Dead Man's Folly by Agatha Christie

This mystery just didn't seem as urgent as most do. Hercule Poirot and Ariadne Oliver were great, of course, and the idea of a Murder Hunt gone wrong is great, but there didn't seem to be any pressure to finish the case.

The Novice's Tale by Margaret Frazer

I enjoyed this mystery much more than The Apostate's Tale. This enjoyment comes, I think, partially from being at the beginning, and getting to know the characters, from the presence of a relative of Geoffrey Chaucer, and from a better-constructed mystery. Although it seemed for a moment that the reader was going to be forced to swallow a cat-out-of-the-bag solution, the clues were there all along.

Double Sin and Other Stories by Agatha Christie

This collection of short stories features Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple, and two "supernatural" stories. The latter are alright, as far as they go, but I really enjoyed the more conventional detective stories better.

The Monsters of Templeton by Lauren Groff

I found this novel very enjoyable. It contained an enjoyable mixture of family history, genealogical digging, and modern life. I thought Ms. Groff's use of different voices and perspectives convincing in tone, although I wonder whether she might have made more effective transitions between the historical voices and the present-day narrator. I liked the idea of something strange, benevolent, and yet dangerous lurking beneath the surface of both the town's and the narrator's personal histories. The idea that Willie's mother would not tell her the name of her father was a bit forced for me. Finally, the vintage illustrations were great and the family trees were quite helpful in keeping track of everyone.

The End by Lemony Snicket

This book is a fitting end to A Series of Unfortunate Events. Ultimately things wrap up in a complicated and ambiguous, but positive way, and I would have expected nothing less from these books. This series is the smartest series for children I've seen in a long time, and I would say it works in ways similar to Jasper Fforde's fiction. Highly recommended.

The Penultimate Peril by Lemony Snicket

In this penultimate volume, all your old friends and enemies gather for hijinks at the Hotel Denouement. There's a great scene about the blindness of justice and some good thoughts about moral culpability.

The Grim Grotto by Lemony Snicket

The eleventh book in this series leaves the children underwater in a submarine, looking for the sugar bowl and on its way to the Hotel Denouement for a VFD meeting. They meet someone who studies fungi and are forced to consider that the world is not easily divided into villains and heroes. There's some good poetry. Finally the book hints that by its end the Baudelaire children have broken out of the cycle in which they've been trapped.