARS is told in a slightly arch manner which fits with the style of the series, the characters and the intent. Cute series, designed for and meeting the requirements of fans who like their crime on the very cozy side.

Written for fans of cosy styled, more light-hearted mystery stories, THE AGATHA CHRISTIE BOOK CLUB will ring many bells in any readers who are also dedicated Agatha Christie readers. Set in Sydney, the ACBC is formed by Alicia Finlay when she finally has to throw in the towel on a more formal (aka stuffy) literature based book club (personal note - if you TRIED to hold off the wine and cheese at our book club meetings you'd be laughed out the door!).

Those dedicated fans of Agatha Christie will recognise many of the scenarios, clues and hints dotted throughout this mystery. To the point where you may find yourself shouting at the book club members, who for fans, seem to have missed quite a few of the books / much of Christie's personal story, and therefore a whole heap of "well duh" moments. Much of THE AGATHA CHRISTIE BOOK CLUB is based on entertainment, rather than hard core mystery / crime fiction - right down to the almost mandatory requirement of the victim being a pretty nasty character. With plenty of people that might want him dead.

Leading the charge, Alicia Finlay is ably assisted by her cooking up a storm sister, and members of the bookclub who all take various investigation threads. There are a few lightly poached red herrings dotted around, and a bit of business with some direct links to Ms Christie's own disappearance. The police are there, possibly less than motivated when the crime is only the disappearance of a middle aged woman, not so laid back when the crime turns to murder.

Needless to say this is definitely on the lighter than air side of crime fiction. There's a hefty dose of romantic longing, quite a lot of gossiping, some fashion, a lot of chatter about home decor, and some "revelations" which you will probably see coming pages and pages earlier. Of course it makes no pretence of being anything else, and if you are a fan of the lighter side than it's well worth a look. As long as you can let the obvious clues go by. Fans of Ms Christie's writing might find the bookclub's inability to recognise some of those, especially when they stand up and scream "I'm an important clue for goodness sake", a tad frustrating.